SWANS, nr.RONS, AND HAWKS. 7\) 



ground -when the falcon was on liim again, bearing 

 him up aloft, as he screamed out a last gasp, and 

 then let him drop an inert mass, without life or 

 movement. Three times during the day this extra- 

 ordinary performance was repeated. 



The frost continued, and the ice had so collected 

 on the Mississippi that only a narrow passage, about 

 the width of a canal, was left open to the stream. 

 We determined on setting out for Cape Girardeau ; 

 so we bid good-bye to our friends the Eed Skins in 

 the most cordial manner possible, and on the even- 

 ing of the same day were at the Cape. Next morn- 

 ing, after passing the Big Tower, an immense rock 

 which rises about forty feet in the middle of the 

 Mississippi, we made towards St. Genevieve, where 

 we intended to rest after our labours. During the 

 night we had heard on the Illinois bank the bowl- 

 ings of coyotes, hotly engaged in running down the 

 deer. By the light of the moon, which shone as 

 bright and clear as the electric light, we could see 

 a pack of coyotes running after a stag and driving 

 him to a jAace where another pack of the creatures 

 was waiting for him. Presently, the noble animal 

 found himself in the presence of his numerous 

 enemies, and after a few short bounds, he fell 

 a victim to their murderous teeth. At this mo- 

 ment, a cloud drew a veil over the scene, and what 

 took place could only be imagined from the hoarse 

 howlings and fierce contests of the coyotes as they 



