Co u r ie TS of the Air. 57 



air, and flies with incredible speed. Its head and 

 beak form a sharp point to its tapering neck. Its 

 wings are far in front, and its legs equally far in 

 the rear, and its course through the crystal 

 depths is like the speed of an arrow. In the 

 northern lakes it has been taken forty feet under 

 water upon hooks baited for the great lake trout. 

 I had never seen one till last fall, when one 

 appeared on the river in front of my house. I 

 knew instantly it was the loon. Who could not 

 tell a loon a half-mile or more away, though he 

 had never seen one before ? The river was like 

 glass, and every movement of the bird as it 

 sported about broke the surface into ripples, that 

 revealed it far and wide. Presently a boat shot out 

 from shore, and went ripping up the surface toward 

 the loon. The creature at once seemed to divine 

 the intentions of the boatman, and sidled off 

 obliquely, keeping a sharp look-out as if to 

 make sure it was pursued. A steamer came 

 down and passed between them, and when 

 the way was again clear the loon was still 

 swimming on the surface. Presently it disap- 

 peared under the water, and the boatman pulled 

 sharp and hard. In a few moments the bird 

 reappeared some rods further on, as if to make 

 an observation. Seeing it was being pursued, 

 and no mistake, it dived quickly, and when it 

 came up again had gone many times as far as 

 the boat had in the same space of time. Then 



