246 PRAIRIE AND FOREST. 



swamp pines, with their dark-green foliage, formed a 

 charming contrast to the other portions of the snow- 

 and-ice-covered landscape. With my field- glass, by the 

 way a most important part of all sportsmen's outfit, 

 long and patiently I watched the habits of the pure 

 white beauties ; and with what pleasure they appeared 

 to enjoy their ablutions in the frigid water, one mo- 

 ment splashing and throwing it far and wide, at 

 another pursuing rivals of whom they were jealous, or 

 cooing notes of love or admiration over mates in 

 whose favour they wished to establish themselves. 

 Again, they would rise and flap their broad pinions as 

 if to test that their exertions had not deprived them of 

 the powers of flight ; or, struggling on to some floating 

 berg, rest from exertions, with their graceful necks and 

 heads buried in their abundant snowy down. 



The place in which I was secreted was an isthmus 

 densely covered with dwarf water-alder, and connecting 

 a peninsula, almost an island, with a narrow, long 

 promontory from the main land. Under ordinary cir- 

 cumstances it would have been as wet as a well-satu- 

 rated sponge, but frost had placed its iron hand upon 

 the moisture and rendered the use of my water-proof 

 sheet almost superfluous ; a circumstance that advan- 

 tageously contrasted with what it might have been. 

 About mid-day, certainly not later, it became apparent 

 that some important change was about to take place 

 among the swans, for their voices became louder 

 and more frequent, and the before- scattered groups 

 concentrated themselves into closely-packed coteries. 

 This I noted, and thought it foretold change in the 

 weather ; my surmises soon proved correct, for the 

 north wind, which had subsided into a calm, was 



