CHAPTER XI 



THE WHISTLING SWAN OF CURKITUCK SOUND 



THE mention of the name swan brings to our 

 mind pictures of well-kept lakes or ponds sur- 

 rounded by ornamental shrubs and stately build- 

 ings. "Among our ancestors, too simple or too 

 wise to fill their gardens with the frigid beauties 

 of art instead of the lively beauties of nature, the 

 swans formed the ornament of every piece of water." 

 In literature, painting, sculpture, mythology, and 

 history these graceful birds have been used more, 

 perhaps, than any other feathered creature. They 

 have been made to typify grace, beauty, love, 

 passion, domesticity, peacefulness, and courage. 

 That swans actually exist in a wild state seems, 

 curiously enough, to be almost incredible to most 

 people, yet not only do they exist but they are, 

 comparatively speaking, abundant ; and strange to 

 say, unlike so many birds, they appear to be even 

 gaming in numbers, or at least holding their own. 



Unfortunately, they are not widely distributed, 

 and any one who would enjoy the remarkable sight 

 of hundreds of them must go to their habitual 

 winter resorts. Along the Atlantic coast a few 

 are seen on the eastern end of Long Island, while 

 great flocks congregate in the brackish waters of 

 Currituck Sound, North Carolina. 



When the cold winds from the north warn us 



