34 SEEKING THE SANDHILL CRANE 



be borne down to us on the breeze— But no ! 

 nothing gave us hope — nothing ; and the day 

 was done. 



Seeking night camping-ground we ran in where 

 the shore was bad, for we had to make a land- 

 ing somewhere on a shore composed of gravel, 

 and granite and sandstone boulders. But the 

 ingenious Joe jumped ashore, and while I held 

 out in deep water, cut and laid a bed of spruce 

 boughs at the water's edge, and on that the 

 frail craft was smoothly grounded, emptied of 

 her load, and carried ashore as wind was rising. 



The country behind the east shore where we 

 camped, and which we were searching along, was 

 generally low and, although the map in my posses- 

 sion was blank, we knew it must contain many 

 forest-bounded lakes, absolutely secluded from 

 the disturbance of red man or white; and it 

 seemed possible that if any cranes were nesting 

 in the interior they might at some time come 

 out near this greater sheet of water, and perhaps, 

 if seen, betray the secretive locality they in- 

 habited. To go haphazard into the forest to 

 search would be as vain as " to look for a needle in 

 a haystack," requiring many months to attempt, 

 without any certainty of any success. 



Two days later found us groping in the forest, 

 searching for unknown, unnamed water, through 

 country that had not even a game path to show us 

 our possible destination. The evening before we 

 had heard a crane call, clear and unmistakable, 

 from high in the sky over the forest. The call 

 had been repeated ; had grown nearer and louder 

 until, at last, we had seen the great winged bird 



