40 SEEKING THE SANDHILL CRANE 



fairly evenly balanced when being carried — if 

 anything, a little more weight should be pro- 

 portioned to balance behind rather than in front. 

 A chestnut canoe is a heavy man-load, somewhere 

 in the neighbourhood of one hundred pounds, 

 and it is wise to load up carefully and comfort- 

 ably before starting on an undertaking that 

 tries one's strength to the utmost before the 

 other end of the portage is reached. 



Meantime, to return to our undertaking, we 

 had been labouring for hours along the blazed 

 trail, and it was not until the afternoon that we 

 reached our destination — the lake that contained 

 the cranes. 



After a brief rest we launched the canoe : 

 assuredly the first craft since the beginning of 

 time to intrude on the placid waters of that 

 unknown lake, set deep in forest seclusion. 



We eagerly commenced our search for the 

 crane's nest, urged on by sight of the birds who 

 wildly flew from before our neighbourhood, utter- 

 ing once or twice their curious call. Our search 

 was a long one ; all the marsh shores were examined 

 in vain, and not until evening, when on the island 

 in the lake, did we find the nest. Here, on a 

 marshy point on the south side of the island, to 

 our great delight, we came on the long-concealed 

 nest — a large platform of gathered marsh-wreck 

 built on the water surface among reeds ; and 

 therein two large oblong eggs of medium buffish 

 sienna colour (perhaps finely speckled) and with 

 spots and splashes of darker colour. 



Now in the case of rare birds' eggs you doubt- 

 less know that it is essential to establish their 



