498 DAN BEARD'S ANIMAL BOOK 



canoe in which I was seated. For an instant it 

 looked at us in alarm, then it started up the stream 

 on the surface of the water, its little downy wings 

 striking the water in exactly the same manner as 

 do the spoon oars of a racing shell when the 

 coxswain calls upon the crew for a spurt; but you 

 must not think that any college crew that ever 

 pulled an oar could possibly row with a rapidity of 

 stroke equal to that of the young sheldrake. The 

 little birds easily ran ahead of canoes propelled 

 by two stalwart Indians working their paddles with 

 all the strength they had in them. The river at 

 this point has a very rapid current, but the little 

 birds found no difficulty traveling up-stream almost 

 as fast as they did in the opposite direction. Our 

 child-like Indian canoe men shouted with glee and 

 cried out, "Steamboat," referring to the motion 

 of the little down-covered wings which looked more 

 like revolving paddle-wheels than the wings of a 

 bird. 



There were other ducks, probably sawbills, 

 which flew ahead of the canoes; some showed 

 a great deal of white on their wings, while 

 others were apparently pure white. The In- 

 dians called them divers, but they were not 

 grebe, and as we refrained from shooting any of 

 these birds, and we did not get a very close view, we 

 were unable to identify them. The ordinary black 

 duck occasionally flew over our heads, but pie- 

 bald and white ones always flew down the stream 

 beating the surface of the water with their wings 



