THE WOODLAND LAKE 7 



a corruption of the Icelandic word loom, which means 

 a cripple ; applied to the bird on account of its waddling, 

 lop-sided walk. It scarcely ever attempts to walk, indeed, 

 so awkward is it on dry land. 



From the manner of the pair of loons on Wolf Pond 

 I thought that they were breeding ; but I could not find 

 the nest. Towards the end of July, however, they ap- 

 peared with a young one. Two is the nominal number ; 

 but probably one Q^g had been destroyed by accident. 

 By careful watching I discovered that the breeding-place 

 was in a tunnel formed in the rank grass where a small 

 runnel left the lake, and so well hid that it could not be 

 reached without great trouble and the aid of a canoe. 



I did not disturb them at this time, but a few weeks 

 later I tried to shoot the cock bird. This was not an 

 easy task; for the instant I fired he dived so quickly 

 that he avoided the shot. I always had to fire at long 

 range, as the birds would not permit a nearer approach 

 than about fifty yards. The squaw took me on the lake 

 in a light hunting canoe, and we had quite an exciting 

 chase after this bird, lasting nearly three hours. I 

 marked the cock bird; but the hen, with her chick, 

 kept at no great distance from him ; and the beautiful 

 little creature dived as adroitly as its parents. 



The old bird displayed great cunning. I believe that 

 it was frequently under water for as long as four or five 

 minutes ; but it repeatedly only pushed its beak up, as 

 high as the nostrils, to breathe, and then dived again 

 before I could get within shot. At length I shot it with 

 a rifle bullet as it was so breathing, aiming low so as to 

 strike it under water. The hen and the chick I left 

 undisturbed ; but they disappeared about a week after 

 the death of the cock, probably going to another lake, as 

 I do not think that the chick was strong enough to fly 

 far. These birds rise heavily, but fly high and strongly 

 when once fairly mounted. It is very diSicult to get 

 them to rise from the water ; for they seem to know that 



