DUCK-DECOYS. 211 



Arctic Land Expedition, p. 249. One of his com- 

 panions, Mr. King, having killed a female Duck, 

 fired again, and, as he thought, disabled its compa- 

 nion, a fine Drake. Accordingly, leaving the dead 

 bird, which he had the mortification of seeing, in a 

 few [minutes afterwards, carried off by one of the 

 white-headed Eagles, he waded into the water after 

 the Drake, which, far from being fluttered or 

 alarmed, remained motionless, as if waiting to be 

 taken up. Still, as he neared it, it glided easily 

 away, through innumerable little nooks and wind- 

 ings. Several times he extended his arm to catch 

 it ; and having at last, with great patience, managed 

 to coop it up in a corner, from whence there ap- 

 peared to be no escape, he was triumphantly bend- 

 ing down to take it, when, to his utter astonish- 

 ment, after two or three flounders, it looked round, 

 cried " quack," and then flew off so strongly, that 

 lie was convinced he had never hit it at all. The 

 object of the Drake had clearly been, to draw Mr. 

 King away from its companion, of whose fate it 

 was unconscious; indeed, so attached are these 

 birds at certain seasons, that it is no uncommon 

 circumstance, when one has been shot, for the 

 other, especially the male, to linger about its strug- 

 gling partner, exhibiting the greatest distress, until 

 either killed or frightened away. 



p 2 



