34 Mr. EK. Gibson on the Ornithology of 
the century, the first Christians (so-called in contradistinc- 
tion to the Indians) who reached this district were Gauchos, 
who, in pursuit of Swans for the sake of their skins, made 
occasional excursions from inside the frontiers. Their weapon 
was the “ boleadores,” or balls, of the same nature as those 
used for catching cattle and horses, and which are now suffi- 
ciently well known in England for me to dispense with a de- 
scription of them. These “ Swan-balls”’ differed only in 
being made of wood, so that they should float on the water 
if the Gaucho missed his aim. The Swans were tamer and 
easier to approach then; and the rider took care always to 
come down the wind, getting within forty or fifty yards before 
they took the alarm. Then a desperate push, if the water 
was not too deep, would gain another ten yards, as the Swans 
are taken at the disadvantage of being compelled to rise 
down the wind. The balls are whirled, thrown, and, twisting 
round the wings and neck of the bird selected, render it quite 
helpless. I once myself nearly ran down a C. coscoroba, in 
water some three feet deep. Unfortunately I had nothing but 
a riding-whip; and as I swerved slightly in order to use it, 
the Swan doubled and went back up the wind, leaving me 
drenched with the water thrown up by my horse’s plunges 
and bounds during the chase. 
Nowadays it is difficult to get within gunshot-range of C. 
nigricollis without regular stalking. I have stood out from 
the cover and fired again and again at the birds without 
raising them; but they always preserved an exasperatingly 
accurate distance of some twenty yards over the hundred, 
allowing the lead to patter on the water that distance short 
every time. The best method is to take one’s stand on some 
island among the swamps, about sundown, when the Swans 
are passing from one lagoon to another. This they generally 
do, either in pairs or singly, flying low, and making almost 
no deviation on perceiving the sportsman. Accordingly the 
sensation is something like firing at the side of a house; it is 
hardly possible to miss. we 
When flying, this Swan constantly utters a whistling note, 
which, in conjunction with the noise of the wings, is always 
