202 



THE OOLOGISl 



the swift current, and cakes of laose 

 ice which were constantly coming- 

 down from the upper river. Some had 

 Been killed outright by the falls. Oth- 

 ers, unable to fly because of injury 

 to their wings, attempted to stem the 

 rushing waters, but here their won- 

 derful swimming powers were of no 

 avail. They were soon imprisoned in 

 the ice where their frightful cries 

 were heartrending. 



The game laws of Ontario still per- 

 mit the taking of geese and swan in 

 the spring until April 30th, and it 

 was not long before men and boys, 

 armed with guns and sticks, availed 

 themselves of the privilege and be- 

 came the chief factors in the closing 

 scene of nature's great tragedy — the 

 sacrifice of the swans. 



The news of a ''Great Slaughter of 

 Wild Swan" appeared in the Buffalo 



newspapers on March 17th, and the 

 writer started for Niagara Falls forth- 

 with to investigate the matter. As 

 nearly as could be ascertained from in- 

 terviews- with various participants in 

 the "slaughter," the number of swans 

 taken on March 15th was one hundred 

 and two. Not all of these were taken 

 on the ice bridge. A number were 

 pulled out of Bass Rock Eddy, just 

 below the power house of the Ontario 

 Power Company, and within 150 yards 

 of the Horseshoe Falls. 



On the morning of the ISth of 

 March, two more swan were taken at 

 the ice bridge and a third was picked 

 up alive at Bass Rock Eddy. This 

 latter bird I secured within half an 

 hour after it was found and the pic- 

 ture shows it still in the arms of its 

 captor. 



Injured Swan, American Falls in Background. 



Photographs by the Author. 



