The Chi77t7iey Swift. 



77 



guns during the early part of a dark night, 

 and knowing them to be those of rifles, I 

 went to the spot to ascertain the cause. 

 On reaching the place, I was welcomed by 

 a dozen tall, stout men, who told me they 

 were exercising for the purpose of enabling 

 them to shoot under night at the reflected 

 light from the eyes of a deer or wolf, by 

 torchlight * * * ^ fire was blazing 

 near, the smoke of which rose curling 

 among the thick foliage of the trees. At a 

 distance- which rendered it scarcely dis- 

 tinguishable, stood a burning candle, as if 

 intended for an offering to the goddess of 

 night, but which in reality was only fifty 

 yards from the spot on which we all stood. 

 One man was within a few yards of it, to 

 watch the effects of the shots, as well as to 

 light the candle should it chance to go out, 

 or to replace it should the shot cut it across. 

 Each marksman shot in his turn. Some 

 never hit either the snuff or the candle, and 

 were congratulated with a loud laugh; 

 while others actually snuffed the candle 

 without putting it out, and were recom- 

 pensed for their dexterity by numerous 



hurrahs. One of them, who was particularly 

 expert, was very fortunate, and snuffed the 

 candle three times out of seven, whilst all 

 the other shots either put out the candle, 

 or cut it immediately under the light." 



It was amid scenes such as these that 

 Audubon passed what were no doubt some 

 of the happiest years of his life. He 

 entered with his whole soul into the life of 

 the people, and has left us many faithful 

 and graphic pen pictures of the primitive 

 amusements of the time. He describes a 

 barbecue, a maple sugar camp, a coon 

 hunt, wolf trapping and many other features 

 of Kentucky life, which, while they were 

 common enough then, have now long 

 passed into desuetude, and are almost for- 

 gotten. 



But during all these pleasant years 

 Audubon did not forget his beloved birds. 

 His principal occupation was still studying 

 their habits, looking for new species and 

 investigating new facts about those well 

 known to him. In our next chapter we 

 shall accompany him on an ornithological 

 expedition down the Mississippi River. 



THE CHIMNEY SWIFT. 



ALMOST every one who has lived 

 much in the country knows the 

 Chimney "Swallow," the swift-flying lit- 

 tle sooty bird that is constantly skim- 

 ming over the fields, high up in the sky 

 in fair weather, and low down when the 

 atmosphere is damp and a storm is threaten- 

 ing. In May and early June they are often 

 seen chasing one another through the air 

 with low twitterings, and a little later in the 

 season, the young can sometimes be heard 

 in the chimneys calling loudly to their pa- 

 rents for food. 



Although the Chimney Swifts are so 

 abundant, and may be seen any day by 

 hundreds, we do not believe that any of 

 '■o\xx young readers have ever seen one at 



rest. They are thought never to alight on 

 the branches of trees or on the ground, but 

 spend all their time on the wing, except at 

 night when they retire to their resting places 

 in chimneys or in hollow trees. 



This bird leaves the north early in Au- 

 gust for its winter home in Mexico and 

 Central America, some of them passing even 

 as far as South America. They return late 

 in the spring, reaching the Middle States 

 about May 20th, and Northern Maine and 

 New Brunswick about the last of that 

 month. 



In early days, the Chimney Swifts built 

 their nests in hollow trees, and no doubt 

 they still make use of such places to a lim- 

 ited extent in thinly settled districts, but by 



