112 BIRD PARADISE 



on the wing and I hardly know which can make 

 its call heard the greatest distance. The ducks I 

 think are quite apt to do more talking than the 

 geese, though both are pretty sure to be heard 

 most of the time. Two or three times in my boy- 

 hood I was present when a party of travelers 

 were lost in a dense fog. Once it was in the early 

 morning, before it was hardly light enongh to 

 discern objects very clearly. I heard the rush of 

 wings, and the loud calls, the entire flock tossing 

 about in the old orchard, apparently wild with 

 fright. In and out among the trees they went, 

 some of them almost fanning me with their wings. 

 For several minutes they wandered back and forth 

 from the pasture to the orchard, a really ludicrous 

 sight. Finally the sun broke through the fog, 

 giving the fellows the cue to where they were, and 

 what they needed to do. The leader took his 

 place, the others quickly following his example, 

 and the entire flock was soon on its way none the 

 worse for the misadventure of a few minutes. In 

 my boyhood the fall and spring migrations of the 

 ducks and geese were large, great flocks passing, 

 sometimes, for several days in succession. Fre- 

 quently they stopped for an hour or two on our 

 ponds and streams, giving the local sportsmen a 

 chance to bag a goodly number. 



