THE WHOOPING SWAN. 275 



before them with their graceful bodies as the ploughman opens a 

 furrow in the ground with his ploughshare. 



Sometimes, however, these elegant birds engage in terrible 

 combats with one another, which often lead to the death of one of 

 the contestants. The Domestic Swan, a more civilised and well- 

 informed bird, does not push matters quite so far ; but Wild 

 Swans, which live in the regions of the North — in the lakes of 

 Iceland and Lapland — hold sanguinary tournaments in honour of 

 their fair ones. A combat between two Swans isj^a duel to the death, 

 in which both adversaries display not only unequalled strength and 

 fury, but also considerable skili and perseverance. The strife will 

 sometimes last several days, and does not terminate until one of 

 the foes has succeeded in twisting his neck round that of his 

 enemy, and has been able to hold him down under water long 

 enough to drown him. 



But let us turn from this warlike spectacle and admire the Swan 

 at the moment when, impelled by the stimulus of love, it dis- 

 plays all the graces with which nature has endowed it. Their 

 long and supple necks entwine with one another like garlands of 

 snow, their plumage swells up with gentle undulations, and they 

 display all the splendour of their beauty. 



The Swan is certainly conscious of its good looks and grace, for 

 it is constantly busying itself either in cleansing or polishing its 

 feathers. Besides, it unites the useful and the ornamental, by 

 extirpating the weeds which stagnate at the bottom, and by 

 thus transforming what would be a nasty pool into a clear sheet 

 of water. 



These birds do not afford good sport with the gun, being unap- 

 proachable. In Iceland and Kamtschatka, Swan-hunting takes 

 place during the season of moulting, because the birds are then 

 unable to fly. Dogs trained to this sport chase and run them 

 down ; the birds, being soon worn out with fatigue, are easily 

 killed with sticks. 



The Russians have another mode of killing Swans. When the 

 snows melt, they allure them by means of stuffed Geese and Ducks. 

 The Swans dart furiously on these decoys. The sportsmen, hidden 

 in a hut constructed of branches of trees and heaps of snow, at 

 short range easily shoot them. 



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