116 BIRDS AND MAN 



in desperate battle and mounting higher and 

 higher as they fought. The raven, he said, did 

 not croak, but constantly uttered his harsh, 

 powerful, barking cry, while the falcon emitted 

 shriU, piercing cries that must have been audible 

 two miles away. At intervals as they rose, 

 wheeling round and round, they struck at each 

 other, and becoming locked together fell like 

 one bird for a considerable distance ; then they 

 would separate and mount again, shrieking and' 

 barking. At length they rose to so great a 

 height that he feared to lose sight of them ; but 

 the struggle grew fiercer ; they closed more often 

 and fell longer distances, until they were near 

 the earth once more, when they finally separated, 

 flying away in opposite directions. He was 

 afraid that the birds had fatally injured each 

 other, but after two or three days he saw them 

 again in their places. 



It was not possible for him, he told me, to 

 describe the feelings he had while watching the 

 birds. It was the most wonderful thing he had 

 ever witnessed, and while the fight lasted he 

 looked round from time to time, straining his 

 eyes and praying that some one would come 



