Niagara Falls 



1880 catch it alive would have been a perilous undertaking. Later 

 in the day I saw an American golden-eye duck, Claucionetta 

 clangula americana (Bonap), struggle out of the foaming water 

 below the Horseshoe Falls into Bass Rock eddy and with great 

 difficulty reach the shore. It made no attempt to escape when 

 picked up. While no external injury was apparent, it was unable 

 to walk or fly. It recovered, however, from its shock by the time 

 Buffalo was reached and when an opportunity was given, it 

 flew off as strong as ever in the direction of the River. 



Regarding the disposition made of all these swans which in 

 the aggregate would approximate a ton in weight, I will say that 

 the cygnets were nearly all selected at once for the table and many 

 a tough old bird as well. A large number, however, have been 

 preserved by the taxidermists of Niagara Falls and Toronto. 

 Five fine specimens secured by Mr. Ottomar Reinecke are being 

 prepared as a splendid group for the Museum of the Buffalo 

 Society of Natural Sciences by its taxidermist, Herman Grieb. 

 The latter reports that the stomachs of the birds examined by him 

 were empty. One specimen, a female and not the largest, 

 measured 5 1 J/g inches in length and 8 1 inches from tip to tip of 

 its extended wings. I saw no less than 50 of these dead birds 

 and looked them over carefully thinking that possibly there might 

 be a Trumpeter Swan, Olor buccinator (Rich.), among them 

 but none was found. 



While the killing of the wounded swans at the ice bridge was 

 technically lawful and in a certain light might be regarded as an 

 act of mercy inasmuch as without human interference most of the 

 birds would probably have perished from their injuries or by 

 starvation, yet it is greatly to be regretted that as many of the 

 birds as possible were not taken alive and given an opportunity to 

 recover. I believe that fully one-third of the 1 16 swans taken 

 would have survived if given the proper care. But the impulse 

 to kill was stronger than the spirit to save and not even a pair of 

 these unfortunate birds was rescued from nature's doom and 

 restored to nature's freedom. 



470 



