Natural History of District of Columbia — McAtee 47 



It is said, 26 however, that Occoquan was the farthest up 

 river feeding place of the swans ; but flocks of as many as 300 

 were seen there and of two kinds, both trumpeter and 

 whooper. There is no later record of the trumpeter swan, 

 however, and the whooper in modern books is called whistling 

 swan to distinguish it from the European bird. 



The Potomac was a noted resort for the canvasback duck, 

 the favorite ground for the species extending from Analostan 

 Island to Craney Island 25 miles below. It is said that 

 myriads of them were present, fairly covering the stream. 27 

 As if in prophecy one author (Elliot) deprecates the shoot- 

 ing with large guns, especially at night. As we now know, 

 it is due to this and similar practices that such large 

 gatherings of these splendid birds are things of the past. 



Evidently it was not necessary in those early days for 

 hunters to journey far from the city. In 1797, Francis Baily 

 remarks : 28 



"Game is plenty in these parts, and, what perhaps may 

 appear to you remarkable, I saw some boys who were out a 

 shooting, actually kill several brace of partridges in what 

 will be one of the most public streets of the city." "In 1836 

 a flock of 30 to 40 wild turkeys flew over Georgetown going 

 toward Chain Bridge and a man on the bridge killed 9 of 

 them." 29 



In the Proceedings of the National Institute for the Pro- 

 motion of Science are various interesting notes relating to 

 the birds of the District. The donations announced at the 

 meeting of September 12, 1842, especially are noteworthy, 30 

 Four specimens of Leach's petrel, one of Wilson's petrel, 

 and one Audubon shearwater were presented. The birds 

 were taken the preceding month, August, 1842, and the 

 records in each case are the first for the District. This 



-'» Eliot, Jonathan. Historical Sketches of the Ten Miles Square form- 

 ing the District of Columbia, etc., 1830, p. 431. 



27 Hall, Basil. Travels in North America in the Years 1827 and 1828. 

 Edinburgh, 1829, Vol. Ill, p. 68. 



« Journal of a tour in Unsettled Parts of North America in 1796 and 

 1797, London 1856, p. 128. 



29 Nile's Weekly Register, 51, 128, October 22, 1836. 



30 Third Bulletin of the Proceedings of the National Institute for the Pro- 

 motion of Science. Feb., 1842, to Feb., 1845, p. 251. 



