1879.] 
Instinct or Reason ? 
173 
VI. INSTINCT OR REASON ?* 
S ERE we wish to place on record a narrative of a most 
singular occurrence witnessed by the writer and a 
friend while hunting ducks at Bean’s Lake, in Piatte 
County, Missouri. It will be found a most vivid illustration 
of the wonderful intelligence of a bird whose habits of 
solitary life have kept it beyond the ordinary observation 
of men. 
While sitting behind a “ blind,” over our decoys, waiting 
for game, on the 3rd day of April, 1875, we saw, at the dis- 
tance of a mile toward the west end of the lake, a large 
number of huge white birds, and, watching them curiously, 
finally discovered that they were coming toward us on the 
water — a host. In an hour the mass was abreast of us, 
and proved to be made up of pelicans, a band we estimated 
to be 60 feet in width and 300 feet long closely packed to- 
gether, each one touching his neighbours on all sides. It 
appeared as though a foot-ball could not have fallen to the 
water at any point on the band. They moved as a raft 
might move with a slow current — no motive power visible, 
each one maintaining his place without flutter or struggle. 
Moreover, they were unlike swan or geese in that their heads 
were not raised, being drawn backward and laid upon the 
back between the wings, while the long mandibles lay for- 
ward, flat upon the neck. Not a sound or a motion from 
an individual ; only the still, solemn glide of the entire raft. 
And yet there were many thousands of them. Allowing a 
foot in width and a foot and half in length for each bird, 
there were twelve thousand pelicans before us. They passed 
on to the lower end of the lake, then almost immediately 
rose and flew back over us, and settled again in the shoal 
water. While flying the pelican shows the broad black band 
on the extreme feathers of the wings, and would be a very 
beautiful bird, but it does not stretch forth the neck, even 
while flying, thus appearing like a swan with his head cut 
off — very awkward . During the day this vast multitude was 
joined by scores of large flocks, which came down from the 
sky, circling down in narrow spirals from a height from 
which they could not be seen. Whence did they come ? 
What was the object of the meeting ? Who was the mes- 
senger that had called this horde together ? They must 
* From an article by Ermine Case, Jun., in the Kansas City Review. 
