170 
GREAT NORTHERN DIVER. 
of foot. The space traversed was fully a hundred yards, and the water to 
an equal distance was not more than ankle-deep. The bird and its pursuer 
ran swiftly through the water, and just as both reached a sudden break about 
four feet in depth, the Loon, which had been wounded elsewhere than in 
the wing, expired and floated at the disposal of its enemy, who brought it 
on board the Ripley ; when I entered this anecdote in my journal. 
These birds are so very strong and hardy that some of the old ones remain 
in Maine and Massachusetts until all the fresh waters are frozen, first leaving 
the quiet lakes and ponds, then the slow streams, and lastly the turbulent 
pools below waterfalls, which latter they do not quit until they are overhung 
by icicles and deserted of fish. On the other hand, this species returns 
northward at a later period than most others that breed in 'high latitudes. 
I have witnessed the arrival of some on the coast of Labrador, after they 
had crossed the Gulf of St. Lawrence, as late as the 20th of June, after 
which they had scarcely four months to seek out a breeding place, lay their 
eggs, hatch and rear their young, and with them remove southward, before 
the rigour of winter commenced. 
The Great Northern Diver is a heavy-bodied bird, and generally swims 
rather deep in the water, more especially if apprehensive of immediate 
danger, when scarcely more than two inches in height of its back can be 
seen above the surface. As its body is more flattened than that of the 
Cormorant, this circumstance might seem to favour the action in question ; 
but other species less depressed exhibit the same peculiarity ; and I have 
thought that in all of these the internal structure alone can account for this 
peculiar faculty. 
With the exception of that most expert of all Divers, the Anhinga, and 
the Great Auk, the Loon is perhaps the most accomplished. Whether it be 
fishing in deep water amid rolling billows, or engaged in eluding its foes, 
it disappears beneath the surface so suddenly, remains so long in the water, 
and rises at so extraordinary a distance, often in a direction quite the reverse 
of that supposed to be followed by it, that your eyes become wearied in 
searching for it, and you renounce the wish of procuring it out of sheer 
vexation. At least, this has very frequently, happened to me ; nay, I have 
at times abandoned the chase when the bird was so severely wounded as to 
be obliged to dive immediately beside my boat, and had it not died of 
exhaustion and floated near enough to be seized by me, I felt as if I could 
not have pulled my oars any longer, and was willing to admit that I was 
outdone by a Loon. 
In Labrador, where these birds were abundant, my son John one day shot 
at one on wing, which fell upon the water to appearance quite dead, and 
remained on its back motionless until we had leisurely rowed to it, when a 
