96 
THE WHOOPING CRANE. 
kokou, off the coast of North Carolina, in the month of 
July : “ Such a flock of Cranes (the most part white) arose 
under us, with such a cry, redoubled by many echoes, as if 
an army of men had shouted altogether.” But though this 
display of their discordant calls may be amusing, the bustle 
of their great migrations, and the passage of their mighty 
armies, fills the mind with wonder. 
In the month of December, 1811 (says Mr. Nuttall), while 
leisurely descending on the bosom of the Mississippi, in one 
of the trading boats of that period, I had an opportunity of 
witnessing one of these vast migrations of the Whooping 
Cranes, assembled by many thousands from all the marshes 
and impassable swamps of the north and west. The whole 
continent seemed as if giving up its quota of the species to 
swell the mighty host. Their flight took place in the night, 
down the great aerial valley of the river, whose southern 
course conducted them every instant towards warmer and 
more hospitable climes. The clangour of these numerous 
legions passing along, high in air, seemed almost deafening ; 
the confused cry of the vast army continued, with the length- 
ening procession, and as the vocal call continued nearly 
throughout the whole night, without intermission, some idea 
may be formed of the immensity of the numbers now assem- 
bled on their annual journey to the regions of the south. 
