the cry of the loon, or great
Northern diver, as it comes vibrating over the surface of a woodland
lake. Where the woods are very thick and dark and lonely, the hooting of
owls is commonly to be heard in the daytime. Once only--it was in early
summer--I heard the wild turkey-cock utter his vehement call. I made my
way in the direction whence the sound came, until I was stopped by a
river, on the farther side of which I saw a magnificent "gobbler,"
strutting with drooped wings and expanded tail along the strip of
greensward that lay between the water and the woods, while he issued, in
very loud and imperious tones, his orders for the ladies of his seraglio
to attend. This action, in the case of the domestic turkey, is always
provocative of ridicule; but it was absolutely grand and striking as
displayed by the large-feathered free bird, parading to and fro there
upon the river-bank. I watched him for a while, expecting to see the
hen-birds come, but they did not; and so the noble Mormon of the
thickets furled his tail at last, and, tucking up his wings, strode
moodily into the bush, as if to search for the truants.

To hunters who are accustomed to glide through the forest observantly
and with caution, most interesting little scenes of animal life are
sometimes revealed. One day, in the snow-time, as I was roaming the
woods close by a Canadian river, after wild-turkeys, I noticed a flock
of mergansers,--thereabouts usually called saw-billed ducks, or
sheldrakes,--swimming in a small air-hole that had remained open in the
frozen surface of the river. There were four or five ducks, and the pool
might have been about ten feet by six in size. I watched them for some
time, as they kept stemming the current, but without any intention of
wasting ammunition upon them. My attention was attracted elsewhere for a
moment, and I was surprised, on again looking towards them, to see a
splendid red fox sitting at the upper edge of the little pool, where he
could not have been more than a couple of yards from the nearest of the
ducks. Presently he jumped up, and, running to the other end of the
pool, stretched out a paw, as if to seize one of them; but they were too
quick for him, placing themselves well beyond his reach with a few
strokes of their paddles. He was far too cunning to plunge into the
water and risk being carried under the ice by the current; and the ducks
appeared to be quite aware of this, for they did not make any attempt