The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1864-11-16

He whispered, "Her spinning is ended
God only is lifel" be said ..... .......
Ways Of wild Fowl.
Few departments of natural history are
more pleasing than those which relate to
the manners and habits Of wild fowl They
are all of them great travellers, and regu.
larly pass over the whole hemisphere to
which they belong, from the polar circle to
the equator, resting on the submits Of
mountains, in the depths Of forests. or on
the bordars of lakes and rivers. On the
elevated plains OF steppes of Central Asia,
these aerial populations perform their
evolutions with the greatest freedom and
regularity. In the middle Of summer they
are found beyond the northern limits Of
Siberia, fishing and enjoying themselves in
the icy sea. This is especially the case
with the wild swans aud geese, which, as
they move northward through the air, with
loud screams and clamor, are welcomed
with delight by the rude inhabitants. They
look forward as they gaze to the enjoyment
of innumerable feasts, the materials Of
which they then behold cleaving the blue
sky in vast wedge-like battalions, with a
strong, bold leader in front, and the weaker
and more timid hers bringing up the r.. ar
1t is difficult to imagine spectacle more
beautiful than fight Of wild swans on a
summers day. Their whiteness is so
dazzling that they look like huge snow
fakes drifting before the gale, while as the
light plays upon their breasts, it communi
Gates to them a rosy blush, glanclng off
TREMENDOUSLY into the atmosphere as they
advance.
The travels Of the wild geese and swans
extend from far beyond Siberia to the Cas-
plan Sea, Lake Aral and the plains Of Asia
Minor. Here the traveller beholds them in
winter, sometimes settling Oh the waters Of
! the Meandee, sometimes spr, aiding them
selves over the morasses, where in hundreds
Of 1jminutive lakes they recall to mind the
bogs, swamps and immense sheets Of water
in which they carry on their gambols dur.
ing the months, in the precincts of the
north pole. 1t is curious to notice them in
the vicinity of Turkoman encampment,
walking boldly up, almost close to the tents,
and extorting hospitality from the half.
frightened, halfdelghted children. We,
ourselves, are still favored with the visits
Of the wild goose, but its friend and com
panion in the solitudes Of Asia refuses to
accompany it to our shores, where it was
once found in abundance, especially on the
rivers Of the frns.
In the neighboling countries Of the con,
tinent, the snipc, the woodcock, the coot,
the teal, the wild duck, perform nearly the
same movements as the swans in ASIA
During the summer heat, they find their
subsistence amid the elevations of the Alps
and Pyrenees, where, as you ascend higher
and higher, you perceive on the banks oI
each lonely stream and tarn, the summe,
sun beams glancing from their wings
With the increass Of cold and the coming
on Of sleet and snow-storms, these birds
desert their favorite solitudes, and descend
in search of food nearer to the dwellings o.
man but the influence of their origina
tastes and habits is still discernible. They
cling to the skirts of forests and to springs
amid the recesses Of the hills, or alight or
by . wilderness Of reeds and flags, they
dive into the mud in search of food.
i High up in the Nile valley, birds c
similar propensities enjoy much greater
safety and freedom than in Europe. Tn,
river is there engaged in creating the coun
try it is hereafter to fertilize. Spreading
into immense eXpanses, and following NJ
certain channel, it stagnates amid who'll
forests Of rushes, reeds, and other aquatic
plants, whose stems arrest the silt whicl
the water holds in suspense, and precipitate
! it to the bottom, where it constitutes, laye
upon layer, the foundation Of some futur
Egypt Here is the very paradise Of wild
fowl. Sometimes near the edge of tn
water you behold the long legged hamingo
standing knee-deep in the flood, ana ap
pearing like the fragment Of a rainbow wit
its gorgeous and brilliant colors, salisfy:n
his humble appetite with sundry kinds @
mud fish. The natives entertain strang
notions of this bird. Believing in the doc
trine Of metempsychosis, they assert that
is animated by the soul Of great and prou
sultan of the Indies, who, in punshmer
Of his vanity, was transformed into bird
and, allowed to retain the splendor Of hi
costume, banished for many thousand year
into the wastes Of Africa.
All round, amid the tufts Of luxurian
vegetation, you perceive specks Of water
fowl; ducks fat as the teal Of Winnebag
Lake herons, storks, pelicans, wild geese
the white rice birds, the black ibis
longer seen below the cataracts- man,
other kinds for which our northern vocabu
larry has no names. These birds conver
such swamps, half mud, half water, int
breeding places; and therefore, as ycu
boat moves hither and thilher among tn
matted aquatic verdure, you behold thci
large eggs, glossy white or blue, shining
forth between the roots OF the plants, which
at later period swarm with young nurs
lings of all hues.
As might have been expected, this pro
fusion Of life attracts many birds of prey
Early and late, on the pinnacle Of som
nelghboring ridge, or on the lofty branche
Of doum palm, or Of an African sycamore
you observe the white eagle perched il
eager anticipation, or see it descending lik
an arrow into t.e morass, or mounting
/. gorged and blood dripping. towards its dis
tant eyrie This eagle is peculiarly beauti
ful; its eye does not blink at the noonda,
sun, and it's sight is SO piercing, that
mouse moving along the sand is 6eheld b
it from above the clouds. Lower down i,
the valley, it may be often noticed, sittin
: en- the naked rocks, glowing and hal
calcined by the heat. But it IS conscou
= Of no inconvenience, or If it be, one excur
sion into the upper air, where it is almos
Immediately lost to sight, restores GOODNESS
: and enables it to resume its destructiv
, m.ditations on the rivers banks. Thi
l. L...A S..1.