Northern trails; some studies of animal life in the far North
William Joseph Long
Paperback
(RareBooksClub.com, July 4, 2012)
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1905 edition. Excerpt: ...of Old Graylag sounding incessantly above the hushed chatter of her wild kindred. Late that day, after waiting long, cold hours in the vain hope that they would come near my hiding-place, I pushed out sadly in a leaky old tub of a boat to catch the Widow Dunkle's goose. The flock took alarm while I was yet far away; slanted heavily up-wind to the tree-tops, where with much calling and answering the young birds fell into line, and the wedge bore away swiftly seaward. After them went Old Graylag heartbroken, beating her heavy way over the water, calling and calling again to the flock that had now become only a confused tangle of wild voices over the tree-tops. Straight to the shore she went, and _ _ across a little wild meadow, still follow-Zf JSf ing the flock. When I caught her she was IMfSwaddling bravely through the woods, stop-c-ping anon to call and listen; but she made cX no resistance when I tucked her under my J elbow and carried her home and slipped her, unobserved in the darkness, into her accustomed place in the Widow Dunkle's duck coop. That was the nearest I ever came, in boyhood days, to a close acquaintance with Waptonk the Wild; but always in the fall his voice roused the hunter as no other sound ever did; and always in the spring his clanging jubilate aroused the longing in the boy's heart to follow after him and find out what it was in the wild, lonely North that called him. Later, as a hunter, I grew acquainted with many of his winter ways, watched him feeding on the shoals or standing for sleep on the lonely sand bars, and thrilled to the rustling sweep of his broad wings as he swung in over my decoys. 190 In Quest of The trained geese which were often used--descendants of sundry wing-tipped or wounded birds that had been saved...