Lucien now continued his "monograph" of the American ducks.
"There are," said he, "more than two dozen species of ducks on the
waters of North America. These the systematists have divided into no
less than _eighteen genera_! Why it would be more easy to learn all
that ever was known about all the ducks in creation, than to remember
the eighteen generic names which these gentlemen have invented and put
forward. Moreover, the habits of any two species of these ducks are
more similar than those of any two kinds of dogs. Why then, I should
ask--why this complication? It is true that the ducks do not resemble
each other in every thing. Some species are fonder of water than
others. Some feed entirely upon vegetable substances; others upon small
fish, insects, crustacea, etcetera. Some live entirely in the sea;
others make their home in the freshwater lakes and rivers, while many
species dwell indifferently, either in salt or fresh waters. Some love
the open wave; others the sedgy marsh; while one or two species roost
upon trees, and build their nests in the hollow trunks. Notwithstanding
all this, there is such a similarity in the appearance and habits of the
different species, that I think the systematists have improved but
little, if anything, upon the simple arrangement of the true naturalist
Wilson, who--poor Scotch _emigre_ as he was, with an empty purse and a
loaded gun--has collected more original information about the birds of
America than all that have followed him. He described the ducks of
America under the single genus _Anas_; and, in my opinion, described
them in a more intelligent and intelligible manner than any one has done
since his time--not even excepting another great and true naturalist,
whose career has been longer, more successful, and happier; and whose
fame, in consequence of his better fortune, has become, perhaps, higher
and more extended.
"The water-fowl of America," continued Lucien--"I mean the swans, geese,
and ducks, are of great importance in the fur countries where we are now
travelling. At certain seasons of the year, in many parts, they furnish
almost the only article of food that can be procured. They are all
migratory--that is, when the lakes and rivers of these regions become
frozen over in the winter they all migrate southward, but return again
to breed and spend the summer. They do this, perhaps, because these
wild territories afford them a better security during the season of
incubation, and afterwards of moulting. It is not very certain,
however, that this is the reason, and for my part I am inclined to think
not, for there are also wild, uninhabited territories enough in southern
latitudes, and yet they forsake these and migrate north in the spring.
`Their arrival in the fur countries,' writes a distinguished naturalist,
`marks the commencement of spring, and diffuses as much joy among the
wandering hunters of the Arctic regions, as the harvest or vintage
excites in more genial climes.' Both by the Indians and hunters in the
employ of the Hudson's Bay Company swans, geese, and ducks, are
slaughtered by thousands, and are eaten not only when fresh killed, but
they are salted in large quantities, and so preserved for winter use,
when fresh ones can no longer be procured. Of course, both Indian and
white hunters use all their art in killing or capturing them; and to
effect this they employ many different methods, as decoying, snaring,
netting, and shooting them: but Cousin Norman here could give a better
description of all these things than I. Perhaps he will favour us with
some account of them."
"The Indians," said the young trader, taking up the subject without
hesitation, "usually snare them. Their most common way is to make a
number of hedges or wattle fences projecting into the water at right
angles to the edge of the lake, or, it may be, river. These fences are
two or three yards apart, and between each two there is, of course, an
opening, into which the birds swim, as they make towards the shore for
their food. In these openings, then, the snares are set and tied so
firmly to a post stuck in the bottom, that the birds, whether ducks,
geese, or swans, when caught, may not be able to drag it away. To keep
the snare in its place, it is secured to the wattles of the fence with
tender strands of grass, that of course give way the moment the fowl
becomes entangled. The snares are made out of deer sinews, twisted like
packthread, and sometimes of thongs cut from a `parchment' deerskin,
which, as you know, is a deerskin simply dried, and not tanned or
dressed. The making of the fences is the part that gives most trouble.
Sometimes the timber for the stakes is not easily had; and even when it
is plenty, it is no easy matter to drive the stakes into the bottom and
wattle them, while seated in a vessel so crank as a birch canoe.
Sometimes, in the rivers where the water-fowl most frequent, the current
is swift, and adds to this trouble. Where the lakes and rivers are
shallow, the thing becomes easier; and I have seen small lakes and
rivers fenced in this way from shore to shore. In large lakes this
would not be necessary, as most of the water-birds--such as the swans
and geese--and all the ducks that are not of the diving kinds, are sure
to come to the shore to feed, and are more likely to be taken close in
to land than out in the open water.
"The Indians often snare these birds upon the nest, and they always wash
their hands before setting the snare. They have a notion--I don't know
whether true or not--that if their hands are not clean, the birds can
smell the snare, and will be shy of going into it. They say that all
these birds--and I believe it's true of all fowls that make their nests
upon the ground--go into the nest at one side, and out at the opposite.
The Indians knowing this, always set their snares at the side where the
bird enters, and by this they are more sure of catching them, and also
of getting them some hours sooner.
"Besides snaring the water-fowl," continued Norman, "the Indians
sometimes catch them in nets, and sometimes on hooks baited with
whatever the birds are known to eat. They also shoot them as the white
hunters do, and to get near enough use every sort of cunning that can be
thought of. Sometimes they decoy them within shot, by putting wooden
ducks on the water near their cover, where they themselves are
stationed. Sometimes they disguise their canoes under brushwood, and
paddle to the edge of the flock; and when the moulting season comes
round, they pursue them through the water, and kill them with sticks.
The swans, when followed in this way, often escape. With their strong
wings and great webbed feet, they can flap faster over the surface than
a canoe can follow them. I have heard of many other tricks which the
Indians of different tribes make use of, but I have only seen these ways
I have described, besides the one we have just witnessed."
Norman was one of your practical philosophers, who did not choose to
talk much of things with which he was not thoroughly acquainted.
Lucien now took up the thread of the conversation, and gave some further
information about the different species of American ducks.
"One of the most celebrated," said he, "is the `eider-duck' (_Anas
mollissima_). This is prized for its down, which is exceedingly soft
and fine, and esteemed of great value for lining quilts and making beds
for the over-luxurious. It is said that three pounds' weight of `eider
down' can be compressed to the size of a man's fist, and yet is
afterwards so dilatable as to fill a quilt of five feet square. The
down is generally obtained without killing the bird, for that which is
plucked from dead birds is far inferior, and has lost much of its
elasticity. The mode of procuring it is to steal it from the nest, in
the absence of the birds. The female lines the nest with down plucked
from her own breast. When this is stolen from her, by those who gather
the commodity, she plucks out a second crop of it, and arranges it as
before. This being also removed, it is said that the male bird then
makes a sacrifice of his downy waistcoat, and the nest is once more put
in order; but should this too be taken, the birds forsake their nest
never to return to it again. The quantity of `eider down' found in a
single nest is sufficient to fill a man's hat, and yet it will weigh
only about three ounces.
"The eider-duck is about the size of the common mallard, or wild duck
proper. Its colour is black below, and buff-white on the back, neck,
and shoulders, while the forehead is bluish black. It is one of the
`sea-ducks,' or _fuligulae_, as the naturalists term them, and it is
rarely seen in fresh water. Its food is principally the soft mollusca
common in the Arctic seas, and its flesh is not esteemed except by the
Greenlanders. It is at home only in the higher latitudes of both
Continents, and loves to dwell upon the rocky shores of the sea; but in
very severe winters, it makes its appearance along the Atlantic coast of
the United States, where it receives different names from the gunners--
such as `black-and-white coot,' `big sea-duck,' `shoal-duck,' and
`squaw-duck;' and under these titles it is often sold in the markets of
American cities. Some suppose that the eider-duck could be easily
domesticated. If so, it would, no doubt, prove a profitable as well as
an interesting experiment; but I believe it has already been attempted
without success. It is in the countries of Northern Europe where the
gathering of the eider down has been made an object of industry. On the
American Continent the pursuit is not followed, either by the native or
white settler.
"Another species common to the higher latitudes of both Continents is
the `king-duck,' so called from its very showy appearance. Its habits
are very similar to the `eider,' and its down is equally soft and
valuable, but it is a smaller bird.
"A still smaller species, also noted for its brilliant plumage, inhabits
the extreme north of both continents. This is the `harlequin-duck;' or,
as the early colonists term it, the `lord.'
"But the `wood-duck' (_Anas sponsa_) is perhaps the most beautiful of
all the American species, or indeed of all ducks whatever--although it
has a rival in the _mandarin duck_ of China, which indeed it very much
resembles both in size and markings. The wood-duck is so called from
the fact of its making its nest in hollow trees, and roosting
occasionally on the branches. It is a freshwater duck, and a Southern
species--never being seen in very high latitudes; nor is it known in
Europe in a wild state, but is peculiar to the Continent of America. It
is one of the easiest species to domesticate, and no zoological garden
is now without it; in all of which its small size--being about that of a
widgeon--its active movements and innocent look, its musical
_peet-peet_, and, above all, its beautiful plumage, make it a general
favourite.
"Besides these, there are many others of the American ducks, whose
description would interest you, but you would grow tired were I to give
a detailed account of them all; so I shall only mention a few that are
distinguished by well-known peculiarities. There is the `whistler'
(_Anas clangula_), which takes its trivial name from the whistling sound
of its wings while in flight; and the `shoveller,' so called from the
form of its bill; and the `conjuring,' or `spirit' ducks of the Indians
(_Anas vulgaris_ and _albeola_), because they dive so quickly and
dexterously, that it is almost impossible to shoot them either with bow
or gun. There is the `old wife,' or `old squaw' (_Anas glacialis_), so
called from its incessant cackle, which the hunters liken to the
scolding of an ill-tempered old wife. This species is the most noisy of
all the duck tribe, and is called by the voyageurs `caccawee,' from its
fancied utterance of these syllables; and the sound, so often heard in
the long nights of the fur countries, has been woven into and forms the
burden of many a voyageur's song. In some parts of the United States
the caccawee is called `south-southerly,' as its voice is there thought
to resemble this phrase, while at the time when most heard--the autumn--
these ducks are observed flying in a southerly direction.
"Besides these," continued Lucien, "there are the teals--blue and
green-winged--and the coots, and the widgeon--slightly differing from
the widgeon of Europe--and there is the rare and beautiful little ruddy
duck (_Anas rubida_), with its bright mahogany colour--its long upright
tail and short neck--that at a distance give it the appearance of a duck
with two heads. And there is the well-known `pintail,' and the
`pochard' or `red-head;' and the `mallard,' from which comes the common
domestic variety, and the `scoter,' and `surf,' and `velvet,' and
`dusky,' ducks--these last four being all, more or less, of a dark
colour. And there are the `shell-drakes,' or `fishers,' that swim low
in the water, dive and fly well, but walk badly, and feed altogether on
fish. These, on account of their toothed bills, form a genus of
themselves--the `mergansers,'--and four distinct species of them are
known in America."
The approach of night, and the necessity of landing, to make their night
camp, brought Lucien's lecture to a close. Indeed Francois was glad
when it ended, for he was beginning to think it somewhat tedious.