Part 19 (2/2)
At ular bird, and were always glad to receive hihted to see his
Their guest was at once dooun, and in the next ht him down, had he not been checked by Norman Not that Norht sight of another ”whiskey Jack,”--which was hopping a that Francois'
shotIt was Noret both
The second ”whiskey Jack,” or, perhaps, it was the ”whiskey Jill,” soon drew near; and both were now seen to hop from rock to rock, and then upon the top of the tent, and one of the over the fire, and quietly looking into it, appeared to scrutinize its contents!
The boys could not think of any way of getting the birds, except by Francois' gun; and it was at length agreed that Francois should do his best He was sure of one of theet behind him, he fired at the more distant one where it sat upon the tent, and took the other on the wing
Both shots were successful The two jays fell, and were soon divested of their soft, silky, hair-like plu pot
They did not weigh together more than about six or seven ounces; but even that was accounted so under present circumstances; and, with the _tripe de roche_, a much better breakfast was made than they had anticipated
No more of the lichen could be found The rocks were all searched, but only a few patches--not enough for another full meal--could be obtained
The travellers had no other resource, therefore, but to continue on, and passing through the rocky ground, they oncethat whole day not a living creature gladdened their eyes They saw nothing that was eatable--fish, flesh, fowl, or vegetable Not even a bit of rock-tripe--in these parts the last resource of starving men--could be met with They encamped in a plain, where not a tree stood--not even a rock to shelter theain the subject of their thoughts and conversation Should they kill hio a little farther? That was the question Lucien, as before, interposed in his favour There was a high hill many miles off, and in their proper course ”Let us first reach yonder hill,” proposed Lucien ”If nothing is found before that, then we reed to, and, striking their tent, they again set out
It was a toilso way to that hill--feeble and weary as they all were--but they reached it without having observed the slightest trace of ani to the others, and cheering them with his weak voice, ”Up the hill!”
On they went, up the steep declivity--Marengo toiling on after the He really appeared to know the conditions that had been made for his life His masters, as they crept upward, looked sharply before them Every tuft that appeared above the snoas scrutinized, and every inch of the ground, as it cath they crossed the escarpazed forith disappointed feelings The hill-top was a sort of table plain, of about three hundred yards in diameter It was covered with snow, nearly a foot in depth A few heads of withered grass were seen above the surface, but not enough to subdue the uniform white that prevailed all over There was no creature upon it; that was evident A bird as big as a sparrow, or a quadruped as large as a shrew-lance satisfied all of the was there
They halted without proceeding farther Soone another o had arrived upon the sue behind hi to Nor his head away Lucien and Francois stepped aside at the sa down the hill The countenances of all three betokened extre to wipe aith his sleeve
The sharp click of Nor for the report, when, at thatover the white declivity arrested their attention! It was the shadow of a bird upon the wing The sier--already pressing upon the trigger--and the latter, turning round, saw that they were regarding soreat size--ale of a swan It hite all over--both body and wings--white as the snow over which it was sailing Norlance
Its thick short neck and large head--its broad-spreading wings, of reat snol” of the Arctic regions
Its appearance suddenly changed the aspect of affairs Norround, and stood, like the rest, watching the bird in its flight
The snol is, perhaps, the most beautiful, as it is one of the enus--of which there are more than a dozen in North Aions--even the most remote--and in the dead of winter it is found within the Arctic circle, on both Continents--although at the same season it also wanders farther south It dwells upon the Barren Grounds as well as in wooded districts
In the former it squats upon the snohere its peculiar colour often prevents it fro hunter Nature has furnished it with every protection froe is thick, closely matted, and downy, and it is feathered to the very eyes--so that its legs appear as large as those of a good-sized dog The bill, too, is completely hidden under a mass of feathers that cover its face, and not even a point of its whole body is exposed
The owl is usually looked upon as a night-bird, and in Southern latitudes it is rarely seen by day; but the owls of the Northern regions differ froeners in this respect They hunt by day, even during the bright hours of noon Were it not so, how could they exist in the midst of an Arctic summer, when the days are months in duration?
Here we have another example of the manner in which Nature trains her wild creatures to adapt themselves to their situation
At least a dozen species of owls frequent the territory of the Hudson's Bay Cos have a spread of nearly five feet Sorate south on the approach of winter; while several, as the snol, rean, the hares, and other sion for their winter ho the owl as it soared silently through the heavens Francois had thrown his gun across his left aret a shot at it; but the bird--a shy one at all ti once or twice over the hill, uttered a loud cry and flew off
Its cry rese in distress; and its effect upon the minds of our travellers, in the state they then were, was far fro looks, until it was lost against the white background of a snow-covered hill
They had noticed that the owl appeared to be just taking flight when they first saw it It must have risen up from the hill upon which they were; and they oncethe level summit, curious to knohere it had been perched that they had not seen it No doubt, reflected they, it had been near enough, but its colour had rendered it undistinguishable from the snow