her out by himself--to carry her
on his shoulder.
Superfluous wood may be cut from the central parts of the shapes, and
also from along the keel toward the ends before covering. The floor
forms a considerable item in the weight, consequently this should be
made no wider or thicker than necessary. In paddling, learn to reach
well forward and back, with a good swing of the body from side to side.
Such a canoe as described will be found to wear well, and one made by
myself for a friend two years ago is now in use, and quite water-tight.
HOW THE PARTRIDGE DRUMS.
"When I first came to Canada," says a writer from that locality,
"I found there were various opinions as to the method of making the
sound. One man, who read a great deal, but rarely went into the woods,
said that the sound was produced by the bird's voice. Some of the
hunters told me that the bird struck its wings on the log, and others
that it struck them together over its back.
"I did not give much heed to the bookman's explanation, for all the
woodmen laughed at it. I soon learned to discredit also the idea that
the bird thumped the log with its wings, because whether it stood on a
stump or a stone, a rotten log or solid timber, the sound was always the
same. Lastly, I did not believe that the wings were struck together,
because, when a pigeon or rooster strikes its wings together, the sound
is always a sharp crack. At length, after watching the bird carefully,
I came to the conclusion that it drums by beating the air only.
"It is not an easy matter to get sight of a partridge when he is
drumming, but I managed to do it by crawling on my hands and knees
toward the bird, lying still while he was quiet, and only moving forward
when he renewed his noisy courtship; for it is only to woo and win his
mate that Sir Ruffled Grouse indulges in these musical exercises.
"In this way I contrived to come within twenty feet without alarming
him. Through the alder thicket I could just see his shapely form,
strutting about like a turkey cock; then for a moment he stood upright,
with his feathers lying close.
"Suddenly his wings flashed, and at the same moment I heard the loud
thump. Then for a few seconds he stood looking about as though nothing
had happened; but presently came a second flash and thump, and others
followed at lessening intervals, until at last the serenade rolled a way
like the galloping of horses or the rumbling of distant thunder."
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