Page:Ornithological biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America, vol 2.djvu/419

Rh the head of a Pigeon which Dr Stiiobel had sent from Key West, and which I perceived did not belong to the Zenaida Dove. Serjeant Sykes had seen the Pigeon, and acquainted as he was with the birds of the country, he gave some hope that we might procure a few of them that very day ; — and now, for my Journal.

"May 6. 1832. — When I reached the garrison, I found the sergeant waiting for me. I gave him some small shot, and we set off, not in full run, nor even at a dog-trot, but with the slowness and carefulness usually employed by a lynx or a cougar when searching for prey. We soon reached the thickets, and found it necessary to move in truth very slowly, one foot warily advanced before the other, one hand engaged in opening a passage, and presently after occupied in securing the cap on the head, in smashing some dozens of hungry musquitoes, or in drawing the sharp thorn of a cactus from a leg or foot, in securing our gun-locks, or in assisting ourselves to rise after a fall occasioned by stumbling against the projecting angle of a rock. But we pushed on, squeezed ourselves between the stubborn branches, and forced our way as well as we could, my guide of course having the lead. Suddenly I saw him stoop, and observing the motion of his hand, immediately followed his example. Reduced by his position to one half of his natural height, he moved more briskly, inclined to the right, then to the left, then pushed forward, and raising his piece as he stopped, immediately fired. "I have it," cried he. "What?" cried I. " The pigeon"" — and he disappeared. The heat was excessive, and the brushwood here was so thick and tangled, that had not Mr Sykes been a United States soldier, I should have looked upon him as bent on retahating on behalf of " the eccentric naturalist ;" for, although not more than ten paces distant from me, not a glimpse of him could I obtain. After crawling to the spot I found him smoothing the feathers of a Pigeon which I had never seen, nay the most beautiful yet found in the United States. How I gazed on its resplendent plumage! — how I marked the expression of its rich-coloured, large and timid eye, as the poor creature was gasping its last breath I — Ah, how 1 looked on this lovely bird ! I handled it, turned it, examined its feathers and form, its bin, its legs and claws, weighed it by estimate, and after a while formed a winding sheet for it of a piece of paper. Did ever an Egyptian pharmacopolist employ more care in embalming the most illustrious of the Pharaohs, than I did in trying to preserve from injury this most beautiful of the woodland cooers !