[7] Birds of the World, Chap. IV, New York, 1909. [↑]
[8] So fixed are the periods of migration, and so punctual is the feathered tribe in starting on its semiannual flights, that “The Arabs are said to have been helped in the compilation of their calendars, by noting the times of the arrival and departure of migratory birds; and the Redskin in the far Northwest has received much the same aid from the birds of another continent.”
All things considered, Professor Newton was probably right when he declared that the migration of birds is “perhaps the greatest mystery which the whole animal kingdom presents.” [↑]
CHAPTER IX
IN CLOUDLAND
“Knowest thou the track that o’er the mountain goes,
Where the mule threads its way through mist and snows,
Where dwell in caves the dragon’s ancient brood,
Topples the crag, and o’er it roars the flood,