“You are ready with your wit, count—but you shall have your way. I will give immediate orders for the liberation of Pultova; and he, as well as yourself, shall be restored to your estates at Warsaw.”
Shooting wild geese.
Wild Geese.
The passage of wild geese to the north commences with the breaking up of the ice; their first appearance in Canada and on the shores of Hudson’s Bay, varying with the forwardness of their spring, from the middle of April to the latter end of May. Their flight is heavy and laborious, but moderately swift, in a straight line when their number is but few, but more frequently in two lines meeting in a point in front. The van is said to be always led by an old gander, in whose wake the others instinctively follow. But should his sagacity fail in discovering the land-marks by which they usually steer, as something happens in foggy weather, the whole flock appear in the greatest distress, and fly about in an irregular manner, making a great clamor. In their flights, they cross indiscriminately over land and water, differing in this respect from several other geese, which prefer making a circuit by water to traversing the land. They also pass far inland, instead of confining their course to the neighborhood of the sea.
So important is the arrival of geese to the inhabitants of these northern regions, that the month in which they first make their appearance is termed by the Indians the goose moon. In fact, not only the Indians, but the English settlers also depend greatly upon these birds for their subsistence, and many thousands of them are annually killed, a large proportion of which are salted and barrelled for winter consumption. Many too that are killed on their return, after the commencement of the frost, are suffered to freeze, and are thus kept as fresh provisions for several months.
Travels, Adventures and Experiences of Thomas Trotter.
CHAPTER XXVI.
The plain of Lombardy—Inundations of the Po—Padua—First prospect of Venice—Arrival at the city—Description of Venice—Character of the Venetians—Contrast of the Italians with the Americans—Journey to Milan and Turin—The plain of Marengo—Genoa—Leghorn—Return to Boston—General observations on travelling in Italy—Conclusion.
The remainder of our journey to Venice was through a region which exhibited a remarkable contrast to that which we had recently traversed. No mountains nor even hills diversified the face of the country. The whole extent was an immense uniform horizon. We were now in the great plain of Lombardy through which the Po rolls his waters into the Adriatic. For many miles beyond Ferrara the soil was marshy, and instead of fences, there were broad ditches covered with water lilies, which served to keep the cows and pigs from straying into the wrong meadows. These were the first swine that I had seen north of the Pontine marshes; and they were poor specimens of the piggish race, lean, scraggy and weak. Wooden barns and stables—another rarity—also struck my sight here. As we proceeded, the aspect of the country became more and more dreary and monotonous. No villages nor even farm-houses were to be seen. Sheds and fences for cattle were all the structures that relieved the universal flatness of the plain. The road became soft and spongy, so that the sound of the wheels and the horses’ feet could no longer be heard. The dikes which extended as far as the eye could reach, like a long green rampart, showed that the country was subject to inundations. In fact, the Po often overflows its banks, and floods whole miles of the neighboring country. In many parts of this alluvial tract are fields of rice, but the cultivation of this article is allowed only to a limited extent, on account of the unwholesome air which the rice plantations are supposed to generate. There were no trees except poplars and willows in long lines on the borders of the ditches: and the most abundant of all living animals seemed to be the frog, which kept up an incessant croaking as we passed.