AN INDIAN'S OBSERVATION ON THE MATING OF GEESE

"Having studied the habits and languages of beasts, birds, and insects of forest and field since early childhood, I have obtained a knowledge of them not learned in books.

In this article I shall present a few interesting peculiarities of the goose family. In springtime of each year these fowls have their courtship and marriage. All the geese-men select the oldest goose-woman of the flock or society, age being admired above all other qualifications of a good wife. Hence, in view of so many suitors for the oldest goose-woman, it can only be settled in a fair field fight in single combats. Everything must be fair on both sides.

Two men geese march out in front of the flock, straighten up in front of each other, firmly grasping in their bills the feathers on each other's necks, while they commence pounding each other with their wings in a most brutal manner, being cheered by the flock in wild strains of admiration. When one gives up the contest, another takes his turn, and so on until there is but one acknowledged hero, and he, amid cheers and shouts, marches off with his choice, the oldest dame goose of the flock, who congratulates him on his success, telling him how long and well he fought, and how proud she is of him; promising how she will strive to be a good wife, on account of the great sacrifice he has made for her, while he joyfully drinks in all her flattery, smiles and laughs, and, puffing, chats, telling her how he would sooner have died in the fight than to have lost her, his first and only choice.

And so the contest goes on, until each man goose in turn is the acknowledged hero of the remaining flock, and marches in turn with the oldest woman goose as his bride, all of which laugh and chat together, apparently well satisfied with the result; when all have paired off but the remaining woman goose, who may be a handsome bright-eyed maiden, the last man goose takes her as his bride with a disappointed heart, while she, poor maiden, accepts him through force of circumstances, with saddest of feelings, cheered by hopes alone that the time will come when on account of her age she will be sought for as her older sisters have been."

moses:
with the genocide of native americans, we've lost so much including this kind of priceless sensitivity and appreciation of the natural world

Claire
thank you

Clifford
love it. Would love to spend the time observing animals and somebody somewhere is paying me to do it. Nothing better than being on the ground watching.