THE OUTDOOR WORLD 



359 



of springs, this being the only relic of 

 civilization I allowed myself. Every 

 time I turned over during the night, 

 the springs creaked mournfully and 

 aroused all the dogs in the neighbor- 

 hood to an equally mournful response. 

 Xext morning the springs were to^-ol 

 unceremoniously over the hill, and in 

 their place I dragged my intended door, 

 propped it up and thereafter accus- 

 tomed my bones to its unyielding sur- 

 face. 



I had no other furniture. 1 kept a 



bathing place for the birds, which visit- 

 ed it in great numbers, while the 

 swamp beyond was frequented by sev- 

 eral species of water and game birds. 

 Both pond and swamp gave shelter to 

 a variety of frogs, which serenaded me 

 not unpleasantly each evening. 



Thus I had at my very elbow, as it 

 were, hillside, meadow, orchard, thick- 

 et, pond and marsh, and from each one 

 I reaped a rich harvest. In the branch- 

 es above my doorway a pair of brown 

 thrashers had their nest. In a hollow 



A COMPLETED SHANTY. 



few books and papers under the bed 

 that, when the spirit so moved me, I used 

 as a table on which to write. The door 

 that had missed its calling served as 

 bed, chair, table, desk and bookcase. 



I have seldom seen a situation so 

 ideal for general study of the outdoors. 

 To the right and left of my shanty was 

 a thicket ; above me an open field ; 

 while below the hill sloped gently from 

 my door for possibly a hundred yards 

 then went down almost perpendicu- 

 larly to the edge of a small pond. This 

 steep bank was covered with foliage, 

 which provided nesting sites for a great 

 variety of birds. The pond was not a 

 promising rival of "YYalden," for it 

 was shallow and turbid, and on the fur- 

 ther side merged gradually into an ex- 

 tensive swamp of cat-tails and sedge 

 grass. However, its waters formed a 



tree a few steps from my shanty a 

 flicker family had their home. I used 

 to hear the fledglings chattering to- 

 gether or calling noisily for food. I 

 found the nest of the meadow lark and 

 the bluebird and the dove. I waded 

 for hours in the swamp, seeking the 

 nests of the redwing and the marsh 

 wren. In mud and water knee-deep, I 

 patiently sought the elusive, musical 

 Hyla pickeringii, until I actually had the 

 pleasure of seeing him sing, his little 

 throat swelling aud pulsing, as though 

 he were trying to swallow a marble 

 and could get no farther with it. I 

 wandered by night under the stars, 

 when all was silence, save for the dis- 

 tant crooning of a frog or the sleepy 

 murmur of a bird which I had disturbed 

 by passing too near its perch. In such 

 pursuits as these I forgot the business 



