292 MULE-HUNTING EXPEDITION. 



make any use of, it is simply idle industry. As 

 a rule, birds are not such thriftless creatures. I 

 had no opportunity of watching the birds in acorn- 

 time hence this storing is still to me a mystery 

 that needs further explanation. 



I came suddenly on a flock of yellow-headed 

 blackbirds (Xantliocephalus icterocephalus), sit- 

 ting on a clump of bushes skirting a small pool. 

 As they sit amidst the bright-green foliage, they 

 remind me of blossoms; the intense black of 

 the body-plumage shows out so conspicuously 

 against the orangelike yellow of the head, that 

 the colours seem too defined for a bird's livery, 

 and more like the freaks of colouring Nature 

 indulges in when tinting orchideous flowers. 

 I imagine this to be their utmost range north- 

 wards, for I never saw them after, although they 

 are frequent visitors to Texas, Illinois, and 

 Mexico. Strike the trail of a grizzly, follow it 

 for some distance, but fail in coming up with 

 my large-clawed friend. 



May 26th. I find I shall have to ferry the Des 

 Chutes river. Send on four of my men ahead, 

 to collect timber for a raft. Find, on arriving at 

 the river-bank, that a heap of dry timber has 

 been collected. With axes and an augur and 

 here let me advise all who travel with pack- 



