THE NORTHERN RA\'EN. 



extent, and dispnte witli the nbiqnitmis Indian dog the chance at decayed fish 

 and offaL 



Altho by force of circumstances driven tO' accept shelter and nesting sites 

 in the dense forests of the western Olympic slope, the Raven is a great lover 

 of the sea-cliffs and of all \\'ild scenerv. Stormy tlays are his especial delight 

 and he soars about in the teeth of the gale, exulting, like Lear, in the tumult : 

 "Blow winds, and crack your cheeks!" The sable bird is rather majestic on 

 the wing, and he soars aloft at times with something (if the motion and dignity 

 of the Eagle. But the Corvine character is complex ; and its gravest represen- 

 tatives do some astonishingly boyish things. For instance, according to 

 Nelson, tliev will take sea-urchins high in air and drup them on the cliffs, 

 for no better reason, apparentlv, than to hear them smash. Or, again, they 

 will catch the luckless urchins in mid-air with all the delight of school-bovs 

 at tom-ball. 



Nests are tO' be found midway of sea-cliffs in studiouslv inaccessible 

 places, or else high in evergreen trees. Eggs, to the number of five or six, 

 are deposited in April ; and the young are fed upon the choicest which the 

 (egg) market affords. We shall need to apologize occasionally for the short- 

 cimiings of our favorites, and we ci>nfess at the outset t(T shameless incon- 

 sistency: for even bird I'lllaiiis are dear tO' us, if they be not too bad, and 

 especially if their liadness be not directed against us. Who would wish to 

 see this bold, lilack brigand, savage, cunning, and miscru])u1ous as he is. dis- 

 appear entirely from our shores? He is the deep shadow of the world's 

 chiaro'scuro; and what were white, pray, without black by which to^ meas- 

 ure it ? 



'taken in LUiUam County. 



Photo by the Author. 



I'OINT-OF-THE-AUCHES GROUP, A CUARACTERISTIC HAUNT OF TrlE KA\'EN. 



