THE OOLOGIST. 



large sticks lined with bark lining 

 and Spanish moss. 



I lunched, put saddle of venison 

 over my shoulder leaving forequarters 

 for the buzzards and started for rail- 

 road station 8 miles away. O dear! 

 I never had such a day, and I never 

 want—; yes I do! many more just like 

 it, was home at 8 p. m., and to see 

 the expression on my boys face to 

 think he had not gone, was painful in 

 the extreme. 



It was now getting late in the sea- 

 son but my partner and I went out oc- 

 casionally to investigate new territory 

 and often I would find something that 

 would be of interest later on if not at 

 that moment. 



One eve, taking a circuitous route 

 home, I saw at a distance what appear- 

 ed to be an Osprey's nest or an old 

 Eagle's nest, so I went to it and when 

 there, or quite near, I remarked to 

 Minnie, "This looks very much like 

 a nest my boy and I took a pair of 

 large eagles from several years ago." 

 The swamp had all been burned over 

 and of course I scarcely recognized the 

 place, besides I had not been there for 

 several years and in the Everglades 

 everything changes rapidly. While 

 surveying the situation I thought I 

 saw the head of a bird move in that 

 nest, which by the way, I was going 

 right past because I thought it an old 

 burnt-out nest. I whooped and to my 

 surprise off flew "Old Abe" or his 

 wife and you should have seen my ex- 

 pression. Well, here we were at 4 

 p. m., 6 miles from home, nest in 

 middle of swamp and no rubber boots 

 nor climbers. 



Of course we started right home to 

 return the next day, but high winds 

 and bad weather made the trip impos- 

 sible for several days. In the mean- 

 time we had left our wheels some six 

 miles from home wher : we expected to 

 return that evening and would have 

 done so but for the fact we could get 



home just as quickly by boat and next 

 day be on hand with climbers etc., 

 and then get our wheels and explain to 

 the old settler what we had done, but to 

 our ammusement, he had kept a lan- 

 tern hung up for us all night thinking 

 we were lost and when we did not re- 

 turn he came to town and gave the 

 alarm. W^e had surely drowned etc- 

 etc. Scouting parties were out at once 

 looking us up and we were finally 

 located at our homes safe and sound 

 and I never saw such a satisfied ex- 

 pression on a man's face as the old 

 settler had. Well when the weather 

 permittea we "hiked" down there 

 again and I climbed to the nest but it 

 was so large and no limbs and the tree 

 was dead and so very shaky that I 

 burrowed through the nest and found 

 hut one egg which I was about to put 

 back and return later for the set of two 

 but as only one bird was aboutand she 

 made no fuss and was not on the nest 

 when we arrived I concluded some- 

 thing was wrong, I found upon exami- 

 nation that the single egg was no good 

 and the Eagle had about abandoned 

 the nest for that season. We took good 

 picture of same with me up tree and 

 returned. This nest was built like all 

 others, was 60 feet high in top of dead 

 cypress, six and one-half feet across 

 and four feet deep. This was almost 

 our last trip especially for Eagles nests 

 as it was getting late in the season 

 about January 1st. Now what do you 

 think I was told a month or two latter 

 when a very fine gentleman and my 

 partner sat on my veranda one beauti- 

 ful afternoon? he said "well J. J. I've 

 stolen your partner," 1 replied "you 

 don't mean it." He said "That's a 

 fact I have concluded to take her for 

 life." Of course I was delighted in 

 one sense, but sorry in another as in 

 all mj' iiunting trips I never saw a 

 persim who so thoroughly enjoyed the 

 wuods and all nature and was so ex- 

 ceedingly anxious to do her part, even 



