SECOND ANNUAL MEETING 81 



Creek. A short distance below where we crossed this stream, it flows 

 into a canyon, but above this point it runs throngh a low, marshy coun- 

 try, now and then spreading out into a grass-filled lake, and again flow- 

 ing- through a narrow bed between low banks overhung by heavy slough 

 grass. We followed up the Gordon till late in the afternoon, and then 

 came in sight of a small cottouwood grove, the first timber seen since 

 leaving the Niobrara River. These trees had been planted several years 

 before by the man with whom I spent the night. 



The birds observed along the way so far were: 



.Vlong the Niobrara: Bank Swallow, Rough-winged Swallow, Turkey 

 Buzzard, Swainson's Hawk, Yellow-breasted Chat, Chewink, Quail, Spot- 

 ted Sandpiper, Catbird, Orchard Oriole, Kingbird (also seen in cotton- 

 wood grove). 



Along Gordon Creek: Killdeor, Bartramian Sandpijier, Blue-winged 

 Teal, Mallard, Pintail. 



Along road: Western Nighthawk. the most abundant bird seen, ob- 

 served feeding all day; Lark Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Field Sparrow, 

 Grasshopper Sparrow, Cowbird, Horned Lark, IMeadowlark, ISIourning 

 Dove, Bobolink, Burrowing Owl. 



Tn cottouwood grove and around ranchers' houses: Goldfinch, Balti- 

 more Oriole, Barn Swallow. 



The next day, June 3, I rode on to the lakes. The streams in the Sand 

 Hills are for the most part few, but swift and. clear, as streams in a 

 new country are apt to be. The water fiows over a stony bed. Cas- 

 cades and falls are numerous, and some exceedingly prett3\ One, on 

 account of the fact that it is a plunge over an Arikaree limestone ledge, 

 has been named by Professor Barbour of the State University the 

 "Arikaree Falls." 



In the Lake Region the drainage is imperfect, the water collecting 

 in ponds and lakes in the lower eastern ends of the valleys. These 

 vallej-s are often fifteen to twenty miles long, and are separated at 

 the ends by low ranges of hills, and on the sides by steeper hills that 

 are almost impassable by wagon. The bodies of water vary in size 

 from small i^onds to a lake five or six miles long by nearly two wide, 

 and are thirty- or more feet deep. Some are alkaline, while others are 

 fresh, and although the water is warm it is not undrinkable. The alka- 

 line lakes are for the most part free from everything except the minute 

 forms of plant life, but the fresh-water lakes are full of vegetation. 

 Trout Lake is one of this kind. Around this lake I did most of my work. 

 The eastern end is comparatively iree from reeds and rushes, while the 

 western end is so full of them that it is almost impossible to force a 

 boat through, since they grow very close and often to a height of from 

 eight to ten feet. In the open water the bottom is entirely covered 

 by Chara and other similar water plants. 



The first nest that I found that was new to me was that of the Coot. 

 It was in a small jjatch of rushes about thirty feet from the shore, and 



6 



