58 



THE OOLOOI8T 



freely. Of course he told us what was 

 uppermost in his- thoughts at that 

 time as we told him of our trip thus 

 far. He was wishing for a chance to 

 get out and see the world. He said 

 his parents had brought him there 

 when he was two years old and the 

 farthest he had been away was one 

 time to Kelliher, a comparatively new 

 frontier town. Can you imagine a boy 

 of seventeen in this civilized Minne- 

 sota who had never seen a circus, been 

 to the movies, witnessed a base ball 

 game, or played a game of marbles? 

 He was bursting with pent up energy 

 and the telling of our trip from an in- 

 habited world to his frontier prison 

 gave it impetus. We slept that night 

 in their large two story house, well 

 finished and well furnished within and 

 shingled from gable to foundation 

 without, standing on the bank just off 

 the sandy beach Questions brought 

 out the fact that back in the palmy 

 days of the steamboat this was the 

 port of entry as it were to the great 

 Red Lake. Steamers from Thief 

 River Falls headed in a straight line 

 from the outlet across the South Lake, 

 through the Narrows to this point on 

 the North Lake. This large house 

 then served as the hotel. There were 

 two vacant store buildings and an 

 abandoned saloon with its fancy bar 

 and gambling tables. It was a place 

 that in its day had seen many a rough 

 night. The bottles still strewn far 

 and near, barrels and barrels of them, 

 still told the tale, and made one think 

 there must have been a bottle factory 

 here. But the more recent laws of 

 Minnesota has put a stop to riotous 

 drinking in such places, the steamship 

 lines have long since ceased to operate 

 and Shotley is but a memory of by- 

 gone days. The owner once the ruler 

 of all he surveyed, both men and land, 

 now made his living from the sweat 

 of his brow and be it said to his credit 



that he did it well. He had a fine well 

 kept farm with fine stock and hogs. 

 We supplied our larder with fresh 

 eggs, newly made butter and real 

 cream not done up in tin cans. 



From my diary at this point and 

 likewise back at Washkish, I find 

 many of the more common birds 

 noted, of the more domestic type, the 

 robin, the house wren, the kingbird and 

 kingfisher, and we saw him fish, too. 

 Most every one has seen him dart 

 rapidly across the water and with that 

 keen eye of his espying a fish, turn 

 suddenly upwards, flutter his wings, 

 drop a few feet with wings still going 

 in the manner of the hummingbird, 

 drop a few feet more, evidently charm- 

 ing his prey when quicker than chain 

 lightning, he darts into the water out of 

 sight and comes up with the fish 

 usually about three inches long in his 

 claws. Then away he flew with his 

 rattling holler to an overhanging tree, 

 there to partake of his early morning 

 meal. This particular morning he had 

 evidently discovered good fishing 

 grounds for he returned several times 

 to the same spot and performed for 

 our pleasure the same fete over again. 

 We also noted the incessant whistle 

 of the white throated sparrow with his 

 clear "pea-a-body-bird" call. We knew 

 him to be a summer resident in these 

 parts while at home, a latitude but 

 twenty miles south he does not remain 

 to nest. He lingers longer than most 

 of our transient memebrs of the spar- 

 row family but he is not a common 

 summer resident as he is all about 

 Red Lake. 



Vn^KRTI!«iE IX 



"THK OOLOGIST" 



PEST IIESUI<TS 



