34 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



holes. A quarter of a mile beyond the Pine Warbler's nest we 

 decided to risk a plunge into the swamp and cut due east for 

 the meadows. Wading through water, bisecting bunches of 

 brush and diving into briar nets, gave us serious thought for 

 half an hour. At length we caught sight of the dead stumps 

 and twisted trees that mark the fighting line between the swamp 

 and the meadow storms. This was a favorite home of wood- 

 peckers ; every stump was drilled, and habitations were neigh- 

 borly enough to be described in terms of colony life. Stepping 

 out from the swamp, the meadows seemed dry in comparison. 

 Here the light south wind had full sweep, and kindly j^arted us 

 from our winged pests. East, north and south stretched the 

 salt marshes apparentlj' without life and almost unbounded. 

 Only at ten miles distance was the eastern horizon ridged by 

 blue, marking the line of coast islands, else would the meadows 

 have dwindled away in heat vapors and atmospheric scintilla- 

 tions. Before us lay the scene of one of nature's everlasting 

 battles, always in subtle progress. Directly north and south 

 like a shattered saw edge stretched the margin of the swamp. 

 Its line swung irregularl}', here jutting out triangular points, 

 there projecting rounded knobs. Dead stumps singly in the 

 meadow denoted victory for salt and wind, while clumps of 

 trees on meadow islands spoke of sturdy fighters still in the 

 battle. 



Towards one of these points my brother and I started, while 

 Joe, our guide, kept to the swamp. A quarter of a mile over 

 spongy and muddy creeks brought us to our goal. As we ap- 

 proached the point Fish Crows took wing and beat or sailed 

 above in cawing protest. Their attachment to the place did not 

 seem strong, as they soon disappeared, flapping heavilj^ over a 

 miniature marsh to the swamp. This marsh formed the base 

 and the pine end, the point of an irregular triangle that pro- 

 truded encroachment onto the meadows. Entirely enclosed by 

 trees, it is about one hundred feet long by three hundred feet 

 wide, counting the width as distance across the base of the 

 triangle. Over the entire space four feet in height waved a 

 growth of wild rice. It grew in bunches on little mud islands, 

 the water between being from one to three feet deep. The point 



