226 HIGHWAYS AND BTWAYS. 



if the whole artillery of heaven was concentrated near 

 the spot, and even our trusty horse showed signs of ter- 

 ror as the flashes of lightning fell in blinding sheets 

 followed by peals of thunder that shook the hills. Dur- 

 ing the afternoon w^e routed a flock of young quails that 

 were feeding by the roadside w^th the old birds; al- 

 though the brood was large, and it seemed as though 

 we could easily pick up a half dozen, they scattered so 

 quicldy and effectually that a half hour's search failed 

 to reveal one of them ; but as soon as we drove a short 

 distance, one after another could be seen scudding 

 across the road in answer to the turkey calls of the old 

 ones. About as interesting little creatures as we see 

 along the way are the chipmunks and red squirrels that 

 dodge behind rails and scamper on the fences, some- 

 times stopping just ahead of us long enough to eat an 

 apple or head of wheat, and then with a chipper of glee 

 run along again, sometimes keeping pace with us for 

 many rods. On this road w^ere many patches of the 

 showy Oswego tea {Monarda didymci). At a httle dis- 

 tance its bright crimson heads show even prettier than 

 the cardinal flower, which also grows in the same vicin- 

 ity, and in many respects it rivals the latter flower even 

 on a closer inspection. All the labiates now begin 

 to show color, and some of them are really 

 pretty, while the swails and low grounds are in 

 many places covered with the Joe pye weed 

 {JEupatorium^urjpureum) and the purple milkweed 

 [Asclejpias jpuTjpurascens). E^ature is ever generous at 

 all seasons in ornamenting by some means her waste 



