168 STORIES ABOUT BIRDS. 



"Wlien he liad got up as higli as the hole in the 

 tree, he put m his hand to get the eggs, and 

 behold ! instead of grasping what he came 

 after, he caught hold of a huge black snake, 

 who was snugly coiled up inside. His fright 

 was so great, that he fell to the ground, bring- 

 ing the snake with him. lie broke his leg by 

 the fall, and was confined several weeks to the 

 house. That was the last time he ever under- 

 took to rob a bird's nest. 



Wilson, the ornithologist, in his account of 

 the woodpecker, says that the first time he ob- 

 served one of the ivory -billed sjDecies was at a 

 place about twelve miles north of Wilmington, 

 North Carolina. He gives the following in- 

 teresting account of this bird, which he says 

 was slightly wounded in the wing, and on 

 being caught, uttered a loud and most piteous 

 tone, exactly resembling the violent crying of 

 a young child. " This," he says, " terrified my 

 horse so, as nearly to have cost my life. It 

 was distressing to hear him. I carried him 

 with me in my chaise, under cover to Wil- 

 mington. In passing through the streets, his 

 affecting cries surprised every one within hear- 

 ing, particularly the females, who hurried to 

 the doors and windows with looks of alarm 

 and anxiety. I drove on, and on arriving at 



