80 NOETH CAROLINA 



a strip of bark which was fastened to the 

 trunk at the upper end and hung loose 

 below. The nest was the better protected 

 from the weather, of course, but it must 

 have been wedged pretty tightly into place, 

 it seemed to me, unless it had some means 

 of support not to be guessed at from the 

 ground. The owners entered invariably at 

 the same point, in the upper corner. 

 The brown creeper has been flattening 

 itself against the bark of trees for so many 

 thousand years that a very narrow slit 

 suffices it for a doorway. 



While I was occupied with this interest- 

 ing bit of household economy, I heard a 

 clatter of wheels mingled with youthful 

 shouts. Two boys were coming round a 

 bend in the road and bearing down upon 

 me, seated upon an axle-tree between a 

 pair of wheels drawn by a single steer, 

 which was headed for the town at a lively 

 trot, urged on by the cries of the boys, one 

 of whom held the single driving-rope and 

 the other a whip. " How fast can he go ? '' 

 I asked, as they drew near. I hoped to 

 detain them for a few minutes of talk, but 

 they had no notion of stopping. They had 



