lObcn Orass id Green 



very near, similarly questioned why I was sitting 

 on the roof of their house. 



I began the retreat with extreme caution, but 

 every twig snapped with the report of a pistol. 

 Quiet restored, I moved a few feet more, and fin- 

 ally reaching apparent safety, fled for dear life. 

 When at the river's shore and with bare sand to 

 run over, I ventured to look back, and the skunks 

 were just in sight, trotting in the opposite direc- 

 tion. The truth is they were more afraid of me 

 than I of them, and had run under the tree and 

 away as fast as they could. All that I had passed 

 through was the penalty of jumping at conclusions. 

 As I afterward learned, these animals had come 

 down the river during the flood, and were as anx- 

 ious to reach the main shore as I had been to es- 

 cape from them, but did not venture to swim a 

 hundred yards or more. 



Breathing freely again and fearing nothing, I 

 ventured again to scramble over the tangle left by 

 the freshet, and found something finally greatly to 

 my liking, a pair of least bitterns. These beauti- 

 ful birds appeared to have a nest near by, but I 

 could not find it. They came and went continu- 

 ally, however, and when they perched on the tree 

 where I sat motionless, they made a pretty picture. 

 There was so much attention paid to each other, 

 and quiet utterance that I could scarcely hear, that 

 I was sure they were mated, and as these birds re- 

 main until autumn is well advanced, associated in 

 127 



