106 In Touch with Nature. 



the tortoise were here alike at home, and the pool 

 where gathered the waters of the springs so closely 

 nestled by the tree that the two were one; and 

 here were lithe salamanders and dainty fishes. 

 The teeming millions of insect-life I pass by. Is 

 it strange, then, to have forgotten that here was 

 the tree singled by Penn as one of his landmarks, 

 and one that every Indian must recognize when he 

 hunted in the surrounding forest or planted his 

 corn-field in the clearings ? 



But what of the meadows again ? for it has 

 ceased raining. Doubtless there might be much 

 discovered if one had the pluck to plunge in 

 medias res, but walking through wet weeds is not 

 attractive. Man's ancestor was an aquatic creature 

 so very long ago that his love of water has not 

 remained equal to such a task. I skirted the low 

 grounds, where the cow-path offered a fair footing, 

 and played bo-peep with a bull-frog. He was a 

 monstrous fellow of his kind, and took my in- 

 trusion testily. There was a trace of fire in his 

 great, watery eyes, and defiance, I fancied, in the 

 grunt that heralded every leap. Was this really 

 meant as a warning that injury would be inflicted 



