192 BOULDER REVERIES. 



hap. In one spot, where their tracks are more 

 plentiful, something like a bunch of white hair 

 is visible just below the surface of the ice. In- 

 vestigating more closely, I see the form of some 

 animal beneath. Procuring a boulder, I crack 

 the ice and then with a pole lift out a dead 

 skunk, striped broadly with white above, jet 

 black beneath. It is in good condition, and has 

 probably been placed in the water by some trap- 

 per to remove the scent which, nevertheless, 

 clings to it still. The crows have discovered its 

 whereabouts and are awaiting its more complete 

 dissolution, or the thawing of the ice before be- 

 ginning to feast upon the carcass. 



In the deeper pools of the stream the min- 

 nows have gathered. Here, sheltered by the ice 

 above, they pass the winter months; feeding 

 upon the innumerable diatoms and other small 

 plants, which enable them to exist till the great 

 awakening with its accompaniment of plentiful 

 insect life again rolls round. 



In a sheltered thicket near the stream bird 

 life is plentiful. Blue jays, zebra and downy 

 woodpeckers, snowbirds and tree sparrows are 



