THE BUZZARD OF THE BEAR SWAMP 79 



It had come leisurely, yet I could 

 see that it had come with a direct- 

 ness and purpose that was unmistak- 

 able and also meaningful. It had 

 discovered me in the distance, and, 

 while still invisible to my eyes, 

 had started down to perch 

 upon that giant stub in order 

 to watch me. It was suspicious, 

 and had come to watch me, 

 because somewhere beneath its 

 perch, I felt sure, lay a hollow 

 log, the creature's den, hold- 

 ing its two eggs or its young. 

 A buzzard has something 

 like a soul. 



Marking the direction 

 of the stub, and its 

 probable distance, I 

 waded into the deep un- 

 derbrush, the buzzard 

 perched against the sky 

 for my guide, and, for 

 my quest, the stump or 

 hollow log that held the 

 creature's nest. 



The rank ferns and 

 ropy vines swallowed 

 me up, and shut out at 



