234 BIRCH BROWSINGS. 



many steps down the mountain. Its appear- 

 ance promised more trout than I found, 

 though I returned to camp with a very re- 

 spectable string. 



Toward sunset I went round to explore 

 the inlet, and found that as usual the stream 

 wound leisurely through marshy ground. 

 The water being much colder than in the out- 

 let, the trout were more plentiful. As I was 

 picking my way over the miry ground and 

 through the rank growths, a ruffed grouse 

 hopped up on a fallen branch a few paces be- 

 fore me, and, jerking his tail, threatened to 

 take flight. But as I was at that moment 

 gunless, and remained stationary, he pres- 

 ently jumped down and walked away. 



A seeker of birds, and ever on the alert 

 for some new acquaintance, my attention was 

 arrested, on first entering the swamp, by a 

 bright, lively song, or warble, that issued 

 from the branches overhead, and that was 

 entirely new to me, though there was some- 

 thing in the tone of it that told me the bird 

 was related to the wood-wagtail and to the 

 water-wagtail or thrush. The strain was em- 

 phatic and quite loud, like the canary's, but 

 very brief. The bird kept itself well secreted 

 in the upper branches of the trees, and for a 



