1 8 Hunting Trips of a Ranchman 



to their holes every object they can possibly move. 

 From the hole of one, underneath the wall of a hut, 

 I saw taken a small revolver, a hunting-knife, two 

 books, a fork, a small bag, and a tin cup. The little 

 shack mice are much more common than the rats, 

 and among them there is a wee pocket-mouse, with 

 pouches on the outside of its little cheeks. 



In the spring, when the thickets are green, the 

 hermit thrushes sing sweetly in them; when it is 

 moonlight, the voluble, cheery notes of the thrash- 

 ers or brown thrushes can be heard all night long. 

 One of our sweetest, loudest songsters is the 

 meadow-lark ; this I could hardly get used to at first, 

 for it looks exactly like the Eastern meadow-lark, 

 which utters nothing but a harsh, disagreeable chat- 

 ter. But the plains air seems to give it a voice, and 

 it will perch on the top of a bush or tree and sing 

 for hours in rich, bubbling tones. Out on the prairie 

 there are several kinds of plains sparrows which 

 sing very brightly, one of them hovering in the 

 air all the time, like a bobolink. Sometimes in the 

 early morning, when crossing the open, grassy pla- 

 teaus, I have heard the prince of them all, the Mis- 

 souri skylark. The skylark sings on the wing, soar- 

 ing overhead and mounting in spiral curves until 

 it can hardly be seen, while its bright, tender strains 

 never cease for a moment. I have sat on my horse 

 and listened to one singing for a quarter of an hour 

 at a time without stopping. There is another bird 

 also which sings on the wing, though I have not seen 

 the habit put down in the books. One bleak March 



