Downstream in a Canoe 135 



tered and clattered, whenever we came upon 

 him, and made it quite plain to us that we 

 had invaded his domain. The bittern uttered 

 his strange cry, and then flopped slowly away. 

 Crows screamed at us from the treetops, and 

 the jay squalled derisively, and then flew 

 away to tell all the dwellers in the forest that 

 a strange fish was swimming the stream, and 

 that the fearful creature, man, had something 

 to do with it, so the whole affair was to be 

 shunned. 



That noisy, gleeful imp, the red squirrel, 

 also scolded and barked, whenever we went 

 ashore, and he did not always let us pass 

 unchallenged, when we kept to the water. 

 Trout leaped in the deep pools at dusk and 

 dawn, and we always sought to take some 

 for breakfast or supper. But there were 

 other fishermen besides ourselves. Besides 

 the kingfisher and the fish-hawk, the otter and 

 the mink also took fish, while Bruin, clumsy 

 as he seems, makes many a good meal upon 

 trout. 



We held the canoe anchored to the shore, 



