OUTDOORS 



turtle groups, piled on the snags, will " fol- 

 low their leader " when a boat draws near, 

 first one and then another slipping silently into 

 the water. Some of them are nearly as big 

 as the bottom of a wash-tub, and when they 

 are seen swimming under the surface you can 

 almost imagine you are wandering in the days 

 of the monster reptiles whose unpronounce- 

 able names and terrifying figures adorn the 

 books on natural history. Their long, snaky 

 necks stretch out and turn from side to side, 

 and their four legs oar vigorously as they 

 move about. If one of them happens to see 

 a dead fish below the surface he will rush for 

 it and nose and shoulder it down under the 

 snags with an energy that you would not 

 expect from the sluggish-looking specimens 

 who take their sun-baths on the snags at 

 noonday. 



One of the most noticeable bits of life 

 about the river is the kildee, or ring-neck 

 plover. This bird, jerky of flight and queru- 

 lous in call, travels up and down the river 

 constantly. It lights on the sandbars which 

 jut out into the river, or on the shingly shores 

 where the willows have been washed away. 

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