WINTER PICTURES. 257 



I saw a rude box-trap made of rough boards. It 

 seems these traps, and many other things, such as 

 bee-hives, and tubs, etc., are frequently made in the 

 South from a hollow gum-tree ; hence the name gum 

 has come to have a wide application. 



The ducks flew quite briskly that night ; I could 

 hear the whistle of their wings as I stood upon the 

 shore indulging myself in listening. The ear loves 

 a good field as well as the eye, and the night is the 

 best time to listen, to put your ear to nature's key- 

 hole and see what the whisperings and the prepara- 

 tions mean. 



" Dark night, that from the eye his function takes, 

 The ear more quick of apprehension makes," 



says Shakespeare. I overheard some muskrats en- 

 gage in a very gentle and affectionate jabber beneath 

 a rude pier of brush and earth, upon which I was 

 standing. The old, old story was evidently being re- 

 hearsed under there, but the occasional splashing of 

 the ice-cold water made it seem like very chilling 

 business ; still we all know it is not. Our decoys 

 had not been brought in, and I distinctly heard some 

 ducks splash in among them. The sound of oar-locks 

 in the distance next caught my ears. They were so 

 far away that it took some time to decide whether 

 or not they were approaching. But they finally 

 grew more distinct, the steady, measured beat of an 

 oar in a wooden lock, a very pleasing sound coming 

 over still, moonlit waters. It was an hour before the 

 boat emerged into view and passed my post. A 

 17 



