298 ON SNOW-SHOES TO THE BARREN GROUNDS 



of consecutive meals rather palls on one. The tail is a 

 much-sought Indian delicacy, and is exceedingly fat. 



For three and a half days we labored at the paddles, 

 starting at five o'clock and camping at half-past eight; 

 making two fires, one at ten and one at half-past three ; 

 paddling steadily for thirteen and a half hours, and mak- 

 ing from thirty-five to forty miles a day. 



As we worked our way along bird life was abundant 

 on all sides. I never saw a greater variety of ducks any- 

 where mallards so huge I have seen only in Califor- 

 nia, canvas-backs, redheads, spoon-bills, teals, and a dozen 

 other varieties I did not know. Then there were several 

 kinds of partridges and grouse ; one, the willow-partridge, 

 is a very handsome bird, with a black throat and head 

 and scarlet eyebrows, and a brownish body handsomely 

 mottled with orange. Another, the wood -partridge, has 

 brownish plumage, spotted with white and black; then 

 there are a species of the rough grouse, which we know as 

 the fool-hen ; and the prairie-chicken, or the sharp-tailed 

 grouse of the United States, which in the North Country 

 is called pheasant. All these birds I found were dryer 

 and not such good eating as elsewhere. And all together, 

 with the large and small ptarmigans, change their plumage 

 to white in winter, though the ptarmigans are the only 

 ones to become completely and absolutely snow-white. 

 There were snipe (larger of body than those we know), 

 blackbirds, robins (similar to ours, save with more brill- 

 iant plumage), and another very pretty little bird en- 

 tirely white, except for brown wings. Rabbits were plen- 

 tiful too, in the midst of changing the white winter coat 

 for the brown summer one, which gave them a rather curi- 

 ous appearance ; and there were squirrels in large num- 

 bers that accompanied our paddling with their squeaky 

 chattering. 



