38 WHERE ROLLS THE OREGON 



the raven till he will accept a ledge from our 

 hands or a nest-tree in our parks and groves, 

 and with him tame every other shy, suspicious 

 spirit that hides from hurt and destruction in the 

 " holy mountain," when the knowledge and love 

 of wild life shall cover the earth as the waters 

 cover the sea. 



English human life and wild life have arrived 

 at a much closer sympathy and understanding 

 than we, in this country, appreciate. Wild life has 

 been protected there for centuries, and there even 

 the raven has held on in solitary pairs, occupying 

 for generations the same ancient trees. It seems 

 that gradually they are dying out and may pass 

 forever. But the English people love their birds; 

 and how often the raven comes in for his share, 

 both of reproach and admiration, his historians 

 without exception endowing him with a great- 

 ness of spirit that comes close to majesty ! 



There is no more interesting chapter in the 

 lives of British birds than that on the raven. I 

 have never read anything about our American 

 raven that shows the careful watching and the 

 intimate knowledge of the following description 

 of the English bird. 



