134 AUTUMN NOTES IN IOWA 



Bear Creek, the crossing of the wooden bridge that 

 seemed a thriUing adventure, dreaded for a mile 

 or more of the approach, an occasional glimpse of 

 sheep-shearing by the big pool, the swirl of muddy 

 current after freshets ; also the lazy summer days 

 with the redwings and flopping fish and the small 

 willows along Little Bear Creek — are these not 

 treasures, not often mentioned, not often remem- 

 bered, but altogether good to possess? 



The tragic note is not missing in personal mem- 

 ories of the rivers of Iowa, though we have pro- 

 duced no Milton to sing famous monodies for those 

 who pass in cruel waters. Today, one thinks of 

 the two noble sisters, passionate lovers of nature, 

 drawn down to sudden death by their beloved Ce- 

 dar ; of the two brothers drowned together in the 

 Iowa near Marshalltown, and of a brother and 

 sister who long ago sank to death near these very 

 banks where we are musing. 



GrinneU, November 30, 1901. 

 On the third, two inches of snow lay on the 

 ground. The eighth was ^^September-like, with 

 many dandelions in bloom, and flies, spiders, grass- 

 hoppers and a small butterfly observed." It is 

 curious to find Gray's Manual giving the period of 

 dandelion bloom as only from April to Septem- 

 ber.^^ This plant, one is told, was carefully nur- 



23 See Appendix, Note 20. 



