DEOLLEEIES OF THE WOODS. 187 



Oh, fury ! he sees the bushes bend he hears the bound- 

 ing crash too late ! The deer has turned upon its track 

 he heard the alarm. 



Our hunter may be a philosopher, but most likely his ball 

 will be sent along with his curse, after the Jay, who, with 

 impish clamors, flies off through the echoing woods in scathe- 

 less glee. 



This is not, by any means, the only joke our friend man- 

 ages to perpetrate upon those whose pursuits carry them, into 

 the fastnesses of his haunts. The pine-log cutters at the 

 North know him well, and bestow upon him many a bless- 

 ing from the wrong side of the mouth. The deep snow is 

 raked away, and the camp is pitched beneath the gloomy 

 shelter of the heavy pines scarcely has the odor of the first 

 roast steamed through the rare air, and freighted every biting 

 wind, when, with hungry cries, from every side, the Jays 

 come gathering in. But here our particular acquaintance, the 

 Blue Jay, with all his blustering and obstreperous vanity, is 

 obliged to play second fiddle to his cousin-german and mas- 

 ter, the Canada Jay, who not only drubs him soundly when 

 they meet, but, on occasion, even makes a meal of him. 

 They swarm about the camp in hundreds, and, such is their 

 audacity when hard pinched with hunger, that they are fre- 

 quently seen to dash at the meat roasting before the fire, and 

 hot as it is, bear pieces off till they can cool it in the snow. 

 They are regarded with singular aversion by these hardy 

 men ; for, take what precautions they may, they are often 

 robbed to such serious extent by these persevering depreda- 

 tors, as to be reduced to suffering. They dare not leave any 

 article that can be carried off within their reach. When 

 they kill game and leave it hung up until the hunt is over, 

 the Jays assemble in hundreds, and frequently tear it in pieces 

 before their return. 



The plumage of the Canada Jay is very curious, and some 

 of its notes are the strangest and most peculiar sounds to be 

 heard in our forests. The northern hunter, log-drivers and 



