Music of the Wild 



respected. In all my work afield I never have 

 found a kingfisher wantonly shot, or heard of such 

 a thing. There seems to be an understanding that 

 they are not suitable for food, and do not interfere 

 with other birds; so they are unmolested. They 

 fly in dashes and perch at short intervals, making- 

 it a task for any one so disposed to harm them. 

 The only depredation I have known them to suf- 

 fer is from snakes entering their nests. 



The animals that join their grunting, sniffling, 

 and snarling with the voices of the river are the 

 opossum, ground hog, muskrat, coon, and fox. I 

 do not mean that all of these are river animals, 

 but that their species home close the water, go there 

 to quench their thirst, prey upon its denizens, and 

 mingle their voices with its song. 



Of all vegetation along the river, mallows are 

 the typical flowers, the blooms we see most often, 

 The and love best. The masses of spring color that 

 Queen j me |- ne r j ver as a ru ] e belong quite as much to the 

 Flowers fields, fences, and thickets as to the water. They 

 are generally everywhere that a shrub remains. 

 The mallow is a true water flower, and grows in 

 greater beauty and blooms in a profusion unknown 

 to its swampy relatives. The plants flourish so 

 close to the w^ater that half the roots are washed 

 in the river. The succulent stems are pithy and 

 of a golden-green color. The leaves are olive- 

 green above and whitish underneath, slightly re- 

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