BLUE HERON AND HER CHILDREN 69 



describing all the manoeuvres so far as they 

 could be descried from a distance of the young 

 ones being taught to fly, one day, when the 

 mother had brought home some unknown small 

 animal a mink he thought our author was led 

 to undertake the difficult task of climbing the 

 huge tree to the nest. He climbed up with 

 difficulty to within ten feet of it; the surround- 

 ings were getting filthy and evil-smelling by this 

 time, for quoskh teaches the young herons to 

 keep their nests perfectly clean by throwing all 

 refuse over the sides of the great home. He 

 had to get round on to another branch, and 

 when he looked up he saw three pairs of bright 

 eyes watching down over their long bills, and 

 he reached his hand to touch the nest. 



" Then there was a harsh croak. Three long 

 necks reached down suddenly over the edge of 

 the nest on the side where I was; three long 

 bills opened wide just over my head; and three 

 young herons grew suddenly seasick, as if they 

 had swallowed ipecac. I never saw the inside 

 of that home: at the moment I was in too much 

 of a hurry to get down and wash in the lake." 



There is a long and most dramatic account 

 of a battle between a big black wild cat and 

 mother quoskh in which the plucky cat loses 

 one eye and then the other, and finally expires 

 from her many wounds. 



