OF SHOOTING AND FISHING 79 
twenty or twenty-five miles. The country is per- 
fectly flat all the way and adapted for grazing, but 
the grass is coarse and scarce, as the ground is 
full of alkali. Willows and a few cottonwoods 
grow on each side of the river, which is forty or 
fifty yards wide. Every bend we rounded brought 
us onto a flock of ducks, most of them being red- 
heads. A few little grebe were also seen on the 
water and some magpies in the cottonwoods and 
willows. It was interesting to see numbers of old 
magpies’ nests in the willows or in the stunted 
cottonwoods, none of them being more than a few 
feet above the ground. How different from the 
sites chosen by Kuropean magpies among the high- 
est branches of the tallest trees. Several large 
hawks were seen hovering around. They appeared 
to be red-tailed and marsh hawks. 
The sail down the stream was delightful, the 
afternoon being fine, and the sky without a cloud. 
Many parts of the country were represented by: 
the sportsmen present, and very edifying was the 
information gleaned from their conversation. It 
was curious to note how the man with the least ex- 
perience generally started a discussion. The one 
following had always had more varied experiences 
and had been in more interesting situations than 
the previous speaker. My heart ached for H. as 
his turn came, but it was all right; there was no 
cause for uneasiness. Sharp and myself watched 
the rays of the setting sun playing around the tops 
of the eastern hills—while we listened—and we ex- 
perienced that feeling of exultation which must 
