AUTUMN. 173 



threatened an immediate storm a not uncommon 

 end to such a rare meteorological phenomena 

 as long-continued frost on the West Coast. Sit- 

 ting on the end of a log of wood that lay on 

 the beach a little above high water-mark was 

 a Rook or Crow, which, as we approached, at- 

 tempted to fly away, but could not. It stretched 

 itself, and strained and flapped its wings franti- 

 cally as we drew near ; but there it was, tethered 

 firm and fast, manifestly unable to budge an 

 inch unless it carried the immense log bodily 

 along with it We wondered for a moment what 

 in the world was the matter, for we could not 

 remember ever seeing a Rook, of all birds the 

 most knowing, perhaps, and self-possessed, act 

 so absurdly. Running forward and laying hold 

 of the bird, we had a ready solution of the 

 mystery in the fact that the poor struggling 

 creature's feet were firmly frozen to the log, more 

 firmly than the best bird-lime or glue could 

 have held them." That was in January, 1875, 

 a winter of unmitigated severity, when many 



