230 THE NATURALIST OF THE ST. CROIX 



killed about here. They are the boldest and most daring of any 

 of our rapacious birds. One of my patrons told me that he cut 

 off the head of a fowl and threw it down and while fluttering 

 within a few feet of him a hawk dove and picked it up, flying a 

 few rods and then went to eating it. He shot it and it proved to 

 be the Goshawk. Another told me that a hawk pursued one of 

 his hens into the back part of his house, through the door that 

 was open. His wife placed herself in the doorway and he ran to 

 the rescue of his fowl with a stick. The hawk evading the blow 

 attempted to fly out of the door and was seized by the good dame 

 and dispatched without court or jury — regular lynch law. Have 

 you duplicate eggs of them? 



I have obtained one Snowy Owl — the first in three seasons. 

 This was killed some sixteen miles to the west of here and sent to 

 me. I caught the young of the Crested Grebe (the adult never 

 comes here) and hoped to keep him alive until in full plumage. 

 There is a small stream some two miles above my office over 

 which is built a blacksmith shop and at this part of the brook are 

 springs which never freeze. I made arrangements with the black- 

 smith to take care of him. He fastened a cord some two rods 

 long to his leg so that he could swim under the shop or outside at 

 his pleasure. He became quite tame, but unfortunately one night 

 he got hung by his cord and was found dead in the morning. I 

 kept him about two weeks in this brook and if he had lived I 

 should have made a fence along its bank for a few rods with a 

 sieve at the outlet so that he could not get out. One very cold 

 night the blacksmith carried him into his cellar and gave him 

 bread crumbs to eat. He said they were all gone in the morning. 

 Did the grebe eat them? He used to throw corn in the brook and 

 that would all be eaten up. He said the grebe ate it ! Can that 

 be so or did something else eat it up? I asked him if he was sure 

 that the bird ate it? He said, " Yes, for there is nothing else to 

 eat. I throw into the brook a handful of corn every morning and 

 when I come out after a while it is all gone.'' If the bird had 

 lived I should have satisfied myself upon that point. Perhaps 

 you can give me positive information on the subject as no doubt 

 the grebe is common with you but is seldom seen hei - e. 



