A VICTIM TO GLUTTONY. 59 



him lying flat on his belly close to the edge of a pond, 

 near which he and I had passed in our wanderings on the 

 previous day : he had concealed himself in a heap of reeds, 

 and seemed to sleep like a marmot. A flock of wild 

 ducks floated upon the water, and approached the shore 

 without any mistrust. Suddenly my racoon took a leap 

 and a jump, I might almost say a flight, and pounced upon 

 one of the largest and fattest members of the winged troop. 

 " The only fault I had to find with him was, that he did 

 not respect the inhabitants of our poultry-yard. In this 

 matter his conduct was not what it should have been. He 

 stole the eggs whenever he got the chance. Besides the 

 dainties to which he thus helped himself occasionally, he 

 fed upon maize boiled in water, some fresh milk being 

 added when I wished to give him a treat. Alas ! the poor 

 beast died the victim of his gluttony. He swallowed a 

 rabbit whole, one fine morning ; yes, hair and flesh and 

 bones; swallowed it whole, like a boa-constrictor, and 

 perished of the deed ! " 



But we must turn from the quadrupeds of the American 

 Forest and Prairie, though conscious that we have not 

 exhausted the interest that attaches to them. The Birds 

 now demand our attention, and among these we shall find 

 some remarkable and attractive species. 



BIRD LIFE IN THE FOREST AND PRAIRIE. 



In America there are probably about three thousand 

 species of birds ; but of these a few are also found in 

 Europe, being chiefly water-fowl, and common, therefore, 



