130 FROM BLOMIDON TO SMOKY 



met, only four saw the owl. They were chicka- 

 dees, red-breasted nuthatches, redpolls, and blue 

 jays. They all scolded him, but not with the 

 average summer emphasis. The redpolls showed 

 only mild curiosity which soon expended itself 

 in gentle reproachful phrases. Puffy did not 

 mind cold, but the light from the snow seemed 

 to blind him. Indoors he held two young hounds 

 at bay, and made their lives miserable by refus- 

 ing to allow them to come near his corner with- 

 out risking an attack from his beak and claws. 

 With dogs and cats outdoors he always shows 

 fear unless they come to close quarters ; then, as 

 indoors, he spreads and arches his wings, raises 

 his feathers on his back, lowers his head, and 

 snaps his beak, sometimes making swift rushes 

 with an expression so fierce that I have yet to 

 find any quadruped willing to defy him. 



