JIM CROW 



29 



swampy places, and as the process of scaling a tall 

 white pine is neither clean nor easy, young crows 

 are usually secured by small boys. Even Thoreau 

 admitted the diffi- 

 culty of reaching 

 the crow's nest, 

 but it did not 

 deter him. On 

 May n, 1855, he 

 records (Notes on 

 New England 

 Birds) : ' ' You can 

 hardly walk in a 

 thick pine wood 

 now, especially in 

 a swamp, but 

 presently you will 

 have a crow or 

 two over your 

 head, either si- 

 lently flitting 

 over, to spy at 

 what you would 

 be at and if its 

 nest is in danger, 

 or angrily cawing. 

 It is most impres- 

 sive when, look- 

 ing for their nests, you first detect the presence of 

 the bird by its shadow." How like Thoreau is that 

 last touch of subtle observation! 



When I was a boy our favorite method of securing 

 a young crow, after we had discovered a nest, was 



A fledgling crow 



