THE AERIAL BLIND. 79 


leaves, making so much noise at a quiet time that you.at first 
think a deer is coming. The many different birds flying and 
hopping about, many coming so near you when you are sitting 
motionless as to almost light upon you. And sitting here 
upon the old blind when the wind is sighing through the trees, 
we listen to the ‘‘ voices in the wood,” and hear the many 
low murmuring sounds, as if persons talking together. Far 
away sounds, as if the hounds were baying upon the track. 
Oitentimes low strains come to us, faintly, as distant singing ; 
often a sound so much like a shrill whistle as to startle one, 
thinking some one is signaling to you. And suddenly, as_ 
the wind whirls by, a scream and a screech, sounding so 
human, or inhuman, as to really startle one, as some old 
weather beaten and dry knotty top chafed quickly against one 
similar; and always those low murmuring voices coming 
down the wind. 
Standing alone one bright, still day, leaning beside the 
spruce opposite you, I had some callers. At the first a red 
squirrel was playing up and down the smooth beech about 
thirty feet from us, when suddenly an ow! that his loud chat- 
tering had awakened, started from her roost in the thick spruce 
to catch and eat him. The squirrel saw her coming, and 
when the owl was pretty close the squirrel was upon the other 
side of the tree, and around skipped the squirrel as around 
flew the owl; faster and down they circled. around and down- 
ward, when the squirrel dodged in his hole at the foot of the 
tree. The owl, anxious for the prize, carried too much steam 
toward the last, and whacked her wing so hard against the 
beech that she sprawled out upon the ground. She picked 
herself up and lighting upon a near tree, looked down, very 
sorry like. The squirrel poked his nose out and gave her a 
