20 THE NAUTILUS. 
field. But one trip was made to the Illinois River, and, unfortun- 
ately, the stream was on a “ high,” and the conditions unfavorable 
for collecting. Excepting the dredging up of some fine Plewrocera 
lewisii Lea, nothing of interest was obtained. 
However, a trip was made to Spoon River at Bernadotte, twelve 
miles from Lewistown, on October 20, which was more fortunate. 
The river was at a low stage, and everything favorable for collect- 
ing. My partner was Dr. J. M. Maguire, whose hobby was not 
shells, but birds. Yet, as is the case with all lovers of nature, when 
once within the pale of her magic influence, all her animate crea- 
tures met a responsive thrill in the kindly heart of the good doctor, 
and I found in him an enthusiastic and efficient helper in my search 
for molluscan treasures. 
Procuring a boat we pulled up the river to Island No. 1, five 
miles from the village. There at the limit of back water from the 
mill-dam, we expected to find some shells; nor were we disappointed, 
for in the shallow water above and below this island, and on the 
banks under clumps of willows where they were carried by the 
minks and muskrats, we obtained quite a number of the following 
Unios: capax Green, coccineus Hild., cornutus Bar., ebenus Lea, 
elegans Lea, lachrymosus Lea, luteolus Lam., levissimus Lea, occt- 
dens Lea, parvus Bar., pustulatus Lea, pustulosus Lea, rubiginosus 
Lea, trigonus Lea, Margaritana complanata Barnes, Anodonta 
inbecilis Say, decora Lea, edentula Say. 
Landing on this little island, which covers only about one acre of 
ground, we ate our lunch, and the doctor collected two or three each 
ruby-crowned and golden-crowned kinglets, that were busily seeking 
a dinner in the willows, and we then turned our boat’s head down 
stream on our return voyage to the village. Every half mile or so 
we would come upon a flock of the beautiful moon ducks or dab- 
chicks, and, in the trees along the banks, were many red squirrels, 
and when one was particularly saucy, the crack of the doctor’s gun 
would fetch him tumbling into the river. When the village was 
reached, we-determined to try our luck in the shallow water along 
the rocky banks a half mile or so below the mill-dam. 
The water-gates of the mills had just been shut down, and this 
would give us six inches less water to work in than when they were 
open. We soon descried an unexpected advantage from this fact. 
A half mile down the river, just above a place called the “ deep 
hole,’ we found a large number of Unio donaciformis Lea and 
Pleurocera elevatum Say. In thirty minutes we picked up 200 of 
