THE OOLOGIST. 



145 



such violence, as to enter the body of 

 a partridge twenty yards off. He en- 

 listed several of these boys in his ser- 

 vice but all returned from the hunt 

 without success. 



I ask the indulgence of the kind read- 

 er to quote from Wilson's journal in or- 

 der to give in his own words the exper- 

 ience he had with an Indian and a 

 mocking-bird. "About half an hour 

 before sun-set, being within sight of the 

 Indians where I intended to lodge, the 

 evening being perfectly clear and calm, 

 I laid the reins on my horse's neck, to 

 listen to a mocking bird, the first I had 

 heard in the western country, which 

 perched on the top of a dead tree be- 

 fore the door, was pouring out a tor- 

 rent of melody. I think I never heard 

 so excellent a performer. I had alight- 

 ed, and was fastening my horse, when 

 hearing the report of a rifle immediate- 

 ly beside me, I looked up and saw the 

 poor mocking-bird fluttering to the 

 ground. One of the savages had mark-" 

 ed his elevation, and barbarously shot 

 him. I hastened over into the yard, and 

 walking up to him, told him that was 

 bad, very bad! That this poor bird had 

 come from a far-distant country to sing 

 to him, and that in return he had cruel- 

 ly killed it. I told him, the Great Spirit 

 was offended with such cruelty, and 

 that he would lose many a deer for do- 

 ing so. The old Indian, father-in-law 

 to the bird-killer, understanding by the 

 negro interpreter what I said, repeated, 

 that when these birds came singing and 

 making a noise all day near the house, 

 somebody will surely die, — which is 

 exactly what an old superstitous Ger- 

 man near Hampton, Virginia, once told 

 me. The bird-killer had niairied the 

 two oldest daughters of the old Indian, 

 and presented one of them the bird he 

 had killed." 



He found the Chickasaws to be a 

 friendly inoffensive people; and the 

 Choctaws, though more reserved, were 

 equally harmless. Wherever he hap- 



pened to stop while in their territory 

 he was treated with civility. 



He arrived at Natchez, May 7th, hav- 

 ing performed this extraordinary jour- 

 ney in thirteen days. He seems to have 

 enjoyed this journey, although it was- 

 attended with considerable expense 

 and fatigue, and ever after he referred 

 to it with satisfaction. While at Nat- 

 chez he accepted the hospitality of Mr. 

 William Dunbar, a friend of science, 

 and in his company Wilson spent some 

 of the most profitable and enjoyable 

 moments of his life. 



On the 6th of June he reached New- 

 Orleans, and on the 24th set sail for 

 New York,where he arrived on the 30th 

 of July. He stopped a few days on the 

 islands off Florida, and while there- 

 gathered much information of the fat- 

 south birds. 



From New York he at once l-eturned 

 to Philadelphia, arriving there on the 

 2d of August. 



He had accumulated on this journey 

 a stock of new material for his work,, 

 including several undescribed birds. 



He had been away from home a little 

 over six months, and in all that time 

 his expenses amounted to only four 

 hundred and fifty-five dollars. 



The Woodpeckers of Minnesota. 



Hairy Woodpecker, Dryobates villosus- 

 Permanent resident. Through the 

 winter this species retires to the pine 

 and tamarack forests and is seldom 

 seen. About the latter part of Feb- 

 ruary they make their appearance about 

 the cities, often in company with the 

 Downy Woodpecker. 



Towards the latter part of May they 

 retire to the woods to breed and are 

 not often seen about houses. They pre- 

 fer rather thick and low woods near 

 water usually, for nesting. The hole 

 is excavated in a dead willow, oak or 

 maple tree, usually from four to thirty 

 feet up, and about sixteen inches in 



