THE OOLOGIST. 



151 



Mr. Savage would spend days in 

 search of a rare or strange bird of 

 whicli he had caught a glimpse, and 

 rarely if ever failed to capture his 

 •quarry. 



Some neighbors almost resented 

 this intrusion of their premises and 

 the slaying of their feathered friends, 

 but no sacrifice was too great nor ef- 

 fort too strenuous which enabled him 

 to secure a coveted bird for his col- 

 lection. 



On one occasion a "red snowbird" 

 vvas creating considerable comment 

 among the residents of an adjoining- 

 neighborhood. He was soon on its 

 track and secured — a cardinal gros- 

 beak, which had probably been de- 

 serted by its migrant companion and 

 was wintering in company with snow 

 birds. 



We may regret the eccentricity 

 which prompted so talented a man to 

 live in such apparent seclusion. Yet 

 did he not accomplish more than 

 many whom the world rates as suc- 

 cessful? 



In no other place could he have 

 studied bird life so auspiciously as in 

 this retreat, under conditions which 

 he created and maintained. 



It is hoped that his successors may 

 honor his memory by keeping invio- 

 late this wildwood home, where birds 

 congregate in larger numbers and 

 sing and mate with greater freedom 

 than in any other section of the state. 



It is largely through the persistent 

 personal interest and effort of Mr. E. 

 R. Harlan of Des Moines, that Mr. 

 Savage was persuaded to sell his col- 

 lection intact to the state board of 

 trustees. 



He looked at them for the last time, 

 as he said, and packed them away for 

 shiipment just a few days prior to 

 his death. 



The pictures have not yet been 

 sent, but it is the purpose of the son, 

 John Savage, to carry out his father's 



intentions and the offer of the histor- 

 ical department based on the report 

 of Professor Paarman of the State 

 University of Iowa will be accepted. 



Thus the state will come into pos- 

 session of the only collection of this 

 kind in existence and of an artistic 

 and scientific value beyond estima- 

 tion. 



On the other hand the lifework of a 

 conscientious, painstaking toiler will 

 be properly cared for in the magnifi- 

 cent new building of the historical so- 

 ciety. 



Some day soon this man's lifework 

 will be brought to Des Moines to take 

 the place it deserves in the museum 

 of the state historical building, ar- 

 rangements having been completed 

 for its purchase. 



Mountain Climbing. 



My brother, his wife, and myself, 

 while up at Sacandaga Park, on our 

 vacation, this June, were one day seiz- 

 ed with a great ambition to try our 

 skill at mountain climbing. The foot- 

 hills of the Adirondack Mountains lay 

 just back of our cottage, and one ot 

 them known as Gifford's Mt., at once 

 attracted our attention, as being the 

 largest within easy reach, and accord- 

 ingly, the morning of the 25th found 

 us en route for this destination. 



I. as the scientific man of the ex- 

 pedition, had my hands full with the 

 birds, butterflies and other insects, 

 which constantly fluttered along in 

 front of us. We followed a country 

 road for a couple of miles and then 

 cut across the fields westward, di- 

 rectly for the mountain, which loomed 

 up before us like a gigantic pyramid. 

 We passed through rocky fields and 

 sM'ampy fields (where we sank above 

 our ankles in a moss-like grass) and 

 after a couple of hours' walk, arrived 

 at the base of the mountain. In a 

 small pine tree, in a rocky field, I 



