12 



THE OOLOGIST 



July 1 8th we ran from Perm Yan to 

 Syracuse and from there to Oswego. 

 On the 19th from Oswego to Water- 

 town, and on to Alexandria Bay. 

 Stopping long enough at Laconia to 

 meet Lewis K. Snyder, whom we 

 found away from his home. During 

 this run we saw many of the more 

 common birds of Northwestern New 

 York, and of course at Alexandria 

 Bay, again came in contact with the 

 Gulls and Terns. Here we remained 

 among the Thousand Islands until the 

 21st, driving on tnat day over atnu.t 

 the worst roads we have ever seen, 

 to Ogdensburg, and fiom ther3 to 

 Malone, in the northern part of tnc 

 state. 



The next day a pleasant drive 

 through the heart of the Adirondack 

 Mountains, passing Saranac Lake, 

 Paul Smith's, Lake Placid, etc., over 

 perfectly splendid roads, brought us 

 to Plattsburgh on the shores of Lake 

 Champlain. Here we remained until 

 the 25th. At this point we met Lieu- 

 tenant Francis B. Eastman of the 

 United States Army and examined 

 some of his ornithological treasures, 

 including the only set of really au- 

 thentic Great Gray Owl's eggs that 

 has ever fallen under our notice. The 

 story of this set is interesting. The 

 Lieutenant was travelling through the 

 interior of Alaska in the early spring, 

 before the snow had commenced to 

 melt with a detail of soldiers; and 

 in crosing a heavily timbered ridge, 

 discovered the nest of this bird about 

 thirty feet up in a coniferous tree. 

 Much to the disgust of his fellow 

 officers and the enlisted men, he 

 stopped the whole expedition until 

 these eggs could be procured, for 

 which we personally are exceedingly 

 thankful, because this set now rests 

 in our collection, and is among our 

 most treasured specimens. 



We had never met Eastman before, 



but soon learned he was a very lov- 

 able and entertaining gentleman. To 

 hear him detail his experiences at 

 the far away points where he has 

 been stationed during his service, is 

 better than reading a book. 



Friday, July 25th, we left Platts- 

 burgh and drove to Chazy on the 

 shores of Lake Champlain. Here we 

 visited the noted Minor Farm, which, 

 even to an Illinoisan who lives in 

 the heart of the best farming district 

 in the world, was a revelation. The 

 vast expenditure of money and the 

 wonderful results produced upon the 

 Muskag-like lands of Northern New 

 York, were a revelation; not the 

 least interesting object there being 

 two immense Martin houses, one of 

 which was reputed to have two hun- 

 dred fifty rooms, and every room ap- 

 parently was tenanted with a pair 

 of these beautiful birds. 



From here we crossed Lake Cham- 

 plain on a ferry to the Island, and 

 drove southeasterly across this island, 

 crosing a bridge into Vermont, wind- 

 ing up in the evening at Burlington. 

 While on this island, we several 

 times noted small bunches of Black 

 Duck that rose 'out of the edge of the 

 Lake as we rolled along. 



Saturday, the 2-6th, we drove from 

 Burlington through the Green Moun- 

 tains to Montpelier, where we took 

 lunch and fromi there to St. Johns- 

 bury. The roads were indifferent 

 here, though the trip was one of much 

 interest. 



At St. Johnsbury we stayed Sunday 

 forenoon, and visited the Natural 

 History Museum in that place endowed 

 by Mr. Fairbanks. There are many 

 specimens of interest there. In the 

 afternoon, over very poor roads, we 

 drove to Lancaster, New Hampshire, 

 much out of our way, to call on Fred 

 B. Spaulding, whom we had never 

 met but had known by correspondence 



