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THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE. 



Icterus Baltimore. Daud. 



PLATE XII. Male in different states of Plumage, and Nest. 



No traveller who is at all gifted with the faculty of observation, can 

 ascend that extraordinary river, the Mississippi, in the first days of 

 antmnn, without feeling enchanted by the varied vegetation which 

 adorns its alluvial shores : — The taU Cotton-tree descending to the very 

 margin of the stream, the arrow-shaped Ash mixing its branches with 

 those of the Pecan and Black Walnut, immense Oaks and numerous spe- 

 cies of Hickory, covering with their foliage the densely tangled Canes, from 

 amongst which, at every step. Vines of various kinds shoot up, winding 

 round the stems and interlacing their twigs and tendrils, stretching from 

 one branch to another, until they have reached and overspread the whole, 

 like a verdant canopy, forming one solid mass of richest vegetation, in the 

 fore ground of the picture ; whilst, wherever the hills are in view, the great 

 Magnolias, the Hollies, and the noble Pines, are seen gently waving their 

 lofty heads to the breeze. 



The current becomes rapid, and ere long several of the windings of 

 the great stream have been met and passed, and with these new scenes 

 present themselves to the view. The forest at this place, as if in doleful 

 mourning at the sight of the havock made on its margin by the impetuous 

 and regardless waters, has thrown over her a ragged veil, produced by 

 the long dangling masses that spread from branch to branch over the cy- 

 press trees. The dejected Indian's camp hes in your sight. He casts a 

 melancholy glance over the scene, and remembers that he is no longer the 

 peaceful and sole possessor of the land. Islands, one after another, come 

 in sight, and at every winding of the stream you see boats propelled by 

 steam ascending the river, and others, without such aid, silently gliding 

 with the current. 



Much might the traveller find to occupy his mind, and lead him into 

 specvilations regarding the past, the present, and the future, were he not 

 attracted by the clear mellow notes, that issue from the woods, and gra- 

 tified by the sight of the brilliant Oriole now before you. In solitudes 

 like these, the traveller might feel pleased with any sound, even the howl 



