RAVEN. 7 



had always observed the Ravens breeding there. My whole party found 

 it impossible to shoot one of the old ones, who went to the nest and left it 

 with so much caution, that the task of watching them became irksome. One 

 afternoon I concealed myself under a pile of detached rocks for more than 

 two hours. The young frequently croaked as I was waiting there, but 

 no parent came ; so I left the place, but the next moment the female was 

 seen from the deck of the Ripley. She alighted in the nest, fed her 

 young, and was off again before I could reach within shooting distance. 

 It was at this place that I observed how singularly well those birds coidd 

 travel to and from their nest, at a time when I could not, on account 

 of the fog, see them on wing at a greater distance than twenty or thirty 

 yards. On the 29th of the same month, young Ravens were seen in 

 flocks with their parents ; but they were already very shy. 



I found a nest of this bird at a narrow part of the Lehigh in Penn- 

 sylvania, in a deep fissure of the rocks, not more than twenty feet above 

 the water, the security afforded by which had probably been considered 

 as equivalent to that which might have been gained by a greater height of 

 rock. The nest, in fact, hung over the stream, so that it was impossible 

 to reach it either from above or from below. Many years ago, I saw ano- 

 ther placed immediately beneath the arch of the Rock Bridge in Virginia. 

 It was situated on a small projecting stone scarcely a foot square ; yet the 

 Raven appeared quite satisfied as to the security of her brood on that nar- 

 row bed. This extraordinary production of Nature is placed on the as- 

 cent of a hill, which appears to have been rent asunder by some convul- 

 sion of the earth. The fissure is about 200 feet deep, and above 80 in 

 width under the arch, narrowing to 40 or so at the bottom. The thick- 

 ness of the arch probably exceeds 30 feet, and increases at either end. 

 At the bottom is seen the water of what is called Cedar Creek, gently 

 meandering in its rocky channel. The place, when I saw it, was graced 

 by handsome trees, and in some positions there was a pleasing view 

 of the " Blue Ridge"" and the " North Mountain."" Tradition reports 

 that General Washington threw a dollar over the bridge from the creek 

 below. I may mention, that I passed it under pecuhar circumstances 

 connected with my ornithological pursuits, as you will find detailed in 

 another page of this volume. 



I have already stated that some Ravens breed as far south as the 

 Carolinas. The place to which they resort for this purpose is called the 

 Table Mountain, which is situated in the district of Pendleton, and of 



