. AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 



ice, three or four of them were fortunately left 

 upon the island. It was lucky for them as well 

 as for us, for they have found at last a resting- 

 place free from their most deadly enemies, man and 

 the fox. I fed these visitors with cracked corn 

 all through the summer, and kept a box filled 

 with food in the wagon-shed during the winter. 

 They raised two broods during the summer, 

 and we had twenty or thirty birds that fall, 

 and though many left in the winter, when the 

 lake was frozen over, we have always ever since 

 had enough left to keep up the supply. Find- 

 ing that they wished to stay with us, we built 

 them a home of their own, with openings at 

 different heights on the sheltered side of the 

 house, so that they might be at liberty to come 

 in or go out even when the ground was deep 

 in snow. While this house was being built, a 

 cock grouse sat on a log in full view, not more 

 than twenty feet back in the grove, and seemed 

 to be observing the work with interest. There 

 was one bird that became very tame. He would 

 sit at the edge of the woods, and if he saw one 

 of the men going toward the stables, he would 

 gravely follow him, waiting on the outside, and 

 evidently expecting that corn would be tossed to 



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