Music of the Wild 



respected. In all my ^vol■k afield I never have 

 found a kingfisher ^\antonly shot, or heard of such 

 a thing. There seems to he an understanding that 

 they are not suitahle for food, and do not interfere 

 Avith other hirds; so thej' are unmolested. They 

 fly in dashes and perch at short interA^als, making 

 . it a task for any one so disposed to harm them. 

 The only depredation I have known them to suf- 

 fer is from snakes entering their nests. 



The animals that join their grunting, sniffling, 

 and snarling with the voices of the river are the 

 ojiossum, ground hog, muskrat, coon, and fox. I 

 do not mean that all of these are river animals, 

 but that their species home close the water, go there 

 to quench their thirst, prey upon its denizens, and 

 mingle their voices Avith its song. 



Of all vegetation along the river, mallows are 

 the typical flowers, the blooms we see most often. 

 The and love best. The masses of spring color that 

 Queen j;,^g -|-|^g river as a rule belong quite as much to the 

 Flowers fields, fences, and thickets as to the Avater. They 

 are generally cA^erywhere that a shrub remains. 

 The malloAv is a true Avater floAver, and groAvs in 

 greater beauty and blooms in a profusion unknoAA'n 

 to its SAvampy relatives. The plants flourish so 

 close to tlie Asater tliat half tlie roots are A\'ashed 

 in the river. The succulent stems are ]nthy and 

 of a golden-green color. The leaves are olive- 

 green above and Avhitisli underneath, slightly re- 



314 



