Herald 

 of Dawn 



Music of the Wild 



for the epicure by fall, when he is fair game in 

 season. 



To look at the cattails and swamp grasses grow- 

 ing five and six feet tall, and the graceful heads 

 of Avild rice like feather dusters sweeping the sky 

 and scattering seeds over the water, one would 

 think the food on which the rail fattens ^vould he 

 lost; but when the Almiglity works out a design 

 in nature there are no missing parts, and the mind 

 of man must study deeiily to comprehend His 

 plans and providences. Wherever the wild rice 

 and seed grass grow for the food of marsh birds, 

 beneath j^ou will find that the Lord has spread a 

 table of stout, overlapping lily pads, upon A\'hich 

 He scatters the seed with the winds, and the birds 

 dine royally. They are very fond of wild rice, 

 and some birds eat the seed of the yellow pond lily 

 that ri])ens in i:)eculiar cone-shaped heads. 



AMien your boat slips through the mists of 

 earliest morning the first note you will liear is the 

 The long, shrill "Kuw, kuw, kuw!" of the cinereous 

 coot. At its best the performance of the herald 

 of dawn is only slightly touched with melody, but 

 it is a distinctive note that you would miss if you 

 did not hear; for it is a part of that fii'st eager, 

 throb])iiig joy that grips your throat and thrills 

 your heart over yovu- initial day of freedom for 

 the season. 



You will recognize tlie tribal call, a short, hard 

 374 



