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It is this uncanny mixture of bird and rep- 

 tile that has made the kingfisher an object of 

 \komenos superstition among all savage peoples. The 

 Outcast legends about him are legion; his crested 

 head is prized above all others by savages as 

 a charm or fetish ; and even among civilized 

 peoples his dried body may still sometimes 

 be seen hanging to a pole, in the belief that 

 his bill will point out the quarter from which 

 the next wind will blow. 



But Koskomenos has another side ; though 

 the world, as yet, has found out little about 

 it. One day, in the wilderness, I cheered 

 him quite involuntarily. It was late after- 

 noon ; the fishing was over, and I sat in my 

 canoe watching for anything that might come 

 along. Across the stream was a clay bank, 

 near the top of which a dark hole showed 

 where a pair, of kingfishers had dug their 

 long tunnel. " There is nothing for them to 

 stand on there; how did they begin that 

 hole .? " I wondered lazily ; " and how can 

 they ever raise a brood, with an open door 

 like that for mink and weasel to enter .? " 

 Here were two new problems to add to the 



