146 ON THE BIRDS' HIGHWAY 



piper that sprang from the mud flat and 

 disappeared calling around the next bend, 

 or remained sitting without the slightest 

 fear but a few feet off and eyed us. On 

 one occasion a greater yellow-legs, seeming 

 still more strangely out of place than did 

 the ringneck and "peep" on the lake's 

 beach, was standing in the black mud. 



We met the guide at noon and ate our 

 lunch on the spot where, a week before, we 

 slept under our boat among the waving 

 tamaracks. We began the second lap of 

 our journey to the spring about half after 

 two o'clock. I envied not the guide, 

 whose boat was laden with camp supplies, 

 pushing up through the alder-covered 

 inlet to the spring. 



After hiding our boat, we took to the 

 trail on foot. Canada jays we met on 

 the path, and hanging dead by the neck in 

 a crotch of a bush I found an unlucky 

 blue jay. No marks of shot were on his 

 body, but his head was almost bald, covered 

 with only pin feathers. He looked like 

 a miniature vulture. I believe he died 

 a natural death. Just toward twilight a 

 Wilson's thrush sang twice. 



We had hardly reached the log cabin 



