•ffn tbc MooJ)S witb tbe 3Bow 



droll and peculiar; living alone in cabin of two 

 bare rooms with open passage between. Shoots a 

 flint-lock rifle to perfection. Makes shingles by 

 hand — saws off the cuts, rives them and shaves 

 them without help — ships them on a raft down 

 the river. Happy as a child and strong as an ox. 

 April 20. First day out from Jarvis's. Got up 

 at daybreak. Coffee and bacon. Walked three 

 miles beside the river, making list of birds. Saw 

 wood-ducks on a back-water pond — breeding in 

 hollow trees near by. Killed a iine specimen of 

 the "least bittern " {Ardetta exilis), which I needed 

 to complete a study. A time, indeed, I had with 

 it — an hour's campaign I How many of this spe- 

 cies I have taken in the past few years, and still 

 my study is not finished ! Jarvis at my heels 

 like a dog. 



I give these as examples of notes made 

 of evenings after a day's tramp. Actual 

 field sketches, as I jotted them down, 

 would be scarcely intelligible to the unini- 

 tiated reader. It must be easy, however, 

 to catch the spirit of my outing from the 

 hint about the killing of the heron. I 

 recall the whole scene, or series of scenes, 

 with every minute circumstance con- 

 nected; indeed, I look back and see my- 

 self perform, or rather live, the incidents 

 223 



