SEPTEMBER. 231 



strated ; but how seldom can we do this ! I let my fancy 

 run riot for three weeks, and imagined all sorts of extrava- 

 gant explanations. At last a ray of light seemed to fall 

 upon the mystery. Toward the close of my days in camp 

 I noticed that when the wood-pile was rudely disturbed 

 by the chopper, the wrens appeared and scolded vehe- 

 mently ; and then until the next day all would be quiet, and 

 the morning song lost none of its sweetness because of the 

 ruffled temper of the day before. A week later the ox- 

 team brought a load of drift-wood from the creek, and 

 when this was rudely tossed, stick by stick, upon the pile, 

 again the wrens protested. 



Here, then, was an apparent clew. Whatever the 

 wrens suffered was by the hands of men, while the ever- 

 present Katie in no wise interfered with their pleasure. Is 

 it possible that the birds realized the difference between 

 Wallace and his ox-team, or Martin with his axe, and 

 Katie the cook? It certainly appeared so. With my 

 field-glass I watched these wrens one morning, more 

 closely than usual, as soon as they appeared. Early as it 

 was, Katie was already astir, yet the wrens appeared not 

 even to see her. Without hesitation they flew into the 

 open kitchen and caught the chilled flies that had clus- 

 tered about the pots and dishes. If Katie came too near, 

 they flitted to the other end of the long table and con- 

 tinued their hunt, and when their morning meal was over, 

 the old male sweetly warbled thanks for both. 



There can be no question but that they recognized our 

 cook as their friend, perhaps supposed she provided the 

 flies for them. Be this as it may, they were bold to" a 

 degree until the professor or I appeared, when they 

 promptly skurried off, to be seen no more that day. I 

 may be wrong, but I believe my explanation is not wholly 

 wild. It is something to watch the same pair of birds 

 for weeks. You get by so doing an insight into their char- 



