Music of the Wild 



forest his musicians follo\A ed his lead unceasingly, 

 their notes rising and falling in volume, and they 

 even played in flight. I could not see how they 

 flew, and fiddled on the wingshields at the same 

 time, but repeatedly I saw tliem do it. 



A^^atching above me to try to learn how this 

 music <jf fliglit was made, I forgot the locusts and 

 began considering tlie roof of the forest. The 

 branches lapped and interlaced so closely that I 

 felt, if I had jjower to walk inverted like a fly, I 

 coidd cross them as a floor. There was constant 

 music u]) there, and the dominant note was the 

 croAv's, while the sweetest was the wood pewee's. 

 There were many places where in the stout branch- 

 ing of tall trees tlie crows had built a sitting-room 

 of a bushel of coarse twigs and lined it Avith finer 

 material. Now all the families had moved out and 

 gone 2)icnicking among the trees. 



None of tliem evinced retiring dispositions. 

 They appeared alike at that height, and all I coidd 

 A Crow tell of tliem Avas that they Avere croAvs. Their mu- 

 Soio ^j^ ^^..^j, constant and, Avhere undisturbed by our 

 presence, of most interesting character. I could 

 distinguish three distinct calls. Tliey frequently 

 uttered a gutteral croak that seemed to translate 

 "All right!" Then there Avas a sharp, A-ehement 

 "CaAv! CaAv! Caw!" Avarning those of the family 

 farther aAvay of the fact that tliere Avas something 

 unusual in the forest. It Avas used at a time and 



48 



