1908 \ Ornithological Work in North Carolina 
41 
happened to be there, all equally alarmed at what they heard ; 
this was greatly increased by my asking, whether he could furnish 
me with accommodation for myself and my baby. The man 
looked blank and foolish, while the others stared with still greater 
astonishment. After diverting myself for a minute or two at 
their expense, I drew mp woodpecker from under the cover, and 
a general laugh took place. I took him up stairs and locked him 
up in my room, while I went to see my horse taken care of. In 
i less than an hour I returned, and, on opening the door, he set up 
the same distressing shout, which now appeared to proceed from 
grief that he had been discovered in his attempts to escape. He 
had mounted along the side of the window, nearly as high as the 
I ceiling, a little below which he had begun to break through. The 
! bed was covered with large pieces of plaster; the lath was exposed 
i for at least fifteen inches square, and a hole, large enough to ad- 
mit the fist, opened to the weatherboards; so that, in less than 
another hour he would certainly have succeeded in making his 
way through. I now tied a string around his leg, and, fastening 
it to the table, again left him. I wished to preserve his life, and 
had gone off in search of suitable food for him. As I reascended 
the stairs, I heard him again hard at work, and on entering had 
' the mortification to perceive that he had almost entirely ruined 
| the mahogany table to which he was fastened, and on which he 
; had wreaked his whole vengeance. While engaged in taking the 
, drawing, he cut me severely in several places, and, on the whole, 
displayed such a noble and unconquerable spirit, that I was fre- 
j quently tempted to restore him to his native woods. He lived 
I with me nearly three days, but refused all sustenance, and I wit- 
| nessed his death with regret.” The above account refers to a 
great woodpecker nearly as large as a crow and now confined to 
the more inaccessible swamps of the Gulf coast. 
What we may term recent ornithological research began in 
North Carolina in 1871, when Dr. Eliott Coues published in the 
Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, May 2, a series of notes on 
: the birds observed by him while stationed at Fort Macon in Cart- 
[ eret county, 122 species of birds were mentioned. 
In 1886, William Brewster of Cambridge spent some time in the 
