1890
Oct.21
Lake Umbagog, Maine.
  Cloudless, the air wonderfully clear. A fitful breeze, at
times light at others strong and gusty. Water froze
in one pails last night to the thickness of window
glass but the sun was warm at noon to-day
and I saw several dragon flies skimming about.
[margin]Cold night
followed by
a warm
day.[/margin]
  Soon after breakfast we discovered two flocks
of "Sea Ducks" in the Lake off B. Brook Cove. The
larger flock contained fully twenty-five Butter-bills,
all but one or two of them females or young, and
one White-wing. The smaller flock consisted of 13
Old Squaws nine of which were adult males.
Both flocks were very restless rising every few minutes
and flying up and down the Lake sometimes
closing in together and nearly always realighting
in the same place.
[margin]"Sea Ducks"
in Lake.
Butter-bills S'.
White wing "
Old Squaws.[/margin]
  As soon as we felt reasonably sure that the
wind was not going to blow very hard we
bushed the boat and started out after them.
We tried the Old Squaws first. They rose fully
one hundred yards off but flew towards us
giving me a long cross shot. I dropped 
three with my first barrel and two with my
second but one of the wounded ones afterwards 
rose and got off.
[margin]Four Old Squaws
bagged.[/margin]
  A few moments later a Red-throated Loon came
flying over the boat rather high. I fired at
and brought him down with a broken
wing but he dove so nimbly and persistently
that we finally gave him up.
[margin]Red throated
Diver shot.[/margin]
  We next tried the large flock of Butter-bills
and got within good shot of them. They
[margin]Butter-bills[/margin]