1891.
Oct. 30
Concord, Massachusetts.
Concord. - An Indian summer day, the early morning
rather cold (thm. 29 [degrees]) the middle of the day very soft
and warm with a light S.W. wind.
[margin]A day down river with Geo. Buttrick[/margin]
  At about 9 A.M. I started down river by boat, Mr.
George Buttrick accompanying me. We took fishing
tackle and I the gun, of course, as well as Don.
B. rowed slowly along near the edge of the
frost-blackened belt of pickerel weed which I trolled
with a spoon but we reached Ball's Hill without
having a bite. We had seen scarcely a bird, either,
 - nothing in fact but two Blue Jays and a few Tree Sparrows.
  Landing we rambled slowly over and around the hill
[deleted]finding[/deleted] discovering a little clump of beeches on the back side.
Don found and pointed a Partridge on the edge of
the swamp.  (It gave me an almost perfectly open
shot when it rose but Buttrick was directly in front
of me and I could not fire. We made no attempt
to follow the bird.)
[margin]omit bracketed parts S.O.D.[/margin]
  After spending an hour or more on the hill we
tramped across country to the Hawk woods and
also visited the cold spring. (Don found a second
Partridge which rose in the open from some scrub
oaks on the edge of a hollow. I fired one barrel at 
very long range and missed.) We saw few small birds
 - one or two Robins, several Blue Jays, and a score or
so of Juncos. I picked up the feather of a 
Great Horned Owl from the path. No signs of
Carolina Doves in their usual haunts here. The
Hawk woods were as beautiful as ever and the 
axe has done them no harm since my last 
visit.