Concord, Massachusetts.
1891.
Oct. 30
(No 20
Concord. - Returning to the boat we lunched by the
side of the white oak stump (which we used as a
table) and then, after a smoke, took to fishing
again, rowing down river as far as "pad island".
Buttrick caught a small pickerel from which he
cut a strip for bait. (I then left him and started
over t he meadow to look for Snipe. I had gone only
a few rods from the boat when one rose rather wild.
I fired both barrels but it kept on flying directly
into the birch covers on the southern edge of the meadow.
I followed and Don quickly found the bird lying
perfectly dead on a pile of bush.
[margin]A day down river with Geo. Buttrick[/margin]
   Returning to the meadow I beat it for some time
vainly but Don at length began drawing and
finally flushed a wild Snipe which got off unshot
at and flew so far before alighting that I did not
care to follow it.) There were about thirty Titlarks in
the usual roosting place and I counted 22 Horned
Larks flying in a compact flock over the river but
ignoring the meadow. I also saw two March Hawks,
one a fine old [male].
[margin]A late Snipe[/margin]
[margin]Titlarks. Horned Larks[/margin]
  We started up river just before sunset. As we were passing
the "turn of the Holt" I heard a loud rustling among
the dead leaves in a thicket on the bank and
looking closely spied a minute animal skipping
about among the stems of the bushes and in and
out the holes between their roots. It was so very active
that I could not get a shot for some time but
at length it started out over the water apparently
running on the surface rather than swimming
and apparently purposing the cross the river. I fired
[margin]Cooper's Shrew[/margin]