1893
April 30
Concord, Mass.
Clear, the early morning cool, the rest of the day very
warm. Light, variable winds from every quarter of the compass
with long intervals of perfect calm.
  To Ball's Hill at 9.30 A.M. paddling down against
a feeble E. wind. When I returned at 3 P.M. the wind
was S.W. to N.W. coming in strong puffs at times.
The Tolmans dined with me at the cabin and Spelman
& Burrage called on the way down river to the sea. 
There were very few birds in the woods near Ball's Hill
and I saw nothing of interest except a Thrasher & 
a Mniotilta, the latter singing. 
[margin](Ball's Hill)[/margin]
  In a low, swampy place near a brook we found a 
Snapping Turtle of about 15 lbs. weight. Tolman began
teasing it with a stick when, to our great surprise,
it worked its way steadily & quite rapidly down into 
the ground which although soft was dry & fine enough
to walk on with ordinary shoes. In less than a minute
the creature's back was level with the surface; in another
minute it had wholly disappeared & in some curious
& mysterious way the earth had closed over its back. By
prodding with a stick we found that its back was two
inches or more beneath the surface. It did not go down
head first but with the shell perfectly level. There was
little perceptible motion the feet & the head was
drawn in the whole time. I saw three turtles of this
species in the river to day. Also three Muskrats.
A Bittern pumping steadily on the meadows as I
returned up river. 
[margin]Strange 
behavior of 
a Snapping 
Turtle.[/margin]
  At 4 P.M. drove to Lincoln with T. & dug a lot of
Hepaticas.