86
Lake Umbagog
Outlet
1897
May 28
(No. 4)
  The foregoing literal account of my first experience with
a nesting Log-cock fails to convey any idea of the impression
which the fine bird made on us all as he clung to the
trunk of the old oak some twenty feet above our heads, his
his scarlet crest erect, his eyes flashing, his whole bearing
betokening restless energy, superabundant vigor and a wild
untameable spirit. No wonder that such a creature retreats
or disappears before the advance of the settlements. The
primitive forest is as indispensable to his existence as it
is to that of the Moose or the Beaver or the Wolf.
What dangers can it hold for him? He lives above the
reach of a four-footed marauder and it would be a bold 
Hawk or even larger that would venture to attack so
martial a looking fellow armed as he is, too, with that
long sharp bill. As for the four human creatures sitting
in their boats at the foot of his stronghold he was, it
must be confessed, [delete]evidently[/delete] a shade doubtful. Evidently
he did not quite like our presence so near the nest
and thought it wise to summon his mate and hold a
council of war over the situation. Not that he showed
any signs of fear or even timidity. On the contrary he
seemed disposed [delete]rather[/delete] to resent and resist another
than to flee before our invasion. 
[margin]Nest of
Pileated
Woodpecker [/margin]
  His drum call was especially impressive. It rang out
over the whole country and with the same startling
emphasis that fire bells have when rung in the dead of
night in some quiet village. I half expected to
hear it answered from a closer different direction.
and to see a horde of big scarlet-crested woodpeckers
come charging down on us. But nothing appeared save
a big brown eagle soaring listlessly above the bristling points
of the tall, gaunt stubs  that surrounded us on every side.