285
1897.
Sept. 29
Lake Umbagog.
Trip up Cambridge River
  Clear with high wind through the middle of the
day falling to nearly dead calm at evening.
  At 9 A.M. I started up Cambridge River with
Jim, in the hunting boat, taking both cameras and
a large number of plates. The wind was rising when 
we left the house boat and it interfered sadly with
our attempts at photography but later in the 
afternoon the conditions were fairly good and I exposed
nearly all my plates.
  On the way up the river I kept my gun ready most
of the time and bagged two birds, a Partridge which
I shot on the ground among some alders and a 
Sheldrake which I killed as it rose from the water.
The Sheldrake was a solitary bird and was exceptionally
tame. We came suddenly on it as we rounded a bend
but for several seconds it did not appear to notice us.
Finally it began swimming slowly off and as we
pressed it harder, rose, but not until we were within
a very few yards.
[margin]Partridge
Gooseander[/margin]
  There were two Partridges together but the other bird
escaped me. It flew up into a balsam and alighted
behind a big cluster of twigs & foliage which concealed
it almost perfectly & through which I feared the shot
would not penetrate. At length it started to fly
again when I fired at but missed it. These Partridges
attracted my attention by making the snickering noise
which is so very like that of the Red Squirrel that
most of the guides confess their inability to
distinguish with certainty between these two animals. 
[margin]Partridges[/margin]