195
*
Lake Umbagog
Pine Point
1898.
August 28           
(No 2)                          
  Later in the afternoon Will storm and I walked 
through the woods to Osgood's Point. Last autumn
the guides threw a half-bushel of salt on the
ground near this path. The Deer found it and
the effort of their visits to the place is surprising
enough. Over a space of a quarter of an acre or more
there is not a trace of vegetation save that
represented by the larger trees - not a fern, nor a 
patch of moss, even so much as the smallest leaf
or blade of grass. The ground everywhere is trampled
smooth and hard and in several places holes 
a foot or two deep and a yard in diameter has
been dug. The whole area looks like a much used 
cattle pen.
[margin]We put 
out salt
for Deer
with
astonishing
results[/margin]
  As we were sitting on the rocks at the end
of Osgard's Point we saw a number of Sheldrake
round the S.W. extremity of Pine Point about half-
a-mile away. As they were heading towards us
we decided to sit still and see if they would not
come past us watching them the while through our
glasses. We might have concealed ourselves easily
enough but I wanted to test the truth of a 
statement that Mr. Sherman had made to the 
effect that Sheldrake will not notice a man in
the most exposed situation provided we remained
motionless. These birds came on rapidly following
every indentation of the rocky shore, now strung out
in single file, occasionally thrashing the water
with their wings and frequently diving. 
[margin]Merganser
americanus[/margin]