The noise of my paddle disturbed a Fish Hawk who 
gawe his loud, mellow whistling call, evidently very near 
although I failed to get a sight at him. 
Muskrats seem to be scarce this autumn. I s aw two 
last evening and one to-night swimming across the river 
below Ball's Hill, 
On the night of the 14th when the wind was roaring 
in the tree tops and rain falling in torrents, Gilbert and 
I heard a cry that was wholly new to us both. It began with 
a low, broken wail or whine and ended with a howl much like 
that of a dog. The creature, whatever it was, was apparently 
on the hillside east of the cabin and certainly not over 
thirty or forty yards off. It is most unlikely that a dog 
would have been in such a place at such a time (the hour 
was about 10 P, M, and the night as dark as possible), I 
suspect that it may have been a coon. Long tells me that 
he has heard coons cry and that their call resembles a 
screech owl’s. The firstjpart of the cry Gilbert and I heard 
was not at all unlike a screech owl’s wail. 
