man provides his own food for three meals, with the exception 
that coffee and beans are provided for supper, and coffee 
and bacon for breakfast. A sufficient number of tents are 
provided to cover all, and several bales of hay are picked up 
en route for bedding. 
Supper over, a good campfire is built, around which the 
party gathers, and after lists are carefully checked and a 
party list made up, the remainder of the evening is spent in 
swapping experiences and discussing varied subjects of interest 
to the naturalist. A few songs and impromptu entertainments 
by talented members of the party cause the evening to pass 
quickly. Some of the more strenuous take short evening 
trips up and down river listening for rails, whip-poor-wills 
and owls, but these expeditions cover only a limited territory. 
Camp is astir at daylight and breakfast is eaten shortly 
after sunrise. From daylight until nine o’clock, when the 
party again takes to the river. Pine Island is searched from 
end to end, and usually yields a rich harvest of species, among 
which the warblers predominate. This island seems to be a 
peculiarly favorable spot for birds, possibly owing to its 
somewhat isolated position in the midst of a vast swamp, 
and it seems as though every bird following the river either 
up or down, must pause here for a few minutes at least, to 
rest and feed. 
From The Pines to Hemlock Bend, where lunch is eaten, 
the same leisurely method of procedure is followed as from 
Howe to The Pines on the afternoon before. From the Island, 
the river flows nearly east coming first on the right to a small 
hardwood island, and then on the left to a larger island cov¬ 
ered with very fine beeches. Next comes the mouth of a 
large backwater on the left and shortly thereafter is a similar 
backwater on the right, just below which is a series of hard¬ 
wood ridges shaped somewhat in the form of a F with a curv¬ 
ing tail. On the lower left tip of the V is Dodge’s Camp 
where many wild ducks are shot each fall. Just below this 
camp, Idlewood Brook comes winding out of the swamp and 
empties into the river. 
With Vineyard Hill blocking its course, the river now takes 
a sharp left turn and runs a little west of north around a large 
15 
