EARLY SPRING IN MASSACHUSETTS. 161 
as it were calling to some of his kind that may 
also have arrived. 
Sitting under the handsome scarlet oak be¬ 
yond the hill, I hear a faint note far in the 
wood which reminds me of the robin ; again I 
hear it; it is he, an occasional peep. These 
notes of the earliest birds seem to invite forth 
vegetation. 
Now I hear, when passing the south side of 
the hill, or first when threading the maple 
swamp far west of it, the tchuck tchuck of a 
blackbird, and after, a distinct conqueree . So 
it is a red-wing. Thus these four species of 
birds all come in one day, no doubt, to almost 
all parts of the town. 
March 17, 1859. 6£ A. m. River rises still 
higher.A great many musquash have 
been killed within a week. One says a cart¬ 
load have been killed in Assabet. Perhaps 
a dozen gunners have been out in this town 
every day. They get a shilling apiece for their 
skins. One man getting musquash and one 
mink earned five or six dollars the other day. 
I hear their guns early and late, long before 
sunrise and after sunset, for these are the best 
times. 
P. M. To Flint’s Bridge by water. The water 
is very high and as smooth as it ever is. It is 
very warm. I wear but one coat. On the 
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