Ge A UID UB-O N= BUS CE ET EN 3| 
Horse-shoe |_ake 
By CarL GOWER 
As a bird lover’s paradise Horseshoe Lake, located about eight miles 
west of Mounds, Illinois, cannot be excelled in Southern Illinois. I 
have two very excellent reasons for making such a bold statement. In 
the first place I have visited most of the areas in which birds might be 
found in numbers, and have found none equal to Horseshoe Lake in diver- 
sity or abundance of bird life. In the second place Horseshoe Lake has a 
uniqueness about it which one is unable to match elsewhere in I[Ilinois. If 
Horseshoe Lake were located three hundred miles south of its present 
location, it would be just another small lake, but being where it is, it 
brings a strictly southern atmosphere into our northern climate. 
‘The biggest factor in this uniqueness is the large growth of Bald 
Cypress bordering the lake shore, and even standing in the lake. ‘This 
is to my knowledge the northernmost large growth of cypress in Illinois. 
True there are isolated trees much further north, but no growth to 
compare with that of Horseshoe. Some of the trees along the shore are 
75 to 100 feet high. Another tree rather unusual in this northern climate 
is the Southern Buckeye, which is rather common along the lake shore. 
For those who prefer the woodland there is equal delight, for back from 
the lake extends a large forest—chiefly of Beech—which would please 
even the most particular naturalist. “Chen, too, last but not least, is the 
large cleared area used for feeding geese and ducks, which is about the 
only refuge for these birds in the southern part of the state. 
Within the last year a concrete dam has been built to hold the water, 
and prevent the entire drying up of the lake as it did in the summer of 
1931 and 1932. Due to the large evaporation surface, loose sandy soil 
of the bed, and comparative shallowness of the lake, this is certainly 
one of the wisest expenditures of funds for without the lake half the 
animal and bird life would be lost. Recently a picnic grounds has been 
cleared in the Beech forest about 100 yards from the lake, and a tem- 
porary road built through this woods. It is my sincere hope that this 
road and grounds are not too frequently used by people who care for 
nothing more than a holiday. When such a state exists, Horseshoe Lake 
will be just another State Park. 
My trips to Horseshoe Lake are every one a succession of pleasant 
surprises, for I have never failed to see something entirely new. ‘The 
only thing which mars my enjoyment of Horseshoe Lake is that I am 
not able to spend more time there. I shall give my notes for two of 
these trips during the last year, and for entirely different seasons. 
