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Title
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Thomas County, July 3-11, July 27-30, 1911
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Date
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July 3-11, July 27-30, 1911
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Creator
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Frank Shoemaker
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Description
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Narratives
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Identifier
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321301-1911-0145.jpg
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Transcription
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16 In the late afternoon of July 7th, I was enjoying my usual evening walk along the outer edge of the border of trees skirting the river, and had reached a point half a mile from the Forest Reserve Station , when my attention was attracted by persistent alarm notes of the Bell vireo, one of the very common birds in the bushes along the river. I made my way through the plum thicket, and, guided by the calls, had no difficulty in finding the nest, containing young birds, with both parents fluttering about in great excitement. The nest was well out on a branch, suspended in the usual way between diverging twigs, not over two feet from the ground. I expected to find a blue jay responsible for the disturbance, but instead it proved to be a bull snake, which I did not at first see, as it was in the branches above and several feet away from the nest. The snake had evidently observed my approach, and was absolutely motionless, except for the playing of its tongue. I settled very slowly, so as not to alarm the snake, to an easy position with one knee on the ground, and awaited developments. The birds were so overwrought by the menace of the snake that the lesser calamity of my insignificant self by their nest did not bother them, and they perched several times on twigs within two feet of my face, devoting all their vocabulary to the bull-snake. Other birds joined in. A long-tailed chat perched only four feet from me, wrinkled his brow, made several irrelevant remarks after the manner of chats, and retired in good order. An orchard oriole appeared, viewed the situation from twenty-seven positions in as many seconds, said not a word, and passed by on the other side. Meanwhile, for at least five minutes, the snake did not move a fraction of an inch; tense and watchful, with the head and several inches of its body held well away from the branch about which it was twined, it
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Rights
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To inquire about usage, please contact Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries. These images are for educational use only. Not all images are available for publication.
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Is Version Of
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321301-1911-0145_321301-1911-0145.jpg
