10 THE CONDOR Vol. XXI few days inter August 26--in crossing the Bridge again I happened on the concluding chapter of the Rudelies' history--a mother Ruddy leading five tiny ducklings up the Conlee--so, in spite of its unavoidable gaps, my Bridge work came to a satisfactory conclusion. '. In following the marsh-bordered windings of the Conlee from the Bridge to the northeast, one day, I came to a small open lake, evidently connected with the Conlee in high water, over which two white Terns and a large white Gull were hunting. Commanding the lake was a brushy ridge p?obably used for hunting cover as the Ducks were hopelessly wild. When I appeared in sight a flock of perhaps a hundred Seaups rose, and soon after all stragglers of what- ever kind departed. Beyond the lake, as I followed a cow path overlooking the Conlee and the adjoining pastures, filled with horses and cattle, an old Nor- wegian ?voman having a handkerchief tied over her head, and wearing a for- eign looking cloth jacket and a big blue apron, came laboriously trudging up ?hc path toward me, followed by two 'dogs. ?l?he dogs, like some of the horses and children I ?net in my unfamilar field costrune, co?npleted by ca?np stool and glass, shrank away afraid of me, but the weary old woman, after our greet- ing, motioned me to open' my eamp stool for her to rest. When I questioned her about the waterways in sight she pointed to the Conlee and making bends above and below, said"'Lak, lak", going on in Norwegian with explanations Chat ?vere lost on ?ne. Farther north, three miles east of the farmhouse across the prairie, and near ?he family tree claim, as I discovered later, was a second Bridge over the Conlee, and one afternoon about the middle of July, taking.a child with me, I drove over in the family tWo-wheeled cart. As we approached, no water was in sight, but thc high black frame of the iron Bridge loomed up frown the surrounding greenness. A grass grown road led to it and the Bridge floor itself was earthed and green. "No automobiles go over that road once in' six ?nonths" I had been assured when told to hitch old Polly. to the Bridge--no fence being within reach--and I could well believe it when looking up the di?n road beyond to the farmhouse on the horizon. A flock of pretty little Bank Swallows almost flew into us at the end of 1.he Bridge as if surprised by our presence, and fluttered and hesitated so close to us that the dusky bands on the white breasts were conspicuous. Barn Swal- lows were flying about the Bridge, now over, now under, and small voices from below us hinted'that they were feeding young in safe niches of the foun- dation. A pedestrian--a Franklin ground squirrel, quite different from the "flicker-tail" in having a dark back and long tail, came trotting across the Bridge with pretty confidence. Though the Conlee was here on its way down to the second Bridge, its cur- rent was so sluggish that it seemed to end in the green marsh grass. Coots had splashed away through the green on our approach and through the water weeds I could just make out a blackish head stretchcd cautiously around a bend of cane. Along the borders of narrow wate?vays glimpses were had of other swimmers, and once I caught sight of the snaky head of a Pied-billed Grebe, n.?y first in several years, but it quickly dived and did not reappear. A brown Bittern rose from the edge of the canes and flew away, a pair of Black Terns were evidently feeding young in the marsh, one of the?n with food in its bill hesitating and scolding over our heads. Yellow-headed Blackbirds and Red- wings were also apparently feeding young, the Yellow-heads going down again
