looks and the old man's vague words
that their fear of the wood was superstitious. If dangerous creatures
had existed there tigers, or camoodis, or solitary murderous
savages--they would have said so; but when I pressed them with questions
they could only repeat that "something bad" existed in the place, that
animals were abundant there because no Indian who valued his life dared
venture into it. I replied that unless they gave me some more definite
information I should certainly go again and put myself in the way of the
danger they feared.

My reckless courage, as they considered it, surprised them; but they had
already begun to find out that their superstitions had no effect on me,
that I listened to them as to stories invented to amuse a child, and for
the moment they made no further attempt to dissuade me.

Next day I returned to the forest of evil report, which had now a
new and even greater charm--the fascination of the unknown and the
mysterious; still, the warning I had received made me distrustful and
cautious at first, for I could not help thinking about it. When we
consider how much of their life is passed in the woods, which become
as familiar to them as the streets of our native town to us, it seems
almost incredible that these savages have a superstitious fear of all
forests, fearing them as much, even in the bright light of day, as a
nervous child with memory filled with ghost-stories fears a dark room.
But, like the child in the dark room, they fear the forest only when
alone in it, and for this reason always hunt in couples or parties.
What, then, prevented them from visiting this particular wood, which
offered so tempting a harvest? The question troubled me not a little; at
the same time I was ashamed of the feeling, and fought against it; and
in the end I made my way to the same sequestered spot where I had rested
so long on my previous visit.

In this place I witnessed a new thing and had a strange experience.
Sitting on the ground in the shade of a large tree, I began to hear a
confused noise as of a coming tempest of wind mixed with shrill calls
and cries. Nearer and nearer it came, and at last a multitude of birds
of many kinds, but mostly small, appeared in sight swarming through the
trees, some running on the trunks and larger branches, others flitting
through the foliage, and many keeping on the wing, now hovering and
now darting this way or that. They were all busily searching for and
pursu