know not whether my
rustling or what had disturbed it; but I let her pass, and she ran away
before me. When she was fairly out of sight, I stepped up, and found
she had a nest and sixteen eggs there. I exactly marked the place, and
taking away one of the eggs, I broke it, at some distance from the nest,
to see how forward they were; and I had no sooner broke the shell but
out came a young chicken. I then looked into the nest again, and taking
up more of the eggs, I found them all just splintered in the shell, and
ready for hatching. I had immediately a desire to save them, and bring
them up tame; but I was afraid if I took them away before they were
hatched, and a little strengthened under the hen, they would all die; so
I let them remain till next day. In the meanwhile I prepared some small
netting of such a proper size as I conceived would do, and with this
I contrived, by fastening it to stakes which I fixed in the ground,
to surround the nest, and me on the outside of it. All the while I was
doing this, the hen did not stir, so that I thought she had either been
absent when I came, or had hatched and gone off with the young ones. As
to her being gone I was under no concern; for I had no design to
catch her, but only to confine the chickens within my net if they were
hatched. But, however, I went nearer, and peeping in, found she sat
still, squeezing herself as flat to the ground as she could. I was in
twenty minds whether to take her first, and then catch the chickens, or
to let her go off, and then clap upon them; but as I proposed to let her
go, I thought if she would sit still till I had got the chickens, that
would be the best way; so I softly kneeled down before her, and sliding
my hand under her, I gently drew out two, and put them in a bag I had in
my left hand. I then dipped again and again, taking two every turn; but
going a fourth time, as I was bringing out my prize, the hen jumped up,
flew out, and made such a noise that, though I the minute before saw six
or seven more chicks in a lump where she had sat, and kept my eye upon
them, yet before I could put the last two I had got into my bag, these
were all gone, and in three hours' search I could not find one of them,
though I was sure they could not pass my net, and must be within the
compass of a small room, my toils enclosing no more. After tiring myself
with looking for them, I marched home with those eight I had got.

I told Youwarkee what I had done,