a few feet farther up the stream, and then as suddenly
comes to a stop, and resumes his quiet, "thoughtful" attitude. If you
persist in your attempt to capture him, he will dart under a small
stone or submerged leaf, where, like the foolish ostrich which when
pursued hides her head under her wing, no longer seeing you, he thinks
himself secure.

[Illustration: RAINBOW DARTER.]

On account of the shape of his body, as well as on account of his
rapid movements, he has received the surname "darter." Belonging to
the group which bears this surname, there are, in the eastern half of
the United States, about forty-seven species or kinds, the largest of
which, when full grown, measures only about six inches in length,
while the smallest species never reaches a length of more than an inch
and a half. They all have the same habits, and at least twenty-nine
kinds of them are found in Indiana; but the one of which I am writing
is much the more common. He is from two to two and a half inches in
length, and, like the other members of his family, has two fins on his
back; "dorsal" fins they are called by naturalists, the front one of
which contains ten short spines. During eight months of the year, the
males and females dress alike in a suit of brownish olive which is
striped on the sides with ten or twelve narrow, black cross-bars, and
more or less blotched on the back with darker spots. But on the first
warm days of spring, when the breezes blow up from the gulf, awakening
the gypsy in our blood, the little male fish feels, too, their
influence, and in him there arises an irresistible desire to
"a-courting go." Like most other beings of his sex, he thinks his
every-day suit too plain for the important business before him. It
will, in his opinion, ne'er catch the eye of his lady love. So he dons
one of gaudy colors and from it takes his name,--the rainbow
darter,--for in it he is best known, as it not only attracts the
attention of his chosen one, but often also that of the wandering
naturalist who happens along the stream.

The blackish bars of other seasons are changed to indigo blue, while
the space between them assumes a hue of the brightest orange. The fins
are broadly edged with blue and have the bases orange, or orange and
scarlet, while the cheeks assume the blue and the breast becomes an
orange. Clad in this suit he ventures forth on his mission, and if
successful, as he almost always is, the two construct a nest of tiny