CITIES OF THE BROWN PELICANS 3 



night the curious " Chuck-Will' s-Widow " and the Florida 

 Screech Owl put in their contemplative refrains. For the first 

 few days we almost wilted under the eighty-five degrees of 

 temperature, Fahrenheit, but soon got ourselves in good form 

 for hard tramps and various adventures. 



On the morning of the sixteenth, after waiting for the 

 regular sea-breeze to arise, w^e were making a slow start for 

 Pelican Island, twelve miles farther down the river. Within 

 forty minutes the expected breeze began to spring up fair from 

 the north-northeast, and we scudded along, rejoicing in the 

 delightful conditions and surroundings. The mullets were 

 leaping, as usual. Scaup Ducks and Scoters flew up before 

 us, while Bald Eagles soared and OsjDreys plied their fishing 

 amid lavish abundance, flying with their prey to the tropical- 

 looking shores lined with palms and mangroves. By ten 

 o'clock we began to see lines of great pelicans with slow, 

 measured flight coming in from the ocean and flying down- 

 stream past us, and before eleven o'clock the guide pointed 

 out Pelican Island. 



No tremendous cliffs were there, as at Bird Rock, in the 

 Gulf of St. Lawrence. Indeed, until we had come quite close, 

 it was hard to distinguish this small low island from the neigh- 

 boring shore, not half a mile away, with its jungle of palms 

 and mangroves. Then we could see many beating wings, 

 and, with our field-glasses, a great crowd of birds upon the 

 ground — the Brown Pelicans upon their nests. With eager 

 anticipation we made readv our batterv of cameras for the 

 bloodless fray, casting anxious glances at the heavy cumulus 

 clouds which threatened to spoil the light at the critical mo- 

 ment. And now we were close enough to take in the w^hole 

 situation. Here was the low, flat islet of only about three 

 acres, somewhat triangular in form. A very few small palmet- 

 tos and low mangrove trees and stumps were standing, but 



