:::::::::C TWO BIRD -LOVERS IN MEXICO B-"--" 



Man-o'-War. Its tiny bladder-sail was buoyant and full- 

 stretched, reflecting all the hues of the rainbow, and 

 the curling tentacles trailed after. At sight of it a 

 thousand memories of palm-studded shores rushed over 

 us, and, looking up, we realized that the miles had 

 slipped past more quickly than we thought, for only 

 a short distance away was the white beach of mid- 

 Florida. It was there — we can discern almost the 

 very spot — that last winter we watched so many hun- 

 dreds of fleets of these selfsame Men-o'-\Var come to 

 grief, wrecks innumerable, but exquisite even in their 

 death. 



We now ediied inshore still closer. The olass 

 showed everv familiar feature ; tlie feathery cabba<ie- 

 palms, tall and graceful ; the dense, stiff palmettoes ; 

 now and then a little chnul of Sanderlinofs blowintr 

 seaward and back again ; and, fiiiallv, a long dark 

 undulating line, now tlirobbing with action, now mov- 

 ing smoothly, and we knew that the Brown Pelicans 

 were on the way to their fishing-grounds. A flock of 

 Bluebills passed swiftly, and higli over the land hung 

 the Vultures, forever waiting and watching. Once, 

 with the glass, we made out a mass of circling, soar- 

 ing birds. This is the aerial guard of Pelicans watch- 

 ing over their islet in Indian River, where last year 

 we saw hundreds of nests, eggs, and young birds, all 

 crowded closely together on a low island of some 

 three acres' extent. Throuo-h an inlet we caug-ht a 



«^ 4 -^ - 



