862 



"111'; l!l.AC'K-l''()( )TKI) AIJ'.ATKOSS. 



Iliglit alxmt tlic heleaj^iRTCil vessel and seem thus in sheer wantonness lo mock 

 tlie labor of steam, l^xcelled in ])(i\\ers of tliyht h\- none, and rivalled only by 

 tlie Man o' War liinl ( I'ri'iinUi aqiiihij. the Albatross is at once the marvel 

 and the despaii' of human attainment ; attainment noi merely by wav of imita- 

 tion — thai were impdssihle — but in tlie mailer of understanding;, llow docs 

 he do it? .Xpparenllv by a mere ellorl of will. ceriainK' \\ithi>ut \isible pro- 

 pulsion, the bird skims low o\er the water. eludiiiL; with consummate skill the 

 une\"enly-crested wa\es. or else shuois aloft witliout a stinke upon those rigidly 



outstretched 

 pinions. 



Vet in s])ite 

 of the fact 

 that all of 

 (J c can's un- 

 t r a m m e 1 e d 

 wastes are be- 

 fore him, and 

 that abundant 

 \ lands, fish 

 and Sfpiids and 

 sea - f a r i n g 

 c rust aceans, 

 a w ait his 

 pleasure, this 

 n:)\-er is singu- 

 larlv at our 

 mercv. The 

 tragedy of the 



Taken on Laysan Island. 



Photo bj IV. K. Fishe 



Ancient Mari- 

 THE DUET ner was first 



of all a trag- 

 edy of bii'ddife. Tlie conlidence of an Albatross was wantonh' l)etra\'ed and 

 all the misfortune followed — in the story. In jjoint of fact the betraval, tho 

 not the retribution, has been a thousand times repeated. On certain ships it is 

 considered great sport to shoot "MolKniawks"' ; and pum]i guns are far more 

 destructise than crossbows. 



But that is not the worst. Haxing the sea before him. tlie Albatross 

 could, of course, let us alone if we were unworthv of confidence; but we have 

 (lisco\-ered his breeding haunts upon certain isl;mds of the mid-Pacific. Here 

 is what hap])ened in one instance in the case of a related species, the Laysan 

 Albatross. lyioiucdca iniiinitabilis. It was on Marcus Island ( Lat. 24° 14' N., 

 Long. 1 =;4° R. ), for a time under control (d" the Ja])anese, but later relin- 



