9IO 



THE Rlll.\( )C'I:R( )S AIKI.ET. 



bank: ami I ti illi i\\ i-il aimtlK-i- ilini >anil in a ik-]iili cif tiftt-en feet, onl\- to find 

 it empty. Tliis last, I take it. was tlie wnrk dt" a jilted suitnr, \entin,L; his feel- 

 intjs by sh(i\\in£,f the co(|iiette what a fine house she might have liatl. 



When the female Ijegins id bniod her single egg, the male spends his days 

 at sea. returning after night f.ill in \\-v(\ his mate ?nd. it may be, exchange 

 places with her. The Indians take advantage of this habit to catch the birds, 

 which they accnunl good e.ating. Ha\'ing first selected a populous neighbor- 

 hood, they thrust grass intn a set of contiguous burrows, j)ressing it in to 

 arm"s length for the pur])(ise id" detaining the returning bird later in the e\-en- 



Takcn on Destruction Isliind. 



Photo by the Author. 



A SULKY HEN. 



ing. At nine o'clock or such a matter, they post themselves in the gatliering 

 gloom to watch their traps, secreting themselves, if need be, in the bushes. 

 The colony is silent now, but presently there is a sudden whirr of wings, a 

 dark obiect strikes the bank and disappears. InstantK- the watchful native 

 closes the entrance of the burrow and seizes the confused Auklet from Iicbind. 

 It is creepy business, and not less so now that the whole scene is lighted up by 

 the accusingly benignant eye of the lighthouse. However, one may lie ])ar- 

 doned a strictlv ])s\-choli>gical stu(h-, even in the r(ibl)ing of a hen-roost. 



