as houses should, because the winds blow the 
sand out from under the corners and let them. 
down. There are scarcely any trees and very 
hittle grows except on some of the sand-dunes, 
where the wild sea-oats wave their heads at every 
passing breeze. 
Ktinnekeet is on a flat, sandy island forty 
miles long, and for much of the distance is only 
amile wide. On one side, where the ocean break- 
ers constantly beat, there is a fine sandy shore. 
Along the other side there are salt marshes and 
mud flats, and beyond these the waters of 
Pamlico Sound. This has proved to be a good 
place for gulls to pass the winter and here Hard- 
heart stayed for many weeks. 
One thing he quickly learned was that clams 
were good to eat. But how was he to get in- 
side of the hard shell? A clam was too large for 
him to swallow whole. Hardheart solved the 
problem. When the tide was low he would fly 
about over the mud flats until he spied a clam. 
Then he would drop down, pick it up, and wing 
over to the ocean beach where the sand was 
packed hard. From a height of fifty feet or more 
Z1 
