AMONG THE WaATER-FOWL 
it is a strain upon the nerves to be ever on guard 
against taking a single careless step and falling off 
the cliff. The birds seemed so wonderfully at 
ease, launching off into space, that, after watching 
them awhile, it seemed almost natural and proper 
to follow their example. 
At length, in our tour of investigation, we came 
around to the 
south-east end 
of ‘the aslanes 
where the Puf- 
fins breed. The 
ground here was 
rather less grassy, 
rough, with rock 
cropping out. 
Here and there 
were holes in 
the ground, the 
entrances to the 
GANNET AND eek Oe ee earn aie burrows of the 
AS SEEN FROM ABOVE Pufthn S, which 
most often led 
in under some flat rock. Groups of Puthns were 
congregated upon several projecting rocks at the 
edge of the cliff, and now and then an incubat- 
ing bird would scurry out from a hole, as we 
appro sached, and fly off. Here the cliff was broken 
into a series of comparatively broad ledges, which 
one could reach successively by several iron ladders. 
It did not seem as formidable as on the other 
side, and we both made the descent to the lowest 
ledge, about fifteen or twenty feet above the water. 
60 
Wh ok 
Pata FN om 
