THE QUEST FOR THE CORMORANT'S NEST 



LONGr black line appeared 

 upon the horizon and bore 

 down upon us, a pulsating, 

 waving battalion of three 

 hundred great birds fly- 

 ing abreast. Over the 

 waves of Pamlico Sound 

 they came, their long 

 wings almost touching 

 the water with every 

 stroke. From the deck 

 of our vessel we watched 

 them cross our bows, as 

 they winged their way far 

 into the glare of the sink- 

 ing sun to a spot where a 

 low-lying island of shells 

 reared its back above the water. Here among hundreds of 

 their fellows they alighted, and drawing their sable wings 

 about them sought the rest and sleep which the night should 

 bring. 



This island is situated in a nook of the North Carolina 



[101] 



