ON LONELY BIRD KEY 
93 
night for the “ crawling ” of the great turtles, bathing in the 
limpid waters of the Gulf, upon the warm sandy beach gather¬ 
ing curious sea-weeds, bright shells, sponges, and corals, 
reading, forsooth, — as did my companion aloud to me from 
SOOTY TERN OVER EGG 
the poems of Longfellow, as we sat at dusk looking out upon 
the sea and watched the Man-o’-War Birds soar and the terns 
come back with edible tidings from afar, — and at night, free 
from insect annoyance, — for there are few mosquitoes on 
the Dry Tortugas, — be lulled to slumber on the open porch 
by the weird cries of the birds! This is living, indeed ! 
Had it not been for the Sooty Terns, this lone key would 
have been a quiet spot. The great Man-o’-War Birds, seem- 
