322 NATURAL HISTORY OF HAWAII. 



Old 'Stump Leg." 



It is interesting' to l^now tluit once the journey is suecessfully made, bar- 

 ring- accident the voyager is abh' ever afterwards tn make the passage with 

 unerring- accuracy. An interesting- ease in point is the record I secured from 

 Mr. Max Schlemmer, who tor several years was the manager of tlie coh)ny of 

 hiborers formerly stationed on the little sand island of Laysan. Tliis island is 

 l)ut a mile and a half across by two miles in length. Nevertheless, plover 

 occur there in large Hocks each winter season. 



On one occasion a fine male l)ird tluit was in tiie h:ihit of roosting every 

 night on a little mound of sand a few rods from the door of the manager's 

 house, attracted his attention as it fluttered about on the sand apparently 

 unable to fly. Picking it up it was found that a bunch of hair and refuse was 

 wound about the bird's foot and leg, and that this had been added to with 

 dirt and sand until a buncli large enough to v/eight the bird down had fornn^d. 

 In its etforts to tly it had broken its leg and was in a pitiable condition. Tlie 

 manager amputated the leg at the fracture and set the bird at liheft\-. To the 

 surprise of all, it healed perfectly. The stump-leg furnished a marl< for itlen- 

 tification that served to distinguish the bird from its fellows, and it naturally 

 became an object of interest in the colony. It remained about the island all 

 winter, returning each night to its favorite roostiug-place on the sand mound. 

 It became unusually tame and fearless. When spring came, however, it re- 

 sponded to the most powerful call that stirs the avian bi-ain. the lioming 

 instinct, and with its fellows left the wave-waslied sliores of Laysan to make 

 the long flight back from whence they came, seemingly for no more intelli- 

 gible reason than that they had made the journey before. 



Naturally, the manager bade good-l)ye forever, as lie thought, to his bird 

 neighboi- the fii-st night it failed to return to its I'oost. But being a seafaring 

 man, and aeeustcmied to the excellent discipline of keeping a ship's log-book, 

 wliether on land or sea, he accordingly made a note of llie fact with day and 

 date and dismissed the incident from his mind. The sununer passed, and one 

 early autumn day the whole colony was thrown into a state of excitement by 

 the announcement that the stump-leg plover had returned the night before 

 and had In'en found that morning occupying his sand-jiile i-oost. The liird Avas 

 apparently as nnicli a1 home as though a siunnier cruise to some distant land 

 was a regular occurrence and a matter of little consequence. Natur;dly, st> 

 important an event as the return of the stump-leg plover to its winter home 

 was made a matter of record in the log for the day. The bird more than ever 

 became the object of interest and concern on the part of all hands, for had he 

 not accomplished a feat entitling him to the highest respect among seafaring 



(Vencription of Plate Ciwtinued from Opposite Page.) 



I^C'trcl I Oeof I {Occanodroma cn/jitoleucura). 5. Hawaiian Tern [Noio] (^J icraiiiiii.t hiiicdiirn- 

 sis). 6. Bonin Petrel {j^strelata hypoU'uca). 7. Hawaiian Coot [Alae keokeo] (Fiilii-d atai). 

 8. Hawaiian Hawk [lo] {Butco soUtariiis) ; light jilumage. 9. Hawaiian Gallinule [Alae] 

 ( Gallinula sanclvicensis) . 



