IIO Cruise of the "Alert" 



question, and over, under, or through which it was almost impos- 

 sible to get. .Sometimes one could get over these bushes by 

 lying down at full length and rolling sideways down the incline; 

 but this method was objectionable, for it was sometimes ten or 

 fifteen feet from the surface to the hard ground beneath. The 

 reason of this curious growth is obvious enough. Each aspiring 

 leafy twig that happens by a too luxuriant growth to shoot 

 above its fellows, is cut down by the relentless blast before it 

 can acquire strength enough to make good its footing ; and 

 those branches alone survive in the struggle which grow uniformly 

 with their neighbours, and which thus present a sufficiently compact 

 surface to withstand the blighting influence of the westerly gales. 



One day, when we were lying at our old anchorage in Tom 

 Bay, I saw a cormorant rise to the surface with a large fish in its 

 mouth, which, for several minutes, it vainly attempted to swallow. 

 I noticed it chucking the fish about until it had got hold of it by 

 the head, but even then it seemed unable to "strike down" the 

 savoury morsel. A flock of dominican gulls now appeared on 

 the scene, and seeing the state of affairs at once swooped down 

 on the unlucky cormorant, but the wily bird discomfited them by 

 diving and carrying the fish with it. It was now most ludicrous 

 to witness the disappointed appearance of the gulls, as they sat in 

 a group on the water looking foolishly about, and apparently 

 overcome with grief at their inability to follow up the chase by 

 diving. After an interval of about half-a-minute the cormorant 

 reappeared some distance off with the fish still in its mouth, and 

 now one of the gulls succeeded at last in snatching the fish from 

 its grasp, and flew away with it rapidly up a long winding arm of 

 the sea. At this critical moment a skua (Stercorarius chilensis], 

 hove in sight, and gave chase to the fugitive gull, until, unfortu- 

 nately, a turn in the creek concealed both birds from our sight, 

 but left us to safely conjecture that the last coiner had ultimately 

 the satisfaction of consuming the wretched fish. 



I have often wondered at the apparently stupid manner in 



