i 9 o TWO DIANAS IN ALASKA 



Severn round about Chepstow, a great colony of 

 birds fished assiduously, scurrying and swirling on 

 the face of the waters. The quarrelling and fighting 

 was incessant, and the many cries rent the air in 

 volume of sound. On the outskirts of the noisy 

 throng was a solitary pure white gull, of Point 

 Barrow variety, most handsome of sea-birds. No 

 bars of black marked his spotless coat, his bright 

 beak of flaming yellow being the only vivid colour 

 about him. In slow majestic turns and twists the 

 beautiful bird neared our ship to settle peacefully 

 on the tossing waves beside a blue-black cormorant, 

 a contrast in colour schemes. 



On the estuary numbers of brent geese paddled 

 about in the oozy mud, washed by the waves. Most 

 wary and careful of birds, they took to the open sea 

 at night, and when rising to fly never sailed land- 

 wards. As they flew, their wings beating the air in 

 great rhythmical strokes, the whole concourse of birds 

 called in a hoarse wild note, and given in the unison 

 of several hundreds of throats the noise sounded like 

 a clanking cough requiring a " One-day cold cure " 

 badly. All around the feeding grounds the sea-grass, 

 torn up by the roots, floated in solid masses, the most 

 edible bits having been eaten off. 



Ralph got a lucky shot at a straggler, after stalk- 

 ing the bird for an hour or more. Brent geese are 

 really hard to bag without the paraphernalia of punt, 

 gun, etc., and here on the estuary of mud stalking 

 was a disagreeable, messy business. 



We anchored in the wide mouth of the Kuskokwim 



