232 WILD NATURE'S WAYS. 



In spite of the fact that two unfortunate 

 visitors had lost their lives at this particular spot 

 by a fall over the cliff, I yielded to an impulse 

 to visit it again the next day, partly influenced 

 by a doubt whether I had secured good negatives 

 and partly as a surrender to the alluring pleasures 

 of watching the birds at such close quarters. I 

 regret to say, however, that I suffered a great 

 disappointment, and was the unwilling witness 

 of a sickening exhibition of heartless cruelty. 



A number of pleasure-seekers arrived on the 

 Craig that morning, but its rough, inhospitable 

 sides and dizzying steepness soon proved too 

 much for all excepting two young members of 

 the party. These two accompanied the chief 

 assistant of the lighthouse staff and myself to 

 the Slunk to see the birds, When we drew near 

 I was mortified to witness an old white billygoat, 

 belonging to the herd of " gone-wilds" living on 

 the place, suddenly dash from a shady corner 

 formed by the rocky promontory mentioned 

 above, and startle nearly all the kittiwakes off 

 their nests. Had I not already seen members 

 of the species to which this patriarchal animal 

 belonged walk across a stage on the corks of a 

 row of empty champagne bottles, and give other 

 proofs of their sure-footed nimbleness, I never 

 would have believed that any quadruped could 

 rush at top speed along such an awful path as 



