South Beach. 31 



it as if it had been a butterfly. Further out from the shore 

 there are often large schools of fish, that make the water 

 dark for a space, and which may be individually distin- 

 guished as they are momentarily raised in a swelling wave 

 above the general level of the sea. 



Many sandpipers run along the beach at certain seasons, 

 just at the edge of the waves, and sometimes the zig-zag of 

 their motions is remarkable. They look like little dancing- 

 machines, their movements are so rapid, and they turn at 

 such sharp angles in their pursuit of the sandhoppers. It 

 is fatal for a sand-flea to have rheumatism. One stormy 

 day I particularly observed four of these birds standing in 

 shoal water, and occasionally running their bills into the 

 sand. The tide was out, and they appeared to be less 

 active than usual, but stood about, scratched their heads 

 with their wet feet, preened their feathers, and looked like 

 four old men in gray coats standing solemnly together, with 

 their heads pulled down between their shoulders. One 

 of the number had but a single leg, but he nevertheless got 

 about quickly, and seemed well-grounded and sure-footed. 

 He would stand where the incoming wave washed against 

 him, and I could not detect that he even so much as 

 rocked on his frail support. The surviving leg was slanted 

 under his body from left to right, so as to make the center 

 of gravity fall in the proper place. One often hears the 

 reports of guns by the meadow-creeks and on the shore, 

 and sees the little clouds of smoke curl upward. It was 

 thus that the sandpiper lost his leg, but the rest of his body 

 was fortunate enough to fly away. In these days of pen- 

 sions, what is he to receive ? 



