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IN THE DUNES 33 



thick bulky masses of twigs so completely inter- 

 woven as to stand a good deal of rough handling 

 without coming to pieces. 



The point of vantage from which to view the 

 heronry at the height of the season is from the 

 top of Wigwam Hill. Below stretch the green 

 tops of the pines, dotted, as with splendid white 

 blossoms, by the beautiful birds that stand on 

 the tree-tops near their nests and brooding mates. 

 When one enters the heronry on foot, the scene 

 is not so enchanting, and one's ears are assailed 

 by strange and discordant sounds, one's nostrils 

 by odors ancient and hshlike. Everything is 

 whitewashed here and one must be wary. By 

 watching the actions of the nearly naked young 

 birds that climb about the branches, one becomes 

 convinced of their recent reptilian ancestry. 

 Tragedies among the young are common as 

 shown in the mummified corpses, caught by the 

 neck in the crotch of branches and swinging as 

 though from gibbets. Foxes get good hunting in 

 this region. 



The inception and growth of this heronry has 

 been most interesting and well illustrates the ad- 



