A NATIVE NATURALIST 257 



the river, and this bird after a week or ten days lost 

 its wildness and took no notice of the ferryman, 

 although he sometimes rowed his boat to within forty 

 yards of it to watch its movements when it was fish- 

 ing. The sportsmen he ferried across wanted to 

 shoot the diver, but he prevented them. Then one 

 gentleman told him that he would hire a boat and go 

 out and shoot it, in spite of him. He said that a bird 

 so destructive to fish should not be allowed to live in 

 the river. The ferryman said he would prove to 

 him that the diver was doing no harm, and rowing 

 him out to where the bird was diving at its usual 

 feeding-ground they watched, and presently saw it 

 come up with a small green crab in its beak. The 

 sportsman was convinced that the bird was not taking 

 fish, and gave his promise that he would not shoot it. 

 However, a day or two later it was shot at by one of 

 the sportsmen and badly wounded in the side, and from 

 that time the sight of it was a constant pain to him as 

 it moved continually round and round in a circle when 

 attempting to swim and was hardly able to dive. 

 Finally he took his gun and put it out of its misery. 



The young seal, the osprey, the great northern 

 diver were but a few of the creatures he told me of, 

 which, when living, were a source of delight to every 

 one who watched them, whose lives had been wan- 

 tonly taken in the estuary by gentlemen sportsmen. 

 Stories equally sad and shocking were told me by 

 other lovers of nature and observers of wild life at 

 other points on the coast, of how every rare and 

 beautiful species, every owl, buzzard, harrier, chough, 



