40



Mr. COLLINGWOOD INGRAM,



island—alone, that is to say, with his dog, his chickens, and his

goats. This hermit’s life was evidently not of Mitchell’s own choos¬

ing, for it is rumoured that his friends had quietly marooned him

there to keep him from the bottle that was so speedily killing him.

One fine day, when his friends sailed across with their weekly gift

of provisions, they found the beach deserted save for Mitchell’s little

dog, who greeted them ominously with frantic barks. As soon as

they landed, the distracted animal led them over the hill to a certain

rock on the wundward side. Here they found an old coat, some

fishing tackle, and three sun-scorched fish lying on the edge of the

cliff and, below—the everlasting surf beating angrily against the

jagged boulders.


Although Mitchell’s goats survived him for many years, they

ultimately disappeared. The fowls, on the other hand, soon multi¬

plied, and their descendents exist to the present day, though their

numbers have recently been greatly reduced by my father’s “watcher,”

for it was deemed inadvisable to have the place overrun by these

birds. It is said, and there is every reason to credit the statement,

that these fowds have largely reverted to the plumage of their wild

progenitors. [It would be interesting to obtain some skins to verify

this.—E d.]


Whether the Birds of Paradise have actually increased—or,

indeed, nested at all—on Little Tobago, is a very moot point, and

one that is almost impossible at the present time to answer satis¬

factorily. Towards sundown and in the early morning they become

more noisy, and it is at these hours that one can best estimate their

numbers. Personally I am of opinion that they are at least main¬

taining their numbers. That they should be able to do this after

nearly three and a half years’ liberty, is certainly encouraging, and

I think there is now every reason to hope that the colony will

continue to thrive in their new West Indian home.


* * *


Additional Notes by Sir William Ingram.


Robert Herold, the guardian of Little Tobago, writing in

July, informs me that he has seen two or three young birds accom¬

panied by their mothers, one of which was very small and appeared



