AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 



65 



myself on a fragment of an old wreck, which lay imbed- 

 ded in the sand on the beach. But human presence was 

 not the obstacle which interfered with their favourite em- 

 ployment of fishing. I suspected, then, that their great 

 enemy, the Eagle, was somewhere within their view; 

 nor was I mistaken, for, far above the Hawks, and almost 

 beyond the power of human vision, I discovered an object 

 floating in the air, which, by its regular evolutions, I judged 

 to be an Eagle, but the height was so great that I could 

 not, with certainty, identify the character of the bird. 

 The mystery was now solved, — for the presence of the 

 Eagle was a restraint upon the Hawks; and, finding his 

 surveillance so operating against his interest, he steered his 

 course north, and was soon lost to sight. 



Now, the Hawks began to plunge, and strike their prey 

 so successfully, that four or five could be seen struggling 

 on the surface of the water, with the ill-fated fishes within 

 their powerful grasp; and, contrary to any thing I had 

 ever seen before, instead of resorting to a dead tree to de- 

 vour their food, (their usual practice,) each, as it secured 

 its prey, would carry it to a neighbouring sand-bar, and 

 there enjoy its feast. One, however, attempted to cross 

 the sound with a fish in its talons, when its course was 

 arrested by the return of the Eagle which immediately 

 gave chace in order to secure the fish. The Hawk, find- 

 ing its adversary gaining on him, instead of rising, as they 

 usually do, in order to gain an ascendancy over the Eagle, 

 darted down nearly to the water, and flew rapidly just 

 above its surface; but its ingenuity would not avail, and it 

 relinquished the fish from its grasp, which fell into the 

 water. It is an opinion among many naturalists, that the 

 Eagle will not descend to the water to recover a fish in a 

 case like the above; but this Eagle stood upon no such 

 niceties, for it darted to the water, and after securing its 

 prize, went off at a moderate flight, to devour it at its lei- 

 sure. There is much to admire in the Fish Hawk, when 

 seeking its finny prey. There is a majesty in its flight 

 as it cleaves the air, with motionless pinions, that scarcely 

 belongs to any other bird. There is an interest excited by 

 its hovering over the object before it strikes, and in the 

 boldness and unerring certainty with which it does strike 

 its prey, that cannot be attached to the actions of any 

 other of the feathered tribe. 



Saw numbers of the Fish Crow, (Corvus Ossifragus,) 

 and the Marsh Tern, {Sterna Jlranea,') but not an indivi- 

 dual of the Lesser Tern, (S. Minuta.) Reached Warsaw 

 Island, — felt somewhat fatigued, — and ordered the negroes 

 to gather some oysters for my dinner, which, with some 

 bread and wine, formed an excellent repast. The atten- 

 tion of a stranger cannot but be arrested by the quantities 

 of oysters which line all the shores of the rivers and inlets 



R 



of this region. They grow on all of the muddy spots, as 

 high up as the top of the highest tides, but these are not so 

 large and good, as those which constantly remain under 

 water. 



The negroes, during our progress down the Sound, had 

 collected a large quantity of conchs, which afforded me 

 much amusement to see them eaten, with greediness and 

 relish. They were cooked as follows: The negroes made 

 a fire out of pine-knots, over which a number of these 

 shell-fish were placed, to be roasted; they would then 

 break the shell with a billet of wood, and eat the contents. 

 This animal substance appeared so tough and gristly, that 

 it required a sharp knife and much strength to cut it; and, 

 I should think, would defy the gastric powers of man to 

 digest. But, to the negroes, it was so delicious a mor- 

 sel, that they consumed nearly three hours before they got 

 through their repast. 



Took a stroll along the beach for several miles with a 

 view open to the sea. Gave my gun and ammunition to 

 the negroes to carry. Saw no birds, but a few females of 

 the' Red-breasted Merganser, (Mergus Serrator.) Left 

 the beach, and went to the higher part of the island; and 

 when passing through some tall grass, one of the negroes 

 immediately in front of me jumped a deer within fifteen 

 yards; could have killed it with duck shot had I been in 

 possession of my gun; but before it could be handed to me 

 by the man who was carrying it, the deer was out of view. 

 This animal was no doubt driven on this very small 

 island by some hunters from one of the neighbouring 

 islands. These deer differ greatly in size from those of 

 the north. South of the above spot, the deer are found 

 still smaller, and north of it larger; and this difference is 

 more manifest according to greater distances. I think 

 naturalists must have noticed, that the largest deer are 

 found far north, and the smallest far south, or until you 

 reach the equinox. The largest deer, as well as their con- 

 geners, the rein-deer, the elk, and the moose, are inhabi- 

 tants of the colder regions. The largest buck perhaps ever 

 seen in this city, is in the Philadelphia Museum; this was 

 killed in one of the northern districts of Maine, and is 

 said to have weighed 300 pounds; beside it stands one 

 from New-Jersey, and is what may be called a fair sam- 

 ple of those which inhabit the middle states. A good sized 

 buck of the middle states will weigh from 150 to 190 

 pounds. In North Carolina, it is a rare circumstance to 

 find a buck that will weigh over 130 pounds, and in 

 Georgia 120 pounds. And thus if we go south, we will 

 find them still decreasing in size, until we come to the 

 small Cervus Mexicanus of Central America. 



On my return to my friend, Mr. B , I procured 



some valuable specimens of birds, also the nest and eggs 



