WATER-FOWL ON EGG ISLAND. 207 



of his own accord, when he was swept out by the current to the 

 distance of two or three hundred yards, and seemed quite be- 

 wildered by the novelty of his situation. As soon as he was dis- 

 covered by the old birds, who hovered over our heads by thousands, 

 watching our proceedings with great anxiety and noise, one — the 

 parent, we judged, by its greater solicitude — lighted down by his 

 side, and was soon joined by half a dozen others, who began guiding 

 the little navigator to the shore, flying a little way before him, and 

 again alighting, the mother swimming beside him, and evidently 

 encouraging him in this his first adventure upon the water. The 

 little fellow seemed perfectly to understand what was meant, and, 

 when we sailed away, was advancing rapidly under the convoy of 

 his friends, and was within a ffew yards of the shore, which he 

 doubtless reached in safety. 



The young herons had grown, since our last visit, to nearly their 

 full size, although they were not sufficiently feathered to fly. They, 

 too, fled as fast as they could, and "cached" themselves in the je- 

 cesses of the rocks. When closely pursued, however, they would 

 turn and fight most fiercely — striking furiously with their long 

 sharp bills as well as with their claws — screaming all the while with 

 a shrill, discordant, and angry note. Those that were too small to 

 leave the nest were equally pugnacious — standing on the defensive, 

 with a watchful and determined eye, which evinced any thing but 

 a disposition to succumb, if attacked. A large number of young 

 cormorants {Phalacrocorax) were also seen, who exhibited the same 

 combative spirit when hard pressed ; but the greater portion of 

 them ran from the nest to the water, where they gave instant evi- 

 dence of the peculiar instinct belonging to the species, by desperate 

 attempts to dive, and thus conceal themselves beneath the water. 

 This they were unable to do, owing, I suppose, partly to the great 

 density of the water, and partly to their want of strength. The 

 stench was very off'ensive, from the quantity of fish brought by the 

 parent birds for the support of their very numerous progeny. 



We reached camp about ten o'clock at night, after dragging over 

 the shoals and wading about a mile through soft mud, half-leg 

 deep, and filled with little, sharp rocks, which cut our feet until they 

 bled. A rain-storm came on just before our arrival, with violent 

 wind, which lasted all the night. 



Monday, June 17. — As it was manifestly impossible to prosecute 

 the survey any farther south by means of the boats, it was deter- 

 mined to complete the examination of the islands, and then to finish 



