THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. 179 
of which they are in search. I have been surprised’ 
to notice how very quickly a flock will collect, 
though a few moments before scarcely one could 
be seen in any direction; and again they disperse 
as speedily. They seem to have the power of dis- 
pensing with sleep, at least for very long intervals. 
Wilson, one of the most accurate of observers, has 
recorded a fact illustrative of this: “In firing at 
these birds, a quill-feather was broken in each wing 
of an individual, and hung fluttering in the wind, 
which rendered it so conspicuous among the rest, as 
to be known to allon board. This bird, notwith- 
standing its inconvenience, continued with us for 
nearly a week, during which we sailed a distance 
of more than four hundred miles to the north.” Of 
course, if this individual had gone to sleep, the 
vessel would have sailed away, and we can hardly 
imagine that it would have again found her in her 
pathless course. I do not believe they have ever 
been known to alight on the rigging or deck of a 
ship. 
It is a pity that so interesting a little creature 
as this should become the object of a degrading 
and meaningless superstition. The persuasion that 
they are in some mysterious manner connected with 
the creation of storms, is so prevalent among sea- 
men, as to render them, innocent and confiding as 
they are, objects of general dislike, and often even 
of hatred. I once made a voyage with a captain, 
who, though a man of much intelligence, was not 
proof against this absurd superstition, venting hearty 
execrations against these “ devil’s imps,” as he called 
