A TRAGIC STORY FROM THE NORTH PACIFIC 241 



the water and assist the wings. It is a black bird, with a 

 large white patch on the rump, just above the tail. It rests 

 upon the water fully half its time, I should say, and, aside 

 from the table and galley refuse thrown overboard from ves- 

 sels, the bulk of its food must consist of the tiny crustaceans 

 that inhabit the floating bunches of sargasso weed. 



THE TRAGEDY OF TEE LAYS AN ALBATROSS 



This bit of history should be of lively interest to every 

 American, because the tragedy occurred on American territory. 



In the far-away North Pacific Ocean, about seven hundred 

 miles from Honolulu west-b'-north, lies the small island of 

 Laysan. It is level, sandy, poorly planted by nature, and 

 barren of all things likely to enlist the attention of predatory 

 man. To the harassed birds of mid-ocean, it seemed like a 

 secure haven, and for ages past it has been inhabited only by 

 them. There several species of sea-birds, large and small, 

 have found homes and breeding-places. Until 1909 the in- 

 habitants consisted of the Laysan albatross, black-footed 

 albatross, sooty tern, gray-backed tern, noddy tern, Hawaiian 

 tern, white tern, Bonin petrel, two shearwaters, the red-tailed 

 tropic bird, two boobies and the man-o'-war bird. 



Laysan island is two miles long by one and one-half miles 

 broad, and at times it has been literally covered with birds. 

 Its bird life was first brought prominently to notice in 1891, 

 by Henry Palmer, the agent of Hon. Walter Rothschild, and 

 in 1902 and 1903 Walter K. Fisher and W. A. Bryan made 

 further observations. 



Ever since 1891 the bird life on Laysan has been regarded 



