360 Cape Pigeons and Whale Birds 



So I stole up on the poop, and leaning over the taffrail, 

 cast my lure. It sank slowly but not out of sight 

 of one of the busy little birds, which was presently 

 in my trembling hands. I took it down on the main- 

 deck and played with it, no doubt to its intense misery 

 and the bewilderment of our two big dogs. The only 

 excuse I can make for this cruel behaviour to one of 

 the free and essentially harmless people of the air 

 is thoughtless youth. 



But the bird was presently avenged, for an elderly 

 American seaman, whom I only remember as Nat, 

 came noiselessly behind me, and seizing my ear in 

 one hand, took the pretty frightened creature from 

 me with the other, saying solemnly : ' Boy, hasn't 

 anybody told ye that the meanest and lowest thing 

 ye can do is to worry, annoy, and kill these lovely 

 feathered things ? They do no harm, they're not good 

 to eat, and they brighten up and make cheerful the 

 great ocean solitudes.' As he spoke he cast the bird 

 into the air, and giving my ear such a tweak that I 

 almost thought it had come off, stalked solemnly 

 away. He was a pretty good man, was old Nat. I 

 ran to the side and peeped over to see what had become 

 of my late prisoner, and there within a biscuit's throw 

 of the ship sat my late captive calmly restoring his 

 feathers to their usual unruffled condition after their 

 disarrangement by my rough handling. I have never 

 molested another Cape Pigeon, although I have often 

 seen it done. 



During a tremendous westerly gale the great 

 company of sea-birds which had so long followed the 

 lumbering, heavy progress of an old barque that 

 certainly should not have been sailing in those stem 

 latitudes at all, had gradually dwindled away until 

 only one faithful pair of Cape Pigeons remained. 



