474 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



tiatic birds, such as pelicans, cormorants, cranes, ibises, 

 frigate birds, etc., have selected for their nesting-place two of 

 these secluded islands, in particular, about five miles from the 

 main land and thickly covered with mangrove trees, lu 

 April every available place on the branches is occupied with a 

 nest. During the night, particularly, sucli an amount of 

 quarreling, and scolding, and cawing, and screeching, and 

 cackling takes place, as would outrival ten thousand bedlams. 

 I once passed a night iu a boat anchored about half a mile 

 from one of these Island rookeries ; but even at that distance 

 the hideous noise was so loud and intolerable as to preclude 

 the possibility of sleep until near morning, when tired nature's 

 claim to rest received at last a scanty, intermittent response. 

 But soon is ushered in the carnival of gorging and extermina- 

 tion. The spoil is scented from afar by buzzards, crows and 

 eagles, which congregate in flocks to revel in the wanton feast 

 of eggs and nestling birds. They make flesh quarrels and 

 contribute new, uproarious noises to the general clamor and 

 confusion. Many young birds, having escaped from their 

 enemies above, find Other assailants equally merciless below ; 

 for at high tide, when the islands are covered with water, 

 sharks and other voracious fish assemble to the entertainment, 

 and luxuriate in the shade of the trees, surfeited with the feast 

 of eggs and young birds, that, in the riotous tumult, are 

 hustled out of "the nests. 



The following incident was related to me by Mr. Alfred 

 Jones, who lives at Homasassa, only a few miles from this 

 rookery: With the view of obtaining an assortment of eggs 

 for a friend in the North, he once went in his boat to one of 

 these islands, accompanied by two assistants. In a couple of 

 hours they collected five or six bushels of eggs, which they 

 carried home. They were obliged to use clubs to drive many 

 of the birds from their nests, especially the pelicans. Before 

 proceeding to blow the contents from the eggs, if any was 

 discovered to contain a young bird it was at once thrown into 

 the Homosassa River. It was soon observed that when an 

 cm was thrown into the water it was at once gobbled by a 

 Black bass, which fish grow to a large size in that river. Im- 

 mediately advantage was taken of this discovery, and, pro- 

 curing fishing lines, they ihrew them into the water baited 

 with eggs, wtiich were at once seized by the bass. In this 

 novel manner they caught bass large and fast ; but they soon 

 relinquished the sport from a feeling' of compassion tor the 

 fish. 



When on this coast a stranger might inquire, what meaus 

 that iong and solemn line of forms, apparently almost inani- 

 mate, standing iu close array, soldier-fike, in single file ? No 

 sign of life is seen save an occasional spasmodic movement 

 like an uplifted arm, to be as suddenly depressed, when all is 

 still again, as if some solemn scene proceeds, 'lis now high 

 tide. The fiats and oyster banks are covered. A long and 

 narrow corral reef has raised its crest above the surface of the 

 water, as rocks are prone to do, in that peculiar coral region. 

 The pelicans, having completed their labor of foraging, sated 

 with their repast, too lazy for further exertion, have selected 

 this reef as the only available spot of dry land on which to 

 repose and to digest their food at leisure. Their distended 

 pouches, heavy with the freight of finny spoils, hang down 

 against their breasts, and their great bills assume a perpen- 

 dicular attitude. Whenever a portion of the food is digested 

 and a vacancy exists within the stomach the pelican elevates 

 its head and pouch lo such a degree that,, upon opening its 

 bill, a fish or two are detached and slip down into the stomach, 

 Tile bill is then closed and depressed to its former position, 

 the whole proceeding occupying only two or three seconds of 

 time, and the operation is extremely ludicrous. Each pelican 

 performs this action iu precisely the same manner, and after 

 a fish is swallowed the bird remains as tranquil as a. statue, 

 until the recurrence of another vacancy withiu calls forth the 

 repetition of another similar performance without. Mr. 

 Jones also stated to me that wheu he was once in Tampa Bay 

 he observed, standing on a reef of rocks, a lot of pelicans, on 

 the head of many of wtiich was perched a gull, in peaceful 

 companionship with the former and unmolested by them. 

 This strange proceeding excited the curiosity of Mr. Jones, 

 and he determined to watch the coin sc of "ornithological 

 events." Boon a pelicau elevated its head anil opened its bill, 

 in order to swallow some fish from its pouch, when a gull, ex- 

 tending its neck from its position on the head of the pelican, 

 thrust its head into the pouch of the latter, seized a fish from 

 withiu and llew away, screeching with delight, well satisfied 

 with having so successfully ••gulled" the pelican. 



In the hot summer noon. 



Watching the green lagnon, 

 1 saw an old crane droop his stately head, 

 Too Indolent to drinK or cure to feed 

 On spawn of frog or root of water weed, 



THE FISH MORTALITY IN THE GULF. 



^ Jacksonville, Dee. BT, 1S78. 



Ediiob FonEST and Stream : 



Since my last -was written i have Interviewed Capt. James Me Kay, 

 of Taiupu, and he informs me that he has been engaged In the cattle 

 trade between Pnnta Rassa and Havana during the autumnal months, 

 and that he noticed large quantities of sea flBh, either dead or in a 

 dying condition, from Key West to PuntaRassa. He attributes the 

 mortality to the freshening of the water aa a sequence o( toe heavy 

 rams during ihe summer and autumn in southern Florida. la forming 

 an opinion regarding the Influence of an excessive rain lall, we 

 must take Into consideration the fact that the coast line of Florida, 

 from Key West to Punta Rassa, presents a shallo-w ocean, and that the 

 ten fathom Bouudings are from twenty to forty miles from laud. Ad- 

 mitting that the ocean along the coast is Bliallow, it scarcely seems 

 probable that the rain fall of the past year could so freshen the water 

 in the gulf as to destroy the fish. 

 Yours respectfully, 0. J, Kknwokthy. 



A MEMORY OF INDIAN RIVER. 



In Ihe hot summer noon, 



Watching the green lagoon, 

 1 saw the cunning howman of the swamp 

 Deep iu Ihe sedges, crouched upon the damp, 

 Soft hammock, where the lily hosts encamp. 



,; Mtinmernoou, 



Waichtugihe green lagoon, 

 I saw a player, coming down the brink, 

 KOt caring for the o ter or the mink, 

 Bt»p at i lie weedy water's edge to drink. 



In the hot summer noon, 



Watching the green lagooa, 

 I saw along the muddy margin pass 

 A. solemn bird, sad and compaulouleaa, 

 And pitietl.tUe blue heron/a loneliness. 



In the hot summer noon, 

 Watching the green lagoon, 

 I Haw the canning bowman once again, 

 Carrying into his camp, across the plaiu, 

 A plover, a blue heron and a erane ! 



Bowman. 



New Yohk Athletic Clttb. — The second annual winter 

 handicap games of the New fork Athlet ic Olub were held at 

 Gilmore's Garden, this city, last Friday and Saturday even- 

 ings. The contests were participated in by a large number of 

 well-known amateurs; the work done was of a very creditable 

 standard, and the tournament was most happily conducted. 

 The Garden has come to he regarded as the place for athletic 

 winter meetings ; every convenience and facility are afforded 

 both contestants and spectators. The programme was as fol- 

 lows: 



Seventy-five Yards Run — First trial heat, four runners, won by 

 George E Payne, Khort Hills A C, G% varus start, in 8 l-5s ; second 

 heat; four runners, J F Jenkins-, .lr, Glenwootl A C, 2>£ yards, 

 8 H-5a ; third heat, A B WiIboii, Carman P. Asa, 6J4 yards, Won m 



7 4-5s ; S Steern, Amateur A U, (ii yards, walked over for the 

 fourth heat, ; A Noel, Jr. Short Hilfs A C, won the fifth heat in 



8 l-5s, The final heat, run the second evening, was won hv Payne, 

 Si yards start, in 8s ; Noel, 5 yards, second ; Wilson, third'. 



four hundred and forty yards— First trial heat, three contest- 

 ants, won by 1, S Myers, Knickerbocker A C; 15 yards start, in 



57 1-os. In the second heat, with rive eompBtitorR, W It Hewitt, 

 American A C, bo yards, won in 58 2-5s, The third heat was won 

 from live others by llalph Voorhees, Greenpoint A 0, 18 yards, in 



58 3 -5s. In the final heat, the following evening, Hewitt won in 

 56 2-5s ; Meyers, second; Bissell, third; Eomniell, ihird ; Voor- 

 hees, fourth. 



One mile walk— Sixteen walkers appeared in the first heat, and 

 Wifliam O'Keefe, i'orkville A C, won in 8m llj^s ; J H Gilford, 

 New York, second. In the second heat thirteen appeared; VV 

 llowland, New York, won in Sin 21^a ; W A Elks, Port Henry, N 

 Y,second. lu the final heat, contested, Ihe following evening, 

 O'Keefe won in 8m 14 3-5s : J W Adams', Newark, K J, second, 

 and J Cameron, Y M C A, Ihird. 



Two hundred and twenty yards— Sis started in the first heat; 

 the winner waa II J Gilligan, Clinton A C, 18 yards start. LE 

 .Meyers, KnickerboeKer Y C, 8 yards, won the second heat in 27s. 

 The third went to William H ".Douglass, New York, 6 yards, who 

 covered the distance in 27s. Gilligan won the final heat m 26s ; 

 Meyer, second ; Douglas, third. 



Amateur tug of War— The four teams who appeared for the tug 

 of war were the Scottish-American, Empire Cuv Gymnasium, New 

 York Athletic and the Ninth Regiment, N G rt N Y. Tfie rope 

 used was 1%, inches iu diameter, and the Bida creases 

 were twelve feet from the line. The Scottish-AmericanB 

 easily defeated the Ninth Regiment boys in lm ll%a. The tug 

 between the Empires and the Athletics was one of the finest ever 

 witnessed. The Athletics quickly pulled their opponents six feet 

 over the line, where they wore obliged to halt. Then the Empires 

 regained their ground, and the mark on the rope was once more 

 over the central creaae. When fifteen minutes had elapsed and 

 time was called, the Empires had fifteen inches only to their 

 credit, and won. The final content between the two victorious 

 teams was pulled on the following evening, and was another line 

 display of effort and grit. The Empires pulled their opponents 

 slowly, inch by inch, until they had five feet to their credit, and 

 there they stuck, until the pistol shot announced the close of time, 

 There were ten men on each Hide. The names of the champion 

 amateur team are : James McCarthy, captain ; Augustus Schnei- 

 der, George Bsu-iy, Clarence flalpin, William Paytou, James 

 Uoughlin, John MeUrahan, George Mullen, John JenuingH, 

 Thomas Mclaughlin. 



One Mile Knu— Among twenty-two runners, W H Robertson, 

 Brooklyn. 58 yds, won iu 4m 52Xs. Horton, Scottish-American 

 A C, 95 yds, was second, and F Noel, Short Hills A C, 60 vds, 

 third. 



Regimental Tug of War— The teams were of six men each. 

 U C" Company first team vancpiished the second team 

 from the aaiue company in lm iljjs. The "K" Company 

 boys had a walk-over, their opponents [from •'£■' not 

 appearing. The ••B" team defeated the "B" hoys in 3m29J<;8. 

 n tfie final tug, Saturday evening, the "B" team defeated the, 

 ' K " team iu lm 46s, and wore iu turn vanquished by the " C "I 

 team. "0" then defeated "K' : in 2m ails, and bore off the 

 prize, a stand of colore. The winning team were : Waldo Sprague, 

 captain ; C H Brual, Jauiee SValdeu, John Gillies, James C Gil- 

 lies and J E JVloNicol. 



Four Hundred and Forty-four Yards Hurdle— Of four competi- 

 tors, Joseph Lafon, Mystic B C, scratch, proven the best man, 

 and won in lm lS^e. John Kuox, Scottiah-American Club, was 

 second. There were 20 hurdles SB, Cm high. 



Bicycle Race— The first hoot of the two-mile bicycle raoe was 

 contested by William R Pitman, who came in ahead in Win 58a, 

 It Tan Nest, Now York, 11m 22k, and JameH Nolan Becoucl. In 

 the second heat William at Wright, New York, won in Unions; 

 Joseph Lafon, second, 11m 3li» ; and W Addison, Ravenswoou, L 

 f, anil S li Pomerpy. Manhattan A 0, behind. Wright (Via pro 

 tested against ou the grouud that he was entered under a fictitious 

 name, his real name being Butier, and that he was not an ama- 

 teur, having competed for money with Stouten, the English cham- 

 pion, when he was m thin country. Iu the final hesit between 

 Baton, Pitman and Wright, -Lafon held the lead lor fifteen lapB, 

 when Wright drew up with him and finally won in 'Jux 64a, Laluu 

 second. 



International Tug of War— The American team of Greenpoint 

 defeated the ltiah team of Greenpoint in 35£s. The Irish team 

 of New York in turn defeated Ihe Americau team. Then the 

 two Irish teams pulled and had a hard tug of it. The Green- 

 pointers pulled their opponents within three inches of the line, 

 and there the two opposing forces stuck until the expiration of 

 the fifteen minutes. 



Two Hundred and Twenty Yards Hurdle— There were ten hur- 

 dles 2ft 6iu high. Only twJ runners started, and Arthur W An- 

 derson, New York Athletic Club, with 8 yards utart, won in 

 32 2-5a . 



Two Miles Walk— There were eighteen entries, amorg whom 

 William O'Keefe, with 4t)s atari, won in 17m U^S. 



Haif-rmle Run — Tweuty-oue contestants engaged in this. M 

 Ehia, Jr, Scottish AmeooaH A. C, with SO yards start, won in 2m 

 12&a. 



Ksickkrbookkk Athlktic Club. — The second annual 

 winter games of the Knickerbocker Athletic Club were held 

 at Gilmore's Garden last Monday and Tuesday evenings. 

 There were a very large number of entries— too large to be 

 well managed— and the consequence was some confusion in 

 the ring. The events were as follows : 



Seventy-five yards race— Fust heat, W H Swords, Peerless Club, 

 time 8^s ; second heat, J S Voorhees, Union Club, 8>.;s ; third 

 heat, \V T Livingston, Harlem Club. BJs ; fourth heat, F Nioholls, 

 American C 1 ub, 8^is ; fifth heat, J E Baker, Brooklyn Ctub, Sis; 

 sixth heat, M lUclaul, Fauwood Club, 8}s ; seventh heat, G Ll Mc- 

 Donald. Brooklyn Olub, 8s, eighth heat, A B Wilson, Knicker- 

 bocker Club, His ; ninth heat, J W Murray, Plainneld Club, 8js[ 



tenth host, WKendrick, Hare and Hounds Club. SVjj'a ; eleventh 

 heat, James Kiug, New York Citv Club, 8Ja; twelfth heat, EB 

 Kittle, New York City Club, 8}s .-"thirteenth heat, J H Wiegana, 

 Westchester Clnb. 8Ja. 



The fi D al heat was won by M McFaul, of the Fanwood Athletic 

 Clnb, in 7-Ja : Joseph King was second. 



One mile walk— Won by F L Lackemacher in 8m 8|s, E W Mol- 

 sou second ; Fred Reinfrank third. 



One mile run— Made in 4m 43Ja by J F Dobbs ; L Wrangler 



:cond, H C Romain, third. 



Running broad jump — W r on bv W T Livingston, who cleared 

 3in ; Geo E Payne, second, with 16ft Win. 



Two hundred and twenty yards hurdle race— Won by M J Gilli- 

 gan, in 30Je, with J 8 Voorhees a good second. 



Half-mile run— Won by H C Romel, Triton Boat Olub, in 2m 

 2514a, Walter Smith second, and A E Gordon third. 



I hree mde walk— Won by J B Clark in 26m 38a. 



Ruuning high jump— Won by J H Oakes, who cleared 6ft Sin, 

 Elliott Marshall coming second with 5ft Sin, 



Quarter-mile run— Won by H H Morritz in 57k'a. 



The five mile run brought out a large field, and after a hard 

 struggle, was won by W H Robertson in 30m lf)$8 ; J C Christian 

 second, and R O Rupert third. 



Of the forty-seven entries for the championship twenty-five 

 miles walk thirty-seven appeared for the start. Charles Con- 

 ner, Scottish-Am. A. C.,"was ahead until the second mile, 

 when T. H. Armstrong, the former champion, went to the 

 front and stayed there until the fourteenth mile, when be 

 sprained his ankle, and was out of the race. Budd How, of 

 Philadelphia, then had first place, and kept it until the finish, 

 winning in 4h. 13m. 4GJs., which is 3m. 27*s. behind Arm- 

 strong's record last year. William O'Keefe was second in 

 4h. 22m. 9s. A. Varian, third. 



Mme. Anderson.— The indomitable lady walker of Brook- 

 lyn is now rapidly nearing the successful completion of her 

 task of walking 2,700 quarter miles in 2,700 consecutive 

 quarter hours. Shortly before midnight Tuesday she had fin- 

 ished her 3,128lh quarter mile. 



Rollek-Skatinq.— The Sixty-third Street Rink has recently- 

 been transformed by Mr. James L. Plimptou into a roller- 

 skating salon for ihe fashionable recreation of "rinking," as it 

 is called by the English nobility. The large hall baa been di- 

 vided into two compartments, one for beginners and the 

 other— the larger one -for experts. There is to be an opening 

 invitation reception to the press next week, before the regular 

 public opening of the new rink. 



At the Brooklyn Rink Ihe roller-skating is now limited to 

 two nights a week, on Monday and Saturday nights. The 

 former is for the fashionable assemblage, and Saturday as the 

 popular night, the rates being lower. 



How Loos abb Got Out of the Mountains. — A chute is laid 

 from the river's brink up the steep mountain to the railroad, 

 and, while we are telling it, the monster logs are rushing, 

 thundering, flying, leaping down the declivity. They oome 

 with the speed of the thunderbolt, and somewhat of its roar. 

 A track of lire and smoke follows them— fire struck by their 

 friction with the chute logs. They descend the 1,700 feet 

 of the chute in fourteen seconds. In doing so they drop 700 

 feet perpendicularly. They strike the deep water of the pond 

 with a report that can be heard a mile distant. Logs fired 

 from a cannot) could scarcely have greater velocity than they 

 have at the foot of the chute. Their average velocity is over 

 100 feet in a second throughout the entire distance, and at the 

 instant they leap from the mouth their speed must be fully 

 200 feet per second. A sugar -pine log sometimes weighs ten 

 tons. What a missile ! How the water is dashed into the 

 air! Like a grand plume of diamonds and rainbows the 

 feathery spray is hurled to the* height of a hundred feet. It 

 forms the grandest fountain ever beheld. Hpw the waters of 

 the pond foam and seethe and lush against the shore I One 

 log, having spent its force by its mad plunge into the deep 

 waters, has floated so aa to be at right angles with the path of 

 the descending monsters. The mouth of the chute is, perhaps, 

 fifteen feet above the surface of water. A huge log bulled 

 from the chute cleaves the air and alights on the floating log. 

 You know how a bullet glances, but can you imagine a saw- 

 log glancing? The end strikes with a heavy shock, but 

 glides quickly past for a short distance, then a crash like the 

 reverberation of artillery, the falling log springs 150 feet verti- 

 cally into the air, and, with a curve like a rocket, falls into 

 the pond seventy yards from the log it struck. — Truckee 

 (Nev. ) Republican. 



. — .«. 



The Giant Hum-iino-Bird.— The giant humming-bird of 

 Ohili 13 the largest of its family, and besides its size differs 

 from all the rest in some very noteworthy respects. Mr. 

 Gould describes it as a bold and vigorous flyer, quick in all its 

 actions, passing from flower to flower with the greatest 

 rapidity. Unlike other species of its family, it may be fre- 

 quently seen perched on some small tree or shrub. It has a 

 very extensive distribution over nearly all the more southern 

 portions of South America. M. WarazawiO collected speci- 

 mens in Bolivia at a height of nearly 14,000 feet. The nest is 

 a somewhat large, cup-shaped structure, composed of mosses, 

 lichens and similar materials put together with coowebs and 

 placed in the fork of a low branch of a tree, generally one 

 that overhangs a turbulent stream. Charles Darwin, in his 

 narrative journal of the voyage of the Uengle, refers to this 

 species as a resident of central Chili during the breeding sea- 

 son, and his account of it differs, in some respects, from those 

 of other writers, especially that relating to the absence of the 

 rapid vibrations of the wings, generally supposed to be a pe- 

 culiarity' of all humming-birds, without exception. He states 

 that this species, when on the wing, presents a very singular 

 appearance. Like others of the family, it moves from place 

 to place with a rapidity which may be compared to that of 

 syrphus among flies, and the sphinx among moths ; but while 

 hovering over a flower it flaps its wings with a very slow and 

 powerful movement, totally different from that vibratory mo- 

 tion common to most of the species and which produces the 

 humming noise. Mr. Darwin had never seen any other bird 

 the force of whose wings appeared (as in a butterfly) so power- 

 ful in proportion to the weight of its body. When hovering 

 by a flower its tail was constantly being expanded and shut 

 like a fan, the body being kept in a nearly vertical position. 

 This action appeared to steady and support the bird between 

 the slow movements of its wings. Although it flew from 

 flower to flower in search of food, its stomach contained 

 abundant remains of insectsjwhich Mr. Darwin believed to be 

 much more the objects of its search than honey. Its note, 

 like that of nearly the whole family, was extremely shrill.— 

 Dr. Brewer, in ticribner fer December. 



