1894
Feb. 17.
Start for the W. Indies
Morning clear, afternoon cloudy with south wind
the sun coming out again just before its setting.
  C. left me by the 10 A.M. train for Boston.
At 10.30 I drove to pier #47 and went aboard
the "Madiana". a steamship of 3,050 tons register
with a length of 344.8 feet, 39.4 feet beam and
29.1 feet depth. She has a double bottom fore
and aft and carries 400 tons of water ballast.
Her maximum speed is fourteen knots but
she ordinarily makes about twelve knots.
She was advertised to sail at noon but it
was nearly one o'clock when we finally got
off and ploughed a lane through the floating
ice which filled the river.
  There were a few Herring Gulls about but
they were left behind after we passed
Sandy Hook and their places were taken by
some Kittiwakes which followed us until
about sunset, trailing along over the wake
of the steamer and coming up at times to
within 20 yards or less. I identified them beyond
a possibility of error by means of my glass.
Ten was the greatest number which attended us
at any one time. Although moving directly
against a stiff head wind they flapped their
wings very little but scaled, apparently without
effort or deflection from a level plane, hundreds
of yards at a time keeping close under our
stern. Prof Riley (of Washington) who watched
them with me thought that took advantage
of the "suction" caused by the steamer but
[margin]Kittiwake
Gulls.[/margin]