AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 
65 
myself on a fragment of an old wreck, which lay imbed- 
ded in the sand on the beach. But human presence was 
not the obstacle which interfered with their favourite em- 
ployment of fishing. I suspected, then, that their great 
enemy, the Eagle , was somewhere within their view; 
nor was I mistaken, for, far above the Hawks, and almost 
beyond the power of human vision, I discovered an object 
floating in the air, which, by its regular evolutions, I judged 
to be an Eagle, but the height was so great that I could 
not, with certainty, identify the character of the bird. 
The mystery was now solved, — for the presence of the 
Eagle was a restraint upon the Hawks; and, finding his 
surveillance so operating against his interest, he steered his 
course north, and was soon lost to sight. 
Now, the Hawks began to plunge, and strike their prey 
so successfully, that four or five could be seen struggling 
on the surface of the water, with the ill-fated fishes within 
their powerful grasp; and, contrary to any thing I had 
ever seen before, instead of resorting to a dead tree to de- 
vour their food, (their usual practice,) each, as it secured 
its prey, would carry it to a neighbouring sand-bar, and 
there enjoy its feast. One, however, attempted to cross 
the sound with a fish in its talons, when its course was 
arrested by the return of the Eagle which immediately 
gave chace in order to secure the fish. The Hawk, find- 
ing its adversary gaining on him, instead of rising, as they 
usually do, in order to gain an ascendancy over the Eagle, 
darted down nearly to the water, and flew rapidly just 
above its surface; but its ingenuity would not avail, and it 
relinquished the fish from its grasp, which fell into the 
water. It is an opinion among many naturalists, that the 
Eagle will not descend to the water to recover a fish in a 
case like the above; but this Eagle stood upon no such 
niceties, for it darted to the water, and after securing its 
prize, went off at a moderate flight, to devour it at its lei- 
sure. There is much to admire in the Fish Hawk, when 
seeking its finny prey. Thei’e is a majesty in its flight 
as it cleaves the air, with motionless pinions, that scarcely 
belongs to any other bird. There is an interest excited by 
its hovering over the object before it strikes, and in the 
boldness and unerring certainty with which it does strike 
its prey, that cannot be attached to the actions of any 
other of the feathered tribe. 
Saw numbers of the Fish Crow, ( Corvus Ossifragus,) 
and the Marsh Tern, ( Sterna Aranea ,) but not an indivi- 
dual of the Lesser Tern, (»$". Minuta.) Reached Warsaw 
Island, — felt somewhat fatigued, — and ordered the negroes 
to gather some oysters for my dinner, which, with some 
bread and wine, formed an excellent repast. The atten- 
tion of a stranger cannot but be arrested by the quantities 
of oysters which line all the shores of the rivers and inlets 
R 
of this region. They grow on all of the muddy spots, as 
high up as the top of the highest tides, but these are not so 
large and good, as those which constantly remain under 
water. 
The negroes, during our progress down the Sound, had 
collected a large quantity of conchs, which afforded me 
much amusement to see them eaten, with greediness and 
relish. They were cooked as follows: The negroes made 
a fire out of pine-knots, over which a number of these 
shell-fish were placed, to be roasted; they would then 
break the shell with a billet of wood, and eat the contents. 
This animal substance appeared so tough and gristly, that 
it required a sharp knife and much strength to cut it; and, 
I should think, would defy the gastric powers of man to 
digest. But, to the negroes, it was so delicious a mor- 
sel, that they consumed nearly three hours before they got 
through their repast. 
Took a stroll along the beach for several miles with a 
view open to the sea. Gave my gun and ammunition to 
the negroes to carry. Saw no birds, but a few females of 
the Red-breasted Merganser, ( Mergus Serrator .) Left 
the beach, and went to the higher part of the island; and 
when passing through some tall grass, one of the negroes 
immediately in front of me jumped a deer within fifteen 
yards; could have killed it with duck shot had l been in 
possession of my gun; but before it could be handed to me 
by the man who was carrying it, the deer was out of view. 
This animal was no doubt driven on this very small 
island by some hunters from one of the neighbouring 
islands. These deer differ greatly in size from those of 
the north. South of the above spot, the deer are found 
still smaller, and north of it larger; and this difference is 
more manifest according to greater distances. I think 
naturalists must have noticed, that the largest deer are 
found far north, and the smallest far south, or until you 
reach the equinox. The largest deer, as well as their con- 
geners, the rein-deer, the elk, and the moose, are inhabi- 
tants of the colder regions. The largest buck perhaps ever 
seen in this city, is in the Philadelphia Museum; this was 
killed in one of the northern districts of Maine, and is 
said to have weighed 300 pounds; beside it stands one 
from New-Jersey, and is what may be called a fair sam- 
ple of those which inhabit the middle states. A good sized 
buck of the middle states will weigh from 150 to 190 
pounds. In North Carolina, it is a rare circumstance to 
find a buck that will weigh over 130 pounds, and in 
Georgia 120 pounds. And thus if we go south, we will 
find them still decreasing in size, until we come to the 
small Cervus Mexicanus of Central America. 
On my return to my friend, Mr. B , I procured 
some valuable specimens of birds, also the nest and eggs 
