The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1864-11-16

eagle loves it. Perched upon the cliffs, ir
company with divers and penguins, II
seems, with its sable brethren, to constitut.
a sort Of mysterious conclave assembled to
decide on the fate of Africa. This heavy
numbering bird does not take the trouble to
build nest at all, but lays its eggs in holes
of the rock, followed out for it by nature
Here the Unsuitable appetite Of its young
justifies the old saying, "As greedy as q
cormorant;" for though constantly gorged
by the industrious isher.parents, vet they
are never satisfied, Lut with open beak
eager eve, and outstretched neck, flap their
formless wings, and appear, like the horse.
leech, to be continually crying out, "Give,
give" .'
These cormorants form sort of social
polity, keeping together both on land and
sea. As they lay their eggs and watch
over their young in company, SO in CON-
pany they provide for their own subsistence,
as we'll as for that of their offspring. If,
while at the Cape, you visit any unfrequent-
ed part Of the shore, especially at an early
hour Of the morning, you may watch, with
great interest and amusement, the strategy,
evolutions and tactics Of these dusky
fishers. From the spertures and pinnacles
of the cliffs, the cormorants descend in
great numbers to the water, lying calm and
tranquil between the outstretched horns of
rocky promontories Here they dispose
themselves in single file, and with an old
experienced bird in the van, put out to sea.
The black viking, at once adventurous and
wary, selects the smoothest part Of the bay !;
and when his keen sight detects shoal Of
fish below, he pauses for moment to make
signal to his followers. Arching his long
neck, and keeping his eyes fixed upon the
waves, he rises on the wing, throws back
his feet, and then plunging down, head fore
most. is in moment gorging tiercely
among the shoal. All the other cormorants
Immediately follow his example, and may,
in short time, be seen rising to the CLASSY
surface, with their prey glis,ening in their
bills.
All around the African continent, except
on its eastern frnges, life assumes the
feathcred form with infinite productivity
In the sandy wastes of the interior, it is
altogether different. There yeu may travel
Tor days and weeks, sometimes for whole
months, without beholding bird, except
as you approach the oases, pigeons and
turtle doves; or, occasionally, in certain
tracts Of the desert, an eagle far aloft in the
blue ether, darting eastward or westward,
like an arrow Of golden light. On the
skirts Of the villages, and about the wells,
where there are nearly always palm. trees,
the doves come in troops in search Of food
ana water. There is also sort of long.
b;llal l:rl .v,;thn,,k
ton, which, in flights Of fifteen or twenty,
hover about the wells, and as soon as the
men cease working at the water-wheels,
dart down to drink.
There is much grandeur in the vast habi
taton Of the eastern sea.birds. Taking
our departure from the Cape of Storms, and
passing over Madagascar, we have, on the
left, Mozambique, the Kuria Muria group
Persia, India, within and beyond the Ganges
China, Corea and Japan, and on the right
the immense archpclagoes Of Australasia
Throughout this extensive division of ths
globe, sea fowl arrogate to themselves whole
clusters of islands, where they have lived
built their nests, deposited their eggs, anG
brought up their young, for thousands up
on thousands Of years, unmolested BY
man. The Kuria Muria, recently regarded
as prolific guano field, figures in the sto
the kingdoms of the birds, where they ruled
supreme, built themselves superb dwellings
and forbade the intrusion of any sthe,
creature. Amid the rocky cliffs of Socotra
also, the sea. birds of the Indian Ocear
have established themselves in vast multi
tudes, so that the mariner, as he sails by
may behold, at dawn, varegated livin;
clouds, soaring aloft above his head, o.
sweeping with CELEBRITY along the blue sur
face Of the waves. Still further on, anc
away down to the right, there is small
group occupying one of the most striking
positions on the globe. All the way from
the northern polar circle to that latitude
the sounding-llne can generally, if not al
ways, reach the bottom but there tn,
plummet becomes useless, for the mighty
table-land of rock, out of which spring S,
many thousands of islands, descends shee
to an immeasurable depth, which defie
even the fancy to follow it. On the very
edge Of this descent, stands what has beef
very properly denominated Danger island
which, so far as we know, has never bu
once been visited by man. Separated frou
the rest Of the group by no great depth o
sea, it is preserved from human intrusion
by terror. 1t has no landing place, no bay
creek, cove or indenturc Of the coast, bu
is belted round by lofty, perpendicula
cliffs, against which the huge surges Of tn
Indian Ocean break perpetually in foam an
thunder Within the circle, however, {
these dreadful rocks, the surface Of tn
island presents little paradise. Trees G
gigantic growth stretch along the cliff, an
suspend their evergreen foliage over tn
waves. Beyond these, there is wilderness
Of Towering plants and shrubs of rar
beauty, gemming the soft messy knslls an
hollows. which, at certain seasons of tn
year, form the common nest Of millions c
sea birds, which, when they rise on tn
wing, literally darken the air, while the
dill it with deafening murmur, like ths
which ascends from a prodigious arm
thrown suddenly into confusion.
The singular chance which rendered
visit to this island practicable, was as fo
lows: A surveying ship lying near fo
several weeks, observed one morning iu
in the ocean-its usual roar was suspende
and the breakers about the perilous prec
pices no longer appeared. The opportunit
was Immediately seized upon. A boa
filled will English officers and sailors, pu
off from the ship, and pulled vigorousl
toward the mysterious rock. After circln
it round and round, some assures in ,h
cliff were discovered. through which
seemed possible TO climb. Up went tn
whole party, despising difficulty and dan
ger, and as the strange apparitions mad
thar appearance, away, with screams, Ae,
the terrified birds. All the knowledge "
possess Of Danger Island was then obtair
/ cd Afier n haStu ax plnrat;on Aha .aua-