The Red Cloud chief., 1884-11-07

OF course all babies nave uouo'es
Anyhoiy who has ever been q oao,
knows that: but without doubt In
BABY GuiIlemot has more u an'
excitement than any other Kind OF
baby.
It's troubles begin AWAY back IN ID;
time when il i only an egg. 10 y
stand about this and lis other troubles
howeye.. we should begin Baby 6uii
lemot's story at the time when taihe'
AID Mother Guil!emot begin house
keeping.
Although . BIRD with feathers and
wings like any other bird. The guile
mot, which is d~istantly related 10 the
duck family, very much prefers The
water To the air. Indeed. II - more al
home i'm the water than the tsh that
belong there. and eXcep, when 1t IS
ready To 90 To housekeeping. II spends
all It's time floating Oh the bosom al the
ocean. diving yards and var : down
into the waters depths In pur,dis oi
fish. or swimming miles and miles up
and dow. the coast.
About the beginning of April i Inc
time when all good g~uillenots SIT
dDpAt HDi>F nit tHb ~ - -
tain lonely islands, al grit about with
high steep ellis. To which they always
20, and there they eock by the thou
sand and tens Of thousands. until every
ledge il covered. As they are obliged
10 stand upright, like so Isany soldier,
they snow OILY their pure white
breasts. and the different lodges Of
rock look - if they were coScred with
snow.
Almost n other bird would build
I some KIND of nest. bur the gsjllemot i
Il very odd sort of bird. and lays It's m
solitary cgg ID the hard bare rock.
/ The bare rock. Of course. is ANYTHING
but warm up in the northern regions
where the guillcmots 60. and therefore
the parent birds are obliged To invent a
way of waruoing the egg on all sides.
Z This Is the way they do il: They pluck
tie feathers and down from of u mar
row strip on she breast. and then sit
down SD that :hc . touches the barred
sAin. and ut the same time il covered
on the sides 10y the warm down. 1h"
part that res : on he rock is still lclt
ont in the cold, however, and one
might suppose shat the down which
had been pluckcd of would be plasrd
under that spot. But it is not; ID is
thrown away. for the bird has a better
plan. Ii turns the egg over with. its
bill every once in \ while. and SO kosps
IL warm on every side.
Now the guIilcmot is found evurv-
where in the Arctic Seas of the Old
and New Worlds. In the winter thy
come southwark In large parties along
the coast of NORWAY and England, Hue
son Bay, Labrador and Newfoundland
Audubon tells us that large numbers a
American guillemnas flock about the
BAY of Fundy.
In addition to outside troubles. Baljy
Guillemot has IFS own Stiffness to ON
tend with. No other bird is so lacking
in wit One species common in Grea3
Britain is even given the title of '.FuoL
ish GuilIemot.' This is from the fact
that il will suffer itself to be taken in the
hand and killed rather than leave ths
clif it has chosen fog its abode.
But. as ii TO make up for its ow,
Stiffness if ever 4 baby had devoted
parents. the guillemot has. for both
father and mother continually watch
over H. except at Eeal-times. when
they take turns At sitting On the egg
But Tor all their care they can not keep
trouble away: for man has been waiting
for this very time, and at the risk of his
life allows himself to be let down over
the cliff by \ rope in order that he NAV
gather the guillemots' eggs for food.
thousands of eggs are stolen from the
cliffs in this way.
This is the lcas. of Baby's troubles.
however. for being only an eyp. IT n
ID conscious Of what is gong OK
but in about \ month or a little
o il breaks open the she'll
and steps ont on the ledge OF rock. ta,e
crettie>t little ball of gray-black down
That ever vas seen. An, what n proud
and happy moment for Papa and MANI
ma GnIllnnot. They caress the little
fellow. Offer him the dainties: morseis
of fish theF a find. and in fact pass
all their time in trying to make. lie
pleasant :.nd comfortable for tha. orw
arrival.
But now is the time when the eanie
and the hGsk and the gull begin u cir
Gle about overhead. for in their estima-
ton there Is no daintier meal than =
baby gu.lr.not just torn. For a month
At least at er it is Matched the poor lit.
tie baby Is every moment in danger of
being cau,a- by the cruel talons of
some ilerc, and hungry bird. who will
.ruthle>siy tear it from its happy home
and loving parents and make but one
mOathful ~ II.
And then after that long month of
fear and rgony comes the time when
babr's Courage is put TO the Seyerest
trial Of al. II is fully redged now.
and able IL swim. though j. does not
know II. a,id has no j Ell % what water
Is Ike ever. However. Mamma knows
that the title has arrived when Baby
must for the first tima venture from
She coaxes the frightened little
fellow 70 llount upoa hcr back. he
Knows thai something unusual is going
to happen. and his heart beats fast lie
has confidence in Mamma. however,
and though full OF fear. he crouches be-
tween her wings. and holds on Ia The
feathers vita both feet and his long bill
Mamma, who is not 4 graceful walker.
because her feet are SO far back on
her bo v and her legs are SD short. wad-
dies to the edge o. the cliff. aud anx-
iOusly Looks ab ,ut her. Alas, there in
her very path. right At the spot where
h will stop. = great hungry lack
backed gil is poised. waiting for her
precious freight 1t is useless TO try
another direction. or 70 wait another
day. for it will always he the same. If
no; that gull. some other gull will be