Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-08-06
THE FATAL LANTERN.
Night Scenes at Point Iepreaux-
Birds Falling by the Hundred.
Frona "a MontrenL Witnesa.

From the Montreal Witness.
Mr.. William Brewster, President of the
Nuttall pathological Club, and in charge
of the bird department of the Agassiz
Museum in Cambridge, has observed with
much attention the destruction Of birds
by lighthouses. In August and Septem-
Der last he made night observations at
Point Lepreaux lighthouse, in New
Brunswick, on the west shore OF the Bay
of Fundy, near its mouth. His paper on
this has been published for private circu-
lation by the Nuttall club as the first of
proposed series of memoirs. Mr.. Brew
ster was at the light for nearly seven
weeks, from Aug. 90 to Sept. 26, and he
kept close watch on the movements OF
passing birds day and night. He says:
"The first real 'rush' occurred on the
night of Sept. /, and for the two weeks fol-
lowing the feathered tide flowed swiftly
and more or less steadily, marking its
course through the starht heavens by the
incessant chirplng of Its passing legions,
in thick weather surging contusedly about
the light, wrecking many bird lie
against the fatal shaft, and at daybreak
leaving hundreds Of tired little travellers
stranded in the scanty covers of the
point"
With that night his diary of observation
begins. Each night brought it's tlocks of
birds lowering about the light, but the
night of Sept. was most notable. Up TO
10 o'clock the sky was clear; then clOuded
over; an hour later came dense fog, and
at midnight it began to ram, with frequent
heavy showers with the advent of the
fog" says Mr.. Brewster, "they multiplied
tenfold in the courssOf few minutes. |
remained on the lighthouse from 10 O'Clock
until 2 the next morning. During this
time fully 200 birds came against the lam
tern. or these at least 30 were killed or
disabled, land caught and examined prob
ably 30 more which were too wet or ex-
hausted to fly after dropping on the plat
FORM" His vivid description of the ''rain"
Of birds is worth quoting:
''At the height of the melee the scene
was interesting and impressive beyond
almost anything that l ever witnessed.
Above, the inky black sky; on all sides,
dense wreaths of fog scudding swiftly past
and completely enveloping the sea, which
moaned dismally at the base OF the cliffs
below; about the top Of the tower, a belt
OF light projected some thirty yards into
the mist by the powerful rehectors; and
in this belt swarms OF birds, circling,
| floating, soaring, now advancing, next re-
| treating, but never quite able, as it
| seemed, to throw off the spell Of the fatal
lantern. Their rapidly vibrating wings
made haze about their forms which in
the strong light looked semi.transparent.
At a distance all appeared of a pale, sill
very gray color, nearer of rich yellow.
They reminded me by turns of meteors,
gigantic moths. swallows with sunlight
streaming through their wings. l could
not watch them for any length of time
without becoming dizzy and hewildered.
| When the wind blew strongly they ciToled
| around to leeward, breasting it in dense
| throng, which drifted backward and for
ward, up and down, like swarm of gnats
| dancing in the sunshine. Dozens were
continually leaving this throng and skim
ming toward the lantern. AS they ap-
preached they invariably scared upward,
and those who started on level with the
platform usually passed above the roof.
| Others sheered Oft at the last moment and
shot by with arrow-like swiftness, while
more rarely one would stop abruptly, and,
posing few feet from the glass, inspect
the lighted space within. Often for a
minute or more not bird would strike.
| Then, as II seized by panic, they would
come against the glass 30 rapidly and in
such numbers that the sound Of their
blows resembled the pattering of hail.
Many struck the roof above the light,
others the IRON railing which incloses the
platform, while still others pelted me on
| the back, arms, and legs, and one actual
| ly became hopelessly entangled in my
beard. At times it fairly rained birds,
and the platform. wet and shining. was
strewn with the dead and dying.
The next night, after clear day, the
rain again fell in torrents and the birds
gathered at the light in flocks. "Seyeral
| struck the lantern each minute, and with
such force that nearly every one was In
stantly killed or disabled. The strong
wind swept them off the platform as fast
as they fell, the wounded huttering
noisily down the shingled walls OF the
tower, against which they vainly at.
tempted 10 cling" On other nights birds
were killed. but these were the most nota-
BILE occasions.