Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1891-07-09

a hearty laugh at our own expense.
The hermit crab is slow moving fellow
and seldom endeavors to elude his pursu-
ers by flight, but draws himself up into
his temporary shell house and there re-
mains until he conceives the danger to be
over when he stretches down his legs and
walks on his way again with his house
over him. Their fayorite habitation is
shell of the cookie species. 1t protects
them from the scorching rays of the sun,
and from becoming prey to the birds,
for as they have no shell of their own to
protect them they would be in constant
danger of being devoured, if they were to
travel about unprotected. Frequently in
our rambes we picked up and bagged
nice looking she'll when presently it would
assume legs and walk off; it was the
home of the hermit crab. In the shallow
ponds left by the receding tide upon the
reefs, we found numerous small fishes,
and here and there large plump crab,
whose fine proportions reminded US of the
delicate and delicious flavor of one of his
species baked In the she'll Urged on by
the desire that possessed us to try his tlsy-
or, we endeavor to capture him. He does
not seem to heed our approach and we
feel sure We shall capture him, but when
we stretch forth our hand to take him
we are surprised to find he is not there.
Looking about to see where he had gone,
We see him crawling leisurely under rock
beyond our reach, and we are half angry
with him and with ourself to think he was
Of the pleasure we had anticipated In bak-
ing and eating him.
What IS that We see upon the beach be-
fore Us? piece of pumce? Yes. And
look There is another piece which mas
been tossed up from the sea by the surf
Let Us seat ourselves upon this coral rock
while we leisurely examine these foreign
waits. What a singulary interesting story
this piece of pumicc could relate to us
had it the power of speech with which to
tell Us It's history. Vomited forth from
the bowels Of the earth by some far dis
tant volcano, down whose sides it ran and
rolled into the sea and after sea-voyaee
of weeks aud months, perhaps of years
the narrative Of which would be most
Interestingly has been driven by winds
and currents 10 the shores Of this island
and here lies stranded, Many thousand
miles upon the heaving and pulSing bosom
OF old ocean 1t has sailed without chart or
compass, borne far away from its primal
home, never again to return. It's yoyay.
Ing and travels are not yet ended for we
shall transfer IL to cur basket and thence
to our ship, where upon the homeward
voyage and in the futare We shall have
more leisure not only to study its history,
but to make it useful as toilet article
We have it now In our bath room after a
lapse of more than thirty years since we
first made its acquaintance upon the shores
of Bakers Island in the manner above
related, and esteem 1t fer the memories
that cluster around it aud for the assoc IA
tions with which it is inseparabiy linked.
Huge trunks of forest trees lie strewed
around the shore, of this islaud thrown
up high and dry by the surf some in a
state of decay, while others we're In Il good
state of preservation. Where did they
come from: How came they heret These
we're questions that naturally suggested
themselves. They were not of tropical
growth, therefore the most likely theory
in regard to them would be that they gre.
in high northern ATTITUDES, upon the banks
Of the Columbia or Amoor rivers. or per
haps upon the shores Of Puget Sound, or
British Columbia. That by age or the TN
derminng Of the banks upon which they
grew they fell into the waters, and were
borne by them out upon the great ocean,
and thepce bv winds and currents of the
Pacific to this locality and the surf threw
them up here to decay and aid in forming
soil. The hu>ks Of cocoa-uuts and cocoa
nut trees lie by the side of their more
northern neighbors, making true the Old
saying that "Adversities take to them
selves strange bed-ieliows.' The DRIFT
wood, trees and sea-weed, by decayipg.
contribute to the formation of soil which.
in the course OF time, perhaps, will be
made tit Tor seeds OF vegetation to take
root in. X. Il. +. CANDAGE.
Brookline, Mass, June ~, 1891.
90 be continued