The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-05-17
A shower of Birds.


While on her last outward bound pas
sage from Baltimore to Liverpool the
Johnston line steamship Ulstermore had
q most unusual experience 500 miles off
the English coast. When thus far out
at sea, much to the establishment Of every
one aboard the vessel, great numbers Of
strange birds could be seen futtering
about over the sea; obviously enough,
than they flocked toward it. Some fell
helpless and exhausted on the deck, while
others managed to hang on to the spars
and rigging. Sss-5 .5s.
The birds. proved to be species Of
bittern and snipe. which are usually
found in the sWampy regions Of Great
up their winged fight 50 far out at sea
seemed a mystery. They. had hardly
come out of their own choice, but they
were probably caught in the ff-shOre
hurricanes which swept the English
coast about that time, and being unable
to battle against it, were carried out to
The instance illustrates that the love
of life is almost, if not equally Us great,
III a bird as in a human being The poor
creatures had been flying the sea hither
and thither for days, unable to get back
to land, and We're all the time being
swept farther away from shore For
nights and days they had kept up the
they. kept their weary wings in motion
until the Ulstermore came in their vicin-
eity. For time it seemed to rain birds
over the ship. They simply lowered over
the vessel and dropped, some bringing
up in the rigging and others on deck. >,
The whole ships company turned out to
fiOua m11o fhn uSna11v timiH oronturno
fear nothing. The sailors caught them
without the least difficulty. The men
offered them food, and they fought to
get chance to pick crumbs from the sea.
mems hands. The birds perched in the
rigging came down to pick bits. of food
that were thrown over the deck, and the
whole flock seemed as tame as pet pig.
cons. It was one, of the most novel
sights imaginable to see birds of the air
feeding like lot Of barnyard fowls on
the deck of ship miles and miles out
at sea. The sailors secured good many
OF the feathery wanderers and made
them prisoners.
In connection with this ludicrous in.
cident occurred after the ship arrived at
Liverpool. One oycrzealous and undoubt-
edly very green customs officer actually
insisted that it was his duty to consult
his superior officers to ascertain whether
imported birds We're dutiablc. He
NIfuel the ScitIieu tutlL any atteIUpC 10
smuggle: their prizes ashore would be
punished accordingly, no: matter where
the birds came from. The fact that they
We're good old English snipe didn't appeal
to him as an argument against their tax
able qualities. They We're on the ship,
and, according to his decision, were i'm,
ported birds. The sailors, nevertheless.
flew in the face of this worthy authority,
sent the birds off the ship, and laughed
heartily at the expense Of the ,conscien-
tious official, who, by the way, never
again materialized aboard the ship. j, :
! Prior to all this, however, as the Ulster
more proceeded she was boarded by small
fiocks of birds similar to the first lot. As
the vessel neared land it was noticed
that the aerial visitors became restless
and few neryously about the ship. When
the dim outline Of the coast opened up
over the bow of the: vessel the birds all
took to the uppermost parts of the rigging
and their native timidity suddenly seemed
to return. ~, -. =, -. '...i,.z-. $.
When sufficiently near the shore to
insure their safe fight to terra firma, the
visitors in small detachments left the
vessel and sped landward and We're seen
no more.-Baltimore Herald. Z e G<:s:,s