The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-08-21

out OF her guano islands. Her creditors
are getting something out Of them to-
day, although nothing like the enor-
nous sums realized in the past. These
guano islands are scattered all along
the coast of Peru. I first saw them
north Of Lima, near the shores Of Sal
avary, and at Pacasmayo a guano ship
from the Lobos islands came in for
mail and provisions. Off the bay of
Pisco, Peru, saw the famous Chin
cha islands, which have produced more
than 900 tons of this bird manure.
and have brought into the Peruvian
treasury millions upon millions off dol
lars: The shipping of guano is going
on from these islands today, although
the deposits are to a large extent ex-
hausted. The American firm of Grace
q Co, OF Lima, have the contracts for
loading the ships, and they have docks
and machinery at the various islands
for getting the guano out Of the earth
and on to the vessels. 1 ann told that
the shipments of the current year will
not probably exceed 10000 tons.
ON THE GUANO ISLANDS.
The guano islands are merely masses
OF Volcanic rocks which have risen up
out Of the ocean. They have not a
blade OF grass nor any green thing on
them, and are merely rocky islands
covered with ragged white deposit,
| 1t never rains upon them, and for thou
sands Of years the manure upon them
lay and grew in quantity from age to
age. For some reason or other. the
pel1cans, sea gulls and other birds
which feed by the millions in the wa
| tiers Of these parts of the world have
CHOSEN these Islands as their nightly
roosting places. They pick out certain
OF them, and age after age, year after
| year, and night after night, they fly to
them by the thousands and there rest.
Inere are often other islands near
Wnlch, TO all appearances, are quite as
desirable, but which are untouched.
| Even the disturbance caused by the
| removing OF the guano does not seem
to prevent the birds returning to their
roost. On the Chincha islands. which
| were supposed to be entirely exhausted.
fresh deposits of guano have recently
been made, and in 1894, 10000 tons of
new guano was actually shipped
WHERE GUANO COMES FROM.
Nearly every one knows that guano
Is the excrement Of birds A sea gull
which is one Of the smallest Of the
guano producing birds, will drop from
-FOUR to six ounces Of excrernent a day
and IN the breeding season of ten
weeks weeks about twenty-eight pounds.
|
many little deposits throughout the
ages have made the vast Quantities
Guano has however, other things
mixed with it. The material taken
from the beds is made up also of daa5
seals, who crawl upon the guano rocks
to die. There are thousands of seal
skins mixed with the bird manure and
not long ago 500 tons of such skins
were excavated from one guano de-
posit. The birds which make ths
guano are of many kinds. One of the
chief species is the pelican. have
seen these ungainly, big-billed birds
In such f1ocks that they fairly darkened
the face of the ocean as they few over
1t. They feed upon the fishes. and
wherever you see a flock of pelicana
you may be sure there is a school IF
fish nearby. The bills of the peIica no
have great bags Of yellow skin under
them, and they use these as nets 70
scoop up the fish.
They are the gluttons of the 500
and often gorge themselves to such
an extent that they cannot rise
from the water, but remain there nm
I'll sufficient of their food haseaigested
to Tighten their weight About the Lo-
hos islands There are always millions