The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-09-19

In the Crows Nest.
| As II ecstatic>tn their appreciation Of
the banishment OF night. afschool OF
4 pofpoises 5000 strong indulge in rictous
garnbols. Leaptns high into the bright
air, their shining, 1.-the bodies all a
i CULVER with pure Joy Of abundant life.
they churn the kindly sea into foam.
leaving In their mad. froicsomc rush a
! wide track OF white on the smoothness
| behind them so fawlcss is the calm
that even the tiny argosy Of the nau-
titus is tempted to rise and spread its
silken sail. lovely gauzy curve just
shade or so lighter in hue than the sap
phire of the sea. and 40 discernible from
that height to the practiced eye. In
quick succession more and more appear,
until a. fairy fleet OF hundreds lis sail
ing as IL bearing Titania and her train
| TO some enchanted isles. where never
wind blows loudly. But, 10. as II at
signal from pigmy admiral. the
squadron have vanished bubblewise.
From where they lately rode In mimic
| pageant rises ghostlike n vast flock OF
| flying FISH. the hum OF whose vibrant
! wing fins ascends TO the ear. Many
| thousands In number. glistening in the
sunblaze like FURNISHED silver. they
| glide through the air with incredible
| speed, the whole shoal rising and fall
| ing in wavelike undulations. as IL I'm the
| performance of preconcerted evolutions.
They have been flying upon plane of
| perhaps 20 feet above the sea for some
| 500 yards, and are just about TO re-enter
l.a sl,ngt hAn a 4 n
| the blazing beauties of a school of dol
| phin mot the dull-hued mammal but
| the oet-beiovcd fish,. At that dread
sight the solid phalanx breaks up.
hurled back upon itself In the disorder
of deadly panic. In little groups. In
| single fugitives they scatter to every
point of the compass. hopelessly dis
| organized mob. whereof the weaker fall
TO swift oblivion in the gaping jaws or
their brilliant, vigorous foes beneath.
The main body sheer of, sadly thinned.
i'm a fresh direction. long. quivering
raiders launching themselves In hot
| pursuit upon their rear, devouring as
they rush, until eaters and eaten disap-
pear. and the battlefield lies in placid
beauty as IL never disturbed. One how
ering bird. ''bo'sun." with long, slen-
der tail and feathers of purest white.
| circles around on unmoving, outspread
pinions, slowly turning his pretty head,
dark. curious eyes upon the strange bi-
ped so awkwardly perched In his domin-
ions OF upper air. Whence and when
did he come? A moment more and he
was not. Did the vacant ether produce
him? Yet another moment and he Is
gone as ne came. leaving behind him a
palpable sense of loss.
But now all attention is concentrated
| on the horizon where the trained eye has
caught a glimpse OF something of great
er interest than either bird or fish. A
series of tiny puffs apparently of steam.
rises from the shining surface, but so
evanescent that nothing but long prac-
tice would discern them at so great a
distance Irregularly, both as to time
and position,they appear, a shadowy
procession of faintest indefinite outlines.
band OF brief shadows. Yet upon
them eager eyes are bent in keenest at
tentios, for they represent the possibili-
ties of substantial gain. and bring the
mind back from the realms OF pure ro-
nance with the swiftness OF diving
sea bird down to the hard necessities OF
everyday life. sThey are the breath OF
marine mammalia, mightfest Of oceans
citizens. and strangest OF links between
the inhabitants of land and sea. A lit
tie keen scrutiny. however, reveals the
disappointing fact that those feathery
phantoms mark the presence OF that
special species of whales which enjoy
complete immunity from attack. either
A
agility no less than the exiguous COW
ering of fat to which they have reduced
the usually massive blubber borne by
their congeners. gives abundant reason
why they should be thus unmolested.
So they roam the teeminy seas in the
enviable as well as almost unique po-
sition among the marine fauna or ex-
emption from death. except by sicknes
or old age. as much as any sedate law
abiding citizen of London. They seem
to be well aware of their privileges, for
they draw near the ship with perfect
confidence, needing her huge shadow no
more than IL she were a mass Of rock,
rising sheer from the ocean-b bed. and in
capable of harm to any Of the sea folk.
From our lofty eyrie we watch with
keenest interest the antics of these
great creatures, their amatory gambols,
parental care. elegant ease and keen
sportiveness. Yonder piebald monster,
who seems the patriarch of the school,
after basking placidly in the scorching
rays OF the sun. now high in the heav-
ems, gravely turns a semi-somersault,
eevating the rear half Of his body
(some forty feet or so) out of the water.
Then with steady, tremendous strokes
he beats the water, the hundred square
feet of his tail falling fatty with a re-
verberation like the sound of distant
bombardment. The others leap out Of
the water. sedately. as becomes their
bulk, or roll over and over each other
upon the surface. occasionally settling
down until they look like fish of a foot
or so in length. They even dare to
chafe their barnacle-studded sides
against the vessels keel. sending a
strange iremor through her from stem
to stern. which is even felt in the
crows nest" But no one molests them
in any way; in fact. 1t must be placed
to the whaler's credit that he rarely
takes life for sport" though callous as
iron where profit of any kind may be
ecured.-Spectator.