Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1899-09-12
1 Game with the GuIls.


 Game with the GuIIs.
 Jack was paying his first visit 70 California, and his eyes were wide open for new and interesting sights. He had just left the car in which he and his father and mother had been travelling for five long days across the continent and now they were all on the great ferry-boat, crossing the bay from Oakland to San Francisco
 The first thing that attracted Jacks attention was a beautiful gray and white bird, which was flying close be- side the boat, turning it's head from side to side. and watching Jack with it's bright eyes, without a sign of fear. Then as he looked about he saw dozens more of the birds. some, like the first, of the softest gray and white. some of dark. mottled. Brownish color, and all either following steadily beside the boat. or flying in circles around the stern.
 Oh, papa, what are they?e he asked in great excitement.
 They are sea gulls." his father an- swered. No one is allowed to shoot them here. and so they are very tame and they always follow the ferry boats back and forth in hopes of getting something to eat. When any pieces of food are thrown out from the restaur- ant on the lower deck. you will see that they are on the lookout for 1t.
 Surely enough. in a few minutes Jack saw something thrown over the side Of the boat from the lower deck, and at the same instant a great scream ing and futtering began among the gulis They seemed to be all at once right over the spot where the food fell. sweeping down into the water, diving, swimming, reaching and seizing pieces wherever they could. A minute more and the excitement was over; all the food had been picked up by those who were quickest among them. and the lucky ones were busy eating what they had found, while the rest were already following the boat again, watching for another chance.
 Why couldn't l feed them, papa?3 asked Jack, suddenly remembering bag Of crackers which he had been car rying.
 You can, his father replied, "only you'd better let me throw the crackers for you, so they will go farther and you can see them better"
 Jack willingly handed the bag to father, who threw a piece of cracker out into the water. Most of the gulls saw it the instant it was thrown, and all flew after it at once, screaming and futtering in their eagerness to get ahead of each other. Of course only one could get it, and that one was in great hurry to swallow the large mouthful before any other could get 1t away from him. In a moment he was up again with the rest, watching Jack and his father this time, for they all seemed to know now where the crack CTS came from.
 When the next cracker was thrown they all tried to catch it before it fell in the water. One, little ahead of the rest, caught up with it in time. dropped his legs to balance himself in the air, stretched out his neck, snapped at just the right moment, and caught a piece of cracker in his beak-then a gulp, and it was gone, and Mir. Gull was fly ing quietly along again, looking for the next mouthful
 Jack clapped his hands in delight. This was like a game of ball, and the gulls made very good catchers. His father threw the crackers. one after another, and each time the gulls tried to catch the piece in the air. Once in a while there was no one of them quick enough, and they would all have to drop after it to the water, but only a few crackers from the bag had a chance to fall so far Sometimes a gull would get in a line with the cracker, go through this funny per formance of dropping his legs and out his neck. and snap only to find that he had not measured