The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-27

or four days. Even then they return with
wonderful caution. So we move from one
part of bay or lagoon at midday, when
the birds are off feeding at the shoals
along the shore. We get Our craft i'll
position, one man in boat, before p. M,
and conceal ourselves with reeds and
foliage, just as duck hunters do, Along
about or O'clock the birds come back
to their nests and camping grounds. Then
we watch our opportunity for shots, and
by long experience have learned perfect
ly when 1t comes. Just at the proper
moment 1 will shoot and in a fraction
Of a second my hired shooters will follow
with their guns. Generally | can get
three or four successful shots at the
frightened birds before they are out of
range, for they are so easily frightened
that they are pOwerless of flight for
moment and make good targets of them
selves. Sometimes we get as many as
fifteen birds at one evenings shooting, but
more often the number is seven or eight.
Years ago when egrets and herons were
very plentiful in Central America, I have
killed nine birds in as many shots before
they got out of reach. When we have
delivered our Volleys and the unframed
birds have flown away we row about and
gather the harvest Extreme care must
be taken to get the feathers and plumes
as free as possible from discolored water
u
have to throw away the carcass of an
egret or heron because the feathers or
plumes orc blood-stained or twisted out
of shape.
after we have got our birds and have
picked the few feathers we want from
each, we plan another onslaught in an
other locality. If we are lucky we may
soon get located four or five miles away
amid reeds and foliage under cover of
darkness, so as to be ready for more
shooting the next morning. We row about
with rare caution, we seldom speak in
loud tones, and we do not even smoke
when we are hunting, because of the ex-
traOrdinarY wariness of the birds. Many
time I have lain in one position for
hours beneath my little roof of tules and
rushes, because I saw that a flock of
egrets was suspicious of the presence of
an enemy.
1.-The shores of the lagoons of Central
America and the southern part of Mexico
abound in alligators. while all manner of
pestiferous singing flies, gnets and mos
quitoes are in the cir. We have suffered
tortures from insect pests, and several
years ago one of my hunting men died in
agony from the poison of gnats. When
we are on shore we have danger at night
from the puma or mountain lion, and we
always sleep with fires burning on all
sides of our camp. l brought up with me
on this trip to Los Angeles eleven puma
skins for sale to fur rug makers I have
lost several jackasses by the mountain
lions. One day caught a lion in the very
act of attacking one of my donkeys. The
lion, which is simply an enormous cat.
had sprung at the soft, fiabby neck of
the donkey, and had torn away the flesh,
preparatory to sucking the blood at the
jugIllar vein
''Egrets and herons are as YOU know,
n fa ly Of hirHe r,a
are small, much Ike the bitterns and boat
bills of the same family. Herons usually
measure four feet from the bill to tin of
the tail. Their expanse of wings is often
seven feet. and they stand about forty
inches high. Their weight is from three
to four pounds.
The hunting season for both egrets and
herons begins in February and closes in
September. After August the feathers of
herons and egrets become coarse and hard
and are in no demand in the best markets.
Both varieties of the birds are as white
as snow so far as I have ever seen, but
people from Peru and Argentine Republic
say they have seen blue and red and even
black herons. Herons are slow Of fight
and, like the cranes that are known all
over the world, they have a very grace
full, dignifed way of drawing their atten-
uated legs up under them and sailing
away to lofty eminences by an occasional
nap or their wings. The egretS are more
fussy' ard nervous creatures They are
az watchful as weasels, although one who
sees them for the first time would be very
apt 10 think egrets dumb and stupid, like
ostriches. Both herons and egrets feed
on small fish, frogs, and insects that they
find close inshore, where the birds may
wade about in the marsh and pick up their
victims at viii.
The egrets eathers are much more
beautiful and delicate than the heron's
All egret plumes come from the back and
they droop gracefully over the tail of
the bird. The heron prefers to make a
nest in the top of some tree along the
edge of a bay or q lagoon or particularly
OF the uppermost part of a rock or prom
ontory that may rear itself up from an
inland bay. Egrets make nests among
orlftwood or in a dry spot among rushes,
accumulated seaweed, or brush in a lagoon
as far from shore as possible. Both varie-
ties of birds make nests of sticks and
large twigs, and both have been known to
keep their nests for several years at a
time, although myself have never been
able TO observe that point because my
advent In a colony Of the crane family
means war and death in short order.
Egrets usually lay six eggs and herons
four. The eggs Of both are Of a sea green
hue. A heron does not have its best
feathers until It is ten months old and
the plumes of an egrat are not worth SOS
an ounce until the bird is over a year
old"