The Savannah morning news., 1900-08-26
GREAT WILDERNESS OF EGGS.
NOVEL INDUSTRY FOUND ON A
FLORIDA KEY.

Tug-Of-WRr Between Crabs and
Young Birds-Army of scavengers.
From New York Commercial Advertiser.
In the latter part of April a small, I'M
inhabited key on the outer reef, Florida,
in the direction of Yucatan, which has
been deserted for months, suddenly takes
on an appearance of life and activity. The
writer visited it one day in search of
green turtle and found it a dreary spot
given over to spirit crabs and their kim
folks. Three days later thousand sulls
rose at the approach of the visitors, and
in a few days more the birds had assem-
bled in what is popular.y known as mil
lions. The ground was covered with them,
the air black, and when all were in flight
they formed remarkable living canopy
over the white coral key with its green
cap of bay cedar. Every year this is re-
peated, two islands of the Tortugas
group being selected for the purpose by
the terms. Bird and East keys. the former
the smallest, is the most popular.
AS the boat neared the island where the
nesting season was in fun progress a dark
and when within half a mile Il curious
sound was heard-a sharp continuous roar
like machinery far away, growing rapidly
louder until when the boat was within
two hundred feet of the beach the noise
had become deafening. The cloud had
resolved Itself into terms, each one of
which seemed to be screaming at the top
OF Its voice In high siacatto. They came
off to meet the visitors by hundreds,
MIN r~fr
ner, lowering overhead almost within
reach. and swooping down from greater
nights with wild cries, altogether present
ing remarkable spectacle. The birds
were pure white with black heads, with
here and there a chocoate-colored body
with white head. AS the boat ran on
to the white beach, which surrounded the
key, bedlam broke loose. 1t was impossi-
Bile to hear word spoken in an ordinary
tone, and screaming was but of little
avail yet it had a marvellous effect on the
birds.
One of the boatmen had gone ahead, and
wishing to stop him his name was called.
whereupon every bird ceased screaming
to listen, and there was absolute silence
as the birds, as if actuated by a single
motive all pitched downward evidently
listening, then rising, began the pande-
monium of sounds again; and as many
times as this was repeated so many times
could the terms be silenced for few sec
onds AS the men moved into the bush
birds struggled away from their nests in
every direction, and made their way up
ward increasing the clamor and noise In
some places the ground was so thickly
strewn with eggs that it was almost i'm
possible to walk without stepping on them.
They were about the size of hens eggs,
speckled and blotched with black or dark
brown. A boat came in loaded with -four
barrels which were soon filled with the
eggs The method of collecting was in
teresting. The men entered the bush,
which grew thick and to a hight of per-
haps seven feet and made their way over
the hot sand on their hands and knees. A
man would drop down. clear away place
before him, and reach out for All the eggs
in his range. piling them up in a heap;
then crawl along eight or ten feet deeper
into >the bush, piling as he went. In his
wake came others who packed the eggs in
bags and carried them to the beach,
where they were placed in the barrels;
first a layer of bay cedar leaves, three
inches thick, then a layer of eggs; over
this was placed more leaves and so on
until the barrel was filed, when it was
carried away over to the boat.
Collecting eggs in this way by wholesale
had its attractions as novelty, but If a
man had been Obliged to do 1t he would
have considered himself badly treated.
The normal temperature out in the air
was terrific, but in the bush, where the
suns rays were reflected on the sand,
where there was no draught, it was intol-
cradle. To add 10 this the struggling
birds raised a sitting dust from the
branches; they rushed biindly at the pick
ers, beat their faces with their wings,
threw the fine sand this way and that; be-
sides there was the discomfort of being
hit on the head by eggs which the birds
often dropped. One negro took on MS
old straw hat, and was hopping his head
with his bandana when a tern dropped an
egg fairly on his brown pate. Il was ex-
citing but as some one remarked, lit
tie of it went a. great way.
Some days later the writer visited the
island again, and the scene was repeated,
though the birds were now much more
savage, almost attacking the invaders.
This was because the sun had Matched the
eggs, and the sand under the bushes was
a sauirming mass of birds, each adding
it's squeaking to the general clamor. The
birds seemed to number tens OF thousands,
craving about in every direction, and
the question of each bird feeding its own
young was an interesting problem, TO
the mother at least, who had to distin-
The parent birds were now ranging the
reef more; feeding upon sardines and fly
ing fishes, and the key was converted into
a gigantic commissary in which fish WAS
the sole commodity. Every gull had 10
be fed several times a day, and the UNI
usual supply of food brought a large
army of land crabs, which not only preyed
upon the fish, but upon the birds them
selves. Lying in the hot, suffocating bush,
gasping for breath, the writer was the
observer of many strange conflicts; in
enc instance, while under a low tree in
which a noddy had built. The guils laid
their eggs In a slight depression in the
sand, just sufficiently dug out to prevent
the eggs from rolling. relying upon. the
heat of the sun to do the work of hatcn-
so far as could be learned, the bird only
covering the egg when it was too cool
for them, though some sat upon them oil
night
The noodles, on the other hand had
built nests in the low bay cedar six or
seven feet from the ground, formed of a
few twigs dropped together, the most
being almost as weak and poorly con-
slructed as that of the wild dove. AS
crude as was this platform, the egg man
aged to keep it's position, and when the
young appeared IL evidently knew enough
to remain in one place.
AS the writer was watching such a
bird evidently day or two old, the
mother suddenly appeared with a small
flying fish which she dropped into the
Vtnva IL,