Evening star., 1901-09-25
DEATH IN THE STORM
A BIRD TRAGEDY THAT Is ENACTED
EVERY FALL IN WASHINGTON.
Meet Disaster on Their Why 10 the
Land OF Sunshine and
Flowers.

| Among the changes that the fall season
| brings to Washington in the migration OF
the birds in a southerly direction from the
nesting places Of the north. IL is this
migratory movement that brings TO the res
taurants the toothsome reed bird known
during the summer in the north as the
/ hrtght-hued "bobolink." and later In the
fail and winter in the south as the somber-
| coated rice bird"
Washington is essentially a bird city and
II can be truthfulIy said that in no other
city of its size in the country are there so
many feathered visitors nor so many regu-
| lar Inhabitants i'm the bird colony. Scien-
| titc authorities give the number Of reca6S-
ed specimens as 2n. really remarkable
number when taken in comparison with the
limited area. and with the fact that most
of the area is occupied by the streets and
! houses of a large city. There are over
| fGrty-four different kinds that nest in the
District and there are twenty-siS that find
| their dwelling places in the city limits
proper These figures leave out the area
| of the National Park. that has Of recent
years proved a favorlte suburban resort
with the birds on account of the protection
that they receive from the death-dealing
small boy and others who would seek their
destruction
Scientists have always found Washington
! good place to study ornithology. not only
| on account Of the fact that the Smithsonian
| Institution gives them remarkable advan-
| tages. but also because the city itself is in
| the center Of a region remarkable for the
| number and variety OF its bird life. The
/ mountainous region not far to the west has
| Its particular denizens and the cultivated
/ areas In Virginia and Maryland have their
| kinds while the region OF the river and the
bay shows great variety Of water birds.
As They Pass at Night.
But'the is one thing In Washington that
conduces to the delight OF the collector OF
bird specimens that is found I'm no other
city in the world with the possible excep-
| ton Of Paris. which has its Eiffel tower.
| that answers the same purpose as our
Washington monument. On cloudy nigats
| nowadays the Washington collectors stay
| about the base of the monument and get
| the birds that strike the great shaft in their
| flight and come to the earth with crushed
| skulls or broken bones.
For 1t must be understood that the major
| part of the migration OF the birds takes
| place at night All OF who have lived
! in the country remember the honking cry
| of the wild geese as they went winging south
/ in the frosty nights of the late fall. When
| the weather was clear and the stars shone
| bright they few high overhead, which gave
rise to the saying In fine weather. EVERY
| thing is lovely, and the goose hangs high"
| a corruption of the true meaning that the
goose honks high. As birds fly high by
| night when the weather is clear. so do they
keep near the earth when the sky is over
! cast and the clouds drive them down near
! to the ground. Thus on stormy nights,
especially when the wind is from the north
| west, as II generally Is in our equnoctial
storms, the birds driven by IL against
| the monument in great numbers. II is not
definitely known whether they cannot see
| their way or whether the looming OF the
great white shaft through the darkness at
| tracts them mystically and fatally. At any
| rate. they strike the marble sides and come
tlInQDliQR ground.
In the absolute stiffness of the night
the lonely hill where the monument stands
the impact Of even small bird seems to
make great deal Of noise, and when sew
! erai strike at once they come clatterlng
down together. and few little warblers-
which are the commonest vlctims-wi1
make enough noise to almost persuade one
not initiated that parts of the stones them
selves are falling. Sometimes the collectors
watch all night or go in the early morning,
and the rivalry for particularly valuable
specimens is very keen. AT other times the
watchman will look out for the interests Of
his friends among the scientists who have
helped him beguile many lonely midnight
hour while waiting for their harvest Of
death; and in this latter case 1t is generally
understood that one man gets all of a GER
tain kind OF bird that he Is interested IN,
another different variety, and on In
this way disputes are avoided and the
watchman can offend no with IA
voritsm. But it is only when the night is
too stormy to be out, or when birds are
IOuNu at times Wntn Ineg WOULD not ndtu-
rally be expected, that the enthusiasts are
not on the spot in person.
Toms md Tabs watch.
But IL must not be supposed that man is
the only animal that knows and heeds the
falling of the birds, for IL seems that from
miles around the cats Of aH sorts and con-
ditions will come to be in at the death, and
many a midnight feast has rewarded the
faithful watching of patient ThOmases and
Tabbies. Moreover the cats have found
out for themselves the futIllty of going to
the monument on clear nights. and stay
away at such times. but are always to he
found in numbers on the nights when the
clouds are thick and low, often Drawing
rain and a wetting that the feline race is
popularity supposed to avoid consistently.
Rats too. come from their hiding places
and take their share of the piunder when
ever they can. All these things certainly
seem 20 disprove the contention by some
that animals do not think, but are guided
solely by instinct. This same trait has been
noted during the summer in many places,
when toads have been known to come from
considerable distances for the sake Of get
ting under an electric light, where they
can get at the Insects that are their food
The tragedy of the birds and the mouu-
ment is only one of the many phases OF
natural life that can be found at the capI-
tai. but it is one of the most interesting
and, in many ways, the most sad. For IL
We give human attributes to the birds-as
we well may on account of their loves and
devotion-there Is singular element Of
pathos in the thought that as they were
flying south to the promised land Of sun
shine and plenty, after their long and ardu-
death, and In many instances only MANNED
so that their end Is suffering and pain,
where only pleasure was promised