St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1903-10-10
THE ISLAND OF PEL1cANS.

THE ISLAND OF PEL1cANS.
6peck of Marsh Land or the Coast
of Florida Given Over to the
Odd Birds.
| Occasionally the United States take,
possession for itself OF 4 district to pre-.
serve certain natural curiosities therein
from the greed or destructiveness Of
| men. This has bccn done with Pelican
island, OFF the east coast of Florida. II
was merely speck of marsh land, COW
cred with grasses, trees and under
srowth-likewise mosquitoes. Its only
inhabitants were f1ocks Of the great
white American pellcans. The bird is
as large as swan. with a huge, horny
beak over foot long, and very thick
and heavy. AS if the beak were not
heavy enough of itself, there Is in the
lower half of it an opening into a big,
membranous bag, or sac. This is to
carry fish in. When the female is
Matching her young, sitting upon her
| S6So OA IAC 6AOuAuS lAC lAd1C VIII ct
tends. to his part Of the business by
bringing fish in his pouch for her to
eat. After the young birds are Matched,
both the father and mother carry fish
to feed the young, says the Cincinnati
Commercial Tribune
This is how a pelican fishes: It
wades into the water of a river, lake or
the sea, dips Its great bill down, and
nabs fish with the tips Of its mandibles,
which are the upper halves Of its bill.
Fhen it raises its head quickly, opens
the bag under its lower jaw, and drops
the fish in as you would drop apples
into bag.
II the bird has young ones to feed, 1t
leaves the water and flies home to them
in hurry. But 1t has not hands to
pull that fish out Of the sac. So it
presses the under part Of its bill and
the sac hard against its breast. and
opens its mouth, when out pops the fish!
Then the pelican feeds the young ones
with it. The tip of the pelican's bill is
red, and long ago among people who
were not naturalists story was report
ed by persons who had seen the red beak
against the white feathers that the peli
can pecked at her breast until her own
blood flowed, and then fed her young
with the scarlet drops. There are oc-
casionally real drops of blood upon the
pelican's breast, for the soft sac in which
It holds the fish is often wounded from
the sharp spine of fish's I'm, and made
TO bleed. That helped the false story
along.
People used to believe 1t, however, 30,
when Louisiana was admitted to this
union, her citizens chose as the state
seal a heraldic picture of a pelican feed
Ing her young ones with drops of blood
from her breast Thus" said they,
will the state of Louisiana cherish her
children"
These splendid, great white birds lived
at peace upon their island for centuries.
Their flesh is not good to eat, being rank
and fishy in taste. and their plumage lie
too coarse and stiff for the milliners to
make use of upon ladies' hats, so the
pelicans of Pelican island bade fair
to live on and be happy. as they had
been doing since long before America
was discovered. But tourists began at
last to find out what lovely place
Florida is in winter. They focked
there more and more. Travellers saw the
pelicans sailing in glorious |
Hight above the island, saw them fishing |
n the shallow water along the shore,
saw them carrying fish to feed their chill
.rep. The innocent birds were of nc
earthly use dead to anybody, and liv-
ng, they did no harm to anybody.
But in the heart of man, alone of all
living creatures, there appears to be an
instinct of killing and destruction. An
mails kill other creatures for food; man
eems to kill from mere wicked delight
n taking life. Men landed on the peli-
ans island and shot them from mere
When these birds fly they
ay their heavy heads back upon their
'odies and sail high in air in great flocks.
hay are wonderful sight. When they
lsh, also in flocks, they form horseshoe
l,aped line in the water OF the fishing
lldce. Dut ds INC tOul1oto s1sitcu lie
'retty island year by year the great
ailing flock aboys it became smaller and
mailer, the horseshoe shaped fishing
me became shorter and shorter. There
7as danger the birds would be exter-
minated.
Then President Roosevelt ordered that
'e11can island should be made govern
1ent reservation, and guards now watch
!. and henceforth the innocent birds
,ill have their home to themselves
gain.
Museums and Musepms.