The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-11-05
GULLS CROSS THE PACIFIC.
In the Wake of Transports and Get
the Crumbs Thrown Overheard.

In the Wake of Transports and Get
the Crumbs Thrown Overheard.
From the San Francisco Chronicle.
We are proud of our great ocean lin
ers and the speed that they make a
| speed which has made foreign coun-
tries ridiculously near has brought the
nations close together. To the people
of hundred years ago the story that
a vessel could cross the broad Pacific
within a month would seem like the
| sheerest fancy of a romancer. Yet at
that time sea gulls existed as they do
at the present day. and they made
their long trips without provoking any
| especial comment To-day it is looked
upon as nothing very marvellous that
birds are able to fly from America
to Asia and back again. But if we
pause to consider it the feat is really
| something after all.
These birds are especially fond of
the United States army transports,
for these ships carry many men, who,
denied the taste for books which rem
ders an ocean journey less tedious
and having limited facilities for deck
sport, take to feeding the gulls as a
pastfme. When one of the big yes
sells leaves the Golden Gate and passes
the Farallone Islands hundred or
more brown bodies, with long, sweep
ing wings, leave their resting place
and take up the flight in the wake
of the transport.
Then some soldier who has made
the trip before says: Here come the
sea gulls. We'd better feed them if
we want a quick passage this trip"
and many soldiers invade the stew
1rdfE TraH1iCaG and Gather the
waste bread and victuals.
The birds seem to know when they
are to be fed. for they come flying in
ever narrowing circles until they are
within a short distance of the ship
Then the food begins to fall on the
waters, and the brown winged forms
swoop eagerly down upon the waves
and seize what has been thrown forth.
This is continued until the food is ex-
hausted, and then the soldiers go be-
low, leaving the gulls to get away
with their food as they fly. They new
er seem to rest these queer birds. Day
after day they follow the ship, cleaving
the air with swift wings, flying easily
and without apparent effort. Indeed,
it seems as If they were not made to
rest.
On the last trip of the transport Lo-
gan one of the gulls had it's wing mus
CitS ilIJuI6u III SOIll6 way anu QTOODeQ
fluttering upon the deck, it's wide,
goose-like bill open and strange
squawks coming from its throat. A
soldier spied it and took it to his bunk,
where he fed it daily until it became
strong again. Then he allowed it to
fly away. But the bird had not for
gotten his benefactor. Every day il
would alight on the deck, and allow
none save this particular man to feed
it. 1t followed the boat to Honolulu,
to Guam and finally to Manila. Where
it rested during the two weeks the
Logan lay in Manila is not known, but
when the vessel turned on it's home
ward course. bound for Nagasaki, the
first day out found this gull, easily
distinguishable by a fieck of white on
its neck, resting on the stern. AS it's
favorite soldier did not appear, the
gull graciously allowed others to feed
it. and continued its trip with the
ship until the Logan passed the Faral-
lone Islands.
A peculiar incident was one that oc-
Cured on the r. NJ. S. Athenian on
her last trip from Yokohama to Van
couver. Five days out, 1000 miles from
land in any direction, a little owlet
alighted on the deck and was cap
tured by the second steward. 1t was
baby owl. little bundle of brown
and white feathers. and 1t blinked its
eyes in the daylight as it rested con-
tentedly in the cage which the steward
provided.