The wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-????, 1906-09-21
TAME WILD BEASTS
WONDERFUL INSTANCES FROM
ISLANDS WHERE LIFE is
PROTECTED.
They Are in No Danger and Seem to
Realize 1t and Show No Fear Of
Man at All.

tame is we'll known. The wild quail
of southern California will enter garI
dens and nest there and in the protecti
ed season | have seen a flock stand in
a country road, jaunty male between
them, and my horse not 20 feet away
moving only when l moved and them
with reluctance, says a writer in the
Scientific American. !.
Several years ago some residents
on one of the channel islands of southi
ern California introduced a number OF
black-tailed deer, which were protect!
ed to such an extent that in time they
discovered that they were privileged
characters and assumed nearly the a6-
solute contempt for human beings
held by the sacred bulls of India thai
crowd men and women from the road,
They persisted in entering gardens
day and night, destroying the plants
and finally to locate them the dweller.;
on the island had bells fastened to
them. One buck made his home near
the town of Cabrillo and walked about
the place and over the hills with the
freedom of a dog. When boat land
ed off the pier the buck ran down to
lunch and became welcome guest at
barbecues and lobster and clam bakes::
Nearly all animal life is protected at
this island. / have counted half hum
bred bald eagles in an eleven-mlle rum
have seen them take large fish from
the water within easy gunshot and
they build their nests on pinnacles
that are not difficult of approach. The
sea birds are equally tame. Gulls
gather in focks few feet from those
who feed them. In the winter flocks
of cormorants swim into the bays and
are so tame that they merely divide
when boat passes and fishermen
often find that the cormorants take Off
bait almost as fast as they can put it
on. Gulls dash at bait and have seen
a long-winged bird resembling the
petrol follow my line under water at
cast, using it's wings to fly along and
take the bait and at times scores OF
sea birds are seen inshore feeding up!
on small shrimps, paying no attention
to observers photographing them.
The most remarkable Illustration of
tamencss to be seen here is that of the
held possession of mass of rocks on
the shore of the islands. A few years
ago many were killed by vandals, but
laws were passed and for number OF
years the sea lions have been protect
ed and the rookery has increased in
size until split has recently occurred
and another settlement has been es'
| tablished halfway up the island.
1t has been the custom for years for
| fishermen in cleaning their fish to tosl
the refuse into the bay and the sea
lions formed the habit of coming down
| to the bay at this time to dine there
upon. At first only one or two came;
| now a band of two large bulls and sew.
eral females make their headquarters
at the bay to spend most of their time
there, constituting valuable sanitary
corps, as they eat every fragment OF
fish, the gulls joining in the feast
When not feeding the sea lions pass
the time lying within few feet of the
beach, sleeping or playing, the females
and young leaping from the water and
going through various tricks of inter
est to the looker-on.
But a few feet away from the sea
lions are the boat stands of the fish
ermen and boatmen and boats are
moving out and over the sea lions
constantly, yet they are apparently OBJ
livious to the men, who never modest
them This has had a peculiar result
The enormous animals have become sc
tame that they almost allow the men
to touch them and readily come out
upon the shore to feed from theil
hands. 1t SO happened that l was up
on the sands when no sea lions were
in sight, and upon asking a boatmaI
where they were he began to whistle
as though calling for dog and tc
call Here, Benz" repeating the cal
several times, whereupon out from
among the anchored boats appeared
not only Ben but two large bull sea
lions, which must have weighed hall
ton.