The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1906-11-16
TAMEN ESS OF
WILD ANIMALS.

mat Wild animals become extremely
tame is we'll known. The wild quail
of Southern California will enter gar
dens and nest there, and in the protect.
ed season have seen flock stand in
country road, jaunty male between
them, and my horse not twenty feet
away, moving, only when I moved,
and then with reluctance.
Several years ago some of thu resi-.
dents of the channel islands of Sou uth.
California introduced a number of
blacktailed deer, which were protected
to such an extent that in time they
discovered that they were privileged
characters, and assumed nearly the
absolute contempt for human beings
held by the sacred bulls of India, that
crowd men and women from the road.
They persisted in entering gardens,
day and night, destroying the plants,
and finally to locate them the dwellers
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 hill with
the freedom of dog. When q boat
landed off the pier the buck ran down
to greet the newcomers and share
their lunch. and become a welcome
guest at tbarbecues and lobster and
clambakes.
Nearly all animal life is protected
at this island. l have counted half
hundred bald eagles in an eleven mile
run, have seen them take large fish
from the waters within easy gunshot
and they build their nest 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 focks of
cormorants swim into the bays and
and are 80 tame that they merely
divide when boat passes, and fish.
ermen often find that the cormorants
take off their bait almost as fast As
they can put it on. Gulls dash at
bait, and | have seen long winged
bird resembling the petrol follow my
line under water at q cast, using it's
wings to fly along and take bit, and
at times scores Of sea birds are seen
inshore feeding upon small shrimps,
paying no attention to observers photo
graphing them. s
The most remarkable illustration of
tameness to be seen here is that Of the
sea lions. For ages the animals have
held possession of mass of rock 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 lines have been protect
ed, and the rookerY has increased in
size until split has recently occurred
and another settlement has been estab.
lished hallway Up the island.
1t has been the custom for years
for fishermen in cleaning their fish to
toss the refuse into the bay, and the
sea lions formed the habit of coming
down to the bay at this time to dine
thereupon. At first only one or two
came; now band of two large bulls
and several females make their head.
quarters at the bay, or spend most of
their time there, constituting a valu-
able 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 ofthe beach, sleeping or playing,
the females and young leaping from
the water and going through various
tricks OF interest to the looker-on.
But few feet away from the sea
lions are the boat stands of the fish.
ermen and the boatmen and boats are
moving out and over the sea lions con-
stantly; yet they are apparently obli-
viOus to the men, who never molest
them. This has had peculiar re-
suit. The enormous animals have be-
come so tame that they almost allow
the men to touch them, and readily
come upon the shore to feed from their
hands. It so happened that was up.
on the sands when no seal lions were
in sight, and upon asking boatman
where they were, he began to whistle,
as though calling fora dog, and to
call, "Here, Benl' repeating the call
several times, whereupen out from the
anchored boats appeared not only
Ben, but two large bull sea lions,
which must have weighed half ton,
followed by two or three smaller te-
males.-Scientific American.
Nearly FOrfeits His Life.