The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-08
has THREE BAROMETER BIRDS
SKIPPER OF THE NORRkOPING
REGRETS THEIR LOST TAILS,
On which q LAvelier Iris Changed Than Ever
n Rurutsht \ Dove Dreamed Of-TaIes
Of the Mangrove shoals and the Brass
and Beasts Concerts OF Rambo.

q Buru,sht = Dove Dreamed Of-TaIes
Of the MangrOve shoals and the Brass
and Beasts Concerts OF Rambo.
The Swedish bark No~rrkoping. recently
from ports Of Africa. tempted an ambitious
nautical reporter. ~disgusted with the dull
ness Of lock news. to hire a rowboat yes
terday and visit her at her anchorage OF
Staten Island. She Ia one OF the first Of
the old British iron hulled sailing craft.
After she ceased flying the red merchant
flag OF Victoria she had the tricolor OF France
ffuttering over her tafrail. Then the
Swedes got her. She has been ccum
lating barnacles and strange yarns Of the
sea since 1889.
The speculative ship news man who
boarded her yesterday found that she
had still a few barnacles and several yarns
left. Capt. Mattson, who speaks English
like a native who has been brought up on
Arabian Nights tales and memories OF
the Flying Dutchmsn. took the nautical
sharp down in his cabin and filled him
with the best brand of vichy from Portu-
guese East Africa. Being a shorthand
expert and a man who never has been
known to question the accuracy OF any
thing that any mariner nay tell him, the
reporter just took notes and made 10 COM
ments, which is supposed to be a good
thing for reporters to do.
The Norrkoping, as the skipper said.
and as the shorthand artist put it down.
took to Zanzibar from Sweden a cargo OF
lumber. which she discharged. Then she
went to the Bay OF Rambo. in Portuguese.
East Africa, south Of Mozambique. The
Norrkoping a a long time of shore Of
the Bay of Rambo. A forest Of mangrove
trees stretched far into the bay. II looked
strange TO the skipper to see a veritable
jungle ~springing up from the water.
Stranger were the sounds that came from
the forest and the shore. First there was
the music OF an African brass band belong
ing to a military company under command
Of a Portuguese captain.
Sometimes the band played in the night
and awoke the life Of the jungle. Capt.
Mattson heard the roars of ~leopards. the
Kissing Of serpents. the snsrling Of fish
presumably dogfsh the neighing Of
river horses. the grunting Of wild boars
and the meowing OF wild cats and catfish.
Possibly the music Of the African band was
not altogether pleasant even to the crea-
lures of the water jungle. Finally. when
the breeze was OF shore the tumult be-
came so fierce that the skipper and his
crew of twelve men decided to sleep on
land under screens used generally on the
coast to keep out the bugs and snakes and
other troublesome things. Most OF the
natives Of the neighborhood were Moham-
medans. but there were some sun worship
pers and some fire w~orshippers, not to mem
ton FIRE water worshippers, among the
white population. The FIRE worsh!ppers
made the night lively in other ways than
by the use of fire.
While the N%orrkoping was at Rambo Bay
she took in a cargo Of hippopotamus horns
and wild boar's tusks. which she brought
here. But the strangest cargo that she
took aboard was a score OF peculiar birds
with bodies like canaries and prisnatic
tails, quite as peculiar as those the short
hand man took down that made the skipper
believe that he might add to his fortune by
selling them in New York. The skipper does
not remember the name Of the birds which
10 bought from natives OF the district
around Rambo Bay. The tails were the
most gorgeous that any bird would ever
dare TO wear even in equatorial Africa. and
they had the chameleon popularity OF
changing at different periods OF the day.
IL a storm threatened the bright colors
disappeared and the bird. me~taphorically,
was no longer wagged by its a~ppendage.
II was then just a plain plate colored crea-
ture that nobody would care about taking
TO New York to sell to the Geological So
ciety. But the moment the bark's barom-
eter went up the rainbo Of colors APP
peared again in the marvellous tails
please spell il right. Mr., Compositor.
But alas for the speculative ambition OF
Swedish shippers! After all these fine
manifestations abaft the quarter deck the
birds began to pine just before reaching the
equator. The ships cat got a few of
them. and as the bark crossed the line the
tails Of all the birds that were left fell of.
The skipper nays the tailless ones still
manifested barometric ability. At pass
ing Zach degree OF latitude on the north
ward journey the oolors on the bodies of
the birds changed. On bright days they
were Of a golden hue. When the birds-the
surviving three,,got within view OF the
American coast they rather paralyzed the
skipper by showing a tenden cy to red.
white and blue mingled with a little green.
perhaps but Of respect to the Irish-American
population. The skipper says he will re-
port the case to his Consul and recommend
the employment of the birds as barometers.
The story Of the bark's experience cost
the Ship News men 81 cents each. the aggre-
gate OF which was what the shorthand
ayporf mid for tho boat