The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-12-08
An Egg Hunters Adventure
THRILLING EXPERIENCE on A FIVE HUNDRED FOOT CIJFr OFF
THE COAST OF GALWAY
wide World Magazine.

+ THE COAST
wide World Magazine.)
shortly after the hour of noon or
May IL. 1906. with a coil of rope or
MY back and s small wicker work
basket such as fishermen carry slug
ovel my shoulder. l set alone for the
Cliff Of Menros-cne Of the highes,
cliffs on the Aran islands. OFF the coas,
of Galway. Ireland. Menros rises
sheer from the waters edge to the
height Of aoe feet. with here and there
4 iutting ledge just sufficient to give
foothold, About half way up the clih
is a ~crevice where the c~liif-hawk. the
raven. and sometimes the sea-eagie,
build their nests. A few days previ-
ously l had heard from a chum OF
mine. Thomas Fleming. that there was
Il ciift-hawk'S nest in this %crevice; so !
resolved to secure the Eggs as soon as
possible. for ii amy OF the natives
heard the news they would try TO fore
stall me.
had a long walk before me. so l set
OUT at a good, spanking pace. 1t waa
a lovely day: the summer sun shone
from a cloudless sky. and the limestone
crags of Aran glinted in its light. An
hours brisk walking brought me to
the verge of the cliffs which run all
along the southern shore Of the island
and protect it from the mighty waves
of the Atlantic.
1 stood on the brink for some min
utes and gazed at the beautiful scene
before me. -Four hundred feet below
me the sea lay as calm and CLASSY as
the surface Of a mirror. The seagulls
wheeled and screamed overhead. while
now and again l could hear the hoarse
| NrooG ~ "a os.4n NO rat1@A A.1Iv,
along far above me. Not a soul was
to be seen. and no other sounds were
to be heard ave the cries of the sea-
birds and the low splash of the waves
far below. To the eastward the
gigantic cliffs of Moher We're 20 be
seen shimnering in the sunlight. and
far away on the southern horizon Mt.
Brandon rose dim and indis,inct. The
sun was already past its zenith. go ]
pulled myself together inc set gu,
westward for the Cliff of Menros.
Three quarters Of an hours walk
brought me to my destination. I threw
down the coil of rope. and after care
fully examining it dropped a running
moose over a large granite boulder
that lay some yards from the cliffs
edge. l next unslung the basket from
my shoulder and Invested myself OF
my coat. vest. shoes and stockings; and
~ ~ oSAN oooAS A1S y ]
and slung the little basket over m,
shoulder again. i was ready to de.
scend. l let the rope drop over the
edge Of the cliff. and saw with salts.
faction that it was quite long enough
for 1t reached within six or seven fee,
OF the bottom. l was not by any
means an adept in cliff climbing. nav.
ing been down only five or six times
Abou twenty feet down there was
a narrow ledge nearly a foot in width
running along the face Of the cliff
l rested here for some minutes, anG
looked dow to get the position o.
the crevice firmly fixed in my mind;
for a cliff scaler must not gaze down.
ward nluch when climbing. for feal
OF dizziness. Starting again. aftel
about twelve minutes of hard work
opening along the face Of the cliff anG
extended inward for several feet. i
was just large enough for a person t.
enter on all Tours. but inside the roo,
arched upward. sc that one could
stand almost upright.
On my entrance there was a con.
fused riutter OF wings and a sea gull
and a splendid clin hawk few out.
saw several young birds only hal
!ledged-clif hawks. seq gulls and
rock birds-but no signs of any eggs
! sSbAl ~ iIl, IN DC i kcdCIICO llte
far end of the ave l saw in a small
cup-shaped hollow in the rock flool
TWO beautiful hawks eggs. To pu
them into my basket was the work o.
an instant. and then l proceeded L
look for more, but, though 1-searchet
Ions and ardently. going the Who'll,
length Of the crevice. l did not com,
across another.
Having spent nearly an hour and {
h91f In my NaPaftl1 onorrh 7 %ho,,Dh
1t about time to ascend. R%etracing m,
steps. reached the entrance. laid holt
OF the rope and started on my tourne!
upward. Cliff-climbing is q very dan
gerous pastime. but few who engag,
in 1t ever think Of its perils. With
stout rope and a vigorous pair of arm
they feel secure. So 1t was with me
Thoughts Of danger were very IA
from my mind as I mounted upward
examining the face of the cliff as
went in search Of some ledge. nook O.
Granny where ! might chance to fin,
eggs.
In this way 1 got within about tween
ty feet of the top of the cliff. and nov
came the greatest strain on the line
for. as l mentioned before. the clii
here offered no foothold. SO thai l ha,
to climb by the O p alone. l chance,
to glance upward at the edge OF tn
cliff. and the sight that met my eye
there chilled my blood with horro,
Blind fool that l was. In my hast
to secure he eggs l had forgotten L
put q cloth or pad between the rop
and the sharp edge OF the cliff, an,
now. as | gazed aloft. I saw that IN
rope was held together by thre
strands only:
paused. not knowing what to dc
The summit Of the ciif was only
few feet above my head. Should
take the risk and swarm up quickly
} But the sight Of the frayed rope an,
the thought Of the consequences if tn
remaining strands gave way made m
|, shudder with horror and involuntarii
look down. Heavens! what an abye
it was! l imagined my body twistin
and twirling in the air as 1t fell dow,
that awful height. and l even fancie
h heard the dull fhnd IA II sNx,,o