Year: 1877

THE GUANO ISLANDS.


A recent writer from Bakers island,
in the South Pacific, off the coast OF
Peru about 2, 500 miles, gives an inter
esting account Of life on that little patch
of terra Rrnaa which carries upon Its
bosom nearly q million tons Of guano.


BE mentions that fish of remarkable
size and beauty, weighing from fifty to
sixty pounds, are abundant, and are easily
taken with hook. Sharks abound also
-murderous sharks, who swarm about
the ship with greedy and persistent de-
votion. These sharks are, by hereditary
proclivity, man eaters and the white
man who comes within their reach is
snapped at in an instant by score OF
ravenous mouths. But, strange to say,
q dark-skinned Polynesian will swim
about in their midst and rarely be mo-
Tested. He has seen a native of the
Hawaiian islands fearlessly jump from
the bow of a ship into the midst OF a
"school" of these fellows, swim, with
the end of line in bis mouth, to one Of
the buoys, and return to the vessel un-
injured. Whether there is sort of
Freemasonry between the sharks and
the Kanakas, or whether the tastes of
the shark are too fastidious, and not suf-
ficiently cannibal to relish cannibal flesh,
has not been satisfactorily explained.
But the shark and the Kanaka are on the
friendliest terms imaginable.


The flying fish abounds in these
waters. When pursued by the dolphin,
their foe. whole schools of them may be
seen to leap out of the water and fly for
several hundred yards, skimming along
quite near the surface. and now and then
gaining new velocity by striking the
crest of a wave with their long, ray-ike,
pectoral fins. But this beautiful fish
has enemies in the air as well as in the
sea, and frequently it's serial fight is cut
short by some feet sea bird that is ever
on the alert to seize it's prey. T..


Among the chief objects of interest on
the island to a visitor are the birds, and
they are we'll worthy of study. The
sea fowl are at all times noisy set, but
at night, while the older ones are en-
gagged in the quarrels of love making
and the young are complaining over their
scanty rations, the Babel of their chat
tering is destructive to the sleep of one
unused to such disturbance. l. .


In regard to moral character, the birds
may be divided into two classes-those
which make an honest living, and those
which are robbers. The gannet stands
at the head of the respectable birds, and
is a thrifty and honest citizen of the air.
The representative of the thieyish class
is the frigate-pelican, or man-of-war
hawk. This bird has dense plumage
of gloomy black, light, wiry body that
seems made for feetness, and wings Of
even greater spread than the gannet's.
It's tail is deeply forked, its bill is long,
sharp, and viciously hooked. Audubon
regards the frigate bird as superior per-
haps in power of fight to any other. 1t
never dives into the ocean after fish, but
will sometimes catch them while they
are leaping out of the water to escape
pursuit. It is often content to glut itself
on the dead fish that float on the water,
but it depends mostly for subsistence
upon robbing other birds. It is inter-
esting to watch them thus occupied.


As evening comes on these pirates may
be seen lying in wait about the island
for the return of the heavily-laden fish
ing birds. The smaller ones they easily
overtake, and compel them to disgorge
their spoils, but to waylay and levy
blackmal upon those powerful galleons,
the gannets, is an achievement requiring
strategy and address. AS the richly
laden gannet approaches the coast of his
island home, he lifts himself to great
height, and steadily oars himself along
with his mighty pinions until he sees bis
native sands extending in dazzling
whiteness below. Now sloping down
ward in his flight, he descends with in
credible velocity. In a moment more
he will be safe with his affectionate
mate, who is awaiting his return to the
nest.


But all this time he is watched by the
keen eye of the man-of-war hawk, who
uaS SbatlOueu ullusell ~ DIS w 1AocICoP'
the gannet in his swift course. With the
quickness of thought the hawks darts
upon him; and, not daring to attack
boldly in front, he plucks him by the tail
and threatens to upset him, or he seizes
him at the back of his neck and lashes
him with his long wings. When the
poor gannet, who cannot maneuvre SO
quickly as his opponent, finds himself
pursued, he tries to buy his ransom by
surrendering portion of his fishy cargo,
which the hawk. swooping down, catches
before it has had time to reach the earth.
If there is but one hawk, this may be
sufficient toll; but if the unwieldly gan
net is set upon by number of these
pirates, he utters cry of real terror and
woe; and, rushing through the air with
o sound like that of rocket in his rapid
descent, he seeks to alight on the near
est point of land, we'll knowing that
when once he has a footing on terra
trina, not even the man-of-war hawk
dare come near him.


Profitable ssDamages."


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