. Wild wings; adventures of a camera-hunter among the larger wild birds of North America on sea and land . tly of a hardbroken coral rock, so rough as to be capable of soon wear-ing ones shoes to tatters. What soil there was appeared veryscant, yet the settlers had cut away tracts of jungle, andright among the rocks had caused to grow luxuriant grovesor fields of tropical fruits, such as oranges, limes, lemons,grape-fruit, figs, cocoanuts, sapodillas, bananas, pineapples,and I know not what else. In some of these rocky fieldsthere were acres of watermelons, unfortunately nearly everymelon bein
. Wild wings; adventures of a camera-hunter among the larger wild birds of North America on sea and land . tly of a hardbroken coral rock, so rough as to be capable of soon wear-ing ones shoes to tatters. What soil there was appeared veryscant, yet the settlers had cut away tracts of jungle, andright among the rocks had caused to grow luxuriant grovesor fields of tropical fruits, such as oranges, limes, lemons,grape-fruit, figs, cocoanuts, sapodillas, bananas, pineapples,and I know not what else. In some of these rocky fieldsthere were acres of watermelons, unfortunately nearly everymelon being bitten into and ruined — by raccoons, it was , grown in the crevices of the rock, are dug withcrowbars, rather than shovels. Having now plenty of provisions in stock, fruits galore,and a fine mess of crawfish, we cut loose from the base ofsupplies and explored a number of the inner keys. On mostof them there were no water-birds, save a few stragglingherons. On one large key, with lakes in its interior, we spenta profitable day with breeding Least Terns, Laughing Gulls,and AMONG THE FLORIDA KEYS 37 Despite all our efforts thus far, we had not found the Man-o-War Birds actually breeding. So we were glad enough,after exploring this key, to run oft half a dozen miles beforethe wind, which had now shifted to the west, to a small keywhich the guide said was a resort for immense numbersof this great bird. It was back under Key Largo, farthereastward than we had been. We came to anchor near sun-set, and at once I set out in the tender alone with the guide,the other ornithologists being busy and deciding to wait tillmorning. As we rowed through a narrow passage betweenthe mangroves, a break in a long peninsula, there lay thelittle round green islet before us. First of all flew out someFlorida Cormorants which were watching us from a littlemangrove clump out in the water. Then, as we approachedwithin long gunshot of the island, began a wonderful
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Keywords: ., bookauthorjobh, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds
