92 A M E R I C A N W H I T E P E L I C A N .
wards, flic "fish was swallowed. After thus swimming tor almuT. an
hundred yards in an. extended lino, am! parallel toïseach other, the|l;
would rise on wingj.whett about, and realight at the'iplaee wher.#itheir
fishing had eoinnienced, when tliey wuuld repeat the same actions.
They kept farther from the'shore than the Brown Pelicans, aad.in deeper
water, though at times one of tho latter would dive after fish close to
some of fliem, withoufifcwieir showing the least degree of enmity towards
each.-other. 1 continued "-atohingï them more than.an liour,
concealed among a largo quantity of drifted logs; nritil theirffisMng
was finished, when they all, White and Brown together-, flew off to the?
lee of another island, no doubt to spend 'tlio-fnight there, for these bird#
are altogether diurnal. : When gorged, they retire to the shores,'; to:
small islands in liavs or rivers, -or- sit on logs floating in shallow water,
at a good distance from the beach ; in all which- situations they are
prone to lie down, or'stand'closely together.
Being anxious, when cm rtiv last, expedition, to procure several spécimens
of these birds for the purpose! of prestintirigSou with an account of
their anatomical sfriiKture, ^requested all on board our vessel to shoot
them1 oh all occasion«!; but no birds having been'prïïoured, I was
ligiM to set out with st " select party" for the'purposo. Having heard
some of the sailors s,av that large flocks of White Pelicans had been seen
on theWiBer islets of Barataria Bay; -within the islam) called Grande
Terre, we had a boat manned, and my friend Edwa rd Hakkis, jay son,
and rnvself, went off in' search of them. After a while we saw large
flocks of these birds on some grounded logs, but found that it was ho
easy matter to get near them, on account of the shallowness of the
bay, the water being scarcely two 'fiel>in depth for upwards of hâlf a
mile about us.;vi Quietly; and with all possible care, we nuared a flo'ëk.-;
and strange it. was for me to b'o once more within shooting distance of
White Pelicans.. Éi; would no doubt be a very interesting sight to you,
were you to mark the gravity and sedatenes.s of sonic hundreds of these
Pelicans,iiilasely huddled together oii-'a heap of stranded loirs, or a
small bank of racoon oysters. They were lying on their breasts, but'
as we neared them they all arose deliberately to their full height.
Some,; gently Sliding from the -logs, •»warn off towards the nearest
flçck, as unapprehensive of danger as if they had been a mile distant.
But now their bright eyes were distinctly visible to us, our guns.
A M E R I C A N W H I T E P K I . I C A N . 98
charged with buckshot, were in readiness, and my son was lying in the
bow pfStftboafewaiting for the signal. « F i r e ! "—The report is instantly
heard, the affrighted: birds spread their wings and hurry away,¡leaving
behind.three of,their companions floating on the water. Another shot
from a.different gun brought ¿own »i-fourth from on wing; and as a
few were scampering off w.muided, we gave clia^e,. and soon placed all
our prizes in the after sheets. . About a quarter o£ a^mile farther on,
we killed two, and pursuedseveral that were,.severely wounded in the
wing, but they; escaped, for they swam off so rapidly that we could not
propel our boat with sufficient force amidst the tortuous shallows. The
Pelicans.appeared tame, if not almost'stupid; .and at one place, where
there, were a l p a t sixty on an immense; log, could.we have gone twenty
yards ssaj$r, we nigjbet luwfc kUlefceight or ten at a sihgle, discharge.
Hut we had ahvadv a full cargo,, and therefore returned to the vessel,
on the decks of. which the wounded birds were allowed to roitm.at large.
We found these Pelicans hard to kill, and some which were perforated
with buckshot did not expire until eight or ten .minutes after they were
lirod at... A wonderful instance of this tenacity ¿if life was to be seen
on board a schooner then, at anchor, in the harbour. A Pelican had been
grazed ,,n the bind, part of the. head with an,ounce ball from a musket,
and yet five .days afterwards it was. apparently convalescent, and had
become (¡uit.e. gentU-. When wounded, they swim rather sluggishly,
. and. do not attempt AO,-dive, or even to' liite, like the Brown Pelicans,
. although toy ate, twice -as large, and proportionally - stronger. After
being shot at, they are perfectly silent, but, when alighted they utter
a hollow guttural sound somewhat resembling that produced by blowing
through the bung-holo of a cask,
The White pelicans appear almost' inactive during the greater
part of (lie day, fishing only soon after sunrise, and again about an
hour before, sunsqt; though ¡it times the. whole, flock " ill mount high
in the air, and perform ejEtgnded gyrations in the manner of the Hooping.
Crane, Wood Ibis, and Vultures. These .movements are probably
performed for the purpose of assisting their digestion, and of airing
themselves, in the higher and cooler regions of the'"atmosphere.
. 'Whilst on the ground, they at times spread their wings to the breeze,
or to the rays of the:sun; but this act is much more rarely performed
by them than by the Brown Pelicans.. When walking, they seem exceedingly
awkward, and like many cowardly individuals of our own