Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 June 1895 — Keen-Sighted Gulls. [ARTICLE]

Keen-Sighted Gulls.

Any one-who has watched the gulls and other fish-catching birds along our coast must have discovered how keen Is their Bight and how cunningly they discover a school of fish long before u fin has disturbed the surface of the water, said Capt E. M. Bates, of New Bedford. Oftentimes when at sea I've tempted the vision of gulls that happened near my ship, to the great amusement of the passengers. I remember one occasion when the ship was going along at a pretty rapid rate, I noticed a number of gulls following closely in our wake, apparently on the watch for anything that might be thrown overboard. Going to the cattfn I procured a small biscuit and, returning to the deck, prepared to show the passengers the wonderful powers of vision possessed by these birds. Breaking the biscuit into small pieces, the largest of which was less than an Inch square, I dropped it into the seething waters, just under the bow of the vessel. It was of the same color as the hissing foam into which it was dropped, and by which It was of course rapidly carried astern. Once dropped, it was uterly invisible to our eyes, and we could only guess as to its whereabouts, but before It had fallen thirty yards astern a large gull detected It, and with a headlong dart dipped Into the foam and secured it With equal dexterity the other bits were picked up, one by one, the gulls at last venturing so close to the vessel that they seemed to be watching our movements with their large, bright eyes.