176 Bird - Lore
quickly abandons his dream picture of the past for the astonishing realities of the present,
Only an island could so actively play the part of preserver, No fence, no trespass sign, no warden is so eflective as several miles of deep water. Of no less importance, in the present instance, is the possession and occupation of this fair land by but one family, its descendents and depend- ents, since Lion Gardiner purchased it from its red»skinned owners in I637, for " ten coats of trading cloathr" Here, then, is the prime requisite of isolation rendered potent and continuous by sympathetic guardianship.
Seven miles from end to end, and, in the middle, one-third as broad, Gardiner's Island contains a suflicient acreage to supply more than the needs of its occupants. and large areas are still in a primitive condition. We have, then, the advantages resulting from nature primeval as well as those arising from man’s cultivation. The first is represented in shell- strewn beaches. grassy marshes mirrored with ponds and seamed with in~ flowing arms of the sea, broad, rolling plains, magnificent first-growth woodland now high and dry, now watered by singing brooks, again low and swampy with dense. luxuriant vegetation and green-coated pools. On the other hand, man‘s presence is made manifest by abundant crops of grains and fruits, of which the birds reap a by no means undeserved share.
With these benefits conferred by man are none of the ills which almost invariably follow him, There are no rats in this island Eden, and, more astounding still, there are no cats,—the ogres of the bird-world. No less remarkable, and, perhaps an accompaniment of insularity, is the absence of foxes, minks, weasels, opossums, red-squirrels and chipmunks, all natural enemies of birds, and when the Fish»hawks come in the spring all other Hawks depart. In short, this island is an ideal resort for the fowl of land and water.—a place of peace and plenty,—and only those factors which impel migration among most of our birds, and consequent exposure to an endless series of dangers, have prevented it from becoming a vast aviary.
Fortunately removed from beaten paths of travel, one cannot buy an ‘excursion ticket' to this Island of the Birds, but, journeying part of the way by train, must secure such Conveyance as his alighting place affords, to be driven thence over country roads and grassy lanes to a lookout point where one's haven marks the horizon across the waters Here, at the ‘Fire Place.‘ as it is called locally and on the larger maps of Long Island, one enlists the services of the presiding genius to build for him a fire whose smoke shall give notice of a visitor to the island beyond—an office performed by his great-grandfather before him,—and shortly a dense cloud arises from a smudge of hay and seaweed and is blown landward by the breezes from :Vlontauk, In time comes the answering signal, a flash of light from shining tin gleaming intermittently like the rays of an arc-light, and shortly, through our glasses, we make out a boat crossing the bay.
