488 Reviews.
The wren is called the mouse's brother, and whatever the mouse spoils, the mouse's brother spoils too (p. 52). An albatross shot in 1894, greatly to the indignation of the people, was called by them "the king of the gannet" and regarded with superstitious reverence (p. 56).
Mr. Annandale gives an interesting account in his third chapter of the raid of the Algerian pirates in Iceland, and the various legends connected with the pitiful experiences of the people in that time of horror. He arrives at the conclusion that it is improbable that there is any trace of Algerian blood existing in the Icelander or the Faroeman of to-day, but that it is possible there may be a small Icelandic element in the very mixed population of Algeria.
Close to Iceland on the south is a small group called the Vestmannaeyjar or Westman Isles. The folk here believe that the puffins are an organised community, with a king, a queen, princes and princesses. The capture of a puffin king, which is pure white, is regarded as lucky. In the Faroes, on the other hand, as Col. Fielden informed the readers of the Zoologist, the white puffins were protected because they were supposed to have each saved a man's life (Annandale, p. 106). The Westman islanders also call white fulmars "kings" and beHeve that they portend good luck to their captors (p. 116).
The rock of Sulnasker is the property of the community, and the man who climbs it for the first time on a birding expedition has to treat his comrades on their return, and to offer a small coin or iron nail in a cairn on the summit called the Skerry Priest. The legend of this is that of the first two men who climbed the Sulnasker, one was profane and perished, the other was helped by a giant who crossed over every New Year's eve to the island of Heimey in a stone boat. Mr. Annandale remarks that this legend is interesting from several points of view. It illustrates the truth that similar conditions give rise to similar folk-lore, no matter how far apart peoples may be, as, for example, in Tahiti a legend of a stone boat occurs. The similarity of birding-customs all over the world is also illustrated, as, for example, the fowlers of Lower Siam
