in driving the
captive monsters on a beach opposite to the town, and within a few yards
of it. The gambols of the whales were now highly diverting, and, except
when a fish became unmanageable and enraged while the harpoon was fixed,
or the noose of a rope pulled tight round its tail, they were not at all
dangerous to be approached. In the course of a few hours the capture was
complete, the shore was strewed with their dead carcases, while the sea
presented a bloody and troubled aspect, giving evident proofs that it
was with no small effort they were subdued. For fear of contagion, the
whole fish amounting to ninety-eight, some of them very large, were
immediately towed to a spot distant from the town, where they were on
Thursday sold by public roup, the proceeds to be divided among the
captors. An annual visit is generally paid by the whales to the Lewis
coast, and besides being profitable when caught, they generally furnish
a source of considerable amusement. On the present occasion, the whole
inhabitants of the place, male and female, repaired to the beach,
opposite to the scene of slaughter, where they evidently were delighted
spectators, and occasionally gave assistance. A young sailor received a
stroke from the tail of one of the largest fish, which nearly killed
him."

* * * * *

AUDUBON.

The Philadelphia journals communicate some particulars of the journey of
this enterprising naturalist into E. Florida. He has discovered, shot,
and drawn a new Ibis, which he has named _Tantalus fuscus_. In a letter,
he says

"I have discovered three different new species of Heath, one bearing a
yellow blossom, the two others a red and purple one;--also, a beautiful
new Kalmia, and several extraordinary parasitical plants, bearing some
resemblance to the pineapple plant, growing on the _eastern_ side of the
cyprus tree in swamps, about 6 or 10 feet above the water.

"During my late excursion I almost became an amphibious being--spending
the most of my days in the water, and by night pitching my tent on the
barren sands. Whilst I remained at Spring Garden, the alligators were
yet in full life; the white-headed eagles setting; the smaller resident
birds paring; and strange to say, the warblers which migrate, moving
easterly every warm day, and returning every cold day, a curious
circumstance, tending to illustrate certain principles in natural
economy."

Six boxes of prepared skins of bir