Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

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28 Through them I saw on the side of the saucer x 2. There was 31 more, but it was blurred so I couldn ' t read it. Does that answer all your questions? It certainly does. Gee, I wander why it wasn ' t in all the papers, said a Manxman in an awe-stricken voice. The Government would b e too afraid to publish it, retorted an- other Yank, But even that is not the most amazing thing. What is it? asked all the others like a chorus. The most amazing thing is that there he hesitated. ' Is what? Most amazing thing is that I made up the whole story five min- utes ago, said the navigator edging towards the door and vanishing through it. J. GILLIAN. Form IV L The Bermuda Petrel or Cahow When these lovely Isles were first inhabited by man they found at least three different species of pelagie birds in vast numbers; dusky and common shearwaters, and the Bermuda Petrel or cahow. The cahow was about the most abundant of all but since the cahow was good to eat and so fearless of man it was ruthlessly killed. One nightV hunting of the cahow was said to bring in about 4,000 birds. In 1616 the Governor issued an order designed to save the cahow from extinction but apparently he was too late. For almost 300 years the cahows were not seen any more, but by a miracle some survived and a small breed- ing population is still present on the outer islets of the Bermudas. The cahow rests in the same places as the yellow-billed tropic bird i.e. burrows and holes in rocks, but only lays one white egg. They breed on the Bermuda islands but for the other season, their range is not known. The cahow is a dull bird to look at with grey wings and back, and the tail is a shade darker. The crown and back of the head is pitch

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27 at them. Hi! Wasted twelve hours fuel again? was his affection- ate greeting. You ' saucer-boys ' certainly send up the taxes while you have fun chasing what isn ' t there. I wouldn ' t be too sure, returned the navigator in a quiet, reason- able tane. Personally I used to think there was nothing in it. Weath- er balloons, cloud formations, optical illusions — they could be one of a hundred reasonable things. However, something came to a head this afternoon that may change your mind too. It started nearly ten years ago when the Carona sighted a volcanic island one hundred and fifty miles north of Midway. Its sides were covered with brush and scrub. Three professors and a doctor with equipment, were landed there for a brief survey. Two days later when nothing had been heard from them another boat was sent ashore, which found a lone survivor. He died soon after they got him, back to the ship but not before he had managed to tell the others, Beware of x 2 p z. Watch out for 31 ' Green Lightning ' . Suddenly ' Green Lightning ' struck the cabin where he was lying. A thick haze filled the room and when the air cleared the m,an ' s body and his equipment were gone. Then as if by magic, a clay slate ap- peared on the deck. On it were these words, I, Professor Jefferson, and I Professor Schmidt died on the nineteenth of August, 1947. The captain stared unbelievingly at the slate then shouted, It ' s in their own handwriting. Green Lightning struck again and all the men except two of us were knocked unconscious and never remembered those three days. Joe and I (we were the only ones who weren ' t knocked out) told the captain but he didn ' t believe us. After that we had a very rough voy- age home and when we reached the Gulf of Mexico we nearly collided with a tornado, and then off Puerto Rico a hurricane caught up with us and we got into port in the eye of another hurricane. Joe disap- peared shortly after reporting these mysterious happenings to the government. Now I have told you all that I need. You know the rest. How does that connect up with flying saucers or this afternoon? Well, today we were less than a hundred yards from one of the saucers. I looked through my binoculars, didn ' t I captain? That ' s true, the pilot affirmed gravely.

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29 black, its forehead is white and under parts white. The bill is hooked at the end, and this is a very important point on any bird. The young, from when they hatch to about one week old, are a ball of fluff after which they gradually develop their mature plumage. The cahow is similar to the black-capped petrel but the latter has a thick white V-shaped patch at the top of his tail. The space between the shoulders and the back of the head is white. The black-capped pet- rel has a grey cap whereas the cahow has a black one. I have found a skull of a cahow, which was indentified by the hooked bill. I also found some bones by the skull on Cockroach Island opposite Abbot ' s cliffs about 2 years ago. On returning there lately, I think I have found a keel of a cahow (breast-bone.). I have found lots of other bones of birds there too but most of them are bones of long tails and other birds. I have yet to see a live cahow but I hope I will see one in the near future. E. ZUILL. Form V oOo Cricket 1956 1ST. XI. The team was chosen from Smith (capt.), Lines, Lumsden, DurrelU, Pattersons, Leseuri, Vallis, McCanni, Haywardi, Cook, Redding, Grays- ton, Kempe, Cooper and Mayne. Matches. Result. 1. Staff 116 — 7 (dec.) (Hallet 24, Patterson 29, Lumsden 4—35) Won School 117 — 5 (Durrell — 27, Leseur 41). 2. School 57 (Lines 22, Stearns 4 — 20). Lost Warwick 59 — 1 (Young 22, DeSilva 21 n.o.. Walker 13 n.o.). 3. Old Boys 151 — 8 (dec.) (Brewer 30, Barnard 29, Conyers 23, Smith 2 — 34, Patterson 3 — 20). Lost School and Staff 107 (Alger 30, Brookfield 34, Durrell 31, Cox 4 — 5, Brewer 2 — 2). 4. Warwick 138 (Stearns 39, McCann 3 — 16. Smith 3 — 29). School 60 — 4 (Vallis 26 n.o.. Smith 13 n.o.). Drawn In a very poor season, the team played four games and managed to win one. This win against the Staff was in a game played as a practice