that during the last few years whole species of birds have quit
the earth. A writer in a recent article on this subject
says:[19]

[19 "Almost every year sees the final extinction of one or
more bird species. Out of fourteen varieties of birds found a
century since on a single island -- the West Indian island of St.
Thomas -- eight have now to be numbered among the missing."]

Is it not possible that these disappearing bird species quit
their habitation without, and find an asylum in the "within
world"?

Whether inland among the mountains, or along the seashore, we
found bird life prolific. When they spread their great wings some
of the birds appeared to measure thirty feet from tip to tip.
They are of great variety and many colors. We were permitted to
climb up on the edge of a rock and examine a nest of eggs. There
were five in the nest, each of which was at least two feet in
length and fifteen inches in diameter.

After we had been in the city of Hectea about a week, Professor
Galdea took us to an inlet, where we saw thousands of tortoises
along the sandy shore. I hesitate to state the size of these
great creatures. They were from twenty-five to thirty feet in
length, from fifteen to twenty feet in width and fully seven feet
in height. When one of them projected its head it had the
appearance of some hideous sea monster.

The strange conditions "within" are favorable not only for vast