22 May - Monday. (147) Overcast. S.E. & dying down toward noon and becoming light westerly by mid afternoon. Heavy black clouds in W. Somewhat misty 4 to 5 o'clock. Temp. min 19°; 9a.30°; 12m.32°; 4p.78° Confined, few little ants on cliffs this morning and all had gone by 9 o'clock. Ben got 23, however. The birds are covered with fine gray down under their white feathers. Head, neck and wings are dark slate color, almost black. Quite a job to pluck the birds, but crew do it since H.C.P. is caring the feathers, which seem good for pillows and cushions. Charlie has the job of singeing off this down, which he does by means of a red hot poker. The other night he was talking in his sleep about the birds and caring for them. He asked the cook how they were coming on and to the cook's answer he replied