THE MUSEUM. 



Bird Egging *'Down Along." 



Editor Miisetnn. 



Dear Sir. I suppose that really, 

 without intending it, I have become a 

 veteran in affairs relating to that region 

 so little known, to any of us in fact, 

 called on your maps by the mysterious 

 name of Labrador. 



I called it a mysterious name for 

 various reasons. The French call it 

 La Bras d' or, "the golden arm" or 

 "the arm of gold" as stated in the 

 November Museum. Some of the ex- 

 plorers came over and loaded a ves- 

 sel with those glittering flakes of mica, 

 and the iron pyrites vulgarly known 

 as "fools' gold," and returned with 

 their valuable (J) cargo and any 

 amount of stories of the wealth of the 

 "New-found-land! "The Basque nam- 

 ed it from a Basque whaler who sup- 

 posedly discovered it, named Labra- 

 dor. The Spanish named it from the 

 word signifying a laborer, Labrador, 

 or "one who lives in a small village." 



Now whatever be the correct deri- 

 vation of the word the natives have a 

 very quick way of getting over the 

 matter. If you ask at almost any 

 point from Mingan, or in fact from 

 Quebec itself, to Ungava Bay where 

 you are going when you go, presum- 

 ably, to Labrador, they reply ' 'oh, 

 Down Along!" What may mean al- 

 most any place along the area of 

 coast mentioned. 



Well, the editor has suggested that 

 perhaps his readers would like to hear 

 of some of my successes in egging in 

 this same region of "Down Along!" 



In the year of 1881 I had what I 

 then called phenomenal success in this 

 same pursuit. 



I started from Quebec thoroughly 



equipped fora good time, and I had' 

 it. 



My first stop was at Mingan, and 

 off the islands near that place I found 

 nineteen varieties of sea birds breed- 

 ing in abundance. I do not know as 

 they breed there now anything like they 

 did then; but I believe that there are 

 still many good places on those same 

 islands where I could even now col- 

 lect, in a day, from a dozen to fifteen 

 kinds and a good many of each. Such 

 birds as the Eider Duck, Black-back- 

 ed Gull, Herring Gull, Razor-billed 

 Auk, Puffin, Black Guillemot and 

 Foolish Guillemot, could be found any- 

 where, almost, that we were a mind 

 to look for them. We used to eat 

 these eggs, and I have often collect- 

 ed a bushel basketful in less than half 

 an hour. In fifty places between Min- 

 gan and the island of Bell Isle I have 

 done the same thing. They were so 

 common that we thought nothing at 

 all of it. These were the common 

 kinds, that needed no hunting after. 

 After these then there were the un- 

 common kinds. 



By the ponds back a little in the 

 interior we found the Black Duck 

 with her brood, the Wood Duck 

 sometimes, the Long-tailed Duck or 

 "South Southerly" and what we called 

 the "Scrater" Ducks' nests. The 

 "First Ducks," we were seldom lucky 

 enough to shoot and identify positive- 

 ly the species. So I refrained from 

 adding many a probably valued find 

 to my list. The Loon's eggs were 

 found, the Grebes' also, on many an 

 occasion. The Red-throated Diver 

 and the Common Diver used to puz- 

 zle us, unless we could shoot the bird 

 on or near the nest, which we did oc- 



