in Iceland respecting the Gare-fowl. 387 



board the vessel, the ' Villingar/ a cutter belonging to one Jon 

 Danielsson, only one survives. He, by name Olafr Palsson, 

 gave us an account of the voyage, closely agreeing with Faber's, 

 which he had never seen. They came first to the Geirfuglasker, 

 and sailed between it and the ' drangr/ where the Count, whose 

 name I have been unable to ascertain, landed and gathered 

 some sea-weed. Then the weather became fair, and they pro- 

 ceeded to the skerry itself, where they arrived in the evening. 

 Faber remained on board, but the Count again landed, and pre- 

 sently fell into the water. They picked him up, and his servant 

 shot a good many Gannets [Sula bassana). Later in the evening 

 they returned, and some of them went on shore, but could find 

 no way up. Jon Danielsson declared he was ready to stop a 

 week ; the Count, howevei-, seemed to have had enough of it, 

 and " Fugle Faber thought as the Count did.^^ They were out 

 two days and two nights at the rocks. They did not go near 

 Eldey, saw no Gare-fowls, and their opinion was that they must 

 have been all killed by the French sailors, as they had heard a 

 vessel of that nation had been seen there two summers before*. 

 Jon Jonsson, son of the owner of the ' Villingar,^ then a lad 

 about twelve years old, who assisted in putting the foreigners on 

 board her, and had often heard his father and elder brother 

 speak of the expedition, also corroborated Olafr Palsson's nar- 

 rative. 



It is clear, however, that at this very time there were Great 

 Auks in the neighbourhood ; for, a few days later in the season, 

 two birds were seen sitting on a low rock, close to the place 

 where I have before mentioned that two or three were shot, and 

 were killed with a sprit or gaff by another Jon Jonsson (now 



have to content myself with the translated extracts therefrom contained 

 in a paper " On the Great Auk," communicated May 19, 1859, by Dr. 

 Edward Charlton to the Tyneside Naturalists' Field Club, and published 

 in their ' Transactions,' vol. iv. pp. 1 13 et seqq. This paper has also been 

 reprinted in the ' Zoologist ' for i860, p. 6883. 



* It does not seem to me at all impossible that there should be some 

 truth in this report. Mr. Scales has kindly informed me that he obtained 

 the tine Great Auk's egg, now in his possession, from M. Dufresne, who 

 had one or two others in his collection, in 1816 or 1817- It was said to 

 have come from the Orkneys, which, however, I think is extremely unlikely. 



