in Iceland respecting the Gare-fowl. 395 



been constantly at my side while compiling this abstract of 

 Mr. Wolley's notes. A little comparison, not only with the en- 

 graving, but with the corresponding bones in other species, a 

 good supply of which there was no difficulty in procuring, soon 

 showed that he had not been mistaken, and accordingly bone- 

 seeking became one of our recognized occupations. Yet I can- 

 not say that even here we were very successful ; curiously enough 

 where the chances seemed the best we never found anything. 

 Thus the old Geirfuglasker having formerly been shared by the 

 churches of Kyrkjubol and Mariu-Kyrkja-i-Vogi, we naturally 

 thought that the " Kjokken-moddinger" (Kitchen-middens) at 

 those places would be likely to yield the best supply. Yet at 

 what we were told was the site of the latter not a vestige of a 

 bone could be found. The ground was covered everywhere with 

 great stones — the little soil there was between them seeming as 

 if it had drifted into its present position, while the sea may 

 have completely washed away the rubbish-heaps, if houses ever 

 stood there. At the former place — Gammall Kyrkjubol — though 

 there was a very large grass-grown mound entirely composed of 

 ancient refuse, and into which we made a deep excavation, we 

 did not recover a single fragment of a Great Auk — scarcely, I 

 think, of any bird — fi'om it. Nor was our luck much better at 

 Stafnes, where we dug down through a large heap, coming upon 

 fishes' bones in great abundance, but little of interest excepting 

 a stratum of broken egg-shells, apparently those of Guillemots 

 and Razor-bills, with perhaps a few Eider Ducks', though I 

 have not yet examined them very closely. It was remarkable that 

 such of the fragments as had any markings retain them still, 

 after so long a burial, quite as brightly as specimens I have often 

 seen in cabinets, when the collector has not been careful to exclude 

 air and light. At Kyrkjuvogr we were more fortunate; in the 

 wall of the churchyard we found two or three Great Auks' 

 bones sticking in the turf, which is used instead of mortar to 

 keep the stones in their places. On inquiry the turf was found 

 to have been cut from a small hillock close by. This we pretty 

 thoroughly searched, and among a vast number of the bones of 

 other Alcida, there were several of the large species. 



But our most profitable digging was at Bsejasker. Mr. Wolley 



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