40 



THE OSPREY. 



companions follow after it, attempting- to snatch 

 away the piece of liver with which it has been 

 deco3'ed. At times a bird may succeed in disen- 

 g'ag'ing' the hook from its beak, but usually the 

 barbed point is well fastened and the hag- is 

 landed in the boat. A fisherman then places it 

 under his left arm to prevent its strug-gies. and 

 g-rasping- the head of the unfortunate bird with 

 his rig-ht hand he crushes its skull with his teeth. 

 Or he may try to deprive his victim of life bj' 

 wringing- its neck, striking it on the head with a 

 "g-ob stick", etc. This may continue until one 

 hundred or ])erhaps two hundred birds are cap- 

 tured, but usually not so many. A comparative- 

 ly short time passes before some of the birds be- 

 come gorg-ed with the pieces of liver which the^' 

 have obtained, and then they exhibit the g-reat- 

 est cunning- in eluding- capture. They seem to 

 be fully conscious of the fact that within the 

 liver there is concealed something- which, for 

 their own g-ood, they should avoid. With a won- 

 derful instinct that almost approaches reason, 

 thev cautiouly appi-oach and take hold of the 

 bait with the tips of their bilks, and b3' tiapping- 

 their wings, endeavor to tear it to pieces. In 

 this maneuver the birds are often successful, 

 and as a reward for their enterprise they secure 

 a g-ood lunch, which they hasten to devour, as 

 the disappointed and disg-runtled fisherman re- 

 baits his hook with the hope of decoying some 

 less warj' individuals. It frequently happens, 

 however, that a skillful "bait stealer" renders 

 abortive all the attempts of the fishermen to 

 eifect its capture, while at the same time it will 

 fig-ht desperatelv with its intruding- companions, 

 to keep them away until it has filled itself to re- 

 pletion. Having satiated itself until scarcely 

 able to clear the water, it quietly drifts to lee- 

 ward at a safe distance from the boat, floating- 

 upon the waves to await the digestion of its 

 food, and apparently to take in the situation. 

 So greedy, however, are many of these birds 

 that oftentimes they seem to leave, with great 

 reluctance, the place where food is plentiful, 

 even though they may be gorged to such an ex- 

 tent that they can eat no more. I have often, 

 on such occasions, seen them lingering near the 

 boat, looking upon a tempting piece of liver 

 apparently with an expression indicative of 

 regret that they could not find room for it. 

 Frequently these greedy rnd garrulous birds 

 also quarrel with their companions and attempt 

 to drive them away from the food which they 

 desire, but cannot accommodate. Of course 

 their endeavors are futile, for while they are op- 

 posing one, others rush in and devour the liver. 

 When hags are abundant recruits are con- 

 stantly arriving, and congregate in great, num- 

 bers wherever food can be obtained. Eager to 

 secure a share in the feast, the newcomers rush 

 ravenously forward and swallow the pieces of 

 liver, and are quickly pulled in by the fishermen, 



who, after killing them in the manner described' 

 detach them from the hooks, and throw them in 

 the bottom of the boat. 



After awhile, however, the whole flock usually 

 evinces a shyness which renders the sport un- 

 profitable, and the men then employ themselves 

 in hauling their trawls, or they go aboard the 

 vessel.* If a sufficient quantity has been taken 

 to more than supply the wants of the day, the 

 birds are hung up around the booms and on the 

 stern of the vessel. A few years ago it was not 

 an unusual sight to see from two hundred to five 

 hundred birds, more or less, of this species, 

 suspended from a Grand Banker. In this man- 

 ner they mav be kept for several days without 

 becoming worthless for baiting purposes, and, 

 if eviscerated, they will keep fresh a much 

 longer time. Indeed, I am told that in the fall 

 it has been a common custom for the Marble- 

 head bankers to save quite a number of these 

 birds and bring them home in a fresh condition 

 from the Banks, the hagdons being simply 

 eviscerated and hung- up in the hold of the 

 vessel. 



These birds are eaten to some extent by the 

 fishermen of the present day. Forty or fifty 

 years ago, and even earlier, this species formed 

 an important item in the bill of fare of a Grand 

 Bank codfisherman. Although they have rather 

 a "fishy" fiavor, which is not especially agree- 

 able to a delicate palate, they are nevertheless, 

 when properh- cooked, an agreeable change for 

 the table of a fisherman who has been absent 

 from home several months, and, consequently, 

 has not had an opportunity of obtaining fresh 

 messes other than fish. At present, when our 

 fishermen are enabled to get much better food 

 than any other class of sea-faring men, hagdon 

 "pot-pies" or "stews" are not so tempting to 

 them as they were to the codfishermen of an 

 earlier date. I ain told by persons who have 

 knowledge of the fact, that some of the old 

 Marblehead fishermen who had been in the 

 habit of eating the hagdon for many years, ac- 

 quired such a taste for the peculiar flavor of the 

 bird, that they actually preferred it to the 

 domestic fowl; and when no longer able to en- 

 gage in the bank-fisheries, would look to the 

 younger men for their supplies of hags, which 

 were brought home in the manner just referred 

 to, on the Grand Bank vessels. 



THE BLACK HAGDOX, OK SOOTY SHEARWATER 



(Puffinus f\iligiuosus). 



The sooty shearwater, or the "black hagdon" 

 of the fishermen, is invariably found with Puf- 

 fin us. major, and doubtless, occurs over very 

 nearly the sanie area. It is less plentiful on the 

 fishing-banks, however, and, as a rough esti- 

 mate, I should say that it does not exceed in 

 abundance more than 1 per cent, of the numbers 



*lt may be stated here that the capture of hagdons may occur at any time of the day and under different circum- 

 stances from those above mentioned: but the description driven represents the most common method adopted. The 

 birds are also often caught towards evenint; after the trawls have been set for the night, or from a dorv paid astern of 

 the schooner. In the former case, the men. after setting their gear, malce their boat fast to the outer buoy of the 

 trawl, and having enticed a flocls of birds around their boat, they proceed to catch as many of the hagdons as is possible 

 in the manner described. Ordinarily these birds are not caught to any great extent from vessels, except when the 

 rougtiness ot th« weather renders it undesirable to go out in the dories, or when an unusually large and hungry flock 

 has been collected alongside, attracted by the offal thrown out while dressing fish. At such times the men usuall.y stand 

 on both sides of the quarter-deck and catch the birds in the manner that -faas already been mentioned, except that 

 wooden floats are occasionally attached to the lines a foot or tivo above the hook 



