f72 THE CANADA GOOSE. 



In a good day, — for they fly in very uncertain ane 

 unequal numbers, — a single Indian will kill two hundred 

 No^ithstanding every species of Goose has a different call, 

 yet the Indians are admirable in their imitations of every 

 one. The autumnal flight lasts from the middle of August 

 to the middle of October ; those which are taken in thii 

 season, when the frosts begin, are preserved in their fea- 

 thers, and left to be frozen for the fresh provisions of tha 

 winter stock. The feathers constitute an article of com- 

 merce, and are sent to England. 



The vernal flight of the Geese lasts from the middle of 

 April until the middle of May. Their first appearance coin- 

 cides with the thawing of the swamps, when they are very 

 .ean. Their arrival from the south is impatiently attended; 

 it is the harbinger of the spring, and the month named by 

 the Indians the Goose moon. They appear usually at theii 

 settlements about St. George's day, 0. S., and fly north- 

 ward, to nestle in security. They prefer islands to the 

 continent, as further from the haunts of man. 



After such prodigious havoc as thus appears to be made 

 among these birds, and their running the gauntlet, if I may 

 so speak, for many hundreds of miles through such destruc- 

 tive flres, no wonder they should have become more scarce, 

 as well as shy, by the time they reach the shores of the 

 United States. 



Their flrst arrival on the coast of New Jersey is early 

 In October, and their first numerous appearance is the Bva$ 



