CANADA GOOSE. 95 



Dr. Ricliardson, in his Fauna Boreali-Americana, says, " the 

 arrival of this well known bird in the fur-countries is anxious- 

 ly looked for, and hailed with great joy by the natives of the 

 woody and swampy districts, who depend principally upon it 

 for subsistence during the summer. It makes its first appear- 

 ance in flocks of twenty or thirty, which are readily decoyed 

 within gun-shot by the hunters, who set up stuffed skins, and 

 imitate its call. Two or three, or more, are so frequently 

 killed at a shot, that the usual price of a Goose is a single 

 charge of ammunition. One Goose, which, when fat, weighs 

 about nine pounds, is the daily ration for one of the Com- 

 pany's servants during the season, and is reckoned equivalent 

 to two Snow Geese,* or three ducks, or eight pounds of buf- 

 falo and moose meat, or two pounds of pemmican, or a pint 

 of maize and four ounces of suet. About three weeks after 

 their first appearance, the Canada Geese disperse in pairs 

 throughout the country, between the 50th and 67th parallels, 

 to breed, retiring at the same time from the shores of Hud- 

 son's Bay. They are seldom or never seen on the coasts of 

 the Arctic Sea. In July, after the young birds are hatched, 

 the parents moult, and vast numbers are killed in the rivers 

 and small lakes, when they are unable to fly. When chased 

 by a canoe and obliged to dive frequently, they soon become 

 fatigued and make for the shore, with the intention of hiding 

 themselves,* but as they are not fleet, they fall an easy prey 

 to their pursuers. In the autumn they again assemble in 

 flocks on the shores of Hudson's Bay for three weeks or a 

 month previous to their departure southwards. It has been 

 observed, that in their migrations, the Geese annually resort 

 to certain passes and resting places, some of which are fre- 

 quented both in the spring and autumn, and others only in 



* There is an old saying, that a Goose is too much for one, and not enough 

 for two : Hearne, in his Journal, says, " the flesh of the Snow Goose is delicate, 

 but the bird is so small that I ate two one night for supper." 



