Bird-Jjlfc in Tjihi'ddo'r. 93 



waters and the air around about and above Us. We'CfSuld 

 have shot hundreds from the deck of our sehooner, a-s she 

 bowled alono;, without a})])arently diniinisliing' the number 

 about us or frightening off those already around. They would 

 often drop suddenly, as if shot, to the water beneath them, 

 where they would remain, evidently perfeetly at home, keep- 

 ing paee with us almost with their swift swimming or diving 

 with ineredible alaerity and remaining beneath the water for 

 several minutes to appear in some direetion eontrary to that 

 looked for to continue their gambols, or to take wing as sud- 

 denly as they took to the water and disappear in the distance. 

 On the approach of stormy or foggy weather thiw s])e<;ies, or 

 its neighbor the foolish guillemot, I could not learn which, 

 though ])erliaps it is a habit of both species, assemble in large 

 numbers near some shoal, out at sea a little ways, and seem to 

 go through with a sort of mock caucus or citizens' assend)ly, 

 each bird uttering a hoarse, rasping note that together can be 

 heard a mile awa3^ From the resemblance of the sound to 

 the word used, the people call them, at such times, " gudds," 

 and the noise reminds one more of the wrangling of human 

 voices at a " town meeting " than of anything else that I can 

 imagine. Xor at these " meetings " did the sound of our guns 

 Seem to frighten tliem in the least ; they would simply move 

 off, in a body, farther to sea, and then continue their strange 

 man(euvres even more fiercely than ever. When in Hying 

 they wish to turn in some contrary direction, they 0})en and 

 shut the feathers of the tail as if, thereby, to more surely direct 

 or assist their motions. The people shout and wave their hats 

 at them and call out " turn-about, turn-about," or " gudd, 

 gudd, gudd," and various other w^ords and exj)ressions, thiidv- 

 ing thereby, so they say, that the birds will turn and fly di- 

 rectly at them, and in fact it seems as if they often did this 

 very thing. Many a fine hour's sport have I had practicing 

 upon these same t'ellow^s while on the wing, and it re(juires a 

 good gun and a heavy charge to kill, at the first shot, these 

 tough, hardv birds, yet we often ate the fiesh of their breasts. 



