BIRD ROCK 155 



here refers to the Bird Rocks in the Gulf of St. Law- 

 rence. The birds called Margaulx, which bite even 

 as dogs, were Gannets, whose descendants, in spite 

 of centuries of persecution, are to be found to-day 

 nesting where their ancestors did before them. 



" That Cartier's description does not accord with 

 their present appearance is not to be wondered at. 

 The material of which they are composed is of a 

 soft, decomposing, red sandstone that succumbs so 

 easily to the incessant attacks of the sea that Dr. 

 Bryant's description of them in 1860 does not hold 

 good to-day. If, then, the Bird Rocks have under- 

 gone visible changes in twenty-five years, it is easy 

 to imagine how great alterations the islets may have 

 undergone during three and a quarter centuries." 



Examination of the narratives left by other early 

 voyagers in this region would yield further infor- 

 mation concerning the Rocks and the destruction 

 of its inhabitants ; but passing to records of greater 

 ornithological value, we find that Audubon, whose 

 energy in exploration no ornithologist has ever sur- 

 passed, was the first naturalist beholding Bird Rock 

 to leave us a description of its wonders. It was' 

 during his cruise to Labrador in the schooner Rip- 

 ley that he wrote in his journal, under date of June 

 14, 1833, the following graphic account of the day's 

 experiences : 



" About ten a speck rose on the horizon, which 

 I was told was the Rock. We sailed well, the breeze 

 increased fast, and we neared this object apace. At 

 eleven I could distinguish its top plainly from the 

 deck, and thought it covered with snow to the depth 

 of several feet; this appearance existed on every 



