THE AMERICAN EIDER 373 



No kindness s\ieh as Iceland affords is of- 

 fereii to the dooks "wbioli turn their course south- 

 \rard along the .\merican coast, for as soon as 

 they retich the lines of civilization they ran 

 a continual gauntlet of shot from fishermen and 

 gunners, and enjoy peace and quietness only 

 during the severest weather when the sea is so 

 rough or the day is so cold as to make a shoot- 

 ing trip "extra hazardous," Fortimately no 

 weather is too cold or sea too fierce for this 

 bird's comfort; such conditions mean safety, 

 and he can be happy at a temperature low 

 enough to freeze a polar bear. A pleasant day 

 with a smooth sea in midwinter means death to 

 many a seafowl. 



I know one ledge, a favorite shooting stand, 

 to which the gunners from the neighboring 

 islands will pull out four or five miles in the 

 afternoon to set their decoys, custom admitting 

 these to hold the position against later comers, 

 then they go home again to make another start 

 at one or two o'clock the following morning to 

 be on hand at the first light. Some even roU 

 up in their blankets aroimd a fire of driftwood 

 in the lee of some great cliff in order to be first 

 at a point of vantage — this with a chance of the 



