The Egg Trade. 315 



river, and the fish entangle their fins in trying to pass 

 them, and cannot get away. We visited the huts of the 

 Canadian fishermen of the Hudson Bay Company. 

 They are clothed and fed, and receive eight dollars a 

 year besides, for their services. They have a cow, an ox, 

 and one acre of potatoes planted. They report seven 

 feet of snow in winter, and that only one-third as many 

 salmon are taken now as ten years ago; one hundred 

 barrels now is regarded as a fair season. This river is 

 twelve miles long, has three rapids, is broad, swift, and 

 shallow, and discharges a quantity of fine gravelly sand. 



"June 22. Drew all day. Thermometer 60 at 

 twelve. We are so far north that we have scarcely any 

 darkness at night. Our party visited some large ponds 

 on a neighboring island ; but they had neither fish, shells, 

 nor grass about them ; the shore a reddish sand : saw 

 only a few toads, and those pale-looking and poor. The 

 country a barren rock as far as the eye could reach, and 

 mosses of several species were a foot in depth. So so- 

 norous is the song of the fox-colored sparrow, that I 

 heard it to-day while drawing in the cabin, from the dis- 

 tance of a quarter of a mile. The mosquitoes and black 

 gnats are bad on shore. 



" June 23. We heard to-day that a party of four men 

 from Halifax, last spring, took in two months four hun- 

 dred thousand eggs, which they sold in Halifax at twenty 

 five cents a dozen. Last year upwards of twenty sail of 

 vessels were engaged in this business ; and by this one 

 may form some idea of the number of birds annually de- 

 stroyed in this way, to say nothing of the millions of oth- 

 ers disposed of by the numerous fleet of fishermen which 

 yearly come to these regions, and lend their hand to 

 swell the devastation. The eggers destroy all the eggs 

 that are sat upon, to force the birds to lay fresh eggs, and 

 by robbing them regularly compel them to lay until na- 



