14 Alexander Goodman More. 



for my not flooring the gentleman at once. However, he, 

 no doubt, fell a victim in the end." 



(The bird a Marsh Harrier was secured about two 

 days later.) 



" Aug. 13. (Expedition to Deer Island, etc.) Up at 5. 

 Morning rather dull but promising ; three of us in the 

 tax-cart ; found all the Rooks dispersing over the country 

 at about 5^, and, of course, did not forget to knock over a 

 few; our route was also varied with an attempt to stalk 

 some Curlew past Kinvarra. Arrived at New Quay at 8J. 

 Here Mr. J supplied our hungry necessities with break- 

 fast. After breakfast we embarked in hooker (an open, 

 strong-built cutter of fourteen tons) and sailed for Deer 

 Island, the El Dorado of our hopes, with a nice breeze, 

 foresail set, and one reef down, no jib. Walter got the 

 first shot and knocked down a Kittiwake ; but as to Deer 

 Island, our hopes were doomed to disappointment, for, 

 although we observed Herons, Cormorants, Curlew, Ring 

 Dotterel, and some large Gulls sitting on the rocks, we 

 could not approach sufficiently near to shoot ; and we ob- 

 served that as soon as a small boat landed to gather sea- 

 weed, all the feathered bipeds gave up their domain to the 

 unfeathered ones. We then made a short stretch across 

 the Bay of Galway, and soon fell in with a flock of 'Puffins ' 

 (as all the smaller diving sea-fowl are called here as well 

 as at Bembridge), and I killed out of them a Foolish Guil- 

 lemot, the first I had yet examined. As we advanced, we 

 kept meeting with a pretty good number of the birds, and 

 a constant fusilade was kept up ; the best part of the fun 

 was the picking up ; for as we had no small boat and no 

 landing-net, the sides being too high for us to catch hold 

 of the slain with our hands, the only means we had were a 

 gaff, which, however, one of the men wielded very adroitly, 

 and a handled bucket, so that we frequently tacked several 

 times before we could secure the bird, especially if only 

 wounded. Thus the morning passed away in a most 

 delightful manner, and we had leisure to survey the fine 

 view which the cle.ar day afforded of Connemara and the 

 Isles of Aran, as well as of the nearer shore adjoining 



