^he Sea Shores of Jersey. 187 



rubbed his hands with joy as I spoke of shooting and fish- 

 ing, and of long excursions through the swamps and 

 marshes around. My host was then, and I hope still is, 

 a tall, strong-boned, muscular man, of dark complexion, 

 with eyes as keen as those of the sea eagle. He was a 

 tough walker, laughed at difficulties, and could pull an 

 oar with any man. As to shooting, I have often doubted 

 whether he or Mr. Egan, the worthy pilot of Indian Isle, 

 was best ; and rarely indeed have I seen either of them 

 miss a shot. 



" At daybreak on Monday I shouldered my double- 

 barrelled gun, and my host carried with him a long fowl- 

 ing piece, a pair of oars, and a pair of oyster-tongs, while 

 the wife and daughter brought along a seine. The boat 

 was good, the breeze gentle, and along the inlets we sailed 

 for parts well known to my companions. To such natu- 

 ralists as are qualified to observe many different objects 

 at the same time, Great Egg Harbor would probably af- 

 ford as ample a field as any part of our coast, excepting 

 the Florida Keys. Birds of many kinds are abundant, as 

 are fishes and testaceous animals. The forests shelter 

 many beautiful plants, and even on the driest sand-bar 

 you may see insects of the most brilliant tints. Our prin- 

 cipal object, however, was to procure certain birds known 

 there by the name of lawyers j and to accomplish this we 

 entered and followed for several miles a winding inlet or 

 bayou, which led us to the interior of a vast marsh, 

 where, after some search, we found the birds and their 

 nests. Our seine had been placed across the channel, 

 and when we returned to it the tide had run out and left 

 in it a number of fine fishes, some of which we cooked and 

 ate on the spot. One, which I considered as a curiosity, 

 was saved and transmitted to Baron Cuvier. Our repast 

 ended, the seine was spread out to dry, and we again be- 

 took ourselves to the marshes, to pursue our researches 



