White-head Island, 289 



naked rock the seal lazily basked, its sleek sides glisten- 

 ing in the sunshine ; while shoals of porpoises were 

 swiftly gliding through the waters around us, showing by 

 their gambols that, although doomed to the deep, their 

 life was not devoid of pleasure. Far away stood the bold 

 shores of Nova Scotia, gradually fading in the distance, 

 of which the gray tints beautifully relieved the wing-like 

 sails of many a fishing-bark. Cape after cape, forming 

 eddies and counter-currents far too terrific to be des- 

 cribed by a landsman, we passed in succession, until we 

 reached a deep cove near the shores of White-head Isl- 

 and, which is divided from Grand Menan by a narrow 

 strait, where we anchored secure from every blast that 

 could blow. In a short time we found ourselves under 

 the roof of Captain Frankland, the sole owner of the isle, 

 of which the surface contains about fifteen hundred acres. 

 He received us all with politeness, and gave us permission 

 to seek out its treasures, which we immediately set about 

 doing, for I was anxious to study the habits of certain 

 gulls that breed there in great numbers. As Captain 

 Coolidge, our worthy commander, had assured me, we 

 found them on their nests on almost every tree of a wood 

 that covered several acres. What a treat, reader, was it 

 to find birds of this kind lodged on fir-trees, and sitting 

 comfortably on their eggs ! 



" Their loud cackling notes led us to their place of 

 resort, and ere long we had satisfactorily observed their 

 habits, and collected as many of themselves and their 

 eggs as we considered sufficient. In our walks we no- 

 ticed a rat, the only quadruped found in the island, and 

 observed abundance of gooseberries, currants, rasps, 

 strawberries, and huckleberries. Seating ourselves on the 

 summit of the rocks, in view of the vast Atlantic, we 

 spread out our stores and refreshed ourselves with our 

 simple fare. Now we followed the objects of our pursuit. 

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