EARLY LIFE 17 



where he used to fish and shoot still bear his 

 name. 



When I was about nine years old we moved to 

 Mingan. There I met Mr. Peter McKenzie, 

 who was then junior clerk at that post; a most ar- 

 dent sportsman, and who grew to be a crack shot. 

 Many were the outings we had together. In win- 

 ter there were thousands of ptarmigan, within 

 two miles of the place, especially at the entrance 

 of the river and around the island near Mingan 

 Falis. There were ruffed grouse also, though 

 these were rather scarce. Spruce partridges and 

 hares (common American hare) which we both 

 shot and snared, were abundant. During the 

 spring and fall migrations, game birds, such as 

 geese, black ducks, pintails, golden eye, teal, cur- 

 lews and various kinds of plovers were there in 

 abundance. Around the islands off the coast, 

 were numberless sea birds, many varieties of which 

 bred on the islands, notably the eider duck, gulli- 

 mots, murres and gulls. On the Perriquet group 

 were two immense colonies of the "Solan geese" 

 or "gannet" Sula Bassana, and the common 

 puffin, Fratercula Artica. On ap reaching the 

 islands, these puffins would rise in such num- 

 bers as to look like a cloud, and to actually ob- 

 scure the sun. When the weather was suitable, 

 Peter McKenzie and I went out to the islands to 

 collect eggs and shoot ducks for the use of the 

 Post. It was no unusual thing for us to bring 



