42 UNACCOUNTABLES " AND OTHER SHOTS 



Early in May, 1882, I happened to be at Pointe 

 des Monts, detained there by a strong south-east 

 wind. The spring migration of ducks was at its 

 height, and they were passing in thousands, 

 principally three varieties of the scooter family 

 the surf, velvet and white wing. Wherever food 

 was abundant huge flocks would congregate and 

 sit and watch for hours, diving and feeding. 

 Just opposite the Pointe des Monts lighthouse 

 there was one such flock, which at a very low esti- 

 mate, must have contained from twelve to fifteen 

 thousand birds. It looked like an immense raft 

 of sea weed, rising and falling with an undulat- 

 ing motion in the heavy swell. My host, Mr. L. 



F. Fafard, who was the lighthouse keeper then, 

 said, "Comeau, why don't you take a shot?" I 

 told him it was out of range for my gun, and be- 

 sides that I had only No. 4 and 6 shot, which at 

 that distance, a little over two hundred yards, 

 would be absolutely useless. He pondered for a 

 wnile, and apparently a bright idea struck him : 

 ' 'Why don't we try the big gun?" What he 

 meant by this, was a 9-pounder cannon, used at 

 the station as a signal gun. I have a bag of S.S. 



G. shot here, he said, which you can have, and 

 you must try a shot. So the big gun was loaded. 

 I put in two pounds of powder, an immense wad 

 of oakum, and then about half the bag of shot, 

 12% pounds, and a light wad. Sighting the gun 

 carefully about the middle of the mass of ducks, 



