i yo WILD WINGS 



all depredations upon the birds. Yet he ought to have more 

 done for him, a telephone or telegraph to the Magdalens, 

 and more calls of the government supply boat. Left as he 

 is, he must depend largely upon casual vessels, and he 

 can hardly afford to prevent the visitors from egging and 

 shooting, lest they, in retaliation, forego their favors. 



From the very start the wind began to die down, and 

 before long it was flat calm. We never shall forget that 

 night, throughout which, taking turns, we toiled at the oars. 

 Yet it was grand. The aurora borealis flashed, the full moon 

 smiled benignantly upon the placid ocean, the effects of its 

 soft light being wonderfully varied by the majestic streamers 

 of clouds which sailed across its face. As we approached the 

 Magdalens, a Petrel fluttered close round us several times 

 like a bat, and a party of Loons uttered their long-drawn, 

 wailing screams. At two A. M. the dawn was evident, and at 

 half-past two, in the broad daylight, we beached our craft 

 at Grosse Isle, the skipper firing salutes with his gun to wake 

 up the fishermen to help haul up the boat. And then it was 

 that he wittily bestowed upon the company, in the name of 

 the great Magdalen University of the northern seas, the 

 honorary degree of " S.S.D.," sad sea dog, which is 

 to be granted only to those who successfully make the trip to 

 Bird Rock in an open boat. 



Arousing the family, sore and weary, we took to our beds, 

 and slept till nearly noon, awaking to find that the expected 

 easterly storm had set in, and the shore was white with break- 

 ers. Once more we had been just in time. And yet, though 

 fortune did favor us by a scant margin, we are not advising 

 others, if they can possibly charter a sea-going vessel, to 

 attempt the trip to Bird Rock in an open boat. ' 



