THE AMERICAN EIDER 373 



No kindness such as Iceland affords is of- 

 fered to the flocks which turn their course south- 

 ward along the American coast, for as soon as 

 they reach the lines of civilization they run 

 a continual gauntlet of shot from fishermen and 

 gunners, and enjo}^ peace and quietness only 

 during the severest weather when the sea is so 

 rough or the day is so cold as to make a shoot- 

 ing trip "extra hazardous." Fortunately no 

 weather is too cold or sea too fierce for this 

 bird's comfort; such conditions mean safety, 

 and he can be happy at a temperature low 

 enough to freeze a polar bear. A pleasant day 

 with a smooth sea in midwinter means death to 

 many a seafowl. 



I know one ledge, a favorite shooting stand, 

 to which the gunners from the neighboring 

 islands will pull out four or five miles in the 

 afternoon to set their decoys, custom admitting 

 these to hold the position against later comers, 

 then they go home again to make another start 

 at one or two o'clock the following morning to 

 be on hand at the first light. Some even roll 

 up in their blankets around a fire of driftwood 

 in the lee of some great cliff in order to be first 

 at a point of vantage — this with a chance of the 



