280 BEGINS CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS 



ventures of one kind or another, but was not in danger at any 

 time while there. One time, I was sitting in the office writing my 

 notes when a small land bird came in by the window and quietly 

 sat down on my head and I found it caught flies from the window 

 and then flew back to my head again. Arrangements were made 

 for me to leave on the boat when she arrived from Halifax, which 

 was shortly expected. The intention was to take up to Halifax 

 about thirty of the wild ponies and sell them by auction as they 

 usually did, in the autumn. The teacher on the island, a young 

 lady, was to go up on the same boat and, v/hen the boat arrived, it 

 was quite stormy, and she was one of the first to go on board the 

 small boat. The boat, she started in, was overturned in the heavy 

 sea and she was brought on shore again half frightened to death. 

 They had much difficulty in getting the horses on board but the 

 next day was thought to be safe for me to leave so I was placed 

 in the surf boat and we started for the ship, and, as I was unac- 

 quainted with the motion of the boat, I nearly had my head jerked 

 off in crossing some of the rollers that we met on our way to the 

 ship. When we reached the ship, lines were thrown out and we 

 all got hold of them and boarded safely. The young lady, who 

 was afraid of the trip, was brought off last without any mishap. 

 We reached Halifax in due season and had a review of our ponies, 

 which certainly were frisky and shaggy and pleased the crowd very 

 much. 



In the autumn, when I made my report, the French section 

 still believed that trees would grow on the island and Dr. Wm. 

 Saunders of the Experimental Farm was commissioned to go down 

 the next year and see what he thought of the situation as my report 

 was discounted. He reported that he saw no reason why trees 

 would be a failure on the Island and the next spring he went down 

 and planted 8,000 trees and, three years after, they were all gone 

 and my report was evidently accepted, as no more attempts have 

 been made since then to plant trees on Sable Island. 



As usual, my son and I spent the winter at work on the herb- 

 arium and, as a catalogue of Canadian Birds had been spoken of, 

 I worked part of the time preparing the first installment of that 

 work. This summer, 1900, it was decided that I should go to 



