EGGERS OF LABRADOR. 151 



charged, and careless of the lives of their fellow- 

 creatures, as they are of those of the helpless in- 

 habitants of the air, they fight like wild beasts 

 for a contested prey. Not till fractured skulls 

 and wounded limbs give evidence of the fray, is 

 it brought to a satisfactory conclusion, when 

 fraternising, they divide the booty. 



'Not only against their rivals do the ruffians 

 Avage war, but against mariners, who in the 

 dauntlessness of innocence boldly traverse the 

 waters. Often they are surprised and robbed 

 by these lawless crews, who infest the coast 

 whenever a covert may be found. Yet not un- 

 frequently they meet with a merited punishment. 

 In a company of a hundred, perhaps, the fisher- 

 men gallantly advance their boats. Disdaining 

 to carry other weapons, they use the sufficient 

 ones of their fists and oars. They prepare boldly 

 to ascend the rock, where they are awaited by 

 the enemy — a dozen Eggers armed with guns 

 and bludgeons. Loud cheers re-echo through 

 the air, a fierce contest ensues, but the van- 

 quished Eggers are generally left bruised upon 

 the ground. 



So unremitting are these pirates in their de- 

 predations, as to threaten the entire extinction 

 of various species of birds, once abundant in 

 resorts which they abandon in search of un- 

 molested retreats. Gulls, guillerots, and puffins 



