THE LABRADOR JOURNAL 



363 



the sailors are reefing. I forgot to say that when a man 

 walks towards the Gannets, they will now and then stand 

 still, merely opening and shutting their bills; the Gulls 

 remained on their nests with more confidence than the 

 Guillemots, all of which flew as we approached. The 

 feathering of the Gannet is curious, differing from that of 

 most other birds, inasmuch as each feather is concave, and 

 divided in its contour from the next. Under the roof of 

 the mouth and attached to the upper mandible, are two 

 fleshy appendages like two small wattles. 



June 15. All our party except Coolidge were deadly 

 sick. The thermometer was down to 43°, and every 

 sailor complained of the cold. It has rained almost all 

 day. I felt so very sick this morning that I removed 

 from my berth to a hammock, where I soon felt rather 

 more easy. We lay to all this time, and at daylight were 

 in sight of the Island of Anticosti, distant about twenty 

 miles; but the fog soon after became so thick that nothing 

 could be observed. At about two we saw the sun, the 

 wind hauled dead ahead, and we ran under one sail only. 



June 16, Sunday. The weather clear, beautiful, and 

 much warmer; but it was calm, so we fished for cod, of 

 which we caught a good many ; most of them contained 

 crabs of a curious sort, and some were filled with shrimps. 

 One cod measured three feet six and a half inches, and 

 weighed twenty-one pounds. Found two curious insects 

 fastened to the skin of a cod, which we saved. At about 

 si.x o'clock the wind sprang up fair, and we made all sail 

 for Labrador. 



7une 17. I was on deck at three this morning; the 

 sun, although not above the horizon, indicated to the mar- 

 iner at the helm one of those doubtful days the result 

 of which seldom can be truly ascertained until sunset. 

 The sea was literally covered with Foolish Guillemots, 

 playing in the very spray of the bow of our vessel, plung- 

 ing under it, as if in fun, and rising like spirits close 



