My Antarctic Goose.



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carried me had to take in some timber at Melinka, which is the

little port of that island, and this gave me an opportunity of

landing.


Walking cautiously along the sea shore I soon found myself

in close proximity to some Antarctic Geese, which were much tamer

than I expected. One pair of these birds in particular which were

standing on a rock close to the village, allowed me to admire them

from a very short distance. This species of goose is stouter and

more robustly built than the other members of the genus ; and the

dazzling white male bird with its lemon coloured legs and feet, large

black eyes and black bill, was a most beautiful object. The female

is chocolate brown, barred with white on the breast, the shoulders,

back and tail are white, the bill is flesh coloured, the legs and feet

pale yellow, while a yellowish ring encircles the eyes.


One of the natives, seeing that I was interested in the Kelp

Geese, told me that he knew of a young bird in confinement and

proposed that I should go and see it, which of course I did, and

there sure enough in a garden surrounded by a palisade, I found the

young goose, trying to hide itself. The owner was quite ready to

sell it, and although I was fully aware of the difficulties that would

beset me if I tried to bring the bird home, I could not resist the

temptation to do so. A little wooden box was procured and when I

handled the bird as I was putting it in, I noticed, to my dismay,

that it was as light as a feather !


On my asking how it had been fed, I was told “ It will feed

on anything but you must not forget to give him Lutsche.” Now

Lutsche is a kind of Kelp or seaweed which grows on the rocks in

the southern part of Chile and on which the Geese feed. This is a

thing easily procurable in the Chonos Archipelago, but decidedly

difficult to obtain anywhere else except, perhaps, in Santiago, where

it is sold in a dried state as human food. A provision of Lutsche

was put in the box with the goose and it was taken to the ship.

Here my first difficulty began, for the box was too small to keep it

in for any length of time and I did not know where else to put it.

Fortunately the Captain was a kind man and, seeing my difficulty,

he suggested that I should keep it in an empty dog kennel of his on

the bridge of the vessel. This proposal I gladly accepted and the



