394 



the old floe, and from there to Simmonds Island, the travelling was truly execrable. In the sodden 

 snow which lay between the ice-hillocks and ridges of the ancient floes, we often sunk to our 

 hips, and slush and ice-cold water reached above our knees. Over and over again, as we tugged 

 at the deeply imbedded sledge, it moved suddenly forward, throwing us on our faces, and we 

 found no little difficulty in regaining an upright position. However, we reached Simmonds 

 Island by 6 p.m., took our guns and walked round it. We saw four pairs of Brent Geese on it. 

 I found three nests ; one contained five eggs, the others four. The nests, as usual, were solid 

 structures of grass and moss, the eggs being imbedded in a mass of down. We secured five out 

 of the eight Geese inhabiting this island. By 8 p.m. we were back to the sledge, lashed on the 

 dead Geese, and were once again in the drag-ropes. The journey from the island to the mainland 

 was equally arduous as that we had encountered before ; and our sufferings were aggravated by its 

 blowing half a gale of wind from the S.S.W. We reached our camping-place on the mainland 

 at 12 p.m. nearly exhausted, and so benumbed by cold that it was as much as we could do to 

 prepare a goose for supper. 



" The stomachs of all the Brent Geese I examined in Grinnell Land showed that they had 

 been feeding exclusively on vegetable substances, chiefly the buds of Saxifraga oppositifolia. 



" On the 17th July 1876, when returning from another expedition in company with Lieu- 

 tenant Parr, we came across a pair of Brent Geese escorting three down-clad young ones, on the 

 shore-ice, near Mushroom Point, lat. 82° 30' N. These old birds were most assiduous in taking 

 charge of their young. Both goose and gander fluttered above their little ones and urged them 

 to the cracks in the floe, evidently thinking that, once in the water, they would be safe. It 

 seemed very cruel to kill these poor birds ; but we wanted every scrap of fresh meat for our sick 

 men. Both of these old birds were in excellent feather, and showed no signs of moult. This, 

 however, was not usually the case ; for by the end of the month of July the old birds, with a few 

 exceptions, were unable to fly, owing to the moult of their quill-feathers, and, with the goslings, 

 congregated on the partially unfrozen surfaces of inland lakes. On several occasions we killed 

 considerable numbers under these circumstances. Though unable to fly, they were well able to 

 run ; for more than once we disturbed large parties feeding on the land at some distance from 

 the lakes, to which they hastened with great speed, and took up a position on the water well out 

 of gunshot. This stratagem on their part was overcome by getting one of our Eskimos to launch 

 his kayak on the lake, and drive the unsuspecting birds to the points where we lay concealed. 

 The slaughter that ensued could only be justified by the fact that we had sick men on board 

 who required fresh meat." 



During the winter, when this Goose migrates southward, it frequents the sea-coast ; and I 

 never recollect to have seen it at any distance inland, though it does sometimes occur there as a 

 straggler. It is generally to be found in flocks of considerable size on the sea-coasts, especially 

 in places where there are large open spaces of mud or sand covered with sea-weed, where it can 

 find an abundance of food at low water. When these flats are covered by the sea it may be seen 

 swimming about at some distance off the shore ; but so soon as the water recedes it commences 

 feeding on the juicy rhizomata of the Zostera marina, which afford them a most nutritious food. 

 I have also seen them on the rocky shores of the Bay of Fundy, where they appeared to feed out 

 on the outer rocks, which at low water were left bare. They were then on passage, and were 



