THE MAGDALENS 
4]ROM Percé to the Magdalens by sea 
| is about a hundred and twenty 
miles, but lacking a proper vessel 
we were forced to return to Dal- 
housie and there take the Inter- 
national Railroad to Pictou, where 
a weekly steamer leaves for Prince 
Edward Island and the “ Madalenes,” as the natives 
call them. 
The journey is possessed of both present and 
historic interest, and the hospitality for which the 
residents of Pictou are noted assures one of a pleas- 
ant stay in their picturesque little town. Here I 
met a veteran ornithologist—James McKinlay—who, 
although over threescore and ten and isolated from 
others of kindred tastes, still possesses the enthusiasm 
of the genuine naturalist. His collection, the greater 
part of which he has presented to the Pictou Acad- 
emy, contains, among other birds, a Brown Pelican, 
a Corncrake, and a Chuck-will’s-widow—all shot in 
the vicinity. 
The Magdalen steamer is neither a yacht nor an 
ocean greyhound, but answers very well for the 
short voyage of a hundred and fifty miles across 
the gulf. Pictou was left at noon, and the following 
morning we awakened to find the steamer at anchor 
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