BIRD ROCK 155 
here refers to the Bird Rocks in the Gulf of St. Law- 
rence. The birds called Margaulx, which bite even 
as dogs, were Gannets, whose descendants, in spite 
of centuries of persecution, are to be found to-day 
nesting where their ancestors did before them. 
“That Cartier’s description does not accord with 
their present appearance is not to be wondered at. 
The material of which they are composed is of a 
soft, decomposing, red sandstone that succumbs so 
easily to the incessant attacks of the sea that Dr. 
Bryant’s description of them in 1860 does not hold 
good to-day. If, then, the Bird Rocks have under- 
gone visible changes in twenty-five years, it is easy 
to imagine how great alterations the islets may have 
undergone during three and a quarter centuries,” 
Examination of the narratives left by other early 
voyagers in this region would yield further infor- 
mation concerning the Rocks and the destruction 
of its inhabitants; but passing to records of greater 
ornithological value, we find that Audubon, whose 
energy in exploration no ornithologist has ever sur- 
passed, was the first naturalist beholding Bird Rock 
to leave us a description of its wonders. It was 
during his cruise to Labrador in the schooner Rip- 
ley that he wrote in his journal, under date of June 
14, 1833, the following graphic account of the day’s 
experiences : 
“ About ten a speck rose on the horizon, which 
I was told was the Rock. We sailed well, the breeze 
increased fast, and we neared this object apace. At 
eleven I could distinguish its top plainly from the 
deck, and thought it covered with snow to the depth 
of several feet; this appearance existed on every 
