BIRD ROCK 157 
portion of the flat, projecting shelves. Godwin 
said, with the coolness of a man who had visited this 
Rock for ten successive seasons, that what we saw 
was not snow, but Gannets. I rubbed my eyes, took 
my spyglass, and in an instant the strangest picture 
stood before me. They were birds we saw—a mass 
of birds of such a size as I never before cast my 
eyes on. The whole of my party stood astounded 
and amazed, and all came to the conclusion that 
such a sight was of itself sufficient to invite any one 
to come across the gulf to view it at this season. 
The nearer we approached the greater our surprise 
at the enormous number of these birds, all calmly 
seated on their eggs or newly hatched brood, their 
heads all turned to windward and toward us. The 
air above for a hundred yards, and for some dis- 
tance around the whole Rock, was filled with Gan- 
nets on the wing, which, from our position, made it 
appear as if a heavy fall of snow was directly above 
us.” (Audubon and his Journals, i, p. 360.) 
From his pilot, Godwin, Audubon secured some 
information concerning the Gannets that then 
nested on the top of the Rock. He writes: “The 
whole surface is perfectly covered with nests, placed 
about two feet apart, in such regular order that you 
may look through the lines as you would look 
through those of a planted patch of sweet potatoes 
or cabbages. The fishermen who kill these birds to 
get their flesh for codfish bait ascend in parties of 
six or eight, armed with clubs; sometimes, indeed, 
the party comprises the crews of several vessels. 
As they reach the top, the birds, alarmed, rise 
with a noise like thunder, and fly off in such a 
