312 AUDUBON 



which filled me with delight. In half an hour more we 

 were in the centre of Great Egg Harbor. 



There I had the good fortune to be received into the 

 house of a thoroughbred fisherman-gunner, who, besides 

 owning a comfortable cot only a few hundred yards from 

 the shore, had an excellent woman for a wife, and a little 

 daughter as playful as a kitten, though as wild as a Sea- 

 Gull. In less than half an hour I was quite at home, and 

 the rest of the day was spent in devotion. 



Oysters, though reckoned out of season at this period, 

 are as good as ever when fresh from their beds, and my 

 first meal was of some as large and white as any I have 

 eaten. The sight of them placed before me on a clean 

 table, with an honest and industrious family in my com- 

 pany, never failed to afford more pleasure than the most 

 sumptuous fare under different circumstances ; and our 

 conversation being simple and harmless, gayety shone in 

 every face. As we became better acquainted, I had to 

 answer several questions relative to the object of my visit. 

 The good man rubbed his hands with joy, as I spoke of 

 shooting and fishing, and of long excursions through the 

 swamps and marshes around. 



My host was then, and I hope still is, a tall, strong- 

 boned, muscular man, of dark complexion, with eyes as 

 keen as those of the Sea-Eagle. He was a tough walker, 

 laughed at difficulties, and could pull an oar with any 

 man. As to shooting, I have often doubted whether he 

 or Mr, Egan, the worthy pilot of Indian Isle, was best; 

 and rarely indeed have I seen either of them miss a shot. 



At daybreak on Monday, I shouldered my double-bar- 

 relled gun, and my host carried with him a long fowling- 

 piece, a pair of oars, and a pair of oyster-tongs, while the 

 wife and daughter brought along a seine. The boat was 

 good, the breeze gentle, and along the inlets we sailed 

 for parts well known to my companions. To such natu- 

 ralists as are qualified to observe many different objects 



