98 A SUMTIER'S CRUISE TO NORTHERN LABRADOR. 



Mr. Bradford spent a busy day in sketching the 

 unique scene, and his photographer, Mr. Pierce, from 

 Black's studio in Boston, took four good photographs 

 of the rocks and birds. These rocks are the remnants 

 of what were once vastly more extended strata, and the 

 question arose in my mind whether the red soil of Port 

 Mulgrave and vicinity were not the debris which had 

 been in part borne from the Magdalen Isles, and in part 

 from Prince Edward's Island. 



Since 1864, when the photograph was taken by Mr. 

 Bradford of which the accompanying sketch is a repro- 

 duction, great changes have come over the. famous gan- 

 net rookery of Bird Rocks. Mr. W. Brewster, who, 

 with Prof. Hyatt and others, visited these rocks in 1881, 

 says in his account: "In i860 the number of gannets 

 breeding on the top of Great Bird (then uninhabited) 

 was estimated by Bryant at about ' fifty thousand pairs,' 

 or one hundred thousand birds. In 1872 Maynard 

 found this portion of the colony reduced to about five 



there were of those Godetz, and Apponatz. We put into our boats so many of 

 them as we pleased, for in lesse than oiie houre we might have filled thirtie such 

 boats of them : we named them the Hands of Margaulx. About five leagues 

 fro the said Hands on the west, there is another Hand that is about two leagues 

 in length, and so much in breadth : there did we stay all night to take in water 

 and wood. That Hand is enuironed round about with sand and hath a very 

 good road about it, three or foure fadome deep. Those Hands have the best 

 soile that euer we saw, for that one of their fields is more worth thenall the 

 New land. We found it all full of goodly trees, medowes, fields full of wild 

 corne and peason bloomed, as thick, as ranke, and as faire as any can be seene 

 in Britaine so that they seemed to have bene ploughed and sowed. There was 

 also a great store of gooseberies, strawberies, damaske roses, parseley, with 

 other very sweet and pleasant hearbes. About the said Hand are very great 

 beastes as great as oxen, which have two great teeth in their mouths like vnto 

 elephants teeth, and liue also in the sea. We saw one of them sleeping vpon 

 the banke of the water ; wee thinking to take it went to it with our boates, but 

 so soone as he heard vs, he cast himselfe into the sea. We saw also beares 

 and wolves ; we named it Brions Hand. (Hakluyt, iii. 254.) 



