CANADA GOOSE. 571 
That such places abound with their suitable food, we cannot for a mo- 
ment doubt ; while the absence of their great destroyer, man, and the 
splendors of a perpetual day, may render such regions the most suita- 
ble for their purpose. : 
Having fulfilled the great law of nature, the approaching rigors of 
that dreary climate oblige these vast, congregated flocks to steer for 
the mcte genial regions of. the south. And no sooner do they arrive 
at those countries of the earth inhabited by man than carnage and 
slaughter is commenced on their ranks. .The English at Hudson’s 
Bay, says Pennant, depend greatly on Geese, and, in favorable years, 
kill three or four thousand, and barrel them up for use. They send 
out their servants, as well as Indians, to shoot these birds on their pas- 
sage. It is in vain to pursue them; they therefore form a row of huts, 
made of boughs, at musket-shot distance from each other, and place 
them in a line across the vast marshes of the country. Each stand, or 
hovel, as it is called, is occupied by only a single person. These 
attend the flight of the birds, and, on their approach, mimic their 
cackle so well that the Geese will answer, and wheel, and come nearer 
the stand. The sportsman keeps motionless, and on his knees, with 
his gun cocked the whole time, and never fires till he has seen the 
eyes of the Geese. He fires as they are going from him; then picks 
up another gun that lies by him, and discharges that.’ The Geese 
which he has killed he sets upon sticks, as if alive, to decoy others ; 
he also makes artificial birds for the same purpose. Ina good day, — 
for they fly in very uncertain and unequal numbers, —a single Indian 
will kill two hundred. .Notwithstanding every species of Goose has a 
different call, yet the Indians are admirable in their imitations of every 
one. The autumnal flight lasts from the middle of August to the mid- 
dle of October; those which are taken in this season, when the frosts 
begin, are preserved, in their feathers, and left to be frozen for the fresh 
provisions of the winter stock. The feathers constitute an article of 
commerce, and are sent to England. ; 
The vernal flight of the Geese lasts from the middle of April until 
the middle of May. Their first appearance coincides with the thaw- 
ing of the swamps, when they are very lean. Their arrival from the 
south is impatiently attended; it is the harbinger of the spring, and 
the month named by the Indians the Goose moon. They appear usu- 
ally at their settlements about St. George’s day, O.S., and fly north- 
ward, to nestle in security. They prefer islands to the continent, as 
farther from the haunts of man.* 
After such prodigious havock as thus appears to be made among 
these birds, and their running the gantlet, if | may so speak, for many 
hundreds of miles through such destructive fires, no wonder they 
should have become more scarce, as well as shy, by the time they 
reach the shores of the United States. 
Their first arrival on the coast of New Jersey is early in October, 
and their first numerous appearance is the sure prognostic of severe 
weather. Those which continue all winter frequent the shallow bays 
and marsh islands ; their principal food being the broad, tender, green 
leaves of a marine plant which grows on stones and shells, and is 
* Arctic Zoology. 
