364 AUDUBON 



under our rudder. The breeze was favorable, although 

 we were hauled to the wind within a point or so. The 

 helmsman said he saw land from aloft, but the captain 

 pronounced his assertion must be a mistake, by true cal- 

 culation. We breakfasted on the best of fresh codfish, 

 and I never relished a breakfast more. I looked on our 

 landing on the coast of Labrador as a matter of great 

 importance. My thoughts were filled, not with airy 

 castles, but with expectations of the new knowledge of 

 birds and quadrupeds which I hoped to acquire. The 

 "Ripley" ploughed the deep, and proceeded swiftly on 

 her way ; she always sails well, but I thought that now as 

 the land was expected to appear every moment, she fairly 

 skipped over the waters. At five o'clock the cry of land 

 rang in our ears, and my heart bounded with joy; so much 

 for anticipation. We sailed on, and in less than an hour 

 the land was in full sight from the deck. We approached, 

 and saw, as we supposed, many sails, and felt delighted at 

 having hit the point in view so very closely; but, after 

 all, the sails proved to be large snow-banks. We pro- 

 ceeded, however, the wind being so very favorable that we 

 could either luff or bear away. The air was now filled 

 with Velvet Ducks; millions of these birds were flying 

 from the northwest towards the southeast. The Fool- 

 ish Guillemots and the Alca torda^ were in immense 

 numbers, flying in long files a few yards above the water, 

 with rather undulating motions, and passing within good 

 gunshot of the vessel, and now and then rounding to us, 

 as if about to alight on the very deck. We now saw a 

 schooner at anchor, and the country looked well at this 

 distance, and as we neared the shore the thermometer, 

 which had been standing at 44°, now rose up to nearly 

 60° ; yet the appearance of the great snow-drifts was for- 

 bidding. The shores appeared to be margined with a 

 broad and handsome sand-beach; our imaginations now 



1 Razor-billed Auk. 



