AUDUBON'S LABRADOR TRIP 



snow to the depth of several feet; this appear- 

 ance existed on every portion of the fiat, project- 

 ing 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 spy-glass, 

 and in an instant the strangest picture stood be- 

 fore me. They were birds we saw, — a mass of 

 birds of such a size as I never before cast my eyes 

 on. . 1 . No man who has not seen what we have 

 this day can form the least idea of the impression 

 the sight made on our minds." It was too rough 

 to land, and they sailed on, all except Coolidge 

 "deadly sick," but Audubon looked forward 

 with eagerness to the landing on the coast of 

 Labrador. "My thoughts were filled, not with 

 airy castles, but with expectations of the new 

 knowledge of birds and quadrupeds which I 

 hoped to acquire." 



At five o'clock on June 17, 1833, "the cry of 

 land rang in our ears, and my heart bounded 

 with joy; so much for anticipation. . . . The 

 shores appeared to be margined with a broad 

 and handsome sand-beach; our imaginations 

 now saw Bears, Wolves, and Devils of all sorts 

 scampering away on the rugged shore." They 



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