46 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[August 17, 1882. 



at a shot, you bring no discredit upon yourself as a sports- 

 man." So, although he had fired hulf 'a, dozen shots, blank 

 at the cloud of birds, not one did he get. I went over to 

 Uim, and saw his gun go up for the Seventh time, and go oil'; 

 and more than this I saw — 1 saw that the good captain shut 

 two eves instead of one as he leveled his piece, but as he 

 pulled tin- trigger lie opened both eves. I told him that 

 either was a bad way to take aim. and he looked veryshecp- 

 ish, and 1 likewise in a quiet tone, in which IkOre WW a sub- 

 stratum of venotn, told bin again, "Captain, if you get one 

 at a shot, you bring no discredit upon yourself as a sports- 

 man 1" 1 was thru revenged for the sneer of contempt— as 1 

 thought— which had preceded his failure. 



"Now," [said, "Captain, if you want to get birds, you 

 will have to get: somebody to kill them for you. If you do 

 not mind," said I, "I will lend my poor services." The cap- 

 lain was a humbled man. and he said. "I will thank you to 

 shoot me some." I said. "Then hand me over your ammuni- 

 tion, since I would not mind Irving vour piece.'" I found the 

 latter had the effect of making' mc miss two shots out of the 

 firSt four, in consequence of being so much lighter than my 

 own. I resumed my own gun again, and fired continuously 

 till my head became numbed and I had to stop. During this 

 time the poor captain had kept up a desultory lire, getting off 

 about, twenty shots, but doing no execution further than 

 striking a gull that was lazily Hying along-through the swift- 

 winged "murrs." Of course lie did not tire at the gull, 

 though when the poor creature with one lea' hanging awk- 

 wardly down flew away, and lit with a llasli~in the sea, the 

 captain by such muttering as "1 didn't kill him quite dead," 

 and "I did not allow for the distance, it, was a long shot," 

 and sundry other observations, endeavored to convince me 

 that he did fire at the gull. I took no notice of him for some 

 time but I said at last, "How is it that yon did not come to 

 see the gull before you fired V You ought to tie careful 

 always. You might us well have hit me as the gull had I 

 been a little way distant from you. Don't fire with your eyes 

 shut ; you don't" know what yon may strike." 



The captain reloaded in silence. "I will fire these two 

 shots," he said, "and go." He did tire them, and I heard 

 him mutter bitterly as his last barrel went o(T, "Devil a 

 touch." and then forgetting his own failure and pique he 

 came to congratulate me on what I had killed. My dog lay 

 blinking before the pile of black and white birds, but keep- 

 ing a jealous guard the While, and would only in sullen 

 mood submit to the captain counting them. I' had about 

 seventy "inurr.s", and in addition to these 1 handed over my 

 miscellaneous pile which I had killed before the captain 

 came, to the master of the coaster. Three of the captain's 

 men had been lying up in the cross while the shooting Went 

 on, and at a signal came ami look the birds upon their 

 backs, each taking about thirty, which would make a load 

 of nearly ninety pounds, the captain takina the remainder, 

 As the weather was cool and the wind lair, the captain. I 

 afterwards learned, got his birds to St. Johns quite fresh. 



A good dog is indispensable on the slope. The dog lies 

 below where you take your position, and when you tire 

 marks where the bird falls. Very often a wing only is 

 broken, and without the dug the bird runs over a precipice. 

 The first dog I ever took to the slope was impulsive, and 

 blindly darted after a bird with a broken wing over the 

 (•lift', and was lulled upon the rock below. My 'next dog I 

 brought with me up and down the slopes and shelves, famil- 

 iarizing him with the dangers to be avoided. 



The "murr" weighs about two auda-half or three pounds, 

 and after being soaked twenty-four hours to take away the 

 •strong" or fishy flavor, makes excellent pie. stew or soup: 

 and when properly grilled or fried is delicious. From the 

 time it makes its appearance about the 1st, of April, till 

 June, it is the chief fresh meat found upon the tables of the 

 coast fishermen, near the island, and is considered the dain- 

 tiest of a dish on board the large fishing craft which come 

 from distant points of the colony and anchor for the sea 

 son's cod-fishing near the Cape. Like most other sea birds, 

 its feathers are excellent, and the' fisherman who hits shot 

 sea ducks around the coast I am describing, has always re- 

 turned telling of the superior quality of the fishermen': 

 feather beds. 



Towards the last of April, on an occasion not yet referred 

 to, a party of sportsmen came from along distance. I with 

 them, to have a few days' shooting on Bird Island Slope. 

 Early in the forenoon, four in number, we arrived at the 

 Bird Island. It was the first visit of the others, so the party 

 was under my direction. When wo set out there was a nice 

 fresh westerly breeze blowing, but it had fallen calm before 

 we reached the island. One of the party was a young 

 clergyman, just raw from Trinity College, Dublin. 

 He had read of such things in books, but muttered as he 

 stood within fifty paces of the island covered with its 

 myriads, and heard the din of cries about us — so bewilder- 

 ing that you could scarce hoar each other speak: 

 * * * * "I might not this believe 

 Without the sensible and true avouch 

 Of mine own eyes." 



Though, locally, it is considered murder to fire from the 

 mainland out upon the island, for there are hundreds of 

 birds waddling about there always within range, yet we 

 could not restrain the good clergyman. He fired out' into a 

 thick bunch, hilling one bird and wounding several others. 

 Then a "ticklaee," silly and curious as ever, circled and 

 shook itself over our heads. His reverence wanted that bird 

 so much "to stuff and take home." I fired and the silly 

 thing fell at our feet. The clergyman was enraptured anil 

 insisted on decorating our hats with the slate-colored 

 feathers, as "trophies of our luck" I told him if we were 

 to take feathers as "trophies of our luck" from all the birds 

 I expected we would get before the party returned, I thought 

 he would have nearly enough for a feather bed. 



We then passed over to the slope along a path about afoot 

 wide only, and from which one blind step would precipitate 

 you into 'the yawning chasm below. .No one speaks in pass- 

 ing round this giddy path, and indeed the more timorous 

 lake a roundabout way, nearly a mile, to reach the firing 

 place. When wo got upon the slope there was not a. breath 

 stirring, and the good clergyman again thought of his books 

 and said it was a pity we had not "an Ariel to raise the 

 storm" and send the birds now flying with easy motion in 

 from the sea. I saw little hope for either a breeze or an 

 Ariel to pipe us one, so I suggested another plan, Therefore 

 we proceeded around the hills about two miles, then descend- 

 ing a ragged cliff went to a Ashing station inhabited in the 

 summer mouths. There we got a small boat, and, hoisting 

 our sails, with the little breeze and the help of our ours made 

 around for the island. 



But we had only reached the "Bill of the Cape" when it 

 was certain that we could have had all the sport we wanted 



without going to the island at all. Flocks of sea birds of 



tweutv different names crossed us on the wing before and 

 astern', and Hew over our beads. We look in our ours, and 

 while myself and another prepared for shooting, the clergy- 

 man and the other threw out their lines. The lines 

 were scarce out when there, came a tug at each, enough 

 almost to pull the unguarded fishermen overboard, and after 

 some hard pulling) in which the skin of the unprotected 

 hands of the two tyro fisherman suffered not a little, the 

 clergyman hauled a" pair of fine cod to the surface, and the 

 other' had a monster of the same species, niaii as large as the 

 Clergyman's pair. 1 seized a gaff and hooked the three fish, 

 directing the jubilant pair to go on and help themselves now, 

 as we hail other work. Bang, baug, bang, spoke our two 

 pieces, and two fine "shell birds" redbreasted merganser 

 {Merffiu serpator) fell to leeward. I had killed one and 8. 

 the cither, he having fired two barrels, missing one. The 

 shots brought myriads of birds from their dreamy repose on 

 the glassy sea, aiid they circled out arouud our' boat, and 

 shoreward again, giving us opportunity for good shots almost 

 as rapidly as" we could load and fire, 'When we put out the 

 oars again to pull for the island, the clergyman and D. had 

 taken about fifteen fine cod, and the former had likewise suc- 

 ceeded in getting his hand badly torn by injudiciously thrust- 

 ing it into the gaping mouth of a large cod lo take the hook 

 out of its gill. The fish closed its mouth, and the result may 

 be judged. I do not remember having heard the excruciat- 

 ing pain of the hand subsequently bring forth psalms or 

 anything of that class from the clergyman. 



We had got about fifteen birds, ' these being with two 

 exceptions (which were murrs) sea ducks of various kinds. 

 When we reached the false Cape Cove, the bight in Which 

 Bird Island is situated, we again took the "spreads" out of 

 our sails and prepared for several "beds" of "bottle-nose 

 divers"— surf duck (PdvmMn pfrnyitcil/nl/i) — which were fish- 

 ing all along in Ihc surf. We pulled in toward the bottom 

 of the cove, where we got several .shots, procuring about a 

 half dozen of the coveted divers, the other two flying their 

 lines but falling to get anv cod. The preacher got a skulpin 

 (one of the hateful rhvtnu'irnU), and he had to beat the abom- 

 inable creature to jelly before he could get, it otf his book. 

 While you try to get this creature off your hook you are in 

 danger of sitting the horns that grow upon its back and 

 head into your hands. 



Then we pulled up under the shadow of the Bird Island, 

 its perpendicular walls rising far up into the blue, and ran 

 our boat's prow upon the slanting rocky platform. Here 

 where so many echoes were at work, sending back the 

 screams of the' birds, it was impossible io hear each other 

 speaking. All four began a general lire. The clergyman 

 fired afa. pair of "tinkers" about sixty feet up the cliff, 

 The "kick" ol' the gun bruised his shoulder terribly; and 

 we all observed that, firing the slightest of charges blank 

 against, the rocky wall Caused the gun to kick so fiercely as 

 to make it necessary to desist firing in that direction. 



But this did not limit our shooting operations much, for 

 the birds flew up to and down from the island and the sur- 

 rounding crags and cliffs in clouds, keeping up a continuous 

 roar, "Titrr-r-r, turr-r-r-r," rolling the letter r in a more ap- 

 proved way than any Scotchman 1 have ever heard. Some 

 of our birds fell upon the rock platform and some fell upon 

 the water; and after we had fired there for about an hour, 

 the number of birds lying at our feet and those floating 

 along the cove was by no means uncomplimentary to our 

 Skill as shots. S. did 'pretty fairly, gelling on on average a 

 bird for every two shots, while 1). and the clergyman con- 

 tributed between them only a gud and two sea pigeons; and 

 thev wrangled for a long time as to who shot the gull, for 

 both had shot, at it simultaneously as it sat upon a pinnacle 

 of rock. 



There now appeared signs that a breeze of wind was com- 

 ing up, and knowing the danger of an "in-wiud" to a small 

 lioat like ours at this early season, we hurriedly picked up 

 our floating birds and pulled— and a hard pull it "was against 

 the tuerea-iiur wind and "lop" — around the cape, when we 

 hoisted sail, having the wind on our beam, and steered for 

 Briley Point. White-caps appeared before we reached the 

 point*, and it took the steadiest skill to keep bur skiff from 

 filling, it being necessary frequently to "bring her head to 

 the .sea" to keep from being filled by wash over the quarter. 

 As it was, we twice shipped water, once nearly filling. We 

 had a bail-bucket, and the man of God assisted frantically 

 with his hat. We were all tour sea-sick, I mav remark. 

 But— 



* * * "The stonn grew loud apuee, 



1'he water-wraith was shrieking, 

 And in the scowl of heaven each face 

 Grew dark as we were sneaking. " 

 W i? weathered Briley Point — and only that — and as our 

 boat rounded in under the shoulder of the sheltering land, 

 and we knew we were safe, and heard the angry turmoil of 

 the billows outside, 1 could hear, in fancy, two' of our party 

 who were Benedicts say, what Canada's gifted poet, Mr. 

 Roberts, has since given its in poesy tind rhyme: 

 "O'er the waste, warm reaches drives our prow sea-cleaving 

 Past, the luring death, into the falling nights- 

 Home ahull hold us yet and cease our wives from grieving, 

 Safe from storm, and toil, and flame, and clanging fight," 

 It, may be stated Unit the prime object, of the visit of the 

 guillemot to the island is to lay its eggs and bring forth its 

 young. The. eggs are laid on the bare rocks, tio attempt 

 beina made at nest, building. When the tiedgelintr is about 

 ten days old, its mother bears it on her back down from the 

 dizzy heights into the sea: and I have sat many times upon 

 the cliff, toward the last of June, almost suffocated by the 

 stench arising from the guano on the island and the remains 

 of fishes left there by the birds, and seen mothers leave the 

 crags and shelves and the island top by hundreds, hearing 

 their fledgelings upon their backs. When plumped into 

 the water,' the little fellows swim briskly around, and wdiistic 

 so vigorously that you might hear their slmlline; more than a 

 mile distanti 



One spring morning, I have been told not many years 

 ago, a, ship of war sailing from St. John's to one of the bays 

 to capture two or three outlaws, before whom local authority 

 had paled, slacked steam and stopped when off the Bird 

 Island. Then there was a puff of smoke, and a loud boom, 

 and the birds were seen rising from the island in thousands. 

 The ship had in wantonness fired at the mass of birds, 

 to be seen from her decks. The first shot missed, but a sec- 

 ond and a third were fired, and eventually a bomb was 

 thrown, but exploded and fell spluttering in the sea short of 

 the island. If I am not mistaken, the tear sliip, I am told, 

 was the gunboat Lily. 



it is t wenty years ago since the first foolhardy adventurer, 

 a fisherman, climbed up the dangerous, part-sloping side of 



the island to the top. He killed numbers of birds with his 

 climbing gaff, and then began his descent. A fourth of the 

 way ,1 ;wn his heart failed Etrr and yielding his hold he fell 

 a felly mass upon the rock below. 



Within the past few years the. experiment was repeated by 

 a tar from a, war ship, who, heedless of the fate of his pre- 

 decessor, climbed to the top. In his descent his courage 

 lasted him well, but when a little over half the distance 

 down he cried out that he could descend no further. And 

 he began to make the re-ascent. But neither muscle nor nerve 

 could long sustain such tension, and the poor fellow, cling- 

 ing wildly at the ft ail mosses and grass, fell down crushed 

 and dead— dead if he had had a hundred lives— upon the 

 rocky platform. 



I learn from my brother, a frequent visitor to the island; 

 that within the past two years the cormorant has increased 

 ptodigiously, and has driven the guillemot almost entirely 

 from the top of the island. The sport there, however, is 

 undiminished, as the displaced "murrs" have betaken them- 

 selves to the adjoining cliffs and crags. J. E. Coixres. 

 Toronto, Canada. 



"FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD." 



THERE come days in the life of any business man when 

 the worries and perplexities of daily work seem almost 

 unbearable, when he is sick of the treadmill walk, when he 

 longs to throw from him the interests of his patrons, cus- 

 tomers and clients and live for a, few blissful moments for 

 himself alone. Take from him the possibility of doing this 

 and you shorten his life and depreciate his usefulness. Any 

 machine is better for rest, A razor cuts bettor from rest. 



This desire for rest is gratified in various ways; but there, 

 is no moic natural or effective way, eveu for the non- 

 sportiug man, than to merge for a time the artificial man 

 into the natural: to sink civilized training in the instincts 

 given us by our fathers, the savages, and rest for a little 

 while near to nature's heart. 



Now. there are many men who long with a great longing 

 for a few days' outing in the woods or on the streams, who 

 suddenly become possessed to renew some of the innocent, 

 pleasure's of their youth, but who are deterred by motives of 

 economy, or by a "lack of the experience which would make 

 them "handy" in goiug at. it. To these, for whom we have 

 every sympathy, we beg leave to speak a few words. The 

 trouble "is, we are too ambitious. We want to go to the 

 Adirondacka, or the lakes, or the Boekies and the Yellow- 

 stone country. The kind of a trip we want will cost from 

 $50 to $500." and take a month of time. Now, this is fine, 

 but not needful. Rest and enjoyment can be found closer 

 at home. 



Suppose we have it arranged so that we can take two 

 weeks in the middle of summer, and can afford £10 for the 

 trip. Give us these data and we will assure you a pleasant 

 time, no matter who you are or where you live. 



Associate with yourself three or four tried and true 

 friends, like-minded with yourself to "have a trip." Be 

 careful in your choice, for on this depends more than on all 

 else. Now look around, all of you, and upon your honor 

 declare if there is not within two hundred miles of you some 

 lake, some mouutain, stream, or wood where you can pitch 

 your canvas house, and hunt, and fish, and live, and rest. 

 Now can not one of you get a team V And can not another 

 fled some sort of a wagon J No need of a livery rig. It is 

 utility, not style, we are after. Very well. Now. can you 

 not. find a tent somewhere? Perhaps not. Well, an 8x11 

 wall tent, of 10-otmce duck: can be laid down without 

 poles or pins, 300 miles from Chicago, for $7.00 (for 1882). 

 This will amply accommodate six persons, A 7x7 wedge 

 tent will do for four, and will cost $5.00. Either tent, 

 properly pitched, will stand any weather you will meet. 

 If you get a wall-tent, practice till you get the proper dis- 

 tance for your pins, then measure the distance out, on a tent 

 pole ; and' when you set up your tent after that, lay off' your 

 ground and drive all your pins the, first, thing; attach your 

 corner ropes loosely.; put in your ridge-pole : put u man 

 at each end of it and set, up 'the end-poles; tighten up the 

 guys all round, and you have it done, the blankets unrolled, 

 and are ready for supper in less than five minutes. 



Two guns will be enough for a party of five, and you 

 ought to have one dog; Also fishing-tackle for two. " If 

 you want a stove, dig a trench in the ground, put a flat- 

 'topped arch of sheet-iron over it, and youhavc a stove good- 

 enoughfor a king. Take five pounds of crackers. Oatmeal 

 is also good, .cheap and handy for a camping trip. Your 

 bread and butter you can get along the road; you are not 

 going to the Yellowstone country, you know. Take some 

 salt pork and plenty of sugar and coffee, A skillet will cost 

 you nothing, a coffee pot no more, and tin plates and spoons 

 are cheap. "Now hold up your right hand, every one of you, 

 and under oath answer if you altogether have spent over $20. 

 Very well. There is little more to spend. You will not 

 need any camp cot. nor camp stool, and you might as well 

 leave yo'ur cow and your piauo. You have what you need, 

 and db not need an extra wagon to carry your traps, nor an 

 extra man to do your cooking. 



Now. suppose you live in the middle of the prairie, State 

 of Iowa, for instance, where the midsummer sun blazes 

 hot and fierce, and the long, dry reaches of unprotected 

 ground would seem to offer the least possible attractions to 

 pleasure seekers. Even here you can have a pleasant, trip. 

 If you don't believe it, we will tell you of one of several we 

 have made there ourselves, being no better equipped than as 

 we have described. 



The "chicken" season of '81 opened hot and dry: and as 

 we started out for a trip to one of the so-called wall lakes of 

 Central Iowa, our friends assured us we should roast. But 

 out on the road the August breeze seemed all at once refresh- 

 ing. The breath we breathed was all our own, the time we 

 spent we did not count by the hour, and life again seemed 

 worth the. living. 



The first night, out it rained. The rain was wet. Our 

 trusty old tent sprung a leak; water stood in pools upon the 

 blankets, and trickled in streams through our beds of straw. 

 In the morning the Professor wanted to go home. He said he 

 was going to die, and wanted to perish in the bosom of his 

 family. We built a fire, hung him over a rail, and dried 

 him out. A little later I saw him with an expression of 

 wonder on his face, carefully feeling himself all over. Said 

 he: "Heretofore no one could have persuaded me that so 

 much moisture could be absorbed by the human tissues 

 without producing serious complications. Yet I experience 

 no ill effects. Hurrah! I'm prouder of myself than I was 

 when I took the valedictory!" And he jumped up and be- 

 gan to harness a mule. He was a cured man. We passed 

 on our way under the overhanging willow hedges ot Storey 



