370 
BIRDS. 
a natural death. They have a common saying, 
“ Such a one’s gutcher went over the sneak , and my 
father went over the sneak too.” It is a pity that 
the old Norwegian law was not here in force. It 
considered this kind of death as a species of suicide. 
The next of kin, in case the body could be seen, 
was directed to go the same way ; if he refused, the 
corpse was not to be admitted into holy ground. 
“ But the most singular species of fowling is in 
the holm of Noss, a vast rock separated from the 
isle of Noss by some unknown convulsion, and only 
about sixteen fathoms distant. It is of the same 
stupendous height as the opposite precipice, i. e. 
480 feet, with a raging sea between, so that the in- 
tervening chasm is of matchless horror. Some ad- 
venturous climber has reached the rock in a boat, 
gained the height, and fastened several stakes on 
the small portion of earth which is to be found on 
the top ; correspondent stakes are placed on the 
correspondent cliffs. A rope is fixed to the stakes 
on both sides, along which a machine called a cradle 
is contrived to slide ; and by the help of a small 
parallel cord fastened in like manner the adven- 
turer wafts himself over, and returns with his booty, 
which is the eggs and the young of the black-backed 
gull and the herring gull.” 
