in Iceland respecting the Gare-fowl. 387 
board the vessel, the ( Villingar/ a cutter belonging to one Jon 
Danielsson, only one survives. He, by name Olafr Palsson, 
gave us an account of the voyage, closely agreeing with Faber's, 
which he had never seen. They came first to the Geirfuglasker, 
and sailed between it and the ‘ drangr/ where the Count, whose 
name I have been unable to ascertain, landed and gathered 
some sea-weed. Then the weather became fair, and they pro¬ 
ceeded to the skerry itself, where they arrived in the evening. 
Faber remained on board, but the Count again landed, and pre¬ 
sently fell into the water. They picked him up, and his servant 
shot a good many Gannets (Sula bassana). Later in the evening 
they returned, and some of them went on shore, but could find 
no way up. Jon Danielsson declared he was ready to stop a 
week; the Count, however, seemed to have had enough of it, 
and “ Fugle Faber thought as the Count did." They were out 
two days and two nights at the rocks. They did not go near 
Eldey, saw no Gare-fowls, and their opinion was that they must 
have been all killed by the French sailors, as they had heard a 
vessel of that nation had been seen there two summers before*. 
Jon Jonsson, son of the owner of the ‘ Villingar/ then a lad 
about twelve years old, who assisted in putting the foreigners on 
board her, and had often heard his father and elder brother 
speak of the expedition, also corroborated Olafr Palsson's nar¬ 
rative. 
It is clear, however, that at this very time there were Great 
Auks in the neighbourhood; for, a few days later in the season, 
two birds were seen sitting on a low rock, close to the place 
where I have before mentioned that two or three were shot, and 
were killed with a sprit or gaff by another Jon Jonsson (now 
have to content myself with the translated extracts therefrom contained 
in a paper “ On the Great Auk,” communicated May 19, 1859, by Dr. 
Edward Charlton to the Tyneside Naturalists’ Field Club, and published 
in their ‘ Transactions,* vol. iv. pp. 113 et seqq. This paper has also been 
reprinted in the ‘ Zoologist ’ for 1860, p. 6883. 
* It does not seem to me at all impossible that there should be some 
truth in this report. Mr. Scales has kindly informed me that he obtained 
the fine Great Auk’s egg, now in his possession, from M. Dufresne, who / fci/Cj 
had one or two others in his collection, in 1816 or 1817. It was said to 21o 
have come from the Orkneys, which, however, I think is extremely unlikely. 
