The Audubon Reader (58 page)

So abundant were the nests of these birds on the islands of
Partridge Bay, about forty miles west of this place, that a boatload of their eggs might have been collected if they had been fresh; they are then excellent eating. Our captain called on a half-breed
Indian in the employ of the Northeast Fur and Fish Co., living with his squaw and two daughters. A potato patch of about an acre was planted in
sand
, for not a foot of
soil
is there to be found hereabouts. The man told him his potatoes grew well and were good, ripening in a few weeks, which he called the summer. The
mosquitoes and
black gnats are bad enough on shore. I heard a Wood Pewee.

The Wild Goose is an excellent diver, and when with its young uses many beautiful stratagems to save its brood and elude the hunter. They will dive and lead their young under the surface of the water, and always in a contrary direction to the one expected; thus if you row a boat after one it will dive under it and now and then remain under it several minutes, when the hunter with outstretched neck is looking all in vain in the distance for the
stupid Goose!
Every time I read or hear of a stupid animal in a wild state I cannot help wishing that the stupid animal who speaks thus was half as wise as the brute he despises, so that he might be able to thank his Maker for what knowledge he may possess.

I found many small flowers open this day where none appeared last evening. All vegetable life here is of the pygmy order, and so ephemeral that it shoots out of the tangled mass of ages, blooms, fructifies and dies in a few weeks.

We ascertained today that a party of four men from Halifax took last spring nearly forty thousand eggs, which they sold at Halifax and other towns at twenty-five cents per dozen, making over $800; this was done in about two months. Last year upwards of twenty sail were engaged in “egging”; so some idea may be formed of the birds that are destroyed in this rascally way. The eggers destroy all the eggs that are sat upon, to force the birds to lay again, and by robbing them regularly they lay till nature is exhausted and few young are raised. In less than half a century these wonderful nurseries will be entirely destroyed, unless some kind government will interfere to stop the shameful destruction.

June 22
. It was very rainy, and thermometer 54°. After breakfast dressed in my oilskins and went with the captain in the whale-boat to the settlement at the entrance of the true Natasquan, five miles east. On our way we saw numerous
seals; these rise to the surface of the water, erect the head to the full length of the neck, snuff the air and you also, and sink back to avoid any further acquaintance with man. We saw a great number of Gulls of various kinds, but mostly
Black-backed and
Kittiwakes; these were on the extreme points of sandbars but could not be approached, and certainly the more numerous they are, the more wild and wary.

On entering the river we saw several nets set across a portion of the stream for the purpose of
catching
salmon; these seines were fastened in the stream about sixty yards from either shore supported by buoys; the net is fastened to the shore by stakes that hold it perpendicular to the water; the fish enter these and entangle themselves until removed by the fishermen. On going to a house on the shore, we found it a tolerably good cabin, floored, containing a good stove, a chimney and an oven at the bottom of this like the ovens of the French peasants, three beds and a table whereon the breakfast of the family was served. This consisted of coffee in large bowls, good bread and fried salmon. Three Labrador dogs came and sniffed about us and then returned under the table whence they had issued, with no appearance of anger. Two men, two women and a babe formed the group, which I addressed in French. They were French-Canadians and had been here several years, winter and summer, and are agents for the
Fur and Fish Co., who give them food, clothes and about $80 per annum. They have a cow and an ox, about an acre of potatoes planted in sand, seven feet of snow in winter and two-thirds less salmon than was caught here ten years since. Then three hundred barrels was a fair season; now one hundred is the maximum; this is because they will catch the fish both ascending and descending the river. During winter the men hunt
foxes,
martens and
sables and kill some bear of the black kind, but neither deer nor other game is to be found without going a great distance in the interior where
reindeer are now and then procured. One species of Grouse and one of
Ptarmigan, the latter white at all seasons; the former I suppose to be the
Willow Grouse. The men would neither sell nor give us a single salmon,
saying that so strict were their orders that should they sell
one
, the place might be taken from them. If this should prove the case everywhere I shall not purchase many for my friends. The furs which they collect are sent off to Quebec at the first opening of the waters in spring and not a skin of any sort was here for us to look at.

We met here two large boats containing about twenty Montagnais
Indians, old and young, men and women. They carried canoes lashed to the sides like whale ships, for the seal fishery. The men were stout and good-looking, spoke tolerable French, the skin redder than any Indians I have ever seen, and more
clear
; the women appeared cleaner than usual, their hair braided and hanging down, jet black but short. All were dressed in European costume except the feet, on which coarse moccasins of sealskin took the place of shoes. I made a bargain with them for some Grouse, and three young men were dispatched at once. On leaving the harbor this morning we saw a black man-of-war-like looking vessel entering it with the French flag; she anchored near us, and on our return we were told it was the Quebec cutter. I wrote a note to the officer commanding, enclosing my card and requesting an interview. The commander replied he would receive me in two hours. His name was
Captain Bayfield, the vessel the
Gulnare
. The sailor who had taken my note was asked if I had procured many birds, and how far I intended to proceed.

After dinner, which consisted of hashed
Eider Ducks, which were very good, the females always being fat when sitting, I cut off my three weeks’ beard, put on clean linen and with my credentials in my pocket went to the
Gulnare
. I was received politely and after talking on deck for a while was invited into the cabin and was introduced to the doctor, who appeared to be a man of talents, a student of botany and conchology. Thus men of the same tastes meet everywhere, yet surely I did not expect to meet a naturalist on the Labrador coast. The vessel is on a surveying cruise and we are likely to be in company the whole summer. The first lieutenant studies ornithology and collects. After a while I gave my letter from the Duke of Sussex to the captain, who read and returned it without comment. As I was leaving the rain poured down and I was invited to remain, but declined; the captain promised to do
anything for me in his power. Saw many
Siskins, but cannot get a shot at one.

June 23
. It was our intention to have left this morning for another harbor about fifty miles east, but the wind being dead ahead we are here still. I have drawn all day at the background of the Gannets. John and party went off about six miles and returned with half a dozen
Guillemots and ten or twelve dozen eggs. Coolidge brought in
Arctic Terns and
Black-backed Gulls, two young of the latter about three weeks old having the same voice and notes as the old ones. When on board they ran about the deck and fed themselves with pieces of fish thrown to them. These young Gulls as well as young
Herons of every kind sit on the tarsus when fatigued with their feet extended before them in a very awkward-looking position, but one which to them is no doubt comfortable.

Shattuck and I took a walk over the dreary hills about noon; the sun shone pleasantly and we found several flowers in full bloom, amongst which the
Kalmia
glauca
[
swamp laurel], a beautiful small species, was noticeable. The captain and surgeon from the
Gulnare
called and invited me to dine with them tomorrow. This evening we have been visiting the Montagnais
Indians’ camp, half a mile from us, and found them skinning
seals and preparing the flesh for use. Saw a robe the size of a good blanket made of sealskins tanned so soft and beautiful, with the hair on, that it was as pliant as a kid glove; they would not sell it. The chief of the party proves to be well-informed and speaks French so as to be understood. He is a fine-looking fellow of about forty; has a good-looking wife and fine babe. His brother is also married and has several sons from fourteen to twenty years old.

When we landed the men came to us, and after the first salutations, to my astonishment offered us some excellent rum. The women were all seated apart outside of the camp, engaged in closing up sundry packages of provisions and accoutrements. We entered a tent and seated ourselves round a cheerful fire, the smoke of which escaped through the summit of the apartment, and over the fire two kettles boiled. I put many questions to the chief and his brother and gained this information. The country from here to the first settlement of the Hudson’s Bay Co. is as barren and rocky
as that about us. Very large lakes of great depth are met with about two hundred miles from this seashore; these lakes abound in very large
trout,
carp and
whitefish, and many
mussels, unfit to eat, which they describe as
black outside and purple within, and are no doubt
unios. Not a bush is to be met with, and the
Indians who now and then go across are obliged to carry their tent poles with them as well as their canoes; they burn moss for fuel. So tedious is the traveling said to be that not more than ten miles on an average per day can be made, and when the journey is made in two months it is considered a good one. Wolves and black bear are frequent, no deer and not many
caribous; not a bird of any kind except
Wild Geese and
Brent about the lakes, where they breed in perfect peace. When the journey is undertaken in the winter, which is very seldom the case, it is performed on snowshoes and no canoes are taken. Fur animals are scarce, yet some few
Beavers and
Otters are caught, a few
Martens and
Sables and some
Foxes and
Lynx, but every year diminishes their numbers. The Fur Company may be called the exterminating medium of these wild and almost uninhabitable climes, where cupidity and the love of gold can alone induce man to reside for a while. Where can I go now and visit nature undisturbed?

The
American Robin must be the hardiest of the whole genus. I hear it at this moment, eight o’clock at night, singing most joyously its “Good-night!” and “All’s well!” to the equally hardy Labradoreans. The
common Crow and the
Raven are also here, but the
Magdalene Islands appear to be the last outpost of the Warblers, for here the
Black-poll Warbler, the only one we see, is scarce. The White-throated and the
White-crowned Sparrows are the only tolerably abundant land birds. The Indians brought in no Grouse. A fine adult specimen of the
Black-backed Gull killed this day has already changed full half of its primary feathers next the body; this bird had two young ones and was shot as it dove through the air towards John, who was near the nest; this is the first instance we have seen of so much attachment being shown to the progeny with danger at hand. Two male Eider Ducks were shot and found very much advanced in the
molt. No doubt exists in my mind that male birds are much in advance of female in their molts; this is very slow, and indeed is not completed until late in winter, after
which the brilliancy of the bills and the richness of the coloring of the legs and feet only improve as they depart from the south for the north.

June 24
. Drawing most of this day, no birds procured, but some few plants. I dined on board the
Gulnare
at five o’clock and was obliged to shave and dress—quite a bore on the coast of Labrador, believe me. I found the captain, surgeon and three officers formed our party; the conversation ranged from botany to politics, from the Established Church of England to the hatching of eggs by steam. I saw the maps being made of this coast and was struck with the great accuracy of the shape of our present harbor, which I now know full well. I returned to our vessel at ten and am longing to be farther north; but the wind is so contrary it would be a loss of time to attempt it now. The weather is growing warmer and
mosquitoes are abundant and hungry. Coolidge shot a
White-crowned Sparrow, a male, while in the act of carrying some materials to build a nest with; so they must breed here.

June 25
. Made a drawing of the
Arctic Tern, of which a great number breed here. I am of Temminck’s opinion that the upper plumage of this species is much darker than that of the Common Tern. The young men, who are always ready for sport, caught a hundred
codfish in half an hour, and
somewhere
secured three fine
salmon, one of which we sent to the
Gulnare
with some cod. Our harbor is called “American Harbor,” and also “Little Natasquan”; it is in latitude 50° 12’ north, longitude 23° east of Quebec and 61° 53’ west of Greenwich. The waters of all the streams which we have seen are of a rusty color, probably on account of the decomposed
mosses, which appear to be quite of a peaty nature. The rivers appear to be formed by the drainage of swamps fed apparently by rain and the melting snows, and in time of freshets the sand is sifted out and carried to the mouth of every stream, where sandbars are consequently met with. Below the mouth of each stream proves to be the best station for cod-fishing, as there the fish accumulate to feed on the fry which runs into the river to deposit spawn, and which they follow to sea after this as soon as the fry make off from the rivers to deep water. It is to be remarked that so shy of strangers are the agents of the Fur and Fish Company that they will evade all questions respecting the interior of the country, and indeed will
willingly tell you such untruths as at once disgust and shock you. All this through the fear that strangers should attempt to settle here and divide with them the profits which they enjoy.