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 _L.
marinus_ and _L. tridactylus_; these were on the extreme points of
sand-bars, 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
despatched 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 _L. marinus_; 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_, a beautiful small
species, was noticeable. The captain and surgeon from the "Gulnare"
called and invited me to dine with them to-morrow. 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 seal-skins 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 white
fish, 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 travelling 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 snow-shoes, 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 _Turdus
migratorius_[190] 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 Labradorians. 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 _Larus
marinus_ 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 moult. No doubt exists in my mind that
male birds are much in advance of female in their moults; 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 _S. hirundo_. 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 deg. 12' north, longitude
23 deg. east of Quebec and 61 deg. 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
sand-bars 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. Bank
Swallows in sight this moment, with the weather thick, foggy, and an
east wind; where are these delicate pilgrims bound? The Black-poll
Warbler is more abundant, and forever singing, if the noise it makes
can be called a song; it resembles the clicking of small pebbles
together five or six times, and is renewed every few minutes.
_June 26._ We have been waiting five days for wind, and so has the
"Gulnare." The fishing fleet of six or seven sails has made out to
beat four miles to other fishing grounds. It has rained nearly all
day, but we have all been on shore, to be beaten back by the rain and
the mosquitoes. John brought a female White-crowned Sparrow; the black
and white of the head was as pure as in the male, which is not common.
It rains hard, and is now calm. God send us a fair wind to-morrow
morning, and morning here is about half-past two.
_June 27._ It rained quite hard when I awoke this morning; the fog was
so thick the very shores of our harbor, not distant more than a
hundred yards, were enveloped in gloom. After breakfast we went
ashore; the weather cleared up and the wind blew fresh. We rambled
about the brushwoods till dinner time, shot two Canada Jays, one old
and one young, the former much darker than those of Maine; the young
one was full fledged, but had no white about its head; the whole of
the body and head was of a deep, very deep blue. It must have been
about three weeks old, and the egg from which it was hatched must have
been laid about the 10th of May, when the thermometer was below the
freezing-point. We shot also a Ruby-crowned Wren;[191] no person who
has not heard it would believe that the song of this bird is louder,
stronger, and far more melodious than that of the Canary bird. It
sang for a long time ere it was shot, and perched on the tops of the
tallest fir-trees removing from one to another as we approached. So
strange, so beautiful was that song that I pronounced the musician,
ere it was shot, a new species of Warbler. John shot it; it fell to
the ground, and though the six of us looked for it we could not find
it, and went elsewhere; in the course of the afternoon we passed by
the spot again, and John found it and gave it to me. We shot a new
species of Finch, which I have named _Fringilla lincolnii_; it is
allied to the Swamp Sparrow in general appearance, but is considerably
smaller, and may be known at once from all others thus far described,
by the light buff streak which runs from the base of the lower
mandible, until it melts into the duller buff of the breast, and by
the bright ash-streak over the eye. The note of this bird attracted me
at once; it was loud and sonorous; the bird flew low and forward,
perching on the firs, very shy, and cunningly eluding our pursuit; we,
however, shot three, but lost one. I shall draw it to-morrow.[192]
_June 28._ The weather shocking--rainy, foggy, dark and cold. I began
drawing at daylight, and finished one of my new Finches and outlined
another. At noon the wind suddenly changed and blew hard from the
northwest, with heavy rain, and such a swell that I was almost
sea-sick, and had to abandon drawing. We dined, and immediately
afterward the wind came round to southwest; all was bustle with us and
with the "Gulnare," for we both were preparing our sails and raising
our anchors ere proceeding to sea. _We_ sailed, and managed so well
that we cleared the outer cape east of our harbor, and went out to sea
in good style. The "Gulnare" was not so fortunate; she attempted to
beat out in vain, and returned to her anchorage. The sea was so high
in consequence of the late gales that we all took to our berths, and I
am only now able to write.
_June 29._ At three this morning we were off the land about fifteen
miles, and about fifty from American Harbor. Wind favorable, but
light; at about ten it freshened. We neared the shore, but as before
our would-be pilot could not recognize the land, and our captain had
to search for the harbor where we now are, himself. We passed near an
island covered with Foolish Guillemots, and came to, for the purpose
of landing; we did so through a heavy surf, and found two eggers just
landed, and running over the rocks for eggs. We did the same, and soon
collected about a hundred. These men told me they visited every island
in the vicinity every day, and that, in consequence they had fresh
eggs every day. They had collected eight hundred dozen, and expect to
get two thousand dozen. The number of broken eggs created a fetid
smell on this island, scarcely to be borne. The _L. marinus_ were here
in hundreds, and destroying the eggs of the Guillemots by thousands.
From this island we went to another, and there found the _Mormon
arcticus_[193] breeding in great numbers. We caught many in their
burrows, killed some, and collected some of the eggs. On this island
their burrows were dug in the light black loam formed of decayed moss,
three to six feet deep, yet not more than about a foot under the
surface. The burrows ran in all directions, and in some instances
connected; the end of the burrow is rounded, and there is the pure
white egg. Those caught at the holes bit most furiously and scratched
shockingly with the inner claw, making a mournful noise all the time.
The whole island was perforated with their burrows. No young were yet
hatched, and the eggers do not collect these eggs, finding them
indifferent. They say the same of the eggs of the _Alca torda_,
which they call "Tinkers."[194] The _Mormon_, they call "Sea Parrots."
Each species seems to have its own island except the _Alca torda_,
which admits the Guillemots. As we advanced, we passed by a rock
literally covered with Cormorants, of what species I know not yet;
their effluvia could be perceived more than a mile off. We made the
fine anchorage where we now are about four o'clock. We found some
difficulty in entering on account of our pilot being an ignorant ass;
_twice_ did we see the rocks under our vessel. The appearance of the
country around is quite different from that near American Harbor;
nothing in view here as far as eye can reach, but bare, high, rugged
rocks, grand indeed, but not a shrub a foot above the ground. The moss
is shorter and more compact, the flowers are fewer, and every plant
more diminutive. No matter which way you glance, the prospect is cold
and forbidding; deep banks of snow appear here and there, and yet I
have found the Shore Lark (_Alauda alpestris_[195]) in beautiful
summer plumage. I found the nest of the Brown Lark (_Anthus
spinoletta_[196]) with five eggs in it; the nest was planted at the
foot of a rock, buried in dark mould, and beautifully made of fine
grass, well and neatly worked in circularly, without any hair or other
lining. We shot a White-crowned Sparrow, two Savannah Finches, and saw
more, and a Red-bellied Nuthatch; this last bird must have been blown
here accidentally, as not a bush is there for it to alight upon. I
found the tail of an unknown Owl, and a dead Snow-bird which from its
appearance must have died from cold and famine. John brought a young
Cormorant alive from the nest, but I cannot ascertain its species
without the adult, which we hope to secure to-morrow. At dusk the
"Gulnare" passed us. All my young men are engaged in skinning the
_Mormon arcticus_.
[Illustration: VICTOR GIFFORD AUDUBON.
FROM THE MINIATURE BY F. CRUIKSHANK, 1838.]
_June 30._ I have drawn three birds this day since eight o'clock, one
_Fringilla lincolnii_, one Ruby-crowned Wren, and a male White-winged
Crossbill. Found a nest of the Savannah Finch with two eggs; it was
planted in the moss, and covered by a rampant branch; it was made of
fine grass, neither hair nor feathers in its composition. Shot the _L.
marinus_ in fine order, all with the wings extending nearly two inches
beyond the tail, and all in the same state of moult, merely showing in
the middle primaries. These birds suck other birds' eggs like Crows,
Jays, and Ravens. Shot six _Phalacrocorax carbo_[197] in full plumage,
species well ascertained by their white throat; found abundance of
their eggs and young.
_July 1._ The weather was so cold that it was painful for me to draw
almost the whole day, yet I have drawn a White-winged Crossbill[198]
and a _Mormon arcticus_. We have had three of these latter on board,
alive, these three days past; it is amusing to see them running about
the cabin and the hold with a surprising quickness, watching our
motions, and particularly our eyes. A Pigeon Hawk's[199] nest was
found to-day; it was on the top of a fir-tree about ten feet high,
made of sticks and lined with moss, and as large as a Crow's nest; it
contained two birds just hatched, and three eggs, which the young
inside had just cracked. The parent birds were anxious about their
newly born ones, and flew close to us. The little ones were pure
white, soft and downy. We found also three young of the _Charadrius
semipalmatus_,[200] and several old ones; these birds breed on the
margin of a small lake among the low grasses. Traces have been seen of
Hares or Rabbits, and one island is perforated throughout its shallow
substratum of moss by a species of Rat, but in such burrows search for
them is vain. The "Gulnare" came in this evening; our captain brought
her in as pilot. We have had an almost complete eclipse of the moon
this evening at half-past seven. The air very chilly.
_July 2._ A beautiful day for Labrador. Drew another _M. arcticus_.
Went on shore, and was most pleased with what I saw. The country, so
wild and grand, is of itself enough to interest any one in its
wonderful dreariness. Its mossy, gray-clothed rocks, heaped and thrown
together as if by chance, in the most fantastical groups imaginable,
huge masses hanging on minor ones as if about to roll themselves down
from their doubtful-looking situations, into the depths of the sea
beneath. Bays without end, sprinkled with rocky islands of all shapes
and sizes, where in every fissure a Guillemot, a Cormorant, or some
other wild bird retreats to secure its egg, and raise its young, or
save itself from the hunter's pursuit. The peculiar cast of the sky,
which never seems to be certain, butterflies flitting over snow-banks,
probing beautiful dwarf flowerets of many hues pushing their tender
stems from the thick bed of moss which everywhere covers the granite
rocks. Then the morasses, wherein you plunge up to your knees, or the
walking over the stubborn, dwarfish shrubbery, making one think that
as he goes he treads down the _forests_ of Labrador. The unexpected
Bunting, or perhaps Sylvia, which perchance, and indeed as if by
chance alone, you now and then see flying before you, or hear singing
from the creeping plants on the ground. The beautiful fresh-water
lakes, on the rugged crests of greatly elevated islands, wherein the
Red and Black-necked Divers swim as proudly as swans do in other
latitudes, and where the fish appear to have been cast as strayed
beings from the surplus food of the ocean. All--all is wonderfully
grand, wild--aye, and terrific. And yet how beautiful it is now, when
one sees the wild bee, moving from one flower to another in search of
food, which doubtless is as sweet to it, as the essence of the
magnolia is to those of favored Louisiana. The little Ring Plover
rearing its delicate and tender young, the Eider Duck swimming
man-of-war-like amid her floating brood, like the guardship of a most
valuable convoy; the White-crowned Bunting's sonorous note reaching
the ear ever and anon; the crowds of sea-birds in search of places
wherein to repose or to feed--how beautiful is all this in this
wonderful rocky desert at this season, the beginning of July, compared
with the horrid blasts of winter which here predominate by the will of
God, when every rock is rendered smooth with snows so deep that every
step the traveller takes is as if entering into his grave; for even
should he escape an avalanche, his eye dreads to search the horizon,
for full well does he know that snow--snow--is all that can be seen. I
watched the Ring Plover for some time; the parents were so intent on
saving their young that they both lay on the rocks as if shot,
quivering their wings and dragging their bodies as if quite disabled.
We left them and their young to the care of the Creator. I would not
have shot one of the old ones, or taken one of the young for any
consideration, and I was glad my young men were as forbearing. The _L.
marinus_ is extremely abundant here; they are forever harassing every
other bird, sucking their eggs, and devouring their young; they take
here the place of Eagles and Hawks; not an Eagle have we seen yet, and
only two or three small Hawks, and one small Owl; yet what a harvest
they would have here, were there trees for them to rest upon.