The spot of ground occupied by our settlers is bounded on each side by
high _bluffs_, which extend far into the sea, leaving a space in front,
where all their hogs run nearly wild, as they are prevented going beyond
those limits by those natural barriers; and the creatures who, at stated
periods, come up from the sea, remain in undisturbed possession of the
beaches beyond our immediate vicinity. The weather being favourable, we
launched our boat early in the morning, for the purpose of procuring a
supply of eggs for the consumption of the family. We heard the
chattering of the penguins from the rookery long before we landed, which
was noisy in the extreme, and groups of them were scattered all over the
beach; but the high thick grass on the declivity of the hill seemed
their grand establishment, and they were hidden by it from our view. As
we could not find any place where we could possibly land our boat in
safety, I and two more swam on shore with bags tied round our necks to
hold the eggs in, and the boat with one of the men lay off, out of the
surf. I should think the ground occupied by these _birds_ (if I may be
allowed so to call them) was at least a mile in circumference, covered
in every part with grasses and reeds, which grew considerably higher
than my head; and on every gentle ascent, beginning from the beach, on
all the large grey rocks, which occasionally appeared above this grass,
sat perched groups of these strange and uncouth-looking creatures; but
the noise which rose up from beneath baffles all description! As our
business lay with the noisy part of this community, we quietly crept
under the grass, and commenced our plundering search, though there
needed none, so profuse was the quantity. The scene altogether well
merits a better description than I can give--thousands, and hundreds of
thousands, of these little two-legged erect monsters hopping around us,
with voices very much resembling in tone that of the human; all opened
their throats together: so thickly clustered in groups that it was
almost impossible to place the foot without dispatching one of them. The
shape of the animal, their curious motions, and their most extraordinary
voices, made me fancy myself in a kingdom of pigmies. The regularity of
their manners, their all sitting in exact rows, resembling more the
order of a camp than a rookery of noisy birds, delighted me. These
creatures did not move away on our approach, but only increased their
noise, so we were obliged to displace them forcibly from their nests;
and this ejectment was not produced without a considerable struggle on
their parts; and, being armed with a formidable beak, it soon became a
scene of desperate warfare. We had to take particular care to protect
our hands and legs from their attacks: and for this purpose each one had
provided himself with a short stout club. The noise they continued to
make during our ramble through their territories the sailors said was,
"Cover 'em up, cover 'em up." And, however incredible it may appear, it
is nevertheless true, that I heard those words so distinctly repeated,
and by such various tones of voices, that several times I started, and
expected to see one of the men at my elbow. Even these little creatures,
as well as the monstrous sea elephant, appear to keep up a continued
warfare with each other. As the penguins sit in rows, forming regular
lanes leading down to the beach, whenever one of them feels an
inclination to refresh herself by a plunge into the sea, she has to run
the gauntlet through the whole _street_, every one pecking at her as she
passes without mercy; and though all are occupied in the same
employment, not the smallest degree of friendship seems to exist; and
whenever we turned one off her nest, she was sure to be thrown amongst
foes; and, besides the loss of her eggs, was invariably doomed to
receive a severe beating and pecking from her companions. Each one lays
three eggs, and after a time, when the young are strong enough to
undertake the journey, they go to sea, and are not again seen till the
ensuing spring. Their city is deserted of its numerous inhabitants, and
quietness reigns till nature prompts their return the following year,
when the same noisy scene is repeated, as the same flock of birds
returns to the spot where they were hatched. After raising a tremendous
tumult in this numerous colony, and sustaining continued combat, we came
off victorious, making capture of about a thousand eggs, resembling in
size, colour, and transparency of shell, those of a duck; and the taking
possession of this immense quantity did not occupy more than one hour,
which may serve to prove the incalculable number of birds collected
together. We did not allow them sufficient time, after landing, to lay
all their eggs; for, had the season been further advanced, and we had
found three eggs in each nest, the whole of them might probably have
proved addled, the young partly formed, and the eggs of no use to us;
but the whole of those we took turned out good, and had a particularly
fine and delicate flavour. It was a work of considerable difficulty to
get our booty safe into the boat--so frail a cargo--with so tremendous a
surf running against us. However, we finally succeeded, though not
without smashing a considerable number of the eggs.