while on the coast of Labrador, to see how cunningly one of these birds,
which, in consequence of the moult, was quite unable to fly, managed for
a while to elude our pursuit. It was first perceived at some distance from
the shore, when the boat was swiftly rowed towards it, and it swam before
us with great speed, making directly towards the land; but when we
came within a few yards of it, it dived, and nothing could be seen of it
for a long time. Every one of the party stood on tiptoe to mark the spot
at which it should rise, but all in vain, when the man at the rudder
accidentally looked down over the stern and there saw the goose, its
body immersed, the point of its bill alone above water, and its feet busily
engaged in propelling it so as to keep pace with the movements of the
boat. The sailor attempted to catch it while within a foot or two of him,
but with the swiftness of thought it shifted from side to side, fore and aft,
until delighted at having witnessed so much sagacity in a goose, I begged
the party to suffer the poor bird to escape.
The crossing of the Canada Goose with the common domestic species
has proved as advantageous as that of the wild with the tame Turkey,
the cross breed being much larger than the original one, more easily raised,
and more speedily fattened. This process is at present carried on to a considerable
extent in our Western and Eastern States, where the hybrids are
regularly offered for sale during autumn and winter, and where they bring
a higher price than either of the species from which they are derived.
The Canada Goose makes its first appearance in the western country,
as well as along our Atlantic coast, from the middle of September to that
of October, arriving in flocks composed of a few families. The young
birds procured at this early season soon get into good order, become tender
and juicy, and therefore afford excellent eating. If a sportsman is
expert and manages to shoot the old birds first, he is pretty sure to capture
the less wily young ones afterwards, as they will be very apt to return
to the same feeding places to which their parents had led them at
their first arrival. To await their coming to a pond where they are known
to feed is generally effectual, but to me this mode of proceeding never
afforded much pleasure, more especially because the appearance of any
other bird which I wished to obtain would at once induce me to go after
it, and thus frighten the game, so that I rarely procured any on such occasions.
But yet, as I have witnessed the killing of many a fine goose, I
hope you will suffer me to relate one or two anecdotes connected with the
shooting of this kind of game.
Reader, I am well acquainted with one of the best sportsmen now
living in the whole of the western country, one possessed of strength, activity,
courage, and patience,—qualities of great importance in a gunner.
I have frequently seen him mount a capital horse of speed and bottom at
midnight, when the mercury in the thermometer was about the freezing
point, and the ground was covered with snow and ice, the latter of
which so encased the trees that you might imagine them converted into
glass. Well, off he goes at a round gallop, his steed rough shod, but nobody
knows whither, save myself, who am always by his side. He has a
wallet containing our breakfast, and abundance of ammunition, together
with such implements as are necessary on occasions like the present. The
night is pitch-dark, and dismal enough ; but who cares ! He knows the
woods as well as any Kentucky hunter, and in this respect I am not much
behind him. A long interval has passed, and now the first glimpse of day
appears in the east. We know quite well where we are, and that we have
travelled just twenty miles. The Barred Owl alone interrupts the melancholy
silence of the hour. Our horses we secure, and on foot we move
cautiously towards a " long pond,*" the feeding-place of several flocks of
geese, none of which have yet arrived, although the whole surface of open
water is covered with Mallards, Widgeons, Pintail Ducks, Blue-winged
and Green-winged Teals. My friend's gun, like mine, is a long and
trusty one, and the opportunity is too tempting. On all fours we cautiously
creep to the very edge of the pond; we now raise ourselves on
our knees, level our pieces, and let fly. The woods resound with repeated
echoes, the air is filled with Ducks of all sorts, our dogs dash
into the half frozen water, and in a few minutes a small heap of game
lies at our feet. Now, we retire, separate, and betake ourselves to different
sides of the pond. If I may judge of my companion's fingers by
the state of my own, I may feel certain that it would be difficult for
him to fasten a button. There we are shivering, with contracted feet and
chattering teeth ; but the geese are coming, and their well known cry,
hank, hauk, azclunck, awliawk, resounds through the air. They wheel
and wheel for a while, but at length gracefully alight on the water,
and now they play and wash themselves, and begin to look about for
food. There must be at least twenty of them. Twenty more soon arrive,
and in less than half an hour we have before us a flock of a hundred
individuals. My experienced friend has put a snow-white shirt over his
apparel, and although I am greatly intent on observing his motions, I