part i

. p. 574.

Adult Male. Plate CXC. Fig. 1.

Bill longish, straight, strong, tapering, compressed towards the end, slightly truncated and cuneate at the tip; mandibles of equal length, both nearly straight in their dorsal outline, their sides convex, excepting at the base. Nostrils basal, lateral, elliptical, open, covered by the feathers, and having a sharp ridge passing over them to the edge of the bill near the middle. Head of moderate size, neck rather short, body rather robust. Feet rather short; tarsus compressed, anteriorly scutellate, laterally covered with hexagonal scales, sharp behind; two toes before, united as far as the second joint; two behind, the first very small, the second equal in length to the third, claws strong, much curved, compressed, with a short deep groove on each side, very acute.

Plumage soft, rather blended, slightly glossed, that of the head shining. Wings long, the first quill extremely small, fourth longest, third nearly equal, second shorter than fifth; secondaries slightly emarginate. Tail of ordinary length, cuneate, of ten pointed feathers, having very short shafts.

Bill brownish-black. Iris brown. Feet greyish-blue. Forehead and crown, chin and sides of the throat blood-red, the two patches margined with greenish-black, of which colour is a broad band on the occiput, and a large space on the lower neck and fore part of the breast, a broad band of white from the eye margining the back of the occiput; another from the base of the upper mandible down the side of the neck, the interspace black. Scapulars black, tinged with green. Wing-coverts and quills black, the first row of smaller coverts white, excepting at the base, those of the outer secondary coverts are white on the outer webs, and the quills, excepting the first, are spotted on the outer and inner edges, and more or less tipped with the same. The back is variegated with black and brownish-white. Tail-feathers black, the outer margined with white towards the tip, the two inner spotted with white on the inner web. Middle of the breast yellow, sides dusky yellow, variegated with brownish-black.

Length 8½ inches, extent of wings 15; bill along the ridge 10/12, along the edge 1-1/12; tarsus 10/12.

Adult Female. Plate CXC. Fig. 2.

The female resembles the male, but the throat is white, and the yellow of the lower parts less pure.

THE WILD ALMOND.

This plant has already been noticed at p. 340 of the present volume.

COD-FISHING.

Although I had seen, as I thought, abundance of fish along the coasts of the Floridas, the numbers which I found in Labrador quite astonished me. Should your surprise while reading the following statements be as great as mine was while observing the facts related, you will conclude, as I have often done, that Nature's means for providing small animals for the use of larger ones, and _vice versa_, are as ample as is the grandeur of that world which she has so curiously constructed.

The coast of Labrador is visited by European as well as American fishermen, all of whom are, I believe, entitled to claim portions of fishing-ground, assigned to each nation by mutual understanding. For the present, however, I shall confine my observations to those of our own country, who, after all, are probably the most numerous. The citizens of Boston, and many others of our eastern sea-ports, are those who chiefly engage in this department of our commerce. Eastport in Maine sends out every year a goodly fleet, of schooners and "pickaxes" to Labrador, to procure cod, mackerel, halibut, and sometimes herring, the latter being caught in the intermediate space. The vessels from that port, and others in Maine and Massachusetts, sail as soon as the warmth of spring has freed the gulf of ice, that is, from the beginning of May to that of June.

A vessel of one hundred tons or so, is provided with a crew of twelve men, who are equally expert as sailors and fishers, and for every couple of these hardy tars, a Hampton boat is provided, which is lashed on the deck, or hung in stays. Their provision is simple, but of good quality, and it is very seldom that any spirits are allowed, beef, pork, and biscuit, with water, being all they take with them. The men are supplied with warm clothing, waterproof oiled jackets and trowsers, large boots, broad-brimmed hats with a round crown, and stout mittens, with a few shirts. The owner or captain furnishes them with lines, hooks, and nets, and also provides the bait best adapted to ensure success. The hold of the vessel is filled with casks of various dimensions, some containing salt, and others for the oil that may be procured.

The bait generally used at the beginning of the season, consists of mussels salted for the purpose; but as soon as the capelings reach the coast, they are substituted to save expense; and in many instances, the flesh of gannets and other sea-fowl is employed. The wages of fishermen vary from sixteen to thirty dollars per month, according to the qualifications of the individual.

The labour of these men is excessively hard, for, unless on Sunday, their allowance of rest in the twenty-four hours seldom exceeds three. The cook is the only person who fares better in this respect, but he must also assist in curing the fish. He has breakfast, consisting of coffee, bread, and meat, ready for the captain and the whole crew, by three o'clock every morning, excepting Sunday. Each person carries with him his dinner ready cooked, which is commonly eaten on the fishing-grounds.

Thus, at three in the morning, the crew are prepared for their day's labour, and ready to betake themselves to their boats, each of which has two oars and lugsails. They all depart at once, and either by rowing or sailing, reach the banks to which the fishes are known to resort. The little squadron drop their anchors at short distances from each other, in a depth of from ten to twenty feet, and the business is immediately commenced. Each man has two lines, and each stands in one end of the boat, the middle of which is boarded off to hold the fish. The baited lines have been dropped into the water, one on each side of the boat; their leads have reached the bottom, a fish has taken the hook, and after giving the line a slight jerk, the fisherman hauls up his prize with a continued pull, throws the fish athwart a small round bar of iron placed near his back, which forces open the mouth, while the weight of the body, however small the fish may be, tears out the hook. The bait is still good, and over the side the line again goes, to catch another fish, while that on the left is now drawn up, and the same course pursued. In this manner, a fisher busily plying at each end, the operation is continued until the boat is so laden, that her gunwale is brought within a few inches of the surface, when they return to the vessel in harbour, seldom distant more than eight miles from the banks.

During the greater part of the day, the fishermen have kept up a constant conversation, of which the topics are the pleasure of finding a good supply of cod, their domestic affairs, the political prospects of the nation, and other matters similarly connected. Now the repartee of one elicits a laugh from the other; this passes from man to man, and the whole flotilla enjoy the joke. The men of one boat strive to outdo those of the others in hauling up the greatest quantity of fish in a given time, and this forms another source of merriment. The boats are generally filled about the same time, and all return together.

Arrived at the vessel, each man employs a pole armed with a bent iron, resembling the prong of a hay-fork, with which he pierces the fish, and throws it with a jerk on deck, counting the number thus discharged with a loud voice. Each cargo is thus safely deposited, and the boats instantly return to the fishing-ground, when, after anchoring, the men eat their dinner and begin a-new. There, good reader, with your leave, I will let them pursue their avocations for a while, as I am anxious that you should witness what is doing on board the vessel.

The captain, four men, and the cook, have, in the course of the morning, erected long tables fore and aft the main hatchway, they have taken to the shore most of the salt barrels, and have placed in a row their large empty casks, to receive the livers. The hold of the vessel is quite clear, except a corner where is a large heap of salt. And now the men having dined precisely at twelve, are ready with their large knives. One begins with breaking off the head of the fish, a slight pull of the hand and a gash with the knife effecting this in a moment. He slits up its belly, with one hand pushes it aside to his neighbour, then throws overboard the head, and begins to doctor another. The next man tears out the entrails, separates the liver, which he throws into a cask, and casts the rest overboard. A third person dexterously passes his knife beneath the vertebræ of the fish, separates them from the flesh, heaves the latter through the hatchway, and the former into the water.

Now, if you will peep into the hold, you will see the last stage of the process, the salting and packing. Six experienced men generally manage to head, gut, bone, salt and pack, all the fish caught in the morning, by the return of the boats with fresh cargoes, when all hands set to work, and clear the deck of the fish. Thus their labours continue until twelve o'clock, when they wash their faces and hands, put on clean clothes, hang their fishing apparel on the shrouds, and, betaking themselves to the forecastle, are soon in a sound sleep.

At three next morning comes the captain from his berth, rubbing his eyes; and in a loud voice calling "all hands, ho!" Stiffened in limb, and but half awake, the crew quickly appear on the deck. Their fingers and hands are so cramped and swollen by pulling the lines, that it is difficult for them to straighten even a thumb; but this matters little at present; for the cook, who had a good nap yesterday, has risen an hour before them, and prepared their coffee and eatables. Breakfast dispatched, they exchange their clean clothes for the fishing-apparel, and leap into their boats, which had been washed the previous night, and again the flotilla bounds to the fishing-ground.

As there may be not less than 100 schooners or pickaxes in the harbour, 300 boats resort to the banks each day; and, as each boat may procure 2000 cods per diem, when Saturday night comes about 600,000 fishes have been brought to the harbour. This having caused some scarcity on the fishing-grounds, and Sunday being somewhat of an idle day, the Captain collects the salt ashore, and sets sail for some other convenient harbour, which he expects to reach long before sunset. If the weather be favourable, the men get a good deal of rest during the voyage, and on Monday things go on as before.

I must not omit to tell you, reader, that, while proceeding from one harbour to another, the vessel has passed near a rock, which is the breeding place of myriads of Puffins. She has laid to for an hour or so, while part of the crew have landed, and collected a store of eggs, excellent as a substitute for cream, and not less so when hard boiled as food for the fishing-grounds. I may as well inform you also, how these adventurous fellows distinguish the fresh eggs from the others. They fill up some large tubs with water, throw in a quantity of eggs, and allow them to remain a minute or so, when those which come to the surface are tossed overboard, and even those that manifest any upward tendency, share the same treatment. All that remain at bottom, you may depend upon it, good reader, are perfectly sound, and not less palatable than any that you have ever eaten, or that your best guinea-fowl has just dropped in your barn-yard. But let us return to the cod-fish.

The fish already procured and salted, is taken ashore at the new harbour, by part of the crew, whom the captain has marked as the worst hands at fishing. There, on the bare rocks, or on elevated scaffolds of considerable extent, the salted cods are laid side by side to dry in the sun. They are turned several times a-day, and in the intervals the men bear a hand on board at clearing and stowing away the daily produce of the fishing-banks. Towards evening they return to the drying grounds, and put up the fish in piles resembling so many hay-stacks, disposing those towards the top in such a manner that the rain cannot injure them, and placing a heavy stone on the summit to prevent their being thrown down should it blow hard during the night. You see, reader, that the life of a Labrador fisherman is not one of idleness.

The capelings have approached the shores, and in myriads enter every basin and stream, to deposit their spawn, for now July is arrived. The cods follow them, as the blood-hound follows his prey, and their compact masses literally line the shores. The fishermen now adopt another method: they have brought with them long and deep seines, one end of which is, by means of a line fastened to the shore, while the other is, in the usual manner, drawn out in a broad sweep, to inclose as great a space as possible, and hauled on shore by means of a capstan. Some of the men in boats support the corked part of the net, and beat the water to frighten the fishes within towards the land, while others, armed with poles, enter the water, hook the fishes, and fling them on the beach, the net being gradually drawn closer as the number of fishes diminishes. What do you think, reader, as to the number of cods secured in this manner at a single haul?—thirty, or thirty thousand? You may form some notion of the matter when I tell you that the young gentlemen of my party, while going along the shores, caught cod-fish alive, with their hands, and trouts of many pounds weight with a piece of twine and a mackerel-hook hung to their gun-rods; and that, if two of them walked knee-deep along the rocks, holding a handkerchief by the corners, they swept it full of capelings. Should you not trust me in this, I refer you to the fishermen themselves, or recommend you to go to Labrador, where you will give credit to the testimony of your eyes.

The seining of the cod-fish, I believe, is not _quite_ lawful, for a great proportion of the codlings which are dragged ashore at last, are so small as to be considered useless; and, instead of being returned to the water, as they ought to be, are left on the shore, where they are ultimately eaten by bears, wolves, and ravens. The fishes taken along the coast, or on fishing-stations only a few miles off, are of small dimensions; and I believe I am correct in saying, that few of them weigh more than two pounds, when perfectly cured, or exceed six when taken out of the water. The fish are liable to several diseases, and at times are annoyed by parasitic animals, which in a short time render them lean and unfit for use.

Some individuals, from laziness, or other causes, fish with naked hooks, and thus frequently wound the cod without securing them, in consequence of which the shoals are driven away, to the detriment of the other fishers. Some carry their cargoes to other parts before drying them, while others dispose of them to agents from distant shores. Some have only a pickaxe of fifty tons, while others are owners of seven or eight vessels of equal or larger burden; but whatever be their means, should the season prove favourable, they are generally well repaid for their labour. I have known instances of men, who, on their first voyage, ranked as "boys," and in ten years after were in independent circumstances, although they still continued to resort to the fishing; for, said they to me, "how could we be content to spend our time in idleness at home!" I know a person of this class who has carried on the trade for many years, and who has quite a little fleet of schooners, one of which, the largest and most beautifully built, has a cabin as neat and comfortable as any that I have ever seen in a vessel of the same size. This vessel took fish on board only when perfectly cured, or acted as pilot to the rest, and now and then would return home with an ample supply of halibut, or a cargo of prime mackerel. On another occasion, I will offer some remarks on the improvements which I think might be made in the cod-fisheries of the coast of Labrador.

THE WILLOW GROUS.

_TETRAO SALICETI_, TEMM.

PLATE CXCI. MALE, FEMALE AND YOUNG.

Although I have not seen this beautiful bird within the limits of the United States, I feel assured that it exists in the State of Maine, as well as in the northern districts bordering on the great lakes. THEODORE LINCOLN, Esq. of Dennisville in Maine, shot seven one day, not many miles from that village; and the hunter who guided me to the breeding grounds of the Canada Grous, assured me, that he also knew where the "Red-necked Partridge" was to be found. The places which he described as frequented by them, seemed to bear as near a resemblance to those in which I found the species in Labrador and Newfoundland, as the difference of latitude and vegetation could admit. I have also seen several skins of individuals that were killed near Lake Michigan.

The Willow Grous differs in its habits from the Canada Grous in several remarkable circumstances. In the first place, neither myself nor any of my party ever found the former solitary or single. The males were always in the immediate vicinity of the nest while the females were sitting, and accompanied them and the young, from the time the latter were hatched until they were full-grown; and whenever we met with them, we observed that the males and the females manifested the strongest attachment towards each other, as well as towards their young. In fact, so much was this the case, that when a covey happened to come in our way, the parents would fly directly towards us with so much boldness, that some were actually killed on the wing with the rods of our guns, as they flew about in the agonies of rage and despair, with all their feathers raised and ruffled. In the mean time, the little ones dispersed and made off through the deep moss and tangled creeping plants with great rapidity, squatting and keeping close to the ground, when it became extremely difficult to find them. This is the only American species of Grous I am acquainted with that possesses these habits; in all others found in the United States, the male not only leaves the female as soon as incubation has commenced, but both fly from man and urge their young to do the same from their earliest age.

The Willow Grouse, moreover, join their broods whenever an opportunity offers, and we found flocks of old and young, in which the latter were of very different sizes. This species rarely if ever alights on bushes or trees after being fully grown, and appears to resort at all times by preference to the ground, living among the naked rocks of the open morasses.

The young birds do not acquire their full summer plumage before they are two years old. Many of these middle-aged birds, as I would call them, which our party procured early in the month of July, differed greatly from the older birds, which had their broods then quite small. They were much lighter in colour, their tails were shorter, and they weighed less, but afforded much better eating. Some of them had young, but their broods were much smaller in point of number, seldom exceeding four or five, while the old birds frequently had a dozen or more.

The flight of the Willow Grous resembles that of the Red Grous of Scotland, being regular, swift, and on occasion protracted to a very great distance. They have no whirring sound of their wings, even when put up by sudden surprise. Whenever we found a pair without young, they were extremely shy, and would fly from one hill to another often at a great distance. If pursued, they would be seen standing erect, and boldly watching our approach, until we got to the distance of a few hundred yards from them, when they would run from the naked rocks into the moss, and there squat so close, that unless one of the party happened to walk almost over them, they remained unseen, and could not be raised. When discovered and put up, they were easily shot, on account of the beautiful regularity of their flight. In rising from the ground, they utter a loud and quickly repeated chuck, which is continued for eight or ten yards.

Young birds shot in Newfoundland, on the 11th of August, weighed 6¼ ounces, and were fully fledged. Their primaries were of a sullied white, but their legs were not closely covered with hair-like feathers as in the old birds. Although this species breeds in the districts inhabited by the Canada Grous, it never enters the thickets to which the latter resorts, but always remains in the open grounds.

One day while in search of young Wild Geese, in a large oozy and miry flat, covered with a floating bed of tangled herbage, we were much surprised at finding there several Willow Grous. They were extremely shy, and flew from one part of the marsh to another. We procured with great difficulty two, which proved to be barren females.

To give you an idea of the difficulties we had occasionally to encounter, in our endeavours to procure such birds as breed in that country, it will suffice to say, that one of us was so mired in the flat just mentioned, that it was with extreme difficulty another of us succeeded in extricating him, to the great danger of being himself swamped, in which case we must all have perished, had no aid arrived. We were completely smeared with black mud, and so fatigued, that when we returned, we found it impossible to proceed more than a few yards before we were forced to sit down on the dangerous sward, which at every step shook for a considerable space around so that we were obliged to keep at a distance from each other, and move many yards apart, constantly fearing that the least increase of weight would have burst the thin layer that supported us, and sent us in to a depth from which we could not have been extricated. But once out of the bog, we were delighted with the success of our enterprise, and as we refreshed ourselves from our scanty stores, when we had reached the rocky shores of the sea, we laughed heartily at what had happened, although only a few hours before it was considered a most serious accident.

As I am speaking of fowling in Labrador, allow me to relate an incident connected with the Willow Grous. Among our crew was a sailor, who was somewhat of a wag. He was a "man-of-war's-man," and had seen a good deal of service in our navy, an expert sailor, perhaps the best diver I have seen, always willing to work hard, and always full of fun. This sailor and another had the rowing of our gig on an excursion after Grous and other wild birds. THOMAS LINCOLN and my son JOHN WOODHOUSE, managed the boat. The gig having landed on the main, the sailors, who had guns, went one way, and the young travellers another. They all returned, as was previously agreed upon, at the same hour, and produced the birds which they had procured. The sailor had none, and was laughed at. While rowing towards the Ripley, we heard the cries of birds as if in the air; the rowing ceased but nothing could be seen, and we proceeded. Again the sounds of birds were distinctly heard, but again none could be seen, and what seemed strange was, that they were heard only at each pull of the oars. The young men taxed the tar with producing the noises, as they saw him as if employed in doing so with his mouth; however, the thing still remained a mystery. Sometime after we had got on board, the provision basket was called for, and was produced by Master BILL, who, grinning from ear to ear, drew out of it two fine old Grous, and a whole covey of young ones, in all the exultation of one who had outwitted what he called his betters.

While at the harbour of Bras d'Or, I was told by persons who had resided in the country for many years, that, during the winter, when the snow covers the ground, and the Grous are obliged to scratch through it, in order to get at the mosses and lichens, they are so abundant that a hundred or more can be shot in a day, and congregate in flocks of immense numbers, now and then mixed with the smaller species, called there the Rock Grous, and which is the _Tetrao rupestris_. Their flesh is then salted for summer use. At that season they are of a pure white, except the tail, which retains its jetty blackness. I was further informed that their flesh is then dry, and not to be compared with what it is in summer, when I found it tender, and having an agreeable aromatic flavour.

The Willow Grous breeds in Labrador about the beginning of June. The female conceals her nest under the creeping branches of the low firs. It consists of bits of dry twigs and mosses drawn into a form. The eggs are from five to fourteen, according to the age of the bird, and are marbled with irregular spots of reddish-brown, on a dull fawn-colour or rufous ground. They raise only one brood in the season.

The pair represented in the plate, with their young, were procured by my friend GEORGE SHATTUCK, Esq. of Boston, one of my party, who shot the first pair found by us in Labrador. They were in their full summer plumage. I think these birds, as well as the Canada Grous, have what I call a continued moult, young feathers being found upon them at all seasons.

TETRAO SALICETI, _Temm._ Manuel d'Ornith. p. 471.

TETRAO (LAGOPUS) SALICETI, _Swains. and Richards._ Fauna Boreali-Americ. part. ii. p. 351.

WILLOW GROUS or LARGE PTARMIGAN, _Nuttall_, Manual,