Loons are abundant in the water
and are on the Indians' list of Ducks, therefore good food.
They
are wonderfully expert at calling them. This morning a couple of
Loons appeared flying far to the east. The Indians at once began
to mimic their rolling whoo-ooo-whoo-ooo; doing it to the life. The
Loons began to swing toward us, then to circle, each time nearer.
Then all the callers stopped except Claw-hammer, the expert; he
began to utter a peculiar cat-like wail. The Loons responded and
dropped their feet as though to alight. Then at 40 yards the whole
crew blazed away with their rifles, doing no damage whatever. The
Loons turned away from these unholy callers, and were none the
worse, but wiser.
"This scene was repeated many times during the voyage. When the
Loons are on the water the Indians toll them by flashing a tin pan
from the bushes behind which the toller hides till the bird is in
range. I saw many clever tollings but I did not see a Loon killed.
"July 19. - I got up at 4, talked strong talk, so actually got away
at 5.30. Plenty grumbling, many meals to-day, with many black looks
and occasional remarks in English: 'Grub no good.' Three days ago
these men were starving on one meal a day, of fish and bad flour;
now they have bacon, dried venison, fresh fish, fresh game, potatoes,
flour, baking powder, tea, coffee, milk, sugar, molasses, lard,
cocoa, dried apples, rice, oatmeal, far more than was promised,
all ad libitum, and the best that the H. B. Co. can supply, and yet
they grumble. There is only one article of the food store to which
they have not access; that is a bag of beans which I am reserving
for our own trip in the north where weight counts for so much.
Beaulieu smiles when I speak to him, but I know he is at the bottom
of all this mischief. To day they made 6 meals and 17 miles - this
is magnificent.
"About 7.30 a pair of Wild Geese (Canada) appeared on a bay. The
boys let off a whoop of delight and rushed on them in canoe and in
boat as though these were their deadliest enemies. I did not think
much of it until I noticed that the Geese would not fly, and it
dawned on me that they were protecting their young behind their own
bodies. A volley of shot-guns and Winchesters and one noble head
fell flat on the water, another volley and the gander fell, then
a wild skurrying, yelling, and shooting for some minutes resulted
in the death of the two downlings.
"I could do nothing to stop them. I have trouble enough in matters
that are my business and this they consider solely their own. It
is nothing but kill, kill, kill every living thing they meet. One
cannot blame them in general, since they live by hunting, and in
this case they certainly did eat every bit of all four birds, even
to their digestive organs with contents; but it seemed hard to have
the devotion of the parents made their death trap when, after all,
we were not in need of meat.
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