Wild Geese.
The passage of wild geese to the north commences with the breaking up of the ice; their first appearance in Canada and on the shores of Hudson’s Bay, varying with the forwardness of their spring, from the middle of April to the latter end of May. Their flight is heavy and laborious, but moderately swift, in a straight line when their number is but few, but more frequently in two lines meeting in a point in front. The van is said to be always led by an old gander, in whose wake the others instinctively follow. But should his sagacity fail in discovering the land-marks by which they usually steer, as something happens in foggy weather, the whole flock appear in the greatest distress, and fly about in an irregular manner, making a great clamor. In their flights, they cross indiscriminately over land and water, differing in this respect from several other geese, which prefer making a circuit by water to traversing the land. They also pass far inland, instead of confining their course to the neighborhood of the sea.
So important is the arrival of geese to the inhabitants of these northern regions, that the month in which they first make their appearance is termed by the Indians the goose moon. In fact, not only the Indians, but the English settlers also depend greatly upon these birds for their subsistence, and many thousands of them are annually killed, a large proportion of which are salted and barrelled for winter consumption. Many too that are killed on their return, after the commencement of the frost, are suffered to freeze, and are thus kept as fresh provisions for several months.