There was a good flight of geese this spring, but not very many were killed.
The wavies, or snow geese, were very numerous this spring. The Indians say that they have not seen so many for a long time.
Hoping the tags reach you safe, I remain,
Yours sincerely,
L. G. Maver,
Fort George, Hudson Bay.
The reader can scarcely imagine my feelings when I read the message that each one of these tags contained: “No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” This was proof that Sir John Moore’s family was exterminated. It was not that I am opposed to the Indians getting the geese; no, no. It was only the thought of my special pets all being killed. As for the Indians and Esquimaux getting these birds, I believe all honest, conscientious, thinking men will agree with me that there are no people in America who are more justified in shooting them than these natives up at Icicle Junction with their backs to the wall trying to exist. Personally I feel that the best missionary work I have ever done in my life is the thousands of geese I have fattened up and permitted to go back to that isolated country where they were hatched.
Although these tags were mailed from Fort George, Hudson Bay, these Indians may have brought them for three or even five hundred miles, Fort George being their trading post.
Now I have given you quite a collection of rough, unadulterated and unpolished facts about the ways of our lovely Canada geese. And when I call them lovely remember I do not mean because they are so uniform in color; nor is it because they are mostly all Canadian born. Not at all. It is on account of their winning ways and I really want to say Godly principles that in many respects could point the finger of shame at us human beings. This is why I call him “our beautiful Canada goose;” and if five per cent. of us Canadians really knew him, the other ninety-five per cent. could not, or would not try to, keep him off one corner of our Union Jack.