Page:The birds of Tierra del Fuego - Richard Crawshay.djvu/290

156 then was the sport, for the ground beeing undermined, at unawares it failed, and as they ranne after them, one fell here, another there, another offering to strike at one, lifting up his hand, sunke up to the arme-pits in the earth, another leaping to avoid one hole, fell into another. And after the first slaughter, in seeing us on the shoare, they shunned us, and procured to recouer the Sea: yea many times seeing themselves persecuted they would tumble down from such high Rockes and Mountaines, as it seemed impossible to escape with life. Yet as scene as they came to the Beach, presently we should see them runne into the Sea, as though they had no hurt. Where one goeth, the other followeth, like sheepe after the Bel-weather: but in getting them once within the Ring close together, few escaped, sane such as by chance hid themselves in the borrowes, and ordinarily there was no Drone which yeelded vs not a thousand, and more: the manner of killing them which the Hunters vsed, beeing in a cluster together, was with their cudgels to knocke them on the head, for though a man gave them many blowes on the body they dyed not: Besides the flesh bruized is not good to keepe. The massacre ended, presently they cut off their heads, that they might bleed well: such as we determined to keepe for store, we saued in this manner. First, wee split them, and then washed them well in Sea-water, then salted them, having laine some sixe houres in Salt, we put them in presse eight houres, and the bloud being soaked out, wee salted them againe in our other caske, as is the custom to salt Beefe, after this manner they continned good some two moneths, and served us in steed of Beefe."

At Penguin Island, near Port Desire, in 1670. Sir John Narborough says:—"I took into my Boat three hundred Penguins, in les than half an hour, and could have taken three thousand in the time, if my Boat would have carried 'em; for 'tis but driving 'em in Flocks to the Shore, by the Boat ide, when two or three men knock them on the head with hort Truncheons, and the ret heave them into the Boat."