| Description | Fair copy list of 26 bird specimens sent to the Royal Society, headed: 'A Short Description of the Birds in a Box mark'd No.24'. Each specimen - often male and female of the species with nests and eggs - is described in a brief paragraph, occasionally with phonetically rendered Native American names. The listing is followed by general comments from Marten and answers to queries, including on the changes of winter coat colour in rabbits and hares, the aurora borealis as observed at Albany and York Forts, and on the depth of snow and frozen ground.
The front cover is inscribed: 'A Description of Birds 1772'. And in diferent hands: 'Appendix No.4'; and endorsed 'Recd. in the Packet from AR 21st Octor. 1772'.
Humphrey Marten (c.1729-1790/1792) was a Chief Factor to the Hudson's Bay Company. |