NARRATIVE. 73 



with a feverish attack ever since Mica Bay, and was now pro- 

 nounced by the medical men too ill to proceed. Fortunately we were 

 able to leave him in good hands. One of the party volunteered to 

 stay with him, and Mr. and Mrs. Beggs gave him the best accommo- 

 dation the post afforded. 



This was the only case of sickness during our excursion, although 

 the mode of life was quite new to most of us, and some degree of hard- 

 ship was anticipated. But speaking for myself, the only serious in- 

 convenience was the scorching heat of the sun, which severely blis- 

 tered the skin wherever exposed. 



Our course this forenoon fortunately lay through a labyrinth of 

 islands, by which we avoided the force of the wind somewhat. Just 

 after leaving the Pic we passed through a river-like channel, about 

 fifteen feet wide, the steep sides of which were deeply scored in a di- 

 rection diagonal to the chasm, showing, the Prof, said, that the body 

 by which the marks were made, had a momentum sufficient to disre- 

 gard the shape of the ground over which it passed. The striae here- 

 abouts were inclined at an angle of 39 with the surface of the 

 water. 



We stopped for lunch on a point covered with Vaccinium uligino- 

 sum, and similar shrubs. The slimy water-plants floating along this 

 point were filled with astonishing numbers of drowned insects, and 

 many fine specimens were obtained. From here it was neces- 

 sary to make a traverse of some three or four miles with quite as 

 much wind as we could stand up to. This brought us into a cluster 

 of islets abreast of Pic Island, a fine bold peak seven or eight hun- 

 dred feet high, stretching off into a rocky ridge. The whole skeleton 

 and structure of the peak were distinctly visible, from the effects of 

 a fire that had streamed up the side of the mountain from a cove 

 on the north, where there is a camping-ground. The Indians and 

 voyageurs in their carelessness and wantonness allow their camp-fires 

 to extend into the woods, which on these rocky slopes are dry and 

 inflammable. The consequence is that the foliage of the trees being 

 destroyed and their roots killed, they no longer hold together the soil, 

 and it is accordingly swept off by the next rains, leaving a clean sur- 

 face of white, calcined rock for Nature to cover again in the course 

 of ages, by the slow succession of lichens, shrubs and trees. 



