36 THE LABRADOR PENINSULA. CHAP. nr. 



teen miles, and its general direction is from the north- 

 east to the south-west. It appears to be one of several 

 ranges which have courses rudely parallel to one an- 

 other : the most marked of these is the range which passes 

 in the rear of Mingan. One mile from the commence- 

 ment of the Grand Portage the altitude is 320 feet above 

 the level of the river, or about 330 feet above the sur- 

 face of the sea ; the spring tides which rise here seven 

 feet being appreciable a short distance below the foot of 

 the Eapids. 



From this spot, a view both extensive and very beau- 

 tiful can be obtained on a clear day. The sea, like a line 

 of silver light, is visible towards the south, while east, west, 

 and north are ranges of wooded hills bearing from north- 

 east to south-west. 



Snow, even on June 13, lay on several of the more 

 elevated peaks to the north. The valley of the Moisie, 

 apparently occupying a rent between two ranges of 

 hills, grows blue in the far north-east, and appears to 

 be bounded by peaked mountains spotted with snow. 

 No bird, or squirrel, or rabbit was seen in the fine woods 

 of the deep sheltered valleys leading to the summit of the 

 Grand Portage. Bare rock or larch, succeeded by thin 

 clumps of stunted spruce, or half a dozen larch just 

 corning into leaf, with a rich undergrowth of Labrador 

 tea plant, and mosses or lichens of every hue and depth 

 of colour, are the features of the ground over which the 

 well-worn Montagnais portage path runs. At night we 

 all returned to our camp at the foot of the Eapids. Eain 

 set in after sunset, and as the oil-cloths were used for 

 covering the provisions left on the Portage, two of the 



