42 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



lands, but nigbt found us scarce!}' ten miles from our starting-point, in 

 a thick snow-storm, and with the weather intensely cold. We lay down 

 in the snow, but could not sleep, it was so cold, and although our trav- 

 eling over the jagged rocks and drifting snow had made us weary^ 

 we were obliged to keep stirring in order to keep warm. The next 

 morning we again started uji the mountain. It had stopped snowing, 

 but the cold increased as we ascended, and our party was pretty well 

 used up. We did not halt the second night, but pushed on and arrived 

 at Thingyri the next morning. This place was somewhat more of a 

 town, and could boast of a few European residents, all Danes, however. 

 One gentleman, in particular, a Mr. Gram, who makes yearly visits to 

 Iceland to trade, kindly volunteered to lend me 8850, without which we 

 could not have got out of the country before next spring. We were 

 obliged to wait at this place twenty days before the sailing of the 

 steamer on which we were to embark for Scotland. My men, fourteen 

 in number, had to sleep in the little round huts of the natives. Before 

 the steamer arrived one of the men was taken very sick, and we hailed 

 the arrival of the craft which was to take us away from this desolate 

 shore with great pleasure, thinking our sufferings would soon be at an 

 end. We landed at Granton after a twenty days' passage from Iceland, 

 and went at once to Edinburgh, that being the nearest consulate. 

 There were two other shipwrecked crews landed at the same time, a 

 Danish and a ^Norwegian, who applied to their respective consuls for 

 aid, and were met with immediate and full relief; but the American con- 

 sul turned a deaf ear to our pressing wants. I then left him and was 

 glad to get to Glasgow, where I immediately laid my case before Mr, 

 Underwood, the American consul at that place, who approved my bill, 

 gave me money with which to reimburse Mr. Gram, bought us cloth- 

 ing, and gave the men six shillings apiece and a passage home'" 



Stormy weather the past month has much of the time detained the 

 fishing fleets in the nearest ports. As the season is fast drawing to a 

 close, and with the mackerel in the best condition, time lost by deten- 

 tion is most severely felt. Our New England fishermen have been for- 

 tunate in having their losses of the month mostly confined to detention 

 in the nearest ports during stormy weather. 



On October 12 a severe gale off the Labrador coast was very disas- 

 trous to life and property. The fisheries off the Labrador coast fhe past 

 season having in many cases i)roved a failure, the great loss by this storm 

 is said to have been caused by the fishermen remaining out much later 

 in the season than usual, being in hopes of heli)iug out their catch from 

 the great abundance of mackerel that were otf that coast. We have in 

 previous reports noticed the unusual ard great quantities of mackerel 

 off the Labrador coast this seasou. In past years they have seldom 

 been seen and no attention paid to the catch, the natives scarcely think- 

 ing them a food-lish, or Avortli saving. 



