BATTLE HARBOR 15 



to its top and secured specimens from the columns. The famous 

 " natural images" of men, are, to my eye, not nearly so good as 

 the descriptions lead one to expect. The history of the place could 

 hardly be guessed from its present barren, desolate, poverty-stricken 

 appearance ; but the remains of quite a fort on Barrier Point show- 

 some signs of former and now departed glory. It seems that it has 

 been under the dominion of England, France and the United States, 

 all of whom took forceful possession of it, and England and France 

 have governed it. An American privateer once sacked the place, 

 carrying away, I believe, about 3,500 pounds worth of property. 

 Now, a very small population eke out a wretched existence by fish- 

 ing, only a few remaining, living at the heads of the bays, in the 

 winter, and most of them going home to Newfoundland. 



The icebergs are in great plenty. I counted eighty from the 

 basaltic table-land at one time, and the professor saw even more at 

 once. Belle Isle is in plain sight from this place, looking like 

 Monhegan from the Georges Islands, though possibly somewhat 

 longer. 



Finally, as the wind showed no signs of changing, the captain, 

 to our intense delight, decided to beat around to Battle Harbor and 

 we anchored here at about 5:50 P. M., July 17th. Many of 

 the icebergs we passed were glorious, 'and the scene was truly 

 arctic. It was bitterly cold, and heavy coats were the order of the 

 day. We passed Cape St. Charles, the proposed terminus of the 

 Labrador Railroad to reduce the time of crossing the Atlantic to 

 four days, saw the famous table-land, and soon opened Battle 

 Harbor which we had to beat up, way round to the northward, to 

 enter. It was slow business with a strong head current, but the 

 fishermen say a vessel never came around more quickly. We found 

 the harbor very small, with rocks not shown in chart or coast pilot, 

 and had barely room to come to without going ashore. We went 

 in under bare poles, and then had too much way on. 



The agent for the Bayne, Johnston Co., which runs this place, 

 keeping nearly all its three hundred inhabitants in debt to it, is a 

 Mr. Smith, who has taken the professor and seven or eight of the 

 boys on his little steamer to the other side of the St. Lewis Sound. 

 The doctor has gone with them to look after some grip patients, and 

 the professor expects to measure some half-breed Eskimo living 

 there. The boys are expecting to get some fine trout. The grip 

 was brought to this region by the steamer bringing the first summer 

 fishing colonies, and has spread to all and killed a great many. 



