1 64 NEWFOUNDLAND CARIBOU 



light ; every useless article is an obstacle in the path of peace 

 and happiness — first to be bought and paid for, then to be 

 packed and unpacked every time a move is made, and, worst 

 of all, it has to be transported, frequently under conditions 

 when every ounce is a matter of serious consideration. Now 

 in order to decide what to take and what to leave behind, it is 

 highly essential that the country to be visited shall be known 

 as much as possible, therefore let us start the (let us hope) 

 helpful task of giving advice by an account of the country 

 so far as it concerns camping. I have already, in a previous 

 chapter, given a brief description of the island, but I shall 

 repeat myself to some extent, even at the risk of bringing 

 down the reader's wrath on my unfortunate head. First of 

 all, please note that Newfoundland is 7iot a land of fog and 

 snow and nothing more, according to the popular idea. It 

 is a land of many and very varied conditions, some good and 

 some bad, but it is large enough to take care of them all 

 without any feelings of shame, if we except perhaps the flies 

 and mosquitoes in certain regions. The best idea I can give 

 of its size is to say that it is over ii,ooo square miles larger 

 than Ireland. This will help the Britisher, while the 

 American will get a better idea when he is told that it is 

 about the size of New York State. In some parts it is very 

 mountainous and rugged, in others it is flat or rolling. 

 Travelling on foot is diflicult throughout a large proportion 

 of the country, owing to the bogs and marshes which are very 

 numerous and many of which are very soft. The open dry 

 bogs are frequently rough and tussocky, and most trying to 

 the man who is handicapped with a heavy load. Only here 

 and there does one come across a flne smooth bog of hard 

 peat and moss which offers good walking. 



The woods are extremely dense, even though the trees 

 are as a rule of low growth, but the toughness and elasticity 



