124 , Gkinnell, Some Audubon Letters. [April 



New York 9th Sept^ 1833 — 

 My Dear Beloved Victor. — 

 John and myself returned here in excellent health, day before 

 yesterday, and had the good fortune to find our Dearest friend 

 your Mamma quite well also — indeed, the whole family here are 

 well. — before I answer or note the contents of your many valuable 

 letters, I shall give you a sketch of our Voyage and a list of the new 

 Birds &c which we did procure. — We sailed from Eastport on the 

 €th of June, followed the coast of Nova Scotia to the entrance of 

 the Straights of Cansso through which we passed and were much 

 pleased with, as it is truly beautiful! resembling somewhat the 

 Hudson River. — we made towards the Madgalane Islands, visited 

 them, found them poor, no birds &c and proceeded to the famous 

 Gannet Rocks and there saw a grand sight of Gannets & other 

 water birds engaged in incubation.^ — went on to the Island of 

 Anticotte and on the 11th day from our departure at Eastport 

 anchored in an harbour at the Esquimaux Islands on the Coast of 

 Labrador in Company with several fishing vessels. The aspect of 

 the Country of Labrador was as new to us as it proved itself to be 

 Wild, Rocky, Barren of Large Trees, covered with the deepest and 

 richest coloured mosses and the richest of dwarfish vegetation 

 peeping out of the mosses that one can Imagine — on first landing 

 the whole appeared to us delightfully curious, but no sooner did 

 we ^attempt to proceed in Search of Birds that we found our pro- 

 gress over the Country so dificult and so Irksome that our Spirits 

 became much dampened, the more so indeed when we discovered 

 that very few Birds were there to be found — to walk 10 miles 

 per day was as much as the strongest of our party could well 

 endure, and we all returned every evening as much fatigued as if 

 we had walked 60 Miles on a Turnpike road. — for three hundred 

 Miles of that Coast which we visited the Country was always the 

 same; few trees of a very small size. Deep swampy moss ever and 

 anon growing over hard, dark red looking Granit, supported by the 

 constant foggy dampness of a chilling atmosphere without scarce 

 an Inhabitant and becoming Wilder and Wilder as we proceeded; 

 we landed first at latitude 51 . visited, [some] hundreds of Sea Islands ; 

 Some hundreds of Inland lakes all Supplied with melted Snow 

 waters — Snow laid deep in every Valey unexposed to the Sun and 



