64 BOWDOIN BOYS IN LABRADOR. 



day we enjoyed an official reception, and accompanied by Pre- 

 mier Fielding and members of his Cabinet, Consul General 

 Frye and other gentlemen, were taken on an excursion about 

 the beautiful harbor in the steam yacht of one of our enter- 

 tainers, given a dinner and right royally toasted at one of the 

 public buildings, and were finally taken to the Yacht Club 

 House for a final reception. 



At Halifax some of our party fearing more delay in reaching 

 Rockland, left us, so with diminished numbers but plenty of 

 enthusiasm we made ready for the last stage of the voyage. 

 After some rather amusing experiences with our assistant stew- 

 ard or " cookee," who seemed to reason that because he had 

 been so long deprived of the luxuries of modern civilization he 

 should employ the first opportunity he had to enjoy them in 

 making himself incapable of doing so, and who was brought 

 aboard the morning we sailed only after a somewhat prolonged 

 search, we " squared away " for Cape Sable. The fine fair wind 

 ran us nearly down there, but just as we thought to escape the 

 provoking calms that delayed us in this vicinity on the outward 

 trip, we found the wind drawing ahead and failing. A day was 

 spent in slowly working around the cape, drifting back much of 

 the time, and then we struck one of the southerly fog winds 

 that are too well known on the Maine coast. We were in waters 

 on which our captain had been bred, and so we pushed on into 

 the night, looking eagerly or listening intently as the darkness 

 closed over us for some sign of approaching land. At length, 

 just about eleven, when it seemed we could not stand the suspense 

 of knowing that thousands of rocks were just ahead but not 

 just where they were, and yet equally unwilling to stop then, 

 when so near home, we heard the sound of the breakers, and 

 standing cautiously in on finding the water very deep, soon 

 made Mt. Desert rock light. It was a welcome sight, and from 

 there an easy matter to shape our course for home. At day- 

 break we could still see nothing, but towards noon, the wind 

 being light and our progress slow, we passed the desolate house 

 of refuge on the Wooden Ball Island, and soon the lifting fog 

 showed us the mouth of Penobscot's beautiful bav. and shortlv 

 after we dropped our anchor in the long wished for Rockland 

 harbor, and the cruise of the Julia Decker and her crew of 

 Bowdoin boys was ended. 



