6 CRUISE OF THE NEPTUNE 
northward to cross Cabot strait to Newfoundland. A strong 
breeze from the northwest sprang up in the night, when, owing 
to our heavy deck-load, the ship had to take shelter under St. 
Paul island, where we remained until the morning of the 26th. 
Fine weather favoured the passage across the gulf, and through 
the Strait of Belle Isle. Our first stop on the Labrador coast 
was made at Dominoe, where it was expected that a supply of 
codfish would be obtained. Unfortunately the season was very 
backward, and no dry fish had yet been made on the coast; a 
few pairs of sealskin boots were, however, obtained there. Con- 
tinuing, with fine weather, northward along this grandly 
picturesque coast, Nachvak bay was reached on the 31st. 
Our interpreter was supposed to reside here, but on reach- 
ing the small Hudson's Bay post, it was found that he was at 
Port Burwell, at the mouth of Hudson strait. More sealskin 
boots and a couple of barrels of trout were purchased from the 
agent; then, as our tanks were low, we steamed some ten miles 
to the head of the bay, to a small river of excellent water. The 
scenery about the bay is very grand; cliffs of 3,000 feet present 
their rugged barren faces on both sides, rising directly from 
the water and terminating skywards in lofty mountains with 
sharp peaks. Large patches of snow fill the upper valleys, 
where they accentuate the rocky desolation of the peaks. 
Another clear, calm day brought us to Port Burwell, a few 
miles inside Cape Chidley, the northern point of the Atlantic 
coast, where the division line is drawn between the territory 
to the eastward, under the jurisdiction of Newfoundland, and 
that of the Dominion to the westward. Between Nachvak 
and the cape, the mountains of the coast reach their highest 
elevations, some of the peaks rising to upwards of 6,000 
feet. The outline is extremely rough, the land rises abruptly 
from the coast and the scenery is very grand. As Cape Chidley 
is approached, the general elevation becomes lower; the land 
