8 CRUISE OF THE NEPTUNE 
PORT BURWELL to CUMBERLAND GULF. 
On the following day the voyage was continued northward 
from Port Burwell. A fog came on shortly after we left, and 
continued for three days, during which land was only sighted 
twice. When the fog partly lifted, on the evening of the 4th, 
we found ourselves close to the shore of Cumberland gulf, and 
about twenty miles east of blacklead island. The ship anchored 
in one of the many bays of the high rugged islands that fringe 
the coast. 
A landing was made near the anchorage, and a few hours 
spent in climbing over the steep, high hills of gneiss and 
granite, which rise from 500 to 1,000 feet above the sea, while 
the summits of the hills on the mainland behind often attain 
an elevation of 2,000 feet. Almost continuous inland naviga- 
tion is afforded by the channels, behind the islands, lying along 
the entire southern coast of the gulf. The hills are very rugged, 
and show signs of glaciation, though much less marked than 
those on the hills of the Labrador coast. The higher valleys are 
filled with snow, but there are no real glaciers. 
The weather cleared about noon next day, and towards 
evening the mission and whaling stations at Blacklead island 
were reached. A series of photographs of the place and of its 
natives was taken while Major Moodie was explaining the 
intentions of the Government to the missionaries and to the 
agent of the whaling establishment. 
The settlement consists of a dozen small, one-storied, wooden 
buildings, comprising the house and storehouses of the whaling 
station, the church, hospital, dwelling house and outbuildings 
of the missionaries. All are located at the southeast end of 
the island, a few feet above tide water. The surface is 
rock, or very moist boulder clay, without dramage, and the 
refuse from the native encampment makes the surroundings 
very filthy. The water supply is obtained from small ponds, 
