12 CRUISE OF THE neptune 
filled with dangerous shoals, it was thought unadvisable to 
attempt to enter it so late in the day, and the ship was headed 
up the bay, for a harbour known as Frenchman cove. We 
arrived at dusk, to find the narrow entrance blocked by a large 
iceberg, and the water too deep to anchor outside. A boat was 
sent off, and soon returned, reporting a narrow passage between 
the ice and rocks; with some danger this was passed, and the 
ship anchored safely in the small bay. Two small deserted 
houses perched on a narrow ledge of rock, close to the water, 
with a number of oil barrels in the rear, represent the remains 
of a former small trading station. The diminutive harbour is 
surrounded by sharply ragged hills of granite, whose summits 
are splotched with patches of snow; the valleys between are 
narrow and irregular, and are so thickly strewn with boulders 
and broken rock that nearly every trace of soil is hidden. The 
scant Arctic vegetation and the deserted houses enhance the 
desolation of the scene. 
Having taken on board the casks of oil and a supply of fresh 
Water, the ship was headed for Cape Haven, where a station, 
similar to those already described, was found on a snug 
harbour, behind a large island, near the end of the cape. This 
station belongs to Potter and Wrightington, of boston, united 
States. For several years past it has been unlucky, and the few 
whales taken have paid neither the expenses of maintaining the 
station nor the cost of supplying it by a special vessel. Natives 
sufficient to man four whaleboats live about this station. 
The general aspect of the country about Cyrus Field bay is 
somewhat similar to that of Cumberland gulf: high, rugged 
hills of gneiss and granite rise from 500 feet to 1,000 feet 
above the sea. The land on the northern side of the bay is 
lower, and the waters of this portion are broken by low islands 
and reefs, many of which become connected at low tide. 
A long chain of islands separates this bay from Frobisher 
bay to the southward. These islands are all high and  
