KOAltS AND K'All.WAVS. 87 



iit would liL' soiUL'tliiug ; luit uuK'.-> iiu-u (if ciifv^v and peisever- 

 xiuco t-aii Ije found to follow up any disi-ovcrv of this kind, tlvi' 

 great mineral wealth of Xewfoundlaud nii^lit just as well, for 

 iill till! benefit the island can derive from it, l)e in Alaska or 

 Tindnictoo. When I reaeh the (Jraxels, at Poit-au-Port, 1 have 

 jibout tAvelve miles to go ; hut the ciniuliv tiiere is in a primeval 

 .state — tliere is noioad or path, oi' even rattle track, conse<|uently 

 we must go hy watei-. All our goods, too, must go by water, and 

 (the jn-oducls of the mines must also go the same way. The coast 

 line here is rugged in, the extreme, and by water, I believe, the 

 ■distance is about 15 miles. Now. >u gieat is ilie ditticulty of thi.s 

 passage occasioned liy the cross currents and sudden sc|ualls pass- 

 ing over the crest ()f the hills, that I have fre/juently been kept 

 out for twelve hours during the trip ; an<l the landing on the 

 a'ocks is, from the state of the surf on that rocky coast, always 

 jnore or less in the nature of a dupwivck. Twice I have had my 

 •dory smashed up, and twice the men were wrecked, and on one 

 ^)Ccasion 1 -was detained on this inhospitable coa.st for three 

 mortal days before Ave couhl launch a lioat to get off. Such 

 .a state of things is discreditable to the countiy, and nothing 1 

 beliexe 171)1 be found like it in any other jiart of the civilized 

 worhl. Oh, yes] I I'eailily admit that you have got good roads 

 here, .so they liave in St. .John's. You ought to give all honor 

 to Sir Thomas Cochrane for teaching you how to make them and 

 liow to utilize them when made. 



" Well, ^Ir. Editor, I am afraid I ha\-e occupied a great deal 

 of your time without telling you about asbestos after all. I 

 .should like to have spoken about its many valuable and totally 

 dissimilar uses. It is strange that a mineral substance which 

 ■can be utilized for the manufacture of clothing and even of lace- 

 curtains, is the only substance that will effectually close the 

 breaches of the big guns — the 100 or 110 pounders for instance 

 — so as to prevent the escape of gas when the gun is fired. It 

 ^•an also be used as a covering for balloons for use in warfare, in 

 the manufacture of incoudjustible paper and ink, and for pro- 

 tecting the sides of our ironclads. The number ot uses to which, 

 at can be applied is simply incredible." F 



