208 VIKINGS OF TO-DAY 



this to be our last visit. At La Romaine, a sta- 

 tion of the Hudson Bay Company, \ve had a 

 severe operation on a young Montaignais Indian 

 hunter otherwise doomed to die and when we left 

 three days later he was lying in his tent, on a 

 clean bed of spruce boughs, on the high-road to 

 recovery. At the last places we visited, we took 

 patients aboard for Battle Hospital one poor lad 

 with a horrible affection of the hip, a girl with a 

 useless wrist and arm, a child with hip-joint disease, 

 and a sick woman for operation. All of these even- 

 tually returned home benefited or cured. 



Just before reaching Battle Harbour, with all our 

 flags flying, our brass polished, and our spirits wild 

 with expectancy of seeing our colleagues again, we 

 suddenly struck a submerged rock, and for a few 

 minutes lay in danger of rolling over and sinking 

 in deep water. All hands behaved exceedingly 

 well. Our boats were lowered, signals put up for 

 two schooners which happened to be passing, to 

 " stand by," while kedge anchors were run out, in 

 the endeavour to save the ship by warping her off the 

 rocks. After a time, assisted by a heavy tide and the 

 big ground swell, she came off and swung to her an- 

 chors in the deep water. Alas, for us, she had almost 

 better have remained a complete wreck, for her keel 

 and stem were broken, her rudder twisted, her pro- 

 peller gone, her engines broken, and her side bulged 

 in. Fortunately, we were able to travel over land to 

 Battle Harbour ; and Mr. Baine Grieve' s agent sent 



