"1 he Gut of Canseau. 307 



height ; dwellings appeared here and there, but the coun- 

 try is too poor for comfort : the timber is small, and the 

 land too stony ; a small patch of ploughed land planted, 

 or ready for potatoes, was all the cultivation we saw, 

 Near one house we saw a few apple trees, which were 

 not yet in bloom. The general appearance of this pas- 

 sage reminded me of some parts of the Hudson River, 

 and, accompanied as we were by thirty sail of vessels, 

 the time passed agreeably. Vegetation appeared as for- 

 ward as at Eastport : saw a few chimney swallows, and 

 heard a few blue jays. As we passed Cape Porcupine, 

 a high rounding hill, we saw some Indians in birch-bark 

 canoes, and clearing Cape George we were soon in the 

 gulf of St. Lawrence. From this place, on the 2oth of 

 May last year, the sea was a sheet of ice as far as the 

 eye could reach with the aid of a good spy-glass. 



" We ran down the west coast of Cape Breton Island, 

 and the country looked well in the distance ; large undu- 

 lating hills were covered with many hamlets, and patches 

 of cultivated land were seen. It being calm when we 

 neared Jestico Island, about three miles from Cape Breton, 

 I left the vessel and landed on it. It was covered with 

 well-grown grass, and filled with strawberry vines in full 

 bloom. The sun shone brightly, the weather was pleas- 

 ant, and we found many northern birds breeding there ; 

 the wild gooseberries were plentiful, about the size of a 

 pea, and a black currant also. The wind arose, and we 

 hurried back to the vessel ; on the way my son John and 

 some of the sailors nearly killed a seal with their oars. 



" June 13. This morning at four o'clock we came in 

 sight of the Magdalene Islands, distant about twenty 

 miles. The morning was dull, and by breakfast-time a 

 thick fog obscured the horizon, and we lost sight of the 

 islands ; the wind rose sluggishly and dead ahead, and 

 several ships and brigs loaded with timber from the Mira 



