SOME LABRADOR RIVERS 



the water on account of the thick fringe of 

 alders, so we scaled again the bank, and found 

 a warm sunny spot just below the edge, where, 

 sheltered from the chilly wind which blew 

 across the tundra, we could feast our eyes on 

 the river to our heart's content. Close at our 

 feet the snowbank still held many trees and 

 bushes in its fetters. They were still leafless, 

 while those below were clothed in the green 

 of early summer. A larch near at hand, bent 

 and twisted by the weight of many winters, 

 had just emerged black and bare from the 

 winter's blanket, yet it already showed on its 

 topmost branches a promise of faint green buds. 

 In the narrow valley below another larch hid 

 its black branches under a green veil, and re- 

 joiced in its strength. Near the snow drift 

 the ground was naked, or brown and sere, 

 while a few feet away it was clothed in the 

 delicate green of young grasses and tender 

 herbs. The bank above my head was blossom- 

 ing with the white flowers of the cassandra, 

 while the purple buds of the andromeda and 

 the pale yellows once of the Labrador tea 

 were just ready to open. In all three of these 

 the leaves were fully out, for they are ever- 

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