98 FIORD VALLEYS. 



can be seen. That the structure may not be visible a great dis- 

 tance, it is generally placed behind some protecting ledge or rise 

 of rocks, though not always. 



From the entrance of the bay then, as I have said, we caught a 

 view of the Indian mishwaps, backed by the verdure of slopes, 

 hills, ravines, ridges, and the various contour of a most uneven 

 background in the profile of the evergreen spruce tops, — which low 

 shrub is everywhere abundant outside as is the large tree inland. 



On either hand a succession of hilly crests marked the boundary 

 of the bay, whose inner arm or bend extended far to the right. 

 Passing beyond the little island just off the central point, we came 

 in full view of the house, with its line of rocky and sandy beach 

 running around on either side ; here we were soon seated by a 

 roaring and crackling fire of good spruce wood. 



Old Fort bay has much the general shape and direction of 

 so many of the bays in this vicinity, so often termed "fiord val- 

 leys-" They are long, narrow, for the most part shallow passages, 

 between the rocks running a little north of east, and evidently of 

 glacial origin. These little bays are quite abundant all up and 

 down the coast, and undoubtedly would, at least to one well versed 

 in such readings, describe a long and ancient story of glacial phe- 

 nomena and local disturbances. The whole glacial question will 

 finally, without doubt, obtain abundance of fresh, new, and useful 

 evidence by a careful study of this region, and it is a wonder 

 that no one has examined with a greater degree of care the whole 

 Labrador peninsula. Here is a vast, and untried field for explo- 

 ration. The North Pole is undoubtedly the ultimate end of re- 

 search in this direction, but I venture to affirm that no one will be 

 successful in that end until they have made a careful land explora- 

 tion of this keystone to polar investigation, the Labrador Penin- 

 sula — from seacoast inward to the "height of land," and thence 

 followed its great streams and leading trends of northward high- 

 lands. The greatest wonder is that as yet we have no definite 

 knowledge of this new and unexplored field. But to return : — 

 After a good supper we went to visit the Indians and Joe Mark, 



