278 INCIDENTS OF THE TRIP HOME. 



called the little rigoulette, at the bottom of which enters Kekarp- 

 wei River, and where there is no exit. Never shall I forget the 

 clearing up of the fog and the disclosing to us of one of those 

 charming Labrador scenes, so characteristic of the locality ; low 

 shores, sandy beaches, grassy slopes and tops, and a forest of low 

 and tall spruce and fir, intermingled with cliffs and rocks every- 

 where. The passage was so naiTOw we could with difficulty haul 

 the ship around without her touching the boom on one shore and 

 the stern on the other. Narrow and shallow as the passage was, 

 we succeeded at last, and returned to the opening that we should 

 have taken at first into the sea. I do not believe that there was a 

 person, however, save the captain and the crew, who regretted the 

 extra time spent in this charming region. At length we were once 

 mqre out to sea, and right merrily we sped onward, with " belle 

 drise, " as the captain called it, towards Quebec. 



In passing Whale Head, one of the numerous small fishing sta- 

 tions on this part of the coast, we found a small sail-boat of Indians 

 following in our wake, a short distance off. The captain, wishing 

 to send a letter ashore, produced a large bottle, placed the letter 

 within, carefully corked it again, and, with gestures calling the at- 

 tention of the Indians to himself, threw it into the sea. We 

 watched eagerly, and soon had the satisfaction of seeing the Indians' 

 boat secure the bottle. The captain assured us that the letter would 

 reach its destination, and that messages were often transported in 

 a similar manner from place to place, when a favorable wind ren- 

 dered it impossible to stop the ship, and some sail-boat was near 

 to pick up the bottle. 



Night soon set in, and with it the breeze freshened so that soon the 

 order was given to reef sails ; this was succeeded by an order 

 to double-reef both fore and main sails ; and on, on we sped, — 

 through the treacherous Gulf of St. Lawrence towards home, the 

 water fairly sissing as we cleaved it, and the wind fairly hissing 

 as it slid from our sails. I think our Captain told us that we had 

 made better time, in a given time, than he had ever made before 

 on any trip ; I fully believe that it might have been true. Wednes- 



