END OF VOYAGE. 293 



rounded with high cliffs, afforded us a most excellent opportunity for 

 a fine bath in not too cold fi-esh water. The pond was one of a series, 

 doubtless extending way into the interior and forming the head 

 waters of some stream that flowed to the sea in one of the neigh- 

 boring fiord valleys, abundant here also. At this, our final post 

 north, we secured capital results with the dredge, though we found 

 a clayey and muddy bottom, which, I recollect, gave us great trouble 

 to strain in our sieves. Black bears are abundant in these parts, 

 I was told, and the very morning after our arrival one was seen 

 perched on the summit of a huge cliff above us. It was pursued 

 by the natives but not captured. 



At length, on Friday the 25 th, we started for home, as our time 

 of absence had already nefrly expired. We stopped at Fox har- 

 bor on our way back, and the next day had a most excellent run 

 of about one hundred and ten miles to Bonne Esperance where 

 we remained over Sunday and Monday. 



At Bonne we found a new machine in operation for the conversion 

 of the refuse of cod and other fish into a sort of fish guano. Sev- 

 eral barrels had been sent to the United States to be analyzed and 

 tried for mixture with other materials for a soluble guano for the 

 land and crops, but I am not informed as to whether it was a suc- 

 cess or not. 



Monday night, for our benefit, the natives performed a Labrador, 

 or rather Newfoundland dance, at one of the native cabins near 

 by. A crowd of about thirty assembled and danced till nearly 

 morning. Their main object seemed to be to " start the sweat, 

 and see who could make the most noise. " It seemed as if the 

 very house would come down over our heads as they hammered 

 on the floor with their top-legged boots pounding with the full force 

 of their powers : this serenade to the departing guests closed our 

 sight-seeing upon the Labrador Coast, while the hearty good-bye 

 of Mr. Whiteley, the magistrate, compensated for all bad weather 

 and mishaps that we had previously experienced as we slowly 

 spread sail and started for home. 



