THE NEWFOUNDLAND FISHERIES. 109 



VII.— THE NEWFOUNDLAND FISHERIES. 



I DO not suppose that the history of Newfound- 

 land* is well known to the majority of my readers, 



'' Newfoundland is celebrated for its fisheries and for its breed of 

 dogs. It is an island ■which measures SOO miles from north to south, 

 and whose medium width (which is to the east) is 200 miles. Ifc 

 is 1000 miles in circumference, 36,000 in superficies, and measures 

 about 3,000,000 acres in excess of Ireland. Deducting, however, the 

 size of its interior lakes, it is not equal to the size of that island. Its 

 form is that of an irregular triangle, with its base to the south. The 

 island is narrower where it approaches the north. The western side is 

 straighter than the other coasts, although it is interrupted in several 

 places. The whole of the eastern side is broken up into bays, capes, 

 islands, and promontories. 



Cape Race is at the southern extremity of the island, in 46° 40 

 north latitude, and 53° 5' west longitude of Greenwich. It is a 

 place of the greatest importance to navigators, for it is the nearest 

 to Europe of all Ameiican soil. It is 1636 miles from Ireland, 

 and about half the distance between New York and Liverpool. All 

 the northern steamers which travel between the United States and 

 Great Britain pass in sight of that Cape. If, after doubling Cape Race, 

 you steer eastward, you come into the splendid bays of Conception, 

 Trinity, and Bonavista ; continuing westward, you reach E.xploit 

 Bay, Notre-Dame Bay, and White Bay. To the north are Orange, 

 Hare, and Pistolet Bays, as well as a great many smaller ones. In the 

 interior of the island are si.'c or seven large lakes, from twenty to fifty 

 miles long, and a large number of smaller ones, whence the waters flov,^ 

 to the sea. The principal town and best port is St. John, on the 

 southern part of the eastern side, between Tor Bay^to the north, and 

 Bull's Bay to the south. The mouth is so well fortified that the 

 strongest naval forces might be set at defiance. In time of war, an 

 enormous chain is placed across the port, rendering all navigation 

 impossible. The town of St. John is built at the upper end of the 

 port, and has been gradually raised above the sea. The houses are 



