From Marble Island to Churchill. 125 



pleasant duty of hand-shaking was performed with unusual warmth 

 by all parties concerned. 



Dr. Bell, who was well known to Mr. Spencer, received an 

 exceptionally hearty welcome from that gentleman, and was pre- 

 vailed upon to accompany him, at a later hour, to the village, as 

 his guest for the night, and, as it afterwards turned out, the. whole 

 time we remained in that port. The Chief Trader also extended 

 the hospitalities of Churchill to Lieutenant Gordon, Capt. Sopp, and 

 such members of the Expedition as were still on ship-board, in a 

 most cordial manner ; but as the weather was unpleasant, and the 

 day well-nigh spent, the invitations could not be accepted until the 

 following Sunday. 



Saturday afternoon in Churchill Harbour was a pleasant relief, 

 notwithstanding the rain. We seemed to be somewhere in the vicinity 

 of civilization again; and although the much talked about railway — 

 proposed railway — from Manitoba to this point was not yet con- 

 structed, we could almost realize, by a stretch of the imagination, 

 that we were within a twenty-four hours' Pullman trip of old Fort 

 Garry. Since leaving Nain, on the Labrador coast, we had not seen 

 so much in the way of vegetation as a tree : not even a stunted 

 spruce bush ; but, at Churchill, far away in the distance, on almost 

 every hand, were real Canadian forests. The trees were not large 

 on the coast, nor very close together; but, as I was informed, farther 

 inland the timber was of good size, and of much value. We had 

 high hopes concerning the Sunday that was to follow. We were to 

 have the first opportunity in six weeks of attending church, and 

 that opportunity was not to pass unimproved, that is as far as our 

 attendance was concerned. 



