6 CRUISE OF THE NEPTUNE 



northward to cross Cabot strait to Newfoundland. A strong 

 breeze from the northwest sprang up in the night, when, owing 

 to our heavy deck-load, the ship had to take shelter under St. 

 Paul island, where we remained until the morning of the 26th. 

 Fine weather favoured the passage across the gulf, and through 

 the Strait of Belle Isle. Our first stop on the Labrador coast 

 was made at Drminoe, where it was expected that a supply of 

 codfish would be obtained. Unfortunately the season was very 

 backward, and no dry fish had yet been made on the coast; a 

 few pairs of sealskin boots were, however, obtained there. Con- 

 tinuing, with fine weather, northward along this grandly 

 picturesque coast, Nachvak bay was reached on the 31st. 



Our interpreter was supposed to reside here, but on reach- 

 ing the small Hudson's Bay post, it was found that he was at 

 Port Burwell, at the mouth of Hudson strait. More sealskin 

 boots and a couple of barrels of trout were purchased from the 

 agent ; then, as our tanks were low, we steamed some ten miles 

 to the head of the bay, to a small river of excellent water. The 

 scenery about the bay is very grand ; cliffs of 3,000 feet present 

 their rugged barren faces on both sides, rising directly frojm 

 the water and terminating skywards in lofty mountains with 

 sharp peaks. Large patches of snow fill the upper valleys, 

 where they accentuate the rocky desolation of the peaks. 



Another clear, calm day brought us to Port Burwell, a few 

 miles inside Cape Chidley, the northern point of the Atlantic 

 coast, where the division line is drawn between the territory 

 to the eastward, under the jurisdiction of Newfoundland, and 

 that of the Dominion to the westward. Between Nachvak 

 and the cape, the mountains of the coast reach their highest 

 elevations, some of the peaks rising to upwards of 6,000 

 feet. The outline is extremely rough, the land rises abruptly 

 from the coast and the scenery is very grand. As Cape Chidley 

 is approached, the general elevation becomes lower; the land 



