12 CKUISE OF THE NEPTUNE 



filled with dangerous shoals, it was thought unadvisable to 

 attempt to enter it so late in the day, and the ship was headed 

 up the bay, for a harbour known as Frenchman cove. We 

 arrived at dusk, to find the narrow entrance blocked by a large 

 iceberg, and the water too deep to anchor outside. A boat was 

 sent off, and soon returned, reporting a narrow passage between 

 the ice and rocks; with some danger this was passed, and the 

 ship anchored safely in the small bay. Two small deserted 

 houses perched on a narrow ledge of rock, close to the water, 

 with a number of oil barrels in the rear, represent the remains 

 of a former small trading station. The diminutive harbour is 

 surrounded by sharply ragged hills of granite, whose summits 

 are splotched with patches of snow; the valleys between are 

 narrow and irregular, and are so thickly strewn with boulders 

 and broken rock that nearly every trace of soil is hidden. The 

 scant Arctic vegetation and the deserted houses enhance the 

 desolation of the scene. 



Having taken on board the casks of oil and a supply of fresh 

 water, the ship was headed for Cape Haven, where a station, 

 similar to those already described, was found on a snug 

 harbour, behind a large island, near the end of the cape. This 

 station belongs to Potter and Wrightington, of Boston, United 

 States. For several years past it has been unlucky, and the few 

 whales taken have paid neither the expenses of maintaining the 

 station nor the cost of supplying it by a special vessel. Natives 

 sufficient to man four whaleboats live about this station. 



The general aspect of the country about Cyrus Field bay is 

 somewhat similar to that of Cumberland gulf: high, rugged 

 hills of gneiss and granite rise from 500 feet to 1,000 feet 

 above the sea. The land on the northern side of the bay is 

 lower, and the waters of this portion are broken by low islands 

 and reefs, many of which become connected at low tide. 



A long chain of islands separates this bay from Frobisher 

 bay to the southward. These islands are all high and rocky; 



