430 AUDUBON 



f ul and ample basin cannot easily be found ; not an ob- 

 struction is within it. The northeast shores are high and 

 rocky, but the southern ones are sandy, low, and flat. It 

 took us till five o'clock to ascend it and come to our 

 present anchorage, in sight of a small village, the only 

 one we have seen these two months, and on a harbor 

 wherein more than fifty line-of-battle ships could safely 

 ride, the bottom being of clay. The village is built on 

 an elongated point of sand, or natural sea-wall, under 

 which we now are, and is perfectly secure from every 

 wind but the northeast. The country as we ascended the 

 bay became more woody and less rough. The temper- 

 ature changed quite suddenly, and this afternoon the 

 weather was so mild that it was agreeable on deck, and 

 congenial even to a southerner like myself. We find 

 here several small vessels engaged in the fisheries, and 

 an old hulk from Hull, England, called " Charles Tenni- 

 son " ; she was lost near this on her way from Quebec to 

 Hull some years ago. As we came up the bay, a small 

 boat with two men approached and boarded us, assisting 

 as pilots. They had a barrel of fine salmon, which I 

 bought for ten dollars. As soon as our anchors touched 

 bottom, our young men went on shore to try to purchase 

 some fresh provisions, but returned with nothing but two 

 bottles of milk, though the village is said to contain two 

 hundred inhabitants. Mackerel are caught all round us, 

 and sharks of the man-eating kind are said to be abundant 

 just now, and are extremely troublesome to the fishers' 

 nets. Some signs of cultivation are to be seen across the 

 harbor, and many huts of Mic-Mac Indians adorn the 

 shores. We learn the winter here is not nearly as severe 

 as at Quebec; the latitude of this place and the low, well- 

 guarded situation of the little village, at once account for 

 this; yet not far off I see patches of snow remaining from 

 last winter. Some tell us birds are abundant, others that 

 there are none ; but we shall soon ascertain which report 



