CHAPTER X 



ACROSS NEWFOUNDLAND 



Before starting on my expedition into the interior it was 

 necessary to return to Placentia, where I met my friend, John 

 McGaw, and the three Newfoundlanders who had arranged 

 to accompany me. Two of these, Bob Saunders and Sandy 

 Butt, have already figured in these pages ; but the third man, 

 Frank Wells, I had only met once, although I knew him to 

 be a hard worker and a good man for woods or canoe. John 

 McGaw (a near neighbour of mine at Horsham) had expressed 

 a wish to visit Newfoundland, and had undertaken to study 

 geography, leaving all the arrangements in my hands. "He 

 travels fastest who travels alone " is one of the truest proverbs, 

 and I must confess that on most occasions I have had no wish 

 for a companion. Now, however, I made the exception, and 

 did not regret it. McGaw was a first-rate comrade, helping in 

 every way — an excellent shot too — a good hand at whatever 

 he turned to, whether in the line of carpentry, mapping, or 

 photography. 



After seeing the canoes and provisions on board we left 

 Placentia in the Glencoe on 2nd September, and arrived at 

 Pushthrough, in Hermitage Bay, on the following evening. 

 Mountains rise from the shore of the south coast, and the 

 scenery would be fine if the timber were less stunted, but 

 exposed as it is to the southerly gales, the trees have not 

 much chance to grow to any size. After leaving Fortune Bay 

 there are only a few inhabitants along the coast. These are 



194 



