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380 



AUDUBON 



was struck with the great accuracy of the shape of our 

 present harbor, which I now know full well. I returned 

 to our vessel at ten, and am longing to be farther north; 

 but the wind is so contrary it would be a loss of time to 

 attempt it now. The weather is growing warmer, and 

 mosquitoes are abundant and hungry. Coolidge shot a 

 White-crowned Sparrow, a male, while in the act of car- 

 rying some materials to build a nest with; so they must 

 breed here. 



June 25. Made a drawing of the Arctic Tern, of which 

 a great number breed here. I am of Temminck's opin- 

 ion that the upper plumage of this species is much darker 

 than that of 5. hirundo. The young men, who are always 

 ready for sport, caught a hundred codfish in half an hour, 

 and somewhere secured three fine salmon, one of which 

 we sent to the " Gulnare " with some cod. Our harbor is 

 called "American Harbor," and also" Little Natasquan;" 

 it is in latitude 50° 12' north, longitude 23° east of Que- 

 bec and 61° 53 west of Greenwich. The waters of all the 

 streams which we have seen are of a rusty color, probably 

 on account of the decomposed mosses, which appear to be 

 quite of a peaty nature. The rivers appear to be formed 

 by the drainage of swamps, fed apparently by rain and the 

 melting snows, and in time of freshets the sand is sifted 

 out, and carried to the mouth of every stream, where sand- 

 bars are consequently met with. Below the mouth of 

 each stream proves to be the best station for cod-fishing, 

 as there the fish accumulate to feed on the fry which runs 

 into the river to deposit spawn, and which they follow to 

 sea after this, as soon as the fry make off from the riv- 

 ers to deep water. It is to be remarked that so shy of 

 strangers are the agents of the Fur and Fish Company 

 that they will evade all questions respecting the interior 

 of the country, and indeed will willingly tell you such 

 untruths as at once disgust and shock you. All this 

 through the fear that strangers should attempt to settle 



