46 LABRADOR 
parts of the world can equal. From the hilltops the land 
is a giant opal, changing, in a million moods, from the 
tenderest gray or blue, through vivid emerald or most 
royal purples, to the unsurpassed gold and reds of the long 
twilights and dawns. In the summer season north of 
Hamilton Inlet the sky is seldom clouded over completely, 
and cumulus, stratus, or ocean mist simply enhance the in- 
imitable play of nature’s colouring. Thunder-storms are 
very rare; when one of these storms, coming from the 
west, does pass out to sea, it may be an event in one’s life. 
I shall never forget one dark night when the huge cliffs of 
Muegford Tickle through which we steamed, and a group of 
great icebergs stranded at their feet, leapt out of the black- 
ness as stroke after stroke of lightning blazed from the 
clouds. It seemed that one could scarcely imagine a sight 
more thoroughly awe-inspiring. Even the short nights 
of the summer and early autumn are blest with lhght. and 
exquisite colour, for the auroral displays are, on this coast, 
among the most frequent and extensive of all those re- 
corded throughout the world. Very often, beneath this 
strange sky, thesea is intensely phosphorescent ; the traveller 
by night may find endless entertainment, watching from 
the bow of his moving vessel the weird lights set flashing 
by schools of frightened fish. 
If the visitor seeks large rivers for exploration by canoe, 
he can find a good number, and all are well stocked with 
salmon and trout. Trout are known always to be taken 
with the fly, but beyond the latitude of 53° 50’ north, little 
fly-fishing has been attempted, and contrary reports are 
given as to the measure of success in getting salmon to 
rise. The noblest of the rivers is, of course, the Hamilton, 
