38 



three weeks after they had been killed. The whale meat dried up 

 somewhat toward the last, but the bear meat seemed as fresh as 

 ever. 



Around noon on August 23 an attempt was made to enter Eclipse 

 Harbor, Labrador, mainl}^ for the purpose of getting fresh water, 

 but the innumerable rocks and breakers sighted off the north end of 

 Aulalsivik Island kept the MaHon from entering this anchorage. 

 From off it the ship ^tood to the east-southeastward 16 miles and 

 then ran southwestward the same distance into the entrance of the 

 fiord at the southern end of Aulalsivik Island. Several rocks were 

 sighted near the coast. A few of them were uncharted and tw^o were 

 not noticed until they were ahead close aboard. South of the 

 sixtieth parallel our sights showed the coast to be charted close to 

 its observed position. 



THE HIGHEST PEAKS OF NORTH AMERICA THAT ARE NEAR THE ATLANTIC 



COAST 



Figure 28. — The Marion is here approaching the Torngat Mountains of Labrador in lati- 

 tude 59° 42' N. Four of the peaks are marlced on the chart as between 5,000 and 

 6,000 feet high. They support numerous tiny glaciers, from which mountain streams 

 originate. One of these streams, flowing into the flord ahead, supplied the Marion 

 with excellent water for ship's use. 



About 2 miles off the fiord entrance there was a submarine ridge 

 with its higher points just reaching sea level. A few rocks marking 

 the crest of this ridge could be seen along a line following the trend 

 of the coast to the NNW. and SSE. Inshore the soundings deepened 

 again, and remained fairly deep in the fiord. (See fig. 44.) 



The land w^as high and mountainous to the north and south of the 

 fiord entrance. Just to the south of it were the four peaks of the 

 Torngat Mountains, marked on the chart as 5,000 to 6,000 feet high. 

 (See fig. 28.) These Labrador mountains did not seem so impressive 

 as those of North Greenland, possibly because of the absence of ice- 

 blink behind them and possibly because we were now accustomed 

 to seeing great mountains close to the sea. 



It was difficult to distinguish the fiord entrance from off the coast, 

 but by running at slow speed and closely observing the shore it was 



