( 570 ) 

 THE SHORE LARK. 



AlAUDA ALPESTRIS, LiNN. 

 PLATE CC. Male, Female, and Young. 



It was on the 26th of July 1833, that the Ripley, with every sail set, 

 was gently bounding over the waves, towards the Harbour of Bras d'Or, 

 A thin mist covered the surface of the surrounding waters, so that, al- 

 though it was already full day-light, scarcely could any of the party dis- 

 tinguish the coast of Labrador, which was only about a mile distant from 

 the vessel, that so trippingly moved toward its shores. The person who 

 had undertaken to act as pilot, proved so inadequate to the task, that, 

 notwithstanding his having fished for many years in sight of the harbour 

 we were desirous of entering, he could not afford the least aid to our cap- 

 tain in navigating the schooner. We neared the land, however, and 

 through the mist at last discovered the slender spars of several vessels at 

 anchor. A signal was instantly run apeak, and to our great joy was im- 

 mediately answered. Over the waves now came dancing one of those 

 buoyant crafts used by whalers. In a few moments it was alongside the 

 Ripley, when my old acquaintance, the sturdy cod-fisher Billings of 

 Eastport, offered his services, and soon guided us into port, in entering 

 which we passed through an aperture, guarded by two dangerous rocks, 

 so narrow that one might have leaped ashore from our bark. Once en- 

 tered, our nostrils were assailed by odours that, could Vultures smell, 

 doubtless might entice them to fly here from the farthest Indies. I was 

 surprised to find so much bustle in such a place : perhaps more than a 

 hundred fishing-barks lay at anchor, in so regular array that they might 

 remind one of the disciplined order of a squadron ready for action, al- 

 though the business-like appearance of the fishermen would soon remove 

 the illusion. Every deck was heaped with fish, the value of which has, 

 for many years back, brought vessel after vessel to those inhospitable 

 shores. Each " pickaxe" had its " Hampton boats'" well manned and 

 ready to sail towards the shallows, where the cod is obtained. Some, in 

 search of bait, were plying their oars and nets, while others were strew- 

 ing the salted cod over the naked rocks around, there to lie under the 

 drying rays of the sun. Stacks of fish, nearly cured, stretched along to 



