286 LIFE OF AUDUBON. 



within three miles of us, and grounded at the entrance of the 

 bay. It looks like a large man-of-war, dressed in light greenish 

 muslin instead of canvas ; and when the sun shines on it it 

 glitters most brilliantly. 



"When these transient monuments of the sea happen to 

 tumble or roll over, the fall is tremendous, and the sound pro- 

 duced resembles that of loud distant thunder. These icebergs 

 are common here all summer, beiag wafted from the lower end 

 of the straits with every heavy easterly wind or gale. And as 

 the winds generally prevail from the south and south-west, the 

 coast of Newfoundland is more free from them than Labrador; 

 and the navigation along the straits is generally performed 

 along the coast of Newfoundland. My time and our days now 

 weigh heavily on our hands ; nothing to be seen, nothing to be 

 shot, therefore nothing to be drawn. I have now determined 

 on a last thorough ransack of the mountain tops, and plains, 

 and ponds, and if no success follows, to raise anchor and sail 

 towards the United States once more ; and blessed will the day 

 be when I land on those dear shores wliere all I long for in 

 this world exists and lives, I hope. 



" August 2. Thermometer 58° at noon. Thank God it has 

 rained all day. I say thank God, though rain is no rarity, because 

 it is the duty of every man to be thankful for whatever happens 

 by the wUl of the Omnipotent Creator ; yet it was not so agree- 

 able to any of my party as a fine day would have been. We 

 had an arrival of a handsome schooner, called the Wizard, from 

 Boston to-day, but she brought neither papers nor letters ; but 

 we learned that all our great cities have a healthy season, and 

 we thanked God for this. The retrograde movement of many 

 land and water birds has already commenced, especially of the 

 lesser species. 



"August 3. The Wizard broke her moorings and ran into 

 us last night, causing much alarm, but no injury. The iceberg 

 of which I have spoken has been broken into a thousand pieces 

 by the late gale, and now lies stranded along the coast. One 

 such monster deposits hundreds of tons of rocks, and gravel, 

 and boulders, and so explains the phenomena which I have 

 before mentioned as observable along the coast. 



" August 4. It is wonderful how quickly every living thing 



