EPISODES 431 



THE BAY OF FUNDY 



It was in the month of May that I sailed in the United 

 States revenue cutter, the "Swiftsure," engaged in a 

 cruise in the Bay of Fundy. Our sails were quickly un- 

 furled and spread out to the breeze. The vessel seemed 

 to fly over the surface of the liquid element, as the sun 

 rose in full splendor, while the clouds that floated here 

 and there formed, with their glowing hues, a rich contrast 

 with the pure azure of the heavens above us. We ap- 

 proached apace the island of Grand Menan, of which the 

 stupendous cliffs gradually emerged from the deep with 

 the majestic boldness of her noblest native chief. Soon 

 our bark passed beneath its craggy head, covered with 

 trees, which, on account of the height, seemed scarcely 

 larger than shrubs. The prudent Raven spread her pin- 

 ions, launched from the cliff, and flew away before us; 

 the Golden Eagle, soaring aloft, moved majestically along 

 in wide circles; the Guillemots sat on their eggs upon 

 the shelving precipices, or plunging into the water, dived, 

 and rose again at a great distance; the broad-breasted 

 Eider Duck covered her eggs among the grassy tufts ; on 

 a naked rock the Seal lazily basked, its sleek sides glis- 

 tening in the sunshine; while shoals of porpoises were 

 swiftly gliding through the waters around us, showing by 

 their gambols that, although doomed to the deep, their 

 life was not devoid of pleasure. Far away stood the bold 

 shores of Nova Scotia, gradually fading in the distance, 

 of which the gray tints beautifully relieved the wing-like 

 sails of many a fishing bark. 



Cape after cape, forming eddies and counter currents 

 far too terrific to be described by a landsman, we passed 

 in succession, until we reached a deep cove, near the 

 shores of White Head Island, which is divided from 

 Grand Menan by a narrow strait, where we anchored se- 



