12 A NATURALIST IiV THE MAGDALEN ISLANDS. 



CHAPTER II. 



BYRON ISLAND. 



One pleasant afternoon we left House Harbor and set sail 

 for Grand Entry Harbor, where we arrived the same evening, 

 and spent a not very comfortable night on account of the 

 myriads of fleas, which are much more numerous here than 

 anywhere else on the islands. Here, after some little trouble, 

 we procured a boat and set sail for Byron Island. It was 

 a beautiful day, and our little craft sailed finely. As we 

 passed out of the harbor I observed several American fishing 

 schooners, their white sails forming a striking contrast to the 

 deep red ones of the island boats. Noimbers of Gannets and 

 Black Guillemots dotted the water in every direction, while 

 occasionally a seal came to the surface and gazed stupidly 

 at us as we passed. 



We made the run of twenty-four miles in about five hours, 

 and cast anchor in a little bay, protected by cliffs that rise in 

 some places over two hundred feet in height. In this isolated 



