CARIBOU ISLAND. 8$ 



The children, more used to seals and sea-cows, had not 

 yet recovered from their astonishment at this freak of 

 Nature. 



The channel now widens out into the bay of Bonne 

 Esp^rance, a fine open space of water, tolerably well 

 sheltered from storms. Two days after I got settled on 

 Caribou Island, in Salmon Bay, three miles east of 

 Bonne Esp^rance. 



Nearly the whole coast of Labrador is lined with mul- 

 titudes of small islands, separated by deep, narrow chan- 

 nels from the mainland, with here and there a bay of 

 some extent, where the islands are separated far apart. 

 Thus, a small sail-boat can start from the mouth of the 

 St. Lawrence, and take an inside passage up to the 

 Strait of Belle Isle, and there will only be a few places 

 where she will encounter the outside swell. These num- 

 berless islets and channels are too numerous and intricate 

 to be accurately mapped. At least, our ordinary charts 

 give no accurate idea of their location, and navigation 

 for the whole coast is a matter of guess-work. 



Caribou Island is the largest within fifty miles, per- 

 haps, of Salmon Bay. It is about two miles long and 

 half as broad. But it is in vain to guess about the length 

 or breadth of any part of this rough-and-tumble country, 

 so I will measure it with my legs. It is a fresh, cool, 

 breezy morning ; thermometer, say, at 56°. At noon it 

 will not be higher than 65°. 



At the outset, it may as well be said that this is no 

 country for slippers or calfskin boots of ordinary make. 

 Here Jersey cowhide or native-made sealskin boots are 

 the mode. With anything on but these, two minutes' 

 walk out-doors will wet one's feet thoroughly, so wet 



