THE COD-FISHERY. I 53 



higher belt of clouds moving from the southwest, while 

 below the fog scudded in from the east. After supper a 

 squall from the west struck us : this carried the ice off- 

 shore some distance, but from the lookout we could see 

 the ice-pack closely hugging the shore to the northward 

 of our harbor, and we beheld a few icebergs, huge cubi- 

 cal blocks, rising above the ice-pack. We hope to get 

 out to-morrow, as several vessels have come in which 

 left Henley Harbor on the day we did, and which have 

 been ice-bound in Fox Harbor, just above us. 



The people complain of the lateness of the season : 

 the ice holding so late and in such an immense and 

 unusual quantity is, they say, " killing the cod-fishery." 

 We had found a few days previously what we supposed 

 to be young capelin an inch long, with the tail still heter- 

 ocercal, and they are now coming inshore to breed. This 

 interesting little fish, so valuable as bait in fishing for 

 cod, remains near the coast through the winter in deep 

 water, and is often found in the bay. 



The ice having temporarily left the harbor, we could 

 again dredge, and we had excellent success; the number 

 and variety of marine animals, all purely arctic in type, 

 being very pronounced. 



Here, more abundantly than elsewhere, though in 

 deep water, occurred large sea-anemones (^Metridium 

 marginatum) and gorgeous sea-pinks {Urticina crassi- 

 cornis), with slashes of red on a flesh-colored ground, 

 and as beautifully painted as any carnation, besides 

 shrimps with not less delicate flesh-red and vermilion 

 tints. The colors of arctic marine animals are some- 

 times pale and lifeless, but more often of rich salmon and 

 flesh tints ; passing into deep red. Why deep-sea forms 



