EST AUDUBON'S LABRADOR 



came to anchor in what was then called Ameri- 

 can Harbor, now Natashquan, at the mouth of 

 the Little Natashquan River some five miles to 

 the westward of the mouth of the Great Natash- 

 quan River. "And now we are positively on the 

 Labrador coast, latitude 50° and a little more, — 

 farther north than I ever was before. But what 

 a country! When we landed and passed the 

 beach, we sank nearly up to our knees in mosses 

 of various sorts, producing as we moved through 

 them a curious sensation. These mosses, which 

 at a distance look like hard rocks, are, under 

 foot, like a velvet cushion. We scrambled about, 

 and with anxiety stretched our necks and 

 looked over the country far and near, but not 

 a square foot of earth could we see, A poor, 

 rugged, miserable country; the trees like so 

 many mops of wiry composition, and where the 

 soil is not rocky it is boggy up to a man's 

 waist." 



They remained at American Harbor until 

 June 28, and employed the time well in study- 

 ing the land- and sea-birds of the vicinity; for 

 the last five days storm and head winds pre- 

 vented their attempts to depart. Audubon 

 speaks of ''millions" of velvet ducks — white- 



8 



