IN AUDUBON'S LABRADOR 



great pride the new church he is building, as 

 well as the old structure still in use. 



After tearing myself away with an effort 

 from the good priest's generous hospitality, I 

 continued my solitary way and soon found 

 myself among the interesting and familiar sur- 

 roundings of sand-dunes, a region known here 

 as Anse des Dunes. Outside was a white sand 

 beach about a mile long, bordered by the pale- 

 green strand wheat, which was growing luxu- 

 riantly. A harvest of grain might have been 

 gathered here that would have filled many 

 otherwise empty bread-boxes. The strand 

 wheat extended back but a short distance into 

 the dunes, growing scantier and smaller as it 

 "went, showing its dependence on the brine of 

 old Ocean. The dunes were irregularly wind- 

 cut and were about a mile wide, piled up in 

 places to a height of fifty feet. Their forma- 

 tion was the same as in all dune regions, mod- 

 ified by the vegetation, which was here for 

 the most part very different from that with 

 which I was familiar on our New England 

 coast. Closely matted carpets of curlew-berry, 

 ibearberry, oval-leafed blueberry, mountain 

 icranberry, and alpine birch in places bound 

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