Nov. 8, iMi] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



263 



babes, by some uuknown hand, strangled by her side. Those 

 i. ^ii,- were attributed to the evil spinta erf l>. vil'st nve, and 

 however much they may have been guilty, the main fact ol the 

 death of (he- mother and the babes while the father v, as absent 

 upon the hills. i sUbaequi mlv learned was correct; but 1 in- 

 cline to the belief thai the babes were frozen to death after 

 the mother had fallen n prey to the fatigue of lie journey, 



for sin- carried the two children dung uj hex bttol! in the 



fashion of the Indian women of this comment, li WW td?0 

 a fad that the Lrisb priesl who vfeited these regions once a 

 year, wiih bell, l.ooU and candle, came down to the cove 



after the occurence. e\orei-.d the evil spirits, and changed 

 the name from Devil's to Angel's Cove. Hut though he 

 read as the candle burnt, the belief was as strong as ever 

 at the time of my visil that the evil spirits inhabited the 

 WOOd, and 1 know that to this time few of the inhabitants 

 would venture to Cross 111.' bridge alone in the noon-day. 



In thi- di.-inal \vi romantic region there is not a road to 

 be seen, and the traveler goes by the narrow path which 

 leads across the plains, dowu the hills and across the 

 valleys. Through eacli cove runs a brook, and in the-pring 

 and aulumu these are so swollen by the rains as t,i bed an- 

 gcroustoford. Yet some of them are to this day without 

 pridgew, and many a poortraveler trying to cross them has 



i n borne away by the angry flood ftQWn to the s,a and 



drowned "Neither will you tind lor a score Of Utiles along 

 Midi a coast as this a -choolmasicr or ti schoolmistress, hut 

 the people arc plunged in ignorance and superstition. 



In crossing the bridge of which I have spoken, my 

 guide, as he looked nervously over his shoulder into the 

 dark woods, for it was drawing late, told me the story. 1 

 wondered little, for the river in rushing through the rocky- 

 walls gave forth a noise like the sound of many demons, and 

 the hurricane, sweeping in gustsovefthe bills, saug dismally 

 and weirdly through, the trees. Then he led me down by 

 a sleep path through the firs and Spruces out to where I saw 

 the water, and partly sheltered by the trees a house appeared, 

 the ou'y one in the eove, or for miles on either hand. The 

 people received us with the most genuine hospitality, and 

 surrendered to us the very best the lioii.se afforded, ft is so 

 all around the coast, 1 care not who the stranger may be, 

 on his entry into a house the kettle is at. once put on, and if 

 it be in the' winter season he is made to go behind the stove 

 and shift his shoes and stockings. As long as lie chooses to 

 Btaj he is made welcome, and 1 have never kuown of a ease 

 where money lias been accepted as ;i recompense. The place 

 is so dismal and so lonely that the poor creatures are. 

 delighted at the sight of a strange face, and if the traveler 

 Can tell harrowing stories during the evening by the hearth 

 and has news of wars being fought or threatened re.volu 

 lions, he is surrounded, eagi'f eves and mouths drinking in 

 all he ha- to tell. 



They pressed us to remain a week, but we consented only 

 to slay" twe, or tlmedays at the furthest, and this not till we 

 had been promised some good shooting dowu around the 

 rocks. 



During the evening a violent ijtorm, accompanied with a 

 blinding snow-drift, blew olT lb'- land, moving the huge 



body of ice, which had oomo into the bay, before if. The 



house shuddered lo the storm, and the breakers roared dis- 

 mally Up and down the coast. As I. sat bv the Hushed stove 

 talking to ihe head of the family, an old man beaten with 

 the hard storms of nearly seventy winters, I was overcome 

 w ilh melancholy as he told ine bow hard lie felt it to be shut 

 up iu this desolate place all hi- life. He was too infirm 

 then to visit hi - neighbors livirg in the other coves, lmt 

 stiil be I bought of tbe lime when • .<> was a boy driving a 

 linn- earl, al dawning, inlo Dublin, lie made wrscs, too, 

 after his awn rudi fashion, and after the rest had retired— 

 foi be would lid so,) iliem before them, a- they "laughed" 

 at li li n. he said— he repeated them to me. They weresingu- 

 iarly apt. recited as the storm bowled. 



And after 1 had Commended these rude verse-. I shook 

 the dear old man's hand and retired, sinking below my 

 shoulders in the feathers which arc. taken from the sea birds. 



At the dawn 1 was awakened by one of the sons, for there 

 were three, who asked me if I would like to go and gel a shot 

 at some ducks. I was delighted, sprang out of lied, aiul 

 dressed, The dawn h:id now just begun to break, and the 

 morning was bitter cold. Piloted by my guide. I fumbled 

 njy way flown among tbe black rocks t lmt skirted the water. It 

 was "low tide" he told me, and we could take shelter for 

 fully an hour before the tide came in again, behind tiny of 

 them. Sometimes in clambering over these rock- I would 

 slide upon the slippery ooze, and before. I had gone far 1 am 

 Sure I must have bad a score of bruises upon my body. 

 Then my guide, who before had -kipped along Ihe rocks 

 nimbly as a" goat, slackened hi- paee.aml asked me to excuse 

 htm. that he had forgotten that "in the cities there is nol 

 this kind of traveling." But we eventually reached the 

 " stages" or the buildings where in summer himself and his 

 brothers Landed, split and salted their cod; and here we 

 waited till it became bright enough lo sec around us. lie 

 kepi his eyes fixed upon a land-locked ha-in in from the 

 and after be had gazed (lure for some time said, 

 " Swiles." 



Now, by (he word swiles I knew he meant seals, and that 

 there must be sonic in the basin; but before 1 had long to 

 reason, he whispered "Load for swiles," which 1 did, nol 

 using Cartridge, but ramming home nearly six fingers, part 

 of which was a heavy dose of seal shot. Then we crept 

 around by the shelter of I lie rocks, till we got within gun 

 -hot ; when looking through the crevices we saw five or six 

 round black leads bobbing up and down without making 

 any splash or commotion. They were swimming leisurely 

 over lo the very rock where we were, and 1 was trembling 

 with impatience to fire, But my companion grasped my arm 

 and whispered, " Let 'em come, ami bunch up." So under 

 this restraint 1 lay watching the black heads drawing nearer 

 ami nearer. Now they would -ink from sight, and 1 would 

 feel vexed, and say, "'Are they not gone V " but not a word 

 could I get out of Davy, lie simply kepi a firm clutch 

 upon my 'arm. 



"Now," he said in my ear, "get ready and wait till I lake 

 aim." Then I saw the 'whole bunch of heads together and 

 also saw Daw's gun go up. Quick as lightning mine Went 

 up too, and I' tired right into the bunch. Davy's gun had 



fope off simultaneously with mine. Three beads with some 

 ody attached lay floating motionless as the result of our 



shot's; the cesl had disappeared ami we did nol get a sight 

 Of them again. The .logs jumped out and half pushed, half 



towed the game ashore, which proved to be three tine ani- 

 mals. My companion informed me that these came off the 

 ie. ii, ,e ■ viw likely/' and were different from ■: 

 tonm! in the bay. I wa- of a different opinion, and am 

 still, regarding them as the Phpcatitorea or ahore seal, and 

 not the Ph. yreenlandico or harp seal, which the hnntersflnd 



upon the ice floe during the spriug. Leaving our seals lo bo 

 attended to afterwards we crossed the point to look for a 

 dock of "gainbhda," A good deal of {ramping among the 

 slippery rocks showed us a pair extremely shy of the land, 

 but eventually coming near enough, We took one a-piece, 

 which our dogs fetched, though their going out was now 

 risky, as a strong in-hiveZe had -prong up and the sea was 

 heavy. On the waj back to the house from th 

 breakfast I saw the other brothers engaged with the horse 

 and a sort of cart upon the strand. During the winter, 

 w liem-v.-r the w bid blows olf the land, inimcn-c ([liaulitics 

 of kelp orsea weed are cast upon Ihe beaeb b\ I be under- 

 tow. Among Ihin kelp is found the dulce which you Bee for 

 -ale in the little grocen stores, glistening with the sea salt. 

 But the Newfoundlanders save none of the duloe. l saw 

 these two brothers now with manure fork- loading the kelp 

 into a orate, Of "kish" as they call it, and 'hen ilwwiug this 

 up beyond the reach of the tide, where it was thrown into ■., 

 huge pile. They told me they needed three or four hundred 

 loads of this, that after being piled it rolled, and that they 

 invariably used it lo manure their potato and vegetable 

 fields and their meadow.-. The manure it mike- is very 



strong, and i subsequently ascertained thai it impoverishes 



era— fields where il is used a \'rw years in succession, ].- ;i v- 



iug nothing behind it but u growth of iuobs. 



'Th. n the breeze grew into half a gale, raisinga heavj Boa 

 upon the kmd. and sweeping the banks of kelp away. As 

 the storm increased Davy told me they were going out upon 

 the cliff to watch a vessel which had been caught in the 

 ice for many days, and had been drifted with the currents 

 in tbe bay and "out again, working nearer the short each 

 day. If "the wind continued to blow in as it now did they 

 -aid she would be driven against the rocks and wn eked 1 

 went with them, we taking our gun- and the dogs up through 

 the woods. Sheltered by the hills, it wa- nol very cold, 

 and wc found several COVOVS of both willow groUSe and 

 ptarmigan sunning themselves in sheltered spots. Tbe dogs- 

 showed us each covey, but they were "wild" — iu the loe.al 

 language — and would not allow us near enough for ground 

 .shooting. I did not mind this. so much, but si range, none of 

 my companions would dream of tiring on the wing, and 

 regarded ine as a marvel when I. every now and again. 

 knocked down a bird or two out of the flock. I 'hink 1 

 comd not. have shot less Ihan a dozen, though for all the 

 others they had but one, which one of them shot sitting 

 upon a bank of snow. 



When we got. out of the woods wc were confronted by a 

 tierce gale, whose cold pierced one to the very heart I 

 find this is the case generally in Newfoundland, in a 

 strong breeze upon the coast, when the mercury is nol down 

 to zero, I have found ihe cold more piercing' than I have 

 ever felt il in Canada, with the mercury ten degrees bolow 

 zero and a strong breeze blowing. This* is owing, [should 

 suppose, to tbe larger quantity of moisture in the air adj& 



cent to tin- sea. But, In the face of the breeze, "e made 

 our way oul over the bleak marshes ami headlands three or 

 loin mil.s. anu f r0: „ the "Naked Man." a bold, bald peak, 

 overlooking the bay, we -aw the vessel, a briganliae, not 



more than half a utile Off the land and being drive, toward 

 the rocks through Ihe loose ice rapidly. 



Meanwhile the tide Was SOtfhlg strongly northward, that 

 is running into the bay. . nd though the vessel wa- line.- or 

 four miles further from Ihe coast tliau tbe point at w bich we 

 stood, the covemen concluded she would stride neur. about 

 the point on Ihe top of which we were standing. 1 -hud. 

 dctv.i. as I saw the vc-. 1 i.o.ne a g toward the grinding 



rocks, for Ihe fete of tbe luckless crew, but my companions 

 were of the opinion thai the c.ivw was not in Hie ship; that 

 if Ihey were Ihey would hoist sail and try tO keep ,,m fr,,m 

 the shore. Arid theu they told me thai shipwreck and 

 drowning was not a rare sight to them; that the winter 

 before two vessels had been wrecked upon the point stretch- 

 ing out before us; that Of one of these erews every man was 

 drowned, the crew of the other, excepting one man, escap- 

 ing. Were there a crew in the ship now drifting onwards, 

 fcbeytold me there was little chance of (heir safety: and 

 now their anxiety was that she would strike in such a posi- 

 tion that some of the cargo mighl be saved. But the m -.-- I 

 dragged along, and. to disappoint the expectations of all, 

 cleared the point and swung inward where the wind could 

 not press her so closely toward the land, and where the 

 (ape- did not run out "so far. Tired of our watching and 

 benumbed with cold we returned to the eove, and in the 

 evening started around the wild cliffs for the next -.til. 

 ment, Patrick's Cove. AVe found the inhabitants of this 

 settlement eager with expectation of the striking of the 

 prize; but still she skimmed along by the cliffs and jut 

 ling rocks past ibis settlement too, and onward in the 



bay. 



As 1 was bound iu the shore to the bottom of fin bay 1 

 followed Hie part v in. About midnight, between Patrick's 

 and ship- eove-,. we lay behind the rock.-, I shivering and 

 my dogs winning; for ihe wind had increased in violence, 

 arid wits now pressing the vessel sheer in upon the land. 



In the clenl i nlight when the storm clouds passed WC 



could see the -hip plainly, and lo ojix astonishment, she now 

 -bow vd some of her smaller canvas. When last wc had 

 seen her she floated along evidently without anybody on 

 board, for her poles were bar.:. We crept oul on the rocks. 

 the tide being oul. as sin- w a- pushed in. and though there 

 was much heavy ice in patches along the shore, the waves 

 roared against the rocks, and threw their foam high up the 

 cliffs. 



The vessel was now distinctly in QUI' view, and was being 

 rapidly swept toward Ihe ledge Hut only for a minute, 

 for a towering wave arose, caught the luckless vessel and 

 swept her as it would a bubble of it- own ranking, againsl 

 a sharp edge of one of the reef-. How it came about, and 

 with such suddenness. I fail to understand : hut simultane- 

 ously with Ihe crash against tbe rocks her -par- -napped off 

 like slems of glass, and .-he palled amidships. Tben a num- 

 ber of white objects ran out of the broken pari inlo Ihe boil 

 ing sea; like' unto a tlock of sheep running oul of U pen; 

 and in another loinule ordv the debris of the proud vessel 

 could 1 see. The fishermen had, meanwhile, nitt Oul upon 

 the locks as far as possible, in the hope of being able to us- 

 -1st those .. n board, while I was obliged to feel my way 

 along, for the rocks wereoo/.y, and deep pools oi land- 

 locked sea lay on every hand. "How my heart wa- wrung 

 as I heard a wild cry come over Ihe noise of the slonn when 

 lliesliip-inick.an.lbowanxiou-h did I look among t be white 



waves, amid the pi.ee- of the ship, for a boa iriug the 



hapless crew But the fishermen told me no boat could live 

 in that -ea: thai were -he made of iron -he would be 

 pounded inlo jelly. The fishermen had coils of rope with 

 them, as is I heir won I when .rat "wrecking." and il would 

 terrify the heart of one unaccustomed to sec the seas into 



which Ihey will plunge, one end Of the line fastened around 

 their waist, the other in the hands of those on shore. 



\ii.l now their preparation and their bravery came into 



needful use, for among the Moating pieces two forms were 

 -ceil snuggling. Hi,. ugh 111.- wnvt'S beat over tlei. ln.1,1-. 



but tic-, were i, : .i,,„ carried around the poinl instead of driv- 

 ing into the nooks. And though it wa-most piercing cold, 

 and in the face of death itself, one of liie li-hermen fastened 

 the line about him and plunged dowi) into flic roaring 

 wave-. J ,-:iw a heavy -,a come toward him. but .putting 

 hi- hand, together be d*ived through it. and it passed barm- 

 les-h on. In the Space. Ol a minute be bad reached the 

 piece of pinotj upon wbieb tfie iwo -eamen were, and when 

 he had got hi- arms upon il. those on shore drew il with ils 

 freighl of life safely through the boiling waters to the land. 



The two sailor- whom be n -e I were benumbed and ap 



parontly lifeless, andil wa* with difficulty tl Beams of 



one ofilicm could '.. gol from round the plank". The ether 

 3Q.O-0 recovered, and a good drink ol brandy from my ila-k 

 brougbl his activities fully back. The "other mu-i have 

 swallowed tntn h water, wc thought, for he appeared stupi- 

 li.d; but after he had b.cn tolled and disgorged fiiih a quart 

 of sea water he showed returning consciousness. lie 

 brandy, too, helped him. after wliiih w b.isleocd back over 

 Die rock- wilb the Iwo rescued men to the nearosl eottage, 

 about two miles di-lanl. lie who plunged into thesurf. my 



guide and myself, with the two sailors, returned only, leav- 

 ing behind u's the rest, who with boat hooks and other con- 

 trivances were saving a number of valuable articles from 

 the wreck aa they were driven against the rocks. From the 

 -ailor, we Icarnt'that the vessel' bad been laden with flour, 

 leather, butter, (allow, etc. afid from this intelligence I 

 knew that wind seemed like sheep running through Un- 

 broken pari of the ship was (be (lour. About, four days 

 pieviuu- Ihe whole crew had descried the slop and -truck 

 out upon the ice for the land, bin the party had become 

 separated, seven in one division and three in another. The 

 latter 00 nearing the land found no hope of getting ashore, 

 and after wandering up and d..u |) for two days returned to 

 the ship. Two of these, a- I have shown, were saved, the 

 oilier was beaten todcalh among the wreckage. The other 

 party, I subsequently learnt, arrived al Placentia, alter iwo 

 of the number had succumbed to hunger and cold, lying 

 down and dying upon the ice. 



That Dlght, or rather morning, when we reached the 

 Ship'- ( ove. a blinding -now-tonn was piping oul the val 

 ley, and! was so weary thai 1 fell asleep before I was well 

 settled in a rude but comfortable arm chair before a roaring 

 (ire in the open hearth. A hot meal of fried veni-on and 

 rich home-cake was Served it-- Boon, and tben we retired, I 

 seeping till mi. I. lav, When 1 aro.-e I found thai -ewral 

 Feel Of snow had fallen, and was told 1 could navel no fur- 

 ther without "rackets," the racket being a vary clumsy 

 snowskoe which ihe fishermen make themselves. T set out, 

 having purchased an old pair el these shoes, and with my 

 guide made my way around by the slate Cliffs, now through 

 clumps of evergreen forest, BOW down deep gorge-, again 

 oyer bleak heights, or aero-s an angry torrent, at tbe risk oi 

 being carried awavbv its lurbuleiil Hood. I frill not re 

 couni the incidents of thai weary way Ihrough biiler winds, 

 and often blinding snowdrifts, the desolate places wb. r< we 

 found fishermen dwelling, and the priva. ions and often the 

 Sufferings to Which the inhabitant- are doomed. 



The previous season's codflshery had been a failure-, and 

 the inhabitants at many point- w. ..• reduced to sore distress. 

 We had heard of many families who for numbers of weeks 

 had UOt had any thing to eat hut herring, being beyond the 

 reach oi the assistance the government sometimes renders 

 in the wav of meal and molasses. In nearly all the settle- 

 meats we traveled through wc saw here and there a piece of 

 "Indian meal road," a name given to roads made for meal 

 ami molasses Furnished by the government to the hungry. 

 In one little cove where we stayed over for a day to shoot 

 ducks, we found every family except one reduced to the 

 utmost, want. A few hurrels of Indian meal and molasses 

 had been hauled from Ihe nexl settlement on dogs, and the 

 magistrate from the latter place was busy with u gallon meas- 

 ure' doling oul the "relief" in small quantities to the bun-is 

 Claimants. 



During the morning I had shot a dozen or fifteen large 

 sea divers, and these with a well-filled bag of rock ptarmigan 

 which I had -hoi along the way, I offered to the magistrate 



to distribute to 'be sutVeiing creatures, So poor were thev 

 thai thev bad wl . v.-e powder and -hot to kill Ihe thicks so 



numerous around their homes. The magistrate then in- 

 formed in.- Hen he believed the w,.r-t was past. Tht loe 

 which had come into the bay was "northern" or "heavy 

 ice," as distinguished from the boy ice. and it. from reports 

 heard, was laden with a large body of seal-. That evening 

 before 1 left those miserable people I saw them with exulta- 

 tion push out their punt?, armed with gaffs, bound for the 

 Hoc in search of the seals. The rebel' fiom I his quarter 

 would be twofold. The flippers would serve as food, and 

 as soon as the traders near by heard that the people had 

 seal pelts to sell they would be industrious iu bringing 

 provisions thither. I should have remained here for a few 



da\-. a- the -booting was exeallcut, and to join in Ihe seal 

 eaiching expeditions, bin that, the povrrH of Ihepla. lor 

 baiiB it. and 1 was al-o assun-d by the magistrate that T 



would have nil the sport I needed in this way further down 

 the bay. 



A trader in a small covered boat, ill which were Iwo 

 oilers and hinis.lf. who bail bei n out the coast for pro- 

 visions lor ihe people Further down, ii.viled ine to take, 

 pa-sage with him as tar as Piper's Hole. This saved some 

 days' weary tramping, though the bay was rough, and the 

 spray Bcw incessantly over our oraft, encasing her com- 

 pletely in ice. A. day -inn brought us down to Ihe bay's 

 bottom, near Piper's ' Hole, a picturesque little settle -incut 

 nestling among slern hills green in their drOSS of fir the sea- 

 son round. At several points sea arms run inland, and as 



dwelleraare rare along their shores, sea birds look to the 



ipiicl retreat thev afford in thousands during Ihe entire sen- 

 sou. They build their nests and bring oul their broods 

 along ihe shingly beaches during the summer, ami When Hie 

 winter storms prevail thej fish m quiet in the still] waters 

 for herring, and the many kind- ol shellfish clinging to the 

 rocks. 



We put up a' it homely inn. yet a large establishment for 

 such a place, and one of the proprietovs agreed to spend 

 a w.-ek w lib me li-hing and shooting through Ihe sea arm- 

 desenb.-d. and I hen to accompany myself and my guide to 

 Hi.- choicest camping ground io await the deer herds as they 

 crossed the i-ilimus separating AvaloD from the rest of the 



island. This i, will be remembered was my objective point 

 on starling. 



The next morning on rising 1 wondered at the prepara 



