214: ACROSS THE SUB-ARCTICS OF CANAD 
Now this practice is all changed. Instead of the 
small sailing vessels, one large steamship is employed 
for the trade, and Churchill, possessing the only safe 
harbor on the west coast,is made the shipping port for 
the Bay, all goods being distributed from this centre by 
schooners to the other posts, and the furs here collected 
for shipment, Over this work of distributing and col- 
lecting goods the Captain was to have charge. 
During the stay at Churchill every day brought 
noticeable improvement in the condition of our party. 
On several occasions, the weather being favorable, snow- 
shoeing expeditions were formed and much enjoyed, 
though usually accompanied by great fatigue. Know- 
ing, however, that by means of such travel we must. 
return home in a short time, we realized the necessity 
of gaining strength for the long journey. 
In the course of one of our outings we reached a place 
called Sloops Cove, about half way to Prince of Wales 
Fort, and there made some interesting observations. 
This cove owes its name to the fact that in the year 
1741 the two sloops, Furnace and Discovery, sent out 
from England in command of Captain Middleton to 
search for the long-looked-for North-West Passage, 
spent the winter there. How two vessels could have 
been forced into this cove is a yuestion which has given 
rise to much speculation on the part of Canadian scien- 
tists, for the cove does not now contain more than 
sufficient depth of water, at high tide, to float a small 
boat, and it is doubtful if even such a boat could get in 
through the rocky entrance. The historical fact remains, 
however, that this cove was the winter quarters of these 
two sloops, and as proof of the fact a number of ring- 
