£24 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Sept. 20, igd^J, 
but that we should pass the suroiiier on this coast, and 
that the rocks of Paul's Harbor, Black Island, should 
■furnish a final resting place for the schooner. Chartered 
to land a cargo of stores at Jensen's whaling station on 
Cape Haven, Baffin Land, and to bring back the accumu- 
lated supply of oil, bone, ivory and fur, tlie Lily left 
Halifax July 17 with a crew of six an<l four passengers. 
The trip to Sydney. Cape Breton, was lengthened by calm 
weather for two days after leaving Halifax, bttt enlivened 
by the schools of porpoises and small whales which 
played about the schooner off the Nova Scotia coast. 
Sydney is known chiefly as the home of the great 
Dominion coal mines, the terminal of the steamer Bruce 
connecting with the Newfoundland railway, and as the 
place of deparltire of several recent Arctic expeditions. 
We were disappointed to find that the Peary relief ship 
Windward had left for the north two days before our 
arrival. 
It was with many regrets that we parted company 
with two of our number, both enrhusiasfic Ar«tic ex- 
plorers, who had come with us to Halifax and continued 
on to Sydney on learning of our stop there. As they 
turned southward on the afternoon of the 23d, we sailed 
away from Sydney, laying a course down the Cape Breton 
coast, past St. Paul's Island, and Cape St. George, into 
the Gulf of St. Lawrence. A thick fug enveloped e?very- 
thing in the Gulf on the morning of the 26th, but with a 
strong southerly wind we were inakiiig fast progress 
toward the Strait of Belle Isle. 
With sail "wing and wing" and supposing ourselves to 
he fifteen miles off the Newfoundland coast. Jack, who 
-was at the wheel at the time, discovered breakers directly 
ahead, about half-past two in the afternoon. A sudden call 
to Capt. B. brought everybody on deck, and ahead, not 
fifty yards off. we saw a white line of foaming water. 
With quick judgment the Captain took in the situation, 
ordered the wheel over, and the main boom, which for- 
tunately we were carrying on the starboard side, hauled 
in. Everybody pulled with a will. As the Lily swung 
into the wind the fore boom jibed over with a bang and 
we skirted the shore for a quarter of a mile before losing 
sight of the breakers. How many feet further we could 
have gone without striking we shall never know, but a 
good view of the low, sandy beach convinced us that 
it was a poor place to end the cruise, but an excellent one 
to reach shore, from such a situation as ours might have 
been. The tremendous tide which is always a source of 
danger to navigation in the Gulf and Strait of Belle 
'Isle had carried us insidfe of Point Raiche, and the thick 
fog had prevented our knowledge of it. We spoke two 
schooners, laid our course, and by night were well into 
the Strait of Belle Isle. 
The combination of the wind and tide made a choppy 
sea in the strait, and the night was an uncomfortable 
one for all hands. Soon after dark the wind died out, 
leaving us at the mercy of the tremendous seas, and we 
bobbed about like a pea in a drum. New lights on the 
Newfoundland shore, of which we had no record, con- 
fused our position, and the break of day was welcome, 
bringing as it did a caUner sea and a light fair breeze. 
As we came on deck the Labrador shore was in plam 
yiew — a rocky, barren coast, rising from the sea in irregu- 
lar shape from 500 to 1,000 feet, with plentiful patches 
of snow to be seen. Directly astern was a small ice- 
berg, while ahead and over toward the Newfoundland 
shore we counted eight or ten much larger ones. We 
were continually in sight of great numbers of these islands 
of ice during the day, some with great patches of dirt 
sticking to their sides, showing that at some time they 
had turned completely over, bringing up from the bottom 
mud and sand; others with blue veins running m hori- 
zontal lines over their surface, caused by the fresh water 
streams while the berg was in glacier form. These bergs 
are a great danger to navigation owing to the large part 
and the irregular shape under water, and the schooners 
give them a wide berth. , -r , , • 
The Labrador shore and the Strait of Belle Isle durmg 
July and August perhaps furnish the best place on the 
continent to see these monster cakes of ice, They are 
brought south from a great territory of Arctic waters by 
the strong current which makes up the shore, and are 
seen in almost every conceivable size and shape. 
As we neared Cape Charles, in the distance was one 
which assumed the perfect shape of a twenty-story sky- 
scraper, while all around us were these of smaller dimen- 
sions and of irregular shape. On our near approach 
usually a great flock of gulls would rise from the top or 
from some crevice, only to settle back again upon our 
reaching a safe distance. . ^ , , „ , 
We passed Henlev and the "Devil's Dining Table dur- 
ing the afternoon, and just at sunset rounded Cape 
Charles, with its few fishermen's cottages tucked avvay 
almost out of sight between the rocks. It was here that 
the Miranda, on her memorable cruise of 1894, put ni 
after colliding with an iceberg and before returning to 
St. John's for repairs. 
We headed for Assizes Harbor, sailing through narrow 
channels and skirting high headlands, finally dropping 
anchor in a beautiful little harbor almost completely 
landlocked. Five other schooners were also anchored 
there, and within a short distance were three icebergs, 
white, silent and ghostly, as they rose out of the water 
into the darkness. Assizes Harbor is but a short distance 
from Battle Harbor, and we crossed m a few minutes the 
next morning. • , r 
Battle Harbor is the principal port and capital of 
Labrador. As far as we could learn it gets its name 
from a battle once fought between the Esknnos, who 
formerly inhabited the coast as far south as the Strait 
of Belle' Isle, and the fishermen. It is- a prosperous fish- 
ing settlement, and supports a church, school, deep-sea 
mission, hospital and sailors' home. 
We had noticed a decided change in the temperature 
since coming through the strait, due no doubt to the 
Arctic current and to the abundance of ice floating about. 
Unable ■ to make headway against the stiff nor'easter, 
which blew after we left Battle Harbor, we put into Ship 
Harbor about dark, and found a little settlement of a 
dozen huts at the head of a narrow channel, which makes 
in for half a mile between precipitous cliffs. 
^ This was on Saturday night, which meant that we 
must spend until Monday morning here, it being a cus- 
tom observed among the fishermen that no vessel sliall 
leave a harbor on Sunday; nor is any work done about 
the schooners other than that necessary for comfort. 
Fish caught Saturday with no time to salt them away be- 
fore .Sunday, are put in bags and hung over the side of 
the ves.sel until Monday morning. Often anchored in com- 
pany with fifty or sixty schooners, we did not see a 
single anchor raised on a Sunday during the summer. 
One would hardly expect to find this custom among a 
people whose season at the best is short, whose income 
is correspondingly small, and who must depend to a large 
extend upon fa^ir winds to cover the long distances of the 
coast, but we were impressed by its very general ob- 
servance. 
At Ship Harbor we visited the owner of the fishing 
privilege and leader of the settlement. A man past mid- 
dle age of medium height and stockj^ build, with a bright 
eye and bushy whiskers, he looked the typical fisherman 
and gave us a cordial welcome to his summer home. 
These temporary houses are for the most part built with a 
light wooden frame and covered with sod, some with an 
inverted boat for the roof, with walls of sod, and many 
built of sod alone. The interior is of equal simplicity. 
In some of the larger stations where the fishing is con- 
trolled by one man, and his helpers are all "sharemen," 
an occasional neat frame house is found with a degree of 
comfort not to be expected. 
The subjects of conversation among the large class of 
fishermen are few, and confined almost wholly to that of 
their voyage and the conditions which go to make it a 
success or a failure. Fish of course is the chief topic, and 
the state of the fishing up or down the shore is the first 
question passed between stranger or acquaintance. Our 
friend at Ship Harbor said that never in his experience 
of thirty years on the Labrador had he known such a 
season for late ice, scarcity of fish and a generally back- 
ward summer. The pack ice left Ship Harbor July 16, 
and the 28th, the day we reached there, small bergs and 
plenty of floe ice was to be seen. On learning our des- 
tination and the nature of our errand, he looked doubt- 
ful, shook his head and said: "You'll see plenty of ice 
down north, I guess." His advice was to put outside of 
the islands and go down outside of the ice pack, even if 
we were obliged to cover an extra couple of hundred 
miles, in order to skirt it. This same advice we received 
from several old-timers along the way, and was the plan 
we had expected to see carried out on reaching the 
Labrador. But Capt. B. was unwilling to take the chances 
of being driven south by a combination of the Arctic cur- 
rent and the northerly winds, which, contrary to all 
precedent, seemed to be prevailing on the coast. 
On' Sunday we took a stroll over the hills, climbed a 
high mountain and had a superb view of the country for 
miles inland. Stretching away as far as the eye could 
reach appeared a rolling plateau, with a succession of 
barren and snow-patched hills, intersected by many bays 
and inlets, and dotted with numerous lakes. On our re- 
turn to the harbor I was passing the hut of our friend, 
and hearing voices within, entered. I was greeted with 
an inquiry for my friend, and we were soon seated 
around his stove. He said he wanted to tell us some- 
thing. "Did you boys know," he said, "that it would not 
have been safe some years ago to have been seen going 
over these hills on Sunday with a gun over the shoulder? 
If you'd come back at all you would have been without 
your gun." He explained that among the older school 
of fishermen such things were unknown, _ and that the 
observance of their customs was as strictly enforced 
among strangers. He accepted pleasantly our explana- 
tion, and we stored up the suggestion for future use. 
From Ship Harbor we made slow progress, owing to 
contrary winds, and made harbors at Domino and Indian 
Tickle. Aug. i, after a good run of seventy miles, past 
Grady, across the mouth of Hamilton Inlet and by Indian 
Harbor with its Deep-Sea Mission Hospital, we an- 
chored in Ice Tickle, just as the wind left us and a heavy 
rain fell. Aug. 2 came in foggy. About 9 o'clock the sun 
broke through and we left the harbor with a light 
southerly breeze. Hardly half a mile from our anchor- 
age, while running along with another schooner close 
by^ and in trying to avoid a well-known rock, we ran 
directly on another. A sudden grating sound and light 
shock was all the warning we had, and we thought we 
were sliding over all right; but a second shock brought 
us to a standstill. An examination showed plenty of 
water under the bows, about twelve feet over 
the starboard side amidships and eight to port. 
Our consort immediately anchored and sent her 
sturdy crew aboard. The tide was within less 
than half an hour of high, and appeared to be falling, so 
that quick work was necessary. An anchor was put out 
over the starboard stern, but the united efforts of fifteen 
men could not stir her. Appearances certainly suggested 
a sudden ending of the cruise, with but a small part of 
the journey covered, and the object of the expedition 
not accomplished. It was impossible to pull her off, and 
the only course seemed to be to shift the cargo from the 
after hatch and wait for the next tide. The captain, who 
had come to our assistance, said as he could be of no 
further use, he had too much at stake to delay longer, 
having already been delayed in his cruise. But "if there 
was anv danger Fd stay all summer," he said. "Many 
a good craft and cargo has been left on the rocks before, 
was his comforting remark as he left us. 
That afternoon we brought pork, bread, molasses, coal, 
coffee and a variety of articles out of the after hatch, 
stowing it all across the bows. The hours we spent 
after this work was done lying about the deck waiting for 
high water will always be remembered. An unusual 
anxious expression was noticeable on the face of each 
member of the crew. Every man had at some previous 
time been wrecked, some more than once; and the stories 
of past experience, of battles on the sealers, against icy 
storms in the early spring, against great winds and seas 
of being thrown on the rocks, and of the suffering caused 
by the loss of a summer's work, all this added to the 
seriousness of the moment. . • 
Toward night, as the tide began to rise, an anchor 
was carried out from the starboard bow, and about 9 
o'clock, after an hour's hard work at the windlass, she 
slid off into deep water. Getting_ under way at eight we 
encountered a gale from the northeast, and put into 
Sloop Harbor, in company with twenty-five other 
schooners. After the gale came a calm, and then a 
Sunday, in all three days of tedious wait in an unin- 
teresting spot; days when, as George remarked, the dol- 
lars came up through the horse pipe." When we finally 
did get away it was only to meet another blow from 
the northeast, and we took refuge in Holton^ A good 
(lav's trout tishing here compensated somewhat for the 
delay. At Turnavik everybody was busy and happy. 
Fish were running plentifully and boatload after boat- 
load was brought in to be split, salted and packed 
away until September, when they are washed, dried and 
taken aboard the steamers which are chartered by the 
larger operators to call during September for that pur- 
pose. The fish are caught either in traps, with hooks 
and lines, or with jiggers. 
Capelin were as plentiful as the cod. Thej^ are a small 
fish, resembling in appearance a smelt, and are used as 
bait for the cod, often for dog food, and not infrequently 
as food for the fishermen. 
The fishing at Turnavik is controlled by a member of 
n family of famous Arctic navigators, who was connected 
with the Bradford expedition into the Arctic regions on 
the Panther in 1868. His son was mate on the Peary 
ship Windward in 1898-99, and during the two days we 
were held there by calms, we heard many interesting tales 
of Arctic adventure. 
From Turnavik to Hopedale is thirty miles in a 
straight course, between the islands, and we reached 
there Aug. 11, just as a stiff northeaster struck us, with 
rain and fog, and prevented further progress. 
Going into Hopedale we passed several Eskimos in 
their fishing boats coming in from their camps for Sun- 
day at the station. They were the first we had seen on 
the coast, and were objects of much interest. We passed 
within hailing distance of one, and after exchanging the 
usual "Oksunai" (greeting), we inquired if he had any 
fish. His reply was "little," and in answer to our ques- 
tion. "Any fish at Hopedale?" shouted back, "I suppose." 
Hopedale was founded by the Moravian missionaries, in 
1776. and is the second oldest station on the coast. The 
Eskimos here number about 180, a small proportion of 
-whom, however, are of pure blood, and at the time of our 
stop they were mostly awa3^ engaged in the cod fishery. 
The long establishment of the missionaries here and 
many years of contact with the fishermen have intro- 
duced many European customs of dress, living and food, 
so that the primitive life can no longer be seen. _ They 
live in wooden huts and support themselves by fishing for 
the cod, seal and salmon in summer, and himting the 
caribou and fur animals in winter. They are able to 
trade with the missionaries the results of their hunting 
and fishing for bread, molasses, powder, shot, etc. 
Most of the younger Eskimos at Hopedale can write, the 
children attending school for certain periods during the 
winter. They have the Bible and Sankey's hymns in 
their language, and the only encouragement needed for 
them to sing the hymn book through from beginning to 
end is a willing audience. Sunday evening after church 
in the mission chapel, we visited a hut where a number 
of the Eskimos had collected, and were given a recital 
of hymns with accompaniment of the accordeon. The 
men and women all sing well, joining in the different 
parts and maintaining for the most part a fair degree of 
harmony. The station shows the expenditure of much 
laljor on the part of the missionaries. 
Paths have been laid out through the woods with seats 
erected at various points, and the gardens of cabbage, 
lettuce, turnips and potatoes, as well as the beds of 
pansies, daisies and poppies, looked surprisingly thrifty 
when the short season which they are allowed is con- 
sidered. It made an interesting .start the next morning 
to see all of the fiftyt schooners heave anchor and leave 
the harbor together, and otit through Hopedale Run. 
where a head wind was encountered, quick work and 
good seamanship was much in evidence in the efforts to 
keep clear of the rocks and of each other. 
There seemed to be no end to the contrary winds, and 
consequently slow progress, and we put in to Cape 
Harrigan Harbor and Quirk Tickle on our way north 
until the 15th, when we -reached Ford's Harbor, so named 
from the family who have been the solitary residents and 
undisputed landlords for seventy-five years. Gales, calms, 
fogs and rocks had so delayed our progress since reach- 
ing the Labrador shore that for some time we had felt 
many doubts as to the possibility of being able to reach 
Cape Haven. The same opinion prevailed among all 
whose advice we sought, and was to the effect that even 
if the Lily was able to reach Cape Haven and return, it 
would not now be possible to accomplish it in the time at 
our disposal. Much as we regretted leaving the expedi- 
tion, which we were interested in seeing successfully car- 
ried out, and giving up the chance of getting among the 
walrus and polar bears in Hudson Straits, and the primi- 
tive Eskimos of Baffin Land, it seemed our only course, 
and we made preparations to leave the schooner at Ford's 
Harbor. Our plan was to go from there to Nam, and 
camp in the intericr until the mail steamer should call 
again. Efforts to get any of the Ford family to guide 
u'; to Nain, about twenty miles inland, were fruitless on 
account of the run of codfish, which had just commenced, 
and the prevalence of the grip, which incapacitated sev- 
eral of the family. Our crew rowed us across to a sum- 
mer camp of Nain Eskimos, and there we bargained with 
a native by the very un-Eskimoish name of Levi Frye, tn 
land us and our outfit at Nain. 
It was nearly 6 o'clock when we had finished loading 
our baggage, provisions and camp outfit into Levi's boat, 
and swn after, with wishes of good luck from al 
hands, we sailed awav, heading into a narrow channel 
which le?ds for some distance between the high rocky 
sides of two islands, toward Nain. We had made the 
schooner our home for just four weeks, and had become 
'-o used to the attractiveness of our plain and healthy liv- 
ing, our comradeship Avith the captain and crew, and to 
the' many interesting incidents connected with the hie 
among the fishermen, that it was with no small regret 
that we left all this to enter upon new experiences. 
Wind and tide turned against us about 10 o'clock, and 
with a suggestion from Levi of "Plenty tide; no row, 
we camped a few feet back from the shore. 
Levi got us started soon after light the next morning, 
and we went along merrily enough until the tide again 
turned against us. With Nain m plain sight, with no 
wind, a head tide, with mosquitoes playing havoc with 
every exposed part of one's person, the last five miles 
was tedious and exasperating. At last about 2 o clock- 
in the afternoon we deposited our outfit on the deck or 
the missionary schooner Idalia, anchored close in, noi 
daring to risk putting it within reach of the voracious 
"huskies," which will devour anything, from a tenl peg 
