Bowdoin Boys in Labrador | Page 9

the Labrador."
The day after we left, July 19th, the mail steamer reached Battle Harbor
with the first mail of the season. On board were Messrs. Bryant and
Kenaston, anxiously looking for the Bowdoin party and estimating their
chances of getting to the mouth of Grand River. They brought with
them an Adirondack boat, of canoe model, relying on the country to
furnish another boat to carry the bulk of their provisions and a crew to
man the same.
[Rigolette] When the news was received that we were a day ahead, the
race began in earnest, the captain of the "Curlew" entering heartily into
the sport and doing his best to overhaul the speedy Yankee schooner.
When about half way up to Rigolette, on the third day from Battle
Harbor, as we were drifting slowly out of "Seal Bight," into which we
had gone the previous night to escape the numerous icebergs that went
grinding by, the black smoke, and later the spars of the mail steamer
were seen over one of the numerous rocky little islets that block the
entrance to the bight. The steamer's flag assured us that it was certainly
the mail steamer, and many and anxious were the surmises as to
whether our rivals were on board, and earnest were the prayers for a
strong and favoring wind. It soon came, and we bowled along at a
rattling pace, our spirits rising as we could see the steamer, in shore,

gradually dropping astern. Towards night we neared Domino Run, and
losing sight of the steamer, which turned out to make a stop at some
wretched little hamlet that had been shut out from the outer world for
nine months, at about the same time lost our breeze also. But the wind
might rise again, and time was precious, so a bright lookout was kept
for bergs, and we drifted on through the night. The next morning a
fringe of islands shut our competitor from sight, but after an
aggravating calm in the mouth of the inlet, we felt a breeze and rushed
up towards Rigolette, only to meet the steamer coming out while we
were yet several hours from that place.
Here we had our first experience with the immense deer-flies of
Labrador. Off Mt. Gnat they came in swarms and for self-protection
each man armed himself with a small wooden paddle and slapped at
them right and left, on the deck, the rail, another fellow's back or head,
in fact, wherever one was seen to alight. The man at the wheel was
doubly busy, protecting himself, with the assistance of ready volunteers,
from their lance-like bites, and steering the quickly moving vessel.
At last the white buildings and flag-staff which mark all the Hudson
Bay Co.'s posts in Labrador, came in sight, snugly nestled in a little
cove, beneath a high ridge lying just to the north-west of it, and soon
we were at anchor. Our intention was to get into the cove, but the six
knot current swept us by the mouth before the failing breeze enabled us
to get in.
After supper the necessary formal call was made on the factor, Mr. Bell,
by the professor, armed with a letter of introduction from the head of
the company in London, and escorted by three or four of the party. A
rather gruff reception, at first met with, became quite genial, when it
appeared that we wanted no assistance save a pilot, and called only to
cultivate the acquaintance of the most important official in Labrador.
With a promise to renew the acquaintance upon our return, we left, and
after a hard pull and an exciting moment in getting the boat fast
alongside, on account of the terrific current, we reached the deck and
reported.
Our rivals were there, and had hired the only available boat and crew to
transport them to North West River. This threw us back on our second
plan, viz: to take our party right to the mouth of the Grand River
ourselves, which involved a trip inland of one hundred miles to the

head of Lake Melville. This it was decided to do, and after some delay
in securing a pilot, owing to the transfer at the last moment of the
affections of the first man we secured to the other party, John Blake
came aboard and we started on our new experience in inland navigation.
Just as we entered the narrows, after a stop at John's house to tell his
wife where we were taking him, and to give her some medicine and
advice from the doctor, we saw our rivals starting in the boat they had
secured. That was the last we saw of them, till they reached North West
River, two days after our party had started up