Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-08-20
WILDS OF LABRADOR.
EDGARL. WAKEMAN EXPLORES THESE
MOST UNFREQUENTED REGIONS.
The Explosion OF an Iceberg-A Yankee
Shippers scheme to Accumulate
Small Fortune.
Icorrespondence OF the Pittsburgh Dispatch

Correspondence OF the Pittsburgh Dispatch
Leaving the bright and beautiful Cha
teau bay, our course now lay within the
Atlantic along the Labrador coast, whose
general bearing is 10 the northwest for 500
miles until Hudson's strait is passed, and
| the almost measureless shores Of HudsOns
bav turn squarely to the south at the
mighty hcadland of Cape WOlstenholme.
Z Out to the southeast stood grim Belle Isle,
! the first land which European steamers
make along these turbulent shores. Ihls,
with Quiripon Island, were known "a tho
Isles of Demons in ancient times. ana
/ in the old prints they are represented as
| being covered by rampant devils with
wings. horns, and tails. Certainly no other
| creatures could subsist upon Belle Isle.
1t is here that the chronicieFs locate the
scene Of tho pathetic tale OF Lady Margue-
rite. niece of Roberval. Yieeroy of New
France, and her impetuous though de-
voted lover We sailed near the south
western edge of the island, close enough
! to well observe its formation. lt is simply
| n tremendous mOnOlith OF stone nine miles
| long and three broad, rising precipitouSly
/ from the sea ct the outer entrance OF the
strait. with not an iota OF verdue upon
| its irOn-like sides and top. We got fine
| glimpse Of its lighthouse perched high
upon q southern beadland, its guys and
anchorings for preventing its being blown
f, away giving II tho appearance OF some CO.
| lossal Arctic aux poised IN readiness tor
flight.
RATHER WINDY.
eyes" said Captain Dcschamps rumira-
/ lively, "Only once year any vessel lands
| there and the storms are - terrible that
| every time we sailors pass we dread TO look
| up there. fearing the lighcU3'n be blown
| away. How hard does the wind blow!
! We'll. | can't rightly give ye the viocity'
| but | can furnish facts. Twenty, years
aeo-'n' | well remember him-a keeper
! named Vaughn bad charge of the hight.
| He GOT sort % hankerin' arter green things.
| Awful foolish: blt twus hard to get
| ANYBODY 70 stay there at all, so they
/ lowed his scheme for o garding. Ihey
| took hull b0a loads Of soil up there
| m made him q gardlng N acre bllg. No
| thin would grow on 1t, but no hked 10
/ DIG in il. probly. One eyenin' whuhn,
| sort of storm riZ, N sOrter kept risln all
night When Vaughn poked his head out
| in the m0rnn' he couldn't see the gMding
nowhere. lie didn't know at fust, but he
was p lectle confused hisself, an climbed
/ back i'm an took his bearius. but there was
! no garding nowhere. certain. That lorna
| do had Just yanked up the bull sile an
! spilled it all over the 'Lnntic. Vaughn had
sperit. ne did. He wouldn't stand that
So he threw the job an took to shown
! seals"
oar captain had sailed ont Of 81. Johns
| for MANY wears and knew every island,
cove. and inlet between Belle lslcand Hud-
sons BAY. Dangerous q voyage as 1t al
WAYS is. ours was fearlossty made through
/ mazes OF islands and rocky channels winch
! lined the coast. We successfully passed
the many headlands and islcts OF -.
Louis sound. the wonderful, mountain
{ 1. 4. Of H..
/ the inconcolyably grand and awful
/ barren peaks of Occasional Har-
bor and St. Mlchaers bay, the black and
| froWning lodges and crags of Dead, Barren,
! Hawk. and Seal islands, and passing Round
! Hill Island, the castornmost land OF babra-
dor to our right, rounded the great lslo OF
Ponds, crcpt through the noted indian
Tickle channel and sped out INTO the ocean
/ again. passed Gaunet islands TO the tEqul-
! maux islands at tho north OF the vast Ham
ilton inlet, the lvuct0ko OF the Esqul-
| maux. and made our first anchorage among
! perhaps 300 vessels, slOOps. schOonors,
! brigs. and brigantincs. and indeed every
| manner of sailing craft that follows the sea
for fish.
DEsoIAIE SCENES.
There are no more impressive scenes Of
| desoation on earth than are 90 be found
| along this coast: and yet one Will hardly
find anywhere upon the sea, away from the
or,at Dorts of the continents. such swarIns
and bevies Of vessels. In every cove or
bav ,,e passed could be seen their sails or
masts looming behind blackened crags or
their rocking hulls moOred % slopIng
shelves of stone. We met them hourly re-
turning to the south with full cargoes OF
fish in some harbors there must have been
900 boats, and at Indian Tickle we were
informed that more than 1000 vessels had
| Il.
this season.
So far as q landsman might Judge. our
dangers, ii any lay not so much IN the Jnt-
ting barbs OF the stcey coast as IN COLL
sion with other craft and the constant
menace of those silent and dreadful Arctic
travellers. the icebergs They were never
out of sight day or night. By day they are
dreadful enough, but when az night they
confront vou. ghOst-ike and weird m the
pale Hght of the stars, there IS a sense of
incxrressibly awful danger IN tho first chill
| Of their lev breath. l Was AZ sea IN loS2
when our steamer in o fog ran with slack
ened speed s0Uarely into one OF these mon
sters. crunching and climbing upon ltS
hidden base with her iron prov. II was
thought that the mass would topple over
upon US, but we finally slowly slid qulFer-
ing back into The sea.
In that five minutes nearness to an IN
steady iceburg. several hundred of us eX-
perienced more than II Is sail men ieel
/ when they die. But on our way % lndlan
Harbor We had a stranger experience stiu.
The English tourist and my friend the
timber-hunter were sitting beside me on
deck about 10 o'clock at night, watching
"a tremendous iceberg lying about u mile
and half TO the east. Captain DescMnnpS
assured us it was the largest he had ever
seen in these waters: and he estimated
its length 10 be- fully three tourths OF n
| mile and its height above water at nearly
! 300 feet Our especial amaZenent at the
I time was in its wonderful appearance un-
der the dazzling effect Of the brllllans
, Northern Lights. Presenting apparently
To us a solid wall of the sOftest Opalescent
hght. now and then the stupendous mass
would glow with exquisitely beautiful
pulsatious, from q palo and shimmering
sheen to the intensity OF flame az white
heat.
THE ISLAND ExPLoDEs.
But this thrilling scene was the least Of
the wonderful phenomena. suddenly
with crash SO appalling that our
schooner-masts quivered like wind
whipped tree-tOps, the whole vast island
Of ice exploded into millions of fragments.
Nothing else save the sudden lrrupti0n OF
some marine volcano could have presented
so bewildering a spectacle. IAtterally and
perpendicularly pieces weighing thou
sands OF tons were hurled tremen-
dous distances. A corona Of O mile 3
arc lifted high above the spot composed
of other millions of glittering shvers
of ice As these and the more massive
pieces descended showers of diamond-hke
hastings from the reflected rays Of the
mighty northern lights quiyered and SHOT
toward the sky, as no pyrotechnie art OF
nan could ever initiate in the falntest de-
gree. Then the ocean lashings about the
maelstrom spot leaped in spumy crests
starward to repeat countless spear-hke
gltterings as if of whitened flame. fol
lowed by dHmembered crags of ice crash
ing and pounding each other IN thunder
/ ous detonatiOns.
No human eyes ever beheld more sub
lime spectacle. Stupefed with It's swlng
power, we had noticed nothing else. But
now as if rushing upon US 70 engulf US,
came waves Of mighty height and volume,
whitehead as death relentless as deaf n
AMI life; and frozen tornado OF
wind roared madly across their sheet
ed crests. For little time 1t seem
ed no human power could save the So
phie. 1t was all Of short duratiOn and
but one little hint to man of the incon-
l ceiVably awful power within the mighty