The Portland daily press., 1891-11-13

Labrador was we'll called the land Of
desolatioD, the lecturer said. He told
briefly of the visits OF the Northmen, CEN
turies before the discoveries of Columbus,
and 1t had since beeE visited by fishermen
for more than 200 years, yet nowhere was
there an equal area concerning which so
little Is known. So the attention Of Prof.
Lee was called to 1t and year ago an ex-
pedition was organized, which visited the
coast last summer. and cruised along the
shore from June q until September %.
The patty was largely made up Of gradu-
ates OF BowdoiD, with a few students,
hardy fellows accustomed to boating and
yachting and doing natural history collect
ing. The trip was made in schooner, rs
feet long, % feet wide, and Of light draught,
well adapted for the purpose. There were
10 young men in the party and the crew
numbered six. A view of the party was
exhibited, sbo wing handsome crowd Of
athletic young fellows in sea toggery.
stretched out on the deck house.
The schooner left Rockland. Me-, June
81. and after touching at Halifax proceed
ed through the Strait Of Canso. across the
Gulf of st. Lawrence and thence through
the Strait of Belle Isle. After reaching
the coast new anchorage was made near
ly every day, and the party proceeded as
far north as H0pedale, the M0ravian mis-
sion station.
shown and Professor Lee said popularity
was the absence Of the brilliant and chang
ing tints Of color, which he had noticed in
Antarctic icebergs. They were Of .opaque
whlteness for the most part. The coast Is
forbidding and rocky in its nature, with
no considerable amount Of vegetation. The
polar current makes the temperature more
forbidding than the desolate appearance,
and nearly all the white settlements are on
the south coast. A view Of the village Of
Battle Harb0r was shown, and to give an
idea of the winters Professor Lee told OF a
grave which had to be dug through depth
OF 80 feet Of snow and five feet of frozen
ground. The wine froze In the communion
cups In the church.
Several views of Ragged Island Harbor
were picturesque in a rugged way. The
Hudson Bay Company Is not so prosperous
here as II was in the days Of Its monopoly,
and traders now visit the coast. The
Scotch planters" who came out here have
married with the Esquimaux. and the
white population is now half-breed for the
most part.
Views of curious geological formations
abound. Professor Lee thought the interi-
or of Labrador offered an undiscovered
held tor the geographer.
Views of the fishing population were
shown, and the life In the primitive turf
covered log huts was described. As an IL
iuokiotiOu VI buO vast CdbCucS VI COQuols
was related that five men on one schooner
took 1000 quintals of Goldfish In Is days.
Interesting views OF the Indians, whom
Professor Lee regarded as of as high a
type as any in North America, and Of the
Moravian station and the life of the mis-
sionaries were exhibited.
The adventures of Cary and Cole in ex-
ploring Grand River have already been so
fully described that Prof Lee did little
more than explain the photographs which
were obtained. These were exceedingly
good. and gave to the audience a clear and
definite conception of those wonderful and
long-sought-for falls, loftier even than
Niagara. Their descent Is not sheer like
Niagara. but rather sloping. But that
slope Is certainly at an angle of As degrees
or even more steep. The Bowdoiu boys
have given to the world the first photo
graphs of one Of the worlds most famous