Sport, travel, and adventure in Newfoundland and the West Indies

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(LIMITED.)

30 TO 34, NEW OXFORD STREE

Chapter I. Newfoundland And Its Fishing Treaties

In February 1879, H.M.S. Druid was commissioned for special service — the protection of the fisheries on the coast of Newfoundland ; and in March she sailed for her destination.

Proceeding first to Madeira, and thence to Bermuda and Halifax, she reached St John's, Newfoundland, on the 19th May, announcing her arrival by a salute to the Governor as she steamed between the precipitous cliffs forming the entrance to the port. Before going further, it may be as well to give some idea of the nature of a naval officer's duties on the New-

2 NEWFOUNDLAND.

founclland station, and the reason why the presence of her. Majesty's ships is necessary in those waters.

There are many persons living at home who know nothing whatever about Newfoundland ; in fact, it is not saying too much to aver that few besides naval officers and a sprinkling of colonial and diplomatic authorities are aware that there is such a place. Some may have heard of it in connection with the dogs of that name ; but not one in ten thousand attaches any value to the island, or has any idea of the duties of the ships detailed for the protection of the fisheries, or of the people that fish there, and what they fish for, and what other nations have any fishery rights on its coasts.

I remember, whilst at Bermuda after our first fishery season, going over to call at the regimental mess. A gallant officer was smoking, and we entered into conversation. I happened to remark that I had just come from Newfoundland, and was on my way to the West Indies. " Oh, ah ! " said he ; " did you touch at St Helena on your way ? " " No," I replied, " not this time ; but we often do ! " With this answer

DIM IDEAS ABOUT THE ISLAND. 3

lie seemed perfectly satisfied. I mention this anecdote to show how very vague is the general idea as to the locality of the island, — an island, be it observed, identical in size with Ireland or Scotland, and one of the most important, if not the most wealthy, of her Majesty's colonial possessions.

The object of the writer of these pages is to give those who care to peruse them a better idea of Newfoundland, and to enlighten them as to the responsibilities of a naval ofiicer's duties on that station, and as to the importance of the service for which he is detailed.

Some people are under the impression that our difficulties in Newfoundland waters are wath our American cousins ; but it is not so. It is true that we have had occasional misunderstandings with them, and that paltry squabbles between fishermen have been dignified by the name of " outrage," as in the case at Long Harbour, Fortune Bay — an outrage which cost us the preposterous amount of £15,000, when it is notorious, to those familiar with the circumstances, with the people, and the place, that 15,000 cents would have covered the damage.

4 DIFFICULTIES WITH THE FRENCH.

But as a rule, we have nothing to comjDlain of as regards the Americans. They come to Newfoundland for bait, and pay in cash ; they do good to the poor half-starved natives of the south coast, and are heartily welcome.

It is with the French alone that we have any difficulty ; and I have no hesitation in stating my belief, that in no part of the world are our relations with a foreign country so strained as they are in Newfoundland. The position is so anomalous, that any intemperate remark or hasty action on the part of officers of either nation might compromise his Government and bring about very serious results.

The question of treaty rights is a complicated one ; it has exercised the minds of many officials, and will probably be a bone of contention for many years to come.

To understand properly the situation, one must go back to the earliest annals of Newfoundland. I will endeavour, as concisely as possible, to put the case before the reader.

Our difficulties with the French began with the discovery of the island in the year 1497; and the value of the fisheries soon attracted the atten-

FRENCH CLAIMS TO THE ISLAND. 5

tion of English, French, and Portuguese fishermen. The city of St John's was founded about the year 1578 ; six years afterwards Sir Humphrey Gilbert took possession of the New Isle in the name of Queen Elizabeth; and in 1621, Lord Baltimore settled the first English colony in the Peninsula of Avalon, on the south-east portion of the island.

Simultaneously with this, the French formed settlements on the west and south coasts, having their capital at Placentia. The whole coast still bears witness to their presence, most of the names of capes, bays, and settlements being either French, or a ridiculous mixture of French and nautical English, — as Kencontre, called Pound Counter ; Baie-du-Lievre, Bay de Liver ; Baie Bois, Bay Bulls, &c.

For the next hundred years there were constant quarrels between the two countries as to ownership, and as late as the year 1713 it was a question whether the island belonged to England or to France, both countries laying claim to it.

In that year England concluded the celebrated Treaty of Utrecht, by the 13th Article of which

6 FRENCH SUBJECTS.

" the Island of Newfoundland, together with the adjacent islands, were ceded by France to Great Britain in full sovereignty."

The treaty provided that " the subjects of France should be allowed to catch fish, and dry them on the land between Cape Bonavista and Cape Riche." The island was at this time a barren waste, of no value to any one.

In 1763, or fifty years afterwards, these concessions were confirmed by the Treaty of Paris, and the islands of St Pierre and Miguelon, on the south coast of Newfoundland, were ceded to France to serve as a shelter to French fishermen.

These islands are at the present time (1881) occupied by some 4000 French subjects. The harbour of St Pierre is the rendezvous for the French fishing-fleet. This fleet, numbering on an average 100 vessels, assembles at St Pierre about April on arrival, and again in September preparatory to their return to France. They carry from 3000 to 6000 men,^ who are kept in good order and are under the supervision of the French naval oflicers. The French attach very

FRENCH FISHING RIGHTS. 7

great importance to this fleet, as it forms the nursery for their navy. The fishing is heavily subsidised by the Government in consequence, and it is probable that without this subsidy it would have long since ceased to pay its expenses.

By the Treaty of Versailles in 1783, the fishery assigned to the French commenced at Cape St John, on the east coast, and passing by the north, descended by the west coast to Cape Eay.

It will be seen, by looking at the map of Newfoundland, that the island is thus divided diagonally from south-west to north-east, and that the French have the right concurrently to the upper portion of its coast, or about one-third of the whole island. By the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, French fishermen were to enjoy the fishery assigned to them under the Treaty of Utrecht. Unfortunately, the wording of the Treaty is so loose that each nation has put its own interpretation upon it, — the French claiming the exclusive right to the fishery, whilst the British Government maintain the right to be only a concurrent one.

Not only do the French claim the exclusive right to the fishery, but they also claim to

8 EXTRAVAGANT CLAIMS.

have, if not the actual territorial right to that part of the coast where they have the right of fishing, at all events the j)ower to exclude all others from enjoying the benefits to be derived from the land, such as mining, lumbering, and agriculture, so far as the coast is concerned ; also, the right to exclude colonial vessels from their own harbours, where they assemble for the purpose of fishing, or for refuge from the weather. Not content with this, they lay claim to the salmon-rivers on that part of the coast between the points indicated, to fish them as they please — i.e., to bar them, regardless of the fact that by so doing the rivers are ruined by exterminating the salmon in the breeding season. In this way several noble salmon-rivers have been utterly ruined. The Ponds river, on the north-west coast, was barred for many years by a Frenchman, who built a dam across it. One year upwards of 500 dead salmon were picked up above the dam. The fish had got over this in some way, probably in a flood, and being unable to return to the sea, had perished. Fortunately, during the winter the ice carried away this obstacle, and it has

GOVERNOR DARLINGS REMARKS. 9

not since been renewed. One of the finest rivers on the coast, the south-west brook in Hare Bay, was regularly barred by a Frenchman, who set his net across from bank to bank, staked up above high-water mark, so that no fish could possibly ascend : this in defiance of every naval oflicer who visited the place. This man told me he had already taken 58 barrels of salmon (100 lb. to the barrel), and hoped to take as many again. This was quite early in the season of 1879 ; and yet a wretched Newfoundlander is punished and his nets confiscated for doing; the same thing' on a much smaller scale. I have taken many such nets myself, but was unable to touch this one.

The words of Governor Darling in 1856 on this subject are applicable at the present time. He concludes his letter in these terms : "A glance at the map shows the position which this island occujDies in the territorial expanse of the British empire, lying considerably nearer to the mother country than any other of her trans- Atlantic possessions — distant only six days' steaming from the British Isles.

" Its shores abound in fine harbours, and its

10 EFFORTS TO PREVENT DISPUTES.

surrounding seas with the sources of wealth, whilst its inhabitants are a manly and energetic race.

" Yet the political position of a dependency thus favoured^ is such, that a foreign State enjoys a right to the use of at least one half of its line of coast, and avails itself of the right in such a manner as effectually to close that portion of the coast for all practical purposes against the people of the State to which the soil of the colony belongs."

To go back to the treaties. To prevent disputes between the fishermen of the two nations, the British Grovernment undertook to take the most positive measures for preventing British subjects from interrupting in any manner the fishery of the French during their temporary exercise of it ; and in 1786 orders were given to prevent British subjects as far as possible from fishing within the French limits.

In 1788 an Act was passed by the British Parliament empowering the Crown in Council to give orders, if necessary, " to remove all British fishery -works within the French limits ;" but this Act was annulled bv the war of 1793.

TREATIES. 11

By the Treaty of Paris, 1814, British subjects were excluded from the French limits, as they had been previous to the war ; but during the interval between 1793 and 1814, the French having been themselves excluded from the fisheries, many British subjects had settled upon that part of the coast, so that when the French resumed their fishery an entirely new state of things existed — the population had increased and had monopolised the fishing for themselves.

Previous to the war, British cruisers regularly visited the coast of Newfoundland and kept the peace between the fishermen ; but after the year 1815, they appear not to have done so until the year 1841, when the French had encroached upon British fishery-ground as far as Belleisle and the coast of Labrador. They were then forced to keep to their own limits.

During; this time the Newfoundlanders were never ordered by the Grovernment to remove from French limits, but they were practically excluded by the French from fishing on the north-east part of the island, and on the west were only permitted to do so on sufferance.

Many attempts at negotiation, with a view to

12 FUTILE NEGOTIATIONS.

the settlement of this much-vexed French shore question, have been made from time to time, but as yet without any result.

In 1857 a convention was as;reed to between the two Governments ; but owing to its rejection by the Newfoundlanders, it never became law.

In Paris, in 1860, the Commissioners on both sides agreed to certain articles, which did not, however, meet with the approval of their respective Governments.

In 1866 and 1868 nesjotiations were aa-ain set on foot, but fell through; and in 1875 an attempt was made to come to some understandino; on the subject, with a like result.^

Any one who has taken the trouble to follow the various treaties bearing on the subject up to this time, can form their own opinion as to the claims of the French to an exclusive right to the fishery between certain limits. That they have strong claims and undoubted rights, there can be no disputing ; but that they have an exclusive right, I deny. Unfortunately the

1 Negotiations are now being carried on between the respective Governments, with what result remains to be seen.

FRENCH CLAIMS CONSIDERED. 13

wording of the treaty gives them what practically amounts to an exclusive right, inasmuch as " British fishermen are not to obstruct or impede the French on that part of the coast where they have the right to fish, nor by their competition to interfere with or interrupt them on such parts of the coast as they actually occujDy and use for the prosecution of the fishery."

What right does that give the French to fish in any river above high- water mark ? There is not one word in the treaty giving them such right.

By the wording of the treaties British fishermen have the right to fish concurrently'^ with the French, i^rovided that they do not interfere ivith them ; but therein lies the difiiculty. It is quite impossible, whatever may be said to the contrary, for two people to fish in the same water without one being able to claim, however unjustly, that the other is interfering with him. For instance, a Newfoundlander sets his nets in the open sea ; if he catches fish, a Frenchman

^ See French Dictionary, — concurrent meaning, co-operation, tinanimous, agreeing, qui s'accorde avec ; united — reuni.

14 INJUSTICE TO THE NEWFOUNDLANDERS.

comes along, sets his net, and says the Newfoundlander is interfering with him. This is constantly done ; and as the law now stands, the wretched Newfoundlander, who lives upon the spot, has to make way for the foreigner, who comes out for his own benefit, pays no taxes, and takes away his earnings to his own country. It is idle to talk about not interfering as the law stands now. The fact is, the letter of the treaty is enforced, whilst the spirit of it is ignored ; and it is quite impossible to avoid collisions, which must and will occur between the fishermen of the nations while such an anomalous state of affairs is permitted. Indeed it says much for the Newfoundlanders that very serious outbreaks have not already taken place, ^s they assuredly will, sooner or later. The Newfoundlander has no choice : he finds himself on the spot, as his parents were before him ; he cannot go away, because he has nowhere to go to ; he cannot dig the ground and live by agriculture, because he lives upon a rock^ — besides, the French would object. He must therefore fish to support his family, or starve ; and the

1 The north-east coast is imsuited for agriculture.

INJUSTICE TO THE NEWFOUNDLANDERS. 15

French object to his fishing. What is he to do ? It is not every one of these poor fellows who can afford to own or charter a schooner and go to the Labrador to fish, as some do.

The French say the Newfoundlander has no business where he is — that he is only allowed to remain on sufferance ; but as a matter of fact, the French themselves are answerable for the settlements on that part of the coast. It has been already shown that for twenty-one years — i.e., from 1793 to 1815 — whilst we were at war, the French were excluded from the coasts of Newfoundland : it is pity they ever returned ! Well, is it likely that during all these years our people were not to be allowed to settle on the coast ? that we were to keep the place warm for the French, and hand it over to them directly the war was over ? The French came back, found these places settled, — what did they do ? Why, so far from wishing to remove the English, they fraternised with them, and encouraged them to remain, appointing them " guardians " of their property during their absence in France, and paying them for so doing on their return.

The north-east and west coasts of Newfound-

16 NEGLECT OF THE NEWFOUNDLANDERS.

land now (1880) nuniber 20,000 inhabitants, and these people are expected to exist as best they can. They are not to fish, for fear of interfering with the French ; they are not to till the ground near the coast, because the French claim to have the right to prevent them ; they are not to mine, because the French claim the strand for half a mile from the beach — by what authority, I have never yet been able to discover.

The Colonial Government, until lately, have not been permitted to appoint magistrates on that part of the coast where the French have the right of fishing, although it is their own country, because the French objected ! Consequently these poor wretches, the Newfoundland fishermen, dwell without law, and without doctors except such as a man-of-war can give them.

From May till October this sort of thing goes on ; from October till May the country is a frozen zone. The fact is, the wretched Newfoundlanders are slaves, and half-starved ones — oppressed by the peddling storekeepers on the coast, bullied by foreigners, forbidden to

OBSTRUCTION BY FEEXCH INTERESTS. 17

catch the fish with which God has provided them in plenty. Even the very naval ofiicers who are sent to protect them are unable to help them ; and yet these poor trampled-down folk, who never see a coin of the realm, are told they are British subjects. It's an idle mockery. The treaties are practically obsolete — they belong to a bygone age, and do not apply to present circumstances. They ought to be abolished, or at least replaced by others more suitable to the times.

Moreover, to show to what an extent the French fishery claims have militated against the advancement of the colony, I may mention it was contemplated at one time to build a railway from the capital to St George's Bay, on the west coast ; but the project was abandoned, because the French objected to the terminus being at St George's Bay ! Again, a valuable silver and lead mine at Port au Port was abandoned for the same cause, although the working of it could in no way interfere with the French fishery operations. For the last few years a lobster-canning establishment at St Barbe's, on the west coast, has been doing a good business,

B

18 "dog in the manger" policy.

canning 5000 lobsters a-day, and employing some forty men and girls, who would otherwise be destitute. Every year the French have protested against this establishment, although they are not allowed to fish for lobsters themselves ; nor does the establishment interfere in any way with the French fishery, seeing that their vessels never go to St Barbe's. Similar protests of this " dog in the manger " kind have been regularly lodged against two other lobster-canning establishments at Port au Port. A copper-mine at Mings Bight, also on the French limits, has been a fruitful cause of complaint for several years past. None of these industries have, however, been suspended, nor are they likely to be so ; -^ the French protesting against all such operations on principle — not that they interfere with their fishermen, but on the ground that they have no business to exist ! The French know perfectly well that the rigid enforcement of the treaties can never be insisted on, for such an arrangement would be at least as inconvenient to themselves as to us. If such an idea were

1 It is hoped that the negotiations now pending will arrive at a satisfactory arrangement on these points.

ST George's bay settlement. 19

contemplated, we sliould insist on our side that all the fixed establishments belonging to the French on the coast be also removed, and the country restored to its original primitive state. This is, of course, out of the question. Hence each side is, so to speak, winking at infringements on the part of the other.

Much has been said from time to time with regard to the settlement at St George's Bay, which has grown to considerable dimensions. This settlement has sprung up in defiance of numerous proclamations on the part of the British authorities in Newfoundland, and the French say it has no business there. The fishery at St George's is simply a herring-fishery. The French profess to attach great value to it ; but as a matter of fact, their vessels seldom go there, as they can get bait in any quantity in the immediate neighbourhood for their fishery at Eed Island. It is well known that the settlement is a convenience to them, and they have no wish to disturb it. The same applies to the Bay of Islands and Bonne Bay, which places are seldom visited by French vessels. The poor settlers living in these bays

20 COURTESY OF FRENCH NAVAL OFFICERS.

exist solely by the herring-fishery — a failure of which means starvation to them. The French claim that these unfortunates have no business to exist, and that even the lumber trade at the head of the Bay of Islands, forty miles from the sea, is illegal.

True it is that French naval officers are fully alive to the absurdity of these pretensions, which they never seek to enforce ; and I willingly bear testimony to the courteous manner in which they invariably carry out their duties. Were it not for that, it would be impossible to avoid frequent collisions : the avoidance of them is only obtained by the tact and temper of the individual officers in carrying out duties which are distasteful in themselves, and in endeavouring to fulfil treaties the terms of which are no longer possible, nor consistent with common-sense.

Chapter II. Remarks On The Island

The Island of Newfoundland is, roughly speaking, in the shape of a triangle, each side of which may be considered to be 400 miles long ; but this by no means gives an idea of the coast-line, owing to the immense number of bays, creeks, and arms of the sea by which it is intersected. All these shores have to be visited several times during the season ; besides which, there are about 1000 miles of the coast of Labrador, also belonging to Newfoundland,

The Canadian boundary of Labrador strikes the salt water at Blanc-Sablon, west of the Straits of Belleisle. To do this work three ships are usually emj^loyed : a corvette — the senior officer's ship — a sloop, and a gunboat.

22 SHIPS ON THE NEWFOUNDLAND STATION.

In 1879, the Druid, Plover, and Zephyr were the ships; in 1880, the Druid, Flamingo, and Contest; and in 1881, the Druid, Fantome, and Contest. These ships assemble at St John's in time for the Queen's birthday ; and after a short spell, they disperse on their several cruises, the route for each ship being selected by the senior officer. In August they generally meet at St John's to refit and report progress, and then start on a second cruise, returning finally in October, when they all join the Admiral at Halifax, preparatory to taking their winter's flight to the West Indies. In this way the coast is pretty thoroughly done — each ship visiting the principal places at least twice ; but to visit every little harbour and settlement round this extensive beat, would require more ships and more time. As there are but few magistrates or doctors round the coast, or were not up to 1881, the captains and senior lieutenants of her Majesty's ships are sworn in as justices of the peace for the colony, and the ships' surgeons are supplied with drugs and receive a stipend out of the colonial exchequer. In this way the colony gets a good

CLIMATE. 23

deal of legal and medical work done at a very trifling cost.

I have already, in a little pamphlet published in the colony, described the climate of Newfoundland as second to none in point of salubrity, and I can fancy a smile upon the face of my naval friends at this audacious assertion ; but it is a just one nevertheless.

The objection to the climate is, that there is no spring : with one bound the summer is upon one ; but that is not till the end of June or beginning of July, although the snow mostly disappears in May. From that time till the middle of October, when the equinoctial gales may be expected, the temperature is delightful, especially on the west coast.

The climate of the interior is altogether different from that on the coast ; one has only to go a few miles up any of the numerous fiords which intersect the shores to be aware of this. The north and east coasts are more bleak than the south and west, being exposed to the bitter north-east winds and the full fury of the Atlantic storms ; added to which the icebergs are all on this side, being brought down by the

24 FOGS.

arctic current from the north, and are either deflected into the Straits of Belleisle or grounded on the banks — others, meeting the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, are melted, and are returned to the coast in the shape of fog.

Fogs are consequently worse in summer, and the south and south-east coasts are frequently enveloped in them for weeks together, rendering navigation particularly dangerous. Indeed it may be said that whenever the wind blows in towards the land it is sure to bring fog. Sometimes the fog appears in the ofiing like a wall, when the harbour is perfectly clear ; and ships may be seen emerging from the fog, or disappearing into it, in a most mysterious manner. These fogs aj)pear to be cut ofi" at Cape Eay on the west, and Cape Bonavista on the east coast, for they seldom penetrate beyond those points, although one cannot depend on this being the case, as we once very nearly discovered to our cost. In the interior fogs seldom prevail, and do not last long.

It may seem beyond the province of a sailor to off'er his opinion on such matters as soil and agriculture, &c,, subjects he cannot be expected

IXTERIOR. 25

to know much about ; but on tlie other baud, who is there that does know anything about Newfoundland ? The interior is but little known, except to a few enterprising exj^lorers and ardent sportsmen ; and in all probability there is hardly a Newfoundlander who has had such opportunities of judging of the capabilities of his country as those whose professional duties have taken them round the coast for three successive seasons, and whose sporting tastes have taken them into the interior as many times.

It is customary to speak of Newfoundland as a barren, rocky, iron-bound coast — and so it is : but strike inland from almost any side or point you may select, — such as Smith Sound, Trinity Bay, Clode Sound, Bonavista Bay, the Gander Eiver, or the valley of the Exploits River, all on the east coast ; or the Codroy Valley, the Humber River, Bonne Bay, the Bay of Islands on the west ; or in fact along the valley of any river in the island, — and soil of excellent quality, and fine timber in any quantity, w^ill be met with. I speak from experience, having visited all these places. Many of them are uninhabited, and it is a fact that there are no inhabitants

2 6 SALMON-RIVERS.

at any distance from the coast, except a few settlers on the Codroy and Humber rivers ; but whenever, as at these two places, agriculture has been attempted, most excellent results have been obtained.

The interior of the island, with the exception of the high table-land or "barrens," is densely wooded, and only requires clearing and draining to be capable of maintaining a very considerable population.

There are hundreds of fine salmon-rivers in the island, all holding salmon and large trout, besides smaller brooks too numerous to mention ; and the coast of Labrador has many noble streams. But I shall have something to say on the subject of sport in another place.