The skipper parson on the bays and barrens of Newfoundland

Front matter

Copyright N°

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT;

JAMES LUMSDEN

Preface

The aim of this volume is to give the story of nine years of interested observation and experience in Newfoundland, with information about the country, past and present, and pen pictures of the land and people.

The land of these sketches, though long neglected, is now attracting widespread attention. If this book serves in any degree to swell the wave of interest in a country I have learned to know and love I shall be glad.

I gratefully acknowledge indebtedness to Messrs. Hatton and Harvey's History of Newfoundland, the Rev. Dr. Withrow's History of Canada, and sundry other works consulted ; also to the Rev. Edgar Taylor, of Exploits, and George Christian, Esq., of Trinity, Newfoundland, for points of information kindly supplied, as well as to others, named in the following pages.

The Author.

Southampton, Nova Scotia, September, 1905. 5

CHAPTER I Ye Oldest Colony

Erroneous Notions — Discovery — Cabot — The Founding of an Empire — Unfair Treatment — Geographical Position — Size — Coast Line — Climate — Resources — French Shore Page 13

CHAPTER II St. John's

Arrival — Introduction — First Glimpses of the City — Harbor — Signal Hill — Population of Newfoundland — Religion — Church Buildings — Religious Censtis — The Churches, Dr. Grenfell and the Moravians — Methodism — Unique Claims — College and Orphanage 24

CHAPTER III Shipwreck

The Llewellyn — First Incident — Weather — Quarters Below — Son of Bacchus — Night in Trinity Bay — Fatal Crash— Rush for the Deck— The Scene— Our Lifeboat — Last of the Llewellyn — Shag Rock — Open Boat — A Pleasing Incident — Ireland's Eye — House of Refuge — Thanksgiving — Morning Reflections 35

CHAPTER IV The Way I Commenced My Ministry

Action not Thought — First Sabbath — Spiritual Conflict — Random Arm — Northern Bight — First Services — Dilemma — Shoal Harbor — Parsonage — Meeting with Mr. Lewis — Friendly Aid — Letter from the

President 45

Contents

CHAPTER V Random Sottth

First Circuit — Circuit Cruiser — Plain Living and High Thinkings — Getting Around — First Lesson in Snowshoeing — Christmas — ' ' A Nor'easter ' ' — Inglewood Forest — Walk along the Frozen Shore — Tramp across the Open Country Page

CHAPTER VI Customs and Characterizations

Flags in Trinity — A Substitute for a Bell — A more Novel Method — Fish — Favorite Beverage — Brewis — Newfoundland Dog — Wretched Mongrel Breed — Pests — Education — Credit System — Women — The Tilt — Jack of All Trades — Singing — Little Sense of the Value of Time — Original Use of a Burning Log — Theology of the Fishermen — Scene in Labrador — Original Thinking — Love of Country

CHAPTER VII Seasons of Refreshing

Revivals — Circumstances Attending Commencement — A Ship's Crew Converted — The Widow's Son — An Opponent Converted — Abraham Martin — The Work Sustained — Lay Readers — Deer Harbor — One of the Secrets of Success

CHAPTER VIII Lights and Shadows

Confederation — Revised Version— Cookery Book — Superstition — A Sealing Story — An Incident in Leaving

CHAPTER IX "Wesleyville

The Name — Persecution of Mr. Todhunter — Descendants of Issachar — Circuit Conditions — Loneliness — — First Itinerary — A Queer Church — Notes by the Way — Monuments of the Grace of God — Cape Island — Open-air Funeral Service — The Roughest Part of Newfoundland — A Wreck — Noble Workers

— Return

Contents

CHAPTER X The Seal Fishery

Steamers — Crews and Equipments — Species of Seals — A Fight with Old Dog Hood— Aim of the Hunters — Departure — The Seal Hunting Sermon — Suffering and Character — Hardships — Converted on the Ice — Disabled Men — Rev. Mr. Noble's Story — Scene on the Ice Fields — Steamer's Return — A Touch of Real Life — Newfoundland Seal Fishery — Nature and Value — Wrecks and Loss of Life.. .

Page i 06

CHAPTER XI Other Peregrinations and Perils

Snowshoeing — Snowstorm on the Barrens — The Great Thoroughfare — A Little Adventure on the Ice — Rev. George Bullen's Wonderful Escape 118

CHAPTER XII From "Wesleyville to Harbor Grace via Fogo

Extraordinary Difficulties in Getting to District and Conference — A Tramp to Musgrave Harbor — A Bear Story — A Hospitable Irishman — Fogo — Steam Launch to Harbor Grace — Humors of the Journey — Captain's Mistake — Trip from Bonavista to St. John's — The Thrasher — Harbor Grace — Ordination — Ex-President Bond's Sermon 126

CHAPTER XIII The New Parsonage

My First Real Home in Terra Nova — A Splendid Reception — "She'll Do" — Varied Duties — A Trying Experience — Joy and Sorrow — A Sad Story with a Bright Ending — Housekeeping — Joy in Service. . . 136

CHAPTER XIV Sidelights of Character

Christian Perfection — Father John — Brother Didymus — Happy William — Sister Dauntless — Sister Gar- • rulous — -Sister Niggardly — Brother and Sister Austerity — Brother Kindheart 144

CHAPTER XV Trinity

Town and Circuit — Scene from Rider's Hill — Music of the Waves — The Methodist Church — Spiritual Prosperity — Epworth League — A Faithful Family — 9

Contents

Social Relations — Man of Leisure — Magistrate — The Beloved Physician — Election — Governor's Visit— The Steamer's Call Page 154

CHAPTER XVI Sorrows of the Sea

English Harbor — A Singing Congregation — Special Services — Widows and Fatherless — Death on the Ice — One of the Hardest Duties of My Life — Sorrow of Another Kind — A Never-to-be-forgotten Send Off 167

CHAPTER XVII A Voyage North

Our Steamer and Her Passengers — Icebergs — Catalina — Bona vista — Greenspond — Thoughts on Viewing Wesleyville Shore — Night — A Queer Notion — Good Morning — Notre Dame Bay— Twillingate — Glories of the Northern Coast — Pilley's Island — Little Bay Island — Little Bay 176

CHAPTER XVIII Little Bay

"Bight" and Loading Wharf — Good Feeling among the Churches — Concert — An Augury of Union — Social Work — An Out-dated Method of Mail Carrying — "Prospecting" — Number of Men Employed and Wages Paid — Historical Resume" of the Little Bay Mine — Mines and Minerals in Newfoundland . . 185

CHAPTER XIX Cruising Again

Halls Bay— Jerry— The Trip— Sabbath in Wolf Cove — Scenery — A Lone Scotchwoman — A Hermit Life — An Indian Funeral — The Aborigines — Sportsmen — Ptarmigan — Salmon — Caribou — A Sporting Country — A Missionary Tour — Equipment — A Skater's Assistance — Difficulties of Landing — First Meeting — Skipper Peter's Telling Speech — A Dangerous Walk — A Pleasant Tramp — Sunday on Palley's Island — "Komi tick" Trained Dogs — Meeting in Little Bay — Results 194

CHAPTER XX Farewell Final Leave — Contrasts — Hard Lives Ennobled by

Faith — The Hope of Meeting in Heaven 210

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

James Lumsden frontispiece

FACING PAGE

St. John's Narrows 24

Quidi Vidi, a Typical Newfoundland Harbor. ... 32

New Gower Methodist Church, St. John's 48

St. John's 64

Weighing Fish 64

A Characteristic Group of Fish Makers 80

Trinity 96

Iceberg 112

Little Bay, The Bight 128

In the Narrows 144

Pilley's Island 160

Revs. Harris, Indoe, and Browning on a Missionary

Meeting Tour 176

Caribou Swimming across the Bay 184

Fishing Vessel 192

Holyrood 200

Loading Steamer with Hematite, Belle Isle, Conception

Bay 208

CHAPTER I Ye Oldest Colony

"Dawnlight on the Northern waters, as on many a morn before,

Regal sits a lonely island, girt by undiscovered shore ; White sails from the East draw nearer, English eyes enraptured see

Terra Nova, first Colonia, fringe of empire yet to be."

"Newfoundland !" As I write the word my imagination fires, and I seem to feel again the invigorating breezes, and to see the brave display of bunting, characteristic of that rock-bound island home of the fisherman which nature has thrust out so boldly in the stormy Atlantic.

Until quite recently most erroneous notions have prevailed regarding "ye ancient colony." This is not to be greatly wondered at, considering the dearth of information in the past. I recall my own experience with feelings of thankfulness for presentday improvement. On leaving England in 1881 for the mission fields of Canada, I was disappointed to find, on application to one of the great public libraries of Manchester, that the only work in its catalogue on "Newfoundland" was a little book, by a military sportsman, bearing the uncomplimentary title, "Three Years in Fish and Fog Island."

Various factors have had to do with the change now happily taking place. The introduction of railway facilities, the prominence given to the French Shore question (now amicably settled), fresh discoveries of coal and iron, and even the colony's misfortunes, such as the St. John's fire and the bank failures, have combined to give Newfoundland the attention of the world as never before.

The discovery of Newfoundland, though an event of the first importance, was little signalized at the time. John Cabot, a Venetian, sailing from his adopted home, the famous port of Bristol, England, in a ship called The Mathew, remarkable only for her small dimensions and the courage and spirit of her brave English crew, was the noted discoverer. At daybreak on the twenty-fourth of June, 1497, the sailors of the gallant little ship heard the welcome cry, "Land, ho !" and this large island emerged from the darkness of the unknown to take her destined place in the world's life and history. In this famous voyage Cabot was accompanied by his son Sebastian, who himself became a distinguished navigator.

King Henry VII, under whose patronage Cabot sailed, made the following curious entry in an account of privy purse expenditure: "To Hym that found the New Isle, £10." The smallness of the gift in view of the greatness of the achievement has often been commented upon, to the discredit of the parsimonious king. A manuscript which has survived the wrecks of time gives a record equally curt and quaint, "In the year 1497, the 24th day of June, on St. John's Day, was Newfoundland found by Bristowe men, in a ship called The Mathew."

In honor of the day Cabot named the "New Isle" St. John's Island, but when the great news spread in England it naturally became known, we presume, as New-found-land.

Some days previously Cabot had discovered the mainland of America, In this discovery Cabot preceded Columbus (on his third voyage) by fourteen months, thus giving to England the claim to the sovereignty of a large portion of North America. On this famous voyage Cabot did not take the course of Columbus, but steered in the stormier northwesterly direction, the track of the great steamers to-day, thus becoming in his tiny vessel the pioneer of modern Atlantic navigation.

Cabot has received but scant recognition for his splendid services. The name of Columbus is everywhere celebrated, while that of Cabot is little known. The historian can scarcely restrain his wrath as he writes of an injustice to "one of the noblest and bravest men who ever trod the deck of an English ship." He says : "He gave a continent to England ; and in all that wide region there is not a cape, or a headland, or harbor called by his name, except one small island off the eastern shores of Newfoundland, which, a few years ago, by an act of the local government, exchanged a vulgar name for the honored one of Cabot's Island. The navy and commerce of England received from him their first onward impulse, but no one can point to the few feet of earth which, in return for all his services, England gave as a last resting place for his ashes."

Eighty-six years later, on the fifth day of August, 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, on behalf of Queen Elizabeth, surrounded by a brilliant and motley group representing different nations, declared Newfoundland part of the British dominions. It was a great thing to found a colony, but the chief actors in that picturesque and soul-stirring scene did something far greater that day, although they dreamed not of it; they virtually founded an empire (Newfoundland being the first installment), such as has won for Britain the title so felicitously phrased by one of her great statesmen, "the august mother of free nations."

No British colony has suffered more from unrighteous laws, unfair treatment, and the lies of professed friends. Newfoundland is not "the bare rock wholly unproductive," "a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea," nor yet "a great ship moored near the Banks during the fishing season for the convenience of English fishermen." These libels were sedulously spread in times past by parties having a selfish interest in maintaining the colony as a mere fishing station, and they were only too successful, the world at large, for lack

of better information, believing them to be true. It is amazing to read in the history of Hatton and Harvey :

"To prevent the increase of inhabitants on the island, positive instructions were given to the governors not to make any grants of land, and to reduce the number of people already settled there. A certain Major Elford, Lieutenant and Governor of St. John's, even many years after the period we are discussing (1697- 1728), strongly recommended to the ministers of the day to allow no woman to land in the island, and that means should be adopted to remove those that were there."

But Newfoundland's day has at last fairly dawned ; as with individuals, so sometimes with nations and communities, "the last shall be first and the first last."

A glance at the map shows that Newfoundland occupies a most favorable position commercially and strategically. This great island guards the gateway of the Dominion, the Gulf of St. Lawrence; and is the part of America nearest the Old World, which ships last see going east and first sight coming west. Many believe that sooner or later a great Transatlantic passenger service will be regularly run via Newfoundland, this route offering the shortest possible sea voyage, and the speediest possible connection, as well as the safest, between the Old W orld and the New. Already a railroad and steamship service renders the once formidable voyage to and from St. John's and the cities of Canada and the United States easy and delightful. The traveler.

now takes the steamer at Sydney, Cape Breton, and is landed within six hours at Port au Basques in Newfoundland, whence an awaiting train hurries him to St. John's.

As to size, Newfoundland ranks tenth among the islands of the globe. Its greatest length, from Cape Ray to Cape Norman, is 317 miles; and its greatest breadth, from Cape Spear to Cape Anguille, is 316 miles. Its total area is 42,000 square miles. Compare it in this respect with other countries, and what do we find? It is one sixth larger than Ireland, and contains 12,000 more square miles than Scotland. It is twice the size of the neighboring province, Nova Scotia, and one third larger than New Brunswick. If it be true that "the size of a country counts for a good deal and in the long run becomes a measure of political power," then Newfoundland has this also in her favor.

The coast of Newfoundland is remarkable for its noble bays, in some instances eighty or ninety miles in length, from which shoot off great arms of the sea or other indentures, carrying the wealth of the ocean far inland; also for its numerous harbors, coves, and creeks, many of them of unique and wonderful formation, havens of refuge which a kindly Providence has lavishly provided in an island where almost the whole population "go down to the sea in ships" and "do business in great waters."

One of the commonest mistakes about Newfoundland is with regard to the climate. They who live

in other parts of the world, including its nearest neighbors, somehow confound Newfoundland with Labrador, Greenland, and the arctic regions generally. Fog and cold are supposed to have their home in Newfoundland. The origin of these mistakes may probably be traced largely to the impressions that many have formed of Newfoundland from the deck of ocean steamers as they have sped through the fog and chill of the far-famed and much dreaded Banks. Swiftly passing, they have shrugged their shoulders while thinking of poor Newfoundlanders enshrouded in perpetual mists and battling for existence amid storm and cold. These impressions have been given to the world, and wrong ideas have prevailed accordingly. But we must remember that the Banks are not Newfoundland. They lie a hundred miles off the shore. The fog which the navigator encounters is the result of the meeting and mingling of the waters of the arctic current and those of the Gulf Stream, that heated "river in the ocean." These fogs prevail mainly on the Banks and the southern and southeastern shores of the island; in other parts they are rarely seen. Moreover the fogs do not penetrate far inland; as the fishermen say, "the land eats up the fog." And, further, it must be remembered that "it is only during a portion of the year, and when certain winds blow, that the fogs engendered on the Banks are wafted southward. During three fourths of the year the westerly winds carry the vapors across the Atlantic, and the British Isles get the benefit of

the moisture. In winter there is little fog on the

Banks, as the arctic current then is stronger, and pushes the Gulf Stream more to the south; while in summer the latter spreads its warm waters nearer the shores of the island, and thus creates the huge volumes of vapor which often envelope both sea and shore." On the other hand, though partaking of the general character of the North American climate, the cold of winter is not so great as in the neighboring provinces, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. According to Hatton and Harvey, "It is rarely and only for a few hours that the thermometer sinks below zero in winter; while the summer range rarely exceeds eighty degrees, and for the most part does not rise above seventy degrees." Yet, though perhaps rarely, the extremes of heat and cold are felt. For instance, on February 8, 1 891, in English Harbor, we remember one very cold day (which folk in that neighborhood said was the coldest they had ever known), when the mercury fell to thirty degrees below zero ; while in July, 1892, as far north as Little Bay we experienced several days of very warm weather, when the thermometer registered one hundred degrees. On the northeastern coast, where we lived, the spring was late, long, and tedious, rendered so by the ice fields and icebergs borne on the waters which flow from Davis Straits, and wash that shore. This was always a trying season of the year. Not until July did we bid farewell to the chilly and often cutting winds, which persisted so long. But when

summer came at last it was surpassingly beautiful, and with its much prized appendage, commonly called the Indian summer, it lingered long, even to the end of October. The spring is earlier on the western shore.

Newfoundland has great resources. Her fisheries — cod and seal especially — are very productive, sustaining the larger part of the population, as well as attracting many vessels from the United States and France. The French and Americans pay attention chiefly to the Bank fishery, while Newfoundlanders follow mainly the Labrador and the shore fisheries, and the seal fishery on the ice fields. The fisheries of this island, which Lord Bacon, with farseeing wisdom, declared were "more valuable than all the mines of Peru," have been prosecuted for nearly four hundred years. It will not be news, therefore, that Newfoundland is the greatest fishing country in the world ; but to many it may be news that the colony possesses besides rich tracts of agricultural land great mineral wealth and an abundance of timber. Capital is being attracted, and Newfoundland's great resources outside the fisheries are beginning to be developed. Railroad and steamboat facilities and all up-to-date appliances are following in the wake of capital and of growing industries. The prosperity of the colony was never so great as to-day. What will its future be? All the ordinary garden products are plentifully cultivated, and certainly, if due attention were given to the soil, there would be no necessity for the importation of vegetables. Not only does Newfoundland resemble the

Emerald Isle in the excellence of her potato, but also in the strange fact that neither venomous reptiles, frogs, nor toads are to be found in all the length and breadth of the land. 1 Tradition tells us that Ireland is indebted to Saint Patrick for charming these creatures from her shores. To whom is Newfoundland obligated? Did Saint Patrick also visit her bleak domains?

The French Shore question has been a bone of contention for nearly two hundred years. Unfortunately for Newfoundland, fishing privileges, together with the use of the shore for the prosecution of the fishery, from Cape Ray around the western and northeastern shores to Cape St. John, which is by far the most fertile and valuable half of the entire coast line, were ceded by the imperial authorities to the French by the Treaty of Utrecht in 171 3. The result has been endless disputes and the retarded development of this goodly shore. The French have persistently claimed that the treaty in question gave them not concurrent but exclusive rights for fishing purposes on this part of the coast, and that it prohibited its settlement by British subjects. While the British sovereignty over the entire island has always been unequivocally maintained, Great Britain, for the purpose of avoiding international broils, forbade settlement and discouraged fishing on this half of the coast.

'With reference to Ireland the Gazetteer of the World says: "Frogs were unknown here till introduced by the English. . . . Toads and snakes are still unknown."

Since 1881 there has been a partial occupancy of the coast, but old difficulties remained to hamper British subjects and to provoke quarrels. Now at last this question is settled, and "King Edward, the peacemaker," sees removed another fruitful source of friction between Great Britain and a sister state. The year 1904 will always be memorable in Newfoundland's history, for then a treaty was signed between France and England which settled the French Shore question. England's sovereignty over the whole island is now undisputed, the French withdrawing all their claims, though still retaining the right to fish in the territorial waters. The greatest bar to progress has been removed, and there opens a new and brighter era before the ancient colony. Sir Robert Bond, Premier of Newfoundland, will be remembered with gratitude for the able way in which he has conducted, on the colony's side, the negotiations that have led up to this longwished-for consummation.

Other features of the country will be noted and

described as we proceed with our narrative.

CHAPTER II St. John's

"They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters ; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. . . . He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven." — The Psalter.

The good steamship Caspian, after a tempestuous voyage from Liverpool, England, which lasted ten days, slowly steamed into the quiet waters of the all-but-land-locked harbor of St. John's, Newfoundland, on Saturday, September 24, 1881, at about 2 130 A. M. It is said that sailors during the first half of a voyage drink to the friends astern; after that, to friends ahead. My thoughts persistently and fondly clung to the friends and scenes I had left behind. The old homeland was dearer to me than I ever knew. Leaving it, in all probability forever, was an agony to me. The land before me, the land that was to be my home for nine years, the scene of my early missionary labors, of my early wedded life, the land of nativity to three of my children, was as yet to me unknown, untried, a Newfound-land indeed. But now we were in the harbor of the chief city of my future island-home. The booming of the cannon that announced our arrival

awoke me from my slumbers, and I was soon on deck.

The steamer was drawing near a low wharf dimly lighted. Already delayed on her voyage, as if further to tantalize awaiting friends, the Caspian arrived in the wee sma' hours of the morning. A score or so of persons were already gathered, and their number was slowly increasing. When we came within speaking range a fellow passenger shouted, "Is Garfield dead?" The reply sent back was the mournful "Yes." It will be remembered that this noble man and honored President of the United States had been cruelly shot by a disappointed office-seeker. He lingered eighty days, dying September 19, 1881. England when we left her shores was bowed to the dust in anxious and sympathetic sorrow, and we all felt deep regret on hearing this, the first news since we left Ireland. This little incident, besides recalling a deeply pathetic event which touched the heart of the whole civilized world, will serve to show the great hunger for news which takes possession of those who have been a week or more at sea, and also suggests how rapidly the world moves, when some of the large ocean boats to-day boast a daily newspaper, thanks to Marconi and his wireless telegraphy. On landing, a fellow passenger kindly conducted me to Gower Street Parsonage, or "Mission House," as he called it, and the Rev. William W. Percival was soon down with a cheery greeting. Without delay I was shown to my room, where I was introduced to the Rev. J. Austin Jackson, whose bedfellow, by his kind permission, I was to be for the few remaining sleeping hours. While I was in St. John's and during his short stay in Newfoundland, Mr. Jackson, bydifferent acts of kindness, showed himself a true friend.

That day I began to make the acquaintance of Newfoundland, or more particularly of St. John's and its people. The weather was bright and very warm. The order of the day seemed to be introductions. The people had an exceedingly pleasant way of greeting, nearly all expressing themselves in the same words, "Welcome to New-fun-land." These words, spoken with a soft, musical accent, were very grateful to the ear of a stranger. What my preconceived ideas of Newfoundland were I can hardly say, but I know that ice and snow were always present in every picture my imagination drew. The hot weather and the abundant foliage surprised me. At the delightful summer cottage of the Receiver-General, the Hon. J. J. Rogerson, where I took tea the first day of my arrival, the lilacs were abundant, and the air was laden with their perfume as well as that of other flowers.

The voyager who catches his first glimpses of the city from the steamer's deck cannot fail to be impressed by its strikingly picturesque and commanding situation. Steaming toward the coast from the Atlantic, there is no sign of a harbor, much less of a city of nearly thirty thousand people. 1 Rocky ramparts seem to bid defiance to the daring navigator, while he, on his part, appears to regard them

1 By the census of 1901, the population of St. John's was 39.995- 26 with a friendly eye, for he deviates not a hair's breadth from his course. Suddenly the steamer glides into "The Narrows," as the entrance is well termed, and in a few minutes the surprised voyager finds himself, as if by magic, transported from the tempestuous billows of the stormy Atlantic to the quiet waters of one of the most perfectly landlocked harbors in the world. "The Narrows" is a wonderful natural phenomenon. To account for its existence imagination pictures some mighty convulsion in nature splitting asunder this great wall of rock, affording the sea an entrance to the basin prepared for it by the great Master Builder, where its waves are converted into mere ripples, where the winds have lost their force, and the mariner finds rest and safety. The channel is nearly half a mile in length, and measures about fourteen hundred feet at its widest point, and only six hundred feet at its narrowest, so that a chain can easily be thrown across. It is with a feeling of awe and wonder that the voyager gazes on the rocky heights on either side, as the vessel slowly glides to her desired haven. Precipitous cliffs, over five hundred feet above the sea level on the right and over six hundred on the left, guard the entrance. On the summit of the hill on one side is the "Blockhouse" for signaling vessels ; on a rocky promontory on the other side is Fort Amherst lighthouse. "It is a scene which for grandeur and sublimity is not surpassed along the entire American coast." The man who approaches a military camp

meets the challenge of the sentinel, but when allowed to pass he carries with him a sense of safety, guarded as he is by a wall of fire. Those mountain rocks are the sentinels of St. John's. To all comers they fling their challenge, but when once passed every sojourner feels better for knowing that they are there — mountains of stone against which the Atlantic storms spend themselves in vain.

In ten minutes after leaving the open sea a steamer may safely be anchored within the harbor. The channel is deep, and an entrance may be effected by steamers of the largest tonnage at all periods of the tide. The harbor, about a mile in length, nearly half a mile in width, and of ample depth, is always crowded with shipping. The city, which has been largely modernized since the fire of 1892, is built on a hillside gently sloping to the water's edge. Every inch of available space seems occupied by dwelling houses, business premises, colleges, churches, cathedrals, Anglican and Roman Catholic. From the summit of the hill on which the city is built there opens to view a wide expanse of country, fair and pleasant, well cultivated, and studded with many handsome residences.