Page:Across the sub-Arctics of Canada (1897).djvu/234

 Now this practice is all changed. Instead of the small sailing vessels, one large steamship is employed for the trade, and Churchill, possessing the only safe harbor on the west coast, is made the shipping port for the Bay, all goods being distributed from this centre by schooners to the other posts, and the furs here collected for shipment. Over this work of distributing and collecting goods the Captain was to have charge.

During the stay at Churchill every day brought noticeable improvement in the condition of our party. On several occasions, the weather being favorable, snow-*shoeing expeditions were formed and much enjoyed, though usually accompanied by great fatigue. Knowing, however, that by means of such travel we must return home in a short time, we realized the necessity of gaining strength for the long journey.

In the course of one of our outings we reached a place called Sloops Cove, about half way to Prince of Wales Fort, and there made some interesting observations. This cove owes its name to the fact that in the year 1741 the two sloops, Furnace and Discovery, sent out from England in command of Captain Middleton to search for the long-looked-for North-West Passage, spent the winter there. How two vessels could have been forced into this cove is a question which has given rise to much speculation on the part of Canadian scientists, for the cove does not now contain more than sufficient depth of water, at high tide, to float a small boat, and it is doubtful if even such a boat could get in through the rocky entrance. The historical fact remains, however, that this cove was the winter quarters of these two sloops, and as proof of the fact a number of ring