The next morning, Tuesday, July 7th, we reached Indian Harbour.
Amid a chorus of "Good-bye, boys, and good luck!" we went ashore,
to set foot for the first time on Labrador soil, where we were
destined to encounter a series of misadventures that should call
for the exercise of all our fortitude and manhood.




III. ON THE EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS

The island of the White Bear group upon which is situated the
settlement of Indian Harbour is rocky and barren. The settlement
consists of a trader's hut and a few fishermen's huts built of
frame plastered over with earth or moss, and the buildings of the
Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen, a non-sectarian
institution that maintains two stations on the Labrador coast and
one at St. Anthony in Newfoundland, each with a hospital attached.
The work of the mission is under the general supervision of Dr.
Wilfred T. Grenfell, who, in summer, patrols the coast from
Newfoundland to Cape Chidley in the little floating hospital, the
steamer Strathcona, and during the winter months, by dog team,
visits the people of these inhospitable shores. The main station
in Labrador is at Battle Harbour, and at this time Dr. Cluny
Macpherson was the resident physician.

Dr. Simpson, a young English physician and lay missionary, was in
charge of the station at Indian Harbour. This station, being
maintained primarily for the benefit of the summer fishermen from