The island of Newfoundland lies in the jaw of the River St. Lawrence, with two narrow passages leading between the Gulf behind and the broad Atlantic. Both straits offer dangers to navigation, although in this respect that of Belle Ile, whereby the northern corner of the island is rounded, is the worse offender. Yet the most dangerous corner of the island is, not where the waterways are hemmed in, but that tongue which thrusts itself far out to sea, to terminate in the bluff headland of Cape Race. This shoreline is as serrated as a fine saw, being a succession of indentations and steep promontories, with submerged reefs running far out to sea. To the south lies that great submerged tableland, invariably curtained in fog, where mighty icebergs that have come down from the north pound and grate themselves to pieces, which throughout the shipping world is regarded with dread--the Grand Banks. This south-eastward corner of the island, by being thrust so far outwards, brings the rocky headlands into the path of the vessels plying between Europe, Canada, and New York. The shortest route between the Old and New World extends across the northern half of the Banks, with a slight swing southwards to avoid Cape Race. So far as the great liners are concerned, they are spared this peril, inasmuch as their prescribed lanes give the cruel coast a wide berth; but all other shipping has either to swing round the headland to enter the Gulf of St. Lawrence, or strike farther north and pass through the Strait of Belle Ile. The latter route, however, is available for only five months in the year; the greater volume of the traffic skirts the southern shores of the island. [Illustration: _By permission of the Lighthouse Literature Mission._ CANN ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE ON THE EAST COAST OF NEWFOUNDLAND. This is a typical example of a wooden frame building. The tower projects from the roof of the home of the lighthouse-keeper and his family.]