Left on Labrador

In Short

Left on Labrador is an episodic 1872 juvenile adventure story following four young American travelers who finance an Arctic voyage aboard the sixty-ton schooner Curlew. Driven by curiosity and armed with a howitzer and rifles, the boys navigate icebergs, treacherous tides, and unpredictable fog along the northern coasts. When their vessel is driven off by a British ship, a portion of the crew is stranded on the barren rocks. Written with practical detail and dry humor, the novel retains its charm through its crisp focus on survival, period seamanship, and youthful camaraderie.

The Story

The journey begins after four young companions—Raed, Kit, Wade, and Wash, the narrator—invest money from a previous mining venture to fit out a sixty-ton schooner-yacht named the Curlew. They hire an experienced captain named Mazard, a crew of six young Gloucester sailors alongside an older hand, and an eccentric former slave named Palmleaf as their cook. Accompanied by Guard, a loyal dog, they set sail from Massachusetts bound for the icy waters of Hudson Strait.

As they push into northern latitudes, the expedition encounters dense fog, vast ice-fields, and towering bergs. Mystifying explosions and rumblings turn out to be fracturing ice, while high tides and sudden squalls test the seamanship of the crew. Along the way, the party fishes for cod on the Grand Banks, hunts wolverines and wild fowl, and experiments with their shipboard weapons. When they meet indigenous Inuit communities, they engage in spirited, if chaotic, trading, exchanging candy and trinkets for native artifacts while navigating culture clashes and mutual suspicion.

Trouble escalates when an English vessel, The Rosamond, confronts the Curlew. A hostile officer demands their submission, suspecting them of piracy. The boys hold their ground with loaded muskets, but the encounter leaves them vulnerable. Soon after, while a ashore party—consisting of Raed, Kit, Wade, Wash, and several crew members—is exploring the barren ledges of the coast, The Rosamond reappears and pursues the Curlew. Captain Mazard is forced to put to sea to avoid capture or bombardment, leaving the shore party abandoned on the rocks with minimal supplies.

Faced with severe weather and limited rations, the stranded boys rely on their ingenuity to survive. They construct makeshift shelters out of moss and dwarf plants, hunt for bird eggs, and devise a system to evaporate sea-water over hot rocks to produce salt for their raw game. Internal tensions flare—particularly regarding Wade’s lingering Southern prejudices toward Palmleaf and Kit’s aggressive survival tactics—but the group maintains discipline. To secure shelter and transport, Kit leads a bold plan to establish dominance over a nearby Inuit camp, requisitioning an oomiak (a large skin boat) and trading for provisions.

After weeks of living off the land and managing dog fights, harsh gales, and sub-zero squalls, the marooned crew spots the return of the Curlew. Captain Mazard, having successfully evaded the British ship, navigates back through the ice to retrieve his stranded employers. Reunited, the party sails south, arriving back in Boston Harbor by early September. Pleased with the expedition despite its hazards, the boys settle their bills, retain Captain Mazard’s services for future voyages, and settle into shipboard life to plan their next northern adventure.

How It Unfolds

Outfitting the Curlew The boys convert their capital into a fitted expedition, hiring Captain Mazard, six rough-and-ready Gloucester sailors, and Palmleaf, a formerly enslaved cook who accepts the cold journey without hesitation.

Crossing the Banks Sailing into fog and cold currents, the crew drops outriggers to fish for heavy cod on the Grand Bank while watching for icebergs looming through the gloom.

The Ice-Jam in Hudson Strait Deep in the northern straits, the Curlew is surrounded by roaring, fracturing icebergs and blood-red northern lights that illuminate the desolate cliffs at midnight.

Trading with the Huskies A fleet of skin kayaks surrounds the schooner, leading to energetic trading sessions where the boys parade on deck with Inuit women and navigate comical misunderstandings.

Confrontation on the Water An officer from the British ship Rosamond threatens the young crew, leading to a tense standoff where the boys cock their muskets and refuse to yield their vessel.

Left on the Ledges While the shore party hunts and explores, The Rosamond gives chase to the Curlew, forcing Captain Mazard to run for open water and leaving the boys stranded on the barren coast.

Boiling the Sea Faced with short rations, the stranded crew uses heated rocks and tin dippers to evaporate sea-water for salt, gathering wild eggs and moss for survival.

Seizing the Oomiak Kit leads the group into a nearby native camp, firing a musket into the air to establish authority and taking control of a large skin boat to secure their mobility.

Rescue and Return Captain Mazard successfully returns to pick up the marooned party, carrying them safely back to Boston where they pay off the crew and plan their next voyage.

The People

• Raed: The practical, even-tempered leader of the young travelers. Raed seeks order and scientific discovery, striving to prevent bloodshed during confrontations with both British officers and local inhabitants. His cautious judgment consistently keeps the party grounded.
• Kit: The impulsive, decisive strategist of the group. Kit wants action and immediate solutions, whether directing a bear hunt or insisting on taking over an Inuit camp to ensure their survival, though his aggressive proposals frequently draw sharp criticism from Raed.
• Wade: A hot-headed Southern youth who struggles with lingering Civil War animosities. Wade wants to assert authority over others and frequently clashes with Palmleaf, though his survival skills and musket marksmanship prove vital when the party is marooned.
• Wash: The narrator and observing companion who records the details of the voyage. He seeks to maintain peace among his friends, gently checking Wade’s prejudices while detailing the practical challenges of seamanship and northern survival.
• Palmleaf: A formerly enslaved South Carolinian who adopts the name Charles Sumner Harris before being nicknamed Palmleaf. He wants employment and independence, enduring cold weather, shipboard labor, and the initial fear of native populations with humor and resilience.
• Captain Mazard: The sturdy master of the Curlew. Mazard wants to keep his vessel safe and earn his pay, demonstrating steady seamanship through dangerous ice-fields and making the tough choice to flee an armed ship to save his schooner.

In Its Own Voice

"The heavy rumbling noise began afresh, and sounded louder than before. We were completely mystified, and stood peering off from the bulwarks into the stormy obscurity of the night." The crew listens in darkness as unknown northern dangers surround their schooner.

"The sky was of a deep rose-color. The thick fog seemed like a sea of magenta. The deck, the bulwarks, the masts, and even Donovan, standing beside me, looked as if baptized in blood." Wash steps on deck at one in the morning to discover the eerie brilliance of the aurora borealis.

"I want you to look at it just as I do," Raed continued; for we none of us had said a word. "If we had tried to get on board, 'The Curlew' would certainly have been captured, and we with her." Raed reasons with his stranded companions as they watch their schooner flee from an attacking warship.

What It's Really About

Beneath its episodic adventure plot, Left on Labrador explores the practicalities of self-reliance and the transition from post-Civil War tensions into modern American enterprise. The narrative acts as a laboratory for youthful governance: four young men must manage capital, hire labor, and navigate geopolitical friction without adult oversight.

The text addresses themes of racial prejudice and cultural collision, contrasting the North's post-war egalitarian ideals with lingering Southern attitudes embodied by Wade. Furthermore, it examines the intersection of scientific curiosity and resourcefulness, presenting survival not as a romantic tragedy, but as an engineering problem to be solved with salt-boiling, discipline, and practical tool-use.

Why Read It Today

Left on Labrador appeals to readers who enjoy detailed, technical accounts of vintage seamanship and wilderness survival. The book offers an unvarnished window into late nineteenth-century travel literature, free from modern sentimentality. Stephens writes with a matter-of-fact clarity that emphasizes the physics of sailing through pack ice, the mechanics of nineteenth-century firearms, and the gritty realities of foraging on frozen coastlines.

The narrative carries clear period difficulties that reflect the era in which it was written. Modern readers will encounter Casual period racism, casual patronizing attitudes toward Indigenous populations, and harsh post-Civil War dialogue. The treatment of the Inuit and the former slave Palmleaf reflects the biases of 1870s white American literature. However, for those interested in historical juvenile fiction, the book provides an authentic, high-energy look at period attitudes, maritime trade, and northern exploration that keeps its momentum from ship to shore.