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LABRADOR

THE COUNTRY AND THE PEOPLE

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

NEW YORK - BOSTON + CHICAGO
ATLANTA + SAN FRANCISCO

MACMILLAN & CO., LimiTEpD

LONDON - BOMBAY + CALCUTTA
MELSBCURNE

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltp.
TORONTO

LABRADOR

THE COUNTRY AND THE PEOPLE

BY
WILFRED T. GRENFELL, C.M.G., M.R.C.S.,
"M.D. (Oxon. )

AND OTHERS |

NEW EDITION

REVISED AND WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION

Neto Work
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1922

All rights reserved

CopyricuT, 1909, 1913 and 1922,
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.

Set up and electrotyped. Published November, 1909.
New edition with new matter April, 1913.

Revised and with a new Introduction June, 1922.

Printed in the United States of America

JUL 12 1922

©o1.A6 74882

aA® |

FOREWORD

By WILFRED T. GRENFELL

HAVING selected for myself a role in life that compels
me to pass most of my days along the coasts of Labrador,
I have come to love the rugged fastnesses of my adopted
country, and to lament the amount of almost Stygian dark-
ness that hangs still over it and its resources. With re-
gard to the future of this vast area, nearly half a million
square miles, I am myself an optimist. True it is that
the great tide of humanity flowing ever westward has for
the most part passed it by, leaving it lone and frigid in
its polar waters. But the hand of man has grappled with
harder problems than this presents. __

A scientific man has but recently transformed the use-
less flora of hitherto arid deserts into food for man and
beast ; at the bidding of an engineer water is now flowing
over the sands of Southern California, and land of perhaps
unrivalled fertility is the result. Man’s hand has dammed
the royal Nile, so long prodigal of her unfettered waters ;
and a vast, new kingdom is springing into being. A
college man has given his skill to acclimatizing fruit and
vegetables to Dakotan frosts, and we have a plum that
withstands a temperature of forty degrees below zero
Fahrenheit, and strawberries that will live in the open
all winter even in that climate.

v

vi FOREWORD

The coming granary for the world’s wheat supply was
yesterday despised as “the land of snows”; to-day the
subsoil of the world’s best wheat land never thaws out,
and the frozen valley of the Peace River is vying with
the “corn” lands of the Pharaohs.

To us here, away out of the world’s hum and bustle,
it seems only a question of time. Some day a railway
will come to export our stores of mineral wealth, to tap
our sources of more than Niagaran power, to bring visitors
to scenery of Norwegian quality yet made peculiarly
attractive by the entrancing colour plays of Arctic auroras
over the fantastic architecture of mountains the like of
which can seldom be matched on the earth. Surely it
will come to pass that one day another Atlantic City will
rise amidst these unexplored but invigorating wilds to
lure men and women tired of heat and exhausted by the
nerve stress of overcrowded centres.

It has seemed appropriate, in this belief, to try to
collate available information in the form of a book that
should bring within easy reach of the public the facts
that are of interest concerning Labrador. It is hoped,
also, that such a book will act as an incentive to others
to come and pursue still further the studies and explora-
tions herein described. With these objects in view I
sought the help of friends skilled in the various branches
of science, as it can now declare the meaning of Labrador,
the land and the people.

Dr. Reginald A. Daly, Professor of Geology at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology of Boston, had,
during an extended trip in a schooner along the Lab-
rador coast, expended considerable work upon its rock
formations, and to him has been intrusted not only

FOREWORD Vil

the chapter on Geology, but also the task of editing the
whole work.

Dr. E. B. Delabarre, Professor of Psychology at Brown
University, accompanied Dr. Daly on his journey along the
coast, and has described the flora from an ecological point
of view as most likely to be of interest to the average
reader. His exhaustive list of plants has been omitted
from the book, but is preserved at Brown University.

Dr. C. W. Townsend of Boston and Mr. G. M. Allen,
who have written on the ornithology, made a special
journey to Labrador to study its birds. Dr. Townsend
has already published a book entitled Along the Labrador
Coast as a further result of their expedition.

Mr. Charles W. Johnson, Curator of the Boston Society
of Natural History, has undertaken the insects (Mr. John
Sherman, Junior, expert on the beetles, has described this
special group) and mollusks from a collection of Mr.
Owen Bryant of Harvard, made in 1908.

Mr. Outram Bangs has supplied the list of mammals.
Miss Mary J. Rathbun, the well-known expert at the
United States National Museum at Washington, supplied
all the information we have about the crustaceans, includ-
ing a study of those collected by Mr. Bryant.

Dr. A. P. Low, Deputy of Minister of Mines in Canada,
has contributed a chapter on the interior of this little-
known land.

Mr. William B. Cabot of Boston, who for several years
has made an annual visit to the Montagnais Indians of
Labrador, and who has edited a dictionary of their lan-
guage, has had unique opportunities for observing their
habits. He has contributed a valuable monograph from
his special experiences.

Vill | FOREWORD

The chapter on History was to have been prepared by
Mr. W. G. Gosling of St. John’s, Newfoundland, who
had devoted some years, and gone to no small expense, on
a special study of this subject. But his results involved
such an extended treatise that it was thought wiser to
issue them under a separate cover than unduly to enlarge
this volume, and Mr. W. 8. Wallace, of Balliol College,
Oxford, has prepared a brief historical introduction.

For seventeen years I have been collecting such facts
as my regular work permitted. From them I have
selected material for certain chapters. To many friends
who have supplied such information I wish to acknowl-
edge my indebtedness. Incomplete as this book surely
is, it is issued from a desire to record the more interesting
facts, the coins of science, which might otherwise need
rediscovery. It is hoped that the book may be of use
even to those familiar with Packard’s excellent work.

PREFACE

THE three years which have passed since the publica-
tion of this book have seen more attention paid to the
development of Labrador than the twenty-five preceding.
The results promise to be consonant with the views herein
expressed ; viz., that Labrador may always remain a “ La-
bourer’s Land,” a land where men are obliged to work for
sport or a living, but one which can yield an ample return
to those who do so. Deposits of rich ore may at any
time give out, but the wealth of Labrador lies in those
things which, if properly handled, are ever reproducing
themselves.

The fact is that as a storehouse and sanctuary Labrador
needs now, if ever, the serious and disinterested attention
of those able to save it. With this end in view, I have
decided to add to the new edition a chapter on Conserva-
tion and Exploration in Labrador, and what that might
mean, not only for the future of the country itself, but
also to the increasing population of the North American
Continent. Besides this chapter, I have also added a
much-needed bibliography and some remarks about the
habits of our land mammals.

WILFRED T. GRENFELL, M.D.

SS. ‘‘ Srratrncona,”’
NortH LABRADOR.

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INTRODUCTION

Durinc the years that have elapsed since this symposium
was published, a good deal of work has been done on the
_Labrador Peninsula and new facts have been contributed to
our knowledge concerning it that are of interest to the public.
The deductions of all recent observers is that the country
has been too harshly judged and that it is far from being the
awful desolation pictured by Professor Hind, or necessarily
the home of starvation that Professor Sterne would have the
world believe.

Labrador has continued through the ages the lone, lorn
widow of civilization. The possible values of its half million
square miles are still almost unknown. The Canadian
Geological Survey has done splendid work on it, though no
industrial development has resulted from its discoveries.
Due to its work, however, an immense amount of light has
been thrown upon this vast peninsula with its waters drain-
ing into four seas. Geologically it forms part of the great
Canadian Shield —a vast complex of pre-Cambrian rocks,
which in its well-known parts has furnished immense de-
posits of valuable minerals, such as the iron and copper of
the Lake Superior district, the magnetic iron ores of the
Adirondacks, the gold of the Porcupine, the silver and co-
balt of Cobalt, and the nickel and copper of Sudbury, On-
tario. It is reasonable to suppose that treasures do lie still
untouched in Labrador’s rocks. For beyond the mere anal-
ogy with the rest of Northern Canada, gold was discovered

‘Sn situ’ a few years ago in the Mealy Mountains, a range
xl

xt INTRODUCTION

running northwest and southeast about the centre of the east
coast. The furore created at that time ended in a small
expedition whose efforts are marked now only by a heap
of abandoned machinery on the sandy beaches between
Sandwich Bay and Hamilton Inlet. The long winter which
prevents communication by water with the northern part of
the seacoast for eight or nine months out of twelve also broke
the Syndicate which was mining pyrites for the sulphur one
hundred miles south of Cape Chidley. So far nothing has
been done to develop the large iron deposits known as mag-
netite and hematite in the Grand River Valley. Like some
sulky virgin, Labrador is still wrapped in the garments of
isolation, while her lovers seem for the time to have turned
dejectedly away. Probably the best overture made for her
favor has been the quarrying of some of the precious labra-
dorite which appears in large quantities near Nain and also
near the Northwest River.

War and industrial unrest have prevented the settlement
of the question of the boundary of Newfoundland Labrador.
It is still an undefined strip of land along the Atlantic Coast
and the Straits of Belle Isle. This fact, as far as the develop-
ment of the country is concerned, is a serious handicap.
However, events in Newfoundland seem to point to the prob-
ability of confederation with Canada in the near future, when
the point at issue could readily be solved even if the decision
of the Privy Council, now under consideration, never ma-
terializes. In 1912 all the rest of the large peninsula formerly
known as ‘‘Labrador” was added to the Province of Quebec,
an area reputed to contain 354,961 square miles. Under the
medieval title ‘“‘the coasts of Labrador,’’ Newfoundland still
holds jurisdiction over an unknown quantity of it, as if she
were some sea rover granted all she could get out of “ foreign
parts abroad.”

INTRODUCTION >a

Canada in 1921 sent the 8.8. Acadia to make a complete
survey of Hamilton Inlet, which she claimed directly lumber
mills were erected in the Grand River district. As a result,
the big companies trading for fur in the Bay have refused to
pay duties to Newfoundland. If justified in this, it looks as
if those which have long been paid under protest would have
to be refunded by the Colony.

As Labrador has no representation, it being too expensive
to collect the votes of the widely scattered inhabitants, it
was proposed in 1919 to appoint the Governor of Newfound-
land ex-officio as Commissioner for it, but nothing resulted
and there is still no one to care for her interests. The first
protector, the Governor of Boston, refused to look after her,
Newfoundland neglected her, and Canada got tired of her
and returned her, till now she still drags along unrepresented
and uncared for. This is so much the case that close as she
is to the United States many of her marvellous fjords are as
yet uncharted. Thus the only chart extant of the approach
to Nain from the sea was made in 1912 by a German. My
Own copy was presented to me by the author, captain of the
battleship Bremen, later so famous in the Great War. The
captain of the mail steamer patrolling the northern three
hundred miles of coast says that he never uses a chart, as
there is none of any value, except for the general direction.

The bays of Labrador are marvellously wild and interest-
ing, many still untrodden by the foot of civilized man. In
the Labrador Pilot, volume II of 1917, are our descriptions
of three of these bays. In addition, we have explored three
more. Jeanette Bay has a fine harbour for yachts at the en-
trance, and a vessel of ten feet draught could easily pick her
way up thence, following her motor boat to an anchorage
close to a fine salmon river. The seals and birds which we
saw in the Bay also made us feel that it would appeal strongly

X1V INTRODUCTION

to sportsmen. Mr. Paul Rainey in the 8.8. Surf visited it
about 1912, and secured excellent hunting and fishing. Ad-
latok Bay is also a wonderful piece of water, uniting half way
down with another great bay called Ugutok. Of all the fjords
visited by us and as yet undescribed, I would place Tik-
koaktokak Bay first for grandeur and awe-inspiring scenery.
Its perpendicular cliffs polished by land and snowslides; its
extraordinary formation on the north side and the two rivers
flowing into the head, one from the east and the other from
the southwest, with their mouths within a biscuit’s toss of
one another, make it an exceptionally thrilling experience to
penetrate to its headwaters. The anchorage there is safe
and excellent. These magnificent waterways will some day
prove one of the chief sources of income of the ‘Lonely Lab-
rador.”’ While we took salmon and large trout on the fly
the former need a lot of tempting to rise, though each fish
was worth catching. One could see hundreds in the pools. —
There is also hunting in season, — deer trails, bear foot-
prints, and other signs of wild animal life being very evident.
Of the other bays, Seaglek runs in forty miles, between
cliffs averaging two thousand feet in height and in places
reaching to over three thousand five hundred. For the last
twenty miles these cliffs are only separated by a narrow mile
of fjord, and give an impressive sense of grandeur as one sails
up. In Kanairiktok Bay —running in about thirty miles
from the seacoast —is a beautiful fall thirty feet high, the
foam of which can be seen miles distant. In Adlavik Bay
are several rivers and in the pool of one of them were hundreds
of salmon. The old idea that salmon north of latitude 52°
will hardly take a fly is entirely exploded. Two American
friends fishing in the Hagle River this year (1921) only stopped

fishing because they had caught all they needed and could
preserve.

INTRODUCTION XV

The forests of Labrador, though not known to be of great
value and immense extent, are hardly touched by man’s
enterprise. Black and white pines attain commercial size
in most of the river valleys as far north as 55°. Spruce two
feet across and several feet long are numerous in the Ham-
ilton River Valley. An adventurous aéronautical survey of
the timber lands of the southeastern section made in 1919
showed a very general and dense distribution of good-looking
timbers, birch and balsam poplars being everywhere in evi-
dence among the conifers. Judging by the excellent spars
up to seventy feet long which I have seen floated out of rivers
as far north even as the big river of Adlavik north of Cape
Harrison, the day is not far off when in this land of Cain the
“welkin will ring to the tune of axes and saws”’ that will hew
out prosperity for a people, even as at Chicoutami and
Abatibi, further west and south in the same peninsula.

The much frequented ocean way known as the Straits
of Belle Isle which bounds Labrador on the southeast has
been again of late the subject of serious discussion. It has
been suggested that a dam nine miles long be built from
Point Amour to Flowers Cove on the north Newfoundland
shore, which would close off the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This,
by shutting out the Arctic ice and the cold water of the Polar
current, might considerably ameliorate the climate of all the
land to the westward. ‘The water is not deep, and the enter-
prise is in no way impossible. Judging from personal ex-
perience, however, I should very much doubt this result on
the climate, for the outside ice seems seldom to penetrate far
enough into the Gulf to alter the temperature much, although
the formation of ice locally may be responsible for this.

The fact that the ability to free nitrogen from its com-
pounds was really a measure of power to win the war also
suggests a great future for the perfectly untold undeveloped

Xvl INTRODUCTION

energy of the waterfalls from the great Labrador table-land.
When it is remembered that Germany succeeded during the
past few years in converting a need for nitrogen expressed .
by 750,000 tons annually of imported nitrates into an ability
to export 500,000 tons of her own manufacture from the air,
the untold possibilities of a country, one-fourth of which is
estimated to be lakes and rivers, and whose immense table-
lands rise many hundreds of feet above the sea and measure
hundreds of thousands of square miles, can well be realized.
It needs no special prophetic vision to foretell a future for this
long neglected country, especially when timber, coal and
other fuel get scarcer, as they bid fair to do, before the energy
of the free atom is at man’s service. Such energy in all
probability will be available by the use of some such
unstinted cheap power as falling water—a geometrical
progression, exactly as toxins communicated are stepped up,
becoming more toxic as they affect each new person. An-
other new and enormous source of power was put on the map
in 1921 by John Thomas of Buffalo. Travelling from the
hospital at Northwest River in the month of March with his
dogs he discovered twenty miles south of the present Grand
Falls another of the same height though less in volume. The
water is an offshoot of the Grand River above the falls and
rejoins it below. Okpatik, Kanairiktok and others are also
very considerable sources of power. About the centre of the
country one of the most wonderful phenomena in the world,
the Grand Falls of Labrador, still yields neither its pleasure
nor its energy to mankind, and only a rare traveller has set
eyes upon its marvels.

So far it has always been the fishery and furring industry of
Labrador in which have consisted its chief sources of wealth.
Considerable changes have overtaken both her land and sea
industries. ‘Twine for nets, rope, canvas and all ship neces-

INTRODUCTION XVil

sities, pork, flour and foodstuffs, oilskins, boots, woollens and
all clothing, have so risen in cost that fish cannot be caught
now for less than double the old-time prices. Freights have
mounted also; poverty and adverse exchange have so crippled
our customers in the Mediterranean that it has become so big
a venture to fit out a schooner for the fisheries that many of
the very best of our ‘‘voyage-killers’”’ have ceased to prosecute
their calling, while some of the supply merchants have been
driven out of business. New markets must be opened up.
Temporarily Russia is bidding for a large quantity; while
efforts are also being made to sell Labrador fish in the United
States. Unfortunately the new revision of the tariff, among
other things, discriminates against fish practically to its ex-
clusion. America’s new policy is to raise a huge wall of ex-
clusion against her poor little neighbour; and some of us
question its wisdom.

New methods of catching fish, such as flax gill nets, have
been introduced to prevent the disaster that follows upon
there being too much bait fish, in which case the cod, lying
stoggy in deep water, glutted with food, are impossible to
work. There is now even a machine to split the cod, remove
the bone and clean the fish, which is in operation in some
parts of Labrador. The machine will take seventy fish in a
minute and might be made to do even three times that quan-
tity. }

Some markets are being opened in Europe for our salmon,
and one or two steamers have prepared to furnish cold storage
space during transportation. The old method of salting fish
in barrels does not leave it appetizing enough to ever develop
a new market. The recent idea of having the salmon ex-
ported frozen, though about three times the cost, is well worth
the expenditure. About one million pounds went out in 1921.

There is also a modern plan for converting the immense

xvii. INTRODUCTION

bulk of offal, heads and general wastage from our fish, into
food for chickens. This has not yet been perfected, but is
being tried out. As the matter stands at present the waste
is appalling. The large amount of gelatin now lost promises
to produce a bi-product that will again add greatly to the
incentive to engage in the fisheries. Even before the war
Germany was using over two hundred and fifty thousand
tons of fish meal made from waste fish and fish waste, for
feeding hogs and cattle. In Iceland cows are fed on salt fish,
and they even seem to like and thrive upon the gristle and
tail fins of large fish. There is no reason why we should not
make farina — the dry powdered product of the flat fish now
wasted, or of other fish — seeing that it has a protein value
over sixty per cent. All that is needed in Labrador is to
wisely utilize its natural products.

The onslaught with gun harpoons and fast steamers has to
some extent told on the number of large cetaceans that come
within striking distance of our shores. At the present mo-
ment every whaling station is closed. For our dog teams in
winter we are already lamenting the loss of the generous
supply of fat and protein food that was formerly furnished us
by that industry, for as our sole means of transportation
during at least six months of the year, the physical welfare
of our dogs is of vital importance. Our seals have certainly
decreased in number. The great steamers with their large
crews and modern rifles give unprotected mothers and their
young little chance to escape; and many of the old fishery
stands, where the seals in spring and fall regularly “trimmed
the shore’”’ and were captured in large numbers, are now hardly
worth fishing. The greatly increased difficulty of getting
seal-skin moccasins which are a necessity to life in the North
emphasizes the fact, and calls more loudly than ever to have
accorded to these valuable animals the protection, when breed-

INTRODUCTION Seis

ing, that every other mammal on earth useful to man has to
have, in order to save it from extinction.

The scientific study of the movements of our staple food
fishes, like so much else, is still quite neglected. A big fishery
will be carried on all summer on one side of a headland, and
not catch enough fish to eat, while on the other side fish are
so plentiful that the fishermen are unable to haul their nets or
salt their catches. Why? Noone knows. Cana fisherman
find out if he should remain waiting or move to another berth?
Every year empty boats return with impoverished bread-
winners from the Coast due to this peculiar fact. Yet no one
knows what the cause is, nor how to avert it; and no one
is seriously trying to find out. Temperature of the water is
said to be the cause. In rivers heated by forest fires trout
die at a temperature of 68° F. The bait fish in the sea
appear to be even more sensitive. Caplin, on the move-
ments of which our cod fishing depends, seem to die at a much
lower temperature and to be sensitive to even one or two
degrees rise. If a fisherman, by lowering a thermometer into
the sea, knew that he could not find fish in one place, he
would move to another; but no one is even trying to teach
him how to find out.

Labrador is affording the world a most explicit illustration
of the fact that impulses radiate in every direction. When
trap-nets were first evolved and it was found that cod could
be caught in immense quantities at one time, fishermen
worked for an earthly paradise, and we prophesied a great
increase in their numbers. But the contrary has happened.
As soon as motor engines came into use, they found it so easy
to go to and fro from the fishing grounds that we again prophe-
sied that every man would be selling his farm and buying a
schooner. But again the reverse was the result. If ever the
price of fish were to reach ten dollars a quintal we prophesied

xx INTRODUCTION

plenty and ease for the fishermen. But once more we were
entirely wrong. Even now the fishermen get nearly three
times the price for their catch that used to satisfy their fore-
bears, but they are poorer than ever, so poor that many are
literally starved out of fishing. All along the line the country
has made so-called progress, but the average fisherman is if
anything less able to wrest his bread and butter from his hard
environment. Here and there a stalwart lad has returned to
the hook and line fishery, avoiding the gamble of a huge and
expensive net lable without a moment’s notice to be lost
owing to heavy seas or ice and leave the venturer with
a debt which he can never hope to pay. The “ hook-and-
liner’ has to work harder, to fish during a longer season, and
to endure more physical hardship, but he gains enormously
in mental peace. Not afew of these same men even scrapped
their motor engines when the price of oil mounted to a dollar
a gallon. They thus inadvertently avoided the result of the
motor habit, the symptoms of which seem to be marked by
the atrophy of both physical and moral muscles.

Mr. William Cabot journeyed from St. Augustine to Par-
adise rivers in 1920, and his almost annual visits to them
have demonstrated that our ancient Indian Aborigines are
rapidly approaching extinction. The high selling price of
fur during the war lured the white trappers to penetrate even
further than ever into the interior and so curtail the Indians’
ground. The Indian will farm the valuable fur-bearing an-
imals on his presumptive territory as carefully as a farmer
his stock, while he will destroy all the caribou that. he sees,
though they are equally necessary to his life, since he depends
on them for food. But he knows that the caribou is a va-
grant, and that the white settler will shoot it if he does not.
On lands that are common hunting grounds he has no reason
to spare anything. Cabot, who better than any one knows

INTRODUCTION XXl

these people from long personal acquaintance, living and trav-
elling with them, and having helped to publish a book
of their language, describes them as a very charming
race, friendly, peaceful, generous and real sportsmen — but
doomed.

The native Eskimo and half-breed population were almost
decimated in 1918 by a terrible epidemic of influenza. In
one village of three hundred people, in three weeks, two hun-
dred and fifty died — which toll included every adult male.
In some white settlers’ homes every soul died in a few hours ;
and some, isolated and enfeebled, were killed by their own
famished dogs and partly eaten, there being literally no one
left to go to their assistance. The chief Moravian settlement
at Nain, on its one hundred and fiftieth anniversary, was
destroyed by fire, the very day after their steamer Harmony
had landed all their winter supplies. Everything was de-
stroyed, including the valuable fur catch of the year, and the
personal belongings of the missionaries. For the past one
hundred and fifty years the Moravians have been the cham-
pions of the Eskimo people.

Still, there is a future, and a great future, for Labrador,
as there was for “Our Lady of the Snows,”’ for Alaska, for
Australia, New Mexico, Florida, and other countries that
have but recently come to their own. Personally, I can see
the day ever clearer as the years go by. It may not be in
my time. But the world needs now what the Labrador can
give — this great, lone land of silence. In body and spirit it
has great things to offer. During the years that have passed
since this volume was first published, our faith has become
only more unshaken in the future of ‘“‘the Labrador.”

CHAPTER

Jie
TE.

VIII.

XVI.
XVII.
XVIII.

CONTENTS

HisTorRIcAL INTRODUCTION — By W. S. WALLACE

TRAVELLED RouTsEs To LABRADOR— By WILFRED
T. GRENFELL .

THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF LABRADOR— By WILFRED
T. GRENFELL .

THE GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF THE NORTHEAST
Coast — By REGINALD A. DALY..

THe Hamitton RIVER AND THE GRAND FALLS —
By ALBERT P. Low

THe ProrpLeE oF THE CoAst— By WILFRED T.
GRENFELL

Tue Inprans— By WiuuiAM B. CaAsor .

THe Missions— By WILFRED T. GRENFELL .

REINDEER FOR LABRADOR — By WILFRED T. GREN-
FELL

THe Docs—By WILFRED T. GRENFELL

THe Cop anv Cop-FisH—ery—By Witrrep T.
GRENFELL

THE SALmMon-FiIsHERY — By WILFRED T. GRENFELL

THe HERRING AND OTHER FisH— By WILFRED T.
GRENFELL

THE OcEAN MammMats — By WILFRED T. GRENFELL
THe Brrps— By CHAartes W. TowNnsEnpD

THE Firora—By E. B. DELABARRE

ANIMAL LIFE IN LABRADOR

CONSERVATION AND EXPLORATION IN LABRADOR
XXili

PAGE

XXl1V CONTENTS
APPENDICES

NO.

I. Insects or LABRADOR—By CHARLES W. JOHNSON
AND JOHN SHERMAN, JR. :

II. THe Marine Crustacea — By Mary J. Raneeee

Ill. THe Moitiusks— By CHARLES W. JOHNSON

IV. List oF THE MAMMALS OF LABRADOR — BY OUTRAM
BANGS

V. List or THE Birps or LABRADOR —By CHARLES W.
TOWNSEND AND GLOVER M. ALLEN

VI. List oF CRUSTACEA ON THE LABRADOR Coast — By
Mary J. RATHBUN

List oF Books, ETC., ON LABRADOR : ‘5 <

BIBLIOGRAPHY . : : e : ‘ ;

INDEX e ° e e e e S e e e e

PAGE

453
473

479

484

495

506

515
519
521

FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS

WitFrReD T. GRENFELL . . ° . : : Frontispiece

: FACING PAGE
Mar or LABRADOR . ¢ x 5 ‘ z ‘ F ih
GRENFELL STRAIT " 3 - ‘ ‘ y , 4 Leathe eS

GARDENS AT NAIN, SHOWING POTATOES BEING COVERED AT

NIGHT FROM THE SUMMER FROST . ‘ ¢ Q ait OD
“Woman Box” ror WintER SLEDGE TRAVEL : 3 oh oe
THE WELL-BELOVED MAIL-MAN ; : ‘ ‘ : “mor
Mt. RAzOR-BACK FROM THE SoutH, Five Mites Distant . 92

THe East WALL OF THE SOUTHERN ARM OF NACHVAK BAy 96

THE CLIFFS ON THE NortH SIDE oF MuGrorp TICKLE « 10k
Care MuGrorbD, LookING NortTH . - : ‘ ‘ . 108
View FROM A HILL NEAR HopEDALE Mission House . oo) LLY:
IcE-woORN SURFACE NEAR AILLIK BAY . ‘ d ; . 120

LOOKING SOUTH INTO THE TALLEK, THE SOUTHERN ARM OF
Nacuvak Bay . . ‘ : ‘ ‘ : : «, Be
GLACIAL BOULDERS ON A RIDGE NEAR Ice TickLE Hargour 130
Bear IstAnpD, WAVE-WASHED AND THEN UPLIFTED ‘ . 130
Ratsep GRAVEL Breacnu at West Bay, Souta SIDE OF
ENTRANCE TO HAMILTON INLET : : : : . 135
HALF-TIDE VIEW OF THE SHORE AT Forp Harsour . . 185
RAIsED BEACH, OVERLOOKING EmiILy HARBouR, SLoop IsLAND 1388

RAPIDS IN THE HAMILTON RIVER . : . ‘ 5 . 149
Two ViEws or Bowporn Canyon . - a - 4 ga
TAKING IT Easy . ; ; ‘ “ ‘ ‘ “ . - 163
Eskimo In Kayaks AT HEBRON : ; : . : - 170
Court oF ASSIZE ON THE “STRATHCONA” , : “ . 174
Eskimo HunTER . : ‘ ‘ : . ; ; ‘: ein DOD

XXV1 FULL—PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS

FACING PAGE

THE PRAYER-LEADER AT THE RAGGED ISLANDS 2 ‘ :
EskIMO AND NASCAUPEE INDIANS, Hupson Bay . ‘ :
Davis INLET MoNnTAGNAIs. ‘ : 5 ‘ ‘

INDIANS WATCHING THE CARIBOU AT A CROSSING . A

NASCAUPEE INDIANS AT Davis INLET . - 5 5 5
BLUBBER YARD AT HEBRON . : A 5 ‘ 5 ‘
Tue S. S. “Harmony” at RAMAH. 4 “ ‘ 5 :
OKKAK . . A : : 2 . A 5 ‘ 2 :
West Coast Eskimo . : s ‘ 4 : ‘ : 4
A FISHING FLEET WELCOMING THE Mission Boat’s ARRIVAL

St. ANTHONY HospPITAL . ; ‘ , ‘ ‘ 4 ‘
INTERIOR OF St. ANTHONY HOSPITAL . ‘ - : é
BATTLE HARBOUR — THE HOSPITAL ON THE LEFT. $ :
A VISITOR FROM THE NORTH . 5 : : 4 3 :

Mission S. S. “STRATHCONA” . 3 i F A 4

WHERE THE REINDEER GRAZE . 5 A 5 = : :
A DEER-TEAM : ; i ; ‘ : : 3 :
THe HERD IN SUMMER é 3 . 5 5 2 . .
AFTER A Lone HAuvL. i. ‘ ‘ - a ° ° °
WHOLE-BRED Eskimo Docs , 5 : 3 s 4 .
THe MAINSTAY OF THE TEAM . * . 5 4 ° 5
On THE Marca . A : : ‘ = 4 C : .

WAITING FoR THEIR MASTER . $ $ ine ee : F

THE SEA oF IcE. , 3 : : 3 5 . : 6
NEWFOUNDLAND SCHOONERS WORKING NORTH 5 ° =
A BAtTcH OF PRISONERS . ‘ : ‘ e °
FISHING CREWS CATCHING BAIT ‘ 5 : 4 . :
Tue Fisuinc FLEET . ; é . : - : é 4

Kine “ ATTANEK” AND His FRIENDS, EATING WALRUS HEAD
CATCHING SEALS NEAR HEBRON r 4 4 : :
Fuizs AND BUTTERFLIES . ‘ 5 : é : - ;
BUTTERFLIES AND MorTHs . ‘: a cen ' ° : °

190
195
195
206
206
2a
222
220
231
234
238
238
243
243
246
254
259
263
266
270
277
284
284
289
289
296
304
826
353
368

458

464

LABRADOR

THE COUNTRY AND THE PEOPLE

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Sand Grenville Series. Sometimes with limestones
Massive granite rocks

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Scale of Miles

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WILLIAMS FNGRAVING CO., N.Y.

LABRADOR

CHAPTER I

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION ?
By W. 8S. WALLACE

LABRADOR has not much history. So far as we know, it
was first seen by Huropean eyes in 986. From that time
until about 1700 it almost enjoyed the happiness of the
country which has no history. There is nothing to record
but the voyages of navigators who came and saw the land,
and sailed away. Labrador, said Jacques Cartier, was
“the land God gave to Cain’; there was ‘‘not one cart-
load of earth on the whole of it.” No one came to live
on the coast until about 1700. But if the history of Lab-
rador is deficient in quantity, it is marked by an infinite
variety. Across the stage there pass in succession the
savage bands of the Eskimos, an earlier race than ours;
the storm-driven “dragons” of the Vikings; the early
navigators, Venetian, Portuguese, English; whalers and
fishermen from the Basque Provinces, from France, from
the west of England; French-Canadian seigneurs and
concessionaires along the Céte du Nord; English settlers
after 1763 above the Strait of Belle Isle (among them

11 wish to express my indebtedness to Mr. W. L. Grant, Beit Lec-
turer in Colonial History in the University of Oxford, and Mr. H. P.
Biggar, representative in Europe of the Dominion Archives, for assist-

ance kindly rendered in the preparation of this chapter.— W. 8S. W.
B 1

2 LABRADOR

the strange figure of an English staff-officer;) American
privateers in 1778, French warships in 1796; the Hud-
son’s Bay Company; Acadian refugees from the Magdalen
Islands; and the devoted figures of the Moravian mis-
sionaries. The dramatis persone are numerous, but the —
play has little plot or sequence; it is more a pageant than
a drama.

The story begins in the year 986 in Iceland. Bjarni
Herjulfson in that year, after a long absence on the high
seas, came home to drink the Yuletide ale with his father.
Finding that his father had gone with Eric the Red to
Greenland, to found there that colony of which the ruins
still stand upon the bleak and desolate coast, Bjarni
weighed anchor and started off to Greenland after him.
On the way he encountered foggy weather, and sailed on
for many days without seeing sun or stars. When at
length he sighted land, he was in waters of which he had
never heard.

“ He was the first who ever burst
Into that silent sea.”
The land was not the coast of fiords and glaciers for which
he was looking; it was a shore without mountains, show-
ing only small heights covered with dense woods. Bjarni
put about and sailed to the north. The sky was now fair,
and after sailing for five or six days he saw land again on
the larboard, “but that land was high, mountainous, and
covered with glaciers.” Then the wind rose, and they
sailed four days to Herjulfsness. There is no doubt that
the high, mountainous land, covered with glaciers, was the.
coast of Labrador. i
Nothing came of Bjarni Herjulfson’s adventure till fe

INTRODUCTION 3

year 1000, the annus mirabilis of medizeval history, when
Leif, the wise and stately son of Eric the Red, ‘‘made up
his mind to go and see what the coasts to the south of
Greenland were like.’’ He sailed from Brattahlid with a
crew of thirty-five men. “First they found the land which
Bjarni had found last. Then sailed they to the land and
east anchor, and put off a boat and went ashore, and saw
there was no grass. Mickle glaciers were over all the
higher parts: but it was like a plain of rock from the
glaciers to the sea, and it seemed to them that the land
was good for nothing.’ Leif gave the place the name of
Helluland (flat stone land). He then sailed on to countries
which he names Markland and Vinland. The location
of these places has been a subject of the warmest contro-
versy. Helluland, however, it is perhaps safe to say, was
either Labrador or the northern coast of Newfoundland.
This is not the place to describe the expeditions of the
Northmen to Vinland, which took place after the return
of Leif Ericson. At first there were several attempts to
found a colony, but the hostility of the Indians and the
jealousies of the settlers brought them to naught. In
1121 Eric Gnupsson, who was appointed by Paschal II
“bishop of Greenland and Vinland in partibus infideliwm,”’
went in search of Vinland; it is so recorded in at least six
vellums. His is the last Viking expedition of which we
have authentic information. But it is extremely probable
that there were voyages of which we have no record. To
these daring sea-farers the sea had no terrors; in their
beautiful open ships, which were probably stronger and
certainly swifter than the Spanish vessels of the time of
Columbus, they were accustomed to traverse long stretches

4 LABRADOR —

of open sea without compass or astrolabe. They went
everywhere.' In 1824 there were found on an island in
Baffin Bay, in a region supposed to have been unvisited
by man before the modern age of Arctic exploration, a
stone inscription: “Erling Sighvatson and Bjarni Thor-
harson and EKindrid Oddson raised these marks and cleared
ground on Saturday before Ascension week, 1135.” There
is a strong probability that the Northmen made voyages
to the coast of America oftener than we imagine. ‘Timber
was scarce in Greenland; what more likely than that they
should have cut their timber on the shores of Newfound-
land or in places like Hamilton Inlet on the Labrador coast,
where there is still timber of the finest sort ?

The voyages of the Northmen, however, were quite
barren of results of either historical or geographical im-
portance. The very tradition of Vinland seems to have
died out in Europe. There are, indeed, accounts of voy-
ages made to the coast of America in the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries; but these are almost wholly, if not
entirely, mythical. Antonio Zeno, a Venetian gentle-
man, writing to his brother Carlo about 1400, tells of some
fishermen who had been blown out to sea twenty-six
years before, and had been thrown up on a strange coast,
where they were well received by the people. The land
was an island with a high mountain whence flowed four
rivers. There was a populous city surrounded by walls;
and the king had Latin books in his library which nobody
could read. All kinds of metals abounded, and especially

1 A stone bearing a Runic inscription and the date 1362, has been

found in the heart of North America, at Kensington, Minnesota; but
very strong doubts have been cast on its genuineness.

INTRODUCTION 5

pold. The name of the country was Hstotiland. Some
scholars have attempted to find grains of truth in this
fisherman’s yarn; Estotiland has been identified as New-
foundland, and the populous city with walls about it has
been explained as an Indian encampment surrounded by a
palisade. But it is better to reject the story altogether;
there is, indeed, strong evidence that the whole of the
Zeno narrative is a forgery. Another supposed pre-
Columbian voyage to America is that of the Polish pilot,
John Szkolny, who is said to have sailed in 1476 to Green-
land, in the service of Christian I of Denmark, and to have
touched upon the coast of Labrador. This also has been
shown to be a myth; no such voyage was ever made.

It was the opinion of the late Mr. John Fiske that there
were more voyages to America before 1492 than we have
been wont to suspect. There has been, he pointed out, a
great deal of blowing and drifting done at all times and on
all seas. ‘‘Japanese Junks have been driven ashore on
the coasts of Oregon and California; and in 1500 Pedro
Alvarez de Cabral, sailing down the coast of Africa, found
himself on the shores of Brazil.” He argued that occasional
visitors such as these “may have come and did come
before 1492 from the Old World to the New.” It is a
pleasing fancy. Unfortunately, the voice of authentic his-
tory is silent and cannot be made to speak.

The true discoverer of Labrador, for practical purposes,
was John Cabot. Cabot was a Genoese by birth (and so a
compatriot of Christopher Columbus), but in 1476 he be-
came a naturalized citizen of Venice. In his earlier days
he had traded as far east as La Tana, Alexandria, and
even Mecca. There he had seen the spice caravans from

6 LABRADOR

China. They seem to have set him thinking. Like other
men of his day, he had “studied the sphere,” as the saying
went; and he seems to have conceived the idea, inde-
pendently of Columbus, of reaching the country where the
spices grew by sailing westward. In quest of merchants
who would furnish him forth he went to the west of Eng-
land. There he found, in the matter of the new route,
affairs much farther advanced than he could have sup-
posed. In 1480 two ships had sailed from Bristol to discover
the fabulous islands of Brazil and the Seven Cities which
were supposed to lie between Ireland and the east coast
of Asia. The expedition was fruitless, but it shows that
the project of the westward route was already in the air.

From Bristol Cabot made a long series of attempts to
reach the islands which the ships that sailed in 1480 had
failed to find. He believed they would prove stepping-
stones to the coast of Asia. Year after year expeditions
went out under his direction; autumn after autumn they
returned to Bristol empty-handed. Cabot’s patrons were
already beginning to withdraw their support, when in the
summer of 1493 news came to England that Christopher
Columbus, with three Spanish ships, had reached the
islands of Asia. Cabot renewed his efforts, and on May 2,
1497, he sailed under royal patent on the voyage which
brought him out on the shores of North America.

The voyages of the Cabots have been a storm-centre of

1'The reason why Columbus succeeded where Cabot failed, is that
Columbus crossed the Atlantic in a region where the trade-winds blow
steadily from the east; whereas the tract of ocean from Ireland to
America is one of the most unquiet in the world, and a vessel on its

westward course in those latitudes has to contend, not only with ad-
verse winds and broken weather, but with frequent and dense fogs.

INTRODUCTION i;

controversy for many years. The question where John
Cabot had his landfall in 1497 depends almost wholly on
the interpretation of the old maps. The fact that these
charts were drawn to magnetic meridians, and not like our
maps to the true meridian, sometimes alters the lie of a
coast or the direction of a course by over 45°. Apart
from this, also, medizeval reckonings were often far astray.
Chronometers had not yet been invented, and it was only
on rare occasions that longitude could be reckoned with
the least degree of accuracy. Determinations of latitude
were fairly correct when made on dry land, but made
from the deck of a vessel with the imperfect instruments
of that period they were liable to be wrong. Consequently,
it is very difficult to be sure of the course to which a med-
ieval mariner held. It used to be thought that in 1497
John Cabot’s landfall was on Labrador. It is now cer-
tain that wherever his landfall was, it was not there. Prob-
ably it was on the shores of Cape Breton Island.

It was on his second voyage, in 1498, that Cabot touched
at Labrador. A Canadian scholar, Mr. H. P. Biggar, in
his Voyages of the Cabots and Corte-Reals, has attempted
a brilliant reconstruction of this voyage. He thinks
that Cabot explored: first the coast of Greenland, and that
then he sailed south along the coast of Labrador. He
attempts even to identify the places which Cabot de-
scribes; Hamilton Inlet, for instance, and the Strait of
Belle Isle, which Cabot took to be a deep bay. Cabot
seems to have done some bartering with the Indians, for
the Corte-Reals three years later found the natives in
possession of a broken gilded sword and a pair of ear-rings,
both apparently of Venetian manufacture.

8 LABRADOR

John Cabot probably regarded his expeditions as finan-
cial failures. He had set sail expecting to bring back
the wealth of Ormuz and of Ind; he had found only the
rock-bound coasts of North America. He had not even
been able to discover the passage to the country where
the spices grew. King Henry VII and the merchants of
Bristol withdrew from a‘venture that swallowed up so
much capital and offered such small profits; and shortly
afterwards John Cabot died.

Others, however, were not long in following in his wake.
In the summer of 1500 Gaspar Corte-Real, a Portuguese
gentleman from the island of Terceira in the Azores, set
sail from Lisbon for the coasts which Cabot had discovered.
On his first voyage Corte-Real explored only the coast of
Greenland. On his second, which was made the next
year, he came out at Labrador in about 58° of north lati-
tude. The coast here is 3000 feet high, and there is nothing
to the north but a barren, precipitous shore of the same
sort. Corte-Real therefore turned south, no doubt in hope
of reaching in that direction the land of spices. As he
followed the shore, he explored every bay and inlet. He
examined Hamilton Inlet as far up as the Narrows, and he
seems to have explored Hawke Bay and the Gilbert and
Alexis rivers. The Strait of Belle Isle, however, he mis-
took (as Cabot had done) for an ordinary inlet; it re-
mained for others to discover its real nature. He named
a number of bays and capes, but nearly all his names
have been superseded. Some have died out, and some
have been shifted by ignorant geographers down to the
Newfoundland coast. Cape Freels (Cabo de Frey Luis)
is an example of the latter class; originally it was a cape

INTRODUCTION pH)

on the Labrador, named possibly after the chaplain of
Corte-Real’s ships.

In one of the inlets of Labrador Corte-Real came upon
a band of Nasquapee Indians, a tribe which still inhabits
that neighbourhood. The African slave-trade, which was
carried on principally from Lisbon, had taught the Portu-
guese to look upon all natives as fair spoil; and the sailors
kidnapped some sixty of the Indians, and stowed them
away below hatches. Two of the three ships were sent
back to Lisbon with the Indians on board; they arrived
there in little more than a month, and their arrival created
the greatest excitement. King Manoel was delighted.
Not only did the Indians promise to prove excellent slaves,
all the more valuable since the African negro had become
so wary that his capture was a matter of difficulty, but the
new country produced, also, timber in abundance, which
could be brought to Portugal at the cost of a month’s
voyage.

This slave-hunting episode has been fixed on by some
historians as affording the true explanation of the name
Terra Labrador, or Terra del Laboratore. King Manoel
had expressed the opinion that the new slaves would be
“excellent for labour”; obviously ‘‘ Terra del Labora-
tore’? meant ‘labourers’ coast,” or, as we might say, “‘slave
coast.’”’ Unfortunately, there are difficulties about this
ingenious theory. In the first place, the words del Lab-
oratore are in the singular; in the second place, the Por-
tuguese word Ulavrador does not mean a labourer, but
something like a yeoman farmer; and in the third place,
the original Labrador was not what we know now as Lab-
rador — it was Greenland. In nearly all the maps of the

10 LABRADOR

first half of the sixteenth century Greenland is Labrador.
it was only owing to the fact that the early geographers
thought that Davis Strait was a gulf, and that the main-
land continued all the way, that the name got shifted
down to the northeast coast of North America. For many
years what is now known as Labrador was merely desig-
nated “ Terra Corterialis.”’

The real explanation is to be found in the Wolfenbittel
map of 1534, which bears along the coast of Greenland
the legend: “Country of Labrador, which was discovered
by the English of the port of Bristol, and because he who
first gave notice of seeing it was a farmer (llavrador) from
the Azores, this name became attached to it.” We have
even a suspicion as to who this llavrador was. He was
probably one Joao Fernandes, who accompanied Cabot
on his second voyage, who was born on the same island
of the Azores as Gaspar Corte-Real, and who was probably
instrumental in 1500 in persuading Corte-Real to make
his first expedition. In 1499 he himself obtained letters
patent from King Manoel, but he does not seem to have
used them.

On his third voyage, in 1502, Gaspar Corte-Real was
lost. His brother Miguel went in search of him, and he
too disappeared. No trace of the two brothers has ever
been found. - They may have gone down in the broad
Atlantic, or they may have been lured to their fate by the
unforgetting Indians. They pass from history.

For the next fifty years the exploration of Labrador
was at a standstill. So far as the contour of the coast is
concerned, the map of Salvat de Pilestrina (1503) is nearer
the truth than any map up to Mercator’s great chart of

INTRODUCTION 11

1569. The first official explorer to reach Labrador after
Corte-Real was John Rut. Rut was an officer of the
incipient Royal Navy of Henry VIII; in 1527 he set out
to discover the regions of the Great Khan by going “far-
ther to the west.’”’ One of his two ships was wrecked near
the Strait of Belle Isle, where he encountered ‘‘ many
ereat islands of ice,” and had to turn back. In 1534
Jacques Cartier explored the coast inside the Strait of
Belle Isle. It has been said that he discovered the Strait
of Belle Isle, but it is certain that the Strait was well
known before 1534. It was called “le destroict de la
baye des Chasteaux” (the strait off Chateau Bay). Car-
tier’s comment on the coast has already been quoted.
He also said, however, that ‘‘if the land were as good as
the harbours, it would be a good country.”’

The results of later voyages may be briefly summarized.
In 1577 Martin Frobisher sailed along the coast of northern
Labrador. ‘“Foure days coasting along this land,’’ he
says, “we found no sign of habitation.” “All along this
coast yce lieth, as a continuall bulwarke, and so defendeth
the country, that those that would land there, incur great
danger.” In 1586 Davis spent a month on the Labrador
coast, searching for a northwest passage. Besides the
openings already known, Cumberland Strait, Frobisher’s
Strait, and Hudson’s Strait, Davis rediscovered Davis
Inlet in 56° and Hamilton Inlet in 54° 30’. It is to him
that we owe the most exact knowledge of the coast until
modern times. In 1606 John Knight arrived on the Lab-
rador coast in latitude 56° 25’. He and his men were
attacked by the Eskimos, and only with great diffi-
culty were able to beat them off. Eight years later a

12 LABRADOR

Captain Gibbons was ice-bound for twenty weeks in “a
Bay called by his company Gibbons his Hole”; it is
supposed to have been what is now Nain Bay. In 1610
Henry Hudson passed through Hudson’s Straits to Hud-
son's Bay, and so demonstrated the true nature of the
Labrador peninsula.

In the seventeenth century the French Canadians began
to explore the Labrador coast. In 1657 Jean Bourdon of
Quebec tried to reach Hudson’s Bay by sea. He sailed
up the Atlantic seaboard until he reached 55° north lati-
tude; there he was compelled to turn back on account of
the icebergs. Twenty-five years later Jolliet, the discov-
erer of the Mississippi, also sailed on a voyage of exploration
up the Labrador coast. The chart which he made of
Hudson’s Bay and Labrador is still preserved in the
Archives of the Marine at Paris.

It is, however, only within recent times that anything
like an exact cartographical knowledge of the coast of
Labrador has been arrived at. This has been due, on the
one hand, to the British admiralty surveys, the first of
which was carried out by the great Captain Cook, and on
the other hand to the excellent charts.of the Moravian
missionaries. The interior of Labrador is still to a large
extent unexplored.

The great industry of the coast has always been its
fisheries. In the middle ages fish played a much more
important part in the economic life of Europe than it does
to-day. The number of fast days in the year, and the way
in which they were observed all over Europe, made fish
one of the great staples of existence. Until the sixteenth

INTRODUCTION 13

century Iceland was the scene of the most extensive
fisheries. In 1497, however, John Cabot came back from
“the new-found isle” with glowing accounts of the cod-
fish which abounded there. Sebastian Cabot, who had a
vivid imagination, vowed that the shoals of codfish were
so numerous “they sumtymes stayed his shippes.’”’ En-
terprising fishermen almost immediately set out for the
new fishinge-grounds. They appear in the records for the
first time in 1504, the year after the last voyage of the
Corte-Reals. At first they seem to have come mainly
from Breton and Norman ports. When Queen Joanna of
Spain, in 1511, wanted pilots for the Bacallaos (New-
foundland), she went to Brittany for them. And in 1534,
when Jacques Cartier was passing through the Strait of
Belle Isle, he met a fishing vessel from La Rochelle looking
for the harbour of ‘‘ Brest.’”” This was a harbour near the
mouth of the Eskimo River, which had obviously been
named by Breton fishermen; it was already, apparently,
a rendezvous.

Contemporaneously with the French fishermen, came
the Basque whalers from the Bay of Biscay. The asser-
tion has even been made that, in their whaling voyages
in the north Atlantic, the Basques discovered and fished
at Labrador as early as 1470; but this story may be safely
discounted. What is certain is that from 1525 to about
1700 they frequented the Strait of Belle Isle and the Gulf
of St. Lawrence in considerable numbers. As they soon
discovered, the whales followed down the cold Labrador
current and passed through the Strait into the Gulf in
great abundance.

Portuguese fishermen followed in the track of the Corte-

14 LABRADOR

Reals; and the voyage of Estevan Gomez conducted the
Spaniards also to the northwest fisheries. What is now
Bradore Bay was long known as Baie des Espagnols; and
in 1704 there were still to be seen there the ruins of a Span-
ish fishing establishment.

The English were slower in recognizing the value of
the new fisheries than the French or Spanish. They did
not realize at first that Cabot had opened to them a source
of revenue more valuable than the fabled wealth of Cathay.
But gradually they too awoke to the possibilities of the
new fisheries. They threw themselves into competition
with the French, and appropriated to themselves a large
part of the fishing-grounds. The French were driven back
to the west coast of Newfoundland, along what is known as
“the French shore.’ A study of the names on the map of
Newfoundland will show the limit of their fishing opera-
tions; from Bonne Esperance to Cape Charles, the names
are almost wholly French. It was not until about 1763
that the English entered upon the Labrador fisheries at all.

A part of the history of Labrador which still remains
to be worked up is the story of the French Canadian
settlements along the so-called Quebec Labrador. No
full account of these settlements has yet been published;
the facts lie buried in the archives at Paris and Ottawa.
Most of what has found its way into print has been of the
most unreliable and mythical character. Nothing more
instructive could be found, for instance, of the way in which
history is sometimes manufactured than the legend of the
town of Brest. In 1608 there was published in Lyons,
France, a little book, the only surviving copy of which is

INTRODUCTION 15

in the Lenox Library, New York.. It was entitled Copy
of a Letter sent from New France, or Canada, by the Sieur
de Combes, a Gentleman of Povrtou, to a Friend, in which
are described briefly the Marvels, Excellence and Wealth of
the Country, together with the Appearance and Manners of
the Inhabitants, the Glory of the French, and the Hope there
ws of Christianizing America. This letter gives the follow-
ing account of Brest :—

“We desired first to go and see the Sieur de Dongeon,
who is governor, and resides ordinarily at Brest, the prin-
cipal town of the whole country, well provisioned, large
and strongly fortified, peopled by about fifty thousand
men, and furnished with all that 1s necessary to enrich
a good-sized town.”

When it is remembered that this letter was written in
_ the year in which Champlain founded Quebec, it will be
seen immediately that it is a fairy tale of the wildest sort.
Brest was never anything at this time but a convenient
harbour for fishermen; and the Sieur de Combes and the
Sieur de Dongeon are probably people who never ex-
isted. Somebody, however, must have taken the account
au grand sérieux; for in 1638 the following account of
Labrador appeared in Lewes Roberts’ Merchants’ Map of
Commerce printed at London: —

“The seventh is Terra Corterialis; on the South whereof
runs that famous river of Caneda, rising out of the hill
Hombuedo, running nine hundred miles, and found navi-
gable for eight hundred thereof. ... The chiefe Towne
thereof is Brest, Cabomarso, and others of little note.”’

Cabomarso is obviously a cape named by the Portu-

16 LABRADOR

guese; but Brest is the “principal town” of the Sieur de
Combes. The finishing touches were put on the myth
by a Mr. Samuel Robertson, who lived on the Labrador
coast in the first half of the nineteenth century. In a
paper read before the Geographical and Historical Society
of Quebec in 1843, he gave a graphic picture of Brest in
its palmy days. “I estimate,” he said, “that at one time
it contained two hundred houses, besides stores, etc., and
perhaps 1000. inhabitants in the winter, which would be
trebled during the summer. Brest was at the height of
its prosperity about the year 1600, and about thirty years
later the whole tribe of the Eskimos were totally extir-
pated or expelled from that region. After this the town
began to decay, and towards the close of the century the
name was changed to Bradore.’’ In 1630, he goes on to
relate, a grant en sergneurie of four leagues of the coast
embracing the town was made to the Count de Courte-
manche, who was married to a daughter of King Henry IV
of France.

Et voila justement comme on écrit Vhistoire. The whole
story is a myth and a fairy tale. There was, it is true, a
De Courtemanche on the Labrador coast from 1704-1716,
but he was not a count, nor did he hold any land en sevg-
neurve, and he was married to the daughter of a tanner
named Charest at Lévis. Moreover, we have De Courte-
manche’s account of the coast when he came there in 1704.
He does not mention the town of Brest; apparently he
had never heard of it. But in the harbour he found an
establishment of Frenchmen and a blockhouse, about half
a league from the mouth of the Eskimo River. This
was Just a century after the time when “Brest was at

INTRODUCTION 17

the height of its prosperity.”” It is indeed probable that
Mr. Robertson did not know where Brest was; he confuses
it with Bradore Bay, which is eight or ten leagues farther
along the coast. And yet the story has died hard; it is
to be found in some of the latest books, in Professor Pack-
ard’s Labrador Coast (1891), and in Judge Prowse’s His-
tory of Newfoundland (1896).

The exploitation of Labrador by the French Canadians
really began in 1661. In that year the Compagnie des
Indes granted to Francois Bissot the Isle aux C&ufs en
seigneurie, together with fishing rights over nearly the whole
of the Quebec Labrador, from the Seven Isles to Bradore
Bay. This was what was known afterwards as the Seig-
neurve of Mingan. Francois Bissot was a Norman immi-
grant who had come out to Canada some time between
1641-1647. He was a man of enterprise and ideas. He was
the first Canadian to enter upon the tanning of leather, an
industry which is to-day perhaps the most important in
Quebec. He was also one of the very first Canadians who
attempted to establish sedentary fisheries in the Gulf.
At the Isle aux CHufs, and later at Mingan on the mainland,
he founded posts at which he carried on fishing, sealing,
and trading with great success. Between his farm and his
tannery at Lévis and his fishing-posts on the Labrador
it was not long before he made his fortune. He was him-
self of bourgeois extraction; but he married his daughters
to members of the colony’s ruling class. The noblesse
and the bourgeoisie joined hands.

One of Bissot’s daughters married Louis Jolliet, the
discoverer of the Mississippi. His marriage into the Bissot
family drew Jolliet’s energies eastward. His exploration

Cc

18 LABRADOR

of the coasts of Labrador has already been referred to.
As a reward for his discoveries he was granted the island of
Anticosti, a barren fief, of which he was the first seigneur.
~ When Bissot died, Jolliet was one of his heirs. He became
engaged in a dispute with the other heirs which was the
precursor of a long line of disputes about the Bissot sezg-
neurve, litigation over which was only ended in 1892 by
the decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
in the case of the Labrador Company vs. the Queen. Jol-
liet’s last years were tragic. He endured great losses
from the English invasion of 1690, and afterwards was
actually suffering from poverty. He died about 1700,
neglected and forgotten, on some island of the Labrador
coast.

Jolliet’s example without doubt induced others to go
and spy out the land of Labrador. It was about 1702 that
De Courtemanche obtained his concession near the Strait
of Belle Isle. Augustin Legardeur, Sieur de Courtemanche,
was a lieutenant in the troops of the marine. He spent the
early years of his life in the west in the Indian wars, and.
acquired there a reputation as a leader. In 1697, however,
he married the widow of Pierre Gratien Martel de Brouague;
she was the granddaughter of old Francois Bissot, and
family ties drew De Courtemanche, as they had drawn
Jolliet, to the east of Canada. It has been usual to describe
De Courtemanche’s concession as a seigneurie; but such
language is inaccurate. It was merely a grant of fishing
and trading rights for a number of years. The policy of
the government was evidently to leave its hands free for
the future with regard to the Labrador coast. The only
true seigneurte east. of the Mingan Islands was “the fief.

INTRODUCTION 19

St. Paul in the country of the Eskimos”; and about this
seigneurie not much is known. It was granted in 1706 to
Amador Godefroy de St. Paul. In 1725 Godefroy de St.
Paul sent one of his wife’s relatives to render fo et hom-
mage for him at the castle of St. Louis in Quebec. But
after Godefroy’s death it is probable that the family
ceased to occupy the fief ; certainly the fief never arrived
at any degree of importance.’

During the years 1700-1760 it rained concessions on
the Céte du Nord. Grants of fishing and trading rights
were made to the Sieurs Riverin, De la Chesnaye, Constan-
tin, De la Valtrie (who had married a daughter of Fran-
cois Bissot), De Leigne, Boucault and Foucault, De la
Fontaine, De Lanouilles, Marsal, Hocquart, Taché, Pom-
mereau, Vincent, De Beaujeu, and Estébe, as well as to
Mme. de Boishébert and the widow Férnel.? Hamilton
Inlet (Baie des Esquimaux) was granted at different times
to traders and merchants, on condition of its being ex-
plored; but none of the grantees seem to have complied
with the condition. It is noteworthy, however, that in
1779 Major Cartwright reports the discovery near Hamil-
ton Inlet of “the ruins of three French settlements.”’
And we know from Jeffrey’s Northwest Passage that
in 1752 the French traded with the Eskimos at Ham-
ilton Inlet for whalebone and oil. Perhaps the French
Canadians went north of the Strait of Belle Isle oftener
than we hear about.

Inside the Strait, however, there is no question about

1T have to acknowledge here the kind assistance of Professor W. B.

Munro, of Harvard University.
* This list does not pretend to be perfect.

20 LABRADOR

the number of fishing-posts which existed. Not only
were there cod fisheries and seal fisheries, there were even
salmon and porpoise fisheries. The seal fishery was espe-
cially important. It supplied the oil which was used for
giving light in Canada and for dressing hides in Europe.
In 1744, we learn from an old table of products, several
thousand barrels of oil were exported from Labrador to
France. In the industrial life of New France Labrador
played a much larger part than has been _ usually
realized.

The Jesuits did not reach Labrador. In 1730 Father
Pierre Laure, serving at Chekoutimi on the Saguenay,
wrote to his superior: “I think it would be a good thing
if your Reverence would permit me to go to Labrador,
where I know that great results can be obtained.” But
his petition was not granted. The only priest, so far as
we know, who worked on the Labrador coast, was the
Abbé Martin, who petitioned in 1727 to be allowed to set
up a seal fishery there. The memorandum of the Govy-
ernor and Intendant on the subject throws lght on the
conditions of the coast in 1727; they write: —

“We cannot answer immediately in the matter of the
Sieur Martin’s request to set up an establishment of the
Labrador. _

“This region scarcely seems suitable for a man of his
cloth, there being only rocks in this place. The dissipa-
tion which a trading-post brings about scarcely suits a
missionary.

“These proposals show good intentions. We believe
there is nothing behind them. But the matters which he
proposes are too delicate not to require time for considera-
tion.”

INTRODUCTION 21

Whether the Abbé Martin’s request was granted, we do
not know. He is to us merely a nominis umbra. We
know nothing more about him than that he was ‘serving
on the Labrador.”

Order was kept on the coast by the Sieur de Courte-
manche, who bore the official title of commandant. At
Baie des Phélypeaux (now Bradore Bay) he had a fort
called Fort Ponchartrain. He exercised magisterial pow-
ers, and sent in an annual report to the president of the
Navy Board at Paris. His chief difficulty was with the
Eskimos, who persisted in destroying the boats and
stages of the fishermen, and in murdering an occasional
white man. De Courtemanche’s conciliatory policy toward
the natives is deserving of notice, especially as it stands
in sharp contrast with the treatment of the Indians
by the English across the Strait in Newfoundland. There
it was considered good sport to shoot an Indian like a
deer. This is not the only case in which the French
proved themselves superior to the English in their rela-
tions with the natives.

De Courtemanche died in 1716, and his place as com-
mandant of the coast was taken by his step-son, Francois
Martel de Brouague. De Brouague held the post until
the conquest, though in 1759 he was so old and worn out
that the minister proposed to replace him by another.
He too had difficulty with the Eskimos, and he seems
not to have been so successful as his step-father in his
measures. He was, however, a person of importance in
New France; he married in 1732 Louise-Madeleine Mari-
auchau-d’Esglis, sister of the eighth bishop of Quebec,
and his daughter was that beauty of whom Garneau tells,

De, LABRADOR

who, when presented at the French court, filled with admi:
ration the young king, Louis XVI.

The conquest of Canada in 1763 by the English worked a
revolution on the Labrador coast. Shortly after the con-
quest many of the French-Canadian gentry went back
to France; we know, for instance, that in 1767 Captain
Croizille de Courtemanche, half-brother of M. de Brouague,
went back. At the same time there flocked into the coun-
try a number of English and Scotch adventurers — “four
hundred and fifty contemptible sutlers and traders,” as Gov-
ernor Murray called them. Some of these men bought up
the concessions along the Labrador coast which the French
Canadians were leaving. Between 1759 and 1808 they
acquired nearly the whole coast from the Mingan Islands
to Bradore Bay, and formed what was known as the Lab-
rador Company, the leading spirit in which was Mathew
Lymburner, the Quebec merchant who spoke so ably at
the bar of the House of Commons in Westminster against
the Constitutional Act of 1791.

From 1763 also dates the first authentic account of a
settled English fishery between the Strait of Belle Isle
and Hamilton Inlet. Under the French régime Canada
had included all Labrador; but by the proclamation of
1763 its eastern boundary became the River St. John.
Labrador and Anticosti were annexed to Newfoundland.
Adventurers immediately began to establish themselves
in the new territory. Captain Nicholas Darby, of Bristol,
set up near Cape Charles, and the firm of Noble and Pinson,
Jong well known on the coast, began to do business at
Temple Bay.

INTRODUCTION — De)

This, however, was not at all the object which the Eng-
lish government had wished to accomplish. It had been
their intention to put the Labrador fishery under the same
regulations as the Newfoundland fishery. It was to be
preserved as an “open and free fishery” for the Dorset
and Devon fishing fleets, and was to be governed by
fishing admiral rules. The establishment of sedentary
fisheries immediately caused trouble. It was the old
story, so familiar in the case of Newfoundland itself, of a
struggle between the settlers on the shore, who claimed
the right of exclusive fishing, and the fishermen who came
over the Atlantic from English ports, and who wanted
the fisheries and landing-places reserved for themselves.
Sir Hugh Palliser, the governor of Newfoundland, strove
energetically to carry out the new regulations. He applied
to the home government for naval reénforcements, “for
the purpose of enforcing the fishery laws and preserving
peace and some degree of order amongst the fisheries,
especially amongst the mixed multitudes now resorting
to the new northern banks about the Strait of Belle Isle,
composed of about 5000 of the very scum of the most
disorderly people from the different colonies.” He built
a blockhouse in Chateau Bay, and garrisoned it with an
officer and twenty men. But his measures were in vain.
He had to encounter, not only the opposition of the few
English and French-Canadian settlers on the coast, the
latter armed with their title-deeds acquired under the
French governors, but also the hostility of the Canadian
and New England fishermen, who were excluded from the
fisheries. The feeling among the New England fishermen
was especially strong; their exclusion from the Labrador

24 LABRADOR

fisheries was one of the lesser causes which helped to bring
about the American war, and it explains some episodes
in the naval history of the war. In 1774 Labrador was
given back to Canada. It was not until 1809 that it was
finally reannexed to Newfoundland.

A trader who came to Labrador in 1770 was Major
George Cartwright. He had been aide-de-camp to the
Marquis of Granby in the Seven Years’ War; but failing
to obtain promotion, he resigned his commission, and went
into business on the coast of Labrador. He has left us
his journals, in three large folio volumes. The great ma-
jority of the entries are trivial. ‘I went out a-shooting,”
he says on September 29, 1772, ‘but saw nothing.” Yet
the diary as a whole gives a vivid and minute account of
the life at a post on the Labrador in 1770. The drunken-
ness, the brutality, the license, are all depicted without
reticence. Cartwright, who was a man of magnificent
courage, treated the Irishmen and Indians under him like
slaves. “‘I gave MacCarthy,”’ he says, “twenty-seven
lashes with a small dog-whip on his bare back, and in-
tended to have made up the number thirty-nine; but as
he then fainted, I stopped and released him; when he
thanked me on his knees for my lenity.” ‘I broke the
stock of my Hanoverian rifle,” he says at another time, “ by
striking a dog with it.” So far as women were concerned,
Cartwright’s principles were frankly immoral. Yet he
was religious after the fashion of his day. On Easter
Sunday, he says, “‘I read prayers to my family both in the
forenoon and afternoon.” And after a providential es-
cape from danger he writes: ‘We could attribute all these
things to nothing but the effect of the immediate interpo-

INTRODUCTION Da

sition of the DIVINITY, who had been graciously pleased
to hear our prayers, and grant our petitions; and I hope
I shall never be of a contrary way of thinking.” He was
a man of strict honour; and when he failed in business,
he refused to go into bankruptcy, and preferred to carry
the burden of his debt in the hope of paying it off.

He had several trading-posts at intervals along the
coast from Cape Charles to Sandwich Bay. Under him
he seems to have had at times as many as seventy-five
or eighty men, mostly Irishmen of the lowest. description.
He did not limit himself to sealing, and fishing for cod and
salmon, but he tried by all means possible to cultivate
trade with the Indians and Eskimos. Huis policy in
this regard is one of the most laudable things about him.
Three years before his arrival on the coast the Eskimos,
with whom murder was a pastime, killed three of Captain
Darby’s men at Charles River. The relations between
the English and the Eskimos after this threatened to
degenerate into the guerilla warfare which ended in New-
foundland in the extinction of the Beothuks. Cartwright
saw that this policy was a wrong one, and by his firm and
kindly attitude toward the Eskimos he gradually gained
their confidence. ‘Twice he took Eskimos back with him
to England, and tried to train them up as go-betweens,
but they almost all died from the smallpox. Their death
was to Cartwright one of his greatest disappointments.
Through ill luck his policy was not so successful as he
hoped it would be, but it must be said that he was work-
ing along the right lines.

Cartwright was not a good business man, and his adven-
ture was not a success. He suffered from the hostility

26 LABRADOR

of Noble and Pinson, ‘‘who have been my inveterate
enemies ever since I came to the coast,” and his buildings
were several times destroyed by fire. But the great
calamity which overtook him was the visit of the American
privateer Minerva in August, 1778. At one o’clock on
the morning of August 27, he was alarmed by a loud
rapping at his door; he opened it, and a body of armed
men rushed in; they were, they said, from the Minerva
privateer, of Boston, in New England, commanded by John
Grimes. They made Cartwright their prisoner, and took
possession of everything. At nine o’clock Cartwright
was taken on board, and received by Captain Grimes,
who was “the son of a superannuated boatswain of Ports-
mouth.’ Cartwright was not favourably impressed by the
first leutenant and the surgeon, whom he describes as
“two of as great villains as any unhanged.’”’ He found
that his possessions at Charles Harbour and Ranger
Lodge had already been plundered. An expedition had
been sent off to Caribou Castle to plunder there; and it
was only by talking about a British frigate which he
expected that he frightened them from sending to Paradise
and White Bear River. They robbed him of everything
except a small quantity of provisions and a chest of bag-
gage, which Grimes returned (“but many things were
pillaged out of it’). Cartwright lost also about one-half
of his men. The Minerva was short-handed, and Grimes
offered a share of the booty to any who would enter with
him. Nearly thirty-five men, mostly Irish and Dutch, ac-
cepted his offer. It is needless to say, none of them ever saw
any prize-money; when they reached Boston, they were all
thrown into prison, where they languished for several months.

INTRODUCTION 27

Cartwright computed his losses at about £14,000.
Fortunately, however, his brig, with all the salt and most
of the other goods which the Americans had carried away
in her, was retaken on her passage to Boston, and his
losses proved not so great as he had imagined they would
be. Others suffered more severely than he did. Noble
and Pinson at Temple Bay lost three vessels and all their
stores; and two merchants named Slade and Seydes lost
a vessel each at Charles Harbour. The next year a small
American privateer of four guns entered Battle Harbour,
and captured a sloop there with about twenty-two tuns
of seal oil on board. The stores on the shore, belonging
to Slade of Twillingate, were destroyed. The result was
that “everybody on this side of Trinity was in the utmost
distress for provisions from the depredations of the priva-
teers, as no vessels had arrived from England.” Cart-
wright himself had to cut his men down to short rations
during the winter.

In 1786 Cartwright returned to England, and his diary
closes. In the last entries are some interesting notes on
the Strait of Belle Isle. At both Forteau Bay and Blanc
Sablon Cartwright founded establishments of fishing com-
panies from Jersey. Behind the Isle de Bois he saw
several American whalers lying at anchor. “Not having
had any success with whales, they were catching codfish.
As they dare not carry their fish to the European markets,
for fear of the Barbary rovers, they are sent up to their
own back settlements, where they fetch good prices.”
The journal ends with a poetical epistle to Labrador.

Ten years after Cartwright left the coast Labrador was
again the victim of a hostile visitation. In August, 1796,

28 LABRADOR

Admiral Richery, one of the ablest of the admirals of the
French republic, made a flying visit from Cadiz to the
Banks of Newfoundland. After having wrought cruel
havoc among the fishermen on the Banks, he despatched
three of his ships, the Duquesne, the Censeur, and the
Friponne, under Commodore Allemand, to visit the coast
of Labrador. Allemand was delayed by wind and fog,
and when he arrived at Chateau Bay, most of the fishing
vessels had left for Europe. Several ships, however, still
remained, among them part of the rich convoy of peltries
returning from Hudson’s Bay. These Allemand captured.
He then sent a summons to the commandant of Fort York,
the blockhouse which Governor Palliser had built at
Chateau Bay, demanding his surrender. When the com-
mandant refused to surrender, Allemand opened fire on
the fort, and soon silenced its fourteen guns. The English
thereupon took to the woods, but not before they had set
fire to all the buildings and stores at the post. The French
landed, but found ‘‘nothing but ashes’; after a vain
attempt to pursue the English garrison in the woods, they
put to sea again, taking with them those prizes which they
had not sunk or burned. They had done .as much damage
as it was possible for them to do. The people of Labrador
have small reason to love the warships of revolutionary
states.

In 1809 Labrador was given back to Newfoundland.
The arrangement was once more, however, found to be
unsatisfactory. The Céte du Nord was really a part of
Lower Canada, and it did not fit in, either legally or socially,
with the system of government in Newfoundland. The

INTRODUCTION 29

result was that in 1825 that part of Labrador which is
now known as the Quebec Labrador, stretching from the
River St. John to Blane Sablon, was reannexed to Lower
Canada. This is the arrangement which governs the
present condition. Unfortunately, however, the boun-
daries of Labrador have never been clearly defined. The
jurisdiction of the governor of Newfoundland, as defined
in the letters patent regularly issued up to 1876, includes
“all the coast of Labrador, from the entrance of Hudson’s
Straits to a line to be drawn due north and south from
Anse Sablon [sic] on the said coast to the fifty-second
degree of north latitude.’ The only conclusion which
may be drawn from this document is that the advisers
of the British crown, when they drew it up, were, as usual,
not looking at the map. Anse Sablon is a place which
does not exist, though Blanc Sablon does; and just where
the entrance to Hudson’s Strait is, might well, as Sir John
Haselrig said, be the subject for a month’s debate. It
might be anywhere from Cape Chudleigh to Fort Chimo.

The result of the ambiguity in the terms by which the
boundary of Labrador is defined, has been a dispute be-
tween Quebec and Newfoundland which is still pending.
Canada has issued a map coloured red right to the Atlantic
seaboard; and Newfoundland has retorted by colouring
nearly the whole of the Labrador peninsula green. The
question will probably be decided by the Judicial Com-
mittee of the Privy Council.

In 1811 an act of Parliament was passed authorizing
the holding of surrogate courts in Labrador. Nothing
was done to give effect to this act until 1827, when Sir
Thomas Cochrane, the governor, issued a proclamation

30 LABRADOR

setting up a court of civil jurisdiction. A sheriff was ap-
pointed for the coast, and a vessel was chartered to take
the judge on his circuit; but it was soon found that the
undertaking was more expensive than advantageous. In
1833 the court was abolished.

Meanwhile a change had been taking place in the fisheries.
In 1818 a convention was made between the United States
and Great Britain, by which the inhabitants of the United
States gained, among other things, the right of taking
fish of any kind “on the coasts, bays, harbours, and creeks ”’
of the Labrador. American fishermen took advantage
of this convention in great numbers. In 1820 Captain
Robinson, of H.M.S. Favourite, reported ‘530 sail of them
this year.” The English fishermen began to suffer from
their competition. Both the American and French fish-
ermen received bounties from their governments: the first
in the shape of a drawback on the salt used; and the sec-
ond in the shape of premiums which were so regulated as
to, make 20 franes per quintal the minimum price received.
The American fisherman also fished “in his own vessel,
built by himself, with timber grown on his own land, and
with provisions supplied by his own farm.’ ‘There was
ereat irritation against the government because of their
admission of the Americans into what was considered the
richest part of the fisheries. It was felt that England was
being generous to the prodigal son at the expense of the son
who stayed at home. Such a feeling has not died out in
Newfoundland yet, as recent events have shown.

Population has never increased by leaps and bounds on
the Labrador coast. In 1841, however, Samuel Robertson
said that on his part of the coast there were over two hun-

INTRODUCTION ill

dred and fifty settlers. In 1848 the bishop of Newfound-
land visited Labrador. “No bishop or clergyman of our
Church,” he said, “has ever been along this coast before,
and yet the inhabitants are almost all professed members
of our Church and of English descent.’ The good man
found plenty of work to do. He consecrated several
eraveyards. At one settlement ‘‘great numbers were
married, and both here and elsewhere an offering [of four
dollars] was very cheerfully paid.” At Battle Harbour
fifty-seven children were admitted into the Church.

The statement is made in some of the books that when
the Acadians were driven from their homes in 1753, a
number of them took refuge on the Labrador coast, and
erected a fort at Chateau Bay. For this statement there
is no authority whatever. The only invasion of the shores
of Labrador by Acadians took place in the years 1857-1861.
During these years a number of Acadians came from the
Magdalen Islands, whither their ancestors had fled a cen-
tury before. Some of them, braving the threats of seig-
neurs, settled at Pointe Saint-Paul, not far from the ancient
harbour of “ Brest,’’ and others squatted near Natishquan,
ninety miles east of Mingan. In all, they numbered
about eighty families. Their children still lve on the
Céte du Nord, scarcely distinguishable from the French
Canadians about them.

Something must be said about the Hudson’s Bay Com-
pany. - It is probable that until 1870 the Hudson’s Bay
Company was at law the proprietor of a large part of the
Labrador peninsula. Under their charter they claimed

32 LABRADOR

“all rights to trade and commerce of those seas, etc.,
within the entrance of Hudson’s Strait, and all lands on
the coasts and confines thereof.” Their claim to Labrador
was submitted to the law officers of the British crown in
1752, and pronounced by them to be valid. It was not,
however, till 1831 that the company began to exploit
Labrador. In that year, having learned from a missionary
report that the country about Ungava produced excellent
furs, and being desirous also of ‘‘ameliorating the condi-
tion of the natives,’ they founded Fort Chimo on Hudson’s
Strait. A year or so later they established at the other
end of Labrador Rigolet Post, near the head of Hamilton
Inlet. It was the desire to establish communications
between these two posts that led to the wonderful over-
land journey of John M’Lean, the factor at Fort Chimo,
in 1838, a journey which has not been repeated until within
the last few years. M’Lean’s Notes of a Twenty-five Y ears’
Service in the Hudson’s Bay Territories is worth reading
as an earlier version of the lure of the Labrador wild.

In 1870 the great company surrendered all its rights in
British North America to the Dominion of Canada, in return
for a substantial quid pro quo. All that part of Labrador,
therefore, which does not belong to Newfoundland, comes
under the jurisdiction of the Dominion.

There remains to be told the story of the Moravian
missionaries. No more wonderful story of missionary
effort has ever awaited the pen of the reporter; and yet
the work of the Moravian Mission in Labrador has. been
little known. It was in 1752 that the United Society of
Brethren first attempted to found a mission there among

INTRODUCTION oe

the Eskimos. It ended in failure. The four mission-
aries had erected a house, the frame and materials of which
they had brought with them, when five or six members of
the crew, among them the mate, who was a Brother, were
treacherously murdered by the Eskimos. The mission-
aries were obliged to return with the ship, in order to
help man her, and they left their house standing on the
bleak and desolate coast. It was seen next year (1753)
by Captain Swaine, of Philadelphia, who was exploring the
coast in the ship Argo.

The attempt to found a mission was not renewed until
1764. In that year Jans Haven, a member of the
Brotherhood who had been working among the Eskimos
of Greenland, landed at St. John’s, Newfoundland. Sir
Hugh Palliser, the new governor, was anxious to improve
the relations between the white men and the Eskimos,
and he did all in his power to further Haven’s aims. At
last, at Quirpont, Haven met an Eskimo. “I ran to
meet him,” he says. Great was the surprise of the Eskimo
at being addressed in Greenlandic.

The next year three other missionaries came out, one
of them an old man whose race was nearly run. They
selected the spot which they thought best for their mission,
and then asked from the government a grant of 100,000
acres in connection with it. This demand fell on the ears
of the government like a thunderbolt. It was excessive;
it savoured even of ulterior designs. The missionaries
explained that the vicious influence of the European
traders and fishermen on the coast made it necessary that
the natives should, as far as possible, be preserved from
contamination. In 1769, after long delays, the grant was

D

34. LABRADOR

made. Two years later the Brethren began to build their
mission house at Nain. ‘It was as if,” wrote one of them,
“each with one of his hands wrought in the work and with
the other held a weapon.” Before winter broke on them
they had the house finished.

In 1773 the British government sent out Lieutenant
Curtis, R.N., as a commissioner to report on the progress
of the mission. Some sentences from his report may be
transcribed : —

“They have chosen for their residence a place called
by the Indians [Eskimos] Nonynoke, but to which they
have given the name of Unity Bay. ... Their house is.
called Nain. It is a good situation, and is well contrived.
They have a few swivels mounted, although they have
no occasion for them, as the Indians [Kskimos] are awed
more by their amiable conduct than by arms. ‘There
is a sawmill, which is worked by a small stream conducted
thither by their industry from the mountains, and they
find this engine to be extremely serviceable. ... They
_ have a small sandy garden, and they raise salads in toler-
able perfection. ... The natives love and respect them,
because they have happily adopted and strictly adhere
to that conduct which is endearing without being familiar.
None of the Indians [Eskimos], a very few excepted,
ever presume to come within the palisades without per-
mission, nor is a bolt necessary to prevent their intrusion.

The progress which the mission has made in civiliz-
ing the Indians [Eskimos] is wonderful.”

In 1775 the mission at Okkak was established; and in
1782 that at Hopedale. Everything, however, did not go
smoothly at first. About 1787 a mysterious person named
Makko, a French Canadian (says the historian of the
mission), who combined the character of merchant and

INTRODUCTION 315)

Roman Catholic priest, succeeded in enticing a number of
the Eskimos away from the Brethren. And Cartwright
says in his Journal in 1783: “The Eskimos expressed a
oreat dislike to the Moravians, and assured me they would
not live near, or trade with, them more.” It was not until
1804, says one of the missionaries, that the fruits of the
mission began to appear; but in that year, ‘‘a fire from the
Lord was kindled among the Eskimos.” Since then
mission stations have been established at Hebron, at Zoar,
at Ramah, and at Makkovik. These names may be seen
marked on any good map of northeastern America, ‘names
of another clime and an alien race.”

The Eskimos, said Cartwright, ‘have always been
accounted the most savage race of people on the whole
continent of America.” ‘They are,’ said Governor
Palliser, “the most savage people in the world.” To-
day it would be hard to find a more quiet, placid, and
peaceable race. The change is due almost entirely to the
United Brethren. They have converted a race of primeval
savages, with whom murder was a passion and theft a
craze, into mild and simple Christians. The great miracle
has seldom been wrought on more unpromising materials
and with more amazing success.

For their part, the Eskimos are not unmindful of
their friends and benefactors. ‘‘My dear Brethren and
Sisters,” writes Simeon of Nain, “I am quite astonished at
your love for us, and distressed that I am not able to make
you any return. I have requested my teachers to trans-
late my words into your words, that you may understand
that I feel great gratitude toward you. I am Simeon.”

“T greet the unknown friends in Europe,” writes Verona

36 LABRADOR

from Hopedale, ‘‘as if I knew them, and write these un-
worthy lines to them. In heaven I shall see them and get
to know them, because we shall all be with the Lord, even
those who have no money.”

CHAPTER,

TRAVELLED ROUTES TO LABRADOR
By W. T. GRENFELL

THE northeast coast of Labrador can be reached at pres-
ent only vid Newfoundland. A passenger steamer runs
from each side of the island to Labrador. They are stout
boats, and are in the hands of such old experienced pilot
captains that in spite of the badly charted coast, the ice-
bergs, and the absence of most of the aids to navigation in
the more beaten tracks, no danger beyond what is inci-
dental to every sea trip need be anticipated. There has
_ never yet been a life lost from accident on these mail boats
visiting the Labrador coast.

The tourist must choose whether he wishes to go by the
west or east coast of Newfoundland. The east coast boat
runs once a fortnight. She calls at many points along the
east coast of Labrador as far as Nain, in lat. 56°, and also
at several ports on the east coast of Newfoundland. The
west coast boat makes weekly trips, starting from Bay of
Islands. She touches at ports on the island, crosses the
Strait, and visits the southern shore of Labrador, from
Bonne Esperance to Battle Harbour, at the entrance to the
Strait of Belle Isle. Here she connects with the east coast

37

38 LABRADOR

boat, so that visitors can come by the one route and re-
turn by the other if they choose. St. John’s is connected
with Bay of Islands by direct railway communication.!

The Reid-Newfoundland Company issue an illustrated
‘“‘Souvenir”’ of Newfoundland. This contains an excel-
lent map of all the routes of their lines, and also takes in
the whole coast of Newfoundland and the Labrador coast
as far north as their steamer goes, 2.e. to Nain. As far
as Chateau in the Strait of Belle Isle, the tourist is in
telegraphic communication with the outside world
and by the Marconi system as far north as Hamilton
Inlet. |

St. John’s is very easy of access and can be reached
from either Liverpool or Glasgow by steamer. The pas-
sage takes about eight days. St. John’s can also be
reached by steamer from Halifax by the Furness line or
Red Cross line; from New York direct by the Red Cross
line; from Boston by Furness-Withy line; and direct
from Montreal by the Black Diamond Steamship line. If,
however, a shorter sea passage is desired, passengers can go
vid Sydney, Cape Breton, whence a steamer connects with
the trans-Newfoundland Railway at Port-aux-Basques,
accomplishing the short sea journey in six or seven hours.
The railway to St. John’s from Port-aux-Basques passes
through Bay of Islands, the starting-point of the western
boat to Labrador. It also traverses the beautiful valleys
of the Humber and Cordroy rivers.

As the east coast Labrador steamer makes about a hun-

1 The passenger agent at St. John’s for the Reid-Newfoundland

Company will gladly give all information with regard to means of
transit, etc.

TRAVELLED ROUTES TO LABRADOR 39

dred calls on the round trip, the traveller can learn much
without leaving her. But if he wishes really to see Lab-
rador, he must be willing to give more time to it than the
mere hurried round trip of the mail steamers can afford
him. These steamers remain but a very short time at each
place, and do not visit the long and almost unknown
fiords which constitute one of the chief attractions of the
coast. ‘To go where perhaps the foot of man has never
trod, to wind in and out at leisure among the countless
turns and twists of these inlets, never knowing what one
is likely to meet with next, adds a great charm to a holiday
and a freshness which long since has been lost by most
summer resorts. The wildest, least known, and by far the
erandest fiords are all north of Nain; in order to attain a
true appreciation of scenic Labrador, one ought to begin
where at present the average visitor is obliged to turn back
with the mail steamer.

Thus to enjoy the best that Labrador has to offer, and
to study the remarkable features which among all the
coasts near to civilization are peculiar to “the Labrador,”
one must be able to linger at will in the long fiords, push
up these still unnamed and almost unknown arms of the
sea, and discover for oneself new coves and inlets as he
coasts along them. In a few, but only a very few, of the
northern bays and fiords one may occasionally find a
solitary salmon fisherman. Generally the visitor may en-
joy with Robinson Crusoe the joy of being monarch of all
he surveys. Not a policeman, nor a warning “not to tres-
pass’”’ will be encountered. No advertising fiend has yet
succeeded in defacing these refreshing wilds.

In Labrador there are no hotels in the ordinary meaning

40 LABRADOR

of the word. Yet there is not a single place touched by the
mail steamer where the visitor will not find a shelter of some
sort. The ways of the country are those of the wilds, and
every house is glad to offer what accommodation it can to
those who come along. The Moravian Brethren, the hos-
pitals of the International Grenfell Association, the
larger planters, as well as the settlers, are always glad
to help a visitor along. Naturally, however, if one wishes
to go exploring, hunting, fishing, or doing any kind of
work which involves going far from the mail steamers, it
_ is best to be independent, and to be so one should carry
a tent and light camper’s outfit.

Very few supplies can be obtained locally. It is best to
rely on obtaining nothing beyond flour, sugar, hard
bread, salt meats, and one or two of the commoner foods,
such as dry peas, etc.; these can be obtained at almost
every place where the mail boat stops. Nor must one
count on getting canoes or light boats suitable for rivers
on the coast. Only a very few such craft exist. It is far
better to take one’s own boat and sell it at the end of the
trip, for craft of this sort would command a ready market.

Guides can be obtained for most of the outer baysif they
are arranged for beforehand. Since the summer-time is
the only season in which most Labrador men can earn
money, arrangements should be made for guides and crews
during the preceding winter or spring. The best way to be
sure of areliable guide isto write to the agent of the Hudson’s
Bay Company, the Moravian Brethren in the north, or the
author of this chapter. All are glad enough to assist any
one planning a visit to the coast or interior.

The best way of all, though naturally the most expen-

diecast alinrarycrenniiaain ee ati

TRAVELLED ROUTES TO LABRADOR 41

sive, is to hire a schooner or a small steamer, and thus
be entirely one’s own master. Few yachts have ever
visited Labrador. The descriptions given of the weleome
afforded by its coast to small vessels, even in such should-be
authorities as the Encyclopedia Britannica, are so poetical
in their freedom with the actual facts, that they are not
calculated to entice any one who is bent on pleasure. As
a matter of fact, if the charting were better, there could
scarcely be a safer coast for the amateur skipper, for one
can get a harbour in every stretch of ten miles along the
whole length of the Atlantic coast. It is not necessary to
spend a single night at sea the whole way from the Belle
Isle Strait to Cape Chidley. Flitting from harbour to
harbour, one can easily cover the entire coast.’

The days are long in summer in these latitudes, and at
night the clear atmosphere, the splendid northern lights,
and the absence of strong tidal currents (except in the
extreme north), make navigation still more easy. I have
cruised the coast both in sailing boat and steamer, year
after year, and have never been near losing a life yet.
Three parties of friends, who have adopted this method of
visiting Labrador in a hired schooner (one party having
come two summers in succession), all give the same testi-
mony.? The fishermen who visit this coast year after year
can give similar evidence; thousands of men, women, and
children have for many years been cruising the outside coast

1 With one man in an open dingey I have, with comparative com-
fort, traversed the coast from Battle Harbour to Rigolet, a distance
of two hundred miles.

* The gentlemen referred to are Americans from Boston, Mass.,
Concord, N.H., and Providence, R.I., respectively.

42 LABRADOR

in summer as far as lat. 56° north and some as far as Hud-
son Strait. These people come down from both sides of
Newfoundland in sailing craft of every conceivable kind,
many sailing in vessels under twenty tons, and some in open
skiffs. Yet it is very rare to hear of any having been lost
from stress of weather. The dangers of the ice have often
been ridiculously exaggerated. The one or two cases where
collisions with ice have occurred have been due to the
fisherman’s hastening along on dark nights in order to
reach a fishing station sooner than another vessel. In
fact, these accidents are due to the contempt bred of famil-
iarity, and to the consequent boldness which no pleasure
party would ever dream of displaying.

The want of charting can be entirely made up for by the
knowledge of these fishermen, who can readily be shipped
as part of the crew, acting as pilots at the same time. Nor
is this knowledge so marvellous after all, when one con-
siders the number of times that they have navigated these
same waters, and that they have sounded almost every
part of it again and again with their hand-lines as they
fish year after year along the coast. Moreover, the cliffs
are generally so steep-to that the bowsprit would strike
before the keel. Poor anchors and chains are the causes
of almost all our losses. Only when it comes to the inside
calm waters up the fiords, where, as a rule, the Newfound-
landers do not go after fish, does their local knowledge come
to an end, and the pleasure of exploring for oneself begins.
But as the water is then necessarily sheltered from any
possible swell from the Atlantic, and as an anchor can at
a pinch be drepped anywhere, the danger to life becomes
almost absolutely nil. In the fiords it is often impossible

TRAVELLED ROUTES TO LABRADOR 43

to strike bottom; if you should wish to do that, your bow-
sprit will keep you off the land. Even supposing that you
were to strike and lose the schooner, you have only to
launch the jolly-boat and row ashore.

A forty-ton schooner with a crew of four hands could be
obtained for $100 per week, or less — a sum which would
include food for the crew, the insurance, and all charges.
As such a vessel will easily accommodate a party of four or
five, the expenses, considering the nature of the holiday,
cannot be considered heavy. The lessor of the schooner
would have to be guaranteed probably a ten weeks’ mini-
mum hire. It is possible to hire a schooner for a lump
sum to include everything.’

If time is a great object, the best way would be to send
one’s boat on to Labrador and meet her there in the mail
steamer. This would obviate the only open sea that is
more than one could be sure of compassing in a day’s run;
namely, the journey from St. John’s to Battle Harbour.
After that it is perfectly easy to harbour every night.
As one travels farther north, the number of off-lying islands
increases considerably, and for a hundred miles at a time
one can pursue his journey along the coast with an “in-
side” passage. From Cape Harrigan in lat. 55° north to
Cape Mugford in lat. 58° north, the voyage can be made
almost without seeing the open sea. The last thirty miles
to Cape Chidley Island is again all inside, and the vessel
can then be sailed on into Ungava Bay through a strait on
the south side of the island. It may be noted that the
tides, such as they are, set almost uniformly to the south-

1 Mr. W. H. Peters, St. John’s, has arranged such a trip and is
prepared to assist any one wishing to make a similar expedition.

44 LABRADOR

ward, so that however hard it may be to beat against head
winds to the northward, it is always easy to get back again.
Fire-wood for camping purposes can be obtained every-—
where south of Cape Mugford; with a little care and fore-
sight the fuel question need offer no difficulty.

After many years’ cruising the coast as master of my
own vessel, after having visited the coasts of Norway and
Iceland, as well as having coasted all round the British
Isles, I consider that none of these European shores offers
a more fascinating and safer field for pleasure cruising than
the coast of Labrador. Everywhere the coast is bold-to,
and if disaster overtakes a pleasure vessel in the summer
months, it is due to negligence or to bad tackle for holding
or running gear.

If the visitor to Labrador desires scenery of a wild and
rocky nature, he should certainly aim for the northern half
of the northeast coast. At Nain the cliffs are already
beginning to rise to heights which cannot fail to delight
the eye and to stimulate the imagination. From that
point on, the sheer precipices increase in number and im-
pressiveness until, at Port Manvers, they rise two thousand
feet out of the sea; at Cape Mugford, three thousand feet ;
at the Moravian Mission station, Ramah, thirty-five hun-
dred feet; while the mountains rising direct from sea-
level in the Nachvak region are over four thousand feet in
height. One of the finest of the great mountain-blocks is
that at Cape White Handkerchief—so named from a
large mass of white rock in the face of this stupendous
promontory. At the head of Seven Islands Bay are the
highest mountains in Labrador, known as the “Four
Peaks.” So far as known, no white man has ever climbed

TRAVELLED ROUTES TO LABRADOR 45

any one of these hornlike, rocky piles: their heights have
been variously estimated at from six to ten thousand feet.
The probable heights seem to be from six thousand to
seven thousand feet.

Many of the beautiful inlets in the southern half of this
coast may be explored with small, open boats or even with
canoes. Some of the inlets can be easily reached by leav-
ing the mail steamer at Fanny’s Harbour, Cape Harrigan,
or Davis Inlet (the Hudson’s Bay Company’s name for
Ukasiksalik). First, there is Jack Lane’s Bay, with a
salmon river at its head; then, a few miles farther north,
Jem Lane’s Bay, beyond which there begin hundreds of
miles of winding, interlacing fiords and channels (“‘tickles’’).
Such inside passages thread among a long and wide island-
breastwork along the coast; many months could be spent
in exploring these waters. ‘The wooded sides of the narrow,
steep-sided ‘‘tickles’”’ not only give their own touch of
beauty to the landscapes, but afford cover to animals of
various sorts. At Hopedale one has access to several long
bays reaching up into the interior; at the head of the near-
est bay is a large and beautiful waterfall. Farther south
the bays bearing the following names will well repay visits:
Kaipokak, Makkovik, Kanairiktok, Stag Bay, Hamilton
Inlet, Sandwich Bay, Hawke’s Bay, Alexis River Bay, and
Lewis Bay. To reach them the visitor should leave the
steamer at the respective points: West Turnavik, Makko-
vik Island, Hopedale, Cape Harrison, Rigolet, Cartwright,
Boulter’s Rock, Square Island, and Battle Harbour.

But the universal attraction of the coast — the ever
changing glory of the atmosphere — cannot be localized or
described. Colour is everywhere, with a gamut that few

46 LABRADOR

parts of the world can equal. From the hilltops the land
is a giant opal, changing, in a million moods, from the
tenderest gray or blue, through vivid emerald or most
royal purples, to the unsurpassed gold and reds of the long
twilights and dawns. In the summer season north of
Hamilton Inlet the sky is seldom clouded over completely,
and cumulus, stratus, or ocean mist simply enhance the in-
imitable play of nature’s colouring. Thunder-storms are
very rare; when one of these storms, coming from the
west, does pass out to sea, it may be an event in one’s life.
I shall never forget one dark night when the huge cliffs of
Mugford Tickle through which we steamed, and a group of
great icebergs stranded at their feet, leapt out of the black-
ness as stroke after stroke of lightning blazed from the
clouds. It seemed that one could scarcely imagine a sight
more thoroughly awe-inspiring. Even the short nights
of the summer and early autumn are blest with light and
exquisite colour, for the auroral displays are, on this coast,
among the most frequent and extensive of all those re-
corded throughout the world. Very often, beneath this
strange sky, thesea is intensely phosphorescent ; the traveller
by night may find endless entertainment, watching from
the bow of his moving vessel the weird lights set flashing
by schools of frightened fish.

If the visitor seeks large rivers for exploration by canoe,
he can find a good number, and all are well stocked with
salmon and trout. Trout are known always to be taken’
with the fly, but beyond the latitude of 53° 50’ north, little
fly-fishing has been attempted, and contrary reports are
given as to the measure of success in getting salmon to
rise. The noblest of the rivers is, of course, the Hamilton,

TRAVELLED ROUTES TO LABRADOR AT

at the head of Melville Lake (Hamilton Inlet); this river/ |
will be specially described in Dr. Low’s chapter on ‘ Ham-
ilton River and Grand Falls.”’

For hunting, the places least disturbed by man are
naturally apt to be the best. In the autumn almost all
the bays abound in geese and ducks. One may be rather
sure of geese at the entrance to Hamilton Inlet, at the head
of Lane’s Bay, at the entrance of Table Bay, in Goose Bay
near Cartwright, and in Byron’s Bay. Other likely places
are Partridge and Rocky bays, and also at all the flats near
the mouths of the big rivers. The autumn deer-hunting
is, so far as known to me, most likely to be successful in
Davis Inlet, on the hills about Nain, inside Cape Mugford,
at the head of Makkovik Bay and on the hills above Stag
Bay and False Bay. After Christmas deer are to be found
in abundance within reach of the settlers on the southern
part of the coast. Black bears are most likely to be en-
countered where the settlers are fewest in number and where
the caplin come to the land-wash near the woods. Many
bears are killed every year in Hawke’s Bay. They are also
found in the fiords between Davis Inlet and Nain. White
bears are found in small numbers on the northern parts of
the coast, where they remain all summer to feed on the
eggs and young of the countless ducks and geese.

Those who wish to study the Eskimo should go to Nain,
and then farther north. To see them in anything like
their primitive condition one should go as far as Ramah,
and, if possible, to Nachvak and Ungava. In the northern
flords are many relics of the stone-age out of which these
people are just passing; many articles of ancient make may
be found by travelling in the gravel-beaches. To see the

48 . LABRADOR

Nascaupee or Montagnais Indians one should seek for them
at Northwest River or at Davis Inlet whither they come
to trade their furs.

Studies in geology, botany, and mineralogy can, of course,
be pursued anywhere. The formations north of Nain
seem to offer most prospect of commercial ores. An iron-
deposit has been worked near Ramah; gold has been found

near Cartwright; mica, at Paradise and at Boulter’s Rocks; |

antimony, near Eagle River; and copper, near Cape Mug-
ford. No lasting mining operations have been begun.

CHAPTER III

THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF LABRADOR
By W. T. GRENFELL

It is probable that the readers of this book are, as a rule,
most interested in the drama of human life as, year after year,
it is being played out in this strange land of Labrador.
For this very reason one may well pause beforehand to
review the physical features of the peninsula; in an in-
timate way and often in spectacular fashion the Labra-
dorman’s daily life is controlled by natural conditions.
The simplicity and wholesomeness of that life are chiefly
due to the fact that the men of the country are always
close to nature. These essential traits of fine character
are growing every day in the youth of Labrador much
as the myriad of exquisite flowers deck its hills during the
glory of summer; both man and plant are rooted in the
soil or grip the native rocks, their home by the sea. This
chapter is intended to furnish a brief outline of the physi-
ography. Since the northeast coast is from many aspects
the most interesting part, a following chapter will supply
additional details on that region; in that chapter a brief
summary of the geological development of the whole
peninsula is also included. The scenic importance of the
Grand Falls of Hamilton River demands a chapter which
incidentally describes many typical features of the interior.

E 49

50 LABRADOR

Dr. A. P. Low, now Deputy Minister of Mines in Canada,
is the chief authority on the geography of the interior
He alone has published much on that greater part of the
peninsula. His truly wonderful trips through the length
and breadth of Labrador were signalized as much by the
success attained as by the absence of mishaps on his long
and hazardous journeys. To see the interior one musi
understand travelling. Mr. Low’s trips show that much
good work can be done with little fuss, and that no ob-
stacles to exploration exist which foresight will not over-
come. Using his simple but effective and essential rules
of outfitting and living on the way, other men will repeat
his traverses and add many new ones, until finally Labra-
dor is really and thoroughly known. Meantime, I am
glad to be able to supply from Mr. Low’s own pen a short
account of his findings in the interior. He writes: —

“The peninsula of Labrador has an area of more than
five hundred thousand square miles. It is an ancient
plateau formed of crystalline rocks which were folded up
and elevated above the sea in a very early period in geo-
logical history. The plateau rises abruptly from the sea
along the Atlantic and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while
the northern and western slopes are much more gentle.
The main watershed of southern Labrador is about two
hundred miles north of the St. Lawrence, where the general
level is about two thousand feet above the sea. As con-
trolled by the southern position of the watershed and by
the range of mountains along the Atlantic coast, the greater
part of the drainage is to the north and west, into Hudson
Bay and Hudson Strait, and the largest rivers flow in those
directions.

“The surface of the interior is comparatively level,
being broken by low, rounded ridges of crystalline rocks,

THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF LABRADOR 51

which seldom rise three hundred feet above the general
level, and are usually much lower. These ridges.he roughly
parallel; some of them being many miles in length, but
as a rule, they die out in less than ten miles, so that the low
land between forms a network of connected, shallow valleys.
The general surface is further modified by low ridges of
glacial drift, whose direction corresponds with the general
slope of the country. These ridges have resulted from the
transportation and movement of the loose surface material
by the glacier, which once covered almost the entire surface
of the peninsula. They have largely obliterated the ancient
drainage systems of the central area, where the present
watercourses are all of recent origin. The valleys separat-
ing the ridges are occupied by innumerable irregularly
shaped lakes, which vary in size from ponds to lakes hun-
dreds of square miles in extent. The lakes of each valley
are connected by a stream, usually with a rapid current
and without definite banks, following the lowest levels of
the surface between lake and lake. As the streams be-
come larger they are often split into numerous channels by
large islands; many of the lakes discharge by two or more
outlets flowing into the next lake below. There results
a bewildering network of waterways hard to follow or map.
These streams are seldom broken by falls; and as an ex-
ample of the uniformity of the grade, it may be mentioned
that the Hamilton River above the Grand Falls can be
ascended to the heads of beth its main branches without
a portage. The rivers as they approach the coast fall into
ancient valleys which have been sculptured deep into the
hard rocks forming the general surface of the plateau.
The Hamilton Valley is the finest example; cut a thousand
feet into the plateau, it extends three hundred miles inland,
and greatly exceeds the Saguenay Valley in length and
grandeur.

“The peninsula, extending northward. through ten
degrees of latitude, differs greatly in climate, and passes

52 LABRADOR

from cold temperate in its southern parts to sub-Arctic
on the shores of Hudson Strait. The climate of the in-
terior is Arctic in winter, but during the short summer is
much warmer than the coast, with hot days, cool nights,
and occasional frosts, so that heavy blankets are always
comfortable. The annual rainfall is not heavy, and during
the summer heavy rains are rare; light showers fall almost
daily, but are not very inconvenient to the traveller. The
northern limit of trees extends to the southern shores of
Ungava Bay. About the upper waters of Hamilton River,
the valleys are thickly wooded with small spruce, fir, aspen,
and poplar, while the hills are partly bare. There is a
marked absence of underbrush, the ground being carpeted
with white lichens on the higher parts and with mosses in
the damp lowlands. Blueberries and other small fruits
are abundant in the burnt areas and along the banks of
streams.

“Owing to the high coastal range along the Atlantic,
the only large rivers flowing. eastward empty into the head
of Hamilton Inlet, which itself is cut through the range
The Hamilton River is by far the largest of these; next
in size is Northwest River, the outlet of Lake Michikamou,
a very large body of water some three hundred miles inland
to the northwest. The Kenamow is the third, and flows
from the highlands to the southwest.

‘Some knowledge of the interior of Labrador was pos-
sessed by the French in 1700, as shown by the map pub-
lished at Paris, by Delisle, in 1703. This information was
probably obtained from Jesuit missionaries and fur traders.
By 1733, seven fur-trading posts had been established along
the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and in the
southern interior.

“The fight for the fur trade, between the Northwest
Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company, lasting from
shortly after the conquest of Canada until 1820, led to the
establishment of many small posts and outposts far in the

THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF LABRADOR a5)

interior of Labrador. The amalgamation of these rival
companies led to the abandonment of many of these small
posts, of which all trace is now lost.

“In 1824, the Hudson’s Bay Company sent Dr. Mendrys
from Moose Factory on Hudson Bay, across the peninsula
in canoes, to establish Fort Chimo on Ungava Bay. This
trip was the basis of Ballantyne’s popular story, Ungava.

“At the same time James Clouston was mapping the
country between the Nottaway and Hast Main rivers,
which flow into Hudson Bay. The next record of explora-
tion is contained in Twenty-five Years in the Hudson’s Bay
Territory by John McLean. In the period 1838-1840 he
made annual trips from Fort Chimo to Hamilton Inlet,
and on one trip discovered the Grand Falls of Hamilton
River. In 1857 the Hudson’s Bay Company had nine
posts and outposts established in the country north of
the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Owing to changes in the con-
ditions of the Indians, these posts have been gradually
abandoned, and but two, Nichicun and Mistassini, remain
at the present time. These are situated on the head
waters of the Big and Rupert rivers, which flow into Hud-
son Bay, and are not within the province of this book.
The old posts of Nascaupee, Michikamou, and Winokapau
on the Hamilton River were abandoned in 1873, and the
Indians belonging to them now trade at posts on the Gulf
of St. Lawrence.

“With the closing of the trading posts all knowledge of
the interior was lost, and it can only be recovered by new
explorations. In 1887, R. F. Holmes attempted to reach
the Grand Falls of the Hamilton, but being without proper
canoes and crew, only reached Lake Winokapau, a little
over halfway up the river. Two separate expeditions
from the United States ascended to the Grand Falls within
a few days of each other in 1891, and accounts of their trips
were published in the geographical journals and in the
Century Magazine,

54 LABRADOR

‘Since 1885 the writer has made a number of trips
through the interior and along the northern and western
coasts, reports of which are published by the Canadian
Geological Survey.

“This in a few words is the available knowledge con-
cerning the history of the vast interior of Labrador; our
information has been wholly derived from a few portage
routes travelled by the voyageurs of the Hudson’s Bay
Company to and from the coast and from a few surveyed
tracks along the principal watercourses by government
explorers and others.”

One quarter of the whole surface of Labrador is estimated
to be covered with fresh water. Vast lakes are so joined
by an intersecting network of rivers that it is possible to
canoe over most of the country with astonishingly few
portages of length. For example, a voyager can enter
the Manikuagan River at the Gulf of St. Lawrence in lat.
49° 15’ north, travel about three hundred miles to Summit
_ Lake in lat. 53° north, cross the lake and on the opposite
side enter the Koksoak River, and, proceeding another
four hundred miles, come out in Ungava Bay in lat. 58° 5’
north. These distances, it may be noted, are in the air-
line; following the turns of the rivers the distances are
nearly twice as great as those given. Or, again, one can
enter Hamilton Inlet, proceed about one hundred and fifty
miles to the mouth of Hamilton River in long. 60° west,
follow it to its source some six hundred miles to the west-
ward, cross by a short portage to the head of Big River,
and follow that stream about seven hundred miles farther
westward, to its mouth in Hudson Bay in long. 79° west.
Probably in no country of equal area can exploration by
canoe be carried on with so few portages. .

THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF LABRADOR DD

The maps showing Mr. Low’s traverses are published by
the Geological Survey Department at Ottawa, Canada;
they are the only reliable maps of any part of the interior.

The distances along the coast-lines of the peninsula
are truly “magnificent.” The air-line stretch from Battle
Harbour to Cape Chidley on the northeast coast is seven
hundred miles; following the sinuosities the shore-line is
doubtless three to four times as long. From Cape Chidley
to Cape Wolstenholme (the north coast) is about five hun-
dred miles as the crow would fly, if he could live up there.
From Cape Wolstenholme to the bottom of James Bay is
another eight hundred miles, while the south coast is ap-
proximately seven hundred miles, also in a straight line.
Thousands of miles of additional shore-line are represented
in the numerous inlets and in the literally thousands of
islands along the southern and northeastern coasts. The
relative accessibility of the coasts, coupled with the fact
that fisheries will long be the principal industry of the
country, makes it expedient to use more space in the de-
scription of these parts of the peninsula. Besides the
physiography described in the special chapter on the
northeast coast, I shall here add some notes derived from
my own exploration of the northern fiords.

If one could and should accurately picture the fiords, it
would mean that half the interest of the visitors in these
northern waters would be lost. The romance of these
wonderful cleavages in the mountains largely consists
in the feeling one has that, when he-turns a corner, no
man has told him what will next meet the eye. The study
of the fiords has only just begun; all that I can do is to give
- some indication as to general location, lengths, and con-

56

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SHOWING BAR

Aug. 23. Water dead low
at 4.45 P.M. About 15 ft.
below high water level.

1905. Shoat of 5-10 f, reported by

Seylla. I have repeatedly sounded

the channel and especially in 1907,
Tcould find no point less than 15

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WILLIAMS ENGRAVING CO., N.Y.

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LABRADOR

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THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF LABRADOR oT

tours of a few of them. Of the thirty or more larger fiords
a few will be noted, beginning at the most northerly one
on the Atlantic coast. Some stress will be laid on the
landmarks which may be of service to future explorers
in the far north.

South of Cape Chidley Island is the channel connecting
Ungava Bay with the Atlantic. Separated from that

Fig. 1. Carpe CHIDLEY

1. 1950 ft. — Mt. Sir Donald on south side of Grenfell Tickle; 2. The cape; 3. Posi-
tion of Killinik; 4. East coast of Labrador; 5. Gray Straits.

channel for some ten miles only by a narrow, rocky ridge,
is a long inlet which I explored in the small steamer Sir
Donald during the year 1897. We entered this inlet while
searching for the channel above mentioned. We steamed
up about ten miles, the water being, as usual, deep on both
sides. Finding at that distance a good circular harbour
on the north side, we dropped anchor in good mud at six
fathoms. We thence scaled the highest hill on the north
side, finding the summit too precipitous to ascend until we
reached its southwest shoulder. The summit was found
to be only about nineteen hundred and fifty feet above sea,
but it commanded a glorious view. We could see Ungava
Bay in the west, the Button Islands in the north; to the
east, the Atlantic beset with numerous islands; to the
south, a great array of the rugged peaks stretching away

58 | LABRADOR

indefinitely into the mainland. We built a cairn on this
peak and named it “Mount Sir Donald.” Running an-
other ten miles, toward the north-northwest, we reached
a point in the inlet, where it is separated from a similar -
inlet from Ungava Bay only by a low neck of land. The
main bay continues to the southwestward — how far, I am

Fig. 2. THe Curve IN GRENFELL TICKLE
1. Chidley Island; 2. Mt. Sir Donald; 3. Cairn.

unable to say. On a second visit to this fiord we found
three families of Eskimo camped on its shore; there are
remains of ancient Eskimo encampments on the flats.
This is an excellent ground on which to search for stone
relics.

Threading the islands for a distance of ten miles from the
mouth of this fiord, another inlet opens. It is marked on
the Admiralty chart under the name “Ekortiarsuk.”’
I have never entered it, nor have I record of its exploration
by a single white man; the inlet is reported, however,
to wind away among the mountains for thirty miles.

Fifteen miles to the south-southwest is Mount Bache

WES [[ejusissy

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THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF LABRADOR og

and the northern end of the fiord-like Eclipse Channel,
which lies between the mainland and the large island
“ Aulatzevik.”” Halfway through, this channel is blocked by
ledges of rock, so that only small boats can pass. The
Eskimo, in order to avoid the journey in the open ocean
outside Aulatzevik, regularly use the channel for their
skin boats. The mountains on each side of the channel

Fig. 3. REGION oF ECLIPSE COAST

1. Cape Naksarektok; 2. Cape Nullataktok; 3. Islands off Komaktorvik; 4. Cape
north of Seven Islands; 5. South end of Strand; 6. South side Ryan’s Bay;
7. Cape Territok; 8. North cape of False Bay; 9. Mt. Bache.

vary from two to three thousand feet in height. Aulatze-
vik is divided by a through-going valley, occupied in part
by a long bay and, for the rest, by a string of small lakes.
The bay offers excellent anchorage. The American eclipse
expedition of 1860 has published a chart of the island and
“tickle” (channel), but it does not show this harbour
on the southern end of the island. Just west of the entrance
to the harbour there is a remarkable natural landmark,
a sketch of which is given in Figure 4. The landmark
may be useful to any one making the land here, for the
peak is plainly visible from the sea; I have called the peak
“Castle Mountain,” since it greatly resembles an old ba-

60 LABRADOR

ronial castle perched high on a semi-isolated spur of the
general range facing the sea. Care must be taken in ap-
proaching the northern entrance, for there are, besides
several very small islands, some ‘“‘nasty’’ shoals lying be-
tween east and northeast of Mount Bache. Beyond these
shoals there are some larger islands, one of which has an

Fig. 4. VIEW FROM SEA OFF SOUTHERN SIDE OF Bie Bay

1. Eclipse— North entrance; 2. Castle Mountain; 3. A green grassy point;
4, By waterfall.

excellent harbour on the western side. These we have
called the Mettek Islands, 7.e. Hider-duck Islands. In
1903 Mr. George Ford of Nachvak, with two Eskimo,
visited the islands during the breeding season. The birds
were so thick on the ground that Mr. Ford had difficulty in
finding enough space free of nests or eggs on which to place
his sleeping-bag. The men took away twenty-five hundred
eggs, but when they left the eggs were as abundant as
ever; the eider-duck is a most industrious bird.

About five miles to the south of the southern entrance,
beyond the mouth of the bay called ‘‘ Komiadluarsuk,”

THE PHYSIOGRAPAHY OF LABRADOR 61

a remarkable headland rises from the water. This is a
ridge some two miles long and persistently about three
hundred feet high. The sky-line is serrate, and the fisher-
men call the ridge ‘‘ Razorback.” The rocks of the lower
cliffs (specially steep at the east end) are red; those higher

Fig. 5. WESTERN ENTRANCE TO GRENFELL TICKLE

1. Chidley Island; 2. Mt. Sir Donald; 3. Western entrance to Grenfell Tickle;
4, Tunusaksak Bay.

up grow darker until, at the top, the ridge is almost black.
Its various peculiarities make the ridge a fine landmark.

“Razorback”’ lies just north of the entrance to the next
fiord, that called Ryan’s Bay. This one has not been ex-
plored by schooners. There is good anchorage on the north
side, just beyond a great rampart of dark rock which runs
southerly, at right angles to the ridge just described. On
this side of the fiord there is a notable beach of sand, one
of the very few sand beaches on the coast. It is a com-
pound beach, being made up of successive terraces of sand,
each terrace marking an old level of the sea; the whole
forms the clearest evidence of the recent emergence of the
coast border from beneath the sea. There are numerous

62 LABRADOR

remains of old Eskimo ‘earth’ houses, sunk into these
raised beaches. The roofs have long since fallen in, but
the walls, built of boulders and banked with sand, were
still standing. The bay is said to run far inland, and re-
ceives at its head a good-sized river plenteously supplied
with trout, a former food supply for the Eskimo.

The mountains both to north and to south of Ryan’s

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Fic. 6. Mountains TO WEST-SOUTHWEST LOOKING OVER Ryan’s Bay

Bay are alpine in character. The peaks are bare and sheer ;
one, rising to the southwest, reminded me strongly of the
Matterhorn, though, of course, on a smaller scale (Figure
6). Fifteen miles to the southward, or halfway between
Ryan’s Bay and Cape White Handkerchief, another large,
double fiord opens. Owing to the large islands facing this
inlet, the fishermen have named it Seven Islands Bay.
The two divisions of the bay are called by the Eskimo
“Komaktorvik” and “Kangalaksiorvik.” The entrance
may be safely made by keeping the north side aboard ;
there is abundant good anchorage almost anywhere inside.
The large, high island bearing to port is called “ Avagalik,”
or Whale Island. The entrance to the south of the islands
is partly blocked by shoals occurring near the islands.

THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF LABRADOR 63

These shoals are dangerous, especially as they are covered
with black kelp; the average depth upon them is about
two fathoms. To enter safely, one should keep the shore
side aboard. Running out directly seawards for nearly
twenty miles is a barrier reef of low black rocks surmounted
by tiny islands; the whole simulating a coral reef in form,
though, of course, not in origin. The fishermen call the
whole the Hog’s Back, from the likeness of the islets and
rocky points to a hog’s bristles. There is an interesting
problem as to just how all these innumerable rocks were cut
off so near the water-line. To approach the entrance of
the double fiord from the south, the skipper should keep
all the islands, including the Hog’s Back, to the north;
standing in for the land about five miles north of Cape
White Handkerchief; with the cliffs aboard, pass in south
of a ridged island about three hundred feet high and a mile
long. This island is of a red colour, and is called by the
Eskimo “‘ Nenoraktualuk,”’ or “‘ Big White Bearskin”’; it is
the only really large island on the outside. Four miles west
of the end of the island is the spring sealing station of many
EHskimo, and is called “ Inuksulik,” or Beacon Island.

How far the double fiord extends into the land is not
known, though it is certainly many miles. The Eskimo
catch trout in Komaktorvik, and used to carry their catch
- to Nachvak, the Hudson’s Bay station until 1906.

Since this region north of Nachvak Inlet is the least
known part of the Atlantic coast, I have laid special em-
phasis upon it, with the express purpose of pointing to the
need of its further exploration. The more southerly fiords
have been more visited by white men. One of the very
finest of all is that at Nachvak; it is illustrated in Dr.

64 LABRADOR

Daly’s chapter on the geology and scenery of the northeast
coast — a chapter which also contains a brief description

Fig. 7. REGION OF IRON STRAND

1. Point at entrance to Seven Island Bay; 2. The Iron Strand (Sagliarvtsek), shoal
water close in (black sand and rocks).

of the very different, though likewise imposing, fiords and
channels about Cape Mugford. In order to avoid a tedious
verbal account, while giving some idea of the curiously
varied scenery of the coast as I have seen it, a considerable

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1. Promontory off north end Iron Strand; 2. Long fresh water pond.

number of sketches have been introduced (Figures 7 to 12).

The configuration of the sea bottom off the coast is,
of course, of the utmost importance to the fisheries. Im-
perfect as they are, the Admiralty charts yet give us our
best information on this subject; to them the reader is

THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF LABRADOR 65

referred, as a useful written description of the many irreg-
ularities of the inshore bottom is quite impossible. In

Fic. 9. CAPE NULLATAKTOK

Cape White Handkerchief just around corner.

general, it may, however, be said that the whole coast is
fringed with a shelf covered with relatively shallow water,
the depth averaging well under one hundred fathoms.

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1. Ramah Bay; 2. The Look-out; 3. Mountain above Mission Strait, 3500 ft.;
4, Reddick’s Bight.

The beltlike archipelago of islands along the northeast

coast simply represents the emerged portions of the shelf.

Beyond the islands the depth may increase to more than

one hundred fathoms, but, farther out to sea, the bottom

F

66 LABRADOR

often rises again, forming shoals which many claim to be
the winter home of the cod. The famous Grand Banks

Fig. 11. View or SAEGLEK Bay

1. Bluebell; 2. East Uivuk; 3. St. John’s Harbour; 4. Southwest Point;
5. Saeglek Bay; 6. Point bearing N. 290° W.

off Newfoundland represent a great enlargement of the

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1. St. John’s Harbour; 2. Southern division of bay; 3. North division of bay;
4. Island bore N. 325° W.

shelf. The summer fisheries are carried. on along the
“inner banks” which, between Cape Harrison and Cape

THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF LABRADOR

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SCALE OF GEOGRAPHICAL MILES

68 | LABRADOR

Mugford, Hind has estimated to cover fifty-two hundred
square miles. Beyond the outer banks the bottom drops
off into water hundreds of fathoms deep — at the real edge
of the continental plateau.

As a rule, the tides are practically unimportant in the
navigation of the Atlantic coast of the peninsula. They
are to be reckoned with in the narrow parts of Belle Isle
Strait and in the region about Cape Chidley. The only
overfalls likely to affect a small boat are to be expected
off Forteau, off Point Amour, in the narrow tickles near
Cape Chidley, and in Belle Isle Strait. In the strait the
current runs about three knots an hour both to the east
and to the west. On the northeast coast the current
generally runs slowly to the southward. Strong winds
will affect these velocities about a knot an hour either
way.’

The tides of the far north are, on the other hand, quite
remarkable. On one occasion I attempted to force the
nine-knot steamer Strathcona against a full ebb tide in the
tickle south of Cape Chidley Island. At the narrowest
place, where the defile is only a hundred yards in width,
the water was a boiling torrent, filled with whirlpools.
The steamer, though at full speed ahead, was carried astern.
We were forced to run back and await the turn of the tide.
We reckoned the current at fully ten knots an hour.

The range of tide on the Atlantic coast varies from five
to eight feet; at Cape Chidley it is thirty-five feet, while

1 Fuller information may be obtained in the monograph on the tides
of this coast by Dr. W. Bell Dawson, Engineer in charge of tidal
surveys for Canada, Department of Marine and Fisheries, Ottawa,
Canada.

SOI JOWWINS OY} WOIJ JYUSIN }@ P219A09 Sulaq S90}e}OYg SUIMOUS ‘UISN Je Suspsey

THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF LABRADOR 09

the range in Ungava Bay is said to be as much as fifty feet.
In any case the range in this bay is one of the greatest
recorded in the world.

Since the magnetic pole lies to the north-northwest of
Hudson Bay, the magnetic variation is very high on the
Labrador coast. At Battle Harbour it is 40° west; thence
it increases until it is more than 53° to the west at Cape
Chidley. The visitor cannot fail to be struck by the fact
that, during auroral displays, the middle of the illuminated
arc, which flames over the magnetic pole, lies to the north-
west, far from the north star.

It should be emphasized that the charts of the region
north of Hamilton Inlet are of little or no practical value
to the navigator. They are only of value in giving general
directions and in furnishing a crude pictorial idea of the
coast.

The climate of Labrador is not excelled anywhere in
the world for its bracing and invigorating effect. Testi-
mony gathered from hundreds of workmen, prospectors,
visitors, sailors, fishermen, officials, lumbermen, and
scientific men have shown that, without exception, their
general health has improved, and they have been able to
sleep quite a material proportion of the twenty-four hours
longer than at their own homes. Without exception
where access to proper food has been possible the tend-
ency has been to increase in weight in our winters.

Labrador has no endemic disease, and though, like all
subarctic countries, it is the home of many mosquitoes,
there is no malaria. Notwithstanding the great number
of Eskimo dogs bred and kept in the country, I have
never known nor heard of a single case of either hydro-

70 LABRADOR

phobia or of the Tenia echinococcus, or fatal tapeworm,
that dogs transmit to man.

The restorative influence of a holiday in Labrador on
a jaded and overwrought system is often truly wonderful,
and I feel sure that, under proper conditions, a constitution
will be toned up much faster than in the summer resorts.
Commander Peary has recently added his testimony to the
great value of the Arctic air to consumptives.

There has somehow got abroad an idea that Labrador
is continually wrapped in fog. This is an entirely erroneous -
idea, and has arisen from the fact that at the line of junction
of the Gulf and polar currents, in the regions of the Banks
of Newfoundland and England, more or less fog is preva-
lent. Asa matter of fact, fog is almost left behind at the
Strait of Belle Isle. Many times as: we have steamed out:
of the strait in thick fog, and passed the southeast corner
of. Labrador, we emerged from what, on looking back, re-
sembled a dark wall, to bask ouldenee in the clearest of
sunshine. 3

“As master-of my own ed for nearly thirty years on
the coast, I can say that the delays that I have experi-:
enced in the summer from fog between Battle Harbour
and Cape Chidley have been quite immaterial. On the
average, however, a more or less foggy day about once
a fortnight may be expected.

The rainfall again is exceptionally small, and the
amount of snow that falls in the eight winter months,
which is at that time the rain of the country, is not
sufficient to leave a permanent ice-cap even on the
highest peaks. There are no accurate statistics avail-
able to show exactly what the rainfall is. A certain.

THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF LABRADOR 71

land surveyor who, with a party, spent four months on
the Grand River and not far from the very centre of
the country, experienced only one-half day during which
rain prevented his party from working. On the other
hand, the amount of sunshine is well up to the av-
erage. One might say that in summer one day in
three is altogether sunny; one day in three is partly
sunny; one day in three, dull. As these deductions are
not the result of accurate, scientific records, I can
only offer them as the results of my own general
notes from year to year. Fog is seldom found in the
fyords as one gets north unless with prolonged easterly
wind. |

The summer temperature of both air and water varies
ereatly as one leaves the coast and goes up the bays. This
remarkable feature of the coast is due to the combination
of two influences — that of the southerly latitude within
which Labrador lies, and that of the polar current which
sweeps right home to its Atlantic shore. When one con-
siders that the southern point of Labrador is on the same
parallel of latitude as London, and its most northern point
only the same as the north of Scotland, one can understand
how in summer the sun’s rays are very effective in warm-
ing the atmosphere in localities untouched by the polar
current. The summer temperature of the outside water
averages, at the surface, from 40° to 45° F., while ten
fathoms down it sinks to nearly 35° F., and at thirty
fathoms is from 30° to 35° F. When, however, one gets
near the head of a bay, say twenty miles in from the coast,
the temperature at the surface may be as high as 50° F.
and at the heads of the big bays, especially above Rigolet

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THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF LABRADOR 73

in. Hamilton Inlet, even higher. The diurnal range of the
summer air temperature in the bays is not great.

This systematic relation of temperatures produces the
result that, though on the coast one can grow, as vegetables,
only stringy cabbages and leaves of turnips, at the bay
heads, carrots, potatoes, cabbages, turnips, currants, rasp-
berries, and gooseberries grow with readiness. The average
temperature in summer for southern Labrador is about
00° F. On the coast the diurnal range may be from 30°
to 80° and in the bays from 45° to 90° F.

The lists (on this and the opposite page) of average
monthly temperatures are taken from the records of the
Deutsche Seewarte, as copied here from the report of His
Excellency, Sir William MacGregor: —

TABLE (2) oF Mean, MaximuM, AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES FOR
ENTIRE YEARS (DEGREES FAHRENHEIT)

PLACE Lat. N. YEARS MEAN Max. Min. RANGE.

Ramah 58° 53! | ’84-’88 | 22.64

Hebron HSe 12 | "84-91% 21.2

Hebron 58° 12! 86 26.8 — 33.8

Hebron Docu: 87 26.5 76.1 — 38.0 114.1
Hebron HS 12) 88 27.8 79.8 | — 36.4 116.2
Hebron 58°) 12’ 90 DAR HS, 86.2 | — 38.0 | 124.2
Hebron Om WH ’O1 23.3 83.3 | — 40.5 123.8

Hebron 58° 12’ | ’94—’95 72.5 | —19.1 91.1
Okak 57° 34’ | ’84-’88 | 21.9

Nain 56° 33’ | ’84-’90 | 21.92

Zoar 56° 07’ | 784-90 | 22.28

Hopedale | 55° 27’ | ’84-’90 | 24.08

74 LABRADOR

- In a country like Labrador the seasons are so marked,
and bring with them such great changes, that one must
know exactly at what time to come in order to enjoy any
favourite pastime to the best advantage, or pursue any
particular object. One visitor landed on the coast, and we
drove him over a frozen harbour in the end of May. He
had been enjoying fresh strawberries at home before he
left, and expected to find summer here, and not our last.
month of winter. I may therefore give a brief description
of the seasons so that one can tell at a glance what is likely
to be going on at any particular portion of the year.

- January. The second coldest of the winter months;
only occasional temperatures above freezing, and then only
for a short spell. The whole country everywhere is under
ice and snow. ‘The first winter mail arrives from Quebec
by dog. train. Natural bridges make it possible to cross
all the rivers, bays, and arms of the sea. Thus, travelling
is usually begun in this month, though in the green woods
snow is not yet hard packed, and consequently one has to go
round the “drogues,’”’ as we call them. The dogs are able
to go fifty to sixty miles in a day. The shortness of the
days is the chief drawback. The settlers:are all in their
homes in the woods at the heads of the bays. They are
trapping fur, hunting deer, and lumbering. The great
herds of deer are in the low marshes and woods near the
land-wash, and are often obtainable in great plenty. Willow
grouse and rabbits are plentiful at times in the woods.
Harp seals are being netted as they pass south along the
Labrador coast. The sea is impossible to navigation
during this month.

February. The coldest month with seldom any “‘let up”

THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF LABRADOR (3)

— temperature in the north even falling on rare occasions
to 45-50° below zero F. ‘Travelling is improved by the
heavier falls of snow, which fill the dangerous hollows and
smooth off the rough, rocky points. The Arctic ice blocks
the coast and keeps the swell from breaking up the ice in.
the bays. The Strait of Belle Isle is choked. The hood
and harp seals are working southwards in the sea off New-
foundland and in the Gulf, to whelp on the loose floes around
_ which they find the fish. Fox-trapping with hunting for
marten or sables,. minks, musquash, and other species is in
full swing on the land. |

March. A splendid, bright, bracnies cold month. The
reflection of the sun from the snow makes it imperative to.
protect the eyes with coloured spectacles, since a single
day’s exposure will blind aman. The skin gets so tanned:
that whites begin to resemble Indians in colour. White
settlers never lose the tawny colour. This constant sun
bath, in spite of the low temperatures, has an excellent
tonic effect on weakly people. The snow is now hard, and
It 1s as easy to travel through thick woods as in the open.
Much longer distances can be covered by the dogs in a day;
they can be given their heads to choose their own paths.
Furs are in their prime. The annual seal hunt from New-
foundland takes place, and all along the southern seaboard
the settlers are on the watch for baby seals on the ice.
Some of the birds are breeding, e.g. the Canada jay. Settlers
are cutting logs and hauling them out for summer fire-wood.
Some traps are now taken up, as certain furs cease to be
in prime condition.

April. The bright, hot sun in the middle of the day
begins to thaw the snow, which freezes hard again at night.

76 LABRADOR

Travelling is done mostly in the early morning. The ice at
times clears off enough to leave a narrow strip of open water
along the exposed coast. Ducks and geese, with other
smaller birds, such as the snow-bunting and the northern
shrike, begin to arrive from the south. Some men are now
netting seals if the season is early ; others are still working at
twine for summer use. Shooting sea-birds from the head-
lands offers good sport. Fur shows clear loss in value.
Many settiers return to summer fishing stations, using dogs
and komatiks to transport all their summer necessities out
to the islands. Others who take care of and repair the sta-
tions of our summer visitors are hard at work on houses
and stagings. On fine days these men, while at their out-
side work, venture off on the running ice. Most years,
however, the ice is too hard near the shore, and to go off
far from shore, hauling small boats on runners, is restricted
to the hardier and more venturesome. Through the ice of
the ponds in southern Labrador, good trout. fishing can be
obtained.

May. Navigation as far as the south part of the east
coast is practicable, though onshore winds will bring the
floe-ice in at any time and block all the harbours and bays.
Still, one or two venturesome vessels come down with safety
to southern Labrador, seldom taking any harm from the
ice beyond what they are liable to at any time of year.
American bankers are baiting in the straits, and French
fishermen from Newfoundland arrive on the Treaty Shore
opposite. The first steamer to carry mails leaves St.
John’s for Labrador. The rivers and bays break up. The
last of the people move out to their summer homes for the
fishery. Good trout fishing is to be had in the rivers or in

[OAC] BSPITS JOJUIA\ JO} ,. KOG ueWONM,,

THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF LABRADOR 7

the lakes through the ice. Foxes have their young and
sea-birds are nesting all along the coast on the islands and
rocks. Many people gather the eggs and store them for
eating. Traps are all taken in by the first day, as the fur
is now losing colour and the long “‘king”’ hairs fall. Seals
are beating north; swatching or shooting them from the
ice pans as they come up to take breath forms a very fa-
vourite pastime. Old harps and bedlamer seals are caught
on southern Labrador in great frame nets. Farther north
the Eskimo are hunting the walrus. The deer are all going
north and taking to the hills. The native bears leave their
caves; any white bears that have gone south on the floes
begin to work north again.

June. Most of the snow has gone, though in places it
remains to the water-level. Ground is still hard frozen,
with occasional frosts at night. Arctic ice still besets the
coast. Fishing vessels work down along the straits and
the southern part of the east coast. Some years the mail
boat gets as far as Hamilton Inlet; other years ice inside
the islands is as hard as at any time in the winter. In the
straits the cod-fishery is in full swing, while on the east coast
the southerners in their schooners are up the bays get-
ting wood for firing, for stages, etc. Americans, Canadians,
and West Coast Newfoundlanders are trawling in the straits
and Gulf. The sea is very calm, owing to the ice outside.
The brilliancy of the sun, the innumerable icebergs, the
return of the whales, and the fleets of fishing vessels make
the scenic effects some of the best in the year. In the inlets
the salmon and trout fisheries are being prosecuted. Deer
seek the hills to avoid the mosquitoes. The does are with
their fawns in the woods. Black bear seek the fish along

78 LABRADOR

the land-wash. Most of the small bird visitors from the
south have arrived. Lean dogs wander about everywhere,
searching for meat, for they are no longer fed, and as yet
there are no fish heads and offal for them.

July. Most of the ice and snow gone from the land.
The ground at the heads of the bays thaws out enough to
sow seed. The mail steamer now usually reaches her
northern limit at Nain, visiting all along as she goes. The
caplin -are working into the land farther north and at-
tracting the codfish. Salmon in the river begin to take
the fly. The young ducks and other sea-birds are hatched
out. Pleasure schooners can get down among the Eskimo
who are now out at their summer fishing stations in skin
tents. The salmon fishing with nets in the inlets is going
on, and the cod-fishery begins with the caplin school. Mos-
quitoes hatch out and are troublesome. a

August. Southern cod-fishers reach their extreme north-
ern limit, and fish are taken as far as Cape Chidley.
Caplin begin to die or leave the shore, cod following them
out of the bays. The salmon-fishery in the sea is at an
end. The salmon and trout in the rivers rise to the fly
well. The best fiords and least-known northern bays are
accessible to pleasure yachts. Icebergs in greatest abun-
dance are now to be seen. They are continually driving
south with the Arctic current. The flappers of water-fowl
are big enough to shoot. Old ducks and divers are moulting,
and, being unable to fly, escape pursuit only by diving.
The first foreign vessels with dried fish leave the coast.
Cloudberries and other berries, e.g. bilberries, currants,
raspberries, begin to ripen. Formerly large flocks of
curlew came down to feed on these. The young geese in
the bays are beginning to fly.

THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF LABRADOR 79

September. Hooks and lines replace the large trap nets,
as the cod are now only to be taken in deep water. Northern
schooners begin to. come south with cargoes of green fish.
The first snow falls about Cape Chidley, and frosts begin
to set in at nights. Deer are to be had in the country.
Geese and black duck are seeking the salt water in the day-
time, and may be shot flighting. The mosquitoes are no
longer troublesome. Grouse are to be shot on the hills, -
and afford excellent sport. Small migratory birds begin.
to leave. Berries are plentiful and add materially to a
camper’s menu. Caribou. leave the hills for the marshes.
All. together, this is the best month for sportsmen to visit.
Labrador, except for salmon-fishing.

October. The southern fishermen mostly lead Pleasure
schooners must do the same. Fish.are still to be taken in
deep water with long lines. Frosts at night are often
severe, and many harbours begin to “catch over”’ with ice.

Ducks and geese leave the coast.. Deer are rutting, but
are now nearer the seaboard in the leads and marshes.
The winds are high and cold, but they are nearly all westerly
and off the land; thus the sea is often smooth alongshore.
The most disastrous storms, however, have occurred in
this month. All the trappers are busy taking supplies into
the country and preparing their traps. Otters, foxes,
mink, beaver, etc., come in season. They are, however,
not really “prime.” Large Labrador herring are taken
in gill nets. Lesser auks, puffins, murrelets, and other
diving sea-birds are very plentiful, passing south. The
lakes all freeze over, and the hilltops are all capped with
snow.

November. The last of the southerners leave. The

80 LABRADOR

mail steamer makes her last visit. Winter has really
arrived. Not a craft left afloat on the coast by the end
of the month. Trapping is specially now for foxes and
mink on the seaboard. Many settlers on the “outside”
are engaged with seal nets. The rest have gone to their
homes among the trees at the bottom of the long bays.

The last of the ducks and geese leave. Hares, rabbits,
grouse, etc., assume their winter colouring. Dogs are now
fed up for their winter work. Lumbermen are in the
woods cutting logs.

December. The short days tend to make this the most
dismal month, but the dog driving begins and the assump-
tion of snow-shoes, or ‘‘ski,’”’ also helps to enliven matters.
Any game killed now will remain good till June, being
hard frozen as soon as killed. All along northern Labra-
dor many seals are being netted. Even the large rivers
are now safe to cross on the ice, but in some of the arms
of the sea there is still no ice that will bear, owing to the
tide. Some of the best furs are now taken in the country.
The first dog mail leaves for Quebec at Christmas.

The Well-beloved Mail-man

CHAPTER IV

THE GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF THE NORTHEAST COAST

By REGINALD ALDWORTH DALY

“Tu Labrador Peninsula is less known than the interior
of Africa or the wastes of Siberia.” In these words the
noted naturalist, Mr. A. S. Packard, in 1891, summed up
existing information on that anciently discovered but long-
neglected land. Low’s fruitful journeys across Labrador
have added much to the store of knowledge, but there is
even now but little exaggeration in Packard’s statement.
It was therefore with great and prolonged interest that the
members of the Brave expedition of 1900 studied the 700
miles of coast from the Strait of Belle Isle to the Hudson’s
Bay post in Nachvak Bay. The Brave was a tight little
schooner of but forty tons, specially fitted up to be the home
of the exploring party for the summer. The party con-
sisted of five Harvard men and one man from Brown Uni-
versity. Three seamen and a pilot captain with a miracu-
lous knowledge of the ten thousand islands, shoals, rocks,
channels, and landmarks of “‘the Labrador,” sailed the little
vessel.

Leaving St. John’s, Newfoundland, on June 25, the
schooner coasted all the way to Nachvak, which was
reached on August 22. This slow passage gave the explor-
ing party numerous opportunities to sample the natural
history and geology of the coast. One member of the expe-

| re! $1

82 LABRADOR

(a3 9

dition or “exhibition,” as the fishermen with unconscious
humour and truth called it, was an amateur botanist, an-
other an ornithologist, a third a prospector, a fourth a
geologist, and the others enthusiastic hunters. The writer
was busied with the geology of the coast, and most of the
observations noted in the wo pages refer to results
obtained during that season.’

To know Labrador is to know its Danae The visitor
to the northeast coast, were he to go thither to study thor-
eughly its climate, its scenery, its botany or zodlogy, its
peoples or few industries, must come upon the final ques-
tion concerning all of these: whence came they? When
fully answered, he shall have been told thestory of the phys-
ical growth of the peninsula. Each bird, beast; or man;
each moor, tundra, ragged reef; swelling granite dome or
fretted: mountain-ridge on all the thousand miles of shore,
forms a link in the chain that’ binds the present with the
inconceivably distant past of the earth. And seldom else-
where is the explorer’s mind so forced to the thought of an
ancient evolution. The great rocky headlands, looming
first out of the fog; the deep, quiet fiord or island-labyrinth
recelving the stranger vessel as she runs in from the open
sea; the vast, moss-coloured landscapes on the wilderness of
hills; the stately train of icebergs or the yet mightier ocean-
current that bears them southward, — these first views,
startling in their savageness, charming in their mantle of
colour, astonishing in their extent, always of enthralling
interest as the elements of a new kind of world, can never

1 A technical report on the geology appears in the Bulleting of the

Museum of Comparative ey at Harvard Maro Vol. 38,
p. 205, 1902. a by Bids: 1

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 83

fail to rouse a very ardour for exploration. In England,
France, or Germany, the peoples, the culture, cities, rail-
roads, institutions, must claim the traveller first, and the
primitive, the soil, the ground of Europe, only second.
In most of Labrador, Nature, supreme in her loneliness,
ealls first, last, and always.

Like every science, earth-science is the result of restless,
eternal questioning, much of it answered, infinitely more
unanswered. He thinks especially in questions who thinks
at all in Labrador geology; it forms a mass of problems for
the most part unsolved. Yet some of these have such
importance that the mere statement of them has value, and
when further exploration has given the solutions, it will be
found that the scientific study of Labrador will have brought
a rich store to man’s knowledge of the whole earth. Rather,
therefore, to erect finger-posts pointing the way to wide
fields of research than to indicate that much is known of
‘the Labrador coast, the pages of this chapter have been
written.

So far geologists and geographers have accomplished
nothing more than a rapid reconnaissance of the coast.
That stage of exploration has a borrowed name, and in some
respects explorers are compelled to regard the new land as
an enemy — to be conquered at some cost. More or less
“roughing it,” almost always a degree of hard though repay-
ing toil, the bite of the sun or the bite of the polar wind —
all form ‘‘ part of the game,” a kind of war-game. An expe-
dition to the Labrador has assuredly to meet with such
troubles and a few special ones besides. In early summer a
sailing craft must meet with the wide fields of pan-ice which
unite with the ‘Labrador’ ocean-current and prevalent

84 LABRADOR

northwest winds to prevent a speedy progress “down” the
coast. Ashore, at any point from Belle Isle to Hebron,
the “enemy” assumes a new face much more repellent.
Many a time has every naturalist ashore on the coast
during July or August been driven from his work or through
it by Labrador’s greatest plague — the almost incredible
mosquito and black fly. In countless swarms of countless
individuals they attack hands, face, and neck necessarily
unprotected in the collection of specimens or in the manipu-
lation of instruments. It is written that the grasshopper
may be a burden, but he is a small angel of light compared
to the Labrador “fly.” |

In Newfoundland the mosquito and gnat have had an
apologist who, in all fairness, should be heard. Thus writes
Whitbourne, the optimist: ‘Those Flies seeme to haue a
great power and authority upon all loytering people that
come to the New-found-land: for they have this property,
that when they finde any such lying lazily, or sleeping in the
Woods, they will presently bee more nimble to seize on
them, than any Sargeant will bee to arrest a man for debt.
Neither will they leaue stinging or sucking out the blood
of such sluggards, untill, like a Beadle, they bring him to
his Master, where hee should labour: in which time of
Loytering, those Flies will so brand such idle persons in
their faces, that they may be known from others, as the
Turkes doe their slaves.”’

But to the explorer, especially to the geologist, there is
another side to the matter — an occasion for keen pleasure
in spite of every disability in the way of advance or in
comfort. Once beyond the fog-curtain so often let down
over the Strait of Belle Isle, he can enjoy a climate made for

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 85

strenuous outdoor work. If he be interested in bed-rock
geology, he finds conditions comparable to those that
favour observation in ‘“‘The Paradise of geologists,” the arid
or subarid plateaus of the western United States. Here as
there the climate forbids the growth of the heavy forest-
cap which covers so much of the geological record in arable
lands, and in Labrador the intense glaciation of the last
Glacial epoch has left remarkably little rock-rubbish or
“drift”? on the surface of the well-scoured and still rela-
tively unweathered, fresh rock. The geologist leaves the
coast, therefore, well content if he has had time to make
anything like an extended reconnaissance of the enemy;
there remains as well the stimulus to hope for a future
campaign.

Labrador is the land of charm, whether it be among the
low, moss-covered islands of the south or on the superb
mountains of the north. But this charm hitherto de-
scribed in terms of impressions derived from visits to what
is really southern Labrador is a hundred fold greater in the
region north of Cape Mugford.

Yet throughout the whole stretch from Belle Isle to
Hudson Strait the scenery is to be related, sooner or later,
to one great group of geological formations, all rocks of
the remotest antiquity; and perhaps no more fitting
introduction to the geology and geography of the coast
is to be found than to describe the extensive fundamental
terrane. It belongs for the most part to the Archean series,
offering like the Archean rocks of the world, problems of
extreme difficulty. Able and highly trained geologists,
specialists in the Archean, during the past thirty years have
solved some of these problems, but it is still fair to call this

86 LABRADOR

vast group of rocks forming the staple material of the Lab-
rador coast by a name confessing at once some knowledge
and muchignorance. The Archean formations compose the
foundation on which the Continent of North America has
been built. Resting upon its ancient surface are the
rock-beds bearing the skeleton remains of the earliest
known organisms, and upon those beds have been accumu-
lated in turn the limestones, shales, sandstones, conglom-
erates, and lavas, which make up most of the continent.
That is one of the main facts known about the Archean, —
it is a basement formation. Another fact, no less certain,
no less important, is that the Archean is complex in its
composition, in its structure, and in its history. Let us,
then, call these old rocks by their time-honoured name, “the
Basement Complex.”

Here and there on the earth the younger, covering rocks
have been swept away by age-long weathering and wasting,
and the ancient foundation has been exposed to the air.
Nowhere on the earth is so great a continuous area of the
Archean to be found as in eastern Canada. From Lake
Winnipeg to the Atlantic, and from the St. Lawrence and
Ottawa rivers northward to the Arctic, the Basement
Complex, still locally bearing on its back patches of the
younger rocks, forms a rolling, timber-covered plateau,
which amazes every explorer who compares the simplicity of
its present-day relief with the infinite turmoil through which
its constituent rocks have passed. These rocks are almost
entirely crystalline — gneisses, schists, marbles, coarser
crystalline limestones, and granitic rocks of endless variety
— agreeing, however, in the telling of a common story, that
the Complex is the remnant of enormous mountain-systems

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 87

long battered by the weather of ancient days, and so long
and successfully attacked and lowered by streams, that
already very early in the earth’s history these mountains
had been flattened to a relief probably as tamed as that of
the great Canadian plateau to-day. It was this old-moun-
tain plain, or almost-plain, which formed the nucleus of
North America. Noone cansay as yet, even approximately,
how much the old plateau has been affected by the destruc-
tion of the millions of years since it was reélevated from
beneath the sea, with its mantling load of Cambrian,
Silurian, Devonian, and later sediments. Again and again
the Basement has been, wholly or in part, alternately above
and below sea-level. With each emergence it has lost sub-
stance, and with each loss a new physical geography has
been developed upon it.

When a mountain-system is young, its summits are
ranged more or less systematically in straight or slightly
curved lines joining the crests of the various ranges. When
the system is very old, that is, worn down flat by age-long
wasting, these same trends may still be recognized in the
structure of the mountain-roots. A normal range owes its
existence, not so much to simple uplift of the earth’s crust
as to an intense folding and crumpling together of its rock-
strata by powerful forces acting tangentially with reference
to the curve of the earth and transverse to the axis of the
range. If, therefore, the Basement Complex forms the
root of an old mountain-system, the natural inquiry arises
as to the trend of the rock-bands now visible to the geolo-
gist; for these, even in the absence of the long-vanished
mountainous relief, will tell the direction of the old ranges
and, by implication, the direction of the great compressive

88 LABRADOR

forces which set the earth’s crust writhing so long ago, and
so built one of earth’s earliest mountain-systems.
Rather, then, to raise the question than to declare an

BAFFIN a
LAND

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Sketch map showing mountain trends in eastern North America.

answer to it, the writer has prepared the diagram of Figure 13,
embodying a tentative conclusion, the result of observa-
tions at some twenty-five localities on ‘‘the Labrador.”

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 89

The little map is intended to show that there is definite
trend to the rocks of the Basement Complex, and that. this
trend has a remarkable parallelism with the present north-
east coast of the peninsula. That is, the edges of the worn-
down, folded schists and other rocks, like the axes of the
folds, run parallel to the general shore-line. It looks as if
this part of the Basement Complex were originally built
up by mighty earth-forces acting in a northeast-southwest
direction and raising a distinct and lofty mountain-chain
on the line of the present coast. Further exploration is
necessary before the conclusion can be considered as final,
but Dr. Bell’s discovery in the Baffin Land Archean of
what would appear to be the continuation of the same
“Labrador trend”’ (thus extending more than 1300 miles)
lends force to the idea.

In Figure 13, heavy black lines diagrammatically repre-
sent the ‘‘ Labrador trend,” and others represent the various
elements in both relief and rock-structure which belong to
the great Appalachian mountain-system. The two trends
meet at the Strait of Belle Isle. The “Labrador trend”
locates one of the most ancient (Pre-Cambrian) mountain-
ranges of America; the Appalachian trend characterizes
the much younger (Post-Carboniferous) system that in-
cludes the Alleghanies, the Blue Ridge, the White Moun-
tains, the Green Mountains, and the lower ranges of New
Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. Where so
little has been done in the field, one must hold but loosely
to the idea of a definite law of structure in Canada’s most
difficult terrane, but it is believed to be a fair and just,
perhaps helpful, working hypothesis to govern further
exploration.

90 LABRADOR

It would be tedious and not very profitable to the general
reader to describe all the different types of rock found in
the Basement Complex; yet a few principal considerations
will serve to indicate the kind of material which goes
to form the bed-rock of the coast, and serve, also, to
outline the grand march of events that gave us modern
Labrador.

With but rare exceptions the rocks of the Basement
Complex are allied to that most familiar rock, granite.
Like granite they are aggregates of common minerals like
quartz, feldspar, mica, hornblende, augite, magnetite, etc.
These are always crystalline, though rarely does any mineral
show crystal facets to the eye. The minerals interlock
in the intimate way characteristic of granite. Further-
more, these rocks bear witness to one common fact of origin
with granite. They formed, crystallized, under the press-
ure of overlying rock which has long since been swept away
— eaten away by the weathering and decay of ages, eroded
by the ‘tooth of Time.” Many of the individual rock-
masses are known to have resulted from the crystallization.
of once molten rock-material, cooled slowly as its heat was
conducted through the heavy cover of rock above. Such is
believed to have been the origin of all granites. Others of
the Labrador rocks seem to have crystallized at a tempera-
ture high enough to allow of the rearrangement of their
ultimate particles from former quite different associations,
yet at a temperature too low for actual fusion of the rocks.
Such are the conditions within the heart of a mountain-
range as it grows, its rocks crumpling together, piling up,
fracturing, and making way before great bodies of the
molten matter erupted from the interior of the earth ; such

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 91

were unquestionably the conditions under which the old
Archean chain of Labrador was upheaved.

As we have seen, enormous lateral pressure, pressure too
great to be comprehended by the human mind, ridged up
the rocks to alpine heights. During that process much of
the crystallization and recrystallization of the Archean
rocks took place. It was, therefore, natural that the min-
erals of the rocks should be arranged with reference to the
pressure. They might be expected to he in the rock with
their longer axes perpendicular to the lines of force, assum-
ing thus the position offering greatest resistance to that
force. This is the case for probably much the largest area
of rock in the coastal belt. Many granites and allied rocks
which had been ‘‘intruded,”’ in the molten state, mto the
base of the range, were squeezed by the continued appli-
cation of the same mountain-building forces, and their
minerals, too, have been crushed and driven into alignment
at right angles to the direction of pressure. So it has come
about that the commonest rocks found on the coast are
what are called ‘crystalline schists’”’: gneisses, which are
like granite in composition but show on the broken surface
the parallelism of the minerals; mica schists, with the same
(schistose) structure, yet lacking the white or pink feldspar
crystals of gneiss; hornblende schists, in which the familiar
mica is replaced by the less familiar but likewise important

-mineral, hornblende; and a large number of other rock-
species of similar structure.

The nature of the original material from which the crys-
talline schists have been made, that is, the composition
of the earth’s crust in a mountainous region before the moun-
tain-building began, is one of the most interesting problems

92 LABRADOR

before geologists to-day. It has been proved in certain fa-
vourable localities that such schists are the result of the alter-
ation of more ancient slates, sandstones, conglomerates, vol-
canic ash, and lava-flows, under the same conditions as once
obtained within the Archean range of northeastern Labra-
dor. Here again is a wide field open to further exploration.
The geologist who seriously studies these coastal rocks of
Labrador, wonderfully exposed as they are, may some day
establish new principles of interpretation, or confirm those
now forming the basis of modern earth-science.

During the paroxysmal though extremely slow growth
of a lofty, alpine mountain-range, other changes of great
moment occur in the deep, highly heated core of the range.
The foundations of the huge pile are unloosed, and enormous
blocks of the solid rocks are displaced by molten or
thoroughly plastic matter, thrust up into the range by
titanic subterranean force. There cooling, this material
crystallizes into solid rocks of the granite type. As it
crystallizes, the whole mass may be pulled out in the
wrenching shear of mountain-building, much as soft pitch
may be drawn out in the hands. In such a case the min-
erals composing the new rock are arranged in lines, and not
in planes, as in ordinary schists. An unusually fine example
is exhibited on a large scale at Pottle’s Cove, West Bay,
halfway between Belle Isle and Hamilton Inlet. The
rock is there a common light pinkish gray granite possessing.
this curious arrangement of its constituents — a witness
to the ‘storm and stress” period of Archean mountain
growth.

Late in the mountain-building period there occurred one
of the most important underground events yet chronicled

JUISIG. SON SATA ‘YINOS Sy} Wor yoOeq-10zZey ‘1A

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 93

in Labrador. For at least fifty miles along the coast from
Ford Harbour northward, and for many miles inland, the
older formations of the range were in some manner displaced
by a huge body of molten rock. This enormous mass
crystallized into a solid rock precisely analogous to common
granite in having solidified under a cover of older, over-
lying schists or strata. The latter have since been worn
away, and to-day the once deeply buried “intrusive” body
is visible in mountain stubs covering hundreds of square
miles. The rock is called ‘“‘gabbro”’; in composition it is
often similar to basalt, the commonest of lavas, 7.e.such rocks
as have been erupted at the earth’s surface from volcanic
vents. Like basalt, the gabbro has a specially dark colour,
that which dominates the island-cliffs and mainland-moun-
tains of the region about Nain. These highlands are bare
of both soil and vegetation, and the black slopes impress
the eye with a sense of sombre, almost terrible, majesty
even greater than is given by their mere altitude and savage
sculpturing. Aulatsivik Island (“‘The Ruler’’) and Paul’s
Island, lying in a whole archipelago of smaller, rounded,
hummocky islands or ragged skerries, offer numerous land-
ing-places where the formation can be studied.

As in other occurrences within the Canadian Archean,
the gabbro is chiefly made up of a wonderfully beautiful
mineral, a feldspar, first recognized as a distinct species
during the examination of hand-specimens brought many
years ago to Europe from Paul’s Island. The species was
called “labradorite” in its first description, and the name
is still employed to signify one of the main constituents
of the earth’s crust. It is predominant not only in gabbro
and gabbro-like reeks, but as well in the bulk of the world’s

94 LABRADOR

volcanic rock. Labradorite early attracted the attention
of mineralogists and of the much larger class of persons
interested in gems and in the beauty of colour in inorganic —
nature. Owing to the peculiar internal structure of the
mineral, white light penetrating its glassy surfaces is broken
up into its coloured components. Some of these are absorbed
in the mineral and do not affect the eye; the remainder
are reflected from myriads of microscopic particles within
the feldspar and afford tinted light-rays of exquisite beauty.
Purples, violets, and blues, flashing lke flame out of the
iridescent crystals, are the prevailing colours, but bronze,
yellow, green, orange, and red are not uncommon. The
individual feldspars vary greatly in size, the diameters
ranging from a quarter of an inch or less to six or eight
inches. As rocks go, the gabbro is always coarse-grained,
but the finest labradorite is found in the numerous veins
of specially coarse rock which crop out irregularly on the
ledges.

An enterprising American has attempted to market
the labradorite as a semi-precious decorative stone. He
opened a quarry on a small island (Napoktulagatsuk)
situated some twelve miles south of Nain. Dr. Grenfell
had the kindness to place the steamer Strathcona for a
day at the disposal of the members of the Brave expedi-
tion, and the writer was thus enabled to visit the quarry.
It was found that sufficient blasting had been done to
remove the weathered rock at the surface. Notwith-
standing the fact that the more beautiful material had
been shipped away, the fresh surfaces of the rock presented
a unique and striking appearance. The iridescence could
be discerned in almost every part, but a perfect glory of

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 909

colour flashed from the coarse, vein-like patches in the rock.
With each changing angle of vision a new splendour of
gorgeously tinted rays shot out of the finely contrasted dark
gray of the general rock-surface. It is no wonder that every
effort should have been made to market the stone. Yet,
with all their resources, Tiffany and Company have had
to decide against the success of the material as a gem.
One of the chief difficulties in working the stone lies in
its extremely brittle and cleavable nature, forbidding the
production of a well-polished surface. The conditions of
nature do not, however, prevent the collection of many
uncut specimens of exceeding beauty. The finest material
yet seen in the bed-rock occurs on or near Napoktulagatsuk.
The settlers on the coast report abundant iridescent lab-
radorite also on Mt. Pikey, southwest of Ford Harbour.

A complete account of this interesting formation would
necessarily involve a description of the other minerals
composing the gabbro, but that would carry the reader far
into the domain of the rock-specialist.

The relative ages, areal distribution, and exact com-
position of the hundreds of igneous rock-bodies between
Belle Isle and Cape Chidley must be left almost entirely
to future discovery. From the magnificent exposure of
these terranes a splendid harvest can be pou to all
geological expeditions to the coast.

The Nain gabbro seems to have been “intruded”’ into
the older rocks after the mountain-building, with its folding
and crumpling, was nearly completed. This at least ap-
pears to be the testimony of the rock-ledges themselves.
If the gabbro had already been crystallized out before any
considerable amount of the lateral crumpling still remained

96 LABRADOR

to be applied, the minerals of the existing rock should
show the crushing and granulation due to the strain of
the later mountain-building. Such has been the fate of
great masses of this gabbro in other parts of Labrador
and in Quebec, but, so far as known, the coast gabbros
have escaped extensive crushing.

The same remark applies to a quite different class of
intrusive rocks which leap to the eye of every observer on
the coast. Toward the close of the epoch of mountain-
growth in the Basement Complex, perhaps at or near the
date of the great gabbro intrusion, the base of the entire
range from Belle Isle to Chidley was fissured and, in a
sense, shattered. To that event there contributed the
irregular contraction of the granites and highly heated
schists as they cooled, and doubtless, also, a general settling
down of the ridged-up crust after the earth’s paroxysm
was over. Countless cracks and fissures were thus formed
far down below the lofty, rugged surface of the range. The
fissures were seldom, if ever, left gaping. So soon as formed
and in the very act of forming, they were filled with highly
molten basaltic rock which then froze or crystallized.
Thus the range was strongly knitted together again. So
firm was the new cementation of the shattered formations
that the rocks filling the ancient fissures now form so many
ribs strengthening the mountain-chain against the attack
of the weather. All up and down the coast the gray sea-
cliffs and mountain-slopes are seamed with these thousands
of basaltic fissure-fillings, the so-called ‘‘dikes”’ of “trap.”
Wonderfully fine examples occur on the north side of the
entrance to Hamilton Inlet. From the anchorage in Ice
Tickle one should mount any one of the higher hills on either

Aeq YeayoeN jo wuy usoyjnos sy} jo [[@AM Ista uy

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 9%

Ice Tickle Island or Rodney Mundy Island and cast his
eye over the singularly varied landscape. Under his feet
the observer will find the black ledges of trap. He speedily
notes that all the rounded ridges or knob-like hills of the
region have the same dark hue, and rightly concludes that
they are composed of the same rock. Between the hills
are short, broadly flaring valleys floored with light gray
schistose rock peeping out through the moss or from
beneath the curlewberry bushes and willows. Each of
the two large islands, for about three-quarters of its surface,
is underlain by the coarse-grained schists with some com-
mon granite. The remaining fourth of the surface is un-
derlain by the trap. Many of the ancient fissures have
parallel walls which are from ten to a hundred feet or more
apart; others have doubly convex walls converging at the
two ends of gigantic pods of trap up to a thousand feet in
breadth and perhaps of twice that length. The trap being
more resistant to the weather than the rocks it cuts, the
hills have assumed the varying outlines of palisade, ridge,
or dome, according to the shape of their respective bodies
of intrusive rock. Such a landscape most tellingly declares
the fact that in mountains generally, but especially in old
mountains, the expression of the actual relief is really
more controlled by the age-long sculpturing of the elements
than by the original upheaval of the earth’s crust. The
uplift and folding together of strata but furnished the raw
material; the carving out of valleys by the weather, and
particularly the destruction of the softer rock-belts, leaving
the more slowly wasting, harder ones projecting, have
evolved the finished product, the mountain topography
of the present day.

H

98 LABRADOR

These dikes of trap often occur in nests,as at Ice Tickle,
but, large or small, they are never wanting in any extended
view of theshore. They form striking features in the frown-
ing cliffs of the north; perhaps nowhere better displayed
than in a score of huge, black, vertical seams of trap part-
ing the schists of Mt. Blow-me-down. Another score of

[—
— :

Ss Ss
———

Fic. 14. From a photograph

View of Striped Island, looking east. The highest point is about 200 feet
above the,sea. The black bands represent horizontal sheets of trap,
cutting the gneiss.

parallel dikes cut through Webeck Island. On account
of their great size — on Mt. Blow-me-down, ranging from
one hundred to four hundred feet in width and exposed
for thousands of feet along their walls — these dikes are
conspicuous even many miles offshore, compelling in the
mind of every voyager wonder at the stupendous force
that so cleaved the mountains to their mysterious depths.
Such dikes appear in the view of Bear Island (opp. p. 180).
They are small examples, but serve to show the essential
characteristics and that contrast of colour which makes the
dikes scenically important on the coast. Before the moun-
tains were wasted away to their present low relief, these
dikes extended upwards hundreds, if not many thousands,

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 99

of feet. It is, indeed, possible that their fissures reached
quite to the surface and built volcanic cones and lava
plains long since destroyed. That inference is supported
by the discovery on the Labrador of just such volcanic
accumulations, although these have not yet been suffi-
ciently studied to show actual connection between the
lavas and the dikes of trap. That the latter were thrust
into the fissures of the mountain-core with enough energy
to force the molten rock to the surface is implied in the
conditions of Figure 14.

Striped Island gets its name from a remarkable group of
thin, nearly horizontal sheets of black trap cutting common
gray gneiss. The causes of the intrusion here may have
differed from what they were in the case of the vertical
dikes, which, as we have seen, entered the base of the moun-
tain-range by a kind of permission; great mountain blocks
moved apart and permitted the plastic trap to enter the
opening fissure. But the sheets of Striped Island, as they
forced their way into place, had apparently to lift a rock-
cover weighing countless millions of tons. Their intrusion
began along so-called ‘‘joints’”’; that is, microscopic though
continuous cracks previously developed in the gneiss.
The imagination may well be staggered in the attempt
to grasp the magnitude of a force which could so thrust
fluid rock into almost infinitesimal cracks, wedging up a
whole mountain in the process as if a Titan had worked
with an omnipotent jack-screw; yet there seems to be no
escape from the conclusion that such a wonderful display
of power in the molten under-earth has taken place.

In summary, then, the different formations composing
the Basement Complex of Labrador, though understood

100 LABRADOR

only in the light of rapid and incomplete exploration, are
to be viewed as those belonging to old-mountain stubs.
The facts show with certainty that an enormous volume
of rock has been carried away to the depths of the Atlantic,
where the débris is accumulating to this day. Observa-
tions in structure, too technical to be described in these
pages, seem to show as clearly that the staple rocks of the
Labrador were, in Archean times, built up into a gnarled
and knotted mountain-system extensive in area and lofty
in an Alpine, or even Himalayan, sense.

But the imagination is not left entirely unaided in its
attempt to reconstruct the Archean mountains. In com-
paratively recent geologic time a portion of the Basement
Complex on the Labrador has been warped up, 2.e. bodily
uplifted, so high that the streams of the country have been
enabled to cut many thousands of feet down into the old
rocks. Asa result, the 150 miles of the coastal belt south-
eastward from Cape Chidley presents to-day a rugged
relief, rivalling in grandeur many famous Alps of Switzer-
land and the Selkirks of the Canadian West. Here the
strong topography has a distinct coastal trend, and its
boldness forcibly suggests that there has been a veritable
resurrection of the Archean mountain-chain. This long
mountain-belt has been called the ‘“Torngat” Range,
from the Eskimo word for ‘‘bad spirits.” A single view
of the bare, forbidding, riven, and jagged cliffs of the
saw-tooth ridges and alpine horns, whether seen in the
interior or springing their thousands of feet from salt
water in the fiords, leaves no wonder at the name. The
absence of trees, the eerie loneliness of the whole land, and,
in the countless gorges and ravines, the depth of shadow

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 101

made startling by the brilliance of the high lights under
a northern sun, might well cause the savage mind to people
these mountains with sinister devils.

A noble introduction to the Torngats is to be found as
the vessel bound for Nachvak Bay rounds the long finger-
like promontory of Gulch Cape, ten miles south of the Bay
entrance. All along the shore cliffs of gray, naked rock,
streaked with great black seams (dikes) of trap, rise 2000 to
2500 feet directly out of the sea, and terminate in sharp
peaks and ridges. One of the latter has been appro-
priately named “Mt. Razor-back.”’ Imagine four miles
of a saw-toothed pile of rock, nearly 3500 feet high and
furrowed on the seaward face by a score of deep gulches
which cleave the mass from top to bottom, and each of
the lateral ridges in like manner broken by a dozen ravines
on each slope, and you have a picture of mountain-land
without a parallel on all the American coast of the Atlantic
to the southward. Between the great ridges open long,
flat-floored valleys that have been moulded into their
present forms by the glaciers of the Ice Age. During a
memorable day the Brave beat up the Inlet, her crew and
passengers enjoying an ever changing panorama recalling
in its grandeur the cliffs and fiords of Norway.

Nachvak Bay forms a trough running transverse to the
range and heading some 30 miles from the Atlantic, at a
point more than halfway across the mountain-belt. It is,
therefore, fortunately situated for the exploration of the
Torngats. For a half-dozen miles together its walls present
steep, or even nearly vertical, precipices, their heads often
covered with clouds a half-mile above the sea. At one
salient angle formed by the meeting of two branches of

102 LABRADOR

the fiord, is such a cliff, 3400 feet high — twice the height
of the famous Cape Eternity of the Saguenay fiord — the
culminating point of a notched and bastioned wall ex-
tending seven miles to the southward. Often the vivid
and varied colouring of the rocks or the threads and broad
ribbons of numerous waterfalls cascading over the cliffs
enliven these scenes. How rarely the Inlet is visited ap-
pears in the fact that our schooner was the first sailing
vessel in eight years to cast anchor at the Hudson’s Bay
Company Post of Nachvak.

Both to south and to north of the Bay the mountains are
truly Alpine in form, their summits measuring more than
6000 feet in altitude. Indeed, some 50 miles to the north-
ward, at least one of the “Four Peaks” is believed to be:
over 7000 feet in height. In any case, it is not too much
to say that the Torngats afford the most lofty land imme-
diately adjacent to the coast in all the long stretch from
Baffin Land to Cape Horn. When it is remembered that
these mountains rise out of the sea itself, not from an ele-
vated plateau as in the case of the Green Mountains and
the White Mountains (Mt. Washington about 6300 feet in
altitude), one may well be prepared to understand the fact
that in all eastern America there is no scenery that even
approaches in-scale and ruggedness the Torngats of the
Labrador.

At its southern end the range gradually assumes the tamer
profiles of a broken plateau. About fifty miles southeast of
Hebron, the Moravian mission station, the scenery once more
becomes specially impressive, but a wholly new element
appears in the landscape forms. Again we meet with a
boldness of relief extraordinary for eastern America, with

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 108

heights above sea-level of from 2500 to 3500 feet for moun-
tains starting up out of the depths of the Atlantic. This
second mountain-group covers about 300 square miles. It is
called by the Eskimo the “ Kaumajet” or Shining Moun-
tain, a name forming the exact equivalent of the Hindoo
“Himalaya,” and recalling the considerable list of names of
peaks, as Mt. Blanc, the White Mountains, Mauna Kea, etc.,
covered with perennial or evanescent snow-fields.

So far as known the Kaumajets have a unique history in
the topography of the coast, and it is of special interest not
only in the discussion of the wonderful mountain-forms of
the present day, but because of an ancient record,—a
geographic fossil long preserved beneath rocky leaves but
now visible, for the book is open and may be read. It will
be remembered that the Basement Complex was worn
down to an almost-plain before the earliest known fossil-
bearing rocks of eastern America (the Cambrian formations)
were formed. Let us imagine this old mountain-root land-
surface sinking deeply beneath the sea; then imagine piled
upon it a thickness of 3000 feet or more of mud, sand, and
gravel, along with the lavas, flows, and ash, of sea-coast or
marine volcanoes. Such material, since hardened to form
well-bedded slates, sandstones, conglomerates, tuffs, and
trap-rock, was the raw stuff from which the Kaumajets
have been made. The whole mass, including the well-
buried Basement Complex, was long ago hoisted above the
sea, warped and slightly folded into great shallow troughs
and low arches (Fig. 15). For countless millenniums the new
surface was given over to the patient but powerful attack
of frost and other weathering agents and the still more
destructive water-streams new born on that surface. The

104 LABRADOR

result has been to wear away all but a comparatively small
patch of the ancient sea-bottom sediments. Steep-walled
gorges and canyons have thus been sunk, leaving massive
tables, mesas, and terraced plateaus that reach down to the

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The Kaumajet Mountains, looking north from Mugford Tickle.

valley-bottoms in gigantic steps like those in the much
younger strata of the Colorado Canyon. The result has
been to fashion a type of mountain scenery truly wild and
imposing and of unusual interest in possessing an architec-
tural element quite lacking in the other high mountains of
the Atlantic coast. This special quality is best brought out
when a fresh fall of snow lying on the narrow ledges of the
even-coursed cliffs makes evident the nearly horizontal
structure.

Examples of the Kaumajets are represented in Fig-
ures 15 and 16, drawn from photographs. In Figure 16
the old buried surface of the Basement Complex, revealed
once more after its millions of years, probably tens of

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 105

millions of years, of burial, appears above the broad un-
stratified band at the base of the Bishop’s Mitre.

A brief note from the revised log of the schooner Brave
suggests how little exploration of the Kaumajets has been
accomplished :—

‘“As indicated by its position, composition, and topo-
graphic character, the island of Ogua’lik really forms the
southern extremity of the Kaumajets. Mugford Tickle
separates it from the mainland. It was in this narrow
channel that our anchorage was chosen. Again we had
occasion to mourn the slowness of our northward progress,
for it would have been of the highest interest to devote a
fortnight at least to the exploration of this region; in order
to be certain of reaching Nachvak, however, we allowed but
two days in which to secure information concerning the
nature of the massifs immediately surrounding the vessel.

“The nine-hundred foot scarps of Ogua’lik would have
been impressive among the tamer landscapes of southern
Labrador, but they were dwarfed beside the superb walls
of the opposing mountains only a mile or two distant. We
had entered the tickle late at night, and in the brilliant
starlight had discerned the huge piles looming up in solemn
and formless grandeur. Their mystery became in part
dispelled as a bright sun disclosed a scene in its way un-
rivalled in Labrador. Due north in the centre of the view
two gracefully rounded knobs, estimated by the aid of
barometric readings halfway to their summits to be 2500
feet in height, lay close to the verge of an almost vertical
precipice from 1000 to 1200 feet high. Below this a series
of lesser cliffs, separated by steeply sloping screes of
rock-waste stepped downward to the uneven floor of a

106 LABRADOR

deep NE.-SW. valley. On the southeast the valley is
bounded by a similar arrangement of cliffs and taluses.
It ends as a great cul-de-sac, two miles in length, in a thou-
sand-foot head-wall over which there cascades a large
brook.

“On landing, I found that the first and natural impres-
sion, that this systematic array of scarps and taluses sig-
nified a stratified structure for the massif, was justified.”

At the foot of the great cliff the light-colored gneisses
and other crystalline schists of the Basement form broad
ledges well scoured by the ice of the Glacial Period. Their
gently rolling surface is considerably more uneven than the
old “fossil” land-surface on these same crumpled, gnarled,
and twisted rocks. The overlying, veneering strata of the
plateaus include black slates, quartzites, and sandstones,
apparently all sea-bottom deposits ; but probably more than
1500 feet of the half-mile of thickness in these bedded rocks
belongs to a volcanic formation. For unknown centuries
this part of the Labrador must have been the home of one
or more, perhaps many, volcanoes of large size. Millions
of years ago they erupted enormous volumes of ‘‘ash”’ and
other débris of lava. Most of the lava was shattered into ~
angular fragments, coarse and fine, by the violence of ex-
plosion. In the resulting deposits one can find abundant
and very perfect ‘“‘bombs” with the rounded shapes and
cracked surfaces of lava masses freezing as they spun through
the air from the mouth of Nature’s cannon. Other thick
sheets of solid lava represent the quiet flows that signify
yet greater power in the eruptive force.

So far only the most cursory examination has been given
this important rock-section. No organic fossils have been

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 107

found in any part of the series of beds. Geologists cannot
say, therefore, just what is the age of these rocks relatively
to the other formations of the world. It is only known that
here, as in similar rock-groups in western and southwestern
Labrador, the stratified beds are extremely old in a geologi-
cal sense, dating in all probability from a time near the
beginning of the so-called Paleozoic Period. An incon--
ceivable time has elapsed since these lost volcanoes were
active; inconceivable time had elapsed between the build-
ing of the Archean mountains and the bursting forth of the
lavas. Though the exact number of millenniums engaged
in those events cannot be told, the discovery of organic
remains in the sea-bottom sediments can yet give science
an idea as to the relative place of the events in the earth’s
history. Such a search for fossils, the closer description of
the rock-formations, the mapping of the region, and the
contemplation and explanation of the marvellous scenery
of the Kaumajets offer an exploring party enjoyable work
for more than one busy season. It is doubtful if a more
promising region for research in Nature’s wonders can be
found elsewhere on the Labrador.

In the northward journey from Mugford Tickle, the
vessel will pass close under the sheer two-thousand foot
cliff of Cape Mugford. Nowhere is the “geographic fossil”
of the Kaumajets better displayed. Even in the pho-
tograph one can see the exceeding contrast of colour and
composition in the Basement Complex and in the bedded
rocks above. It is hard to imagine a more spectacular
exposure of such a surface as that limiting the Complex.
Let the visitor to the Kaumajets remember that the “al-
most-plain”’ has an antiquity so vast that, in comparison

108 LABRADOR

with it, the Alps of Europe, the Andes of South America,
our own Rocky Mountains, the Colorado Canyon, the bound-
less plain of the Mississippi Valley, are all but creatures of a
day. He will then not only enjoy the wild picturesqueness
of these masterpieces of Nature’s masonry, but hold in
special reverence their hoary record of an ancient world.

(|

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Fic. 16. From a photograph
Sea-coast view of the ‘‘Bishop’s Mitre” (left) and ‘ Brave Mountain”
(right).

Again the scene changes. ‘‘ Numerous waterfalls and
extensive banks of snow lent welcome relief to the dark
cliffs, the black recesses of the great sea-chasms, and the
savage gorge-like inlets that opened one after another as our
schooner slowly forged through the ‘tide’ around the cape.
Fine as this.scenery was, still greater magnificence awaited
us as we came face to face with the Bishop’s Mitre (Fig. 16).
Seen from the northeast, the Mitre, estimated to be about
3500 feet in height, exhibits a symmetry which is most re-
markable in view of the fact that the existing profiles are
everywhere the result of weathering and wasting. The
two peaked summits are separated by a sharp notch about
500 feet in depth — the uppermost part of a long ravine

YON sulyoo] ‘pioysny odeg

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 109

cleaving the mountain to its base at the shore two miles
from the notch. Occupying the bottom of the ravine an
uninterrupted snowbank still marked, in the month of
August, the line of symmetry of the whole mountain. From
either peak of the Mitre a rugged razor-back ridge descends,
each gradually diverging from the other across the widening
intervening trench. With essentially similar profiles, the
two spurs further match as each terminates at an elevation
of about a thousand feet in a bold rock-tower. Each sen-
tinel tower rises some 800 feet above the ridge-crest, from
which there is a sudden slope of the full 1800 feet into the
zea. The light gray colour of the Basement, in contrast
with the black of the cyclopean masonry above, adds to the
impression won from the beautiful symmetry that the whole
structure is the work of giants with the brains of men. No
more interesting mountain occurs on the whole coast.”
Our knowledge concerning the Torngat Range or the
Kaumajets is imperfect; still less is known of the third of
the high places on the Labrador — the Kiglapait. Fif-
teen miles north of Port Manvers and some fifty miles south
of the southern limit of the Kaumajet group, the Kiglapait
lifts its rocky head and giant vertebre out of the sea like
the massive skeleton of some monster reptile left stranded
on the shore. Practically all the information to be had
on the real nature of the range is embodied in two para-
graphs of the report of the Brave expedition: ‘‘The name
of this mountain-group is an Eskimo word meaning ‘The
Great Sierra’ and refers to the very ragged sky-line and
general outlines. The axis of the range runs due east and
west parallel to the coast-line, which here has an exceptional
trend. The sierra is not more than thirty miles in length,

110 LABRADOR

but, on account of its conspicuous position on the shore, is
strikingly picturesque. Ten different summits from 2500
to 4000 feet in height could be counted from the schooner.
No one of these, so far as the writer has been able to de-
termine from missionaries, fishermen, or from the literature,
has as yet received a name. Here, as in the higher moun-
tains of the north, there is abundant opportunity for sys-
tematic field-work on the part of such an organization as the
Appalachian Club.

‘“We had hoped to spend some days, if not weeks, in the
study of these interesting mountains, but the lateness of the
season forbade our dropping anchor within reach of the noble
range. Judging again simply from the peculiarly dark
colour of the bare rock-surfaces, it seems probable that the
gabbro seen at Port Manvers makes up most of the Kigla-
pait, which will thus represent the Coolin type of gabbro
mountains in Scotland.”

The 2700-foot Mt. Thoresby at Port Manvers is another
dark-coloured mass of the gabbro, which continues to a point
at least twelve miles south of Nain.

Thence southward the rugged, island-girt plateau of the
Basement Complex extends all the 350 miles to Belle Isle
Strait. Throughout that distance the hills and islands on
the shore range from 200 to 1200 feet in height, with an
average altitude above sea of about 500 feet. A typical
view epitomizing the topography may be had from the
summits near Hopedale. One’s first impression from
the view is that of an extremely broken character in
the relief. The endless succession of hills and valleys, is-
lands and bays, would seem to proclaim that on no account
must this land be called a plateau. And yet no designa-

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 111

tion more helpful in giving one an accurate and significant
idea of the landscape can be applied. From the deck of
schooner or steamer coursing several miles offshore, the
hundred visible hills of the coast-belt are seen to accord so
closely in elevation that the general sky-line 1s notably flat.
The flatness would scarcely be more pronounced if some
miraculous shovel were to fill in the valleys. Such magic
filling would give a land-surface quite similar to that which
explorers have found sweeping westward over the wide
interior of Labrador and beyond to Lake Winnipeg. It is
the last ‘“‘almost-plain” to which the Archean mountain-
system has been reduced by the wasting of the ages. Since
the plain wasformed, it has been bodily elevated some hun-
dreds of feet, and especially on its edges, as on this southern
half of the Labrador, new valleys have been etched out by
weather and running water. So numerous are these valleys
that the relief along the coast 1s wonderfully diversified,
but it belongs none the less to an old-mountain plateau
cut in intaglio.

Before we take the next step in declaring the develop-
ment of scenery on the Labrador, it is well to review the
eround over which we have come. The limited explora-
tion of the Labrador has led to the recognition of several
distinct units in its topography, all to be related directly
or indirectly to an ancient mountain-system represented
to-day in the much-worn Basement Complex. The south-
ern half of the coast represents a part of the greatest single
element in the relief of British North America — the
Archean plateau. The Torngat Range of the extreme
north forms the ‘‘ Alps”’ of eastern America, — true moun-
tains, as shown not only in the folded and crumpled struc-

112 LABRADOR

ture of their rock-bands, but as well in the conspicuous
heights of the individual peaks. The strength of this
mountainous relief is principally due to the deep incision
of stream-made valleys in a portion of the Basement Com-
plex locally, and in a geological sense recently, uplifted
far above the general level of the Archean plain. So far as
known, the Torngats thus owe their origin to the selfsame
processes that have shaped the low but much broken
plateau of the south.

A third element in the scenery is found in the high gabbro
ranges of Nain, Port Manvers, and the Kiglapait. These
fine mountains may similarly have undergone recent uplift ;
or, on the other hand, they may be still high because the
gabbro is tougher than the surrounding rocks and from the
Archean time to the present has been more stubborn than
they in resisting the destructive activity of the weather.
It must be left to future investigation to decide as to which
alternative is to be preferred. Both may be true.

Finally, the Kaumajet mountain-group, built on the
gently undulating floor of the Complex, and showing a
special composition and history, makes the fourth member
in our scenic divisions. The stratified rocks forming the
terraced slopes of the Kaumajets are the youngest solid-
rock formations yet discovered on the northeast coast of
the peninsula. No solid formation, with certainty repre-
senting any of the lifetime of the earth from the earliest
Paleozoic time to the present, has been found.

In Labrador the net result of the geological activities of
this incomprehensible zon appears to have been to demol-
ish rather than to construct, to wear away old rock-terranes
rather than to build new ones into the framework of this

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 118

part of the continent. During that time, to the westward
and southward, the sea-bottoms of geological epochs
accumulated muds, sands, and gravels aggregating many
miles in thickness — the rock-materials that now compose
the bulk of the emerged continent of North America.
During that time, many volcanoes near the Atlantic, many
others on the Pacific seaboard, were born, lived active days,
and died, to leave more than a hundred thousand cubic
miles of lava on plains and broken mountain-land. Dur-
ing that time, the Appalachian mountain-system, stretch-
ing from Newfoundland to Alabama, was hoisted to lofty
heights again and again; each great uplift was followed by
secular wasting that reduced the ranges to flat or rolling
plains broken only by remnant hills or low peaks. During
that time the Rocky Mountain region of the west was the
scene of repeated mountain-building with a similar wastage
of its ranges. During that time, the visible rocks under-
lying the five million square miles of plain country between
the Rockies and the Appalachians and extending from the
Arctic to the Gulf of Mexico, were deposited on the bottom
of America’s Interior Sea at a rate doubtless no more rapid
than is now accomplished on the bed of the Atlantic. And
yet, for all that immense interval in geological history, no
bed-rocks have yet been discovered on the Labrador to tell
us of the earth’s constructive activities in the region. Such
formations may be found in the future, but it is already
known that they cannot occupy large areas in the coastal
belt. The layered rocks of the Kaumajets once covered
much more territory than now; it may well be believed
that, formerly, other extended mantles of bedded rock
in like manner veneered the Basement Complex. But in
I

114 LABRADOR

no case can any one of these mantles furnish other than
small patches on the old Basement. For millions of years
the Labrador has been above the sea and has suffered the
steady, patient onslaught of frost and rain and the delving
of brooks and rivers — forces that, with the cumulative
power of the ages, have laid bare, throughout the Labrador,
the foundation of the world.

Thus it has come about that the most ancient of forma-
tions now lies in contact with the youngest that go to make
up the geological record, the loose deposits of the geological
“‘vesterday”’ and ‘‘to-day.” The “yesterday”’ is the Gla-
cial Period; the “to-day” is the post-Glacial “Recent”
Period. What remains of our brief account of Labrador’s
scenic evolution has to do with these short but exceedingly
important epochs.

At the beginning of the Glacial Period the Labrador Pen-
insula had essentially the main topographic features of the
present time. Through the working of climatic causes whose
relative efficiency is in lively discussion among geologists,
a regional ice-cap many times greater than the well-known
ice-field of Greenland gradually accumulated in north-
eastern America. What seems to have been the region of
greatest thickening in the ice-sheet was located on the height
of land between James Bay and the St. Lawrence River.
Thence the ice slowly flowed in all directions— to north,
east, south, and west —— outward into the Atlantic off the
Labrador, the maritime provinces and New England,
ploughing the sea-floor as it moved; outward into Hudson
Strait and across Hudson Bay, apparently filling that broad
basin completely; outward across the Great Lakes, as far
as the belt of moraines stretching from New York City

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 115

across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and so on
to the plains of the Upper Mississippi Valley and Northwest
Territories of Canada. The total area of this ‘ Labrador”’
or ‘‘Laurentian”’ ice-cap was over two millions of square
miles. In the central part its thickness grew to be at
least six thousand feet. There is evidence to show that even
Mt. Washington (6288 feet in altitude), together with all
other peaks of New England, was covered by the flooding
ice.

Investigation much less thorough than has been given to
the Labrador glacier has suggested that similar, independent
ice-caps were formed on the heights of Newfoundland and
on the plateau northwest of Hudson Bay (the ‘‘ Keewatin”’
Glacier), each having centrifugal flow.

The causes for the disappearance of the ice-sheets are
as stimulating to debate among glacialists as the conditions
that led to the growth of the glaciers. Fortunately for
a scenographic account of the Labrador, these intricate
theoretical questions need not detain us; suffice it only to
note the fact that, after a period of prolonged activity, the
ice gradually melted away. Not an acre of the old ice has
been found on the mainland of North America. It is
possible that the Grinnell Glacier, the relatively diminutive
ice-cap of southern Baffin Land (Meta Incognita), repre-
sents a still lingering portion of the mightier glacial flood,
but so little is known of the Grinnell that a former connec-
tion of the existing and the vanished ice-sheet cannot be
asserted. On the contrary, it may be that the reported
twelve hundred square miles of ice on the Meta Incognita
belong to another independent centre of ice-accumulation.
The solution to this problem and the interest which always

116 LABRADOR.

attaches to a regional glacier will surely and amply repay
the explorer who heads his steamer for Frobisher Bay.
The Grinnell Glacier lies only a long half-day’s journey
by steamer from Cape Chidley; in a sense it is at the very
door of civilization, yet it is far less known than the ice of
northern Greenland or the distant glaciers of Alaska.
Whether or not the north land bears any remnant of the
ice which once overwhelmed Labrador, the recency of the
glacial retreat from the peninsula is most strikingly evident.
This is especially true on the northeast coast, where the gla-
cialist, no less than the worker in bed-rock, is blessed with
that negative virtue of the earth’s surface, the absence of a
-forest-cover. He who runs may read the glacial records
from one end of the coastal belt to the other.
_ To gain a vital idea of ice-work even on the Greenland
scale or the Antarctic scale, one needs not the training of a
professional glacialist. A first approach to the understand-
ing of glaciers may be profitably made in the recognition
of their analogy with rivers. Upstream, a river scours its
channel, batters, grooves, and wears away the solid rock,
so deepening its bed and in time excavating a valley of a
size appropriate to the stream. In its lower course on
flood-plain or delta, the river lays down the rock-fragments
worn out of the rocky channel. Throughout the length
of the river, increasingly, this débris, in the form of gravel,
sand, or mud, is moving deltawards. A water-stream has
thus three main functions — to scour, to carry the scoured
rubbish down the valley, and then to deposit that same
rubbish in lake or sea or other basin, where the stream’s
velocity is finally checked. In like manner the gliding ice-
stream, whether flanked by valley-walls or blanketing

OSNOY] UOISSI] eTepodoyY ivdu [IH & WOl MdIA

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST

Sheed Chidley

UNGAVA &

BAY S w
: =
= ;
250 Nachvak Bay
, * 5
Ge os
9 ap Vn 260 Hebron
o
os”... 265 Cape Mugford
KAUMAJET MB... > JO ie os
== 270 Gutthroat Tickle
PSIG AUG Tig nse 285 Port Manvers

NAIN no eT, .290' Ford Harbour

eee 340° Quirk Tickle
7 a
y, 390 ‘Hopedale
«

355 Aillik Bay
345 Pomiadluk Point

.... 265 Ice Tickle

..... Hamilton Inlet
Zz —— > West Bay

N pops (260) Gready
SQ........(300) Domino Harbour

ea Bi pete (325-40) Venison Tickle

Sl BOSSE Francis Harbour

750+ Kirpon Harbour
Fortune Bay

te 505 C. Rouge Harbour

ry)
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NEWFOUNDLAND € z
a - ip ) Loe 575) St John

Fined

Map showing by arrows the directions in which the ice of the Glacial Period moved.
Numbers indicate in feet the amount of uplift since Glacial times. Scale, 200 miles
to 1 inch.

118 LABRADOR

half a continent, scours and grooves its rock-floor, removes
loose rubbish, and attacks the solid rock, which slowly yet
surely wastes under the heavy, creeping stream. In like
manner, too, a moving ice-stream is freighted with “drift,”
the débris of the wearing floor, and, finally, that débris is
deposited downstream where the glacier current comes to
an end. Alluvium is the “drift”? material of the river’s
load; glacial “drift”? is the alluvium of an ice-stream.
The alluvial deposits of the river in terrace, flood-plain, or
delta are the “moraines”’ of the glacier.

If a well-established, mature river should, through a
change of climate, become dried up or greatly shrunken in
volume, its scoured, boulder-strewn gorge, its terrace sands
and clays and its delta would remain to tell the story of
that river’s former activity as clearly as if the rushing waters
had never ceased to flow. Such climatic changes have
actually occurred in various parts of the world, so that,
even in that respect, water-streams and ice-streams hold
their analogy.

All of these three principal activities of glaciers are
memorialized with wonderful clearness on the Labrador.
However, as might be expected from the fact that the pen-
insula was the central region of dispersal for the ice-cap,
the main effect of glaciation on the coast has been to abrade ~
the bed-rock and to carry away the loose product of the
grinding to the ice-margin which lay far out on the bed of
the Atlantic. The scenery, no less than the conditions
ruling plant, animal, and human life on the coast, has been
powerfully affected by this erosive work of the vanished
glacier. To that phase of the glacial geology of Labrador
the explorer’s attention is inevitably turned.

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 119

Among the first evidences to convince the observer of
the extent, power,and recency of the glacial invasion is the
character of the rock-ledges on all the coastal belt from
Belle Isle to Cape Mugford. In pre-Glacial times there
must have existed a deep soil and a heavy layer of weathered
and decomposed rock over this entire area. The word
“must’’ is none too strong if the Labrador mountains had
wasted down after the manner of other old ranges, and
there is every ground for believing that such was the case.
In other words, we can find an analogy to the pre-Glacial
range of the Labrador in, for example, the unglaciated
southern Appalachian Mountains in which the granites
and schists are so altered by secular weathering that the
rock is friable and rotten for depths of hundreds of feet
below the present surface.

In Georgia or northern Alabama it can be proved that
some of the rock-bands are weathering more rapidly than
others; over the former the blanket of disintegrated rock
is deeper than elsewhere. So it doubtless was in Labrador.
When the ice-cap became thick and powerful, it slowly
scoured and planed away the ancient soil with the under-
lying layer of rotted rock. Under the enormous weight
of the cap a half mile or more in thickness, the ice moulded
itself into all the depressions. As the easily removed
blanket of decayed rock was carried northeastward out to
the Atlantic basin, not only was the general level of the
country lowered, but it was lowered faster where the pre-
Glacial decay of the rocks had been most pronounced.
The energy and duration of the glacial scouring were such,
that apparently all of this loose material was removed,
leaving smoothed, hummocky hills and ledges of fresh,

120 LABRADOR

unbroken rock to form the post-Glacial landscapes.
Where the pre-Glacial cover of decayed rock was spe-
cially deep, a trough or a rock-basin remained after
the ice melted away. In this way the old valleys were
irregularly deepened and new depressions were sunk;
innumerable lakes and ponds were formed which to-day
make the peninsula one of the great lake-districts of
the world; and the coastal belt assumed its present aspect
of singular raggedness. The diversity of relief in southern
Labrador is nowhere more conspicuous than along the
shore. When the ice finally disappeared, from mainland
and invaded sea-floor, the ocean waters entered the maze
of scoured troughs that open seaward. The ponderous
flood of ice was replaced by the restless sea, flooding a
perfect labyrinth of channels, straits, broad sounds, islands,
skerries, and headlands.

There is evidence, too, to show that the solid, fresh rock
itself was attacked by the overriding ice. All rock is
intersected by more or less abundant cracks or planes of
weakness which divide it into blocks that may be rifted
away. Just as the quarryman uses these rifting planes to
remove slabs of marble, granite, or schist, so the Labrador
glacier with the wedge of the frost, with bottom friction
and shear, plucked out and carried off great blocks from
its firm, unweathered floor. The photograph of the
‘“ice-worn surface near Aillik Bay ” illustrates a single
example of this process which had an important share
in the glacial remodelling of the topography. In the
view, the smooth slope on the left represents the
heavily scoured bed of the ice-sheet as it moved sea-
ward from right to left. The pond fills a small rock-

keg yMItv eau sdejANG U1OM-99]

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 121

basin produced by the glacial plucking away of many
blocks of the fresh rock (gneiss) frozen into the ice, and so
lifted and freighted off by the moving glacier. In the face
of the low cliff can be discerned the planes of rifting and
the outlines of several blocks that were in the very act of
being plucked away as the ice disappeared from the country.
It is an instructive case of natural quarrying. Ten thou-
sand other examples on the coast would show quite as
clearly that a glacier works with crowbar and crane as
well as with gouge and chisel. Using all its powers, the
ice-cap strongly modified the details of relief on the plateau
of southern Labrador.

In so reaching a principal conclusion from the glacial
studies, let it not be forgotten that normal stream-cutting
in pre-Glacial times produced the grand features of the
sculpture.

The energy of glacial attack is manifested not alone in the
remodelling of plateau and valley ; its power leaves enduring
records on the single ledge of rock. Observations on the
living glaciers of the world show that they scour their beds
not so much by the direct friction of ice against ledge as
by the dragging of frozen-in boulders over the bed-rock.
The pressure so applied is truly enormous. Deep grooves
or shallower ‘“‘strize’”’ running in the direction of ice-flow
are cut in the solid rock by such ‘“graving-tools.”’ Lime-
stone, slate, trap, granite, or schist may be thus marked by
scratches, furrows, or channels from a fraction of an inch to
a foot or more in depth. They are not continuous mark-
ings, but occur only where the wearing boulder has been
pressed with irresistible might against the bare rock.
Shallow and deep striations of the sort are to be found on

122 LABRADOR

all the length of the Labrador; as elsewhere, they may be
used to determine the directions in which the massive ice-
cap flowed. Until the year 1900 striz were reported from
not more than five localities on the coast. In that year
the list was so far enlarged that 1t became possible to prove
a seaward flow for the ice throughout the 750 miles of the
shore. In Figure 17 arrows have been drawn to show the
directions of this movement of the ice.

Besides the scouring and quarrying, the Labrador ice-
cap, like all other glaciers, carried out a programme of con-
structive work. In southern and north-central Canada
and in the northern United States, this activity furnishes
for the glacial story a second chapter of even more positive
importance than the chapter so briefly sketched for the
Labrador. In northeastern Canada, as we have seen, the
ice-sheet spent its energies chiefly in transporting to out-
lying regions the abundant rock-rubbish won from the
plateau in its polishing and latest sculpturing. That same
drift was laid down in a broad zone of moraines and water-
washed deposits of sand, gravel, and clay not far from the
edge of the ice-cap. The rich farms of southern Ontario,
southern Michigan, of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and other
northern States of the Union are underlain by the broken
and pulverized material that once composed the pre-
Glacial cover of decayed rock in the region to the north
and northeast. Through the glacial invasion those south-
ern tracts have gained in the raw material of good soils
at the expense of northern Michigan and Ontario, of Quebec
and southeastern Labrador.

With seemingly greater thoroughness the mantle of soil
and disintegrated rock has been removed from the coastal

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 123

belt of northeastern Labrador. The resulting moraines
and other loose deposits cannot be seen in anything like
their full volume, for they are almost entirely buried
beneath the waters of the North Atlantic. Only here and
there within the coastal belt itself did some lingering,
local ice-tongue build a small moraine to represent the
immense accumulations that must have resulted from
the strong glaciation of the coast. One such moraine has
been described as a unique discovery during the voyage
of the Brave. It was noted on the mainland opposite
Copper Island near Seal Island Harbour.

For the rest of the coast, so far as known, the glacial
deposits consist either of very small patches of clay carrying
boulders or of single boulders scattered over the bed-rock
surface. All told, they form but a comparatively insig-
nificant mass of loose material left irregularly distributed
over the glacier-floor when the ice finally melted away.
As the ice-sheet shrunk, the boulders gradually and quietly
sank to their present resting-places. Many of the larger
ones were delicately poised on their corners and now form
“rocking-stones’’ which may be easily set swinging from
side to side with the hand.

But a picture of the Labrador in glacial times would be
far from complete unless the imagination reconstruct the
physical geography of the lofty northern mountain-ranges
during that period. As far back as 1860 an American geol-
ogist named Lieber noted on the mainland south of Cape
Chidley “wild volcanic-looking mountains, . . . whose
craggy peaks have evidently never been ground down by
land-ice into domes and rounded tops.’ Dr. Robert
Bell, after a brief visit to the Torngats, said of them:

124 LABRADOR

“The mountains around Nachvak are steep, rough-
sided, peaked, and serrated, and have no appearance of
having been glaciated, excepting close to the sea-level.
The rocks are softened, eroded, and deeply decayed. . . .
Throughout the drift period, the top of the coast-range of
the Labrador stood above the ice and was not glaciated,
especially in the high northern part.” An exploration more
prolonged than any permitted to either of the two geologists
mentioned was carried on by the writer in 1900, and his
observations entirely corroborate their conclusion.

In the northern Torngat Mountains, all signs of general
glaciation cease at the level of about 2000 feet above the
sea. Above that level, the ledges are thoroughly shattered
into angular fragments by the frost, and weathered to a
deep brown colour strikingly different from the gray tints
of the rounded ledges and boulders which have been
scoured by the ice lower down the slope. The decompo-
sition of the rock is doubtless something like that which
affected all the ledges of the Labrador in pre-Glacial
time. The 2000-foot contour also marks the upper limit
at which ‘‘erratic” boulders, namely, those which have
been surely carried from their parent ledges by ice, can
be found.

Thus in the Nachvak region the ice-sheet at its maximum
during the Glacial Period was not more than one-third as
thick as in southeastern Labrador, and filled these northern
valleys to a height of about 2000 feet above the present
level of the sea, but no higher. The ice of the local Nachvak
Glacier was in largest part derived from the main interior
ice-cap which flowed through a deep transverse cleft in
the Torngat Range. Branch glaciers growing in the moun-

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GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 1205

tains themselves swelled the volume of that trunk stream
of ice. For fifty miles the latter glacier, like a broad, deep
river, wound its way beneath the grand cliffs of the Torn-
gats until it debouched in the open Atlantic. So it
was with many other cross-valleys of the range; the
Torngats stood like a lofty, turreted wall which the ice-

Uf 7 / 7

Section across the south arm of Nachvak Fiord. Height (above sea-level)
and depths (below sea-level) in feet.

cap, thick as it was, could not surmount, but could only
partially conquer by the easy routes of the passes. In
all probability the tops of the Kaumajets and of the
Kiglapait Mountains likewise stood well above the sur-
face of the ice which must perforce flow round them in its
journey to the sea.

The glacial occupation of the Torngat valleys led to ex-
ceptionally important changes in their pre-Glacial form,
and to that modification we owe some principal elements
in the impressive landscapes of the long inlets. These

126 LABRADOR

eae huge tongues of ice, even more notice-
4, ably than the main ice-cap, have
a scoured and quarried away the bed-
rock. One result has been to widen
and flatten the valley-floors, thereby
steepening up the side slopes that be-
longed to the normal river-cut canyons
of pre-Glacial days. Over the cliffs
many fine waterfalls are tumbling from
side-valleys mouthing many hundreds
79 of feet above the sea-water of the in-
lets. As usual, too, the rocks of the
glacier-beds showed different powers of

aos resistance to the pluck-and-scour of the
ice and long, deep rock-basins were
noe ploughed out in the bottoms that once
” possessed the uniform, smooth seaward

SAIN F

slope of river-made valleys. (See Figs.
18 and 19.) Thus, excavation by the
100 great local glaciers has been chiefly re-
85 sponsible for the peculiar and impressive
110 scenic quality of the fiords occurring be-
ae tween Cape Mugford and Cape Chidley.

A short but interesting chapter re-
mains to complete the scenic history of
the Labrador. Ice-cap and _ valley
glaciers melted away and left the land
sculptured into essentially its present
form; left hill and valley, scoured rock,
hollowed basins, ponded waters, and
countlessrushingrapids and quiet reaches
in the streams which were new-born on

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GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 127

the old glacial floors. At the close of the Ice Period, how-
ever, the whole of the Labrador stood some hundreds of feet
lower than it now stands with respect to the level of the sea.
During the thousands of years which have since elapsed,
the land has been slowly upheaved to that amount. All
along the existing shore an irregular belt of land so emerged,
and now bears with marvellous distinctness the traces of wave-
action far above the present level of the Atlantic. Probably
nowhere in the world are there more beautifully preserved
relics of ancient shores. The absence of forest that might
cover the records and the recency of the uplift contribute
to the perfection of the display. We must add thereto
the fact that it is precisely in just such a coastal region,
exposed, as it was, to the full force of the ocean’s swell
and the gales of a North Atlantic, that we should expect
old shore-lines to be well marked. With truly dramatic
force Nature has fulfilled the expectation and so afforded
every observer on the Labrador a never failing source of
interest and instruction.

Again let it be called to mind that the study of any geo-
logical fact in Labrador has a twofold significance. Many
a stage in the physical evolution of the peninsula, or many
a striking element in the landscape or underground struc-
ture, is worthy of wonder and interpretation for its own
sake — yet still more worthy if it be viewed as a sample
of the structure, scenery, or stage of development that
belongs to the earth’s crust asa whole. Much of the rugged
beauty and charm of colour of the Labrador shore are due
to the thorough washing, wearing, and frettingof the rocky
hills as they emerged from beneath Atlantic waters in recent
times. The beauty and charm gain in meaning and power

128 LABRADOR

if the truth be recognized that all about the North Atlantic
the same upward movement of the land has taken place.
The shores of Maine, Quebec, Scotland, Scandinavia, and
Finland are regions favoured by those who love the form
and colour contrasts of the many-tinted sea with the massive,
bold, or savage rocks still bearing marks of a late submerg-
ence. On a larger scale and, in general, with much greater
vividness than elsewhere in North America at least, the
explanation of this peculiar scenery can be told and illus-
trated on the Labrador, where, therefore, the beauty of
such a shore, becoming a type of all, can be at once best
_ appreciated and understood.

A visit to the newest dry land of Labrador has yet sage
value in giving one faith in the reality of the giant geo-
logical forces. Throughout a human lifetime the earth
seems stable; the human records of a thousand years
seem to establish the same belief. It needs some such
object-lesson as the emerged coastal zone of Labrador to
show us finally that those ‘first impressions” are wrong, —
that the Greek philosophers were right, though they knew
not the name of geology, in claiming for the world an “ eter-
nal flux of things.”’ The lesson speaks tellingly of the real
instability of the sea-level, of massive, regional uplifts of
the land, and of the growth of continents. On other
grounds, for example, it is believed that the long coastal
plain underlying the Atlantic States from New Jersey
to Florida was once part of the bed of the ocean, but the
belief founded on local discoveries at last reaches its full
strength and overlaps actual knowledge when it can be
shown beyond doubt or cavil that the sea-bottom elsewhere
has been warped up to form new land. With unmistakable

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 129

directness and with lavish proofs this ground principle of
geology is illustrated on the Labrador.

The memorials of post-Glacial uplift are as diverse as
the kinds of shore-line form which the waves of to-day are
impressing on the hard rocks of the coast. Boulder beaches,
gravel beaches and terraces, plains and pointed spits of wave-
laid sand, sea-cliffs, splendid sea-caves and long chasms,
even the dunes of sand blown up on these prehistoric shores,
remain to tell us of just such activities as wind and wave dis-
play on the present shore, the lowest of all those which the
Atlantic has stormed and battered since the Glacial Period.

Ocean waves are like rivers and glaciers in their ways of
working. ‘They destroy or erode bed-rock; they transport
the eroded débris; they deposit their freight of rubbish
where the force of wave- and wind-driven current is lowered.
Thus, in a sense, the gnawed and riven sea-cliffs correspond
to the scoured glacier-bed or washed, abraded floor of the
river-canyon; the beaches and spits, the bedded sand and
mud of the sea-bottom correspond to moraines and to the
deltas and alluvial plains of rivers. As the outer coastal
belt of the Labrador slowly, with the deliberation of mil-
lenniums, and urged by the mysterious, colossal, internal
energy of a planet, rose out of the sea, the ocean-billows
rolled in upon the changing shores, destroying where they
could, constructing where they must. The visible signs of
the submergence belong, therefore, to two classes of land-
scape forms which give a real fascination to this most recent
geology on the coast.

The most widespread evidence of the destruction wrought
by the waves on the old shore-lines can be found at almost
any landing-place between St. John’s and Cape Chidley.

K

130 LABRADOR

It has been said that the ice-cap left but little of its drift
on the surface of the Labrador plateau. The same state-
ment is true of the contemporaneous glacial action on New-
foundland. Yet in both lands enough “drifted” boulders
were dropped on the smoothed and scoured bed-rock so
that the whole floor of the glacier was pretty thickly
peppered over with these products of ice-erosion. Noth-
ing can be more evident on the low, bare, treeless hillsides
facing the open Atlantic on Newfoundland or the Labrador
than the absence of such boulders. Below the level of
500 feet above sea on the eastern shore of the island, and
below the 250-foot contour on the Labrador, the vast ma-
jority of the boulders have been swept from the slopes where
the ice dropped them. Only a few of the very largest, too
ponderous to be moved even by the superb onslaught of
the North Atlantic ‘‘seas,’’ remain in or near their former
positions. The rest are gone to the many boulder and gravel
beaches left stranded, as it were, in the valleys of the
emerging land, or at the present moment are being ground
in the mill of the surf whither they have been dragged dur-
ing the uplift. Hundreds of square miles of ice-worn hills
of naked rock have been thus washed clean of glacial
débris. Compare the two views of Bear Island.

With special intensity those cleared surfaces are feeling
Nature’s ceaseless attack. Exposed as they are to the open
sky in a rigorous climate, the rocks of the wave-washed
zone are being rent and shattered by the frost, which uses
the rain-water of the present, has used the rains and the
spray fling of former times, to split the rocks. Here and
there the surface is clasped in the close embrace of many-
hued lichens or covered by thicker growths of almost

Glacial Boulders on a Ridge near Ice Tickle Harbour

Bear Island, Wave-washed and then Uplifted

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 181

equally hardy mosses, but, in the main, the ledges seem as
bare of vegetation as if the sea had retreated from them
only yesterday.

The bed-rocks of the Labrador are old-mountain rocks,
toughened in the early days when they lay in the heart of
the mountain-chain. They are giving pause to the greedy,
unending assault of the ocean wave, which is finding
on the present shore, as it found on the higher ones,
that, while glacial boulders are playthings, the bed-rock
offers work, — grim, arduous work that must continue
many, many thousands of years before the stubborn head-
lands will yield to the onset. For this double reason,
first, the shortness of the time during which the emergence
took place, and, secondly, the sturdy resistance of the solid
rock to wave-battering, the newly emerged land bears
relatively few strong cliffs or other scenic forms cut by the
waves in the living rock.
~ Nevertheless, where favourably situated weak bands oc-
curred in the formations of the old shores, the waves in-
fallibly sought them out and at many points excavated
strange caves and long, deep chasms along such seams of
softer material. To-day, hundreds of feet above the sea,
there may be seen these trenches floored with the tough
boulders with which the breakers used to cannonade the
coast. As one explores the silent, dark recesses, they seem
haunted by unnumbered ghosts of the seas that once tore
through the narrow gates and roared destruction to the
walls of the ever deepening chasms.

The finest of these great clefts in the hillsides are gener-
ally located on the dikes of trap-rock that transect the
schists or granites of the Basement Complex. As a rule,

132 LABRADOR

the trap 1s more resistant to ordinary weathering and decay
than the formation it cuts, but is less resistant than they to
the more mechanical destruction of the sea-wave; thus a
trap-ridge may be seen to terminate in a sea-chasm at the
point where the rock has been under the mastering control
of the pounding breakers. An easily visited example, one
of relative antiquity as it lies close to the highest of the old
shore-lines, is situated on a ridge a half mile northwest of
Hopedale Mission House, at an elevation of 325 feet above
the sea. This chasm, three hundred yards in length, faith-
fully follows the line of a trap-dike crossing the ridge. An-
other picturesque example is nearly as long, with an average -
width of twenty feet and vertical depth of seventy-five feet ;
it occurs on Long Island at American Tickle. Its excava-
tion has been long under way, beginning when the land stood
scores of feet lower than at present. The boiling waves
still run nearly to the head of the chasm.

Before the writer lies a photograph which shows the base
of a torn and ragged sea-cliff overlooking a fine beach about
200 feet above the present sea-level. The boulders of the
beach represent the wave-worn, rounded débris of the cliff.
In the background is the old, uneven sea-bottom, now cov-
ered with a slight vegetation and with moss-encircled lake-
lets filling glaciated rock-basins. The scene before the
photographer was wild and desolate, yet cheered and made
beautiful by the wonderful blues of sea and sky and the
no less exquisite purples of the atmosphere. Without the
colour, the views might have been depressing; with it, there
was much attractiveness in this spectacle of a primitive
world restored from the sea. |

The fact of the massive crustal upheaval of the Labrador

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 133

in recent times is still more forcibly emphasized by the
thousands of boulder-beaches and other marine accumula-
tions on the emerged land. The glacial drift and the an-
gular fragments of rock torn from cliff and chasm were
sorted, grouped, and graded by the waves many centuries
ago, yet the resulting beaches very often look as if they
had just been formed. Almost the only change that has
affected their appearance since the last mad fling of the
surf was dried upon them, is the growth of a thin and scat-
tered coat of lichens upon the boulders. Next to a view
of the reality no better proof of the remarkable preservation
of the beaches or illustration of their perfect exposure can
be had than the testimony of the camera. The photo-
graphs of the raised beaches are examples, and not ex-
ceptional ones at that, of the hundreds of beaches visited
by the members of the Brave expedition in one season.
Some of the most interesting exhibitions of beaches dis-
covered at that time occur at Sloop Harbour (their eleva-
tions above sea being 115, 140, 160, and 215 feet), at Aillik
Bay, Hopedale, Pomiadluk Point (here measured eleva-
tions of 55, 65, 230, 250, 315, 320, and 335 -feet), and at
Port Manvers.

In some of the beaches Packard has found the shells and
skeletons of the animals which thronged the sea as the
beaches formed. He records the discovery of a whale’s
skeleton in marine clay fifty feet above the present high-
water mark. The captain of the Brave reported, too, that
he had found whalebones in a beach estimated to be one
hundred feet above the same level. Packard states that
these fossil remains are identical in character with the hard
parts of species now living in the Arctic and North Atlantic.

134 LABRADOR

~ Where the glacial deposits had been unusually thick, still
bulkier accumulations of sand and gravel were built by
the waves in sheltered places. In the lee of many an island
between Ford Harbour and Nain is an elevated spit which
tails off from the island in beautifully even slopes from a
few hundred feet to more than a mile in length. Often such
a spit forms a continuous bar from one island to another.
Other plateau-like sand deposits, as at Port Manvers, tie
large islands to the mainland, or, in a unique case, underlie
a true coastal plain of large size, as north of Cape Porcupine.
The loose sands and clay of this plain have given foothold to
a relatively extensive growth of scrub timber which, else-
where, on the well-washed hills, finds little encouragement.
Indeed, there is generally not enough soil on the outer shore
to permit of the cultivation of vegetables; at some of the
small ports in eastern Newfoundland, soil for the purpose has
actually been imported in the form of ballast from England.
So scarce is either soil or loose material of any kind that a
settlement on the Labrador has almost invariably had to
seek a raised beach, often composed simply of large boulders,
as the only available site for the graveyard. |

As an accurate, scientific description of scenery is neces- | ;
sarily founded on geology, so geological principles have

often been evolved or at least brought into clearer light by — | |

the impressionistic influence of landscape. The extraordi-
nary proofs of the recent upheaval of the Labrador cannot
but force upon the visitor to the coast the question as to
whether the elevating process still continues. The answer
seems to be in the affirmative. ‘‘The almost universal
belief of the old settlers on these shores is that in no other
way can the changes in depth at familiar localities be ex-

Raised Gravel Beach at West Bay, South Side of Entrance to Hamilton
Inlet

Half-tide View of the Shore at Ford Harbour

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 135

plained. With no theory to support or refute, many
reputable observers among the fishing population state that
they have time and again noted, during periods of from thirty
to sixty years, cases where rock-ledges have come per-
ceptibly nearer the sea-surface, where new channels have
had to be sought among the shoals for the passage of their
fishing-boats, and where the stages must be again and again
lengthened over their bed-rock foundations in order to se-
cure a depth of water sufficient to float their small craft.
A gentleman of St. John’s has made a study of the question
for forty years, and has come to the conclusion that eleva-
tion is still in progress along the whole coast. He believes
that the rate of uplift is about twice as rapid in northern
Labrador as in Newfoundland. He has found among the
older settlements of the island some where the inhabitants
are in a very unfavourable position for plying their industry
on account of the rim of just submerged rock-ledges that
obstruct the harbours. He has asked the older men why
they chose such locations for settlement. The reply was
that they or their fathers had made these harbours when
the conditions were very different from the present; namely,
when the harbours were deeper. Such qualitative evidence,
however great in amount, must yield in value to the testi-
mony of even a few bench-marks carefully distributed
along the coast.’’ Here, again, a most welcome contribu-
tion to observational geology can be made by an expedi-
tion which, by so placing bench-marks, can give the geolo-
gists of the future a standard for the measurement of the
rate of crustal movement. On quantitative observations,
in geology no less than in all other physical sciences, hang
all the law and the prophets.

136 LABRADOR

The sea-coast phenomena apparently show that the epoch
of emergence is not yet closed; with greater certainty they
tell us of the extent of maximum submergence. With
very close accuracy the highest, and presumably the oldest,
of the shore-lines can be located along the prehistoric
headlands and intervening bays. In the summer of 1900
the highest shore-line was approximately fixed at some
thirty points on the 1100-mile journey from St. John’s to
Nachvak. Its position gives a sort of measure as to how
much of the Labrador scenery was given final form and
colour by the wash and wear and beach accumulation in the
shifting zone of the breakers. The discovery of the maxi-
mum uplift has also a strong theoretical interest in adding
to the observations that some day may suffice to solve the
great problem of the cause of such broad upheavals of the
earth’s crust. 3

The principle by which the highest shore-line was de-
termined is a simple one. It was only necessary to seek
out at the various landing-places the seaward facing hill-
slopes which must have suffered strong wave attack in
case they had slowly emerged from the sea in post-Glacial
time. These slopes, when high enough, always show at
once a vigorous contrast between the washed and unwashed
zones. Above the highest shore-line, the glacial boulders
dotting the treeless hillsides still le in practically their
original positions. Below that line they have been swept
away. The highest shore-line is, therefore, just below
the boulder-limit, which, of course, has been driven by
storm-waves a little higher than the high-water mark of
the level sea. At this line the ‘‘fossil’’ beaches, cliffs, and
chasms cease, and the smooth, boulder-dotted slopes begin.

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST. 137

The map of Figure 17 gives a synopsis of the observations
so far made on the present altitudes of the highest shore-
line. The figures represent the number of feet through
which the coastal belt at individual points has risen since
the Ice Period. The illustration indicates ‘that the uplift
on the Labrador has been greatest near Hopedale. Hamil-
ton Inlet owes in part its depth, and indeed its very exist-
ence as an inlet (it is but 10 fathoms deep at the Narrows),
to the fact that the part of the plateau in which it lies has
not been elevated as much as the land to north and to south.
The line rapidly rises as it crosses the Strait of Belle Isle,
and seems to be about 500 feet in height along the whole
eastern shore of Newfoundland.”

It is further clear that the uplift is a real and independent
upward movement of the land and not a mere withdrawal
of the sea-water, lowered, it may be, in the filling of distant
troughs or basins formed by the recent subsidence of other
parts of the ocean-floor. On the contrary, the evidence is
unmistakable that ‘there has been unequal positive uplift
of the earth’s crust. The force responsible for this great
piece of work has been applied locally and in varying degree.
The result is that to-day the actual distance from the centre
of the earth of every point on the highest shore-line is
greater than it was at the close of the Glacial Period.”

Why has the earth’s crust been thus hoisted? Some
geologists believe that the crust is elastic andsensitive, even
to the load of an ice-cap, and that the upheaval of the Labra-
dor is due to the lightening of the load on the crust when the
massive glacier disappeared. It is certainly true that the
recent uplift of the northern half of the continent has been
most pronounced where the ice-load was presumably

138 | LABRADOR

heaviest. The crust underlying northwestern Europe has
behaved in a similarly suggestive way since the melting
away of the thick Scandinavian ice-cap. The theory of -
crustal sensitiveness is strengthened by this repeated oc-
currence of the phenomenon, but as yet other explanations
cannot be excluded. ‘The final unravelling of the mystery
will be of prime importance in geological investigations as
to the raising of mountain-chains and the increase of the
continents.

We cross the Strait of Belle Isle once more, homeward
bound. Large questions are left to us. From Archean
time as from the latest grand event in Labrador’s history,
they rise to claim the attention of future generations of
Nature’s students. That attention they will surely have,
for the coast shares with other wild lands one greater value
“than the best arable we have.” Old Jacques Cartier,
searching for an Eldorado, found Labrador, and in disgust
called it ‘the land of Cain.” A century and a half after-
ward Lieutenant Roger Curtis wrote of it as “a country
formedof frightful mountains, and unfruitful vallies, a prodi-
gious heap of barren rock”; and George Cartwright, in his
gossipy journal, summed up his impressions after five and
twenty years on the coast. He said: “God created that
country last of all, and threw together there the refuse of
his materials as of no use to mankind.” |

In our own day the artist and scientific explorer give us
wiser counsels. We have at last learned the vital fact that
Nature has set apart her own picture-galleries where men
may resort if for a time they would forget human contri-
vances. Itis good for man to be alone, good for him to

puzjs] dools ‘anoqaepy Ajiway suryooj1sao ‘yoeeg pesiey

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY OF NORTHEAST COAST 139

leave his fellows, very good to forget how to make or spend
money. That man is unhuman who thinks of his income or
his outgo above the snow-line or in the depths of a Colorado
canyon. It is as if the pageant of earth’s history has left
to the waste places some of its choicest settings. The great
playgrounds of the world, — the high Alps, the Yosemite,
the Selkirks, a Saguenay, — they are in large part desert,
most providentially useless. And such a wilderness is
Labrador, a kind of mental and moral sanitarium. The
keen air of its midsummer is no more bracing to the nerves
and sinews of the body than its quiet beauty and savage
grandeur are stimulating to the powers of thought and ap-
preciation. The beautiful is but the visible splendour of
the true. The enjoyment of a visit to the coast may con-
sist not alone in the impressions of the scenery; there may
be added the deeper pleasure of reading out the history of
the noble landscapes, the sculptured monuments of ele-
mental strife and of revolutions in distant ages.

CHAPTER V

THE HAMILTON RIVER AND THE GRAND FALLS
By A. P. Low

Hamitton INET is the largest of the many long fiords
which indent the Atlantic coast. Like the others, it is
very deep, and is surrounded by high hills, often rising a
thousand feet sheer from the water, while its surface is
frequently broken by large, bold, rocky islands. The lower
slope and islands are wooded with dark spruce mingled
with the lighter-coloured birch and aspen, forming a pleas-
ing contrast with the bare rocks of the summits. The
distance, from the hospital station of Indian Harbour at
its mouth, in a southwest direction to the head of the inlet,
is slightly over one hundred and fifty miles, while its aver-
age breadth is fourteen miles. Forty-five miles above the
entrance, the inlet narrows and is only about a mile wide
for upwards of five miles. During each change of tide a
strong current with rapids occurs at this point.

Rigolet, the headquarters of the Hudson’s Bay Company
for the Atlantic coast, is situated on the north side of the
lower part of the narrows.

A village of Eskimo, made up of a cluster of small log
houses, occupies the shore of a small cove at the upper end;
its chief interest lies in the fact that it is the most southerly
community of these people. The inhabitants have been
long in contact with the white men, and have acquired many
of the virtues and vices of civilization.

140

THE HAMILTON RIVER AND THE GRAND FALLS 141

YSAl

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142 LABRADOR

The inlet gradually widens above the narrows into Lake
Melville, which is fifteen miles across in its widest part.
The eastern third is full of wild, rocky islands. The Mealy
Mountains rise directly from its southern shores. The
northern side is also high, but there is often a wide margin
of low land between the water and the rocky wall of the
fiord. Northwest River enters on the north side, about
eighty miles beyond the narrows. The stream is only
about one hundred yards wide at its mouth, but averages
fifteen feet in depth. Half a mile upstream it expands
into a small lake, which, three miles farther up, again con-
tracts for four hundred yards to form the outlet of Grand
Lake, a large body of fresh water extending westward some
forty miles, in a deep valley between high, rocky walls.

A Hudson’s Bay post is situated at the mouth of North-
west River. It consists of some half a dozen small log
buildings. Early in the last century this was an im-
portant place, the residence of the chief factor in charge of
Labrador. It then had a large farm attached, where oats
and vegetables were easily grown. Its importance was
greatly diminished by the abandonment of the inland
posts in the seventies, and later the Indians trading there
were induced by missionaries to take the proceeds of their
winter’s hunt to the posts on the north side of the
St. Lawrencé, so that at present the trade of the post
is exclusively with the whites living about the inlet.
Here also is a fur-trading station of Revillon Fréres of
Paris.

Almost opposite the mouth of the Northwest River on
the south side of Lake Melville is Carter’s Basin, a small
bay into which empty the Kenamou and Kenamich rivers.

THE HAMILTON RIVER AND THE GRAND FALLS 148

The former is much the larger, and drains an extensive area
of the highlands to the southwest. It is very rapid and
practically unnavigable. Above Northwest River the inlet
has been silted up by sand brought down and deposited
there by the Hamilton River, which flows into the head
of the inlet. A long, narrow point stretching out from the
north shore just above the Northwest River divides the
shallows from the deeper portion of the inlet; the upper
part is called Goose Bay, and extends twenty miles to its
head, which receives a small river, famous for the large
brook trout taken about its mouth in the autumn months.

There is here a large lumber mill belonging to the Grand -
River Lumber Company. Their “loggers” penetrate far
into the country along the river valley. Besides their build-
ings, small log houses are scattered along the shores of the
inlet, wherever the ground is sufficiently level for a small
garden; these are the winter houses of the white people
who reside permanently on the Atlantic coast. They are
ealled “planters” or “‘livyeres,” to distinguish them from
the summer fishing population from Newfoundland. The
planters are largely descendants of settlers brought out
from England for the salmon-fisheries. Some of their
ancestors were among the original settlers who came to
Sandwich Bay with Cartwright in 1770; others are de-
scended from servants of the Hudson’s Bay Company.
They are all poor and hopelessly in debt, either to the
Hudson’s Bay Company or to Newfoundland fishing firms,
so that these people have little hope or ambition to better
their condition. Their life is fairly happy and close to
nature. The sea supplies fish freely; their gardens,
potatoes, From the proceeds of their summer’s cod-fishery

144 LABRADOR

and winter’s fur hunt, they obtain food and clothing, to-
gether with a few “luxuries.” Early in the summer they
leave their houses on the inlet for the outer coast, where
they engage in the cod-fishing, usually with nets and gear
provided by some Newfoundland fishing firm. As a rule,
the amount of fish caught does not pay for the advances
of provisions and clothing at the prices charged by the
merchants, so they get deeper and deeper in debt year by
year. At the close of the cod-fishery they return to their
houses on the inlet, stopping on the way at the Hudson’s
Bay posts, where they receive other advances of provisions
and clothing to be charged against their coming winter’s
hunt. Arriving home, they dig their potatoes and catch
and freeze trout, which swarm in the mouths of all the
streams at this season. As soon as sufficient snow falls,
they set their traps for marten, fox, otter, lynx, and other
fur-bearing animals. Each hunter has a “path” or line
of traps fifty miles or more in length. A single winter
visit to all the traps on the line may involve a week’s
journey. Small “shacks” or shelters, where the hunters
may pass the night, are built at convenient distances along
the path.

With the advent of spring, the skins get out of condition,
and the fur path is abandoned for the seal hunt. These
animals are killed by shooting them on the ice, where they
come up through cracks and holes to bask in the sun.
Later, when the ice leaves, they are caught in heavy nets.
By the time the seal hunt is over, the garden dug, and
potatoes planted, it is time to go to the outer coast for the
cod-fishery.

This is the yearly round of the planter, It applies all

THE HAMILTON RIVER AND THE GRAND FALLS 145

along the Labrador, except that nowhere else can vege-
tables be grown, owing to the settlements being nearer to
the Arctic current on the outside coast. Although it
may not appeal to many, it is a much better and freer
life than is the lot of the poor in civilization, with its
monotonous daily grind for a mere subsistence.

As regards the chances of sport about Hamilton Inlet,
the summer season is unfavourable, there as well as else-
where. The big game consists of barren-ground and
woodland caribou, black bear, and seals. Caribou are
found in small bands on the Mealy Mountains immediately
south of Lake Melville, while in the winter large bands of
barren-ground caribou come out on the coast to the north-
ward, and have been killed in great numbers within a few
miles of the inlet. Bears are found on the burnt areas,
where they feed on blueberries in the late summer. The
seals, especially the harbour seal, are common in the waters
of the inlet, and often afford good sport with the rifle.

Wild fowl and geese are very abundant in the spring and
fall, and are killed in great numbers below Rigolet. The
curlew, which formerly passed in great flocks on their
migration southward, are now nearly extinct; the Canada
grouse, or spruce partridge, is abundant about the head of
the inlet, and the ruffed grouse is also common. During
the winter, great numbers of willow ptarmigan migrate
southward and feed in flocks on the willow buds in the
valleys.

Hamilton Inlet was once famous for its salmon-fishery,
but the use of numerous cod-traps along the coast has
practically exterminated the salmon, as far as concerns

rod-fishing in the rivers. I have visited the inlet in October,
L

146 Ba LABRADOR

and can vouch for the excellence of the trout-fishing from
that time until the ice becomes so thick that it is impossible
to cut holes through it. Dr. Grenfell reports that the trout
bite freely all summer. The fish appear to be sea-run, al-
though their sojourn in salt water is probably short, for
they do not lose their markings as do the trout of the St.
Lawrence. Large fish, up to six and seven pounds in weight,
are caught in the lower stretches and at the mouths of all
the streams flowing into Melville Lake, and take the fly
freely until the waters freeze over. My knowledge of the
Hamilton River from its mouth to the Grand Falls is con-
fined to the conditions prevailing in late winter and early
spring. We left Northwest River early in March and
reached the falls on the 1st of May. The great length of
time taken on the trip was due to our small party having
to draw on sledges the outfit, tents, canoes, and provisions
sufficient for the following summer’s work in the interior.
This amounted to four loads of two hundred pounds for
each member, and a consequent sevenfold lengthening
of the original distance of two hundred and fifty miles.
The Hamilton River is the most important stream of the
eastern watershed of the peninsula. It-is upwards of five
hundred miles in length, and extends westward halfway
to Hudson Bay. To the north and west its tributaries
interlock with those of the Northwest River and with the
head waters of the George and Koksoak rivers, both of
which flow north into Ungava Bay, while to the south the
Hamilton is separated by a low, sinuous watershed from
the rivers flowing southward into the Gulf of St. Lawrence:
-- At the Grand Falls, some two hundred-and fifty miles
abeve its mouth, the river is naturally divided into* two

THE HAMILTON RIVER AND THE GRAND FALLS 147

parts which are quite dissimilar in physical character.
The lower part occupies a deep, ancient valley, cut down
into the hard, crystalline rocks of the plateau, so that the
present level of the river is from five hundred to one thou-
sand feet below the general level of the surrounding country.
This deep valley varies in width from one hundred yards
to more than two miles between the rocky walls. The river
flows with a strong current often broken by rapids, espe-
cially along the upper stretches. Only in one place has it
a direct fall over a rock obstruction, and that is at the
Muskrat Falls, twenty-seven miles above its mouth, where
a dam of glacial drift has diverted the stream from its
ancient course and has caused it to find a new channel on
the south side of a rocky knoll where the river falls seventy
feet over ledges in a distance of four hundred yards.

The greater part of the valley below the Grand Falls has
been burnt over by frequent fires, which have destroyed
much of the original forest of spruce, its place being taken
by small second-growth aspen, white birch, and spruce.
Where the original forest remains, the trees are fair-sized
and of commercial value, in marked contrast to the stunted
spruce found partly covering the rolling surface of the
plateau above the valley on both sides. The river varies in
width, and usually only partly fills the bottom of the valley,
being confined between banks of sand or glacial drift form-
ing the soil of the bottom. A reference to the accompany-
ing map shows that the river valley as far as the junction
of Minipi River, eighty miles upstream, conforms in its
southwesterly direction with that of Hamilton Inlet (Lake
Melville). The general direction then changes to west-
northwest, and so continues to the Grand Falls. A more

148 . LABRADOR

detailed account of the various courses and characteristics
of the valley than can be given here may be found in my
report, and might be consulted by any ai visitor
to the falls.’

The river flows into the head of Lake Melville on the south
side of Goose Bay, and is separated from it by a long, low,
sandy point. The mouth of the river is obstructed by
wide shoals with numerous narrow channels between them.
These continue for about ten miles, where the stream is
about a mile wide and gradually narrows to Muskrat Falls.
Above the falls there is a steady current for fourteen miles
to the foot of Porcupine Rapids, which are nearly three
miles long. Good tracking along the banks with deep
water makes the ascent easy. An expansion called Gull
Island Lake extends six miles from the head of Porcupine
Rapids to the foot of the next rapids. In the next twenty
miles, to the mouth of the Minipi, the valley gradually
narrows, leaving very little bottom-land between the river
and its rocky walls. This portion of the river is very rough
and almost a continuous rapid. Ascending the stream,
Gull Rapids extend for nearly five miles above the lake,
with shallow water and great boulders obstructing the
channel. The second, or Horseshoe Rapid, is at the sharp
bend to the southward; it also is shallow and filled with
boulders. The river now contracts to about one hundred
yards in width, and deepens, so that although the current
is swift, the surface is broken only for a short distance
below the junction of the Minipi, where a short portage
may be necessary to pass the head of the rapid.

1 Report on Labrador Peninsula, A. P. Low, Ann. Rep. Geol. Survey
of Canada, Vol. VIII, Part L, 1895.

: JOAIY UOYIWeH oy} ul spidey

THE HAMILTON RIVER AND THE GRAND FALLS 149

Above the Minipi the valley soon widens, and varies
from one to two miles across the bottom. The rocky walls
rise from seven hundred feet to nine hundred feet above the
water, while the glacial drift in the valley has been cut
by the river into terraces, which are seen flanking the walls
at heights ranging from twenty feet to two hundred and
fifty feet. The navigation is good for the next forty miles,
the even current of the river being broken only by a few
short rapids not difficult to ascend. A number of very
beautiful stretches are seen along this portion, where the
channel is divided by islands covered with thick green
forest, giving contrast with the bare rocky walls down
which a number of small tributaries tumble in feathery
cascades. The valley again contracts, and for eighteen
miles, to its outlet from Winokapau Lake, the current is
swift, and the river broken by a number of rapids, making
the ascent difficult, but probably entailing portages only at
a few short pitches.

The entrance to the lake is impressive; the walls of the
valley are less than a quarter of a mile apart, and tower
in sheer cliffs for a thousand feet above the stream. The
change from the foaming rapids of the outlet to the quiet
surface of the lake is especially pleasing to the somewhat
wearied traveller.

Winokapau Lake is thirty miles long and varies from one
mile to two miles and a half in width; its waters fill the
valley from wall to wall. The lake is remarkably deep,
isolated soundings giving over four hundred feet; only
a few soundings were made during our passage, as the ice
was then four feet nine inches thick, and two hours of hard
work were required to put a hole through it. The upper

150 LABRADOR

end of the lake is shallow, being filled with sand brought
down by the river. The Hudson’s Bay post was situated
on a sandy plain near the inlet; it was abandoned in 18738,
and subsequently destroyed by fire. The old journals
of this post show that the first snow fell about September
20th and remained until the following June. The lowest tem-
perature recorded was — 55° F. Geese, ducks, and sum-
mer birds arrived about the 10th of May and were killed
in large numbers in the open water at the head of the lake.
In the autumn and winter, ptarmigan were very abundant,
while caribou and bears were frequently killed in the valley
and on the surrounding plateau. The spring catch of fish
was always notable, white fish and trout being taken in
large numbers in nets set about the post. In the summer,
all the inhabitants used to go in canoes with the winter’s
fur to the post at Northwest River. Before leaving the
place, potatoes and turnips were planted and left to the
care of Nature until the return of the traders in September ;
it is not surprising that the comments on the crops were
unfavourable.

‘The river is easily navigable from the head of Winokapau
Lake to the Grand Falls portage, situated on the north side
of the river some forty-five miles upstream, at the foot
of a continuous rapid, which extends several miles to the
mouth of Bowdoin Canyon.

In order to pass the Grand Falls, and reach the upper
part of the river, the valley must be left at the foot of the
rapids, where a portage, up the bed of a small tributary,
rises abruptly seven hundred feet and then, by gradual
ascent for two miles, leads to a small lake on the level of
the plateau. The route then leads through fourteen small

THE HAMILTON RIVER AND THE GRAND FALLS 161

lakes connected by as many portages, and ends in an ex-
' pansion of the river immediately above the rapids leading
to the falls. This route is over twenty miles in length,
and more than one-fourth is on portages. To obtain a view
of the falls, the river must be crossed at the end of the
portages and the far bank descended past the rapids, where
an excellent view may be obtained, from the top of the wall
enclosing the circular basin, into which the river falls.
A descent may here be made into the canyon, with less
difficulty and risk than are incurred in descents from the
near bank. Our party, from what I can learn, was the
only one to view the falls from that side. It must have
been a great disappointment to the others, after their long
trip, to have seen the falls only from the east side, where
no adequate view can be obtained. This warning is in-
tended especially for the visitor who might decide, owing
to the difficulty of the portages, to leave his canoes at the
lower end of the portages and tramp overland to the falls.

‘The distance, between the lake expansion at the upper
end of the portage route and the mouth of Bowdoin Canyon,
is eight miles in a straight line running south-southeast.
The river at the upper end of this line has an elevation of
sixteen hundred and sixty feet above sea-level, a little
below the general level of the surrounding country. Where
it issues from the canyon into the main valley, it is nine

hundred feet above the sea; there is thus a drop of seven
- hundred and sixty feet in a distance, by the river, of less
than twelve miles. Considering the volume of the stream,
estimated at fifty thousand cubic feet per second, this is a
phenomenal descent. If the energy developed by the fall
could be turned into work, it would produce the enormous

152 LABRADOR

amount of upwards of four million three hundred thousand
horse-power. Neglecting the rapids above and below the
falls and confining the calculation to the power of the falls
itself, we. find that it would develop energy equal to one
million seven hundred thousand horse-power, an amount
sufficient to operate a large proportion of all the manu-
factories and railways of Canada.

For a mile downstream from its lakelike expansion, the
river is dotted with small, rocky islands, covered with small
evergreens. The great stream is thereby broken into a
number of narrow channels with swift current. The river
then narrows to less than four hundred yards, and for a mile
passes over a number of rocky ledges between low, wooded
banks, falling fifty feet in a succession of rapids. It again
widens to nearly a mile, and flows swiftly between small
islands for two miles; then, turning southeast, it contracts
to less than half its previous width and rushes along with
heavy rapids in a shallow channel obstructed by huge
boulders. In this manner the river continues for two miles,
gradually narrowing as it descends. The banks and bottom
are solid rock, and the stream in the next mile has cut a
narrow and gradually deepening trough, so that, at the
lower end of the course, it dashes through a gorge about
fifty yards wide with steep walls, one hundred and ten feet
below the level of its upper end. In the last three hun-
dred yards the grade is very steep, where the confined
waters rush along in a swirling mass, thrown into enormous, —
long, surging waves, at least twenty feet high, the deafening
noise of which completely drowns the heavy boom of the
great falls immediately below. With a final great surge
the pent-up water is shot down a steep incline for a hundred

THE HAMILTON RIVER AND THE GRAND FALLS 153

feet, where it breaks into a silvery mass and plunges into
a circular basin two hundred feet below. The momentum
acquired during the descent of the slope is sufficient to
carry the mass of water far out from the perpendicular
rocky wall, leaving at the bottom an almost free passage
between the foot of the cliff and the falling water. Owing
to the dense column of spray which rises continuously
from the basin to a height of nearly a thousand feet,
it is impossible to obtain a clear photograph of the
cascade. ,

The trees on the slopes about the falls are largely white
spruce upwards of seventy feet in height, while the icicles
fringing the foot of the ice-covered walls (on the first
of May) were more than fifty feet in length. Owing to
the refraction of the ice which flashed the sunlight into
all the colours of the spectrum, the spectacle was most gor-
geous. The total height of the falls, from the crest of the
incline to the basin, is three hundred and two feet; in
shape it resembles on a gigantic scale a stream flowing
through a V-shaped trough and issuing freely from its
lower end. The basin at the bottom is nearly circular,
with a diameter of two hundred yards. The rocky walls
surrounding it rise perpendicularly five hundred feet, except
at a narrow cut at right angles to the falls where the waters
pass out into Bowdoin Canyon. The surface of the basin
is continuously agitated by the rush of waters and huge,
lumpy waves leap high upon its rocky walls. The stunning
noise of the fall and the wonderful display of energy are
so awe-inspiring that there is a feeling of dread in ap-
proaching the brink, and the Indians cannot be induced
to visit the neighbourhood.

154 LABRADOR

Bowdoin Canyon was so named by Cary and Cole, who
discovered it in 1891. Issuing from the basin at the foot
of the great cascade, the river zigzags in half-mile courses
to the east and southwest until it finally issues into the main
valley. The distance from the falls to the mouth of the
canyon is eight miles in a straight line, but by the river
it is more than twice that distance. The canyon is cut
sharply and nearly perpendicularly out of the granites
and other crystalline rocks to a depth of over five hundred
feet below the general surface of the plateau. The zigzag
courses of the gorge conform with the directions of two sets
of jointage planes, which split the granites into huge blocks
in the area below the falls. The cracks appear to influence
the direction of the river courses, and to have greatly as-
sisted the water in clearing out the gorge. The canyon
is probably a new valley excavated by the river since the
Glacial Period. The ancient river which, in pre-Glacial
time, flowed down the main valley seems to have been
diverted by dams of glacial drift and perhaps by local
changes of level, so that it now flows on the surface of the
plateau to the north of the old valley. On reéntering the
old valley with such a tremendous fall, the river has cut
out the canyon in a comparatively short period of time.
The break in the surface of the plateau is so sharp that an
approach to within a few yards of the edge may be made
without any indication of its presence, the first warning
being the hoarse roar of the rapids far below. Across its
top the gorge rarely exceeds a hundred yards; at the bottom
the river is confined to a width of a hundred feet. The
difference in level between the water in the basin and that
issuing into the main valley is two hundred and sixty feet,

THE HAMILTON RIVER AND THE GRAND FALLS 155

and this descent is in a continuous rapid by the pent-up
stream.

Above the Grand Falls the character of the river changes
completely ; it now flows nearly on a level with the surface
of the plateau, spreading out to fill the valleys between the
long, low ridges, arranged en échelon over the country.
The river in passing around the ridges is often broken into
several channels by large islands; in other places where
the valleys are wide, it spreads out into long, irregular lakes
studded with islands. The current, instead of flowing
regularly, alternates between short rapids and long lake
stretches. The banks are usually low, and covered with
a dense growth of willows, which form a wide fringe between
the water and the spruce trees covering the higher ground
behind. The general direction of the river is west-north-
west from the Grand Falls to Petitsikapau Lake, more
than a hundred miles above. Throughout this distance
its course is nearly parallel to the direction of the glacial
strie and to that of the ridges of glacial drift. All these
features give an aspect of newness to the upper part of
the river, and indicate that its present course and condition
have been determined by the post-Glacial configuration
of the plateau.

The first expansion above the portage is called Jacopie
Lake. It is seven miles long by about two miles wide, and
is surrounded by low, rocky hills partly burnt over. A
stretch of eight miles of swiftly flowing river connects with
the island-dotted Flour Lake, which is ten miles long with
deep bays leading off on both sides. At its head the river
enters by two nearly equal channels, which unite again
in Sandgirt Lake, some fifteen miles above. The north

156 LABRADOR

channel leads through Lobstick Lake, where a long bay
passes northward and connects the spring at high water
with Lake Michikamau on the head waters of the Northwest
River. The south channel is the ordinary canoe route
between Flour and Sandgirt lakes.

Sandgirt Lake is an irregular, shallow body of water, with
many islands of drift. It is twelve miles long from the
southern outlet to the mouth of the Ashuanipi branch.
Owing to the number of canoe routes which centre here, the
lake is an important gathering place for the Indians of the
interior. The Hamilton River divides into two branches,
the larger, or Ashuanipi, flowing from the northwest and
the Attikonak from the south. The principal route from
Hamilton River to Michikamau Lake and northward also
ends here. The Indians who pass the winter hunting in
this region congregate at Sandgirt Lake shortly after the
ice leaves the river, and thence proceed in company south-
ward to the Hudson’s Bay Company posts situated on the
north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The Attikonak branch of the Hamilton flows into the
southern part of Sandgirt Lake, where it has about half
the volume of the other branch. It takes its rise in
Attikonak Lake, close to the southern watershed; thence
a portage leads to the upper waters of the Romaine River
flowing into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. From Sandgirt
Lake to the south end of Attikonak, the distance by river
is about one hundred and fifty miles, and the stream is
practically a succession of long, narrow lakes connected by
stretches of rapids. The country through which it flows
is broken by low hills of rock and ridges of drift, with much
low, swampy land between. The lowlands are covered

Two Views of Bowdoin Canyon

THE HAMILTON RIVER AND THE GRAND FALLS 157

with small trees, chiefly black spruce, along with larch and
balsam fir. Lake Attikonak is upwards of forty miles long,
and is so covered with islands that no idea of its shape or
width is obtained by a passage through it. Its water is
clear but brownish, and does not appear to be very deep.

The Ashuanipi, or main branch of the Hamilton, enters
Sandgirt Lake on its west side. The river flows from the
northwest for seventy-five miles in a wide valley, broken
by long ridges, which cut the stream into a perfect labyrinth
of channels connecting irregularly shaped lake expansions.
An intelligent detailed description of the watery maze is
almost impossible, and would be too long for the present
chapter. A few miles above Sandgirt Lake the granites
and gneisses give place to bedded sandstones, limestones,
and shales, with which are associated bedded iron ores.
These rocks have a remarkably close resemblance to the
iron formations of the south and west of Lake Superior,
and there is reason to believe that, in the future, important
deposits of iron ore will be found along the upper Hamilton
River. A change in the physical features follows the change
in the rocks; the rocky hills become higher and sharper,
while the ridges are longer and much less broken, causing
the valley to be walled in between rocky barriers that rise
from three hundred feet to five hundred feet above its
surface.

With the change of soil there is a surprising change in
the trees. These increase in size; and the monotonous
forest of small black spruce gives place to a more diversified
one of white and black spruce, balsam fir, larch, balsam,
aspen, poplar, and white birch, all growing in the valley and
on the sides of the hills. This portion of the river is a

158 LABRADOR

paradise for fishermen; the swiftly flowing water, in the
numerous channels connecting the lake expansions, swarm
with large brook trout greedy for any description of lure,
from a salmon-fly to a bit of red flannel on a cod-hook.
More fish were taken with cod-hooks by the canoemen than
I could catch with the regulation rod and tackle. The deep,
quiet eddies and the foam-covered spots at the foot of rapids
are the resort of lake trout reaching more than twenty
pounds in weight. In the rapids the game ouaniniche, or
land-locked salmon, may be easily captured with a fly.
Whitefish are also seen bobbing about in the thick foam,
and take an artificial May-fly; as they jump and fight as
fiercely as the ouaniniche, they afford good sport, but, being
very tender in the mouth, they are often lost. The willow
ptarmigan and Canada goose breed abundantly in this region.
The flocks of unmated geese lose their wing-feathers in
the summer, and, being unable to fly, may be chased ashore
and captured, usually after a most exciting run. Caribou
may be secured with little trouble. Bears are not very
numerous.

At the head of the long northwest course, a short stream
leads into Lake Petitsikapau, a large, irregularly shaped
body of water, separated by a rocky ridge from the head
waters of the George River, flowing north into Ungava
Bay. On its shore is situated the ruins of Fort Nascaupee,
established by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1842, and.
abandoned in 1873. The ruins stand in a small clearing
close to the edge of the lake. The houses were built of small,
squared logs with sawn-board roofs. The main building
is about twelve by eighteen feet, with a low attic. Smaller
buildings adjoined the house on both sides, and were prob-

THE HAMILTON RIVER AND THE GRAND FALLS 159

ably used as kitchen and shop. The foundation of an-
other small building about twenty yards in the rear is
probably the remains of the servants’ house, while the
powder-magazine, half buried in the ground, stands farther
back. Adjoining is a small burying-ground with a large
cross in the centre; no marks were found on the graves.
In the attic of the main building a fragment of the Albion
of March 7, 1846, was found. Close to the house are several
patches of rhubarb in a flourishing condition. The whole
forms the ruined remains of what corresponded to a typical
inland post of to-day, as, for example, those of Nichicun and
Mistassini. Such a post isin charge of a postmaster, usually
graduated from the ranks of the superior servants of the
larger posts, and married to an Indian woman. He has
generally two or three Indians or half-breeds under him,
and these with their families make up the settlement.
Owing to the great distances from the coast and the diffi-
culties of transportation, the amount of civilized provisions
brought in is small, and the daily ration is very meagre.
About one pound of flour per day falls to the share of each
family, with tea and sugar in proportion, so that all must
look to the country for food. This is largely provided by
nets, as the posts are always located conveniently to some
good fishing lake. Ptarmigan and other game birds
provide most of the flesh, supplemented with caribou, bear,
beaver, lynx, muskrat, and rabbits.

At Nichicun potatoes will not grow in the short summer
season, and this was probably the case at Nascaupee, so
that the farinaceous food was limited to the family share
of the daily pound of flour. The life at an inland post is a
lonely one. With the departure of the ice in spring, the

160 LABRADOR

band of Indians belonging to the post congregate with their
furs, which are soon packed in bundles of one hundred
pounds and loaded into large bark canoes-for the voyage
to the coast. All the active males are required as canoemen,
leaving behind only the very aged, cripples, and children.
Many of the women accompany the brigade in small canoes ;
the remainder scatter about the lakes to convenient fishing
places. The post is practically abandoned until the return
of the brigade, late in the summer, with canoes deeply
laden with provisions, ammunition, and goods for the next
season’s trade. A few days after the arrival, each Indian
has received his outfit and departs for his winter hunting-
grounds, leaving the inhabitants of the post to themselves.
The early fall_is employed in securing a supply of trout
and whitefish for the winter, and nets are set on the spawn-
ing-grounds for the fish. This ends the work of the year,
and everybody becomes a trapper of fur until Christmas
time. With the new year, the cutting of fire-wood for the
coming year is commenced; the wood is drawn home with
dog-teams. As the spring approaches, the canoes are
mended and preparations made for the annual trip to the
coast, which is eagerly anticipated, as it means the annual
mail and contact with civilization.

The Ashuanipi, at the entrance to Petitsikapau, bends
sharply to the south, where it flows out of a large lake of
the same name, situated near the southern watershed,
close to the head waters of the Moisie River, which flows
southward into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The distance
from the bend to the head of the lake is upwards of
one hundred and fifty miles, about half of which is un-
surveyed.

THE HAMILTON RIVER AND THE GRAND FALLS 161

In closing this brief description of the Hamilton River,
a few words of advice may be given to intending visitors.
At the present time no facilities exist on Hamilton Inlet
for a trip inland. The white men living about the inlet are
unaccustomed to canoes, and use heavy sea-boats for their
short trips inland. For an extended journey to the in-
terior, canoes are required, and, in my experience for such
work, the best are built of cedar; these are nearly as light
as the Indian bark canoes, and are much more enduring.
They should be built larger and deeper than the ordinary
pleasure canoe, which is an abomination on a serious ex-
ploratory trip. A good size is nineteen feet long, forty
inches wide, and about eighteen inches deep. Such a
canoe will take a load of twelve hundred pounds with the
crew of three or four persons, without danger, through
heavy rapids and across windy lake stretches, where the
ordinary canoe could not venture. These canoes weigh
about one hundred and twenty-five pounds, and are easily
carried by two men. An ordinary camp equipment, in-
cluding mosquito tent and plenty of good blankets, is all
that is required. The provisions should be as simple as
possible, consisting chiefly of pork, bacon, flour, and beans,
along with tea and sugar. Condensed foods may be good
for rations on forced marches, where nothing else is avail-
able, but they are highly unsatisfactory to canoemen work-
ing hard upstream, who must have a full weight of three
pounds of solid food a day. A few tinned luxuries may be
taken if the trip does not exceed six weeks in duration, —
a good rule to follow is an allowance of three pounds per
man, together with the limit of four hundred pounds’ weight
for each canoeman ascending a river, so that if two men

M

162 LABRADOR

are engaged in propelling the canoe, the load should not
greatly exceed eight hundred pounds in weight.

As the whites know nothing about river work, and the
Indians are few and unreliable, it 1s necessary to secure
canoemen in Canada, and take them along to Hamilton
Inlet. On my trips through the country, I have used Indians
and French half-breeds from the Lake St. John district
of Quebec, and have found them good, willing, and reliable
men. Similar men may be obtained through the officer in
charge of any of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s posts along
the frontier. Fish are plentiful in the rivers, especially
above the Grand Falls, and a net set nightly affords great
assistance in securing the surprising amount of food re-
quired by a party of able-bodied men. No reliance should
be placed upon the killing of game during the summer
months, and if by good luck caribou or bears are met with,
it is easy to throw away a corresponding amount of pro-
visions, but a sufficient supply for the entire trip should
be taken in case of ill luck; this is an essential matter, as
more parties have had to turn back from the northern
wilderness owing to lack of food than from other reasons.
A good supply of provisions means good-natured canoe-
men, willing to go anywhere without a thought of danger,
whereas the suspicion of starvation will change the same
men into a discontented, mutinous crew. Mr. Leonidas
Hubbard, subeditor of Outing, lost his life in 1903 in
this district from starvation. His assistant, Mr. Dillon
Wallace, and his half-breed guide only just succeeded in
getting out alive. He had relied almost entirely on what
game he could capture.

Mrs. Hubbard and Mr. Dillon Wallace have since led

ET 'S®SYSSSSSSS =r

Aseq VW Suryel

THE HAMILTON RIVER AND THE GRAND FALLS 1638

separate expeditions through the same country. Travel-
ling inland to Lake Michikamau, thence down the George
River to Ungava Bay, Mr.. Wallace returned by dog-
sleigh in the winter, skirting with his teams the entire
Labrador coast. Both expeditions have been described
by these travellers in their well-known books.

CHAPTER VI

THE PEOPLE OF THE COAST
By W. T. GRENFELL

Tue fishery as it exists in Labrador at the present day
is confined practically to Newfoundlanders, Labrador
settlers, or “‘livyeres,”’ as they are called, Eskimo, Americans
from Massachusetts and Maine, and a few Canadians from
the Maritime provinces. Of the Basques only a few tiled
floors, and the débris of the bones of whales that were cap-
tured, remain. These bones are still fished up at Red
Bay in the Strait of Belle Isle and are used for dog-sledge
shoes. Biscayans and Bretons are represented by a wild
growth of the small leek or hive, which once flourished
in their well-cared-for vegetable patches. Jean Jacques |
and Antoine Perrault still fish on the coast, but speak the
homeliest Labrador and are innocent of anything French,
even as on the Canadian Labrador Rob Roy McGregor and
Angus McNab know nothing but French patois.

The Canadians are represented by their telegraph lines,
lighthouses, and steam tenders. An occasional sick French
Canadian finds his way to the small hospitals on the coast.
Germany has at Nain a consul, a Moravian missionary
bishop, whom, in 1907, a man-of-war came in and saluted.
Words lacking in the Eskimo language have been supplied
from the German. Tosten Andersens and Donald Camp-

164

THE PEOPLE OF THE COAST 165

bells from Norway and Scotland came out with the Hudson’s
Bay Fur Trading Company, and have left a plentiful
progeny to represent them in this generation. One Jersey
firm still has a fishing-room. Stone fish-drying bournes,
brick chimneys, and occasional panelled doors testify to
the excellent scale on which the enterprising men of Jersey
once carried on the fishery so far from their own sunny
homes. Their influence in doing things must have been
very great. But with one or two exceptions there is to-
day nothing to compare with the relatively fine style in
which all their arrangements were carried out, and their
men housed. These businesses have long ago passed into
the hands of Newfoundland firms.

The fishery of Blane Sablon is perhaps the one pursued
on the largest scale. It has holdings also at Greenley
Island and Forteau. The enterprise of the Honourable
Captain Sam Blandford added largely to its fame and
efficiency, for he annually hired at great expense two large
steamers in which he pushed as far north as Cape Chidley,
to add a second chance to each voyage.

Canadian fishing vessels visiting Labrador from the lower
provinces are fewer than twenty years ago. Americans
from Maine are more numerous. These, the finest fishing
vessels by far that come amongst us, are always welcome.
Their crews are a generous, open-handed crowd of men,
thorough fishermen, and splendidly fitted out. Our own
humble vessels look poor and sorry beside them. Only
for one thing do we regret their advent, and that is due
to their indifference to what we consider the laws of God.
They go fishing and working on Sundays among our people,
who, though poorer and far more needy of material wealth,

166 LABRADOR —

are wise enough to know that life does not consist in the
abundance of things man possesses. The joy of life on
our coast comes of a peace of mind due to a real faith in
God’s fatherhood and our sonship, and from every high
ideal realized on that premise. Without any theories it
is the simplest ‘‘simple life.” There is no room in Labrador
for persons affected with the “dementia of owning things.”’
If ever by elimination of their faith or by the introduction
of the ‘‘habits of civilization”? our people are deprived of
that faith, life on the coast would be little short of a purga-
tory to be endured. So strongly do our people feel on this
matter of keeping Sunday strictly for rest that one of our
laws runs that ‘‘no person shall, between the hours of
twelve o’clock on Saturday night, and twelve o’clock on
Sunday night, take or catch in any manner whatsoever,
any herring, caplin, squid, or any other bait fish, or set or
put out any contrivance whatsoever for taking them,’ —
just such a law as prevailed one hundred years ago about
salmon-catching in Ireland. Oddly enough, the law does
not prevent catching the cod themselves, so we cannot
prevent the long lines being hauled by our cousins from
“civilization.” When remonstrated with, however, they
have almost always shown enough good feeling to give way
to the wishes and customs of our people.

The first of the fleet that leaves for Labrador sets out as
early as the end of April. Those from the outports have
still, owing to the unfortunate centralization of trade at
St. John’s, to repair first almost to the very extreme south
of Newfoundland for supplies, and thence to leave for the
north again. The southern vessels that come out of the
winter ice early frequently find time to do some coasting

THE PEOPLE OF THE COAST 167

before leaving for Labrador, and will carry loads of lumber,
etc., to the capital. But this cannot be done by those who
desire to make two cargoes at the fishing-grounds or by
those who live in northern ports. Their vessels scarcely
get out of the winter ice early enough.

In Canadian waters the trap berths are leased to the
same parties year after year by the government, who
charge so much per fathom for the “leading” net. There
is thus no great incentive to be down on that part of the
coast too early.

On the part of the Labrador coast which is under New-
foundland jurisdiction, the first comer takes the best berths.
This led to such unnecessarily early starts, with the suffer-
ing involved and risks incurred from pushing down among
the floe-ice, that laws were made preventing berths being
claimed till a certain date, according to the latitude.
Any net set before that time is not only taken up, but
the owner is fined. Every year, however, numerous dis-
putes and quarrels arise from the eagerness to be sure of
the choice of places, and never a season passes without
some being brought to the travelling magistrate for settle-
ment.

Some fishermen, without trying for more than one voy-
age, go direct to the spot of their choice, however long they
will have to wait. These men, though living on their
vessels, will always be found in the same places. Their
schooners at anchor might almost be marked on the chart.
These men, such as the Whites of Twillingate, the Milleys,
the Lansons, the Barbours, etc., are almost always success-
ful men.

Most of the schooners, however, are obliged to wander

168 LABRADOR

about, looking everywhere for “good tucks” of fish, and
often so anxious to get the fish quickly that they leave the
very places that later turn out to be best, only to find no
others and so go home empty or ‘clean.’

These wandering schooners are called ‘green fish”
catchers, and when they have taken their ‘“‘fare,’’ or when
their time is “runned up,” they come south, pick up the
freighters they left, and carry them to their homes. Of
late, however, more ‘‘make,’’ or dry, their fish at the har-
bour, where their freighters are doing the same thing.
Though curing seems an easy matter, it involves much work
and infinite patience. At home the gardens left in the
spring sorely need tending now, and every man is anxious
to be getting ready for the winter. Yet often for a week
at a time, wet and cold days prevent any work being done.
So valuable are fine days that a certain medicine was ad-
vertised along the coast as a guarantee to ‘cure all” and
to ‘give eight fine fish days” to any one buying five dollars’
worth. .

The actual number of the vessels visiting Labrador I am
unable to obtain, — probably one thousand each year.
Every year quite a number go down that neither ‘ clear”
nor “‘register’’ at the customs-houses. About twenty thou-
sand persons, all told, constitute the summer exodus from
Newfoundland. ;

One or two steamers have been used in the Labrador cod-
fishery of recent years, but the people are strongly preju-
diced against their introduction. They have seen the
steamers supplant the schooners entirely for catching seals.
They have seen any chance of large returns pass entirely
out of reach of the small fisherman. Moreover, they be-

THE PEOPLE OF THE COAST 169

lieve that the seals are being killed out. As yet, however,
it has not been possible to get a law prohibiting the use of
steam fishing-vessels sanctioned in the Upper House of the
Legislature. It should be added that laws relating to the
fishery are, all together, very few, and the total number of
cases where trouble arises from all causes, when added up,
are so small as to be almost negligible. The use of steamers
to bring fishermen and their families to the fishery and
back again is greatly to be desired.

His Excellency, Sir William MacGregor, in the report
issued in 1906, after his official visit to the coast, says:
“The difference in conduct between the present generation
of Labrador fishermen and the banditti, or ‘irregular,’
crews that formerly frequented it, forms, perhaps, one of
the most striking contrasts that could be found in the
annals of Justice.” He further states that “the administra-
tion of justice in Labrador is now so easy as to be, perhaps,
without any precedent in any other country.” He de-
scribes our fishermen as being ‘‘ phenomenally law-abiding.”’
This is certainly my experience, after acting as magistrate
on the coast for the past twenty years.

The greatest drawback to the Labrador fishery has been,
and still is, the want of proper communication. A small
steamer, which is used for seal-hunting in the spring, makes
ten trips each year. She is supposed to complete each
trip in a fortnight, but as she has ninety ports of call to
make, fully fifteen hundred miles to steam, is loaded with
freight, and has fog, ice, and bad storms to contend with,
she is frequently unable to keep within several days of her
schedule time. With a captain second to none for pluck,
and acquainted with the coast as probably no other man is,

170 LABRADOR

she still loses time. Day and night, when possible, she
travels, but the scarcity of lights, the miserable survey,
and the absence of artificial assistance to enter harbours,
leave no question that she has far more work than she can
accomplish.

The passenger traffic alone is far more than she is able
properly to undertake. The improved conditions of the
fishery enable fishermen to get cash to pay for passages
home by steamer so as to save time in the autumn. Thus,
so many travel that even the available floor space is at
times all too small for those crowding aboard. On some
trips the gangway has had to be kept up to prevent more
passengers coming aboard. For care, courage, courtesy,
and efforts to please, the crew of the Labrador mail vessel
cannot be beaten; but they cannot create space. The
irregularities thus caused and the uncertainty as to the
time of her arrival are also a great source of loss of time
and money. Moreover, considering the importance of the
fishery to the country, one mail per fortnight is not nearly
enough.

Five Marconi stations have been placed on the coast,
and these are of very great value. They cover two hun-
dred miles of coast, but do not yet connect with New-
foundland, and only very indirectly with anywhere. When
the Canadian station on Belle Isle is working, then Labra-
dor can talk with the outside world vid Canada. But none
of these stations is opened except during the summer
months. The power of the most southern station at
Battle Harbour has been greatly increased and prac-
tically has put us now in touch with the outside world.

uoIqoayH] je syekey ul owlys”

ri |

yf

THE PEOPLE OF THE COAST 171

In the wireless system, the problem of communication
in the Arctics and subarctic regions finds a solution. The
drifting ice, whether as pan or resistless berg, is almost
prohibitive of submarine cables. The immense bays,
with their endless indraughts, make land wires out of the
question.

With commendable zeal, and with great success, the
Canadians have succeeded in running a wire all the way
from Quebec along the north shore of the Gulf of St.
Lawrence to the Straits. Unfortunately the line ends
at Chateau, twenty-eight miles from Battle Harbour,
where the terminal Marconi station is situated.

In winter, residence in Labrador is specially discour-
aged by lack of communication, and the permanent
population, except around the newly established mills,
is decreasing steadily. The existing arrangement of one
or, at most, two mails carried by dogs is not sufficient to
meet the needs of a population of English-speaking
people during a whole winter.

I am a complete optimist with regard to the
future. Steffanson has written in his ‘‘ Friendly Arctic”
how mistaken people are regarding the cold at the
sea levels. Our latitude is that of England, our al-
titude nil. A chain of wireless stations has been es-
tablished in summer, and as industry develops is avail-
able all the year.

Exclusive of aschool grant of $2000, the total appropri-
ations for Labrador are under $30,000 per annum. Twenty
thousand dollars of this is for the summer mail steamer
and the Marconi stations ; $2000 is for collecting revenue

(2 LABRADOR

on the coast. All the rest is spent on summer post-offices,
and providing for sick fishermen. Five hundred dollars
a year appears to be the amount granted to make Labra-
dor habitable in winter.

As the revenue from its inhabitants direct is certainly
$150,000 per annum, and the indirect revenue from the
fishery so large, this does not seem fair. The Labrador
people must purchase every supply from Newfoundland,
from a rifle, a trap, a net, to flour, pork, and potatoes.
I have seen potatoes turned back home from the Cana-
dian boundary at Blanc Sablon because they were grown
in Prince Edward Island, and the taxation was far too high
for the settlers at Forteau and Red Bay to be able to
afford them. Yet they could get no potatoes from New-
foundland, could grow none, suffered from hunger for want
of vegetables in spring, and some were being fed every
year on government flour during the long winter months.

The testimony of hundreds of my friends. who live in
Labrador, among them men who have lived in the United
States, England, Scotland, Canada, Norway, and elsewhere,
is that Labrador is by no means a bad country to settle
in, but it is handicapped by having too little government
encouragement given to people to live there.

The reindeer project, backed only by the Canadian
government and by private friends, I shall leave to another
chapter.

One other great drawback to settling is the impossibility
of either getting grants of land or buying land with good
title in Labrador. This partly arises from the unsettled
question of ownership. For nobody knows the boundary
between Newfoundland and Canada. Grants of timber

THE PEOPLE OF THE COAST 173

lands have been made to Canadian firms in Sandwich Bay
and Hamilton Inlet, covering about two thousand square
miles in all. Grants to fishing firms have apparently been
made to Baine, Johnston & Company at Battle, to Isaac
Mercer at Long Tickle, to Job Brothers at Blane Sablon
and Indian Harbour, and to a few others at other points.

The policy of the Newfoundland government has always
been in theory to leave the land free to any one, so that
when one man leaves it another may make use of his former
situation. Presumably this is on the assumption that
nothing of value will be left behind. But though no legal
conveyance has been made, men who fish any particular
place, and even move a stone to “spread fish on,”’ will claim
that place, though they have not been using it for years,
and the courts at home have upheld them. It leaves the
land about the harbours in a very anomalous and undesirable
condition. There are fishermen anxious to come and settle,
there is land unused, and with no marks on it; yet either
some one refuses to allow them to settle or they dare not
settle for fear some one may arise who will some day eject
them. Several of these cases have come before me as
magistrate on the coast.

Labrador has no representation, and no one is appointed
to look after its interests. The Governor’s Report for 1906
does not put the matter one iota too strongly. The follow-
ing paragraph taken from it is very significant, when the
varied experience of its author in other out-of-the-way
parts of the world is taken into consideration: —

“Tf the difficulties of representation are considered to be
too great, then there remains the obvious alternative of ap-
pointing a minister, or, at least, a secretary for Labrador,

174 LABRADOR

whose sole and special executive duty would be to study all
the questions in connection with that country. It may be
stated here at once that the proper development of the
Labrador coast cannot take place unless one or other of
the above suggestions is adopted, or some other more or
less similar arrangement is provided, such as an annual
visit to the coast of a Minister of the Crown.”

Only one such has ever visited Labrador, and that one,
the Honourable Minister of Fisheries, accompanied Sir
William MacGregor on his trip in 1906.

Education in both Newfoundland and Labrador is an-
other very difficult problem. It is rendered almost im-
possible to solve, owing to the denominational system of
schools. A recent visitor, writing in an American paper,
expressed himself as follows, and his view I entirely agree
with : —

“Tf any one desires to study the working out of an ex-
clusively denominational education to its logical result, a
visit to Newfoundland will supply the materials. The
island is a poor and sparsely settled country; yet its edu-
cation is completely in the hands of the churches, the
only uniformity attempted being the preparation of exam-
ination papers by a central board. In the smaller settle-
ments there may be a Methodist, an Anglican, a Roman
Catholic, and even a Salvation Army separate school, and
each denomination, except the Congregationalist, has its
own college in St. John’s, not one of which has yet got
beyond the point of secondary education. This is the
logical outcome of the denominational idea. It results
in the maintenance of separate camps in every village,
and bids fair to postpone forever any real unification and
assimilation of the people.”

BROTH

i

Sa

Court of Assize on the ‘* Strathcona ’”’

THE PEOPLE OF THE COAST 175

The best educated people in the country at present are
the Eskimo. Almost without exception they can read
and write. Many can play musical instruments, share
in part singing, and are well able to keep accounts, and
know the value of things. These accomplishments, entirely
and solely due to the Moravian missionaries, have largely
helped them to hold their own in trade, a faculty for want
of which almost every aboriginal race is apt to suffer so
severely.

I have known an Eskimo called in to read and to write
a letter for a Newfoundland fisherman, and I have had
more than once to ask one to help me by playing our own
harmonium for us at a service, because not one of a large
audience could do so. I have heard more than one Eskimo
stand up and deliver an excellent impromptu speech. Read-
ing the Newfoundland Blue Books, reporting the numbers
able to read and write in Labrador, I acquired an entirely
erroneous estimate of the people’s accomplishments in
those directions. Our white population is still very largely
illiterate. Some headway has, however, been made of
late years, and literature and loan libraries distributed
through the Labrador Mission are now accessible all along
the coast, and are creating a love of reading.

There are practically no alcoholic liquors sold in Labra-
dor. Not a licensed house exists. If liquor is sold at
all, it is in very small quantities and clandestinely in what
we know as “shebeens.” To obtain convictions for
breaches of the really very stringent liquor laws is not
easy. In many years’ cruising the coast, I have only been
able to convict five ‘“‘shebeeners,”’ and I will candidly
admit that I lose no opportunities.

176 LABRADOR

Since prohibition came into force for the whole colony
the illicit supplies sent through the mails have practically
ceased. The ‘‘cash on delivery” trouble has been elim-
inated.

Foreign vessels are still unfortunately in the habit of
giving away rum to the fishermen who load them with
fish. The total quantity drunk, however, is very small
indeed. Thousands of our fishermen are absolute ab-
stainers on principle, and a very strong anti-liquor senti-
ment prevails almost universally. The results are ob-
vious in the fact that we have not one policeman stationed
along the whole coast; not one among twenty-five thou-
sand people. We have no penitentiary, and there has
not been, to my knowledge, a conviction for drunkenness.
During sixteen years I have personally not seen one fisher-
man drunk on the Labrador Coast. It is very different
among the North Sea fishermen. Alcohol has there
been the downfall of some of the best men. It has cost
the lives of more than one of my own friends. It has
ruined and starved many families I have known and
loved. :

A careful study of the health conditions of the coast by
the doctors of our staff all these years has shown that there
is no need for liquor whatever in these subarctic climates;
that, on the contrary, the first man to go down in hard
physical conditions is almost always the drinking man.
Among men on the sea the dangers from its use are
enormously enhanced. As a method of making money,
I can conceive of few that are so despicable, so inhuman,
as this liquor traffic ! |

The complete absence of artificial class distinctions on

THE PEOPLE OF THE COAST a iare

the coast is one of the most refreshing experiences a visitor
can have. A man may have fustian instead of broad-
cloth, sea-boots instead of patent-leather boots, a blue
guernsey instead of the latest cut of frock-coat, but a man
is a man in Labrador for all that, — independent and free
from all self-consciousness, which quite falsely humbles
one man in the presence of his fellow-men. Thus I have
had guests many times staying with us in our house, waited
on at our table, and then quite naturally adjourning to the
kitchen and feeling absolutely at home and unembarrassed
there with the servants, without any false contempt for
others, just as a Ruskin or a Tolstoi, or the Christ would
have it.

Yet the Labradorman, on the other hand, has none of
that offensive familiarity which would ignore the differ-
ences that are the outcome of position and training. He
does not so much care who your father and grandfather
were, or the quality of your clothes. But he does not try
to force that fact on you in the manner said to be the pre-
rogative of “walking delegates.”’

Those who have visited the Labrador fisherman have,
on social grounds, learnt to love him for his simple virtues,
his hospitality, his faith, his truthfulness, and his loyalty, —
even as Ian Maclaren taught us to love the people of Drum-
tochty. Nor can you be long in the fisherman’s company
without feeling this.

The public health of Labrador has practically been a
matter of chance. Houses are not drained. Few have
even outside closets, much less one in the house. There
are no sanitary officers. Very few residents have ever been

vaccinated. Until recently they have had no teaching
N

178 LABRADOR

as to the dangers of infectious diseases, and especially
how to deal with and avoid tuberculosis. Consumption
is the main enemy of these people who live here in one
of the purest atmospheres in the world. But it is fostered
and propagated in every possible way by the customs of
the people and by their poverty. The total number of
residents is now about four thousand, inclusive of thirteen
hundred Eskimo. In spite of new mills and other new
industries recently introduced, the number is not increas-
ing. This is due partly to the fact that some return to
Newfoundland to benefit by the schools and other ad-
vantages, or to escape starvation or the isolation that
arises from no line of communication in the winter. Those
residents, who make this journey, invariably tell me they
would greatly prefer to remain on the coast in winter if
it were possible.

The lack of increase is partly due, also, to the want of
care of the young. I have no statistics to show the rela-
tive mortality in childhood. I know it to be great. The
families are comparatively large. I call to mind one of
thirteen, one of fourteen, and several of seven and eight.
Most men marry young. Bachelors are very few on the
coast. A knowledge of the cheaper food-stuffs and how
to use them would be a great help. Thus, corn meal,
oatmeal, and rice are seldom used. The average age
attained is certainly low. The older English and Scotch
settlers live and maintain their vitality much longer than
those of the succeeding generations. They also hold their
own much better in the battle with their environment.
One man proudly told me, “ Father is eighty-two and hasn’t
a kink in him.”

Eskimo Hunter

THE PEOPLE OF THE COAST 179

The sicknesses of the coast are not indigenous. In the
past seventeen years there have been grippe; a few cases
of small-pox, imported by a schooner from the Gulf;
scarlet fever brought from Newfoundland in a steamer;
one small outbreak of diphtheria in the Straits on the
arrival of the summer visitors; and in summer a few
sporadic cases of typhoid.

The Eskimo brought back from the Chicago Exposi-
tion typhoid of a very virulent type, which killed several
hundred of them; and, from the Buffalo Exposition, diph-
theria. An epidemic of grippe, complicated with pneu-
monia and pericarditis, killed about sixty in the neigh-
bourhood of Okkak. In my introduction I have already
mentioned the terrible influenza epidemic of three years
ago. The worst enemy of the Eskimo is, again, tubercu-
losis, and from that in one form or another most of the
people die. The disease is entirely due to ignorance,
neglect, and poverty.

On the other hand, so healthful is the country that I have
no hesitation in recommending it for neurotics, or even to
persons with disposition for tuberculosis. In winter the
dry cold, in spring the low latitude and reflected sunshine,
and in summer the clear cold, bracing air, are great
recommendations.

When speaking of the people of the coast, one is apt to
overlook those who are represented in Labrador only by
agents in their various businesses. Were it not for their
enterprise and courage, the Labrador fishery would be lost
to the human race. Labrador owes them many debts,
and the people almost owe their existence to them.
To-day the merchants carrying on business in Labrador

180 LABRADOR

are mostly residents of St. John’s. The largest outfitting
firm for Labrador, especially of the greenfish catchers,
is, however, that of Messrs. Ryan, of King’s Cove.
Nearly all the merchant firms interested in the bank fish-
ing and the shore fishery elsewhere are represented. The
largest single establishment at Blanc Sablon belongs to
Messrs. Job Brothers & Company, a firm that for a hun-
dred years has carried on the fishery business. The sec-
ond largest station is Battle Harbour, the property of
Messrs. Baine, Johnston & Company. Rorke & Sons of
Carbonear own the old-established stations at Venison
Tickle and Francis Harbour. Messrs. Harver & Com-
pany are interested in Indian Harbour. Munn Brothers,
of Harbour Grace, have built up a fine business at Shoal
Bay and Snug Harbour. McCrea & Son, at Gready,
carry on a very extensive business. Messrs. Kennedy,
Bartlett, Jerrett, Clouston and the Anglo-Newfoundland
Company and others have all built shore stations and
opened up fisheries in which every year they risk con-
siderable sums of money. A cold storage plant has been
installed at Packs Harbour and there. also berries and
cod are put up in tins. Labrador owes its developing
utility to mankind largely to these enterprising men.
They have met with varying fortune. Some have made
successes. None has made a large fortune. Many have
experienced great losses. When they come to balance
the issues of their enterprise, they should not forget their
greatest asset, — that their names are held in honour,
and that gratitude to them is cherished in numerous
hearts and homes along the ice-girt shore of the ‘‘lonely
Labrador.”’

THE PEOPLE OF THE COAST 181

The Hudson’s Bay Company has long shared the fur-
trade of the northeast coast with the Moravian Mission
stations. The older of these two companies has a station
in Davis Inlet, one of the most beautiful spots in eastern
Labrador. The well-wooded sides of the inlet, the steeply
rolling hills, the narrow, deep fiords branching away in many
directions, the peace of the seldom ruffled waters, and the
number and variety of the sea-birds inhabiting the bays
during the summer, all lend Davis Inlet a kind of beauty
unrivalled on the outer coast. Here the largest trade with
the Montagnais Indians is pursued. Every winter and
summer a band comes out with furs, deerskins, and parch-
ment. A trifling reward is given by the company to any
settler meeting the band and piloting them in his boat to
the station. There they generally stay a few days barter-
ing their “‘hunt”’ for ammunition, tobacco, and coloured
handkerchiefs and cloths. There is some trade here also
with Eskimo and _ half-breeds in salt trout and salmon.
The head post of the Hudson’s Bay Company is Rigolet
in Hamilton Inlet, and from that place all orders are issued,
all goods exported, and to and from that port their annual
steamer plies, bringing the goods from London and carry-
ing back the furs in the fall. She arrives generally in mid-
July, coming out under sail and steam to economize fuel.
She proceeds north to Ungava and to the bottom of Hud-
son Bay, returning to pick up the summer’s catch of sal-
mon with the furs of the preceding winter. The name of
her captain, rendered famous in Labrador by his innumer-
able voyages safely accomplished, will be perpetuated in
the channel through which he always passes on his way
around Cape Chidley. It has been christened Gray Straits
in his honour,

182 LABRADOR

If we steam up ninety miles farther along Hamilton
Inlet, we reach the Northwest River station of this same
company. From here they supply potatoes, carrots, cab-
bages, and other vegetables of their own growing to the
outside posts. It is beautifully situated at the mouth
of a lonely salmon river, with a well-wooded background
and a level-grassed, pebbly, and sandy beach in front. Here
the Canadian party viewed the eclipse in 1905, and here the
present Lord Strathcona, the grand old man of British
North America, spent thirteen years of his early life. No
place is better worth a visit. The vast quantities of fresh
water pouring into the great Lake Melville make it quite
warm, and bathing can be indulged in there as well as any-
where in England.

The station at Cartwright, the southernmost of the Hud-
son’s Bay Company stations, is the one, however, best
known to visitors, and to the world also, from the famous
journals of the founder. The entire people of that bay for
long years depended on it for all their supplies, but now
they trade also largely with the southerners at their summer
stations at Gready and Pax Harbour, and also with the
French firm of Revillon Fréres, who built a station in the
bay in 1907. This firm has been spreading its stations
wherever the Hudson’s Bay Company carries on operations,
and metaphorically have, in each place, put down their
trading-post in the latter’s back yard. A few years ago
this would have originated feuds and strife, as in the famous
days of the Northwest Company in Canada. But now-a-
days there seems no personal animosity, and the various
factors can even meet and smoke together the pipe of peace.
Revillon Fréres have a station also at Northwest River.

THE PEOPLE OF THE COAST 183

Their advent on the coast has marked a considerable rise
in the price paid the people for furs.

In the winter months the fur-traders make long sledge
journeys along the coast, buying the skins caught, or lay-
ing embargoes on them. The Rigolet dog-teams and the
Nachvak dog-teams have for years been famous along the
coast. The former, with their well-known owner, James
D. Fraser, here probably reach the acme of dog-driving,
while the famous Ford family have, between them, carried
the mail three hundred and fifty miles each way over these
barren, uninhabited shores, winter after winter, where no
man lives and no houses shelter them — across mountain
fastnesses, over glaciated passes, and the still more dan-
gerous sea-ice, year after year, without serious accident.
The mail starts at Fort Chimo in Ungava Bay, then round
and along the Labrador coast to Davis Inlet. The mail
crosses the land to Nachvak Bay, and so on over a stretch
of fifteen hundred miles to Quebec.

The life of a Hudson’s Bay factor in Labrador does not
offer all the joys of civilization, but it offers a field to develop
courage, muscle, resourcefulness, and self-reliance to an
eminent degree. It makes men who shoot straight, fear
nothing, and live hard. It offers the simple life, with its
many advantages, and it breeds a hospitality, a brotherli-
ness to one’s kind, a readiness to stand by any one in dis-
tress, that, in our complex life in cities and even villages,
we rarely find ourselves called on to exercise. Never has
a visitor travelled our coast, but his heart has gone out
equally to all the brave men of these two great organiza-
tions, the Moravian Missions and the Hudson’s Bay
Company.

CHAPTER VII

THE INDIANS

By WiuuiAmM B. Caspot

Tue Indians of Labrador are all of the family stock
known to ethnology as the Algonquian, which in its day
occupied a vast area of the continent. From the Carolinas
to the Eskimo shores of Hudson’s Strait and from the
Atlantic to the Mississippi and far to the northwest, the
maps of the present day are dotted with the place-names
of one group or another of this vanishing family. These
names, one of the chief legacies of the Algic tribes, remain
a sign-manual of their occupation of the soil. Their great
territory was shared by almost none but the Iroquoian
tribes, and these in limited numbers.

Beyond the Mississippi were the various and generally
unfriendly races of the plains. Westward from Hudson
Bay and-to the far north were the Athabascans, different
in physiognomy and of another linguistic system. South-
ward were various tribes, chiefly Muskogean, although
names of the Algonquian form are not wholly wanting
over most of the southern area to the Gulf.

The northern groups are closely related. The Montagnais,
or Mountaineers, of the southern Labrador talk easily with
the Nascaupees of the northern and eastern Crees; these
latter in turn with others to the west, and so on to the Rocky
Mountains. The differences are only of dialect. To the
southward it is otherwise; the St. Lawrence marks so

184

THE INDIANS 185

distinct a division of language that existing tribes cannot
converse in Indian; and as observed by the writer upon
the meeting of a Montagnais with an Abnaki acquaintance
on the winter trail, conversation must proceed in some
foreign language — in this instancein French. The Indians
of the Labrador estimate that as many as half of the people
speak no language but their own. The presence of white
blood is largely evident in the southwest, adjacent to the
settlements and the upper gulf; and many who are counted
Indians might, but for the saving effect of a hunting life
inland, be reckoned as white rather than red.
Low writes: —

“The most northern tribe has a tradition that their
people originally lived far to the south, and it is prob-
able that they were driven northward from the country
about the St. Lawrence by the Iroquois, about the time
of the first settlement of Canada, by the French. There
are many traditions about these wars among the northern
Indians, and it is surprising to what distances the Iroquois
followed them, into the middle of Labrador, and up the east
coast of Hudson Bay to the neighbourhood of the mouth
of the Big River in north lat. 54°. As the Crees retreated
before the Iroquois, they in turn displaced the Eskimo,
who at one time occupied the eastern and southern portions
of the peninsula as far as Eskimo Bay on the Gulf of St.
Lawrence and all the territory about Hudson Bay. These
wars terminated when the Eskimo became supplied with
firearms, and are now traditions of the distant past; but
the memories still live, and the Eskimo and Indians, al-
though never engaging in open hostilities, have a mutual
hatred and never intermarry. The northern Indians
still regard with fear the descendants of the once fierce
Iroquois, and their name is used to frighten children.”

186 LABRADOR

In the nearer regions, service at guiding and with survey-
ing or exploring parties as voyageurs is resorted to con-
siderably by men of more or less Indian blood, but the dark
Indian accepts such employment rather reluctantly. His
light bodily frame, in fact, is not well suited to heavy
work. The voyageurs of the north par excellence are Scotch
or French mixed breeds, men not infrequently of unusual
bone and strength. Although Dr. Low regards themodern
Montagnais as rather improved in sturdiness by the long
infiltration of white blood which began with the days of
the Coureurs des Bois and early fur trade, the slighter
build usual in the northern group is tolerably common.

Occasional association with modern operations along
the nearer borders has not much changed the inland life
of the people. The interior is still an Indian possession,
where no white man makes his home, and the only law is
the immemorial code of lodge and hunting-ground. The
whole inland, and indeed almost all the coasts, remains
given over to the hunting life.

The Indians, always diminishing in numbers, may be
reckoned at some three or four thousand at the present
time. Of these the Montagnais, who are all tributary to
Gulf or Saguenay trading-stations, make up more than half.
It is difficult to arrive at a census of such a wandering
people, for in one year and another some of them appear
successively upon coasts remotely apart. The lists of
names at such far-distant trading-stations are rarely com-
pared with each other, while the names of the Indians are
somewhat subject to change, and at best are not always
easy to identify.

About the great lakes of the central area the people

THE INDIANS 187

meet as may happen during the hunting season, and ex-
change their unwritten news; slight, indeed, is the occur-
rence, from side to side of the country, which escapes those
lodge-fire gatherings. Families hidden here and there
in remote valleys may wait for their news, perforce, until
late in the spring, when at various rendezvous they group
together for the down-river voyages; or even until the sum-
mer meeting on the reserve, where all subjects have their
final review; but on the far lake levels of the high interior,
the hunting-place of the strong and skilful, their network
of communication is seldom long broken. There, about
the central area, gather the rivers which flow to the four
coasts, and there the people converge. In the words of
John Bastian of Pointe Bleue, “At Kaniapishkau you
meet Indians from all shores.”’

Almost all the Montagnais families leave their hunting-
grounds when the fur becomes poor —technically, “com-
mon ’’ —in the spring. About the last of the fur-hunting
comes with the bear-hunt, late in May, when the snow has
settled down and the bears begin to move about after their
winter’s sleep. By the last of June the people are gathered
upon the reserves along the Gulf and on the Saguenay.
Sometimes a family remains inland two years for some rea-
son, most often because of a light catch of fur. In suchan
event some neighbour usually takes down what skins there
may be,and brings up purchases accordingly in the fall.
There is not much trouble about subsistence in the summer
for those who stay in. Fish, taken almost wholly by net
and spear, are nearly unfailing, and there are some ducks,
geese, and small animals, besides eggs and berries; enough
all told to get along on, although the large game fail.

188 LABRADOR

Beaver, bear, and lynx, with the caribou, may be reckoned
under the latter description.

The latter days of June — Nipish Prrshum, the “ Leaf
Moon ”’ — find the country pretty well vacated by the out-
goers. July — Shetan, or ‘“‘Ste. Anne Moon,” for Saint
Anne is their special saint —is dedicated to church observ-
ances and quiet life at the shore. The Oblate Fathers give
religious instruction from the missions on the reserves, and
the younger Indians are taught to write their own language.
Canoes are built; a little near-by fishing is carried on; the
season on the whole is one of festivity.

The physical condition of the people is apt to deterio-
rate in summer, for the elements of the reserve life are
largely foreign to the native habit. There is crowding
into small houses and cabins; doubtful drainage, water,
and food; more whiskey than ought to be, and the ordinary
diseases of civilization. At Pointe Bleue, on Lake St. John,
rheumatism is prevalent, and the constitutional instability
of the mixed race makes for consumption and the minor dis-
eases always present in the large town of Roberval near by.

The month of August is known as O-pd-0 Ptishum,
“Moon of Flight,” for then the young ducks begin to fly.
They are welcome for the kettle during the canoe journeys
to the hunting-grounds. As the month goes on, a busier air
comes over the reserves; trading is completed, and the
refitting brought to a close. One by one the families
slip away, until at last only those who hunt comparatively
near are left. By the last of September, Ushakau Pushum,
when the “caribou horns harden,” most of the cabins
are empty, the tents have vanished, and few but the very
helpless are left upon the reserve.

THE INDIANS 189

Near Bersimis, some two hundred and twenty miles below
Quebec, three large rivers converge to the coast, and all
receive their customary families in the fall. The Mani-
quagan is the chief of these, being ascended during recent
years by aS many as seventy families. Near and parallel
with this is the more difficult Outardes River, named
by the Indians Pletipi, ‘“‘Partridge-water,”’ from its chief
lake. Many of its hunters ascend the Maniquagan some
two hundred miles to the lakes, and cross to their own river
by a toilsome portage route. A few pass directly up the
Outardes. With the burden of provisions now necessary
to the hunting of these rivers, the way up such a difficult
stream as the Pletipi becomes peculiarly hard. Still, for
these people, whatever their age or condition, there is
little choice, — inland they must go, to their own lands.

A party on the way up river was camped above the first
portage a few years ago when the writer passed down.
A bright old withered woman appeared at the landing,
her husband, older and blind, standing close with his staff.
Two children showed their heads from the bushes near
the piled supplies, peering at the strange canoe. A small
dog barked not far away, a shot followed, and soon, carry-
ing a partridge, a young man came from that direction
and joined the conversation which our Indians had begun.
They were going to the large lake Pletipi on the head of
the river. It would take a long time, all the fall, and they
thought game to live on would be more plenty along the
Pletipishtuk than on the other river where so many families
travelled. They were cheerful enough, though with virtu-
ally only one effective pair of arms to fend for all.

In a country of such scanty resources and physical

190 LABRADOR

obstacles, these movements, involving the young and the
feeble, could not be undertaken but for the intimate local
knowledge of the people. Most of the Indians are actually
born upon hunting-lands handed down from their ancestors,
and at an early age each knows his own ground as the
farmer boy knows his father’s farm. He has made the yearly
passage of his river, down and back, from infancy. High
water or low, he knows its every eddy and turn. As to
an inn ahead, he plans his day’s travel to some fishing pool
or lake; or to the blueberry lands, where will be berries
surely, and bears perhaps. He camps in no chance place,
but where the beach is clean, the bank not too high or steep,
where wood and boughs and water are to hand, and always,
when may be, where the view is sightly and wide. Thus
he continues his way, every resource of the barren land
made his. Illness and death sometimes befall, want and
misfortune tax too often the fortitude of this ever disci-
plined race, but sooner or later the plateau level is gained,
the lake region begins, and the portages along the narrow-
ing streams become short and easy. The great falls are
behind, their jarring thunder fades in time from the ear;
the roar of the long rapids is over; the shut-in river valley
has given place to the broad sunshine of the table-land.
Well content are they who have safely come. The long
toil is over; they are glad to be away from the reserve;
above all, they are once more upon the blue lakes of their
own hunting-ground.

The journeys inland have become increasingly hard as
the game resources have diminished. The carrying in of
supplies involves great labour on the long portages. A crew
of picked voyageurs moves slowly, even though taking no

The Prayer-leader at the Ragged Islands

—-

Phe

—~,

THE INDIANS 191

time to hunt, and unencumbered by children or old persons.
On the Long Portage of the Bersimis, Low’s exploring party
spent a full week. It appears on his map as the ‘“‘ten-
mile portage,’ and passes over a mountain more than one
thousand feet high.

In the earlier days of the fur trade, these movements were
by no means general with the people, partly because the
comparatively few articles then required in trade were
easily transported, and the trading was done at some dis-
tance inland. In the nearer regions, formerly the best
hunting districts, fur is now scarce and large game almost
wholly wanting. Previous to white occupation of the
shores, it is probable that long journeys were not often
undertaken for any purpose, while those performed were
favoured by a game supply which was usually ample.
The seasonal migrations of the recent period bear very
heavily upon the young and feeble, and must seriously
affect the current mortality figures.

The periods of actual straits and starvation usually
occur late in the winter, when reserve supplies are ex-
hausted. It would be hard now to name a district of the
peninsula where subsistence upon the country the year
through is reasonably dependable.

The prime disaster to the game resources was not due to
improved firearms or such access of direct destruction as
swept away the buffalo and other western game, but was
incidental to a succession of tremendously destructive
forest fires. From the Gulf to the barrens, three-fourths
of the country has been laid waste within the white period,
the thin mat of organic soil being burned wholly away over
large areas, leaving only rock and sterile subsoil. The great

192 LABRADOR

fire of the Saguenay ran from west of Quebec some seven
hundred miles to the Romaine River, sweeping the country
from the Gulf to the height of land. Such damp grounds
as were spared could sustain little game, and afforded slight
protection from the hunters to such as survived. The
catastrophe, so far as resources for the Indians are con-
cerned, was nearly complete.

Earlier still the plateau had become largely non-support-
ing. Hind, writing in the sixties of the country about
the Moisie, gives a saddening account of the misfortunes
of the Nascaupees. Many were forced to the shores.
There food was to be had, but the change to the damp of
the Gulf from the activity and sunshine of the high interior
brought its natural consequences, and consumption and
the unknown diseases of civilization soon brought their
end.

Where the soil remains, gradual replacement of the forest
goes on, the higher ground most often turning to birch,
with quaking asp, and the gravel river levels of the south-
west to an open growth of Banksian pine, the ussishk of
the Indians, and the cyprés of the French habitants. In
favourable places the original forestation of spruce and fir
succeeds, if poorly, in reéstablishing itself.

The cause of fires is generally the carelessness of border
whites, although Dr. Low’s supposition that not a few have
begun with “wandering Indians, careful only in their own
hunting-grounds,”’ is doubtless true enough. But it is to
be remembered that the fire code of the real Indian is very
rigid, and the fact that white advent found the country
forested to the subarctic barrens tells its own tale. The
people were far more numerous then, yet under their law

THE INDIANS 193

the woods were green. But for the coming of a careless
race, they would be so now.

Along the Gulf the principal trading-stations are Ber-
simis, Seven Islands, Mingan, and St. Augustine. From
Seven Islands the Moisie is the main highway to the interior,
and several of its families make their hunts within two hun-
dred miles of Ungava on eastern branches of the George.
Nearly parallel with the Moisie is the St. Marguerite, or
Tshimanipishtuk. Its principal western branch inter-
locks with the Maniquagan. The network of Indian travel
about and far beyond the heads of these rivers is intermi-
nable.

From the Gulf near Mingan, the hunters ascend the St.
John, pass a difficult high portage to the Romaine, and
proceed toward the Grand Falls region of the Hamilton.
They know the lower Hamilton as the Winikapau Shibu,
or ‘River of Willows,’ and the falls as Pitshetonau, ‘It
steams,’ from the column of white vapour which isseen from
a distance. Low gives the tradition of two maidens swept
over the falls, who spend their time behind the falls dressing
skins. The lower part of the Romaine is not navigated,
and is perhaps unknown to the Indians of the present day.
Its Indian name “ Alimun,” meaning difficult, has passed
through a rearrangement of sounds unusual in the ad-
justing of Indian names to French organs of speech. From
“TAlimun”’ to ‘La Romaine”’ the transition is easy, —sur-
prisingly so, considering that no less a feat is involved than
the introduction of the full rolling r into a language which
has not the r-sound at all.

In general, while the French learn readily enough to
make practical use of the Indian dialects, they seem to

OQ

194 LABRADOR

have much more difficulty in the matter of correct articu-
lation than do persons of English speech. Nevertheless
the two races, the French and the Indian, are by tempera-
ment rather notably acceptable to each other. It has been
remarked that the Highland Scotch, in particular, learn the
native dialects well and readily. This peculiarity seems
more than an accident of linguistics, for the young High-
landers brought over by the Hudson’s Bay Company not
only learn the language easily, but marry forthwith, fall
into the life, and show in their children as encouraging ex-
amples of such combining of extreme elements, the very
light and the deep brown, as may well be found. On the
other hand, the young Englishmen brought over in the
earlier period of the Hudson’s Bay Company were a notable
failure in adaptability to the conditions, remaining alien to
the life and seeking usually a final escape from their sur-
roundings. |

Analysis of the deeper affinities of the language must be
left to the linguist; superficially it does not appear to have
a common origin with any of the European tongues. It
must be supposed that articulation, at least, is affected by
climate and mode of life, as is physiognomy as well in the
case of dwellers upon wind-blown plains. A relation may
exist between the mild climate of southern Europe and the
prevailing use of the outer organs of speech by the Latin
races. The rolling r and the mobile face are hardly to be
associated with high latitudes. In the north, on the con-
trary, it might be difficult to find any word in the Algon-
quian, or in that very different language, the Eskimo,
which could not be spoken clearly with the face immov-
able. These are languages which can be used without

Davis Inlet Montagnais

THE INDIANS 195

difficulty when the face is stiff with cold. It may be noted
that the Scotch and’ English, whose relative facility in
catching the Indian sounds has been remarked, have also
a long inheritance of northern conditions.

Eastward from Mingan the people travel the Natashquan,
St. Augustine, and Eskimo rivers. Their lands are chiefly
in the region between the Hamilton and the St. Lawrence.
Southward from the Mealy Mountains of Hamilton Inlet
and the Sandwich Bay coast lies an indefinite, unmapped
area of high territory, partly barren, where large lakes
supply the rough rivers passing north, east, and south.
In winter, white or Eskimo-white hunters penetrate one
or two hundred miles into this area. The Hamilton River
also is hunted by the shore people. These go up in the
fall in boats, returning on snow. The inland life of these
shore-dwelling hunters is as little like that of the Indians
as: well may be. Their winter method is to take what
supplies can be hauled on sleds by hand, set traps along their
route, the length of which is determined somewhat by snow
conditions, and take up the catch of fur on their return
march. They are known as “ planters’’; their occupation
is ‘‘furring.” Cabins are built by some at strategic points,
and these ‘‘tilts’? may be taken as the sign of white blood
in the land. The Indian, held to no base, uses the movable
lodge only. The shore hunter is bound, his campaign
hmited, by his large dependence on transported provisions.
If half-emancipated from, or better, only half-subjugated
by, ‘‘the white man’s burden,’ he lacks yet the full inherit-
ance, the ferity, which saves existence to the Indian born.
The broad difference between the two, the fur catcher and
the Indian, is that between hunting and the hunting life.

196 LABRADOR

The white man goes hunting, his family protected in his
absence; the Indian, rarely separated from his family, takes
the chances of the open for all.

During late years, few Indians have been regular visitors
on the eastern coast of the peninsula. For convenience
to themselves, the Oblate Fathers have influenced the hunters
who formerly traded at Hamilton Inlet to make the longer
journey to Seven Islands. Irregularly a few northern
Indians from George River have visited Davis Inlet post,
as few as three coming down in one or two recent summers.
The northern group turns rather toward Chimo on Un-
gava Bay. In winter some numbers of the northern group
may come to the east coast, but they do not bring their
families unless under pressure of starvation, and their stay
is brief. The number of lodges on the eastern side of the
country depends on the movements of the caribou. These
vary rather widely in the course of their migration, the
main herd sometimes remaining south a year or two at a
time. As already noted, a number of Montagnais families
from Seven Islands hunt near the upper George River nearly
west from Hopedale. The height of land there is one hun-
dred to one hundred and fifty miles from the coast. All,
or nearly all, of these families make the long journey to
Seven Islands at intervals, going usually by the upper
Hamilton, Ashwanipi Lake, and the Moisie. Rather regu-
larly some of these make a visit to the east coast in winter,
and sometimes in summer.

In the northern district, tributary to Fort Chimo, there
are some forty or fifty families, according to Peter
McKenzie. A certain number of Indians from Whale
River also come to Chimo more or less regularly, perhaps —

THE INDIANS 197

more often to Fort George or other posts on Hudson Bay.
These probably belong to the division mentioned by Low
in his large Labrador report as the coastal Indians of Hud-
son Bay. Their dialect is not very easy for the other
Indians to understand, probably from its Ojibway affinities.
Those who come to Chimo are strong, active people, proud
of their large hunts and of the long journeys they make to
the coast. They look down a little on the Chimo Indians,
many of whom hunt comparatively near by. The eastern
Nascaupees, in particular, are not very ambitious either
in fur hunting or travel. The caribou supply nearly all their
wants, so that not much effort is required to get fur enough
to pay for what else they require. Indians do not enter
the wide peninsula to the west of Ungava, which is Eskimo
ground so far as occupied. From Koksoak River to Hud-
son Bay the respective areas covered by the two races are
separated approximately by the line of the Nastapoka
and Larch rivers, which constitute a route surveyed by
Low, and pursued by Mr. and Mrs. Tasker of Philadelphia
in 1906.

The name Nascaupee is a slighting term given to the
northern Indians by their more sophisticated neighbours
of the south. Originally the word seems to have meant
ignorant, unlearned, but is now connected usually with
pagan or heathen people who have not had religious in-
struction. In his very comprehensive report (1885-1886),
published by the Bureau of Ethnology, Washington,
Lucius M. Turner gives the name Nascaupee as meaning
false, unworthy, and as connecting the people with a failure
to join in some movement against the Eskimo in the old
days; but this rendering seems etymologically doubtful.

198 LABRADOR

Their immediate neighbours call the eastern Nascaupees
Mushauau-eo, “ Barren-ground People,” and their principal
river, the George, is known to all Indians as Mushauau
Shibo, or “ Barren-ground River.”

The Nascaupees’ name for themselves is Nenenot, “True
or Ideal People.” Literally this seems to mean ‘‘Our Own
People,’’ which, after all, in the minds of most races comes
to much the same thing. These meanings have been
quoted by a recent traveller, Wallace, who gives some of
the information gathered during a visit at Chimo. His
statement regarding the Indians’ extreme fear of the sea
seems at least exaggerated. He describes them as afraid
to even look upon the sea below Chimo. On the contrary,
Mr. Guy, long resident at Chimo, has observed little feeling
of the sort. During his time there a young white man
while hunting was drowned in a lake on a stream emptying
into the bay. Some Indians not only went down to the
sea by canoe and around to recover the body, but made
the trip a second time to find the rifle. .In the recent ob-
servation of some Chimo hunters on the Atlantic side, they
took very readily to salt water, boating and canoeing under
reasonable conditions. If unnecessary canoeing about Un-
gava with its forty- to sixty-foot tides and notoriously
bad navigation has small attraction for them, the cireum-
stance is not to be taken as phenomenal. None who has
actually voyaged with these masters of the open canoe is
likely to believe them water-timid. Turner says these
Indians bear cold as well as the Eskimo do, although under
starvation they do not hold their working strength so well.

The little children certainly show astonishing indifference to
cold. 7

THE INDIANS 19%

The lake and river route from the middle George to
Chimo leads westerly to Whale River. This is not the
Whale River mentioned in connection with the coastal
Indians, which is a great stream of the Hudson Bay slope.
The present river is smaller, and is known to the Indians
as’ Manouan, ‘‘Egeg-gathering Place.” They describe the
route as a hard one, and the Manouan as alinum, “ diff-
cult.” The river route eastward to the Atlantic is not
difficult for a light party, but as it includes more than twenty
lakes with many long portages between, it is hard to follow
without:.a guide, and is at best rather formidable for a loaded
party.

Formerly some of the southern Indians came up North-
west River and hunted on its upper waters and those of
rivers flowing eastward into the Atlantic. Their country,
poor-at best, suffered by fire; fish were small, the caribou
more and more uncertain. Finding that the deer summered
in the unoccupied lake country south of the Nascaupees
and west of Hopedale, they adopted that region and gave
up the difficult Northwest River route. Having changed
their trading-point to Seven Islands, the easier route by
the upper Hamilton and Lake Michikamau was very direct.
The number of these families varies from half a dozen to
as many as fifteen or more. Their summer route finally
reaches the east coast by the Notaquanén (‘‘ Porcupine-
hunting-place’’) River.

In winter, they can traverse the country without much
reference to watercourses. The camps are in sheltered
places, where there are trees enough to protect from the
wind, and are almost always near water. The ice becomes
too thick to be cut through easily, but whenever there is

200 LABRADOR

much weight of snow, the water comes over the ice in places
near shore, and does not freeze when blanketed with ten
or twelve inches of light snow. Such water can be cleared
of slush by very little warming over the fire. In default
of water, chopped ice melts much better than snow, which
the people avoid. They prefer to work hard for twenty
or thirty minutes chopping a hole, rather than bother to
melt down an uncompacting mass of cold, porous snow.
They rarely, if ever, drink ice-cold water, but warm it a few
degrees, even building a special fire for this purpose when
travelling. In this, as in most other race peculiarities,
they find their opposite in their Eskimo neighbours, who are
said to eat snow and swallow frozen food with only the
happiest consequences.

For winter travel, most of the people now use sheet-iron
stoves a foot square and about two feet long. The snow
is tramped level with the snow-shoes, the tent raised and
boughs laid; then the stove is placed on four stakes which
are driven some three feet into the snow, and serve as legs.
Such a stove will burn almost any small wood, and in a
country where good wood is scarce, will save much time and
labour in heavy chopping and shovelling snow, besides
enabling the traveller to camp almost anywhere and not
have to go more than a mile or two out of his course to
get good wood.

The Indians at Nichicun are classed by Low as Western
Nascaupees. Only thirteen families traded at the post
at the time of his visit. Other families in the neighbourhood
go to the Gulf with theirfurs. Living near the geographical
centre and apex of the plateau, they naturally hunt not
far from Nichicun (‘‘Otter-place’’) Lake. They live almost

THE INDIANS 201

wholly on the country. Few deer are taken there, and
while fish are generally plenty, the margin of subsistence is
uncomfortably narrow. All the able-bodied men go to
Rupert House in summer with the brigade, while the women
keep the nets out in lakes near the post. The return jour-
ney from Rupert takes about sixty days. Sometimes the
start downward is made before the ice has Jeft the lakes,
but although the stay at Rupert is only a few days, the
upper lakes are sometimes frozen again before their arrival
at Nichicun.

For some years Nichicun has been the only inland post
in the whole peninsula, unless Mistassini, in the extreme
southwest, be reckoned. The up voyage of the Mistassini
brigade takes about fifty days. The lower part of its route,
in common with that to Nichicun, follows Rupert River.
There are seventy-five portages between Rupert and Mis-
tassini.

The thirty families who trade at Mistassini are also
counted as Nascaupees. All the Indians known by this
name are properly Swampy Crees. Those at Chimo say
that they came originally from southwest of Hudson Bay
to get away from the Iroquois.

The brigade canoes are now of canvas, twenty-eight feet
by five and one-half, by two and one-half deep, and carry
five thousand pounds each of cargo. In 1898 thirty-five
thousand pounds of freight went to Mistassini. The port-
aging is arduous. Every man takes two “pieces,” each of
ninety to one hundred pounds’ weight. There is compe-
tition among the men for the bags of shot, which balance
uncommonly well at the top of the load close to the neck.
Such a load, of about two hundred pounds, is no trifle

202 | LABRADOR

over rough and swampy ground; but every man, down
to the least, prefers to take his two pieces at once rather
than make two trips. The downward trip from Mistassini
in a light canoe takes about ten days.

The unit of value here, as formerly in most of the north,
is the “Made Beaver.” In 1898 a fair-sized actual skin
was worth 2 MB. Prices were virtually a nominal matter ;
the people simply took down their furs and brought back
their necessaries, with a share for the post. If for any rea-
son a man did not have much fur to turn in, he was still
taken care of, being at least furnished ammunition and
other means of getting fur and food.

The Mistassini people hunt chiefly to the north on the
east main head water, the ‘‘ Nichicun side”’ of the country.
Far from outside help, this region has a history of starva-
tion. Fora long term of years, the deaths from starvation
were more than from all other causes combined. For a
time the district was abandoned. The fur game increased
remarkably, tempting the people back, and about the year
1906 new cases of starvation occurred. There is not much
large game, and in the periodic seventh year, when rabbits
fail, and perhaps the uncertain ptarmigan or “white par-
tridge’’ does not come, the worst may follow.

All the families of the southern slope now take in enough
supplies to escape actual starvation. About the year 1904
the large Etienne family, of Ste. Anne, transported about
one-third the total amount they would naturally consume;
and this may be taken as a fair example of the best half-
breed practice. So large an amount can be moved only by
stages. The canoe carries a load to the end of the stage
of a few miles, and then drops back for another cargo.

THE INDIANS 208

The hunting-place of the Etiennes is at Temiscamie, on the
very head of Rupert River above Mistassini. Their route
follows Peribonka River for nearly three hundred miles.

From Lake St. John the Indians hunt the large rivers
northward to the height of land, and to some extent beyond.
The great evergreen regions of the East Main are the best
hunting-grounds now; there, in the “black growth” forests,
the martens are dark and rich, fetching prices of $15 to
$30; but the journey is long, and not many hunters from
the south go so far. Wherever burnt districts have come
up to birch and aspen, fur values are lower. In such dis-
tricts there may be plenty of martens, but by an interesting
observance of the laws of protective colouration, the fur
tends to match the general light aspect of the country
and is pale and less valuable.

The hunting-lands are held by individual hunters, and
are passed down from one generation to another by customs
of inheritance similar to our own. The hunting naturally
descends upon some man of active age; if a daughter is
married, the young husband may succeed to the lands.
Surviving parents, or even more distant relatives, have,
by common right, their place in the lodge. In fact, all
must be taken care of in some way, in one lodge or another ;
about the hunters group the dependent ones, widows and
orphans and incapacitated ; none is denied his right.

Infringements upon each other’s hunting-grounds are
probably no more frequent than the cutting of timber on
another’s land in civilization. ‘The restraint of Indians
in such matters is far beyond that of more advanced races.
In passing across another’s ground, which may take some
days, the traveller has the right to take enough game for

204 LABRADOR

subsistence, but not to hunt fur, nor to accumulate a stock
of provisions.

The number of animals taken yearly depends on their
abundance; enough are always left to renew the supply.
Usually the land is divided into three parts, which are
hunted in rotation from year to year. On the southern
slope the beaver is greatly valued, perhaps more for its
wonderfully good meat than its fur. The most sustaining
foods are beaver and bear. With bread, of course, all the
game is sustaining, — fish, flesh, and fowl, — but the family
thrown for weeks or months on rabbits and ptarmigan alone,
with perhaps a little fish, weakens in time to the point of
danger. The expression ‘Starve on rabbits”’ is well under-
stood in the north.

The beaver is taken, not uncommonly, by “staking,”
a method which involves the driving of long stakes in a sort
of grating over the under-water exits of the beaver, and then
easily digging out the imprisoned animals. Bears are
found even in midwinter, sometimes by aid of the small
dogs, but more often by taking advantage of the bear’s
habit of returning to the same place for successive winters.
Their empty nests are noted in summer and visited at con-
venience during the long period of hibernation.

The keen little dogs referred to are indispensable in the
hunting of small game, joining their efforts and senses to
those of the family in a marvellous way. In travelling by
canoe, they are often put ashore to run the banks, with great
effect. An Indian dog, a pole, and a noose are as effective
a combination in hunting some of the grouse kind as almost
any that can be brought to bear.

The substantial fish of the country, and valued accord-

THE INDIANS 205

ingly, is the lake trout — namaycush, often called kokomesh,
“the fish that swallows anything.” It sometimes grows
to thirty or forty pounds’ weight. Although a lake fish, it
is found in some of the running rivers in summer, taking
flies along with the fontinalis. The latter is not as impor-
tant to the people as the namaycush, and is, on the whole,
less regarded by both whites and Indians. In fact, when
cooked by boiling, which is the method of the country, —
perhaps of all countries where the main living is upon fish,
— the lake trout may fairly be reckoned the better fish of
the two.

The whitefish, when of good size, holds a higher place
than either of the trouts. It is a different species from the
western one, the coregonus, and such fortunate persons as
have taken it from the cold rivers of the plateau are likely
to regard it as the superior fish. Its specific name is labra-
doricus. The fish is rather insipid, “‘vealy,’”’ when young,
but gains in flavour and firmness up to the weight of six
or eight pounds. It is caught with the gill net, which in
the northern districts becomes useless by midwinter, as
the fish go into the deepest water and are considerably
dormant. Line-fishing then becomes the only resource.
The whitefish is thus unavailable, and the trouts and the
pike form the mainstay. In many waters of the south
slope the most dependable fish in midwinter is one called
among whites by the various names — maria, ling, loche,
cusk, and fresh-water cod. This curious combination, to all
appearances, of eel and hornpout, comes freely into shallow
water under thick ice, and is easily caught by set lines with
almost any bait. Its native name is mildkato, which has
been translated by a Montagnais as “ Big-wide-head.”

206 LABRADOR™

Another rendering from a native source carries the meaning
of its being a nasty, disagreeable-looking fish, which is cer-
tainly accurate. The flesh flakes quite like cod, and is
rather good. Its habitat extends at least as far south as
the Connecticut Lakes of New Hampshire.

The list of important fishes includes the owandniche, or
‘“Jand-locked salmon,” found rather widely over the south-
eastern quarter of the country, the red and white suckers;
and the pike-perch, or wall-eyed pike; the range of the latter
extends as far as the eastern heads of the Maniquagan,
where a round lake nine miles across is known as okauinipi,
“pike perch water.” As kaw means rough, the name
of the fish would seem to come from the perch like rough-
ness of its scales.

Last and least of the common southwestern fishes is the
river-chub, or dace, which in the cold streams is good
throughout the summer. It should be skinned rather than
scaled. Its native name is uitush ‘‘stone-carrier,” from
its well-known habit of piling up pebbles in the shallows.

The wooden spear is used for all kinds of large fish at
times, especially for the salmon. To fish with a torch and
spear is waswdno, hence Waswanipi lake, south of Hud-
son Bay, and possibly Ashwanipi, the large lake north of
the Moisie on Hamilton Water.

According to John Bastian, a young Scotch-Montagnais
of Pointe Bleue, who was hunting there between Mistinik
and Kaniapishkau, that region has practically no rabbits
or beaver, — there being little food for them, — although
it is a good district for martens. Other subsistence failing,
John and his companion were thrown wholly upon fish,
caught with difficulty and boiled without salt, for two or

ee
sain
soothe

Sai ween

Nascaupee Indians at Davis Inlet

THE INDIANS 207

three months. ‘‘It was hard work to cut the holes to fish
through,’ for theice became six or seven feet thick, but they
had enough fish to live on. John suffered from cramps
while doing without salt, and they both grew weak, although
the companion, who was more used to such living, got on
somewhat better than he. They “felt well enough, but
had no strength.’ They were gone from the shore more
than a year. The experience was rather a commonplace
one for the regular hunters of these districts, but it left John
a good deal reduced, and it was some time before he
recovered his strength.

The people who descend the Moisie in the summer gather
at Sandgirt Lake on the Hamilton, apparently for the mere
sake of seeing each other, and they keep together as may
be until their final separation in the fall for their individual
lands. Something of an inland trade used to be done among
the people, and doubtless survives still. A Seven Islands
hunter would give fur to a Bersimis man at some rendez-
vous, and each would go his way. Months later, in the fall,
one of the fine canoes for which Bersimis is known would
be passed in return at some appointed place. A similar
trade in canvas canoes goes on between the Gulf Indians
and the Nascaupees, whose country furnishes no canoe
bark.

Rolls of canoe bark are still sold at some of the northern
posts of the Hudson’s Bay Company, being imported from
more southern districts, along with other merchandise.
Nevertheless, the supply has been insufficient for some years
and often of poor quality; while by some unnecessary neg-
lect the northern posts have been short even of canvas.
With the full supply of the latter laid in recently along the

208 LABRADOR

farther coasts, the almost distressing situation of the
Indians is at last relieved.

During the period of open water there is practically no
foot travel. Some of the hunting-grounds, however, can-
not be reached otherwise, and these are unoccupied until
late. Mistinik, for instance, is reached by sleds from as far
as the lakes of the Maniquagan, only two hundred miles from
the Gulf, where the canoes are laid up and a stay made until
winter sets in and the foot travel comeson. The tabanask,
the sled for light snow, is as narrow as sixteen inches and
is one-fourth or five-sixteenths of an inch thick. The
thinner and more flexible the bottom, the easier the sled is
to haul, but as they wear a little with use, it is better to —
start a long journey with a little extra stiffness. The ma-
terial of the sled is usually white birch, sometimes larch.
The latter is not likely to ice-up and stick in changing tem-
peratures. This icing-up may occur at zero, or below,
and is a very serious hindrance; not much is done to pre-
vent it, but there is no doubt of the good effect to come
of such pitch-beeswax-tallow treatment as is given to the
Norwegian ski, for the same sort of evil. Thin grease, or
still worse, oil, does decided harm. The pulling is done from
the head with the hands twisted into the lines behind the
back. In midwinter the snow is dry and gritty, and a load
of two hundred pounds, taken over a ten-mile stretch, may
be a hard day’s work for a strong man. As the snow settles —
in the spring, the loads and mileage increase, runner-sleds
are taken into use, and on the lakes and rivers a load of
five hundred pounds may move twenty or twenty-five miles
aday. All the snow-shoes of the country are of the “round”
type, which is doubtless better than any other for light snow

THE INDIANS 209

in a broken country. The prevailing pattern of the Sague-
nay district is from twenty to twenty-four inches wide,
with an ordinary tail four or five inches long. The rest of
the peninsula generally is committed to a rather wider
shoe, with a mere loop for a tail. The frame is in two pieces,
spliced at the sides. A fine pair in possession of the writer
are twenty-six inches wide and twenty-five and three-
fourths inches long over all. Although the various patterns
of round shoe look awkward or impossible at first sight, they
are extremely well regarded by all who have used them.
For firm snow or in a level country, a narrower shoe is ob-
viously more suitable. For spring snow-shoeing almost any
sort of a makeshift is sufficient ; still the round shape prevails,
the shoe being smaller than for winter, and roughly made.

For snow-shoe moccasins, caribou hide is largely used in
Labrador, in default of moose. Instead of stockings are
worn duffel slippers, ‘‘nips,’’ which fit one inside another,
and are very serviceable. The Indian hunters wear foot
wraps — piuashigan — which need no repairs, are easily
dried, and do not wear thin at heel and toe, like nips. Al-
most any material serves for these, — blanketing, duffel,
rabbit skins, or even old towels.

In general, the Montagnais are rather badly clothed in
trading-store furnishings. The Nascaupees are still con-
siderably in skins, some, in fact, with no cloth garments
at all. The men wear a breech cloth of skin, a sort of thin
undershirt of unborn caribou with the slight fleece turned in,
legeins of Hudson’s Bay Company’s “strauds,’’ mocca-
sins, and a skin or cloth frock over. Commonly, when
inland, no sort of hat is worn. The hair of the men is cut
off square above the shoulders.

Le

210 LABRADOR

In winter the frock has a hood, and the moderate coat of
hair which the summer skins bear is allowed to remain on,
usually turned inside. For extreme weather this sort of |
frock is made without a hood, so that a hooded frock with
hair outward can be put on over it. Sleeping-bags of
caribou skin are commonly used.

Many of the Chimo Indians have lately adopted trousers
for winter wear, but the little band of George River people
under Chief Ostinitsu still prefer leggins and the bare thigh.
No foreign language is yet spoken by this group, nor do
they use ordinarily either bread or salt.

Although well off for guns, the chief means of support
of this band are those of the prehistoric period. In fa-
vourable years the deer-spear alone furnishes the main living.
When the great migration is on, hundreds and sometimes
thousands of caribou are speared on the lake and river
crossings, without the firing of a shot. The smaller game
and birds are taken largely in snares and wooden traps:
Nets of their own making, either of sinew or twine, are
their most dependable means, rarely failing for long of
taking food during a large part of the year. Even in the
last months of winter, the time of graver straits, they rest
their forlorn hope, not on the gun or steel trap or fishing
gear of trade, but on the unfailing wooden hook of ancient
days.

All in all, the life of these people remains singularly un-
changed. It may be doubted whether another such survival
of the purely primitive hunter, at the same time of so high a
personality as that of the savage of temperate America,
is to be found in any part of the world: The caribou are
to them what the buffalo were to the Indians ofthe plains

THE INDIANS 211

So long as continue the migrations, the old-time ways will
prevail.

The cooking of fresh material is done most usually by
boiling, the most economical method, and the one which,
preserving all the elements of the material in hand, wearies
least upon the taste.

In the caribou country, the preferred way of saving meat
is by smoking and converting into pemmican. For this
the meat is smoked rather brittle, pounded into powder
and shreds upon a stone, and put into a bag or bladder.
Melted fat is then poured in; when the covering is stripped
off, the pemmican looks hke a lump of tallow, but an in-
cision with the thumb nail exposes the meat.

In the high, cool barrens, whole carcasses, skinned and
cleaned, are left on the gravel-beaches to dry black in the
sun and wind. Sometimes many hundreds of carcasses
thus exposed may be seen along the beaches at the spearing
places.

The art of making pemmican is practised also by certain
Africans and other primitive peoples, and the grease is
sometimes replaced by honey or some similar preservative.

If it is not surprising that so convenient a means of deal-
ing with the food-supply should be found in various parts
of the world, there is nevertheless a deer product in northern
use which might more naturally be presumed as of only
local use. This is the winastikai of the caribou country ;
into the paunch of the caribou is put the blood, a little of
the partly digested moss is left in, and the whole is cooked
and dried, when it may be crumbled into grains like brown-
ish gunpowder. It does not seem to be regarded as a
delicacy, being, it would appear, more valued than liked,

21? LABRADOR

and used chiefly in times of scarcity. It is also prepared
in northern Europe, and quite possibly may be found around
the entire reindeer north. When starting for a day’s hunt
in winter, the Nascaupee takes a cup of water, stirs in a
handful of uinastikai, and drinks the mixture. Until
through hunting he takes no more food. The same ab-
stinence during the day’s hunting is noted of the Blackfeet
by Shultz, and is doubtless common to the North American
races.

It is probable that the slightly digested moss which enters
into the uinastikai appeals to our natural desire, seldom
gratified in the northern life, for starchy food. A certain
amount of this is contained by cladonia moss, although by
itself it is hardly digestible. The Ungava Eskimo are said
to chop up the caribou moss with seal oil as a sort of salad.
If its use among primitive people is anything like coexten-
sive with the range of the reindeer, there must be a practical
justification for it.

There are several kinds of berries in the semi-barrens,
the service-berry, or mountain cranberry, being the one of
principal importance to the Indians. To them it is known
as uishitshimin, ‘“bitter-berry.”” The shore people call
it simply the redberry. The cloud-berry, or bake-apple,
grows here and there in damp places, even to the bleak
bogs of the height of land east of the middle George River.
Blueberries, delicate of flavour and structure, grow on many
of the coast islands and inland hills. They grow so close
to the ground in exposed places that often it is not easy to
pick one without getting a little grit at the same time.
The crowberry, or curlewberry, locally “blackberry,’’ is
very common near the coast, but is insipid.

THE INDIANS 2138

In the southern half of the peninsula the common blue-
berry grows abundantly in burnt areas, and constitutes
an important crop to both bears and Indians. At con-
venient places the outgoing families burn fresh areas each
spring, as the yield falls away after two or three crops.
Coming up river in the early fall, the families camp at a
suitable distance from their berry farm, and the men make
a kind of surround hunt for bears. Sometimes as many
as fifteen are taken in a few days. Then the women and
children turn in for the berries. A good deal of blueberry
cake is made, the berries being stewed in a kettle until they
will hold together, and then dried. The name of the cake
means ‘“‘like liver,” from its final appearance; it will keep
indefinitely. The blueberry is manish, the “‘little-berry.”’

Formerly the barren-ground bear ranged rather widely
in the northern districts. The last one reported was killed
near the Barren-groundland Lake of the George about the
year 1894. Peter McKenzie, who has bought their skins
at Chimo, says the hair was very dark, even black. Both
Eskimo and Indian regard it as aggressive and dangerous,
though the Eskimo tales at least need not be taken too
seriously. They are afraid of the common black bear,
being unfamiliar with it. The much more formidable white
bear they make little of, attacking him readily with hand
weapons. No complete skin of the barren-ground bear of
Labrador has been examined; the species is probably
extinct now, and while it is not unlikely to have been a
variety of grizzly, its identity may never be established.

The caribou range from Hudson Strait to the coast at
Belle Isle Strait, where they sometimes mix with the larger
woodland species. The migrations do not hold together

214 LABRADOR

after leaving the barrens, but scatter into the timbered
country of the Hamilton Inlet basin, and from there to the
Atlantic. Sometimes the greater herd stays south two or
three years, to the great privation, or worse, of the Indians.
The families east of the George can generally reach the coast
in time to save themselves. At Chimo, in the nineties, nearly
half the people starved or died about the post from illnesses
due to their enfeebled condition. Actual starvation may
happen almost anywhere excepting in the short summer,
for subsistence is not altogether secure in any district with-
out the aid of coast provisions. The late Charles Robertson,
whose last years were passed at Pointe Bleue, used to speak
with feeling of the bad conditions on the “ Nichicun side,”
as an indefinite area north of Rupert River is called.
During the long administration at Chimo of Mr. Matheson,
lately retired, it was the usual yearly happening that five
or six hunters ‘‘did not come back.’ They had fallen
somewhere, hunting to the last, — for the less the strength
of the hunter, the more urgent the need of finding some-
thing before it is too late. |

The semi-barrens of the northeast, the home of the
Nascaupees, and of the caribou they live on, is in summer
an attractive country. Unmapped lakes of large size le
along the height of land east of the George, and smaller
ones here and there to the very coast. When the deer are
passing north, the best crossing is often at Mistinisi, a fine
lake fifteen or twenty miles long discharging into the Barren-
ground Lake. The crossing-place is six or eight miles from
the east end, and is at least a third of a mile wide. If the
leaders of the migration are turned, the whole route is
shifted, perhaps a long distance. It is certain that very

THE INDIANS DAs

slight causes must serve to determine their course of
migration, for no one can tell just where it will go. From
Atlantic to Alaska, throughout the immense territory of
the barrens, this is true; no race or tribe can foretell in
this absolutely important matter. Some scattering deer
are found over the country apart from the main herd; and
the latter may break up into smaller bands.

The shore people from Hopedale north formerly depended
much on their deer supply. For some years this has failed.
The southward movement was never much depended on
at the coast, while recent fires have swept so much of the
country south of Davis Inlet that the northward movement
may be shunted off inland around the burnt district for
a long time to come.

So far as the caribou and the Indian are concerned, the
loss of the shore people is quite their gain, for the latter
are well armed, good shots, and have less restraint in killing
than the Indians. An Eskimo family south of Nain told
the writer that they ought to get one hundred deer in a good
season, for themselves and dogs. North of Nain conditions
are less changed. The Eskimo hunters from Nain and
Okkak meet near the height of land west of Okkak late in
the winter, and often get all the meat their dogs can haul
out. Large wolves, varying from gray to black, accom-
pany the herds.

The northern Indians are still polygamous, though the
limited number of women tends toward practical monogamy.
The work about the lodge is done mainly by the women;
what with dressing skins, making pemmican, and the
ordinary housework, they are often overworked. In time
of scarcity there is little for them to do, while the men,

216 LABRADOR

as straits continue, wear down rapidly under the constant
hunting. On the hunter, in the end, hangs the fate of all,
and this is to be remembered when in times of plenty the
men are found merely spearing the deer as they make the
crossing and leaving the hard work of meat and skins to
the women. In the evil day that is sure to come, it 1s most
often the women and children who survive, husbanding
their strength in the lodges until some hunter brings game.
There is no question as to the fate of the hunter who does
not return, though the spot where he sank to his lonely
end may never be known.

These recurring vicissitudes of the hunting life, especially
in the farther north, must be taken account of before judg-
ment is passed upon some of the customs and traits of such
races. Until recently the old and feeble among the people
were at times put out of the way by their relatives. It
must be understood not only that the necessary alternative
was usually abandonment and death by freezing or starva-
tion, but that the event was brought about by the request
of the person concerned.

It might be difficult to find a people more devoted to
their own than these. In his well-known Twenty-five
Years of Service John McLean has an interesting chap-
ter on their traits, his long relations with them standing
in as good stead as the imagination which gives colour to
Hind’s accounts of them as seen at Seven Islands in later
years in his Labrador Peninsula. To quote a passage: —

‘In their intercourse with us the Nascaupees evince a
very different disposition from the other branches of the

Cree family, being selfish and inhospitable in the extreme;
exacting rigid payment for the smallest portion of food.

THE INDIANS 207

Yet I do not know that we have a right to blame a practice
in them which they have undoubtedly learned from us.
What do they obtain from us without payment? Nothing;
not a shot of powder, not a ball, not a flint. But whatever
may be said of their conduct towards the whites, no people
can exercise the laws of hospitality with greater generosity,
or show less selfishness toward each other, than the Nascau-
pees. The only part of an animal a hunter retains for him-
self is the head; every other part is given up for the com-
mon benefit. Fish, flesh, and fowl are distributed in the
same liberal and impartial manner; and he who contributes
most seems as contented with his share, however small
it may be, as if he had no share in procuring it. In fact, a
community of goods seems almost established among them.
The few articles they purchase from us shift from hand
to hand, and seldom remain more than two or three days in
the hands of the original purchasers.”

The Cree, which is considered the parent language of all
the Algic dialects, is believed to have had its early home
and centre of development not far from its present place.
The Iroquois also are thought to have emerged from the
same quarter,— “somewhere north of the St. Lawrence
and east of Hudson Bay.” The development of either
race in such a latitude would seem to be one of numbers
rather than of racial type or language, for the last Glacial
period there ended only a few thousand years ago, while
the physical type of both these peoples appears to have
been very long established; and, as well as their accessories
of clothing and other belongings, gives a strong impression
of development in more moderate latitudes.

The Algonquin group of languages, to which all the dia-
lects of the peninsula belong, are both well developed in
method and generally agreeable in sound. Their accept-

218 LABRADOR

ability to the Anglo-Saxon ear is evident from the con-
tinued use over the country of their innumerable place-
names. Once adopted by the white race, these names are
rarely displaced; indeed, are brought more into use as
time goes on. More than half of the Indian place-names
of the northeastern states would be readily understood by
the Montagnais or the Nascaupees of Ungava Bay: thus,
K’taadn, Monadnock, and Wachusett; Penobscot, Kenne-
bec, and Connecticut; Massachusetts, Narraganset, and
Manhattan, are as plain in their meaning to the northern-
most Cree of the barrens as they are familiar in sound to
the white dwellers of New England.

To the white stranger these are merely well-sounding
names, but without significance; to the Indian each brings
its image: the ‘‘Great Mountain”; the ‘‘Mountain-stand-
ing-alone”’; the ‘Long-open-water’’ (Moosehead Lake) ;
‘““Long-river”’; the ‘ Region-about-the-large-hills’’ (Blue
Hills); the “‘Point-country’’ (Mount Hope Point); ‘The
Island,’ — and the list might go on.

Algonquin place-names are rarely fanciful; the method
of life required an accurate and serviceable system of geo-
graphical description, the function of which was too im-
portant to be trifled with. Much of the eastern country
was remarkably irregular and made up of features often
repeating themselves at different angles. Few regions of
the world, perhaps, are as confusing to the traveller as
were formerly the vast forested areas of mountains and
watercourses throughout the north Atlantic belt.

Of necessity the descriptive method of the people was of
almost legal severity, and is in the north to-day. Personal
names, however, are often subjects of fancy. The humour

THE INDIANS 219

of the people lays quick hold of the possibilities of the nick-
name.

Not infrequently the name of a child is given from some
trait or chance occurrence. The name Mattawayshish,
“Playbear,”’ belonging to an Indian first seen by the writer
as a tall old man, dignified though feeble, was doubtless
given by the mother to the little boy who played behind the
bushes in days long gone.

_A short, active man with a peg-top build was nicknamed
Mistnouk, from the great triangular fly known in Maine as
the moose-fly. A stranger from across some far water
was dubbed ‘‘Over-sea”’ or its Indian equivalent.’ ' Indian
rebaptisms, as to name, are not uncommon, especially
in connection with younger men of no especial standing.
Many of the Montagnais have French names. Neverthe-
less, as many as half the people, it may be, speak only the
aboriginal tongue; their names, with those of many others,
are naturally still of the vernacular.

As regards the language as a whole, it is probable that
few but its actual students realize its scope and resources.
Notwithstanding the number of names both of places and
persons which we have accepted from the race, it would
not be far wrong to say that the chance person of cultiva-
tion, if told that the Indian language consisted of a few
uncouth words of limited import, would assent as a matter
of course. It is true that their field of observation as com-
pared with that of modern civilization is limited. The
swelling tide of our technical vocabularies, our now half-
inanimate burden of metaphysical terms, have scarcely

1 A northern Indian had a name meaning ‘‘ Man-in-the-Moon.”

220 LABRADOR

a counterpart in the unwritten speech of the lodge and the
open. ,

Yet in the human relation the tongue falls little if any-
thing short; its terms for a thousand features of earth and
sky and the endless manifestations of the outdoor world
are far beyond our own; our Bible, Old Testament and New,
finds its way into the language without loss, and an inherit-
ance of story and song, no ruder than that of our own race
at a pitifully near period, is passed by clear minds from
old to young as the generations go.

In Lemoine’s French-Montagnais Dictionary are some
twelve thousand title words, yet the commoner forms are
not exhausted. In Watkins’ Cree Dictionary are thirteen
thousand five hundred Indian title words, and it is probable
that Indians of superior mind command a yet greater vo-
cabulary. Without the support of writing, the Indian mind
compares in this capacity evenly, or better than evenly, with
that of the white races. When it is remembered that,
according to Whitney, three thousand to five thousand
words “cover the ordinary needs of cultivated intercourse”’
and that “three thousand is a very large estimate for the
number ever used in writing and speaking by a well-educated
man,” the dimensions of the Algic list of ideas may be some-
what appreciated.

Some peculiar advantages of structure in the Cree have
been urged recently by Berloin in a remarkable analysis
of more than two hundred pages, entitled La Parole Hu-
maine. His conclusions are singularly complimentary to
the language; their level may be perceived from a sen-
tence of his last page, — ‘‘ Peut-il concevoir meilleur et plus
noble langage ?”’

THE INDIANS 221

Whether his enthusiasm is to be fully shared, or whether
such a view must be taken as going obviously too far, if
only because the language was conceived by savages, may
be left for scholars yet to come.

Superficially, the structure of the language has some
resemblances to Latin, mainly in its wonderfully inflected
verb. The noun is little inflected, although it has a certain
accusative usage. The adjective is put in a verbal form,
as wapau, “it is white’”’; hence wapush, ‘‘little-white-one”’
(rabbit), and wapilao, ‘“‘white partridge.’ Adverbs are
favoured, and are often placed early in the sentence, as in
“Quickly I ran.’ Pronouns are rather fully inflected.
The particles are wanting. Of the verb it may be said
that it bears nearly the whole weight of the language.
The development of this part of speech is extraordinary.
The Dictionary of Father Lemoine gives three hundred and
seventy-seven inflections of a single regular verb, and pre-
sents no less than fifteen conjugations. The number of
inflections in actual use much exceeds this number.

The resemblance to Latin is quite close in some of these
verbal inflections, notably such as the imperfect in -aban
as compared with -abat in Latin, and the perfect with the
sharp zt, as in the Latin amavit.

The dual form for we exists, as in the primitive Greek
and German. A special inflection is observed when the
~ subject of the verb is speaking to a person present. The
number of inflections is nearly doubled by the use of sepa-
rate forms for animate and inanimate objects, thus: —

I like the dog — ni shatshitan atum.
I like the tent — ni shatshiau mitshiuap.

22,2, LABRADOR

Certain articles of importance are granted the superior
form of the verb: among these are dshamuits, “‘snow-shoes”’ ;
ashtesh, ‘ gloves’’; uzash, “meat”; and the names of the dif-
ferent furs. Curiously, perhaps, for with aboriginal races the
flesh is weak in this connection, ishkut’eu-a’ put, “ whiskey,”
is not given the higher genre, nor shuliau, “‘ money ”’ (silver),
while uapamin, “ apple,’’ is.

New names have come with the white régime: —

Horse, Kapilikishtiao — he that has but a single toe.
Cow, Uishauatituk — the yellow deer.

Turkey, Mishiléo — great partridge.

Cat, Mirish.

Iron, Assukumdén — kettle-metal or material.

Tin, Uapukuman — white-metal.

Gun, Passigan — thunderer.

Soap, Uapékiigan — whitener.

Spy-glass, T’ushkdpitshigan — instrument for seeing far.

The ending s or sh, asin wapush, “rabbit,” and mush,
“eat,’? is a diminutive. Such is 7'shipshas (lake), ‘“ Little
Tshipshau,” and Mvstassinis, “ Little Mistassini.”’ The latter
name signifies ‘Great Stone,” from a large boulder on the
shore of that lake, which is regarded as having occult
influences. Almost all the names of fish and other crea-
tures are plainly descriptive.

It may be inferred that not much borrowing from other
languages has occurred for a long time. Considering how
few of our common names, such as horse, dog, cod, trout, -
not to mention names of inanimate objects, have any
descriptive meaning to us, as words, this survival of original
meanings in the Indian emphasizes the compositeness, at
least, of our English tongue.

Wa- as a prefix means white; was- or wash-, bright

BEWOIN, MS, AUMOWUNNEE) 4, “SIS Sie,

THE INDIANS 223

and shining. Wash alone means sky; Washéshkundu
means blue, sky-colour.

The language is mild in its cadences. Little conversa-
tion accompanies serious occupation and travelling. When
making camp, the young men toss their japes back and forth,
and about the fire the women talk and laugh when by them-
selves in the world-wide fashion.

The religion of the country is professedly almost wholly
Christian. The people trading around Hudson Bay are
Protestants, while all the Montagnais are Catholics, cared
for spiritually by the various missions of the Gulf and the
Saguenay. |

It is not to be supposed that the old beliefs are extinct;
on the contrary, no reserve or gathering place is so changed
in blood or so affected by white neighbourhood as not to
have among its members those who are priests of the older
theology and can deal with at least some of the overpowers
of earth and sky. The influence of these many spirits for or
against the laymen is determined largely by the rites of the
manitu lodge. The spirits are not malevolent if uninflu-
enced, although naturally less to be trusted as their form
approaches the human; but the power of the priest, liter-
ally a manitsesht, or “‘spirit-person,’ may win over almost
any spirit to evil purposes. The one supernatural being
of original malice is the frightful windigo, described as a
cannibal man fifteen or twenty feet high. He lies in wait
for the solitary hunter, and rushes out upon him. The
mere glimpse of a windigo brings calamity and an early
and unfortunate end. The spell may, however, be broken
by making the proper observances; these are usually done
by the manitsesht, who has power in these matters.

224 LABRADOR

“The Great Spirit,” the T’she Manitu, is wholly good, but
remote and scarcely approachable. The conception seems.
hardly anthropomorphic at all, certainly not as clearly so
as the Biblical one.

What is doubtless an Indianized doctrine of the Trinity
has had standing for many years, even in districts west of
Hudson Bay.

“The First One” — Puk-wa-sha-ne-magan — “gives us
that which we must beg for” (what is necessary for mere
existence).

“The Second One” — Wahkt-Kna — “ gives us too much,
more than we can use’’ — (deer, fish, etc., in great numbers).

“The Third One” — Tshe Manitu — “‘is the greatest of
all; He gives us the Fur, of which we cannot have too
much.”

It must be confessed that as to the concerns of the other
world the concept is not very comprehensive.

All notable features of the country have their local
spirits. As a safe rule, the ordinary person does well to
avoid them. Some are always well disposed, but as a
spirit of bad intentions may take an attractive form for |
his own purposes, it is better for the laymen at least to have
no dealings with any of them. The people are readily sus-
ceptible to missionary instruction, in all earnestness put-
ting on the new faith over the old, which may be supposed
to relinquish its ancient hold only about in proportion as
the hunting life is given up. This hardly occurs save with
persons of much white blood; so long as the wilderness
life and the language continue, the old theology will survive.

Under the strict injunctions of the Gulf missionaries, the
sound of the téwehigan, ‘‘the ceremonial drum,”’ is not heard

THE INDIANS 225

on the summer reserve, but once beyond hearing of the
missions some remnant of the old rites is not far to seek.
On the other hand, the church calendar is carried every-
where over the Montagnais country; each day a pin is
moved forward and pinned through the paper at the suc-
ceeding date, and feast-days and Sundays are pretty well
observed.. Although the Oblates do not require the people
to bring their dead to the shore, they do it when possible,
for burial in consecrated ground; yet along most of the
travelled routes of the south are a few graves, marked
sometimes by wooden cross and fence. The burial spots
are held in respect by the passers-by ; camps are not made
very near, nor the peace of the place disturbed.

CHAPTER VIII

THE MISSIONS
By W. T. GRENFELL

The Moravian Mission

Ir a man in Labrador is not a fisherman, that is, a cod-
catcher, he traps fur-bearing animals in winter and catches
salmon in summer. The trappers form a class apart from
the rest of the shore people. They seldom come out “to
the coast,’ their winter industry keeping them far inland
and their summer salmon-catching being convenient in not
forcing them to transfer their families very far down the
bays. There is, however, every gradation, from the moun-
taineer Indian, who does nothing all the year but trap and
kill deer, through the Eskimo, who once only killed seals,
but now even catches furs and “‘fishes,’’ to the man who
lives entirely ‘out of the water,” 7.e. never outfits for the
winter furring.

Until 1905 the trade of all these people was card on
by two great companies, the Hudson’s Bay Company and
the Moravian Missions. The Hudson’s Bay Company
originally dealt only with Indians, but the intermarriage
and settling of their own imported servants have built up
a class which beats the Indians at their own industry, and
now does a far larger trade in fur. The Indians are reduced
to a mere handful, while the strong Scotch and Norwegian

226

Okkak

THE MISSIONS AT

stock is steadily growing and displacing both Indians and
Eskimo. Farther north, the Moravians care for the Eskimo.
The Hudson’s Bay Company have also made a bid for their
trade, establishing posts at Nachvak (since abandoned)
and at Ungava.

At present the Moravians have four stations. The most
northerly station is that at Killinek, or Cape Chidley.
Here the Eskimo, attracted by the excellent seal-fishery,
walrus, and white-whale fishery to be had at the cape,
have gathered from the northeast coast and from Ungava
Bay. Though the turbulent currents and whirlpools are
dangerous to kayaks, the Eskimo have no fear of venturing
out, and, at times, cross to the Button Islands to hunt
there. A man with his family will, in the spring, transfer
all his belongings to a pan of ice at Fort Chimo, and live by
hunting and shooting on the floating ice till he arrives at
the cape, one hundred and eighty miles distant. He finds
no monotony, feels no cold, and knows no fear of conditions
which would whiten the hair of many a bold European.

At the present time one Moravian family dwells at the ©
station. They have themselves built a house, church,
and stores. Even the church is admirably constructed to
keep out the cold. It is floored under the sills, double
floored over them, and filled between with cement. Thick
tarred paper in one piece runs up in a similar manner be-
tween the layers of the wall. To Europeans the site seems
the most villainous dwelling-place possible. The settle-
ment is situated in a deep gulch with a wall of rock opposite,
shutting out any view; a terribly dangerous current runs
through the defile. The tides rise and fall thirty-five feet.
The land is entirely bare of woody growth, even shrubs,

228 LABRADOR

and for firing the people must depend on what driftwood
is washed up, or else on seal-fat lamps. The average tem-
perature for the year is far below freezing. One mail a
year is the most the people can ever expect. They can
reach and talk to no Europeans, except possibly by a long
and dangerous shore journey taken once in the winter. |
In sickness or accident there is no skilled help. Yet these
patient missionaries have just selected this spot for a
station. |

The missionary in charge at present is a splendid speci-
men of humanity, broad and strong far beyond the average
man, with merry blue eyes, and the abundant light hair of
a Viking. He has a capacity for work, and an accuracy
of mind rarely equalled. His hospitality and generous
manner toward strangers, along with all his other splendid
qualities, make him the ideal man for the environment.
One could imagine that he had dropped off an ancient
‘‘war swan”’ and had persisted ever since those days on
these seemingly God-forsaken rocks. The man’s scorn of
physical conditions, the hard things that he has moulded
to his will and use, the absolute happiness he always seems
to enjoy, have shown to me, each time I have visited the
station, how man, as God would have him be, towers above
his circumstances. One leaves the station regretting that
so few should be there to benefit, humbled and glad that
men of such type still live to adorn the. human race.
Other thoughts, I confess, have risen to my mind in the
enervating palaces of some of those ‘‘more wealthy.”

Few furs are caught there. The white fox and the polar
bear alone are not uncommon. The sight and smell of
seal and walrus blubber are everywhere. Fat is the meas-

THE MISSIONS 229

ure of wealth. Fat in gallons is the coin of their
realm. To the Eskimo of the place, such a man and
his mission mean everything, pessimists notwithstand-
ing.

Proceeding north one passes an abandoned station of
the Hudson Bay Company called Nakvak. Beyond that,
near the old station of Ramah, about a hundred miles to
the southeastward, the Eskimo dwell in holes in the
ground with skin bowel-parchment windows that do not
open, and with roofs and entrances made of sods. There
are no islands near to supply birds and eggs; the decrease
in the number of seal and walrus and the low market or
local value of sea-trout have seriously impoverished the
people. This poverty means that they are poorly equipped
for travel ; in consequence, they dawdle about the unsavoury
village when they should be seeking and finding sustenance,
gaining health and strength by migrating from place to
place as they always did of yore. Here they are much
more dependent upon the missionary, upon his supply of
clothing, and upon his kablenak or European food, than
is good for them. From their physical condition it is
perfectly easy to tell a Ramah Eskimo from a Cape Chidley
man, though you may never have seen either previously.

A journey to the southward of nearly another hundred
miles brings us to the third station at Hebron. This is
still a good hunting station. Its Eskimo have been wisely
taught by the Brethren to segregate and not congregate.
No permanent village has come into being. A few sod
houses and one or two better houses exist. This would
to-day be probably far the most creditable settlement of
Eskimo, had it not been for the carrying of several families

230 LABRADOR

to show them to the curious at the exhibitions at Chicago,
Buffalo, and elsewhere. Few returned, and they richer
only in those heirlooms of civilization, the germs of specific
diseases, which most efficiently put a stop to the growth
of the community, and left a diseased and miserable people
to be a constant danger to every “Innuit”’ on the coast.

Another forty miles to the south was Okkak, the
largest station. It is within the northern limit of trees,
and consequently houses, boats, and firmg were more
easily acquired. A large number of permanent wooden
houses had been erected. At certain seasons of the
year considerable social life was possible. The an-
nual census shows that during the fifty years previous
to 1902 the congregation was steadily growing in
numbers. Some small arts and crafts were established
and quite a trade done in ivory carvings, in modern
skin dolls, tubiks or tents, kayaks, etc., and in wooden
models of native houses, komatiks, and such like.
This station was entirely blotted out in 1919 by
Spanish influenza. Out of 365 Eskimo 300 perished
including every single adult male. It has been tem-
porarily abandoned but when Nain was destroyed
by fire in 1921 a large portion of that congregation
returned to reopen Okkak.

The Brethren here had a little hospital besides their
educational and religious work. At first the ‘“Innuits”
would not subject themselves to the necessary hospital
regulations. We carried thither the first patients in our
little hospital steamer. A severe epidemic of grippe (with
heart troubles and other complications) was killing many.
We had picked up a full load, and dumped them on the new

West Coast Eskimo

THE MISSIONS 231

doctor. It was a new experience to see an Eskimo trying
to accommodate himself toa bed. The warmth of the ward
was objectionable. The additional heat of bedclothes was
intolerable. Washed to a fine nut-brown, with their jet-
black hair and large, dark eyes, they formed a most pleas-
ing contrast to the white sheets on which they lay when
we paid our first morning visit. Covering of any kind they
had long disposed of, and even then they were perspiring
and panting. Nature seems to have taught them what
civilization has made us forget, — the value of fresh air.

In a terribly fatal epidemic of typhoid fever in 1896, I had
tried to persuade some of my patients to remain in their
tents when very feverish. In one case I had endeavoured
to enforce my ruling by removing the patient’s garments.
Such a trifling “impediment” had not daunted him. Why
stay under cover when you are hot? Next morning when
I returned, I found him stark-naked, huddled up in the
cold, waiting for the doctor and the ravished clothes. He
eventually recovered, in spite of me.

Nain, the fifth station, is ninety miles farther south, and
accessible by mail steamer. It is a perfect harbour, en-
tirely shut in from the sea by countless islands, great and
small. Its beautiful bay runs inland over forty miles,
and one can travel by steamer for a hundred miles south
without once going into the open ocean. Nain is at once
the head station of the Brethren, the seat of the Bishop,
who is also a German consul, and is of the oldest standing.
The well-tended vegetable patches, the tidy paths through
the woods so long preserved, and now so lonely looking
against the otherwise absolutely naked ground, the prim
flower-gardens, and the orthodox tea-houses (with more

232 LABRADOR

often than not the now inappropriate picture of the
Kaiser), combine to transport a visitor momentarily to
Europe, to the German homes which these good men
have left, never to return.

I had the pleasure —a partly melancholy pleasure —
of introducing the first gramophone to the attention of
a venerable brother who had not visited his home for many
years. As he drew near the room in which the machine
was playing some musical record, I saw the unbidden tear
roll down my dear old friend’s cheek, as even that crude
music irresistibly called to memory former happy days
when the music of the Fatherland was all about him.

Near Nain is a great outcrop of blue labradorite. The
hunting and fishing near this station are also excellent at
times, and there are many things to attract the visitor.
But first amongst these are the hospitable Brethren and the
neat congregations at their regular services, where the
excellent singing and orchestral playing of the Eskimo men
and women is a revelation to the stranger. |

This station is the head of the trade, too. For the Mis-
sion is an industrial one, and therein, to my mind, lies its
immense value. It not only tends to the mind and spirit,
but it looks after the ‘vile body.’’ Had it not been so
during the last one hundred and fifty years, there would
now be no bodies through which to get at souls. There
can be no question the Moravians have so far saved the
native population for Labrador. The more numerous
Eskimo that once flourished between Hopedale, their south-
ernmost Eskimo station, and Anticosti Island, are gone
almost to a singleman. Eskimo once were numerous on
both sides the Straits of Belle Isle. At Battle and at Cart-

THE MISSIONS 233

wright in 1800 they were still numerous. Contact with
white men has blotted them out like chalk from a black-
board.

I was intensely surprised to find by reference to their
carefully kept registers from 1840 to 1890 that the con-
gregations around all the stations had actually increased
in numbers. It is not fair to estimate the numbers that
should now exist on the coast by the average increase of
Europeans, as some have done. In the wild state, untram-
melled by civilization and unmodernized by missionaries,
Eskimo can only exist in small numbers and scattered com-
munities, anyhow. The casual reporter visiting Labrador
has more than once severely criticised the trade methods
of the Brethren, which involve comparative high prices on
their goods. They have stigmatized them as robbers and
oppressors. Indeed, they have been so misunderstood that
their Conference has seriously considered abandoning their
trading altogether. Were they to do so, there would, in
a very brief time, be no need for their spiritual minis-
trations.

I do not believe any master of labour could possibly carry
on industrial work like fishing and furring, for which the
masters have to supply all gear, outfit, and provisions at
their own risk, if they employed only Eskimo workmen.

The fact is, they are not able to persevere, and though
they are, man for man, far better educated than the men
who come from hundreds of miles south and make a good
living by fishing right at the Eskimo’s own door, yet they
cannot compare with the Newfoundland and white fisher-
men for perseverance and what is known on this coast as
“snap.” An Eskimo does not get one fish for the other’s

234 LABRADOR

ten. Thus the Moravians have been again and again
saddled with debts sorely crippling their funds, for they
assume a responsibility no ordinary master of labour does.
They look after the poor, feed the infirm and helpless, tend
the sick, educate the children, and, as well, minister to their
spiritual needs, which involves up-keep of chapels, and all
the attendant duties and expenses. They have recently
altered their methods of trade. It is quite possible they
might profitably be still further modernized, but no man
need fear inquiring into this noble Mission who really is
anxious for the extension of Christ’s Kingdom.

The magnificent salary of the individual worker, includ-
ing the Bishop, is £23 per annum, with dinner and tea found
at a communal board, the wives taking it in turn each week
to cook and superintend meals. The children at seven years
of age, the most interesting period of child life, have to
leave the parents, probably forever, to be educated at the
Society’s schools in England or Germany. It is scarcely
necessary to say that the missionaries have no personal in-
terest in the trade, and that their small income only clothes
and provides absolute necessities for the families. The
present trade manager of the whole Mission, for many years
past my most beloved friend, has made many long journeys
with me all along the coast. He is an excellent photog-
rapher, sending the pictures home to help the deputation
workers to raise the necessary funds, and he is but the type
of all their men with whom I have been acquainted these
twenty years past. Soon after my arrival at this station,
I asked him if they kept photographic material in the store.
After seeing the Eskimo brass band perform, it seemed
natural they should perform also the simpler functions of a

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THE MISSIONS 235

photographer. “No,” he replied, “but I have a small
private stock.” ‘Would you sell me some printing paper?
IT have run out.” “We may not sell privately,” he
replied, ‘but I shall be glad to give you half mine.” “But
that you cannot afford to do. You must let me at least
defray the actual cost.” ‘The Society gives us £23 a
year,” he said, “and that supplies all our needs. What
do I want more money for? We have everything we can
possibly need.”

The stores, church, school, and mission house were
burned in 1921 at the very time of their 150th anniver-
sary, to the terrible set back of their beautiful work.

Some ninety miles to the south again is Hopedale, the
sixth station. It is the southern border of the tribe now,
and one cannot visit the station without feeling forcibly
that the fringe is ravelling out, and that the race in
Labrador is facing its inevitable doom. Mixed with the
dying, purer type, are an increasing and stronger element
of half-breeds. It is in these that much of the hope for
the future population of Labrador at present lies. Here
one of the Brethren has had some medical training, and
has, single-handed, done some excellent work in emer-
gency cases. The Brethren here, also, have done a con-
siderable amount of scientific work in the past, both in
climatology, botany, and ornithology.

The last Moravian station is at Makkovik, fifty miles
south. It was only erected in 1900, and was put there in
the hope of fostering the scattered half-breeds and settlers
who are slowly beginning to populate that section of coast.
It is a valuable stand for those travelling the coast in
winter. It hasnow asmall boarding school during winter.

236 LABRADOR

To no other people on earth does the lonely Labrador owe
one-half the debt it does to these devoted servants of the
Moravian Mission.

The Methodist church is carrying on work among the
settlers, with local headquarters for their mission at Rigolet.
The Anglican church has, for many years, supported a mis-
sion, with headquarters at Battle Harbour.

The International Grenfell Association

In the report of the Newfoundland Chamber of Com-
merce for 1892, the following item appeared : —

‘A new feature worthy of mention in this report, affecting
as it does, more or less, the comfort of twenty thousand to
thirty thousand of our people, was the appearance on the
Labrador coast of the Mission to Deep-sea Fishermen ship
Albert, outfitted by a philanthropical society in England,
unsectarian in its lines, and intended to convey skilled
medical aid to our fishermen and provide to some extent
for their mental and material wants. This essay has been
an unqualified success, and has evoked from the recipients
of its bounty expressions of deep gratitude. It is hkely
to result in well-organized cooperation by the Colony next
season upon the lines along which the Mission ship is being
worked.”

The Mission to Deep-sea Fishermen had, for some twenty
years, been working among the great fleets that travel all
over the North Sea. The Mission owned a dozen vessels,
including one steamer. These were mostly fishing vessels,
but in command of men who sought by word and deed to
carry the Gospel of Christ to their comrades by the prac-
tical messages of love of the “Good Samaritan.” Four of
the vessels had small hospitals on board, and each carried

THE MISSIONS Dol

a doctor. The Mission had driven the liquor traffic off
the sea, built homes at the seaports, and provided for
religious services, for good reading, and for the care of those
in trouble and want. The Mission Council, at the request
of Sir Francis Hopwood, one of its members, had sent their
medical superintendent to see if similar work were needed
among the Bankers and Newfoundland fishermen. The
Mission yawl Albert, of one hundred and fifty-one tons bur-
den, sailed out, and after a season among the fishermen
of the Labrador coast, called into St. John’s to report be-
fore sailing back to England. ‘The governor of the colony
called a meeting at Government House of all the principal
men, to receive the report. As a result, on the proposal
of the Prime Minister, the following resolution was passed
unanimously : —

“That this meeting, representing the principal merchants
and traders carrying on the fisheries, especially on the
Labrador coast, and others interested in the welfare of this
colony, desires to tender its warmest thanks to the direct-
ors of the Deep-sea Mission for sending their hospital ship
Albert to visit the settlement on the Labrador coast.

‘Much of our fishing industry is carried on in regions
beyond the ordinary reach of medical aid, or of charity, and
it is with the deepest sense of gratitude that this meeting
learns of the amount of medical and surgical work done. . . .

“This meeting also desires to express the hope that the
directors may see their way to continue the work thus begun,
and should they do so, they may be assured of the earnest
cooperation of all classes of this community.”’

The government of Newfoundland promised to excuse
the Mission from paying any duties on bringing in goods,
except any for sale.

238 LABRADOR

With open water in spring the Albert returned, carrying
two additional doctors and nurses, together with fittings
and drugs for two small hospitals. The first stationed
at Battle Harbour was the gift of a merchant. The gov-
ernment of Newfoundland supplied a well-skilled pilot
for the ship, and excused all dues of every kind.

The second hospital was erected at Indian Harbour
200 miles north and a smart steam-launch supplied for
use in the remote corners.

At the present time the Society has six small hospitals:
one at Harrington on the Canadian Labrador, one at St.
Anthony on the northeast coast of Newfoundland, one at
Pitteys Island, Newfoundland, one at Northwest River
N. Labrador, and the original two at Battle Harbour and
Indian Harbour. Indian Harbour issituated on an island
in the entrance to Hamilton Inlet, two hundred miles
north of the Strait of Belle Isle; Battle Harbour, just
where the Strait meets the Atlantic Ocean.

An experience of thirty years of work at sea among
fishermen has proved for me that the brotherhood of the
sea, and possibly the frequent looking of death in the
face, can transcend the animosity engendered between
man and man by sectarianism on the land. The raison
d’étre of the Mission is to commend to men who daily
face the perils and privations of the sea, the Gospel of
Christ as the practical rule of life by commending it in
exactly those practical services its workers would desire
in their circumstances. It labours to form no church.
It seeks to inculeate no submission to any theories or
shibboleths. It aims at adherence to no intellectual
dogma.

St. Anthony Hospital

Interior of St. Anthony Hospital

THE MISSIONS 239

No continuous presentment of Christ’s evangel by hu-
man agency can ever hope to be free from deserving criti-
cism. In an environment where sectarianism is still
medieval, opposition to Christian work of an unsectarian
nature is inevitable. The staff of this Mission have felt
it part of their privilege and duty to endeavour to induce
new social conditions, though that involved conflict with
previously existing powers. They have also endeavoured
to inaugurate enterprises which appeared to them truer
forms of charitable work than the easy but ever recurring
distribution of clothes and nourishing food to people who
only needed saving from a system that was alone responsible
for their nakedness and hunger. When the Gospel comes
in conflict with what some consider the “real business of
life,” — that is, money-making, —it should be prepared for
hostility. The following brief table illustrates the inter-
pretation which the Mission, with its limited capacities,
has considered most likely to commend the Gospel in the
circumstances prevailing in Labrador : —

1892. The hospital vessel Albert sailed from Eng-
land with one doctor in charge. He reported nine
hundred cases of sickness and accident that would
not have received treatment but for the visit of the |
ship.

1893. Battle Harbour hospital was presented by
friends in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and opened during
the summer under a qualified nurse and doctor. The
launch Princess May was added to enable the ship to do
more work. The great need for social service was recog-
nized. The work of providing wood fuel for the steamer
even being a factor of value. |

240 LABRADOR

1894. Indian Harbour hospital was opened for the
summer, and for the first time Battle Harbour hospital
was kept open in winter. The doctor, with dogs and
sledges, travelled eighteen hundred miles of coast during
the winter.

1895. The sailing hospital was replaced by the
steamer Sir Donald, the gift of Sir Donald A. Smith,
who had lived many years in Labrador. Owing to
losing her propeller on a shoal she was towed to St.
John’s for repairs.

1896. A small cooperative store was started at Red
Bay in the Strait of Belle Isle, to help the settlers to escape
the “truck system” of trade, and the consequent loss of
independence and thrift. Four other cooperative stores
have since been opened, with very beneficial results to the
poorest. The Sir Donald was carried out from her harbour
by the winter ice, and found far at sea, still frozen in, by
the seal hunters. She had to be sold.

1897. The steam-launch Julia Sheridan, given by a
Toronto lady, replaced the Sir Donald. A large Mission
hall was attached to Indian Harbour hospital for the use
of the fishermen. Two thousand patients were treated.
Some orphan children were taken to America. The doctors
were appointed magistrates for Labrador, which enabled
them to help in several cases of right against might.

1899. Largely through the munificence of the Mission’s
staunch friend, Lord Strathcona, the Canadian High
Commissioner, the steel hospital steamer Strathcona was
built at Dartmouth, England, and fitted with every avail-
able modern appliance. At the request of the settlers,
a doctor wintered in north Newfoundland and travelled

THE MISSIONS 241

all around the north coast. The people cut, hauled out,
and erected the frame for a hospital at St. Anthony.

1900. The Strathcona steamed out to Labrador. The
settlers on the Newfoundland shore of the Strait of Belle
Isle completed the hospital at St. Anthony. A codpera-
tive store was started at Brehat. |

1901. A small codperative lumber mill was opened
with the purpose of helping the settlers of the poorest
district, who often faced semi-starvation, to find remun-
erative work in winter. The schooner Coéperator was pur-
chased and rebuilt by the people to assist in the business
of the codperative stores.

1902. A new wing was added to Battle Harbour hospital,
with a fine convalescent room and a new operating room.
Indian Harbour hospital was also considerably enlarged.
Two thousand seven hundred and seventy-four patients
received treatment, one hundred and ten of these being
in-patients in the little hospitals. The launch Julia Sheri-
dan was chartered by the government and was directed
by one of the medical officers to suppress an outbreak
of smallpox. Some destitute children were taken to
Canada.

1903. Some new outbuildings were added to the In-
dian Harbour hospital, and a mortuary and store were
built at Battle Harbour hospital. The third and fourth
codperative stores were started at West St. Modiste
and at Flower’s Cove to encourage cash dealing and
thrift.

The Princess May went out of commission, and was
sold. Some children were taken to Newfoundland. The
only licensed house in Labrador was closed, the owner

R

242 LABRADOR

being sent to jail for the crime of barratry. The Mis-
sion superintendent accepted the position of agent for
Lloyd’s.

1904. A new doctor’s house was built at Battle Har-
bour to enable the station to remain open all winter.
A motor-launch replaced the more expensive steamer
Julia Sheridan. An orphanage was built at St. An-
thony hospital to accommodate fifteen children. A
building was also added for teaching loom work and
general carpentering with lathe work, and a teacher
engaged.

1905. A doctor was appointed at the request of the
people on the Canadian Labrador, with headquarters at
Harrington, near Cape Whittle, on the north side of the
Gulf of St. Lawrence. The first schooners were built
at the lumber mill, which is now run codperatively by
the people themselves. During the summer two con-
sulting surgeons from Boston joined the hospital steamer
to help in the work. Through the generosity of Mr.
Andrew Carnegie, between thirty and forty small port-
able libraries, each containing from fifty to one hun-
dred books, were distributed along the coast. A fox
farm was started in the hope of inducing a profit-
able industry in the breeding of the more valuable
furs.

1906. Through the help of friends in Montreal and
Toronto, a new hospital and a doctor’s house were built at
Harrington, and a second launch, called the Northern Mes-
senger, was given for the work there and new hickory
sledges, the wood for which is not obtainable in the north.
Some new buildings were erected at St. Anthony, including

at a ial ie

Battle Harbour—the Hospital on the Left

A Visitor from the North

THE MISSIONS 243

some small farm out-buildings, and some land taken up
from the Newfoundland government witha view to trying
to introduce cattle. In connection with the codperative
store at Flower’s Cove, an industry of making sealskin
boots has sprung up, and fifteen hundred pairs were
exported this summer (1906). Around these small
industries it is possible to congregate women and
children in the winter for the purpose of better
education. This year a grant of $500 per annum to
each hospital was made by the Newfoundland gov-
ernment.

1907. A new wharf with stores for clothing and for
coal, and a large mission room, were added to Battle
Harbour. The gifts of warm garments could thus be
rationally given out against work done. Funds, including
a $5000 grant from the Canadian government, were
raised, and three hundred reindeer with Lapp attendants
were imported, with the hope of starting a regular in-
dustry on the lines of that so successful in Alaska. An-
gora goats were presented by friends in the United States,
and were brought to the settlements; it is hoped that
these animals will increase and yield the wool for a new
weaving industry. Several volunteers joined the staff;
in the number were the lady in charge of the orphanage,
the electrical engineer in charge of the general mechanical
work, and a teacher for night school and library work.
The fourth hospital was kept open by a volunteer doctor
from Harvard University, and volunteer nurses from
England. A highly experienced teacher of ‘‘arts and
crafts’ took charge of the industrial work at St. Anthony
this year.

244 LABRADOR

A large new schooner was built at the mill, and a
Gloucester schooner, the Lorna Doone, purchased in
Boston. A volunteer doctor was stationed at the large
summer fishery at Blanc Sablon. Trained nurses from
the Johns Hopkins hospital took charge of districts on
each side of the Strait of Belle Isle; nurses teaching
sanitation and tending the sick. A skilled teacher was
placed at St. Anthony and another at L’Anse Amour.
Because of the increasing consulting and operating work,
an additional surgeon was added to the staff working
either on the hospital ship or at St. Anthony. For this
work Dr. J. Mason Little, of Boston, volunteered. Mr.
W. G. Lindsay, of Queenstown, Ireland, also volunteer,
took charge of the reindeer industry. The growth of the
medical work is shown by the following summary of
cases treated in 1907:

In-patients, 193.

Out-patients, 4720.

Operations under general anesthetics, 80.
A doctor’s house was built at St. Anthony. A new motor-
launch was given in Washington for the doctor’s use, and
navigated down to the coast by volunteers from Yale Uni-
versity. Several additional volunteer nurses and workers
gave their aid during the open season. A large codperative
store was started at St. Anthony. Electric power and
electrical therapeutic apparatus were there installed. A
permanent nursing centre was built at Forteau.

The condition of the fishermen and their families in the
far-off places, even of Newfoundland itself, are described
in many places by many people. I may quote here from
Admiral Sir W. R. Kennedy, well known as an author, and

THE MISSIONS 245

well able to judge, as he spent much time visiting per-
sonally from place to place when patrolling with his ships
in the western part of the North Atlantic. He writes: —

“On our visit round the island we met with sights
enough to sicken one, and we felt ashamed to think that
these poor creatures were British subjects like ourselves.
On part of Labrador the people were actually starving last
winter, owing to a bad fishing season, and many would
have starved altogether had it not been for a steamer
wrecked on their coast, loaded with bullock and flour.”

The same observer, writing in 1881, says: —

“These poor people, ground down as they are by the
detestable ‘ truck system,’ live and die hopelessly in debt,
living from hand to mouth without a shilling to call their
own. Possibly education may in time awaken them to a
sense of their degradation, but at present there seems no
remedy for this evil. A bad season throws hundreds of
these unfortunates upon the government, and no less than
$100,000 is paid out annually in pauper relief among a
total population of 180,000.”

On my own first cruise along the Labrador coast, coming
straight from a happier land, I was deeply impressed with
the ruling terror of poverty and semi-starvation implied
by the conditions then prevailing. The nakedness of the
people was an insistent and deplorable feature ever facing
the doctor as his calling made him a witness of the mean
material, miserable flannelet or cotton, within the reach of
a folk living in a subarctic climate. The wretched monot-
ony of their cheap (truly the most expensive) foods; the
small, bare, squalid huts; the ignorance and apathy of
men and women; the absolute neglect of the crudest sanita-

246 LABRADOR

tion, were all seen to be parts of a great, cruel, vicious
circle in which these thousands were living. Neverthe-
less, from the very first, I was not a pessimist. With
vastly more certainty to-day, I hold to the view that
all these people can be freed and elevated, and a sterling
race of workers happily preserved.

The International Grenfell Association has set itself
to help solve this problem, not merely by telling these
men of the tenets of the Christian faith, as new facts of
which they have never heard. The solution appears to
the Mission to lie rather in example than in precept.
The method aimed at is*to illustrate in practice the atti-
tude Christ would assume to-day in the varying phases
of the fisherman’s life.

From the inception of this work no man has, therefore,
ever been engaged in the capacity of priest or clergyman
though two splendid young Oxford graduates have taken
up Labrador and North Newfoundland as their parishes
with the consent of the Bishop. The staff has been
always confined to laymen and to women specially
trained.

To the sick the message has been, hospitals, power-
launches carrying medicine-cases, and in winter well-
equipped dog-sleighs, and many thousands of miles cov-
ered in visits from Natasquahan in the Gulf to Nain
on the northeast coast, and from Port Sanders on
the west to Whooping Harbour on the east coast of
Newfoundland with nursing stations and the hospital
steamer.

Within reach of the naked, clothing has been placed,
their independence being carefully preserved by work

Mission -S..S. "Strathcona **

ase

aa ia

THE MISSIONS 247

demanded in return wherever the recipients were able-
bodied.

In relation to equity, complaints have been brought
before the medical officer as honorary magistrate, and as
far as possible settled; claims considered and as far as
possible adjusted, over the three thousand miles travelled
by the hospital steamers, which has had many times to
resolve itself into a court of justice.

In view of the terrible ignorance of ordinary health pre-
cautions that was costing the people so dearly, and in re-
lation to the treatment of young children and methods of
sanitation, printed rules and catechisms have not only
been distributed, but taught from end to end of
the district. The medical officers are encouraged: by
the steadily increasing observance of sanitary rules.
Half a dozen specially-trained nutritional teachers also
work along the coast each summer holding baby
clinics. , |

To aid in destroying the oppressive “truck system”’ of
trade, which keeps its poor victims in a sort of apathetic
satisfaction with a hopeless state of slavery, codperative
distributive stores were established, which have paid
good dividends, cheapened articles of necessity, and
brought also within reach of the people an opportunity
to become free of debt and servile dependence on those
from whom they obtained supplies.

1Sir Henry McCallum, a recent governor of Newfoundland, in a
private letter dated in 1901, says: ‘‘One thing you will be rejoiced to
hear, the ministry has introduced legislation for bringing into force the
Truck Act of 1831. This is one of the most important steps in the history
of Newfoundland. By the Truck Act, supplies cannot discharge a debt

248 LABRADOR

In relation to ignorance: where once scarcely a single
settler could read or write, and where ignorance always
meant serious disadvantage in economic relations, travel-
ling loan libraries have been established. A large school
at St. Anthony and some ten or twelve small summer
schools, have been established.

To the absolute helplessness of orphan childhood
there can be only one Christian sermon; that was first
preached by carrying the child to another country
where it could be fed and clothed, and to-day by a
large orphanage to accommodate sixty children in
North Newfoundland, and one with forty-five children
in Labrador.

Some of the poverty caused by the impossibility of
obtaining remunerative work has been relieved through
the industry of the lumber mill, through the industries
of schooner, barge, and boat building, sealskin boot mak-
ing, and through other small efforts to use the country’s
own resources. The I. A. A. has now also a fine indus-
trial department where hooked mats, homespun, toys,
embroidered skin and grass basket work are made, many
thousands of dollars worth being sold every year. A
regular tannery has also been established, giving both
labor and better boots and moccasins.

or balance. Not only is the supplier liable to severe punishment, but the
debt or balance still holds good in spite of supplies having been given,
and can be sued for. Also, if in the absence of shops or passing suppliers
necessaries of life have to be given by employees, they must be at cost
price for cash, the price for outfits being a definite percentage above
St. John’s prices to cover cost of freight and charges. The trouble is,
however, we have good laws but bad customs, and poor execution of
law.”

THE MISSIONS 249

Open hostility to the liquor traffic has always been
the attitude of the Mission. Illicit rumsellers have
been ferreted out and fined, or otherwise punished. —
In St. John’s itself, where fifty saloons have pro- |
vided the entertainment for the thousands of our
Labrador fishermen who resort there, a large tem-
perance institute on modern lines has been erected.
Two years ago the whole Colony went ‘Prohibi-
tion.”

In the great need of milk for children, need of meat
to ward off scurvy, and need for an additional
source of revenue for the people, the best advocate
for the message may be the introduction of reindeer;
and a herd of three hundred of these animals was
introduced into Labrador and Newfoundland. ‘This
has since been turned over to the Canadian Govern-
ment.

The actually starving have been admitted to hospital
for feeding pure and simple. On many occasions the
homeless and travelling strangers have been entertained.
As far as possible, the hospitals have always stood for
hotels as well.

That Christ would interpret the love of the Father in
Heaven to His children on this coast merely by the erec-
tion of churches, the duplication of religious services,
the insisting on an orthodox intellectual attitude by
doctrinal methods, has not been the premise on which
the work has been developed. To say that the re-
sults are imperfect is to say the work is human work.
To say that visible progress, acknowledged progress,
has been made, is a simple statement of fact. We

250 LABRADOR

are working for the time when no ‘‘mission”’ need work
among these men of Labrador, for they will be self-
sustained and powerful in their simple, wholesome life
by the sea.

CHAPTER IX

REINDEER FOR LABRADOR
By W. T. GRENFELL

It has been shown that almost all species of deer are
susceptible to domestication, and that under intelligent
management they can be raised for a profit. Venison is
chemically almost identical with beef, and when in good
condition is fully as nutritious. It is palatable, and fetches
a good price in the market, seventy-five cents per pound
being no uncommon price in the larger cities. The horns
and hide are also valuable.

The range of many of the most valuable deer was once
far wider than at present, and there are vast sections of
the earth now lying useless which could with ease support
herds of these valuable food-producing animals, if anything
approaching the energy and capital expended on the im-
provements and propagation of vegetable food-supplies
were devoted to them.

In the course of ages the upheavals and subsidences of
the earth’s surface have made new countries with environ-
ments suitable for deer; yet these lands are untenanted
by deer solely because large tracts of water have isolated
the lands and left barriers impassable for the animals.
In this way vast areas now lie vacant which could

251

252 LABRADOR

nurture many of these animals for the service of man.
Peary’s discovery of the white reindeer which are main-
taining themselves far north of the Arctic Circle, in spite
of the almost Stygian darkness of the long winters and
in spite of the minimal food-supply available, shows that
even when Nature displays the very least generosity,
animals of this family possess a phenomenal fitness to
survive. Moreover, it has also been shown by countless
experiments with many species of animals, that by careful
treatment of those introduced into new environments,
traits can in time be developed that will enable the species
to flourish in the new home.

The natural distribution of the reindeer is almost entirely
limited to the subarctic regions. Wet and cold offer no
terrors to them; the humblest lichen affords them a source
of nutriment; only the very deepest snowfalls can prevent
their digging down to their food-supply; and they can
range and multiply so far north that even their one enemy,
the timber-wolf, cannot reach them. The wonderful hoofs
of these members of the ungulate family are faced with an
ever renewing hard exterior, which, like the beaver’s tooth,
is only made sharper by being used, and which enables
the deer to cut down even through snow protected with an
icy covering. At the same time they possess large dew-
claws, or hooflets, which increase the spread of their large
splay-feet, and enable the deer to travel and escape danger
over snow in which any of our common cattle would be
hopelessly engulfed and destroyed.

The experiments of introducing domestic reindeer into
Alaska were first undertaken by the famous missionary,
Dr. Sheldon Jackson, and have been since assumed and

REINDEER FOR LABRADOR 253

prosecuted to a marvellously successful issue by the United
States government. These experiments have conclusively
proved the adaptability of this particular animal to do-
mestication in the Arctic for the service of mankind. Along
the sea-shore, especially, the natives have readily taken to
the task of propagating and using them, and already whole
settlements are being supplied from these new herds. One
Hskimo woman surnamed “ Reindeer Mary” has even risen
to wealth, owning many hundreds of deer, and, what is more
important, shown herself capable in this way of consider-
able intellectual development. She thus indicates one line
at any rate, along which the natives of Alaska may hope
to escape extinction through the increasing contact and
competition with the advancing white men.

Few other animals on the earth’s surface offer as much
to man with so little outlay. With scarcely any aid,
races of men can subsist on what these beasts alone can
provide. For transport they have been shown, under
right circumstances, to be able to compete with the Eskimo
dog in speed and endurance. On the Alaskan tundra,
where the snowfall is much like that of Labrador, they have
been an unqualified success. On journeys they can find
their own food by the way — an item most important, for
the dogs are obliged to carry this additional, and by no
means inconsiderable, burden with them. Reindeer are
now used not only for packing over open land uncovered
with snow in summer-time, when dogs are entirely useless,
but they are in regular use for running the United States
mail service in the depth of an Arctic winter. Geldings
are said to be far more readily trained to harness than
stags, and are easier to keep in good physical condition.

954 LABRADOR

At a pinch, one’s steeds may be killed and eaten with
relish, while the carcass, where meat supplies are scarce, is
always of incomparable value. The tongues and kidneys
form great delicacies, and the tongues may be smoked for ex-
port. A good-sized stag will weigh three hundred pounds,
and has for meat alone fetched $50 in the Alaskan markets.
The large, thickly haired skin of caribou or of the Lapland
reindeer is invaluable for many purposes, —for boots,
clothing, sleeping-bags, tents, and blankets. These skins
need scarcely any preparatory treatment. Dehaired and
dressed, they make most satisfactory clothing for use in
cold climates. The sleek, dark-brown hair of the early
fall affords a very beautiful material for ladies’ jackets
or motor coats, and picked skins for such purposes should
well repay exportation; two dollars apiece is the present
local price for Labrador deer skins. Some of our deer have
snow-white skins in winter, and the hair is as thick as a
cocoanut fibre mat.

Moccasins manufactured from the thinner deer skins make
the warmest foot-gear known. The heavier stag skins fur-
nish admirable light, soft, flexible over-clothes. They are
perfectly wind proof, and, when dressed for use, fetch fifty
cents to one dollar per pound weight. Stretched, undressed,
they are sold by the pound as parchment; this, cut into
strips, is rolled up, and sold as babbage, out of which all
the fillings for snow-shoes aremade. Of this, also, are made
the lashings for our sledges and the harness for our dogs.
The tough thongs show remarkable elastic strength as
they feel the jarring and jolting of the rough trails. The
very tendons that are useless as food are amongst our most
valuable acquisitions, affording our women all the sewing

OZEID J99PUIOY SU} DIDUA\

eer aysisione

ican

0 mate trem ent arin!

REINDEER FOR LABRADOR 255

material they need for making boots, skin-boats (or kayaks),
and clothing. These animal tendons are taken and dried,
and fetch from ten to fifty cents for each animal. They
strip easily into single fibres, and these separate threads
form a strong sewing material, which resists water, and yet,
when used in boots intended to be water-tight, swells up
as soon as the boots are immersed in moisture. In this
way leakage through the needle holes is prevented. The
tendons do not rot easily, nor do they tear the skin sub-
stances, for they contract and expand with that material.
Even the horns and hoofs are valuable, and furnish many
of the household essentials of the natives. Some of these
various manufactured products can be exported to the
EHuropean markets. Reindeer may thus largely increase the
earning capacity of any region, by converting its unsalable
material into valuable products. The fresh rich milk of
the does in the summer has also supplied us with what is
a vital necessity, and one which was obtainable in Labrador
in no other way; while the excellent and easily made cheeses
afford a method of storing the nutriment in a palatable
and assimilable form without any necessary outlay for a
preserving plant.

Reindeer have shown themselves to be regular breeders,
comparing more than favourably with ordinary cattle stock.
Reindeer herds may be expected to at least double them-
selves in three years. Does will breed the second year,
and after that with great regularity bear one fawn as
a rule, though occasionally two. Only a comparatively
few stags are needed to serve a large number of does. So ~
large were our own Newfoundland fawns at the end of
their first season, in this our first year of experiment, that

256 LABRADOR

many of the yearlings were covered by the stags. The
domesticated herds in Siberia have thus increased to such
an extent that it is possible to buy full-grown animals at
fifty cents per head, and Mr. Vanderlip, in his Search for
a Siberian Klondike, states that he could purchase them
as low as twenty-five cents a head as food for his dogs.
Similarly, George Kennan tells me that he bought many
at fifty cents apiece for dog food in Siberia. It has even
been stated that the fecundity of reindeer may be liable to
become a positive nuisance.

In the bot-fly the deer has an enemy which greatly
worries him, but which does not appear seriously to injure
him. The fly pierces the outer skin and leaves the egg
underneath, where the larva grows and develops through
the winter, in probably the only place where it would not
freeze. In the spring the fly hatches out and leaves its
birthplace. These large bot larve projecting under the
skin are picked off and eaten by the Alaskans as a choice
delicacy. In the ethmoid cells of these deer, at the root
of the nose close to the skull, there are also always to be
found a number of large maggots in various stages of de-
velopment. These give rise to a coryza, fortunately not
fatal, which leads the animal to sneeze out the larve in
great quantities. We have otherwise found no disease
likely to trouble the imported reindeer in Newfound-
land.

During thirty years of medical mission work on the
coast of North Newfoundland and Labrador, I have dis-
’ covered that one out of every three of our deaths on the
coast is due to tuberculosis; that one out of every three na-
tive babies died before reaching the age of one year. More-

REINDEER FOR LABRADOR 257

over, rickets, scurvy, multiple neuritis, blindness from
corneal ulcerations in marasmic children, and other diseases
of insufficient nourishment were rife among a people en-
joying a bracing, pure air, undefiled by human or other
exhalations, and in a country entirely free of endemic
diseases. There were no milk-producing animals on all
our coasts except a couple of cows and a handful of goats.
The trading system and the people’s poverty put even the
tinned article out of the question. We were wont to see
ill-fed mothers, without milk to suckle their babes, chewing
hard bread, and thus after predigesting it in theirown mouths,
trying to maintain life in their wizened offspring, till they
should attain the age at which nature furnishes them with
the salivary glands, and enables them to convert “‘loaf”’
into the assimilable sugars for themselves.

Milk, milk, milk, seemed to us the great cry from the
coast. It seemed impossible to supply it from either
sheep or cows or goats on any large scale, since every
family is obliged to maintain at least half a dozen dogs
for hauling fuel and for travelling, and thus every village
had a throng of fifty to one hundred of these hungry, half-
fed beasts. The dogs, even at long distances from their
own homes, go hunting exactly like wolves in large packs,
and have killed the cattle as fast as it has been introduced.
Thus it seemed impossible that we could maintain cattle
and dogs together, and our medical staff had beer. compelled
to do the best it could with a scanty supply of tinned milk.
In any case, cows and goats need feeding in winter, and
imported hay cost us $40 aton. A cow eats two tons, even
on a ration diet during our long winter, and it would
cost us therefore twice as much as the cow was worth

8

258 LABRADOR

for her winter hay. All our people are forced by the neces-
sity of their poverty to resort to the outer seaboard during
the whole of our four warm months. There the Arctic
current renders us liable to sudden frosts at night, and so
gardening is unremunerative. Only one or two of our
salmon-fishers who remain up the inlets all summer can
collect the plentiful wild hay that grows there. The ex-
periments of the Grand River Pulp Company in raising
green oats or barley for fodder on the shore of Hamilton
Inlet have been successful, but do not bear directly on the
problem of procuring milk supplies on the outer coast, where
most of our people live.

It was in this dilemma that I turned to the Rev. Sheldon
Jackson, to learn the results and prospects of his experi-
ments with Siberian and Lapland reindeer in Alaska,
which is a somewhat similar coast, and I went to Wash-
ington to get our information at first hand. Meanwhile
Sir Wiliam MacGregor, governor of Newfoundland, collected
and sent to Kew Botanical Gardens specimens of all our
mosses and lichens, and received from them a completely
favourable report as to the suitability of our most abundant
forms of vegetation to support these deer. Favouring the
conviction that we were plunging into no unwise specula-
tion, we had the evidence of the abundant natural herds
of caribou, known to exist in the barren lands west of
Hudson Bay, as well as the more direct evidence of the com-
paratively large herds of caribou on the Labrador plateau,
from which our native Indians still draw almost their
entire food-supply. Moreover, we are familiar with the
large numbers of caribou maintaining themselves against
all odds Gncluding the extensive forest fires) in Newfound-

weo}-190q V

REINDEER FOR LABRADOR 259

land. These deer are of the same species as our domestic
reindeer (Cervus tarandus), though of slightly different
varieties, the barren-land caribou and the Canadian wood-
land caribou being about the same size, but both of rather
smaller growth than the Newfoundland woodland variety.
This difference might reasonably be accredited to ages of
access to a superior food-supply, and this has been one
factor to influence us in keeping temporarily our small
experimental herd on the south side of the Straits of Belle
Isle. The herds in the Canadian barren-land are phe-
nomenally large. The photographs taken by Mr. J. B.
Tyrrell show interminable serried ranks on the march, re-
sembling with their long, shght horns a vast army of spear-
men. In 1909 a herd of half a million of these barren-land
caribou was reported from Dawson City as travelling along
the Tanana River beyond Sixty-mile River. The pro-
cession was described as twenty miles wide.

It seems to have been shown that deer, freed from the
fear of man, have a great predilection for associating with
domestic cattle. In New England, once they learn they
have nothing to fear from man, deer will come down among
the cattle almost into the farm-yard. Thus, the further
hope that the young of the wild species might be cut out,
corralled, and raised with a domestic herd without any fear
of their again returning to the wild, seems to be assured.
Also it has been shown that the two varieties can inter-
breed successfully. On one occasion a Newfoundland cari-
bou joined our herd; it so closely resembled our own deer
that an English friend tried to knock up the rifle of the
Lapp herder who was shooting it from twenty yards away.
Again, two of these same caribou joined a section of the

260 LABRADOR

herd sold by us to Mr. Mayson Beeton of Grand Lake and
remained with his animals two days, coming in and out of
his corral with the rest, while three of his tame ones wan-
dered off for three weeks with their wild cousins and then
returned, as if preferring the less strenuous life.

Encouraged by all we had heard, we set to work, and col-
lected a sum of $10,000 by public subscription, chiefly by
the help of the Boston Transcript, and in addition the Cana-
dian Federal Department of Agriculture voted $5000. The
task of purchasing and shipping the deer and of securing
their herders was intrusted to Mr. Francis Wood of London,
England, who voluntarily proceeded to Norway and Lap-
land for the purpose. Three hundred deer were eventually
purchased. Of these, two hundred and fifty were does of
an age to bear fawns in the spring, and fifty were stags;
they were to be delivered on the beach at Altenfjord on
the north coast of Lapland in lat. 71° north, at a cost of
$8.50 apiece.t A contract for thirty tons of the moss
known as reindeer moss, or Iceland moss (rangifereria), was
arranged. The moss was to be gathered and stored on
the highlands to await transport by the deer themselves,
on the pulkas, or native sledges. The contract with the
Laplander agent ran as follows: —

“Tsrael N. Mella acknowledges hereby having sold to Mr.
Francis H. Wood, of London, 250 female reindeer, three
years old, sound, fresh, prime deer, for a sum of 30 Kr.
each delivered on board the ship in Bugten, Altenfjord ;
also 25 tame four-year-old drawing deer for the sum of

1 On board the steamer ready for sea, they cost $16.74 per head;
landed in Labrador, they cost $51.49 per head.

REINDEER FOR LABRADOR 26)

Kr. 40 each; also 25 three-year-old buck deer (oxen),
price 35 Kr. each, all the deer prime, all the deer delivered
on the ship at Bugten between November 25th and 30th,
1907. Also 500 loads of reindeer moss, at 150 kilograms
per load, at the sum of 12 Kr. per load, delivered on board
the ship at Bugten between November 25th and 30th, 1907.
Also eight good trained reindeer dogs, 25 Kr. each. I
undertake to procure four Lapp families for the expedition
on the lowest terms possible; for the work of yarding,
taking care of the deer; also food for the deer until the ship
comes, between November 25th and 30th, there shall be
paid me (Mr. Mella) Kr. 500. In the Kr. 500 is included the
engaging of the families. I acknowledge by this having
received for 500 loads of reindeer moss, Kr. 6,000; also half
the purchase price of the reindeer, Kr. 4,688; also there
shall be paid to me (Mr. Mella) the advances made to the
families, and the remaining half-price of the purchase money
of the reindeer in Bugten on the delivery of the reindeer
and the moss on the ship.

“ (Signed) IsrannL N. MELA.
“ Witness: Dina AUNE. July 29th, 1907.”

Unfortunately the winter was very late, and it was im-
possible to haul until after Christmas, — a fact which made
tonnage for sea transport much harder to secure and much
more expensive. Indeed, it was only with extreme difh-
culty a steamer was secured at all to carry the deer so late
in the year. She had to be fitted with stalls to prevent the
deer being thrown about and damaged in rough weather.
A contract was entered upon to carry the herd of three
hundred animals from Lapland to Labrador for $8262.
A bonus of fifty cents per head was to be paid the captain
for every animal that was landed in good condition.

262 2 A RA OFF
Following is the essential matter of the charter contract.

Lonpon, 6th July, 1907. |

- It is hereby agreed between the Owners of the good steamer
“Anita,” and Francis H. Wood, 181 Queen Victoria St.,
London, Charterers, that the said Owners will, between 25th
November and 30th November, place at the disposal of the
said Charterers at a portun NORTH NORWAY in charterers’
option, to be declared in good time before steamer’s readiness,
the above-mentioned steamer for the conveyance of three hun-
dred head of reindeer and fodder, which the steamer shall
be fitted to carry under experienced Captain's supervision
to the satisfaction of Charterers’ reasonable requirements to
prevent mortality. ; |

The Reindeer are to be supplied to the steamer as quickly as
they can be received by the steamer.

As soon as the reindeer fodder and cattlemen are on-board: ihe
steamer is to proceed to ST. ANTHONY, Cape Bauld, New-
foundland, to land the reindeer ; afterwards proceeding to
Lewrs port to land 50 deer. 3 |

It is understood that the Harbour accommodation at both
ST. ANTHONY and Lewis port is good and easy of access.

For the carrying of the reindeer the steamer is to receive a
lump sum freight of £1700 (seventeen hundred pounds)
sterling.

Four hea (Laplanders) are to be provided by the
charterers. Owners are to provide sufficient additional cattle-
men to assist in looking after the reindeer on the way out.

The steamer is to be fitted under experienced Captain’s super-
vision to the satisfaction of charterers’ agents’ reasonable
requirements to prevent mortality, for the conveyance of the
reindeer by Owners at their expense and in their time.

IQSUIWNS Ul POH SUL

REINDEER FOR LABRADOR 263

£13800 of the freight to be paid in cash in London on completion
of loading in Norway; balance of freight to be paid in cash
in London on recevpt of cable advices that the reindeer have
been landed.

Charierers are to -provide sufficient food for the reindeer.
The steamer 1s to supply the requisite fresh water for the
reindeer in accordance with charterers’ reasonable require-
ments; also food and sleeping accommodation for the cattle-
attendants.

Should ST. ANTHONY or Lewis port be inaccessible by
reason of ice on steamer’s arrival, the whole of the cargo is
to be landed at whichever port is free of ice. If both ports are
wnaccessible on account of ice, the steamer shall proceed to
the nearest safe open port, where the cargo is to be landed
and freight to be paid as vf the steamer had eae the
voyage as above.

Owners not to be responsible for mortality.

The steamer to have liberty to call at any ports in any order,
to sail without pilots, and to tow and assist vessels in distress,
and to deviate for the purpose of saving life or property.

It 1s agreed by charterers that the ports of loading and dis-
charge shall be such as steamer can reach, always being afloat,
the animals being brought to, and taken from, alongside by
charterers, steamer to go alongside any accessible and safe
wharf, dock or craft as ordered by charterers.

Owners to give charterers fourteen days’ notice of steamer’s
readiness, also ample notice when and where steamer will be
fitted out. 7

It was further necessary to insure the deer against accident,
and the contract was made as follows: owners to pay in-

264 LABRADOR

surers $38.88 per cent less rebate of $13.50 per cent if no
claim was made. No claim did arise.

The herd set sail on December 30, and, after a very rough
voyage of twenty-one days, sighted ice off the Labrador
coast. She eventually anchored in a bay on the North
Newfoundland coast, about eight miles from the harbour
that we had chosen as a wintering place for the deer.
During the night a heavy onshore wind drove the ice into
this bay, and pushed thesteamer from her anchors and on the
rocks, — a position from which she was only subsequently
rescued after considerable damage. The deer were mean-
while landed on the broken slob-ice with the result that they
scattered in every direction, some even disappearing over
the horizon seaward and many falling into the water
between the large pans of ice. The Lapp herders at once led
ashore some of the more sedate beasts with bells around
their necks, and tethered them at varying distances along
the coast, as lures to the others. This ruse proved most
successful, and by an accurate count made at a round-up
three weeks later, every one of the three hundred was found |
in the herd. Lieutenant W. G. Lindsay of Cork, Ireland,
who had had some experience in Mexico ranching, has been
in charge of this experiment from that time.

The deer at once took kindly to their new environment,
being allowed to run wild all day, though brought in near
camp every night. Each day two herders, with dogs, fol-
lowed the wandering herd and brought them nearly to the
same place in the evening. The deer never wandered far;
on two or three occasions a single individual was missing
and got perhaps as far as twenty miles away, but straying
never presented any serious trouble. More serious at first

REINDEER FOR LABRADOR 265

were two successive glitters, or sharp thaws followed by
frost, which covered the snow with a hard ice coat and made
it difficult for the deer to dig down to their food. In spite,
however, of all difficulties and the long voyage, they
steadily gained in weight, and so far as we can tell, not
one of the pregnant does lost her fawn.

On the following pages is the expense account of the
enterprise : —

266 Lae LABRADOR

FRANCIS H. WOOD IN ACCOUNT

Dr,

To Cash per Mr. Peters : e ° cue ys «/ LARS or
«i Me Reed, of Boston |, oa te Weal
a Seas Brodribb : 4 5 20 0.0
‘« Sundry Contributions per “Toilers of the Deep eo: : 3 iL 6
‘* Interest on Deposit ? 3 Orr 9
‘““ Cash Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company, sale _

of 50 deer . : 2 513° 19 2
“Cash Anglo-Newfoundland Mevclopaicnt Gomes sale

of 4dogs . Z 510 0
“ Cash Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company, re-

payment advance of wages to Lapp Families . 5 32 in 6
“ Rebate on Insurance (see contra) . : 5 . 76 19 O

[ney 2
uo] &
IOV]

we
CA Met o ee

REINDEER FOR LABRADOR 267

WITH REINDEER FUND

PURCHASE ACCOUNT cr,

By Cost of 300 Reindeer, as
per contract with Israel

Mella. 3 5 .- Kr. » 93375
““ Cost of moss, as per con-
tract: . Kr. 6,000

Cost of 8 Tapp dogs for

herding deer, as per

contract : : Kr. 200
Allowance for providing

yard at Bugten and

herding deer between

November 25th and

30th, as per contract. Kr. 500
Payment to Agent for as-

sistance in making con-

tract and superintend-

ing shipment, etc. . Kr. 1,800

Kr. 17,875 = £982 2 10
“ F. H. Wood’s travelling expenses to

Norway to purchase deer, etc. : 50 0 O= £1032 210=
SHIPMENT AND EMBARKATION re
EXPENSES ae

By cost of feeding deer from November
_ 30th to December 12th while wait-
ing for ship, extra for fittings, and
sundry expenses connected with em-

barkation, telegrams, and postages . 206 11 1
“ Payment to owners of Anita for

freight : 1,700 O O
“Present of 2/- a Thead to Captain for

each deer landed alive . . 30 0 O

““ Cost of insuring deer against all risks

at £8 per cent less rebate of 54/-

per cent if no claim arose (see contra) 206 16 6= £2143 77=
DISBURSEMENTS ON ACCOUNT OF an 5 per
MAINTENANCE a
By Advances made to 4 Lapland Families
on account of wages 2 Semel:

** Stores and provisions for re-sale to

Lapps, including Port Dues (£3 Is.

2d.) in London ‘ : PAB) leh
““ Balance in hand for aie ingemenne ex-
penses forwarded to Newfoundland . 260 9 11
Grand total . £3,544 18 5 = $51.49, total
See SS per head
landed St.

Anthony

268 LABRADOR

Our attempt to use the stags for rapid transit has not
been altogether successful. At hauling logs and other
weights on the boat-like ‘‘ pulkas,” or on our more adaptable
‘catamarans,’ at a walking pace they succeeded admirably,
each deer pulling as much as four or five dogs. But when
pace was the criterion of success they failed at the first.
For though they could go like the wind when they wished,
they did not often go fast when we wished, and we had to
be contented with the Lapps’ assurance that they only
needed experience. In this respect the deer have certainly
improved this second winter very considerably; but still
we have not been able to consider them as rivals in speed
to our dogs. Their timid natures seemed to make them
flurried when an excess of speed is demanded on a down
grade, and their habit of suddenly stopping ceased to be
amusing, when it would cause you, with your loaded sled,
to roll over and over with your team to the bottom of a
steep incline. I am assured, however, that this is only a
difficulty to be overcome, and my Alaskan informant, who
for many years has driven a mail train with reindeer,
assures me that it takes a reindeer stag three seasons’
work really to find himself. If, however, for any reason we
are unable to entirely replace our dogs with deer for rapid
transit, we shall proceed as we have locally, by killing off
all the worst dogs and enforcing the existing laws, which
compel all dogs roaming at large to wear a heavy clog or
carry one paw through a ring round the neck. I have
repeatedly driven my own dog-team through the herd this
winter without trouble.

On several occasions when we have tethered our beasts
at night they have either pulled adrift, or chewed through

REINDEER FOR LABRADOR 269

the skin line that held them, and so escaped. But as a
rule they have at once found the herd and returned to it,
even though it may have been feeding many miles away at
the time. At other times, certain deer have shown a pro-
pensity to select certain particular spots for grazing, and
have repeatedly left the main herd and returned to the
eround of their own selection. The main herd, as a rule,
get up and feed from daylight to about 11 a.m., then lie
down and rest until about 4 P.m., about which hour a stag
would get up and walk round restlessly. If he came too
near another, the latter would strike viciously at him with his
head, as if deploring the fact that the time had arrived for
renewed activity. He would, however, soon arise as if
under protest, and join the moving group till all the herd
was afoot. Then, without apparently any reason, it would
seem to occur to a stag that to migrate ten miles northwest
or southeast would be advantageous, and off he would go
at a staid walk, the whole herd falling in and following him
like a funeral procession.

The time for fawning came with May, and Mr. Lindsay
took the deer to highlands as free as possible of the then
treacherous brooks and lakes, which were opening beneath
the spring sun. Our herd was now reduced to two hundred
does and fifty stags, for we had sent south the fifty deer
sold to a large lumber concern, three hundred miles to the
south. These latter had all reached their destination safely
after their long march, only one stag dying after arrival.
They were to be used for carrying supplies over snow to
far-off logging camps.

As far as we could count, the does threw one hundred and
sixty-eight fawns, and of these only eight were born dead or

270 LABRADOR

perished in the brooks and thickets. We also lost two
deer by dogs during the year, and found one doe shot with
buckshot, so that exactly one year after arrival, our two
hundred and fifty numbered four hundred and five. On
one occasion at least a fawn born in April gave birth to a
fawn the following year.

All summer long the deer had chosen the high green-
covered hills close to the sea, greatly enjoying and rapidly
fattening on the salty food. They ate mostly the young
grass and new green leaves, apparently making little dis-
crimination, except that as they did not seem to use the
moss on which they must rely in winter, one might have
suggested (probably untruthfully) that they were spe-
cially saving that for consumption when nothing else
would be available.

The magnificent antlers on the older stags proved a
danger to others, and after one had been killed by a bad
wound in the side, we dehorned the rest, with the excep-
tion of their brow antlers, which we considered sufficient
to enable the deer to keep up their courage and spirit of
play. After the fawns had run six full weeks with their
mothers, that is, by the beginning of August, the herd was
driven by the dogs every day into a large corral built for
the purpose, and xity does were milked each time. While
suckling their fawns, we could not expect to get very
much milk at best from each. They gave us, however,
a pint of a very rich, creamy milk per head. This tasted
more like cow’s milk than anything I know of, and had
none of the flavour familiar to that of the goat. I have
unfortunately no analysis of its component parts with me,
but would judge it would take at least one-quarter part of
water to reduce it to the standard of cow’s milk. This be- —
ing an experimental year, beyond now and again sending a
supply round to our nearest hospital and to neighbours,
we made no attempt at a systematic distribution of it.

S80q OWTYSA poiq-sfouM

;

REINDEER FOR LABRADOR 271

The milk was, however, readily made by our Lapp herders
into a very delectable and easily digestible cream cheese.
A report direct from the herd, dated March, 1909,
states that the herd is in splendid condition: the stags
fat and sleek, the does all well, and no losses. Even those
returned in bad condition by schooner (from the lumber
camp mentioned) have picked up during a hard winter, and
appear to promise well for fawning in the spring.

By 1913 the deer numbered 1500.- They had justified
all our expectations. An epidemic of pneumonia, how-
ever, killed altogether about 100 deer this summer. “We
had. ake considerable trouble with poachers.

We applied, as a consequence, to the Neteomdlianc|
Government for a reserve in which no deer hunting might
take place. But they only saw fit to rule that no reindeer
should be killed north of the line we had hoped to fence.
Poaching became much worse, and one winter 250 were
killed just across the imaginary line. In 1916 the Cana-
dian Government undertook to take over the herd to
Canadian Labrador and pay the expenses of herding.

- In 1918 we took over 130 — 10 were killed — and 40
which we saw but could not catch were poached before
we returned. These deer were placed at Bay de Rochers
where under Captain Living of the Indian Department
they are again multiplying. With Mr. Hyclinar Steffan-
son I went to Ottawa to secure more interest in the deer
in 1920, and in 1921 our agent Mr. Wood purchased
700 deer for Mr. Steffanson and the Hudson Bay Com-
_ pany for Baffinsland, the Hudson Bay Company having
secured exclusive rights of pasturage for that island.
‘In 1921 an American Company also was formed with
Governor Riggs of Alaska and Mr. Davidson, editor of
the ‘‘Field”’ on its board. ‘They have secured rights of
pasture for East Labrador. Faith in the success ulti-
mately of the enterprise is now widespread.

CHAPTER X

THE DOGS
By W. T. GRENFELL

Human life in Labrador has been so largely dependent
on dogs that a brief chapter devoted to them is almost
essential.

The real Labrador dog is a very slightly modified wolf.
A good specimen stands two feet six inches, or even two
feet eight inches high at the shoulder, measures over six
feet six inches from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail,
and will scale a hundred pounds. The hair is thick and
straight; on the neck it may be six inches in length. The
ears are pointed and stand directly up. The appearance
generally is that of a magnified Pomeranian. The legs
look short, compared with the massive body. The eyes are
Japanese, and give the animal a foxy look about the face.
The large, bushy tail curves completely over on to the back,
and is always carried erect. The colour is generally tawny,
like that of a gray wolf, with no distinctive markings, but
a beautiful black and white breed has grown up, and fur-
nishes the handsomest dogs. The general resemblance to
wolves is so great that at Davis Inlet, where wolves come
out frequently in winter, the factor has seen his team mixed
with a pack of wolves on the beach in front of the door, and
yet could not shoot, being unable to distinguish one from

272

THE DOGS 273

the other. Settlers have succeeded in getting good skins
by pegging out a female dog in heat, and shooting the wolves
that come down after her.

The wolves themselves are larger than the dogs. They
may measure in length as much as seven feet eight inches,
from nose to tail. They are very bold; on one occasion
wolves lurked around a solitary house in Big Bay till they
had carried off the four dogs, one by one, and left only after
capturing the cat. The dogs retain these same ancestral
habits. Some summer settlers at Batteau have goats at
their small shacks. About ten miles away at Red Point
lived a hungry team of dogs. One night a goat was missing.
The crime was traced to the dogs. Men with guns waited
their return, with no result except much loss of time. The
dogs never came near the settlement by day. Yet, before
the people left, the dogs had successfully carried off every
goat without suffering any losses.

On another occasion my own leading dog, a black bitch
from Cape Chidley, ran away from the hospital in early
spring. She was seen near a neighbouring village, killing
sheep. Three had been slaughtered by her on land, and she
had driven two more out on to a rocky island, where she
swam off and slewthem. Witha long shot the sheep-owner
wounded her, and she fled into the woods, but still did not
return home. He hauled the carcass near the edge of the
woods, and sat up for her. True to her wolfish instinct,
she returned to her quarry by night, and so met her fate.

Our dogs know little or no fear, and, unlike the wolves,
will unhesitatingly attack even the largest polar bear.
On one occasion a man’s dogs, travelling along smooth sea

ice, scented a white bear and started off like the wind.
T

274 LABRADOR

They suddenly turned a point and ran right into him, so
that the traces tangled round the bear before the astonished
driver had time to unlash his gun. As soon as he could,
he cut the traces, but even in harness the dogs kept Bruin
at bay. Though the bear stood up to fight on his hind legs,
the dogs managed to get in some good bites without being
hurt. On another occasion a man brought me a specially
valued dog that a bear had squeezed. The bear had been
sighted some distance off on the ice-floe, and the dogs were
slipped to hold him up for the hunter. By the time he
arrived on the spot, they had the bear practically killed.
But two had been damaged by him, one clawed and one
squeezed.

The Labrador wolf has never been known to kill a man.
Yet on several occasions single men have fallen in with them..
One man told me that a pack followed him almost to his
own door, that they stopped when he stopped, and came:
as close as ten yards. He had no gun and no means of
defence, yet they never touched him. The Labrador dog
has much the same respect for man. He is, moreover,
affectionate and playful. You can easily make a pet of.
him, if you treat him well. He is generally harmless to
children when he is decently looked after, but a. team
of dogs together, however quiet, are never safe to strangers.
Even a single dog, if kicked about; badly fed, and left to
be worried by the neighbouring dogs every es of his ~
cannot be trusted.

The wolf will track a deer day after day til he opines
it. Again and again our trappers have seen evidence-of the
indefatigable. zeal and indomitable resolution’ of a-single
wolf. in following a caribou herd; ‘and. observers all agree

THE DOGS 215

that each time the track spells the shadow of death. A
settler told me the story of a doe caribou which, in the early
summer of 1906, he saw brought to bay on the middle of
a pond by a single wolf. The ice had thawed out, and it
was necessary for the wolf to swim off to get at the deer.
The wolf, after long hesitation in taking to the water,
which it apparently hates, swam off, fought the caribou,
and though repeatedly knocked down by her fore hoofs,
at last pulled her down.

Our dogs, taking the scent of a caribou trail, even when
in harness, will forget all discipline, and they will almost
tear a komatik and driver to pieces in their eagerness to
give chase. I have known of a team that thus ran away,
and some of them never came back. In all probability they
had been killed, for an Eskimo dog never loses his way.

The dogs very seldom perish for want of food, and then
only under circumstances of an extraordinary nature, such
as being adrift on the floe-ice. The Eskimo dog takes
kindly to the water in summer. He will go in fearlessly
after fish. When the caplin run ashore, the dogs, half
starved after the winter (like most of the other animals),
almost live in the water, eating their fill till they are like
ambulatory barrels. I have watched them patiently hunt-
ing flatfish in shallow water. They dive their heads under
water when they feel the fish wriggle under their feet.
Twice I have had half-breed dogs who would dive to the
bottom in two to two and a half fathoms of water, and bring
up stones wrapped in white paper. This accomplishment
served me well on one occasion. From the edge of the
shore ice I had shot a seal swimming in the open water.
alongside. My leading dog, which I unharnessed, dived

276 LABRADOR

to the bottom, and brought the seal to the surface by the
flipper. |

I am inclined to think the half-breed dogs are the clever-
est also in memorizing. In 1907 I was driving a distance
of seventy miles across country. The path was untravelled
for the winter, and was only a direction, not being cut and
blazed. The leading dog had been once across the previous
year with the doctor. The “going” had then been very
bad; with snow and fog, the journey had taken three days.
A large part of the journey lay across wide lakes, and then
through woods. As neither I nor my friends on the other
komatiks had been that way before, we had to leave it
to the dog. He went so quickly and so confidently that it
grew almost weird to sit behind him. Several times I called
a halt to examine the direction and leads. Without asingle
fault, as far as we knew, he took us across, and we accom-
plished the whole journey in twelve hours, including one
and a half hours for rest and lunch.

No amount of dry cold seems to affect the dogs. They
sleep out on the coldest nights, frequently choosing the most
exposed places, and apparently disdaining any shelter.
I have almost had to dig them out from new snow in the
mornings. They will stay in the water any length of time
in summer when the water is from 40 to 43° F. I have seen
a dog mistake the buoy on a net for a stick thrown by his
master. Heswam out, seized it, and tried to pull it ashore.
We went in and had tea, and when we came out again, the
dog was still pulling at the buoy. Yet, in winter, the dogs
dread the water, and it is very difficult to drive them
through it. They seem also to have an instinct telling them
when ice cannot be depended on, and it is rare that they
fall through, unless being urged on by a driver.

wee] oy} jo Avjsurepy ouL

THE DOGS Dita

In training a leader, a female is generally chosen as less
likely to be damaged by the others fighting with her, —
an accident which, at certain times, would cost a man his
life. The ideal team is a clever mother followed by a dozen
of her own pups. Mixed teams, however powerful, are
never so good. The dogs soon learn to turn at the word of
command. The whole team will sometimes learn to “turn”’
without waiting for the leader; but that is rare. The dogs
get to know their own places in a team, and, if allowed to
run loose for any cause, such as an accident or sickness, will
nearly always come and run in their places. I have had
so much trouble with a dog doing that and getting repeat-
edly run over for his pains, that I have had to lash him on
the komatik to save his life.

There can be no question that the dogs love to be driven.
They go perfectly wild with excitement when they are in
harness. The komatik must be lashed to a stump or stone,
and the line cut only when the driver is ready to go. The
team then shoots off like an arrow from a bow.

They are, of course, flesh eaters, and, by nature, purely
carnivorous, only touching meal and farinaceous foods when
compelled by dire hunger. During my years in Labrador
they have killed two children and one man, and eaten
another. In the case of the second man the evidence went
to show that he was not killed by the dogs, though his dead
body was devoured bythem. In that case (winter of 1906),
a man, his wife, and son got lost. Their bodies were found
only when the snow melted away during the following
summer. Of the owner of the dogs only the bones were
discovered. As the dogs returned in good condition after
a fortnight’s absence, all of them were shot. The other

278 LABRADOR

man killed (also in 1906) was driving home, and had badly
fed, savage dogs. He was apparently beating them,
when they fell on him and nearly tore him to pieces. Each
of the two children fell down in the midst of a pack that
had begun fighting.

The dogs will kill almost any kind of domestic animal
quite naturally. I was passing a house one day into which
an elderly lady was driving a goat. I heard a shout and
noticed my leading dog was calmly proceeding on the way,
dragging the unfortunate goat in his mouth by the hind leg.
Our traces, harness, and all fastenings are made of sealskin,
and these the dogs love to eat, but most will readily learn
not to do so. I have had dogs which would not eat their
skin shoes that we put on them to save their feet against the
cutting of the ice crust. At the same time my sealskin
whip has often been eaten, a deed which one scarcely knew
whether to attribute to bad taste or to great sagacity.

There is nothing an Eskimo dog likes more than a fight.
The moment the noise of a fight breaks the silence, every
dog in hearing will fly off at full speed to the spot and “chip
in.” Members of one team will, as a rule, stick together ;
a whole team will saunter out, and try to lure passers-by
intoamélée. As arule, however, all dogs will bite the first
to fall, and if-one has the misfortune to be thrown on his
back, it is nearly certain his fate is sealed. It is marvellous
how soon they can kill the enemy. I have known it done
in two minutes, a great fang finding a billet in the carotid
artery. I had purchased a fine dog for a leader one year,
and on the first trip left him tied with the team in harness
while I went to pay a visit. He was dead and partly eaten
when I returned.

THE DOGS 279

The natives always use great whips with a lash as long
as thirty feet. With that the driver can strike any dog
he wishes, even at full gallop. The length of the handle is
immaterial. Indeed, I have known an Eskimo kill many
partridges (or spruce grouse) by flicking them with a whip
which had no handle at all. Any good hand with a whip
will drive nails into a post with it, and will cut a hole
almost through a door-panel.

_ For endurance, few animals can equal our dogs. As I
have said before, cold seems absolutely immaterial. At
50° F. below zero, a dog will lie out on the ice and sieep
without danger of frost-bite. He may climb out of the
sea with ice forming all over his fur, but he seems not to
mind one iota. I have seen his breath freeze so over his
face that he had to rub the coating off his eyes with his paws
to enable him to see the track. I have driven him from
daylight to dark on bright spring days when a couple of
hours of such exposure would blind the unprotected eyes
of most men. I have never yet known a dog’s eyes to
suffer at all.

No dog is fed more than once a day, and one might almost
say no dog is ever given all he wants to eat. Yet a team
will, when unavoidable, go two and three days without food
on a journey, and yet show scarcely a sign of fatigue. To
feed its puppies, a dog will vomit the food it has eaten itself.

For speed and endurance it is difficult to surpass these
wonderful animals. An old friend, a Hudson’s Bay factor
at Moose Factory, in a letter describing a journey he re-
cently made with ten dogs, and nearly a thousand pounds’
weight on the komatik, says: ‘“ We covered the one hundred
and eighty miles of distance in two and a half days, and the

280 LABRADOR

dogs showed no signs of slacking when we drew up.”” With
a half-breed team of only seven dogs, I have myself travelled
seventy miles a day over a hilly country, but there were only
two hundred and fifty pounds on the komatik. On this
journey there was time allowed for midday rest for lunch
and the boiling of the kettle.

The Eskimo dog never barks. But he howls exactly
like a wolf, in sitting posture with the head upturned.
One dog will start every dog in ear-shot. This keeps a
traveller awake, and so the people have invented many
charms, one of which consists in seizing the band of your
shirt in your teeth and chewing it till the noise stops.

During twenty years we have known of no cases of hy-
datid cysts due to the dangerous form of tapeworm such
as is transmitted by dogs in Greenland. Indeed, even dis-
temper and mange are very rare among Eskimo dogs.
Though every family keeps half a dozen at least, not a single
case of hydrophobia has been known.

The great beauty of a dog-team is that it seems to banish
all conventionalities. You can go anywhere and every-
where with no roads, no hedges, no walls, no restrictions
but your own will; and that will, without rein or bridle,
you make your dog’s will. Dogs can carry you up almost
the steepest snow slope and down again in safety. They
do not slip or sink in, and if they fall over even a high cliff
in the winter, they are very rarely hurt. They seem to
understand what you say, and so form a far better com-
panion than a horse. They are automobiles which need no
handling of their machinery. They enjoy travelling almost
more than their masters enjoy it. They learn to love you
as only a dog will, and if it were not for their occasional out-

THE DOGS 281

breaks of wickedness, they would make the best of com-
panions. As it is, I know of no greater pleasure possible
than a large, strong team, a good leader, a brisk, bright
spring day, and a really long journey to go.

CHAPTER XI

THE COD AND. COD-FISHERY
By W. T. GRENFELL

LABRADOR Is as yet a land of specialized industries. The
endless problem of food and clothing has made the native
Eskimo a hunter of seals; the native Indian has preferred
the deer; the incoming whites, while importing their
flour and woven cloths, have found their good genius in the
cod. Nearly three hundred years ago it was known that
this fish was plentiful on the southern coast of the penin-
sula, and ever since the cod-fishery has been more or less
vigorously pursued on the Labrador. In former times the
herring, and always the salmon, has furnished minor parts
in the harvest from the coastal waters, but it is remarkable
that, in Newfoundland and Labrador, “fish” is a synonym
merely for cod; a local law has stated that salmon is not
fish. Other members of the Gadide family, as the hake,
_ tusk, haddock, whiting, coalfish, pollack, ling, and whiting-
pout, are absent or present in negligible quantities. A
flounder is the only noteworthy representative of the flat-
fish family. The halibut is found only in deep water, far
from shore.

For many reasons the humble cod has a just claim to
preéminence among the food-fishes. As food for man, cod

282

ee

THE COD AND COD—FISHERY 283

is the bread of the sea. He may be called the bread and
butter, for more surely than any other marine species does
he supply a food of which the white man’s palate does not
tire. His flesh is rich and gelatinous, without being fatty.
Every particle of his body is useful to man. The skin and
bones make excellent glue. The tongue and swim-bladder
are rare delicacies when well cooked, and have also been
used as raw material in the manufacture of isinglass. The
refined cod-liver oil is among the most sterling remedies
yet devised for man’s bodily weakness, which so often leads
to deadly phthisis.1_ The refuse oil may be employed for
tanning purposes; the offal is very valuable manure. In
Norway and Iceland, the dried heads have been largely used
as food for cattle. The roe is an excellent bait, and forms
a notable part of the Norwegian annual export. On
Arctic shores the well-dried bones, for lack of other material,
have been used for fuel. For curing purposes, the cod is
unsurpassed. Belonging to the Anacanthini, or spineless
fish, he can be rapidly deprived of bone and entrails without
danger to the fisherman’s hands.

A fresh codfish weighing 6.6 pounds contains as much as
5.4 pounds of water. When well cured, it will weigh 2.2
pounds, of which 16.5 ounces is nutritive matter, 4.5 ounces
is salt, and 12.5 ounces is water. Compared with fresh
beef, the nutritive value of the dried cod is as 9 to 10, and
the cost is less than one-half that of beef at average prices.
It is said that a Newfoundland fish contains more nutriment

1 Four hundred Lofoten cod give a barrel of oil, but it takes twice
as many to give a barrel of the refined, medicinal oil. The product
rotted out is called cod oil; that for drinking, cod-liver oil. About

thirty-six hundred livers of Labrador cod go to the barrel of twenty-
five gallons.

284 LABRADOR

than an equally heavy fish from the French banks. In
Europe, fresh cod is regarded as best for table use when
caught in the coldest months, December to February.
The relatively high nutritive value of the Newfoundland-
Labrador fish is probably to be explained in large part
by the fact that all the year round the sea temperatures are
at least as low as those which bring the European cod into
best condition.

The fish can be preserved in wet bulk all winter by putting
enough salt between adjacent layers to prevent them from
touching one another. It may also be preserved as dry
bulk in piles covered over and well pressed down. But
the fish may be cured by no other means whatever than by
splitting open the carcass and hanging it up in the sun to
dry. Many of the ancient, foreign names for the animal
have apparently been derived from the fact that from times
immemorial the flesh of the drying split fish has been
made tenderer by beating the carcass with clubs. The
Norwegians call the animal the “stock” (stick) fish; in
Spanish it is “‘baccalhao”’ (from Lat. baculum, a staff, rod,
or small stick); in Italian, “mazza”’ (a club); in Gaelic,
‘““oad”’ (rod). The Greeks called the fish ‘‘bacchi” (rods).
In English the name “stock-fish’”’ covers the haddock,
ling, and hake, as well as the cod. The Labrador Eskimo
always preserve cod by hard drying without salt. The
white man, of course, has devised his own methods of curing
the cod by smoking it like the salmon, or of turning it as
steaks or in boneless rolls, ready for immediate use, but the
commonest method is still that by dry salting, as 1t has been
for so many centuries. Since these many virtues as a food-
fish must be multiplied by the inconceivable numbers of

ieee LE ELE ENE Re as =

On the March

Waiting for Their Master

THE COD AND COD-—FISHERY 285

imdividuals, the title ‘King of the food-fishes”’ is justified,
even against the herring.

Hach female lays from three to nine million eggseach year,
generally in the months from February to May, inclusive.
The fish spawns rapidly. As the females are “ripening,”’
the roe or ovaries are so large that they fill the mother’s
body and actually tend to prevent her feeding. So far as
it goes, this is a fortunate protection for the species, since,
during this important period in her life, the female is thereby
less hable to be caught on a bait. The males seem to out-
number the females considerably, but the balance is main-
tained for reproduction by the fact that the roe of the aver-
age female is two or three times as heavy as the milt of the
average male.

Though the eggs contain no oil globule, they float in the
water. The milt also floats, and as its units are present
in inestimable quantities, the fertilization of the eggs,
which takes place in the open water, is insured. It is made
yet more certain by the fact that during the spawning season
the cod aggregate into immense shoals in shallow water.
This free floating is a great protection to the eggs, as they
cannot be browsed up in bulk off the bottom, like the spawn
of herring, which adheres in masses to the rocks and gravels.
The young cod grows rapidly, and in twelve months is about
sixteen inches long, and in twenty-four months is a mature
fish about twenty-four inches long. As a rule, however, it
will not breed until it is three years old. Its youth is largely
spent in eating its own brothers and sisters and cousins,
and also in escaping being eaten. The career of any indi-
vidual is apt to be a checkered one, and it is only one out of
many that succeeds ‘‘in realizing any aspirations he may

286 LABRADOR

have to a humble corner on a fishmonger’s slab.’’ During
his life he seems singularly free from diseases, but blindness
and rickets (unaccompanied by fever) have been found not
infrequently. The blindness may be due to mechanical
injuries or to exposure to too much light during the long
days of the north. Rickety fish often have humped backs.

The largest codfish of which I have record on this coast.
scaled one hundred and two pounds, and was five feet six
inches long. The record on the English coast is seventy-
eight pounds, with length of five feet eight inches; this fish
was caught in 1755,and was sold for the sum of one shilling.
The largest recorded cod on the Newfoundland Banks was
caught by Captain Stephen May in 1838; the weight, after
the fish was gutted, was one hundred and thirty-six pounds !
Another cod holds the record on the American coast;
he was caught by Captain Atwood, who found him to scale
one hundred and sixty pounds. In the Gulf of St. Lawrence
and on the east coast of Labrador, the fish are of smaller
average size than on the banks off Newfoundland and the
United States. The fish from the far north, near Cape
Chidley, are both shorter and thinner than those taken at
the Strait of Belle Isle. The average Labrador cod taken
in the trap-net is about twenty inches long, and weighs
between three and four pounds. Those caught on hook
and line in the autumn are much larger and heavier.

The monster cod once caught off Rockall and the Hebrides
in the early days of those fisheries have disappeared. Pre-
sumably they held a kind of monopoly of all food that came
along, and thus assumed the first chances in swallowing
baited hooks. It may be noted that the cod is never large —
enough to be completely free from the danger of being eaten

THE COD AND COD-FISHERY 23g

alive, for seals are quite indifferent on that point. The
cod must rarely die of old age.

The actual company enjoyed by these gregarious crea-
tures may be observed any season on the Labrador, when
the great schools of cod are feeding on the living caplin,
as the latter, themselves in countless hosts, run inshore to
feed. The water is then often literally black with cod, and
so eager are they after their food that the air over the school
is alive with fish jumping after their prey. Additional ex-
citement in the water is furnished by the dogfish, sharks,
seals, or herring-hogs, which follow the cod from interested
motives. Cartwright, in 1776, gives the following descrip-
tion of such a school : “Observing many codfish to come
close inshore, where the water was deep, I laid myself flat
on the rock, took a caplin by the tail, and held it in the
water in expectation that a cod would take it out of my
fingers. Nor was I disappointed, for almost immediately
a fish struck at it and seized it. And no sooner had one
snatched away the caplin than another sprang out of the
water, and actually caught a slight hold of my finger and
thumb. Had I dipped my hand in the water, I am con-
vinced they would soon have made me repent of my folly,
for they are a very greedy, bold fish.” A similar sight was
presented at one point on the coast last year (1908), good
sizable fish jumping out of the water after bait and landing
on the rocks, so that they were actually taken without
any trouble beyond that of picking them up.

Fortunately for themselves and for the world, they are
gifted with the most extraordinary digestive powers; they
certainly do their honest best to convert everything that
comes into their way into that which will ultimately benefit

288 LABRADOR

mankind. I have myself taken three small cod and twenty-
seven caplin from the stomach of one postprandial fish
and have seen an excellent gold ring taken from the stomach
of another. A book in three volumes was taken from the
stomach of a codfish off Lynn, England, and presented to
the vice-chancellor of Cambridge University. Scissors,
oil-cans, old boots, testify to the catholicity of the cod’s
appetite. Captain Hill, who lost his keys over the side in
the North Sea, had them returned to him from the inside of
a codfish. Two full-grown ducks have been found in a
cod’s stomach; the birds were quite fresh, and had appar-
ently been swallowed alive. An entire partridge, a whole
hare, six (small) dogfish, an entire turnip, a guillemot
(beak, claws, and all), a tallow candle, have all betrayed
the omnivorous leanings of some of our friends. But per-
haps their devotion to business is best shown by the number
of stones taken from their interiors and merely swallowed
for the sake of the corallines which had grown on the stones.
Lobsters, crabs, whelk shells, and the like, swallowed aw
naturelle do not seem to require any special digestive pre-
cautions. A Newfoundland fisherman had the melancholy
duty of forwarding a wedding-ring found in a cod’s stomach
to the family of a lady who was lost off the Newfoundland
coast in the steamship Anglo-Saxon.

The question whether there is any diminution in the
supply of the cod on the Labrador is an interesting and
important one. If it be granted that there is such diminu-
tion, it is still an open question whether man has been re-
sponsible for the change. All the millions of fish taken
annually out of these waters must represent but an ex-
tremely minute fraction of the total “run” along the

The Sea of Ice

Newfoundland Schooners working North

THE COD AND COD-—FISHERY 289

thousand miles of coast. It is conceivable that the codfish
host is so evenly balanced against the host of its natural
sea-water enemies that even the small human inroad on
the numbers, especially on the numbers of females, may in
time produce a sensible thinning out of the shoals. But
we have as yet no good proof that this is the case. The
fish are protected from man by the long winter months;
from November to June, or even July, they are safe from
that enemy at least, for the ice shuts man out from the sea.
Those places where the largest catches were made years
ago are still usually the best berths, e.g. Griffin’s Harbour.
That fact seems significant, for, in some measure like the
salmon, the cod is a local fish and tends to return, year after
year, to the section of the coast where he was born. It
follows, therefore, that, if man were causing a diminution
in the numbers of the cod, the best berths of former times
would be less likely to be the best berths now. Though the
herring and mackerel have largely disappeared from the
Labrador coast during the last half century, they have
certainly not been exterminated by fishermen. The
quantities taken of these two fish have been far too small
to effect that result. The ancient fishery off Yarmouth,
England, has taken ten thousand times more herring than
have ever been captured on the Labrador, yet the annual
taking off the English coast is still remarkable.

However, the majority of Labrador fishermen think that
the cod are diminishing in numbers along the whole coast.
They refer to the partial or complete abandonment of the
northern summer stations at Windsor Harbour, Fanny’s
Harbour, Aillik, Long Tickle, ete., where the industry once
flourished. Other arguments run to the effect that the

U

290 LABRADOR

Jersey and American firms who, years ago, conducted large
operations on the coast, had to give them up, owing to the
scarcity of fish; that well-off families have fallen into pov-
erty and want, and that many have left thecoast; that float-
ing craft have to keep going farther and farther afield;
that large bays, which attracted settlers on account of the
local abundance of cod, are now deserted; that some places
along the Labrador fail every year nowadays; that, not-
withstanding the large mesh now compelled by government,
the fish taken are now of smaller average size than formerly ;
that the catch is not proportionate to the increased outfit ;
and that the bank fisheries have been depleted both abso-
lutely and relatively. The pessimists argue further that
the cod-fishery runs risk of approaching the failures recorded
for the lobster, salmon, seal, and even the trout, all of which
have been signally depleted by man; the whales and whalers
are steadily diminishing. Walrus has been banished from
the Labrador. All along the Labrador there are bullies
and fishing-boats, once in regular use, now lying up and
rotting on the shore.

That the government once leaned to this view was shown
by the establishment of a codfish hatchery in Newfound-
land, not for biological experiment, but for hatching young
fish for restocking the bays. Subsequently, under Sir
William Whiteway, the hatchery was closed down. Some
fishermen thought the plan a success; others thought it a
failure.

In judging the case, the obvious precaution must be taken
that too much reliance be not placed on the testimony of
a few individual captains; as the number of men and
amount of capital engaged in the industry increase, the

THE COD AND COD—-FISHERY 291

chances of failure of cargo for the single schooner are in-
creased. There are simply not enough “best berths”
to go round when the list of schooners increases beyond
a certain point. Quite independently of man’s interfer-
ence, the harvests of the sea, like those on the land, may
naturally swing in cycles. So long ago as 1775 there was a
complete failure of the cod-fishery along the north side of
Belle Isle Strait; yet this latest year (1908) the “crop”
has been unusually good. It may well be that the inshore
fishing is now in a period of relatively lean years, to be
followed by a period of fat years, — the whole swing of the
industrial pendulum being utterly uncontrolled by the
relatively insignificant takings of the summer fleet on the
Labrador. Neither science nor the practical industry
has yet obtained sufficient knowledge of the sea to declare
the whole law which governs the annual, much less the
age-to-age, swelling or recession of the finny flood.

In any event the cod seem to be as plentiful as ever in
deep water. The use of long lines by banking vessels along
the Labrador is growing steadily in importance. The
failure of many a schooner to find cargo may be due to the
fact that the trap-net is the only method of capture em-
ployed. The deepest water in which I have seen traps
set is eighteen fathoms. If for any reason the fish, though
as plentiful as ever, do not come right home to the rocks,
the captain outfitted with trap-net only might wrongly
report on this question of a possible diminution in the
numbers of the cod in Labrador seas.

One important cause governing the nearness of the
approach of the cod in any year to the actual coast-line is
undoubtedly the temperature of the water. This may

292 LABRADOR

affect the fish directly, or may control the distribution
of the other animals on which he feeds, thus affecting the
cod himself indirectly. The cod will not feed in water
under 34° F. He prefers temperatures ranging between
35° F. and 42° F. On the cod-bearing Norwegian waters
the hottest month is August, when the surface of the sea
averages 43.5° F. (12.8°C.); ten fathoms down it averages
41.9° F. (11° C.), and twenty fathoms from the surface,
37° F. (5.6° C.). The coldest month is February, when the
averages are: surface, 32° F. (0° C.); at ten fathoms, 33.8°
F. (1.25° C.); at twenty fathoms, 36.5° F. (2.5°C.). From
the few observations I have taken of the Labrador, the
average surface temperature in summer varies from 40°
to 45 °F. In the summer of 1900, Mr. R. A. Daly of the
Brown-Harvard expedition made some serial readings of
the temperatures in the coastal waters on days when abun-
dant cod could be taken from the schooner on which
the temperatures were determined. Two carefully cali-
brated thermometers gave accordant results. A few ex-
amples of the serial readings may be of interest as showing
how very cold may be the water in which the cod appears
to thrive. The tables also indicate the density of the
water as collected in a “Mill” bottle at various depths.
The rapid changes of temperature and of salinity in a few
fathoms are noteworthy.

First SERIES

At anchor, three and one-half miles west of Cape Pomi-
adluk, Labrador; 8 p.m., July 31. Air temperature,
LSC Roe onan,

THE COD AND COD-—FISHERY 293

TEMPERATURE, f
SpEeciIFIC GRAVITY AT

DertH IN FATHOMS MESS VIE,

Cent. Fahr.
Surface 7.0° 44.6° 1.01965
1 5.7 ADI 1.02045
Y 5.5 41.9 1.02060
3 5.3 41.5 1.02065
4 2.1 35.9 1.02220
5 A SPT 1.02355
6.5 (bottom) B 32.5 1.02390

SECOND SERIES

At anchor in Summer’s Cove, Aillik Bay; noon, August
4. Many cod jigged, at all depths from three to ten fathoms.

TEMPERATURE, t
SPECIFIC GRAVITY AT

’ * DepTH IN FaTHOMS TEMPERATURE ¢

Cent. : Fahr.
Surface 6.2° 43.1° 1.01980
1 Dyed AD 1.01980
Z 3.5 38.3 1.02070
3 8.2 37.0 1.02125
4 1.2 34.2 1.02285
a 5 32.9 1.02355
6 3 32.5 1.02375
7 fi BVA 1.02385
8 =e Sher 1.02420
9 — 2 lee 1.02450
10 — 3 Bey 1.02485
11 — .o+ 31.4 1.02490
12 = 5) Set 1.02495

13 (bottom) — .55 31.0 _ 1.02510

294 LABRADOR

Even in late summer the temperature of the water
in the (ice-free) northern fiords remains very low. This
fact is illustrated in the groups of serial readings taken
during a visit of the same party to Nachvak Bay. One
such group is represented in a

THIRD SERIES

Locality, on rocky bar three miles east of Hudson’s
Bay Company station in Nachvak Bay and about seventeen
miles from the mouth of the fiord ; 2 p.m., September 4, 1900.
Air temperature, about 12.5° C. (44.5° F.).

TEMPERATURE, ft
SPECIFIC GRAVITY AT

DEPTH IN FATHOMS TEMPERATURE ¢

Cent. Fahr.
Surface 3.9° 39.0° 1.02380
1 3.3 37.9 1.02430
3 2.2 36.0 1.02510
9) oO 32.9 1.02595 ~
10 A 32.0 1.02600
143 3) 32.0 1.02620

From these (hitherto unpublished) observations obtained
in 1900, it appears that the water of the northern fiords,
at depths greater than about twenty fathoms, never rises
sensibly above the freezing-point of fresh water.

There is little doubt that the cod does not travel far in
its annual migration. After spawning, the school simply
moves out into deeper water on the slopes of the con-
tinental plateau or on the Grand Banks. There in depths
of from eighteen to seventy fathoms they browse about.

THE COD AND COD-FISHERY 295

Though this fish prefers such a range of depth, it may be
trapped in water as shallow as two fathoms or as deep as
three hundred fathoms. To the most favoured depths the
animal retires after the spawning season, which is also that
of optimum temperature along the immediate Labrador
shore, has been passed. In rhythmic fashion the cod
returns each year to its birthplace with the shoal, and
haunts the same neighbourhood throughout its short season
of inshore life.

NortH DURATION OF

Ween Locairy ARRIVAL CLos& oF FISHERY |" isuery

51° 30’ | Cape Bauld June 20 October 20 122 days
52° Chateau Bay June 20 October 1 102 days
53° 24’ | Batteau July 12 October 1 80 days
54° 26’ | Indian Harbour | July 15 October 1 78 days
54° 56’ | Cape Harrison | July 18 October 1 75 days
55° 27’ | Hopedale July 20 October 1 73 days
55° 52’ | Davis Inlet July 28 October 1 65 days
a6- 0 | Nain July 28 October 1 65 days
bye ra0! |) Okkak July 28 October 1 65 days
58° 30’ | Hebron August 15 | September 15 32 days

The shoal arrives on the coast about a week later for
every degree of latitude farther north. But, as codfish
are spread over the whole coast of over a thousand miles
simultaneously during August and September, the later
arrival in the north cannot be due to a south-to-north move-
ment of the same individual fish in a single shoal. The
first fish at St. Anthony (on the Treaty shore of Newfound-
land) appear about May 25; those at Cartwright, about
July 25. In Europe the advance-guard reach the Nor-

296 LABRADOR

wegian coast in January, host following host in a north-
easterly direction. Sometimes they are delayed by the
coldness of the season, and may then not run in until March.
Professor Hind has prepared the preceding table of arrival
and departure in average years at different latitudes on the
Labrador. It may be noted that the cod of the western
Atlantic coast ranges from Cape Hatteras to the Gulf of
Boothnia in lat. 75° north.

The smaller fish leave the shore first; the jae ones re-
main on the near banks till well into November, when they
withdraw into deeper water. Buffon said they retired to
the polar seas, but it seems impossible that they go very
far. Some Labrador cod are known to winter on the Grand
Banks, as some with Frenchmen’s banking hooks sticking
in their mouths have been captured by the Labrador crews.

As cod began to show real or apparent failure on the New-
foundland coast, and then on the Grand Banks, the great
fleet of fishing vessels began to turn its bows northward.
First, a few venturesome fishermen crossed the Strait of
Belle Isle without having wetted a line or net, and risked
their summer’s catch off the Labrador coast. These early
pioneers were richly rewarded, and others soon followed
in their wake. As it became imperative for more and more
families to seek.a living from Labrador, many, who had no
means of obtaining schooners of their own, managed to
find their way north as “freighters,” with their more
fortunate brethren. Arrived on the Labrador, a family
of “freighters” builds a rude summer “tilt” at some spot
suggested by their previous experience, and then fish from
the land in small boats, returning in the same way in the |
autumn. Thus commenced the great exodus of men,

THE COD AND COD—FISHERY 997

women, and children that every year starts for Labrador
from Newfoundland as soon as the ice of winter breaks up
and the journey becomes possible. At length these so-
called summer settlers pushed as far north as Cape Harri-
gan, and the floaters as far as Cape Chidley. Of late years,
however, an ebb tide has set in, and more fish is taken in
the Straits and along the southern shore than in the north,
and many of the northern summer settlements have been
abandoned.

On first consideration the Labrador voyage does not
sound particularly enterprising. But there are features
about it which are not immediately apparent. The
entire living of these pioneers depends on the fishery, for
the fur catching in Newfoundland is almost a negligible
quantity as far as most of the men are concerned. Only
of late years has enough work at the Sydney (Nova Scotia)
mines or steel works, or at the iron mines on Bell Island,
Newfoundland, been available, in case a family is left with
nothing for the winter. Even that is not open to all.
Labradormen have only one string to their bows, so that
the daily increasing anxiety from not finding fish as the
summer wears away tells heavily on the skipper. I re-
member one poor fellow tying an anchor round his neck
and jumping over the side of the schooner in the night.
He came up with the cable in the morning.

The mainstay of many of these men to-day, especially
the southern men, is the little plot of land at home, which
is attended by the aged or by those incapacitated and able
to be spared from the long Labrador voyage. On this
home patch they grow enough potatoes, cabbages, and
turnips to “put them through the winter,” if only a hand-

298 LABRADOR

ful or two of flour is available. Most of the homesteads
also have a few sheep, and possibly a cow as well. Most of
the fishermen spin their own wool, and make their own
boots from the skins of their cattle and of seals which they
tan in their net barking pots. They have thus no fear of
utter destitution.

Still, I have seen many of these people showing in the
spring all the signs of meagre diet through the long winter
months. Unfortunately, to keep a cow or garden is practi-
cally impossible in the north, owing to the numbers of dogs
used on the coast. Moreover, when the whole family has to
leave for Labrador and the home must be closed, unless
a neighbour can be found to look after things, the supplies
from the tiny “farm” are necessarily cut off.

The schooners in the financial reach of most of the men
are home-made products of soft wood, 7.e. spruce and fir
cut from their own bays, and mostly only iron-fastened.
The vessels are often very small and also cheaply found in
the most necessary of all their outfit, the holding gear.
They have to carry such quantities of fishing gear that they
are very crowded on deck, as well as below. The crew
need so many boats that throughout most of the long
voyage the small schooner will have to tow one or two be-
hind. This necessity very considerably impairs the sea-
going quality of the schooner. Thesalt nets and puncheons
for oil are bulky; spare canvas and gear, if the crew is
fortunate enough to be able to afford any, fill much of the
remaining space. When, therefore, the time comes to take
in “freighters,” men, women, and children, with all their
personal and fishery outfit as well, it is little wonder that
the dangers and discomforts are greatly increased.

THE COD AND COD-—FISHERY 299

Many times I have seen these vessels with the space
below decks divided only by chalk marks on the inner
lining of the hold, to indicate the few feet allotted to each
crew and family. The separation of sexes and privacy
for women is inadequate at best, and frequently to all
intents and purposes absent. I have attended confinements
and almost every kind of sickness in these vessels where one
could scarcely standup. Ihave seen suffering aboard them
that I trust none of my own kith and kin will ever have to
experience. The natural, simple kindness of the fishermen
surely stands them in good stead. The fact that crowds
of women and children are battened down in the holds of
these vessels in rough weather is too suggestive to need
detailed description. The carrying of single girls on these
vessels has led to many troubles also, and I have never
ceased to deplore the carrying of females as part of the crews
of fishing vessels that are months away from home and
civilization. It is a matter of profound gratitude that the
opening up of other work is lessening the necessity for it,
but it should long ago have been made illegal.

The freighters are often so close to the decks and beams
that it is impossible even to sit up without care. When
the weather is rough, the hatches must be closed, and then
no daylight can get below. Meanwhile the “lumber”
makes it impossible to get about on deck in a breeze to
handle the vessel. Such schooners, therefore, have to pick
their way along the shore, “keep inside all the runs,” and
always, if possible, get an anchorage at night. This be-
comes doubly essential on the return voyage in the autumn,
when the sudden storms sweep down off the high land and
the proverbial gales of the “roaring forties” make it hard

300 LABRADOR

for even well-found craft of that tonnage to live through
them.

Owing to the method of fishing, it is of paramount im-
portance to secure a good place for the trap-net. A fisher-
man may have built a summer house and stage, have left
boats and gear and salt on the coast, and yet if he comes
down a day after another man, he may find his trap-net
berths already seized by the crew of some schooner an-
chored near. The late comer may, therefore, after all,
have little chance of getting a cargo or “voyage.” He has
usually no chance of going elsewhere to look for one. Fish
“sets in shore” as soon as the ice opens, possibly even
before. “Snapper” men will be able, by going early, to
run home with a ‘‘voyage”’ from the southernmost section
of the coast, and get down in time for another in the far
north, before it is too late for fish. The result is that the
rush north commences long before the ice is gone, and craft
are everywhere pushing north through lanes and leads in
the ice, taking incalculable risks which occasionally end
in disaster. The admirable skill and magnificent handling
of their vessels succeed in averting accidents to a degree
which surprises one the more he is familiar with the in-
cidents of such a journey.

As if these were not sufficient troubles, the heavy fogs
which do prevail at times off the Labrador coast are most
common in the spring of the year, and not a single pre-
caution in the way of a warning bell or fog-horn has yet
been placed to help the schooners from one end of Labrador
to the other, except the Canadian station at Point Amour,
sixty miles up the Strait of Belle Isle, where there is a steam
fog-horn. Until two years ago, not a single light of any

THE COD AND COD-FISHERY 301

kind whatever existed along this same area, and now only
two small lighthouses on dark, wintry nights serve to guide
these fisherfolk along more than one thousand miles of coast.
This fact becomes more significant when one remembers
that most of the craft are, as has been stated, obliged to
run along the reefs and islands, and are not able to keep to
the open sea and run home “on the outside.” The average
mariner would consider that at least a good chart of the
journey on which the vessels were bound was a prime es-
sential, without which no one would be likely to venture.
But regretfully we must add that no such thing exists.
The present survey is so imperfect that in many places only
dotted outlines indicate the actual shore-line, while many
shoals and hidden dangers are either inaccurately placed
or not marked at all.

Fortunately, the tides of the southern part of Labrador
are, aS far as navigation goes, practically unimportant,
though they are often, and more especially with northwest
to northeast winds, too strong for the big nets.

The rise and fall of the tide is about six feet as far as
Cape Harrigan. But as Cape Chidley is neared, the tides
grow stronger and rise higher, till in Hudson Strait they
rise thirty-five to forty feet, and run six to eight knots an
hour. Boiling whirlpools and eddies seethe in the current
of Gray Straits, and navigation in a schooner is, even at
best, both difficult and dangerous.

In view of all the dangers, one must feel proud of this
crowd of emigrant fisherfolk,— proud of their physical
courage, their self-reliant resourcefulness, of that big heart
which makes them willing to ‘venture out” early each
summer.

302 LABRADOR

Progress in methods of catching the fish more quickly
and safely, and with less personal exposure, has also marked
the lapse of the years, though the primeval hand-line and
hook is still the only gear to which many of the poorer men
can attain. A hook-and-line man with work and tolerable
fortune should catch an average of fifty quintals a year.
As he has practically no expense but the purchase of salt,
his average catch, along with his other possible sources of
revenue, will afford a living. He has less anxiety as he
has no valuable nets to lose, — for which many mortgage
all they possess and then lose the nets. He is certain never
to make an absolute blank, and he has considerably more
time for other work. But he can never nowadays get
“rich” in worldly possessions, and therefore nearly all aspire
to “get twine,” if they can.

The main difficulty with hook-and-line fishing is the
difficulty of obtaining bait. Caplin are excellent bait,
but when they are plentiful, cod can feed on live ones, and,
being glutted, do not take the hook well. When cod are
plentiful still on the banks, the caplin have left the fishing
grounds. Lance, a fish like a small eel, have to be hauled
at the bottoms of inlets far from the fishing grounds, and
even then are not always obtainable. Crews of men have
to spend all day rowing to get enough to supply the com-
bined crews that have spared a man apiece to send them.
Most bait, to be of service, must be quite fresh. The enter-
prising Captain Bartlett of Turnavik, Mr. Croucher at
Battle, Mr. Grant at Blane Sablon, now use small steamers
for no other purpose than to get bait and carry fish and
salt. Squids are seldom obtainable in Labrador. But
some men have barrels of salt squids sent down. They

THE COD AND COD-FISHERY 303

are useful, but not the best, and cost the fishermen fifteen
to fifty cents per hundred. They are tough, and hold well
on a hook. Mussels would be used if they would hold on
the hooks. Bits of sea-gulls that the men shoot for the
purpose are also employed. Even artificial bait has been
tried with modified success, — rubber fish with hooks at-
tached. Little net bags enclosing baits of mussels and
gelatine — an invention of Mr. John Hayward — have been
used with some success.

But the bait question is ever the hook-and-liner’s worst
difficulty. The tendency is to give up the puzzle and use
what is known as a jigger, a piece of lead the shape of a
fish, with two enormous hooks projecting from the bottom.
This is “jigged” up and down about a fathom from the
bottom, andsometimes hooks fish very quickly. Itnaturally
sticks into the fish anywhere it strikes him, and the result
is that many fish get away with bellies ripped open, eyes
pulled out, etc. The shoals seem to follow these injured
fish off the ground, though rather for the purpose of eating
them than from fear of a similar fate. In some districts
the use of the jigger is forbidden, as it is believed to be
detrimental to the fishery.

The first advance in methods seems to have been putting
more than one hook on a line, till the present system of long
lines, called “bultows” or “‘trawls,” with as many as three
thousand hooks on a line, was developed. Lines up to seven
miles in length have been used. ‘This is still a very favour-
ite method, and is practically within reach of the poorest.
Many large cargoes are now “made” on the inshore grounds
in this way, as they have been made for many years on the
Grand Banks far out at sea. But even this method has its

304 LABRADOR

drawbacks. It involves both great risks and great per-
sonal exposure. It allows so many wounded fish to escape
that it is prohibited altogether along many sections of the
coast. This prohibition is accomplished by getting local
laws sanctioned by the Legislature and included in the
annual ‘“‘ Fishery Laws.”’ In one place it was enforced by the
residents at the end of their long guns; as they say, “ As well
be hung as starve.”’ Oddly enough, at the opposite side
of the sandy beach where they live, hand-lining has been
ruined by west-coast boats with bultows, and the people
who live there have, in consequence, fallen on very evil
times.

For this purpose the bottom beam and other trawls of
the old country were found useless. Quite recently the
enterprising firm of Bowring Brothers purchased a modern
steam trawler, and tried all around the coast and islands,
but met with so little success that the attempt has been
abandoned. Gill-nets, which came next, are but little
used for cod. Cod seem ordinarily too lazy in disposition
even to put their heads hard enough into a mesh to be
caught. This is, of course, very unlike the more agile
salmon and trout. The large-mesh cod net, however,
anchored on the bottom, still has itsadvocates, and at times
many cod become entangled in the leaders of the trap-nets.

The advent of the large seine-nets marked a very material
advance in the rapidity with which the fish could be taken,
and it is still at certain times and places the most success-
ful method known. The net itself is an expensive affair.
It is on an average eighty feet deep and over seven hundred
feet in length. It has corks on the top to keep its upper
end on the surface and leads on the bottom to keep the

Weg surysjyeod smog Bulysi4

és.

THE COD AND COD—FISHERY 305

foot down. It needs a great deal of rope to work it, and,
as arule, a large crew of men. On an average, such a net
contains five hundred pounds of twine, and costs, ready to
go into the water, about $500. The crew of the long,
specially constructed boat numbers seven men, one of whom
is the “seine master’; he directs the oarsmen, himself
standing up forward on the lookout for shoals of fish.
This net can be used only in more or less shallow water,
where tides are slack and where the bottom is smooth and
perfectly sandy. The purse-seine, a variety which can be
pulled together into a bag below, and so fished far from
land in deep water, is not used on our coast. To enable
the master to see fish in ten fathoms of water, he uses a
“fish glass,’ a metal funnel with a plain glass bottom, which
he pushes down below the ruffled surface of the sea. An
advantage of the purse-seine net is that the fisherman
pursues the fish with it,instead of waiting for them to come
to him. It satisfies also the mind restless to be hunting
and working, rather than, like the lazy spider, merely
sitting down and taking the chance of the prey coming
voluntarily along.

The latest contrivance, however, and the one now gener-
ally used, is called a cod trap. It is practically nothing
but a large room with walls and floor of twine, and the sur-
face of the sea for a roof. It has a door on the landward,
into the middle of which passes an upright net partition,
called a leader. The leader is made to the land or rocks
along which the fish are wont to swim and feed in their
great shoals. When the room or trap is seen by the crew
in the boat overhead to contain fish, the doors are pulled
up,and then the floor is passed over the boat till all the fish

x

306 LABRADOR

can be baled out with large dippers. In this way as many
as one hundred quintals of fish have on many occasions
been caught at one haul, so that a whole year’s wages can
be easily earned if there is one fortnight’s good trapping
in the year. Nevertheless, as fish do not go to every point
every year, some fishermen who rely entirely on their traps
will sometimes make an absolute blank of it. The trap
is, Moreover, exceedingly expensive, with its strong ropes,
heavy anchors, and immense weight of twine. A good one
costs between $300 and $400, containing three hundred and
fifty to five hundred pounds of twine. It is about three hun-
dred and fifty feet in circumference, eighty feet deep, and —
may need a leader from fifty to sixty fathoms long. In
shallow waters, as in the Straits of Belle Isle, the trap may
be only thirty feet deep. Being very heavy and unwieldy,
it is often an impossible task to take it up in time to avoid
bad weather, or quickly enough to save it from driving ice.
The result is that in the sudden storms to which the coast
is lable, great losses occur. Honest men are suddenly
thrown into hopeless debt, as they have had to raise the
net on credit, and perhaps their sole method of getting
a voyage is lost in a moment. |

The old two-handed jacks, or bully boats, which, in the
autumn months, used to venture far off from the land with
hand-lines, now lie rotting on the rocks at all the harbours
on the coast. The fishery is developing into a great gamble.
A man casts all he has and all he can borrow on a single
issue. At times it renders him a magnificent and rapid
return. If the fish come to his trap he obtains a sudden
wealth, whereas if the fish do not come he goes home a
broken man.

THE COD AND COD-FISHERY 307

In many cases the merchants and traders own traps, and
the crew operating the trap take, as their share, one-half
or three-quarters of the first caught. Some traders give
even four-fifths of the catch to the planter who works the
trap for them. But the latter is expected to turn in all the
fish he catches to the man who supplies the net, and to
purchase all his stores from him also. That is, he will be
really paid in kind, and a balance due him will be carried
over on the books more often than paid in cash. This,
however, has changed for the better in late years, and the
payment of cash balances is becoming more common year
by year.

When the fish is actually landed on the stages, it is still
far from becoming cash, and it runs all sorts of risks and
dangers before it gets to market. Originally all Labrador
fish went to St. John’s for exportation; to-day much of it
is exported direct. We have as yet no cold-storage traffic.

The fish is cured systematically. A table with notches
in suitable places is fixed in a covered stage running out
over the sea. To this a removable front with supports is
added each spring after the ice goes, and taken in during the
autumn. A shoot on the right hand of the splitter through
this temporary part of the stage carries the offal, consisting
of the head and entrails, into the water below. The boat
ties to the front of the stage, and the fish are picked up with
“pews”’ and thrown upon the pounds built up on the top.
One person, usually a woman or child, picks up the fish
and puts them on the table to the right of the “header”
and the “throater,”’ who stands on the side of the table
near the sea. The throat is cut with one hand, while the
other hand passes the carcass to the header, who tears off

308 LABRADOR

the head, scoops out the entrails, and rapidly passes on the
body to the splitter. The splitter sits or leans standing
on the opposite side, and keeps the stream of fish running
on in the same way, the good portion falling into a large
tub of water, the bones falling out through the shoot.
Meanwhile, a washer stirs the tub and removes the washed
bodies. ‘These he wheels off and piles up in rows, the salter
following along with a barrow of salt. With a wooden
shovel the salter shakes over the rows the amount of salt
appropriate to the market for which the fish is destined.
To save salt, men sometimes throw the fish bodies into tubs
of pickle, making the pickle strong enough for a raw potato
to float in it. It takes about one pound of salt to salt
a pound and a half of cod. Washing out again takes one
minute per fish. Salt wastes in bulk when stored, and
there is a constant anxiety lest too much salt should be
stored, or, far worse, there should not be enough salt to meet
a sudden big catch of fish. This has often been the case,
and I have seen many a quintal spoil and nets full of fish
not being hauled because no salt was obtainable.

To dry, fish needs sun and a proper set of the wind. The
actual work of catching is not over till late in the year, and
at that time the right combination of a westerly wind and
a bright, not too hot sun does not come very often. The
least rain, fog, or frost makes both drying and shipping
impossible. While awaiting a clear day, the fish may be
quickly stacked under shelter, or at least turned face down
in small ‘‘yaffles,” or bundles. The fish’s own thick skin
is a fair waterproof cover. Birch rinds, and even canvas
bags, are used by some of the more enterprising men. Fish
that gets wet once or twice never dries really white, especially

THE COD AND COD-—FISHERY 309

around the edges. Hot sun also spoils fish very quickly;
sunburnt fish turns black and slimy. This, however, is
not so likely to happen in the bracing climate which, in that
respect at least, is adapted to the fisherman’s needs. The
most interesting and skilled part of the curing process is the
splitting of the fish, the removal of the backbone. Women
may cut off the head and take out the entrails. They also
wash out and even salt the bulks, but a really smart split-
ter is always the best man on a ‘“‘room” or a vessel.
Good men have been said each to split a hundred quintal
between morning and evening; that is, have cut out the
spine, from head to tail, of ten thousand cod in one day.
Moreover, the bone must be all neatly removed, and the
flesh must not be injured. I have timed a good splitter who
finished fourteen fish in a minute, whereas I myself took
nearly a minute to a fish, and then did it poorly.

The method of paying fishermen in Labrador has been,
as in Newfoundland, almost entirely a barter system.
The merchant fits out all “planters,’’ who really carry on
the fishery. In return, he expects all the fish caught.
He then gives him a “winter’s diet’’ out of the proceeds,
if they are large enough; if not, the planters expect the
diet on credit. They do not expect to turn in money
earned in other ways towards this debt, and the law pro-
hibits money earned at the seal-fishery being stopped for
cod-fishery debts. In the spring a new outfit on credit
is called for, and thus large debts pile up, which the mer-
chants know they can never expect to collect in full, and
which the planter soon begins to consider he does not really
owe. They have been called red-letter debts.

An example may be given. In 1896 one firm of mer-

310 LABRADOR

chants trading in Labrador assigned. Their creditors found
on their books as “‘assets’”’ the debts of four hundred and
eleven souls, including women and children, people who
are among the very poorest; these people owed the firm
over $64,000. The value of these “assets” was returned
ais iil, ¢

Thus the system was wofully bad for both parties.
The fisherman, generally illiterate, was at the absolute
mercy of the merchant, and lived and died a slave and in
debt. The merchant was often ruined by bad debts.
For not only did some fisherman, imitating Ananias, only
turn in part of the catch and represent it as the whole, but
often he became hopeless and apathetic, and lost all stimu-
lus to do his best. Again, some men would temporarily
give to friends who had good credit the bulk of their catch,
in order to prevent its being absorbed in payment of their
own debt. The fish thus held back might be bartered or
sold to outside traders for goods such as tinned milk, sugar,
and such “luxuries”? which they could not hope to obtain
on credit from their own merchant. To prevent such
frauds, a kind of espionage had to be exerted, and the
catches of a suspected planter were watched as the season
progressed. Convicted planters were turned off from
their merchants and no one would take them on. Thus
resulted in the end the worst cases of poverty, — cases, to
my mind, not caused by the bad fishery, but by the bad
system.
Of late years, things have been improving, and a more
general cash basis has come into vogue, though still there
is room for improvement.

The planter himself must have men to help him, and these

THE COD AND COD—FISHERY a

he can either ship for wages, or engage on shares paid
out of the “voyage.” The pay of the shipped man has risen
to $100, and even to $130, with food for the season. For
that sum he must do everything the master tells him that
will benefit the voyage, and may be called on to work all
hours of the night and day from the first of May to the first
of November. It increases the ‘gamble’ considerably to
have all shipped men. If you ‘miss the fish” and earn
nothing, you are still liable for all wages, but if you strike
the fish, you will make very large profits. For a man is
well worth $300 in a good year. Little as their wage seems,
most of the men prefer employment under this system.
They at least will have flour and molasses for their families,
whatever happens, these wages, less advances for oil-
skins, boots, etc., being always paid in cash.

The shareman in this country usually agrees for “half
his hand.” That is, the catch is divided by the number of
men, including the owner or planter, and each shareman
gets half a share. He has no expenses except clothing.
Often the planter cannot, however, obtain men on these
terms, and is obliged to take a full-share man. These
men feed and clothe themselves and provide their own salt,
but take a full share of fish. The more men a planter
engages, the more fish he can handle and expect to catch,
but the more numerous are the shares into which the catch
must be divided. On an average, the shareman gets every
eighth fish out of the trap for himself. It has often puzzled
me how the hired man with $100, less expenses, could live,
much less feed his family; at best he can scarcely do more
than merely exist.

The following statements taken at random will illustrate

312 LABRADOR

how pitiful is the living of a hook-and-line man in a poor
year. Both men, A. B. and C. D., are well known to me
as capable and industrious. One cannot wonder that they
may be in perpetual debt to the merchant.

A. B. is a “handy man’; his wife is dead and he has
eight children, most of whom are young. His financial
year may be described in informal bookkeeping thus: — —

INCOME EXPENSES

Caught on hook and line, Nails, oakum, paint,
30 qtl. of fish at $3.20 $96.00 rope, etc. . . . . ieee
Salmon, none; easterly Hooks and line . . . 2.50

seas destroyed nets 16 bbls. flour (cheapest
Oilfrom codfish, balanced possible) . .. 2.0 s80300
against salt for fish 5 bags hard bread . . 19.00
Winter work, logging for 50 gal. molasses. . . 22.50
mill. . .. . . . '44.00 ] 12 Ib. cheapest tea . 4.80
$140.00 | 10 lb. oleomargarine . 2.00
Balance against A.B. 10.80 | 1 bbl. salt pork . . 16.00

$150.80 $150.80

A. B. had no potatoes for seed, no cabbage seed; no
money for powder, shot, caps, crockery, kerosene, matches,
boots, oilskins, clothing, house repairs, tools, bedclothes,
etc.; no luxuries, no doctor’s fees, no church expenses.

C. D. has awife, two small sons, and three small daughters,
owns no nets, shared this year in two salmon-nets with an-
other man. His account for the year stands: —

THE COD AND COD-FISHERY Blo

INCOME EXPENSES

Caught on hook and line Boat, $5; salt, $6; lines
imequivet cod . . . $38.40 and hooks, $2.50 . . $13.50

Value of oil from same at Fishing boots, $4; oil-
30f pergal. . . ) 76:00 skins oO SiS tans neaO

Share of salmon, 14 al Ge bOn) Hlouraal sy bles atmo:
Worsomroads . . . . 3.00 molasses 45 gal. at 45% 85.25

Herring, one bbl. . . . 2.00} Hard bread, $11.40; tea,
Work on lumber and at $4.00 .° =>. . 15.40

mani, . . . . 99.00 | Oleomargarine, $1; ; ica
Potatoes ald PP iis a OO Osene, G2.) see eo 00

$125.90 | Kettle, $1; matches,

Balance against C.D. . U8 thread, needles, and
(0/21 Cr nmemmreeccmnes pe 02400)
$126.65 $126.65

It will be observed that C. D. has not nearly enough fats
in his food-supply to sustain him properly even in a warm
climate. Like A. B. he lacks most of the civilized neces-
saries and luxuries of every description.

The most important change that has of late years come
over our fisheries has been the one most needed of all; that
is, the chance of obtaining remunerative work during the
long winter, when the fishery is out of the question. Now-
adays, a man who fails need not see semi-starvation and
scurvy, and even death, overtake his family before he can
again find a source of supplies. Such results of starva-
tion I have seen more than once. Pulp and lumber mills,
mines, and other industries may now afford work for
most of those who return south from Labrador before they
“freeze in” for the winter. A somewhat similar improve-

314 LABRADOR

ment has followed in Labrador itself, though trapping fur-
bearing animals is there naturally the second string to the
settler’s bow.

Few fishermen grow rich. Some, however, are able to
put by considerable sums, and there are as happy and com-
fortably provided families among our fisherfolk as can be
found among any artisan class in the world. The very
nature of the calling begets a healthy body, a simple
nature, and an easily contented mind. Unaccustomed to
luxuries, the lack of material wealth causes no vain regrets.
Inured as they are to privations, the smallest acquisition
gives pleasure. They may not aspire to have servants
under them; they are their own masters at least throughout
their working days. They have an interest in and love
for their occupation, the like of which one can scarcely
credit to a factory hand, who is always making a piece
of a complicated whole, and never finishing a job, or
can credit to a clerk on a high stool everlastingly add-
ing up figures. The men love their calling, and with
sound reason. For sheer love of it, I know several, who,
after trying Canada or the United States, have returned
eventually to their old occupation as being “a far better
job.” In what other calling are poor, working, unedu-
cated men so able to enjoy the luxury of independence, the
prize which riches might seem able to purchase for the
wealthy only, and yet to which many rich men never in
any way attain!

When the French Revolution began, the fishers of cod
on the Newfoundland-Labrador shores were already estab-
lished in their more prosaic industry. In 1812 the catch
of fish on the Labrador and French shore combined is

THE COD AND COD-FISHERY old

said to have been 29,500 hundredweight. The catch in
some of the later years may be given: —

In 1814. ‘ : : . 44,650 hundredweight
S21". : : : . 49,652 hundredweight
1323 5 : ‘ . 40,399 hundredweight
1824. 5 : : . 42,240 hundredweight

In 1845 two hundred vessels from Newfoundland, mostly
from Conception Bay, went to Labrador; they are reported
to have employed five thousand men. In 1851 it was
estimated that seven hundred vessels went to the Labra-
dor from Newfoundland, carrying from ten to fifteen thou-
sand men; their catch was computed to be between one
hundred and sixty thousand and one hundred and eighty
thousand hundredweight. Harvey states that in 1880
from one thousand to twelve hundred schooners carrying
over thirty thousand people went to Labrador; of these
about one hundred vessels were from Canada.

Prior to 1860 no accurate account was kept as to the
annual takings in Labrador. The trade report issued by
His Excellency, Sir William MacGregor, in 1906, states that
for the thirty years preceding the average annual export
of dry codfish from the whole colony of Newfoundland has
been 1,246,664 quintals (hundredweight) at an average
value of $4,830,079. The report shows the average annual
export direct from Labrador in various periods to have
totalled as follows :—

1860-64 . ‘ : . 192,051 hundredweight
1865-66 . : é . 197,885 hundredweight
1873-77 yj. ; : . 300,854 hundredweight
1878-82 : : . 371,681 hundredweight

1885-89 . : - . 216,434 hundredweight

316 LABRADOR

1890-94 . . , . 257,314 hundredweight
1895-99 . A 5 . 220,150 hundredweight
1900-04. : ‘ . 219,948 hundredweight
1905-06 ; 296,553 hundredweight

Besides the fish sane) avon each year, an average
of three hundred and fifty thousand quintals is carried from
Labrador to Newfoundland and exported thence. This
gives a mean annual output from Labrador of about six
hundred thousand quintals. In 1906 and 1907 the figures

ALG. =

SENT TO

NEWFOUNDLAND VALUE

EXPporRTED DIRECT

$1,030,492 | 545,000 quintals | $2,180,000
1,013,227 | 345,000 quintals | 1,380,000

1906, 250,857 quintals
1907, 289,493 quintals

GRAND TOTAL

VALUE

1906 $3,210,492

2,393,227

795,857 quintals
634,493 quintals

In 1905, 342,219 quintals, valued at $1,237,829, were
exported direct from the Labrador. In 1907 the entire
export of dried codfish from Newfoundland and Labrador
amounted to 1,422,445 quintals, valued at $7,873,172.
The total product of the fisheries for the colony in that year
was valued at $10,058,052.

The average price during these years has varied very
considerably, but on the whole has tended to improve,

THE COD AND COD-FISHERY 317

and has reached as high for Labrador fish as $4 and even
$4.20 per quintal, that for shore or Newfoundland fish
having reached an average of $5.30. This difference in
price needs explanation. It arises from the fact that cer-
tain markets prefer the fish drier and harder salted than do
other markets. In Labrador the fine days for drying fish are
rare after the fishery is over; it is, therefore, better to
ship the fish damper, or, as people say, “with only a day’s
sun,’ rather than wait perhaps weeks to be able to dry
the fish hard. There is, however, one other alternative,
and that is to take the fish south “‘green”’ or unwashed in
salt, and finish the cure in Newfoundland. If a man has
few fish and plenty of help, he can thus employ himself
at a remunerative wage to raise the value of his Labrador
catch to that of shore fish. But if he has much fish and
work to do on his little farm at home, or perhaps other
better “paying work,” then he will ship direct from Labra~
dor. It must be remembered that drying the fish entails
loss of weight, and after all it may pay better to sell ten
quintals at $3.50 a quintal than dry the same fish to
eight quintals and sell at $4 or even $5 a quintal. More-
over, some of the schooners have so many “freighters”
and their gear to carry to and fro that they are unable to
take their fish to Newfoundland whether they would wish
it or not, while the merchants who have ordered steamers
or schooners to go to Labrador for loads are so anxious
for the fish to reach the markets early, that they will give
at times considerable bonuses over the price arranged by
the Chamber of Commerce. Last year men who refused
$3.60 spot cash in Labrador realized only $3 to $3.20 in
St. John’s.

318 LABRADOR

The rapid loading, and the accepting of all the fish
“Tal qual,” z.e. just as it comes along, greatly encourages
bad fish-making, and as the loading often goes on by flares
after night, sometimes unsound fish will be slipped in, and
a whole cargo injured or even spoiled. Moreover, the fish
does not receive so severe a culling on the Labrador as it
does in Newfoundland, and, indeed, is generally taken with-
out culling. The merchants run very considerable risk in
exporting fish. The hiring of their vessels, small as most of
them are, is an expensive business, and the small margin
left for profits when there has been a keen competition in
prices to “finish a vessel,’ has left many an enterprising
man sorry he ever “touched it.” The vessels used are
mostly square-rigged schooners, and old-fashioned small
brigs and brigantines. Indeed, the industry is serving the
useful purpose of helping to perpetuate this very interesting
class of vessels, which everywhere else is becoming extinct.
These vessels represent a distinct bond with the mother
country, for they are mostly Welsh, with some from Devon-
shire. They are handled by the type of sailor of long ago,
men whom one would expect to step off Amyas Lee’s vessel
on its return from the Indies. These men are possessed of
the material which made their prototypes so desirable an
asset to their country. They are sailors to the soles of their
boots, and amongst them are many of the most simple,
God-fearing, contented men I have ever seen. The masters
are generally part owners, and often mess with their crews
as with a party of friends. Many a helpful hand do they
lend our fishermen, for the vessels are bound to be out here
by a certain date. Being slow and uncertain, the vessels
often arrive two months early, and even have to wait three

THE COD AND COD—FISHERY 319

months for their complement of fish. During all that time
their crews are the good geniuses of the little havens in
which they are anchored, and the “skipper” and his medi-
cine-chest are in continual demand.

The itinerary of these visitors is somewhat as follows:
September, leave Labrador for the Mediterranean; thence
in December to their homes; then cargo of slate or ore pos-
sibly to Hamburg; in March, to Cadiz for salt; then to
Labrador by June, and so on back again. Once home in
the year, if all goes well. They make a modest living, and
are able to retire before old age incapacitates them. Some
are lost in the “roaring forties,” the latitudes in which they
mostly ply their calling, and many are the stories of heroism
and suffering on these vessels that the sea could unfold.
On one occasion a skipper, deserted by his crew at Bonne
Esperance, sailed his square-rigged schooner across the
Atlantic alone to Gibraltar with a cargo of fish. Sometimes
they will carry fish to the West Indies or Brazil, and then
possibly return with molasses to St. John’s before taking
a final cargo to the Mediterranean. I have seen a vessel
leave in late October with ice on her sides, and every one
muffled up. In three days she will run into the warm
atmosphere of the Gulf current, the men will be in their
shirt-sleeves, and a few days later they will be eating fresh
fruit in Spain. A very favourite holiday among these men
is to get a lift across as far as Genoa, and perhaps work
a passage out from Gibraltar, or come out again by way of
England.

Naturally there is considerable rivalry in making quick
passages. The westward passages are always longest,
the prevailing winds in the North Atlantic being from

320 LABRADOR

southwest to northwest. But the following examples show
what can be done under favourable circumstances : —

The square-rigged schooner William ran from Labrador
to Patras, Greece, in twenty-three days. The square-
rigged schooner Red Rose took only seventeen days to
reach Genoa from Labrador. The fore-and-aft vessels can
make fast round-trip passages. Captain McCrea’s fore-
and-aft schooner Clara left Harbour Grace, reached Gi-
braltar in sixteen days; lay there thirteen days; went to
Patras, Greece; lay there fourteen days; returned to Cadiz,
loaded with salt, and was back in Harbour Grace in ninety-
eight days. In my own fore-and-after, the Albert, I left
St. John’s and was anchored in Great Yarmouth, England,
in twelve and a half days. No doubt quicker passages have
been made than any of these. __ 3

Of late years, Norwegian and Danish vessels, being
“cheaper,” have partly taken the trade from British mer-
chants, but there are still firms patriotic enough to pay
more in order to secure British bottoms.

Italy is the best market for Labrador fish to-day, though
up to 1904 Spain took most from us. Spain and Greece
take quite a large quantity still. Of late years the United
Kingdom has not taken so much, the ports to which we
export being Liverpool, Exeter, and Bristol. The Portu-
guese and Brazilians, who are the largest consumers of dry
cod, like it very hard, and nearly all their fish goes from
Newfoundland. The fish culled out as not suitable for
other markets is shipped to the West Indies at a lower
price.

The culling of the fish is a most important measure, and
though as a rule the men will avoid a “cull” if possible, it

THE COD AND COD-—FISHERY 321

is really distinctly to their own interest. In self-defence,
every buyer of fish should agree to insist on it. For the
fish really varies immensely in value according to the qual-
ity, and that depends far more on the making or curing
than on the fish, except that big fish are, as a rule, more
salable than small ones. Remove the cull and sell the fish
“Tal qual,” and at once all incentive to spend time on clean-
liness disappears. It is almost like putting a premium on
laziness and carelessness. As the Newfoundland and Lab-
_ rador fish must compete in Europe with Norwegian and
even French fish, the whole colony suffers with the loss of
the good name of its marketed fish. It is an all-important
issue to almost every one in the colony, as all are more or
less dependent on King Cod.

The printed forms on which receipts for fish are given by
a large firm to its dealers or fishermen, show clearly how
common it is to accept all Labrador fish as of the same
value : —

Received from

Qtl. Ib.
Large . ; ‘ é : ° .

Merchantable fish. . : z s 6 :
Medium 2

Small
Madeira .
West Indies
Tal qual .
Inferior .
Damp

Dun

Slimy
Labrador

and also casks of gallons of oil

BD, LABRADOR

To cure and dry a single quintal of fish uses salt and time,
and costs money, but it often pays to cure the catch when
it is not too large, for the price per quintal then rises so
much that the net profit is actually greater. Five and one-
quarter barrels of Cadiz salt or six and one-half barrels of
Liverpool salt (29.7 gallons to barrel) will cure 2205 pounds
of cod, — that is, 1485-1462 pounds of salt to 2205 pounds
of dry cured fish. Salt comes to from twenty-five to thirty
cents per quintal of dried fish.

The markets are subject to very rapid fluctuations. A
cargo scheduled for a certain port may arrive just too late,
find the port glutted with other arrivals, and have to proceed
farther, which means fresh port dues and expenses. There
is thus a veritable race both in loading and in making the
transatlantic journey. This has led to the employment
of steamers to carry the fish; then the merchant finds
the new difficulty that steamers large enough to pay ex-
penses are likely to flood any local market to which they
are consigned.

Again, the consignee has at times thrown the cargo back
on the merchant’s hands, the condition of the fish not equal-
ling that which he desires and to which he feels entitled.
Sometimes the whole cargo will be actually returned to
Newfoundland. This, however, is so ruinous to the mer-
chant that he generally arranges for an arbitration to be
held, and lower prices may be agreed upon. The result is
some incentive to protest against accepting the agreed
price. In addition, there is always the element of risk,
unavoidable by the merchant, that the quality of the fish
may have deteriorated on the passage. Very large losses
have been made in this way by individuals, who are in turn

THE COD AND COD-FISHERY 323

compelled to bring losses on the fish-catchers when it is
imperative for the merchant to compound with his creditors.
The element of chance, that a bad voyage may, after all,
turn out a good one, adds another attraction to fishing,
however monotonous it may appear. The love of a gamble
is innate in man. Of late years there has been a consider-
ably larger quantity of fish exported by smaller men, but
the tendency is to confine the actual export process to
the larger firms. |

Naturally the Norwegian catch influences the total supply
very materially, and a failure there means better prices
here. The French can scarcely afford to export fish, for
they are paid such high bounties for taking it to France.

Happily for the fish-catcher, the markets for salt fish
are not only opening up wonderfully, but the price obtain-
able has also been steadily increasing, and has risen from
2.22 cents per pound to 4.74 cents in the last six years.
This, more than anything else, explains the general pros-
perity of our people. For the rise in the market price is
out of all proportion to any increase in the amount of fish
taken. There is good reason to suppose that this rise in
price will be maintained as long as the article exported
is properly cured. The wealth and numbers of the
peoples requiring this produce are steadily increasing, and
other proteid foods are rising in price synchronously. It
seems, therefore, that in this respect our future is still in
our own hands, and that there are yet halcyon days in store
for our folk that “‘go sailing out into the deep.”

The import duties imposed by our customers vary
ereatly. France prohibits foreign cod altogether, with a
tariff of $4.68 per quintal, besides giving bounties to her own

324 LABRADOR

men. Spain charges $2.34 per quintal, Italy 40 cents only,
Greece 38 cents, Portugal $2.14, Brazil $1.39, United States
84 cents; Persia, of all countries, free import, and the
United Kingdom, free as usual! France pays 50 frances
to each member of a crew drying fish away from France;
30 frances to each member of a crew drying the fish in France ;
approximately 10 franes on every quintal of salt fish shipped
to transatlantic countries; 16 francs per quintal on ship-
ments to cisatlantic countries; a bounty of 20 francs
on cod roe brought back to France. So that besides the
prohibitive duty on the fish of other countries, grants to
foster French fisheries amount to approximately one and
one-quarter million dollars per annum. That means that,
if our fishermen were accorded similar privileges, they could
almost afford to catch fish, get the bounty, and give the
fish away.

These important duties and bounties show that some
countries do not value the codfish much, or they would
welcome it in freely as a cheap food-stuff. Yet they strive
all they can to make their own men go and catch it. Great
are the mysteries of statesmanship ! |

Now the value to the human race, or any section of it,
of a particular calling or industry or commodity cannot be
measured altogether by the dollars each brings the govern-
ment or the number of people it employs, though we are
apt to apply these standards. If we did so, the liquor
traffic would be classed among the most valuable to the
race. Yet while the fishery is productive and constructive,
the liquor trade is destructive, both of human capacity
and of material. Probably of all industries the one of
first importance to the British race is that which involves

THE COD AND COD—FISHERY 325

the following of the sea. For in the art of man-making no
environment can surpass it, and sea-power means world-
power.

Few landsmen have ever given a thought to the influence
exerted on mankind by the humble codfish. Nations have
jealously watched these dreary wastes of icy, fog-bound
waters, and spent human lives by the thousands in the
years that are gone in the endeavour to turn the food and
money that these finny hosts spell into their own treasuries,
and to gain also the environment involved and its evolu-
tionary advantages. As early as 1368 kings were granting
rights to fish for cod in the North Sea. Henry the Fifth
paid compensation to the king of Denmark for damage
done by the English cod-fishermen to his. The Cabots’ dis-
covery of this north land opened up a great source of human
food-supply which has been, and will be, of greater value
than the diamonds of Golconda or the gold mines of the
Rand. It was landlubbers ignorant of the value of these
northern seas that made Canada in 1813 lightly give back to
Newfoundland the coast from Blanc Sablon to Cape Chidley ;
made England lightly give back to France the islands of Mi-
quelon and St. Pierre, and the rights of fishing on the Treaty
coast; and permitted the American fishermen the privileges
of the treaty of 1818. Our debt to this small denizen of the
deep is far greater than those consider it who only view the
fishery from a gastronomical or economical standpoint.
Strange as it may seem, the codfish has been an invaluable
factor in preserving and evolving that genius of the British
race, which in God’s providence at the time of the Invincible
Armada alone allowed us to persist still free among the great
powers. That genius, which four hundred years ago pre-

326 LABRADOR

served us from national crippling or from absolute deletion
from the roll of great nations, is in danger of being lost by
the general increase of wealth and luxury.

I shall here only suggest the debt that the Catholics of
Europe owe the codfish. The vast amount they consume
is the best proof of the value at which they estimate him.
But I can suppose that the family circle on many a Friday
night would sit around the table with blank faces if it were
not for this additional virtue of our friend, viz. his gratify-
ing faculty for passing muster as eligible for dinner before
an ecclesiastical inquisition which has placed all our staple
articles under the ban. And for this discernment the world
in return owes the authorities of the Church a very real
debt, inasmuch as they so directly encourage in this way a
calling so invaluable to mankind.

Thus it cannot be said that, in praising the codfish, we
have exaggerated his virtues. Not only has he bred a
healthy race; he has invigorated a weak one. His oil
has enabled us to battle successfully with the subtlest en-
emy of our race, the tubercle bacillus, even in the face of .
all the wonderful discoveries of modern science and the
hoards of money lavished on other methods. A couple of
years ago, when the supply of cod-liver oil was short, the
crude article rose in value in a couple of months from forty
cents a gallon to $4 a gallon direct from the barrel.

May the men of Labrador never need the emasculating
paternal legislation of our neighbours in Europe, or the
bounty system of ‘presents for good boys that venture out
to sea’?! When the world beholds the spectacle of the Eng-
lish, as a race that will not venture forth on the mighty
waters without being stimulated by such adventitious aid,

yo9[4 Surysty OyL

THE COD AND COD—FISHERY 327

vzxing those who have to stay home, then indeed may we
pray again for our good genius in the form of a codfish.
Lf ever that day comes, may our friend be put on the national
flag, and let him rank three codfish with three lions.

CHAPTER XII

THE SALMON-FISHERY
By W. T. GRENFELL

Or the four varieties of salmon in Labrador, — Salmo
salar, Salmo trutta, Salmo immaculatus, and Salmo hudson-
zcus, — only the first two are of commercial importance.

Salmo salar is a noble fish. In strength, beauty, and
spirit he is certainly superior to any others in the Labrador
waters. He is found from end to end of the coast, but less
abundantly in the north, where he remains a shorter time
than in the south. He arrives during the period between
the latter part of June and the end of July; and, after brows-
ing about on the coast for a month or so, proceeds up the
rivers to breed. It appears that for some time he runs in
and out of the river mouth, as if to accustom himself to
the change to fresh water.

The salmon is really a river dweller, a luxurious fellow
with a winter home in the sea, but in most countries two-
thirds of his life is spent in the rivers. So strong a homing
instinct does he possess, that he can hardly be kept back
from returning to his own particular river, the place of his
birth and the abode of his first year. This has been shown
by marking live salmon taken at the head of a river, carrying
them around to another river, the source of which was quite
close to their own, but whose mouth was the opposite side of
a great stretch of land. Three weeks later some of the

marked fish were caught in their own pool again. In
328

THE SALMON—FISHERY 329

Alaska a barrier of sand and gravel was once formed across
the mouth of a river by a phenomenal storm. The river
was, however, able to percolate through. When the salmon
returned to their river, so determined were they to get up,
they threw themselves out of the water on to the pebbly
beach, and some at least succeeded in wriggling and jump-
ing till they reached the other side. The natives profited
by the experience, though the devotion of the salmon
deserved a better fate. Only three things will apparently
keep salmon from their own home, — pollution of the river,
insuperable natural barriers, and man’s persecutions. All
these three are one, and that one is Death. If the summer
is early and the water warm, well and good; they return
to their riverearly. If itis late, they are content to “bide.”
If it becomes too cold after they arrive, they will return
to the sea and go up again later. In these adventurous
journeys the larger fish are the leaders. Obstacles are only
things to be overcome. They will leap ten feet out of the
water up a cataract. With successive leaps they will
climb a fall of thirty feet. They will go on jumping till
they are dashed to pieces and, bruised and dying, are
borne down on the bosom of the river they loved, back to
a tomb in the great deep out of which they came. The
zeal of Kim and his old Lama in search of the river of the
arrow was no greater than that of this kingly-spirited fish.
The fact that he can no longer people our rivers is no fault
of his.’

This very persistence of the salmon is his own undoing.

1 A most interesting fact noticed about salmon by Mr. W. G. Gosling

is the existence in certain rivers below the falls of pot-holes scooped
out by the water in the solid rock. While watching salmon leap up

330 LABRADOR

I have lain on a high perpendicular rock, watching the gill-
net stretched across the pool of clear, transparent water.
I have seen the approach of the victim and his friends on
the journey, the courage with which he charged the net.
If only he would give way, he might yet go free. But he
knows no yielding, and is not satisfied till the tough twine
has passed over his head, caught behind his gills, and then
it is too late to save himself.

But we will follow the more successful fish that reach the
home of a former year. Once in their pool, the mother fish
finds a suitable sandy or fine gravelly spot in shallow water,
where the ground is soft and deep, and the current not too
boisterous. Often enough it is the nest of a sea-trout before
her, but of that she takes little account. Throwing herself
on her side, she scoops out a “‘redd,” or nest, by flapping her
tail, and in this she deposits a number of eggs. She then
returns into deeper water, coming to and fro to her nest to
lay more eggs for several days, till she has laid as many as
five hundred for every pound she weighs. Each time,
her male partner accompanies her, depositing the milt
required to fertilize the eggs. Since they entered the river,
they have avoided one source of danger by taking no food,
and they subsist on the fat accumulated on the rich pastures
outside the river. Indeed, the beautiful pink of their flesh
depends on the crustaceans they have there devoured.

the falls, he noticed first one and then another, that failed to clear
the fall, totally disappear. A careful search revealed the fish head
down and only their tails out of deep little pot-holes. He caught
the fish for food, but was surprised to find the hole full at the bottom
of bones of salmon that had no doubt perished miserably in the same
way. It shows that salmon at times come head first down into the
water when diving, like an expert human being.

THE SALMON-FISHERY 331

One result of their abstinence is a peculiar pinched and
hungry look on the male fish’s face. His jaws grow hard
and hooked, and he is thus able to fight the many battles
that lie before him, with far better chance of damaging his
enemy.

The “spent”? salmon are called ‘“kelts.”” They are so
weakened that they fall an easy prey to any strong enemy
they may meet. Like eels, many, if not most, salmon die
after spawning. With scanty gratitude men have advised
giving the poor salmon no protection at that time on the
theory that the spent adults will, in order to recover, if
they ever do recover, destroy in the process more young
fish than they are worth. On the other hand, as the kelts
are not worth eating at that time, and are thought by some
observers to be poisonous, it is poor policy to capture them.
A fisherman who had taken a number was once asked by a
“protective”? enthusiast, if it was not true they were not
good to eat in that state. The fisherman replied “‘That’s
true,” but with a wink added, ‘“‘Them’s not bad kippered.”’

The eggs of the salmon are remarkable. They are round
and about one-quarter inch in diameter, of a pink colour,
elastic, so that they bounce like a ball off a board. They
will hatch out in a month, but if it is too cold, and cir-
cumstances are not right, like a caterpillar in a chrysalis,
they just wait till the conditions are more to their liking.
They can be carried in ice for thousands of miles; stored
in this way, they have been carried and successfully propa-
gated in India, Australia, and New Zealand.

The adult fish also can stand great ranges of temperature ;
he may be caught as far south as lat. 37° north and as far
north as lat. 70° north. The salmon so fill some rivers

aon | LABRADOR

that when the waters subside with the advance of summer,
the odour of rotting fish on the banks and in the branches of
trees is said to be positively poisonous. On Kadiak Island
in the North Pacific they are so abundant in certain rivers
that the fish “interfere with the progress of canoes.’”’ The
variety found in Cook’s Inlet averages four feet in length,
and weighs fifty pounds. The natives here kill in their
primitive way some twenty-five thousand fish per year,
which provides for each person the moderate allowance of
four hundred and thirty pounds, or about four pounds a
day the year round.

Once hatched out, the little salmon, or parr, is handi-
capped for three weeks by the large umbilical sac on which
he subsists. He is fain, therefore, to hide away closely
among the stones, for many creatures are fond of him.
Insect larve, beetles, crustaceans, large fish, rats, and even
diving birds, are all anxious to take himin. If he survives,
he remains in the river for one or two full years. During
this time he has grown to a sizable fish of a couple of pounds’
weight, but his full glory does not appear until, in his third
spring, he assumes his glittering silver armour. He is then
known as a ‘“‘smolt,” and attains the dignity of venturing
into the unknown immensity of the ocean, with his fellows
of his own age, as they go forth in the wake of the great
salmon.

In the river the samlet, or parr, is not troubled with the
scruple of his parents, and feeds voraciously. But it is
not until he reaches the great sea that he begins to grow
at all rapidly. It has been said that he will grow from a
few ounces to as many pounds in three months. He may
return to winter a second time in the pools and lakes, a full-

THE SALMON-FISHERY 333

erown grilse. This pleasure is, however, generally deferred
till the fourth spring, when the fish arrives in all the pride
of silver and with all the well-known energy of a three- to
six-pound grilse. Those who have felt the rush and jump
of these exquisite creatures on the end of a light line in
rapid water know the marvel of their agility. The males
are at this time mature, but,as a rule, do not spawn. They
seem simply to have a good time in the upper reaches and,
not until the fifth year, when they have grown to the weight
of ten pounds at least, do they feel called upon to assume
the duties of the head of a family.

The grilse, from their agility or smaller size, are fairly
successful in escaping the cod-trap leaders. They even
pass through the salmon-nets in the rivers, and the rod-
and-line fishing for these is still excellent in many Labrador
rivers. Eagle River still gives good sport for salmon, and
an enterprising Hudson’s Bay factor is trying to arrange
a summer hotel for visitors near the large pools. Sandhill
Bay River also gives good fishing. The late General Dash-
wood came two years in succession from England to fish
in this river.

Many of the other rivers would doubtless afford sufficient
attraction if only they were given a fair trial. But as yet
little is known about them. A party in a steam-yacht,
visiting Byron Bay in 1907, claim to have had good sport
there, but we had no accurate details of their actual catch.
Landlocked salmon are very common in the lakes and upper
reaches of the Hamilton Inlet. One feature that tells most
in favour of the rivers on the Labrador coast belonging to
Newfoundland, is that no rivers are reserved for clubs or
private owners, and visitors may visit or fish any or all at

334 LABRADOR

their own will. No fishing tackle can be obtained on the
coast. Silver Doctors, Jock Scotts, Soldier Palmers, Dur-
ham Rangers, and Fairies are all good flies on the Labrador
rivers.

Why salmon leap at a fly at all, is much debated. The
need for food does not alone seem to explain the habit,
which has persisted from the smolt days of their youth.
A much greater puzzle is, Why are salmon timid to-day,
voracious to-morrow? Why will every salmon refuse to
look at a fly at nine o’clock, but at nine fifteen o’clock every
salmon in the pool will leap at any fly one likes to try?

The salmon that return to the rivers in the winter lose
their bright colour. The males become dark in the back,
and have a dark red colour developed on the sides and belly.
The females are a dark, dusty gray, somewhat resembling
coalfish. Their flesh becomes white, and they are useless
for eating. LHarly in the fifteenth century, it was a capital
offence to kill salmon out of season.

The Labrador salmon are said to be the best in the world
for eating. The cold waters seem to produce a specially
vigorous, well-fleshed fish. The salmon-fishery in Labra-
dor preceded the cod-fishery by many years. The former
was much the more valuable then. With salmon catch
and fur trade the resident white population grew up and
flourished ; with the destruction of the salmon those people
have fallen into poverty, and even into starvation.

In the history of the Labrador settlers we may read the
pitiable story of the blotting out of these valuable fish.
The increasing quantity of twine used on the outside for
codfish offers no prospect that the salmon will assume
their former abundance.

THE SALMON-FISHERY 335

As long ago as 1774, at any rate, the Alexis River, and
soon after the Eagle and other grand rivers of Sandwich
Bay, were completely net-barred. Of late years the “bay-
men,’’ or livyeres, have been slowly obliged, owing to the
increasing scarcity of the salmon and to the declining
price of salt salmon in the market, to abandon this fishery
and try for cod.

The transition stage is a time of great misery for the poor
settlers. Their nets, small boats, outfit, and habits are all
calculated for the peaceful fishery in the bays; for the
rougher fishery outside they have neither gear, education,
or inclination. Many try to do both. But the cod arrive
on the coast before the salmon take to the rivers, and these
men are very apt to make a blank year, entailing great pri-
vations on their own and other families.

Whether man can decrease the number of cod or herring
in the deep sea is uncertain, but that by netting rivers you
can empty them of salmon, is a well-ascertained fact. The
former great abundance of this fish on the Labrador is
well emphasized in the following few extracts from the
journals of the inimitable Major Cartwright in 1775-1785.
In July, 1775, he writes of the Eagle River: “‘We have
140 tierce (casks) ashore, but have had to take up two nets,
as fish get in too fast.’’ “The big pool is so full of salmon,
you could not fire a ball into it without injuring some.”
Even the animals seemed to know the wonders of this river,
which must have been almost as well stocked as the Fraser
River in British Columbia. Cartwright describes “remains
of thousands of salmon killed by white bears round the
pool.’ His famous description of some fourteen white
and black bears that he saw fishing in the pool is quite

336 LABRADOR

unique. In 1776, August 7 to 11, Cartwright took 1230
salmon from the pool in one week. “At Paradise we have
214 tierce ashore. Few escape there.” In his “artless”
poem he writes :—

“*, . . salmon up fresh rivers take their way,

For them the stream is carefully beset ; few fish escape.”

That is not to be wondered at, for he says, “‘ My ten nets,
each forty fathoms long, fastened end to end, stretch right
across the stream.”’

On Salty: £7,14779,

“In Eagle River we are killing 750 salmon a day, or
35 tierce, and we would have killed more had we had more.
nets. Three hundred and fifty tierce ashore already at
Paradise. If I had more nets, I could have killed a
thousand tierce alone at this post, the fish averaging from
15 to 32 pounds apiece. At Sandhill Cove two men have
240 tierce ashore, and would have had more, but we had no
more salt.”’

From June 23 to July 20, in Eagle River, he killed
12,396 fish, or 300 tierce. In 1782 he writes: ‘ Little or no
salmon at Cartwright, only 80 tierce.” ‘In 1786 he writes:
“We have 490 tierce in White Bear River, and Paradise
R. and 165 tierce at Charles Hr.” Naturally enough the
archaic story of the clause in the apprentice’s indentures,
that he was “not to be forced to eat salmon more than
thrice a week” is told of Labrador in these days.

In 1818 Mr. Pinson was getting two hundred tierce of
salmon at Cartwright. He received a bounty of three
shillings per quintal for this shipment to England.

In 1864 Mr. Stone’s average catch at Henley was sixty

THE SALMON-FISHERY 337

tierce for a season. The entire catch, as given in the Gov-
ernment Blue Book for 1906, was eight hundred and twenty
tierce, valued at $16,487. The catch in 1907 was seven
hundred and fifteen tierce, valued at $16,057.

This catch cannot, however, represent much more than
half the amount caught, for nearly every trap-net used in
the cod-fishery catches salmon in its leaders, and these are
salted, smoked, and carried to Newfoundland. I have
known three hundred salmon taken in one day in a cod-
trap.

The trap leaders specially used for salmon are set out
from points exactly as cod-trap leaders are, and being four
inches instead of six inches in mesh, stop much smaller
fish. In this way a very large number of small salmon
are taken every year, and in the opinion of many people,
the traps do more damage to the salmon than the river nets.

Rivers in Labrador are, as a rule, not now barred, but
practically all that are of any value are illegally netted.
It seems that a prescriptive right has grown up with some
residents to fish rivers in defiance of the law, and the only
one on which a fish warden is appointed is regularly netted
at least three miles above its mouth. If, however, these
rivers received the protection the laws of the country nomi-
nally afford them, there is no reason why they should not
again become as attractive to visitors and sportsmen as
those of the Canadian Labrador.

The regular method used to catch salmon in Labrador
is to set the gill-net from the land. These nets are fastened
by a mooring to a “shore fast”’ and run straight off to sea.
The salmon seldom swim more than a few feet below the

surface, so the nets are fastened to a line of corks on a
Z

338 LABRADOR

‘head rope,” and hang down perpendicularly. The legal
mesh is not less than six inches in diagonal measure. At
the outer end, the line of nets, called a “fleet,” is held by
heavy anchors, and then a pound is formed by turning
back with another net at an angle of forty-five degrees in
the direction from which the salmon are expected to strike.
At times yet another net is added, so that the triangular
pound is closed, leaving merely a door. The salmon do
not strike a net in daytime so readily as do sea-trout.
They seem, however, to get confused in the pound, and in
this most are taken.

The Hudson’s Bay Company, who are by far the largest
salmon buyers on the coast, own many nets. They also
own houses, or ‘‘posts,’’ as they are called, at all the best
points of land in the long inlets, and the planters use these
and turn in half their fish as rent. For the balance they
get goods from the company’s store.

Most of the salmon catchers are fur trappers, although
those who live on the outside land do little or no “‘furring.”’
Indeed, many have fallen into poverty and have neither
traps, safe guns, ammunition, nor even clothing and food
to enable them to get out and face the Arctic cold of winter.
This is now the poorest class of men in Labrador.

Formerly the Hudson’s Bay Company had a large salmon
cannery in Eagle River. The building is still standing, but
the trade has been abandoned for want of sufficient fish
to maintain a scale of business large enough to enable them
to compete with British Columbia and other places. The
salmon industry is generally in a bad-way, as the price of the
salted article has steadily declined, till this year instead of
$6 and even $8, only $3 a hundredweight was paid. The

THE SALMON-FISHERY 309

Hudson’s Bay Company gave far the highest prices on
the coast these last two years. Were it not for them, the
fishery would be practically abandoned.

Last year, 1908, anew method was tried. Mr. E. Gibb
of Aberdeen, Scotland, brought over a large tank
steamer, in which to carry home to England live fish. He
fished in a way new to Labrador, pursuing the fish with
a floating trap-net. This enterprise failed owing to the
inability to keep the fish alive.

In 1920 Mr. John Clouston of St. John’s established
the first cold storage plant for salmon at Packs Harbour,
Labrador. He shipped altogether to London in 1921
nearly 9 million pounds of frozen salmon, and hopes to
send 2 million pounds in 1922. He was also able to send
salmon in ice to St. John’s for freezing and reshipment,
owing to our cool climate. A new method of sending
salmon covered with a thin layer of ice by being dipped
in water, and frozen at once rapidly promises even better
results. This year our people received twice the amount
for salmon from the net, that previously they got for it
split and salted. This is likely to be increased next year
by more plants being erected.

CHAPTER XH

THE HERRING AND OTHER FISH
By W. T. GRENFELL

THE immense value of the herring to the world has been
known for centuries. One thousand years ago our ances-
tors in England knew its virtues.” To-day it is of no less,
but rather of greater, importance. With the increasing
population of the earth’s surface, with the ever growing
need for food-supplies, we can ill afford to neglect any pre-
caution that might tend to the development and main-
tenance of so immensely valuable an industry as that of
catching herring. In this Labrador once had its share.
Alas, to-day the glory of the Labrador herring-fishery has
departed, and only a few paltry barrels find their way to
the markets.

So important has this industry been, that Professor Hux-
ley calculated that at least three billion herrings were, in an
average year, killed for food of man in the North Sea and
the open Atlantic. As these herring average eight ounces
at a minimum, the immense weight of food, one b_llion five
hundred million pounds, speaks for itself of its importance
to the human race. For herring is a fat fish. Lying
in Lerwick Harbour, among nine hundred herring boats,
I have seen the oil set free in the splitting of captured her-
ring cover the surface of that immense harbour so thickly
that, though the vessels would be sailing in and out with a
stiff breeze, not a ripple of any sort would be visible. It left

340

THE HERRING AND OTHER FISH 341

a most marked impression on the mind. One of those fat
herring, taken straight from the water, then split and grilled
on a gridiron over an open fire, will actually catch fire from
his own fat.

But in Labrador our herring have won a well-earned
reputation for being facile princeps among the world’s her-
ring; only those from the Icelandic and Shetland waters
can compare with them. ‘The Labrador fish run to seven-
teen, or even more inches in length and weigh nearly one
pound apiece.

Kings and queens have worshipped at the shrine of the
herring. William Berkelzon of Flanders, in about 1300,
discovered. how to cure red herring, and generally how to
preserve them better for food. After his death, Charles
the Fifth erected a monument to his memory, visited his
grave, and there prayed for his soul. Mary of Hungary,
in a somewhat appropriate way, paid tribute to our bene-
factor by sitting on his tomb and eating a red herring. In
North Scotland there is an old saying, “‘No herrings, no
weddings.”” The “common” herring is not taken in the
Pacific or Mediterranean, but, nevertheless, has a great
range, — from Cape Hatteras to Spitzbergen and the White
Sea.

The one failing of the herring, and the one thing that still
keeps hope up that he may return to Labrador, is his incon-
stancy. He seems to disappear according to some subtle
law of nature which has baffled all the skill of scientists,
and has eluded all the speculations of fishermen. History
records that European herring were to be found in vast
quantities in the year 1020 a.p., and during the following
periods: the twelfth century, 1260-1341, the fifteenth

342 LABRADOR

century, 1550-1590, 1660-1680, 1747-1808, 1857-1878,
and also of recent years. Such large quantities have been
taken in the North Sea these past two years that all previous
records have been eclipsed. They disappeared from the
Norwegian coast from 1655-1699, and again from 1784-
1808. In 1871 they almost ent:rely disappeared again.

The old theory that all the herring lived in one vast race
in the polar seas and made a circular tour of the waters they
are found in, was eloquently described by Buffon, but is
now abandoned. There is little doubt that many separate
shoals exist, and that they do not retire into ocean abysses,
or mid-ocean, where they cannot be taken. When they
leave the shore, they probably feed on the slopesin moderate
depths near the coast they frequent. They have been
captured in one hundred fathoms of water off the New-
foundland coast. They are easily affected by temperature,
preferring a temperature of 55° F. But they are caught in
water as cold as 37° F., and the Scottish fishery is mostly in
water at 41-42° F.

‘The eggs (thirty-one thousand, on the average, to each
fish) which sink and stick to the bottom are eaten in vast
quantities by many species of animals in the waters. It
is, obviously, of great importance that the egg stage should
be as brief as possible. Nature seems to furnish the in-
stinct, therefore, to seek water at 55° F., the optimum
temperature for rapid hatching. In any case it is probable
that in the Labrador polar current which carries the tem-
perature of 30° F. in subsurface layers, the herring is not
likely to breed at all. This view coincides with the actual
observations that herring do not spawn north of the Mag-
dalene Islands and the west coast of Newfoundland.

THE HERRING AND OTHER FISH 345

It is impossible to believe that man has had any hand
whatever in driving herring from the Labrador. The her-
ring-fishery on this coast has, at best, been on a very small
scale. Professor Huxley states that even in the North Sea
man cannot be responsible for as much as five per cent of
the herring killed. From the time of the egg to the full-
grown fish this huge family of the herring is preyed upon by
larva, crustacean, andsea-worm. ‘All thatmen take would
not compromise one school of twelve square miles area,
and there must be scores of such in the North Sea.” If
every herring lays thirty-one thousand fertilized eggs, and
all but two of the family are killed every year by their
enemies, the herring would still maintain their vast num-
bers. ‘“‘Man,” says Professor Huxley, ‘is only one of a
great cooperative society of herring catchers, and the larger
share he takes, the less there is for the rest of the company.”

The herring seems specially adapted for man’s use. Like
the cod, he has no poisonous nor pain-wreaking spines; he
herds together so as to be caught quickly in vast quantities ;
and he can be easily preserved. He is a deep-sea fish, and
is thus not dependent on refuse food in shallow water.
Young herring fetch a high price as ‘“‘white bait.” ‘A
large proportion,’ says Professor Goode, ‘‘pass under the
name of ‘French sardine.’’? Some are canned in spices
and sold under the sti'l more imaginative name of ‘ brook
trout.’ If, however, they have been feeding on crustaceans
with hard shells, these, being undigested, putrefy very rapidly
and spoil the herring. Herring barred inside a seine are,
therefore, as a rule, safer to cure if left for two or three days
in the net while digestion is finished.

Though the herring have small teeth on their tongues

844 LABRADOR

and the roofs of their mouths, they feed by sieving the water
through gill-rakers armed with teeth and fine spines, which
catch the small copepods, etc., and gently guide them down
their throats.

They spawn in spring and autumn, but the same herring
only spawns once a year, and they do not spawn till eighteen
months old. The danger to the herring increases immensely
when they come into the shallower waters for this or any
purpose. It seems, therefore, another provision of nature
that they should be a swift-swimming fish and, after spawn-
ing, leave rapidly for deep water.

Dr. Moses Harvey, the historian, writing in 1880, says
the average export of herring from Labrador was 50,000 to
70,000 barrels for the years immediately preceding. In
1880, 20,000 barrels were exported; in 1881, 33,330 barrels;
in 1908, only 180 barrels. As many as 500 barrels have
been taken in one haul at Snug Harbour. Captain Hennesy
described to me how, thirty years ago, he sailed through
millions of herring north of Cape Mugford; their vast bulk
made the surface of the sea oily.

There are many superstitions about herring, and the
reasons advanced for their not “coming in” have been of
every conceivable kind. Tochange this luck,some amusing
ceremonial “charms” have been invented, such as dressing
a fisherman in a striped shirt and riding him around the
town in a wheelbarrow. Another valuable recipe was to
pick out herring with red fins without letting them touch
wood, and then pass them round and round the scudding
pole as many times as the number of lasts of herring you
hoped to capture next autumn. A “ last’? means 1320 her-
rings. Less amusing was the burning alive, two centuries

THE HERRING AND OTHER FISH 345

ago, of men and women supposed to be bringing evil luck
in the fishery. Laws have existed in England forbidding
the taking of herring between sunrise and sunset, under the
idea that the nets turned the fish. An Irish law forbade
nets to be out between sundown on Saturday and sunrise
on Monday. Probably the best laws, however, areno laws
at all, until more definite knowledge is possessed as to the
real causes of the movement of the herring.

A great deal of the value of the cured article depends
upon the methods of cure, and much skill is needed to be
really successful. In Europe the fish is pickled round, not
being split at all; in America they are split and cured; in
Holland the belly is clipped off with scissors. The variety
of barrel is also important. The wood once used with us
was hard, clear spruce. But the Labrador barrel industry
has died with the departure of the herring. For more
reasons than one many have been left sorrowing. But
1921 showed good promise of herring returning to the Lab-
rador coast, and in spite of the tariff in the U.S. prophets
are now foretelling the reéstablishment of that industry.

Mackerel are not taken in Labrador, except occasion-
ally on the shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The
range of this fish is from Belle Isle Strait to Cape Hat-
teras. The lack of variety of round fish on the Labrador
is compensated only by the abundance and quality of
the cod and salmon.

None of the marketable flatfish of Europe and ene
frequents our waters. Absent is the succulent sole, the de-
lectable plaice, the toothsome turbot and brill. The witch
sole, deep-water denizen though he is, pays us no visits.
Of all these prime fish, only a stray halibut wandering
in from the enormous schools that frequent the great

346 LABRADOR

banks one hundred and fifty miles from our shores, pays
tribute to our Vikings of Peace, the acknowledged masters
of the mighty Atlantic, even among the rocks of Labrador.

His name, halibut, probably means “holy plaice,’ —
‘“‘holy’”’ because a favourite food on holy days. He is often
found in water as deep as two hundred and fifty fathoms.
He prefers to live in water approaching the temperature
of 32° F., or that where fresh water would freeze, and he
ranges from the fortieth parallel of north latitude to the
Arctic Ocean. The larger specimens attain lengths of eight
or nine feet and weights of four hundred pounds; some-
times these giants have lived to so great age that large
barnacles may be found growing on the skin, much as bar-
nacles grown on an old whale. It takes a hand winch to
haul up a big fish, and four or five men to get him over the
side. Where only two men operate the dory, the usual
plan is to list the gunwale over level with the water and
then rush the fish and water in together. The halibut
has sometimes had his revenge by capsizing the little craft.
On one occasion a Gloucester vessel had brought asick man of
their crew to our hospital, and, wishing to express gratitude,
offered us a fresh halibut. We gladly accepted, the change
of diet being very welcome. We were a little surprised,
however, to see later four stalwart men coming up the
platform with a fish swung on poles — the fish the size
of a porpoise! The fish smokes most excellently, the pieces
then much resembling good Wiltshire hams in appearance.

Halibut are eminently fitted to survive. They are very
swift and powerful, have large mouths with fearful, sharp
teeth. They have a most catholic appetite that readily
embraces a few dozen younger brothers or sisters if these get

THE HERRING AND OTHER FISH 347

in the way. Half a barrel of flatfish was taken out of the
stomach of a single halibut.

This fish, though commanding good prices, does not form
a Labrador export, the banking fishery being carried on by
our American cousins. These come to us as early as April,
sail round the south end of the ice-floe, and so reach the
banks; or, if leaving in February, make straight for the
south coast of Greenland and try to get north by keeping
outside the two currents of drifting coast-ice. On one
occasion the skipper of a Boston vessel came to a hospital
before our harbour ice had all gone, and we gave him a
drive round on the ice with our dog-sleigh, as he had never
seen dogs travelling. The main impression on his mind
seemed to be “‘To think we had ripe strawberries before I
left home a fortnight ago !”’

In Europe and America the dab (Hippoglossoides
limandoides) flourishes in beth cold and warm waters.
In his youth he is a free-swimming, upright fish, but takes
to lying on one side on the bottom. He shows his adapt-
ability by causing the under eye to travel round over his
nose, as this eye would be useless looking down on the
ground. He has fine, shiny scales. In Dublin he is called
the smeareen, and is much eaten by the poorer classes.
On the New England coast he passes as the “‘mud dab,”
but on his arrival in New York he further shows his adapt-
ability by assuming the name of the “‘American sole.”’
In Labrador he is classed with the ‘offal’? and contempt-
uously thrown away. The dogs, however, appreciate his
qualities better, and one often in the spring sees a dog
wading about looking or feeling for the dab in the mud,
and then quickly diving down and bringing the struggling,

348 LABRADOR

squirming fish ashore, there to be swallowed alive. The
dab’s hope of safety lies in escaping notice, and this he does
whenever he is at rest. He flaps about till he settles in the
mud; the mud which he has stirred up falls again, and
covers all but his eyes and nose. At largest, the fish
reaches twenty inches in length, and weighs up to two
pounds. He remains all winter. As he is the first fish to
be taken when our ice goes, he is speared by the boys, and,
when food is short, cooked and eaten. But herring so soon
follow the departure of the ice that even in this season the
dab is seldom used. Visitors, however, esteem him highly
whenever the native cook will condescend to prepare him
for table. Probably it is the ugly face with huddled-up eyes
and distorted mouth that tells here against his popularity.

The cause of his ugliness is explained elsewhere by a
strange legend. It is said that when the fish were sum-
moned to settle who should be king, the plaice was late,
delaying to paint on some of his beautiful red spots. When
he heard the election was already over, his mouth so twisted
in disdain it never came straight again. A still older legend
accounts for his being coloured only on one side. It runs
that Moses, having caught one, proceeded to cook it over
an oil lamp, but when one side was broiled and grilled,
threw the fish into the sea.

The winter fluke (Pseudo-pleuronectes Americanus), the
cousin of the dab, closely resembles him in size and ap-
pearance, and is found here, as he is all along the North
America coast, south to Cape Cod.

The lump-fish (Cyclopterus lumpus) is very common with
us, but is practically useless. We have been too stupid
to find a use for him, except as a fertilizer. He has de-

THE HERRING AND OTHER FISH - VEBAg

veloped a sucker on his belly, with which, being a lazy fish,
he fastens himself upside down on any moving thing, and
will then drift about without the trouble of swimming.

The common sculpin, or scavenger, exists all along the
coast. There are two varieties, Cottus scorpioides and C.
Grenlandicus. He really consists of a large mouth, an
indefinitely distensible belly, a voracious and omnivorous
appetite, and an outside coat of sharp spikes. One can
searcely credit him with feelings, for when fishing with the
sharp jigger for cod, the same sculpin will run for the hook
again and again, though the barb may in the earlier capture
have been in almost any part of the anatomy. Sometimes
a fisherman has had to oblige him by leaving him on deck
in order to avoid the worry of repeatedly hauling in the line
with the useless fish adhering. Our dogs, however, make
nothing of his horny and thorny exterior, and eat him with
great gusto, always commencing by biting off his tail.
At a pinch, the sculpin would be very useful in sustaining
human life.

Another fish that stands by us all the winter is the rock
cod. Heis much likea small cod in appearance, but darker,
with partly iridescent sides. He remains about the har-
bours. As a matter of fact, he is ‘not at all bad eat-
ing,’ but is considered by the fishermen very inferior to the
true cod, and is always rejected from those they export.
He is, however, dried up with the smaller cod, which are
not split, but simply salt-sprinkled. They are kept for
winter use under the name of “rounders.” He is also
taken through the ice in winter, and has frequently shared
with the lowly clam and mussel the honour of preserving
the life of those in one of these scattered communities.

300 LABRADOR

Hake or haddock arerarely seen in Labrador. Theformer
fish is easily distinguishable by his silvery armoured coat,
and the latter by the black marks on his shoulders, irrev-
erently attributed to the fingers of St. Peter, who is said
to have pulled him out of the water to pay taxes, with the
money in the fish’s mouth. Why the spots are black,
tradition does not say.

It seems to surprise most people that the shark is found
in Labrador, as he is always associated with tropical waters.
The variety we have is the sleeper, Somniosus microcepha-
lus, the little-headed, sleepy shark. He has a large body
up to fifteen feet long, and fully lives up to his name. He
feeds on offal thrown overside, earning the name of gurry
shark; he is the most despised of our ocean fauna. He
frequently gets caught in the sunken nets for seals, though
not nearly as often as he deserves, for he browses along the
nets, eating out the seals. In most cases his energy is not
sufficient to make him push into the net. A ten-foot shark
has a mouth contour of two feet, and a gullet proportional.
It is said that he eats live whales, biting huge pieces out
of the abdominal blubber; but I cannot believe him smart
enough to do this. So sharp are his teeth that he will seulp
all the fat and skin off a dead seal, without taking two bites
at one piece. I have taken from his stomach nearly every
bit of a seal’s skin and fat in one long string the width of the
shark’s mouth, almost as one takes off the peel from an
orange or an apple. On one occasion we found in a shark
the carcass of a red dog, which we had left on a pan of ice
to drift out to sea a week previously. The sleeper shark
seems to have little capacity for pain. Captain Atwood
reports that after driving a scythe right through one’s

THE HERRING AND OTHER FISH 301

stomach, it came placidly back and went on feeding off
the same dead whale in the same place. In large numbers
these sharks haunt the ice-fields, where the sealers have
left the mutilated carcasses of the young seals. I have
driven a boat-hook into one bigger than myself, as it lay
basking on the surface of the water, and hauled it easily
out on the ice without its making any notable resistance.
On one occasion, with the help of a couple of men, I hauled
out five from one hole through the ice in this same way.

The only commercially important part of the sleeper is
the liver, which yields fifteen to thirty gallons of very ex-
cellent. oil; for the purpose of securing this oil a shark-
fishery grew up on the coasts of Norway and Iceland. Our
fishermen sometimes use a lump of its skin-covered flesh
for scrubbing the floor. The flesh is white and nauseous,
and even our dogs, voracious as they are, will scarcely eat
it. This shark seems quite indifferent to man’s presence,
and isnot aman-eater. It is almost impossible to conceive
that the shark’s stomach should still, by some races of hu-
man beings, be considered the gate of heaven; and that
living children be offered by mothers to its rapacity that
the children may enter paradise through that probably
most repulsive of all forms of death.

CHAPTER XIV

THE OCEAN MAMMALS

By W. T. GRENFELL

To compensate the Labradormen in some small degree for
the loss of herring and the depreciation of salmon, a whale-
fishery has sprung up. The great success made in killing
sulphur-bottom, finback, and humpback whales, in North
Newfoundland, led to a hope of great things from them for
Labrador. But the numbers killed have been very limited.’
The whales themselves are, however, so intensely interesting,
it is worth while referring to the various sorts one is liable |
to see in Labrador.

The whale is, of course, really a land animal, but he has
left his native element, and taken to a roving, nautical life.
Now his legs are not necessary for locomotion; hence they
have become rudimentary and are enclosed in his thick,
rubbery, oily skin. The arms are not used in swimming,
but simply for preserving the animal’s balance or for
grasping the baby whale when it is in danger.

Of all the adaptations of these strange beasts to their
environment, perhaps none is more remarkable than the
arrangement for hearing. The whale has no need of the
sense of smell, but he does need to hear the approach of an

1In reading the records of the Moravian Missions for the years
1780 to 1850, one is greatly struck by the number of dead whales men-
tioned as having been discovered, from time to time, on the coast.
352

STS

peop] SNe Suyeo ‘spusu sip] pue ,youeyy,, sury

<eabsccsonimiainaranans imac nn

intima nn

THE OCEAN MAMMALS aoe

enemy. Because of the enormous pressures which must
be endured by the animal, the external opening of the ear
is reduced to the diameter of a crow-quill, whereas the
opening of the ear into the nose — the Eustachian tube —
is very large. Deafness, following the closing of this tube
by adenoid growths in children, has made most of us know
of the existence of this second “ear-hole.”’ The whale
actually hears through his nose, in a way similar to that
by which a person listens ‘“‘open-mouthed.” The eyes are
very small; this is not a disadvantage, fixed as the eyes are
in such positions that the animal can see well neither ahead
nor astern. Sight can hardly be much used as a feeding
sense; think of looking for your food when you have to
catch millions of tiny creatures, like copepods, to satisfy
your appetite! It has been said that a whale brought to
land does not die of asphyxiation, for he can breathe an
hour or two at least; that, on the other hand, he does die
of starvation. He must eat incessantly or dle.

On a fine morning on the Labrador coast, I have counted
a dozen whales in a single school. Now and again a huge
tail would emerge from the water and lash the surface
with its full breadth, making a sound like the firing of a
cannon, while the silence of the stillness was otherwise
broken only by the noise of their blowing, as they rolled
lazily along on the surface. I have seen the thresher whales
making their huge prey hurl his whole immense body clear
out of the water, only to fall back with the splash of a
waterfall, and the noise of a thunderclap, to be stabbed by
the swordfish below, or eaten alive by the fearful jaws of
his enemy.

In order to remain below water so long as. they do (a

2A

304 LABRADOR

full-grown male can stay down one hour), whales have
a huge reservoir of blood in vessels situated in the front of
the chest, like the pipes of a water-cooler. This blood
he overoxygenates by repeated spoutings. A whaler can
tell by the number of blows exactly how long the ani-
mal will remain below on his sounding. To aérate the
blood thoroughly, a male sperm whale blows about sixty
times, once every ten seconds. The females blow for about
four minutes, and do not remain down so long as the males.
The elastic, compressible skin is equally compressed by the
water at great depths; in a marvellous manner the vital
organs are relieved of dangerous pressure, while an auto-
matic water-bag valve fills and closes the nostrils so that
no water is forced in.

Six species frequent the Labrador coast, though only
four kinds are still common, — the finback, humpback,
sulphur-bottom, and white whale. A specimen of the
largest, the sulphur-bottom, so called from the colour of
his body, has been taken with a length of ninety-five feet
and a circumference of thirty-nine feet. The weight of this
animal was estimated to be two hundred and ninety-four
thousand pounds. Think of the awful power of the tail
that can not only propel this mass at fifteen knots an hour,
but can actually hurl it clean out of water into the air!

In this animal the baleen, or whalebone, hanging from
the roof of his mouth, weighed eight hundred pounds and
reached four feet in length, or somewhat less than half
the length of the “bone” in an adult right whale. There
were no fewer than three hundred plates on each side.’
He gave one hundred and ten barrels of oil. So large is the
mouth of a sulphur-bottom that a boat can row into it.

THE OCEAN MAMMALS 30)

The jaw-bone may be sixteen to eighteen feet long. It took
four of us a whole afternoon, with axes and swords mounted
on pike handles, to cut out one bone and carry it to our
steamer. One had to walk almost in the footsteps of Jonah
to get at the articulation, so far back is it in the body.
Yet the gullet of this whale, where full-grown, is only a few
inches in diameter. In reality, his mouth is a vast trap
for food, the more of which is caught the larger the mouth is
developed. Their food is very simple, being almost entirely
small crustaceans of the shrimp variety which they sieve
out of the deep water as they swim along. Occasionally
they swallow a caplin or herring, which gets in the way.
No whale is ever killed in a starved condition, not even a
blind one, of which several have been captured.

The finback is the commonest whale on the coast. He
runs only to about sixty-five feet in length, and in proportion
gives less oil than the sulphur-bottom. The humpback is,
at times, scarcely worth catching, giving very little oil.
He may be seventy to seventy-five feet long, and has bone
up to three feet in length. When freshly killed, the young
humpback affords excellent food for man. Indeed, were
it not for the prejudice against them, these “mountains of
meat’’ would be considered a most desirable food-supply.
A few of us on the coast have used it, fresh, salted, and
tinned. It is too hard in salt, but, tinned, is really good
meat, with not enough characteristic qualities for the or-
dinary man to tell it from tinned beef. The tinning, as an
industry, seems to be abandoned, but in a country where
vegetables are absent, cattle impossible, and our wild meat
supplies diminishing with the years, the immense amount
of nourishing material would seem a most desirable ad-

356 LABRADOR

junct to the diet of all. The poor people especially welcome
this meat, for it is scarcely more expensive than the can it
is put into. Preserved frozen for winter, whalefish would
help to prevent the scurvy, which often affects the people
in spring after the long winter of isolation.

The white whale is a slender, graceful animal about
twenty feet long. His skin forms excellent leather, called
‘porpoise hide’’; it is very impervious to water. The
adult is as big as two dozen calves. He weighs about
twenty-five hundred pounds, and gives one hundred gallons
of oil. These whales were very common in the Gulf of St.
Lawrence, and are still found there. They play in schools,
jumping out of the water, enjoying life much like porpoises.
They have been caught in cod-trap nets, getting tangled
up in the twine, and in 1907 some sixty were caught in the
big seal-nets set at Cape Chidley by the Moravian mis-
sionaries. They are voracious beasts, eating alive almost
every kind of fish in the sea. They even kill and eat our
seals. But the white whale is paid back in his own coin by
the much more powerful threshers, who are very partial
to his flesh.

The thresher, or killer whale (Orca gladiator), is himself
only twenty feet in length, but he is the fiercest of all our
sea animals, and is a perfect buccaneer and pirate. He has
a back fin about six feet long which reveals his presence as
he swims along near the surface. With it he is said by
some to beat his prey. Many are the battles that have been
described between this beast and his larger kindred.
Captain Atwood tells of three attacking an enormous cow
sperm whale and her huge offspring in shallow water. They
killed the calf and drove off the mother, badly wounded,
after which they came back and ate the baby.

THE OCEAN MAMMALS Sail

The grampus, thirty feet long, and the porpoises, or
herring hogs (eight to ten feet long), are allowed to pursue
their way untroubled by the fishermen. Both animals
have large teeth, and consume large quantities of fish. The
teeth interlock so that their slippery, scaly prey cannot
escape. The fish often run into nets and shallows to escape
them. Porpoise and grampus are not only hard to catch,
but are of very little value when taken. Like all the larger
whales, they are mammals, and suckle their young swimming
along on their side. The nipple is retractile, and may be
drawn back into a slit or fold in the breast, so that it is
scarcely visible as the animal lies on deck. Having shot
a suckling mother on one occasion, we tried the milk. It
was very rich, and had a somewhat fishy taste. Porpoise
meat is exceedingly good for eating.

The sperm whale, or cachalot,is not now a denizen of our
coast, where, however, he makes occasional visits. In
1892 a monster, some eighty feet long, ran into the rocks
near Battle Harbour, and, I presume, finding them hard as
his own adamantine skull, got somewhat confused; for
he continued to battle with the rocks till he stranded and
perished. He was towed into the harbour and flensed in
an amateur way. The head was one-third as long as his
body. The head contained two large tanks, called the case,
and out of this the oil was pumped. One hundred and forty
gallons were taken. The oil helps to float the huge jaw-
bones. The lower jaw had fifty large, conical teeth of
solid ivory, several inches apart. The teeth of the cachalot
were at one time almost venerated in Fiji and other sea
islands, and disastrous wars and many murders have re-
sulted from disputes as to their possession. The food of

308 LABRADOR

the sperm is fish, and any flesh it can catch, especially
large cephalopods. It is said that out of the stomach of
one cachalot, thirteen porpoises and fourteen seals were
cut. Since this date several more sperm whales have
been killed on our coast.

The usual food of the whale is the octopus, or giant
squid, which flourishes in deep water off the Labrador.
An octopus arm no less than twenty-seven feet long was
reported as taken from the mouth of a captured cachalot.
Even the white whale falls victim to this most masterful
animal in the sea. The sperm whales travel in schools, the
boys and girls in separate companies, and each in charge
of one or two old folk. The big bulls maintain an absolute
proprietary right to ~he harem until deposed by some
able and aspiring youngster.

The narwhale, like all the others, is retiring steadily
before the advent of the white man, and is now seldom
taken on our shores, though in the north it is still ocea-
sionally killed. Its front left canine tooth grows directly
forward out of its mouth, and is twisted round and round
itself or its fellow-tooth, in a solid ivory tusk ten feet long.

There are now two whale factories in Labrador. One
at L’Anse au Loup was closed for want of whales. One
situated at Cape Charles has been running for four years.
Another at Hawke’s Harbour, forty miles to the north of
the Strait of Belle Isle, has run for two years, and kills
most fish. The whales apparently come from the north-
ward during the season. Both of these whaling stations
are now (1921) temporarily closed up.

Hunting whales is certainly a most exciting industry;
and I can imagine no more thrilling moment than when the

THE OCEAN MAMMALS 309

big fish rises for the last time right under the bow, and the
harpooner makes his shot. The small, fast steamers, with
the harpoon gun mounted on a swivel on the fore poop
deck, are still handled by Norwegians trained to the work.
In rough and fine weather one sees them darting here and
there and everywhere. The first puzzle to the visitor is
as to how these tiny craft ever managed to steam across
the great Atlantic. Two at least have been lost, — one on
a reef; one disappeared on the passage. They steam about
fifteen knots per hour, which is far faster than any whale
swims, unless he is badly frightened. As the monster,
which is as large as the steamer, blows alongside, and
one holds one’s breath involuntarily, the harpooner quite
silently indicates with one hand to the helmsman which
way to put the helm, keeping his other hand on the gun-
stock. Then there is a commotion right ahead, a sensation
as if the vessel were running to destruction on a huge rock,
a bang, and then, —nothing but the whirr of the line
as it flies out through the pulleys. It is indeed a trying
time. Either there is $1500 on the end of the line or,
perhaps, another tedious and fruitless search for days or
weeks. No wonder that on one occasion when I witnessed
what scarcely ever happens, a real old expert harpooner
make a clean miss, his language burst as if from a safety-
valve, and was ‘frequent and painful and free.” By a
careful and merciful arrangement, when the harpoon goes
home, the start of the whale pulls a trigger which is one of
the flukes of the barbed iron. This fires an explosive charge
in the fish, and will more often than not kill him immediately.
If, however, the harpoon strikes him in the tail, or again,
if it goes through a thin portion and does not explode, there

360 | LABRADOR

is likely to be trouble. With the powerful engine going
full speed astern, the whale will tow the steamer ahead,
they say, at several knots an hour. It seems never to
face the enemy voluntarily ; and though one, after sounding,
came up through the engine-room floor and sank the vessel,
it probably did so by chance in its dying agony or “ flurry.”’

A sunken whale can only be raised by steam power, and
once it is dead, it will otherwise remain down till putre-
faction sets in. Then after eight or nine days the retained
gases bring it to the surface. In Iceland where the fishery,
after fifty years’ prosecution, has destroyed the supply of
inshore whales, a sunk whale is sometimes buoyed and left
for another steamer to haul home. But the smell is then
so dreadful, and the oil so brown and so inferior in value,
that this delay in cutting up is avoided as often as possible.
Here on the Labrador the dying whale is hauled alongside
and given the coup de grace with a long lance, or possibly
a second bomb may be fired into him. A long, hollow rod
is then driven in, a force-pump is attached, and the great
leviathan is inflated like a foot-ball. His tail is now triced
up to the rigging, the flukes, as a rule, being cut off for
convenience. Thus he is carried in triumph home to the
factory, or anchored off while another victim is sought for.
Till late years the carcass was a waste product and was
allowed to float away or rot in the neighbouring coves.
There it fouled the air and water and made the very rocks
greasy and offensive. Now with the excellent machinery
the meat is cut up and treated with heat and acid. Almost
one-third as much good oil is thus extracted as is pumped
from the “case” in the head. The flesh is then passed
along from the vats to be dry heated with the crushed

THE OCEAN MAMMALS 361

bones, and converted into a valuable fertilizer, which is
put into sacks for exportation. Little or nothing of the
carcass is wasted; the blood itself goes into fertilizer.

Even during the few years the industry has been prose-
cuted, it would seem as if the whales had decreased in
number.

In 1904 two companies fished and killed 153 whales,
valued at $73,440.

In 1905 three companies fished and killed 149 whales,
valued at $42,318.

- In 1906 two companies fished and killed 85 whales.

In 1907 two companies fished and killed 94 whales.

Of the 149 whales killed in 1905 there were five sulphur-
bottoms, 101 finbacks, 43 humpbacks. A fall in the price
of oil and the inferior quality of the catch accounted for
the great drop in value from the previous year.

If codfish and salmon are essential to the white inhabitants,
seals and walrus are none the less the mainstay of the
aboriginal coast dwellers —the Eskimo. Alas for these
people, the increasingly vigorous prosecution of the seal-
fishery from Newfoundland with larger and larger steamers
has already begun to tell on the numbers of the seals, and
especially on the commonest and most valued, the harp
seal (Phoca Grenlandica). The Eskimo of Labrador are
slowly being driven back and dying out before the tide of
white population, and there can be no question that im-
proved rifles, improved seal-nets, and the steam sealers
have been potent factors in their downfall.t No one

* Fortunately one of the Eskimo’s favourite seals, the ‘‘ netsek,”’

does not come south at all, but whelps in holes excavated by it in the
solid body of the great ice pans.

362 LABRADOR

more clearly recognizes this or more deeply deplores it
than one of the best authorities, Dr. Fridjof Nansen. The
hood-seal fishery of East Greenland, once a great in-
dustry, has long ago ceased to exist. It began in 1761,
and by 1884 it was already failing, yet only one million
seals had been killed. Every year the white communities
in Labrador are finding it less worth while to prosecute the
seal-fishery. And now the land being also denuded of its
once plentiful game, many settlements have disappeared.
In 1795 it was considered a poor seal year when eleven hun-
dred were killed at Battle Harbour; one hundred and fifty
seals would be a good year’s catch there now. Professor
Hornaday of New York declares that ‘every large terres-
trial mammal species is being killed off faster than it
breeds.”” The same may be said of most of the aquatic
mammals.

I am safe in saying that along the whole coast of Labrador
not more than fifty walrus are now killed in the year. One
was killed near Cape Mekattina in the Gulf, last year (1908).
I have not heard of any other having been seen in the Gulf
during the sixteen years I have known it. Most are killed
by the Eskimo at Okkak, Hebron, and Ramah. They are
more numerous around Cape Chidley, but there are fewer
people there to kill them. Great herds were said to have
once existed on the Magdalene Islands. In 1641 a vessel
hunting as far south as Sable Island secured as many as
four hundred pair of walrus tusks. In 1750 they were very
plentiful in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Yet in 1841 so rare
had they become, one was reported killed “as far south
as the Gulf of St. Lawrence.” It may be noted that the
walrus are not migratory in habit. Even in the polar

THE OCEAN MAMMALS 363

seas it would seem they are getting scarcer, and the huge
herds once so common are now seldom seen. The ex-
tinction of the walrus in Hudson Bay will mean death to
many of the only class of human beings able to flourish
in that environment. Nevertheless, the increasingly fatal
weapons of modern civilization are being directed against
the walrus for the paltry return they give the white man
or for ‘‘pure sport.”’

Surely the time has come to extend some protection to
the northern people by preserving almost their sole food-
supply. Professor Henry Elliot describes the absolute
destitution of two villages of three hundred Eskimo, whom
he knew personally and regarded as a superior race of
Eskimo; their starvation, in this case, resulted from the
fact that a special movement of the ice that year deprived
them of walrus. A. P. Low records the death of every
single soul in a Hudson Bay community from starvation
because the whalers had supplied modern weapons to neigh-
bouring Eskimo, who were then employed in destroying the
only walrus (for export of the skins) available to the fated
settlement. Were it in my power, I would most certainly
close for ‘civilized’? walrus hunting all the water to the
west of Labrador and Baffin’s Bay, and thus prevent the
intentional or the unintentional robbing of another people’s
means of existence.

After all, the walrus catch is of no great value to the
white man. The dense skin from a half inch to three inches
in thickness is useful only for a few special purposes. The
ivory of the tusks keeps its colour well, but is very faulty,
and not large enough for the manufacture of billiard balls.
It is of comparatively little value. I once bought from a

364 LABRADOR

trader here a whole boxful of tusks at thirty cents a pound.
The largest tusks I have had from a Labrador walrus
weighed, when cleaned and dried, six and one-quarter
pounds. Possibly a very extraordinary pair might weigh
ten pounds.

The old male walrus would scale twenty-five hundred
pounds, be about fifteen feet long, and has measured as
much around the waist. They are clumsy, lethargic beasts,
gregarious and monogamous. They are slow in the water,
and dead slow on the land, advancing by hauling painfully
along by their fore flippers, or if hurrying into the water
“rolling over anyhow.” Amusing accounts have been
written as to how they wait for succeeding waves to heave
them out on sandy beaches, rather than scramble up them-
selves; when thousands are together, the last comers le on
top of the earlier arrivals, simply because they are too
apathetic to move on. They appear to have a fair sense
of smell, but not to rely on sight or sound for protection
from their enemies, among whom is the polar bear.

Professor Elliot describes how he watched a herd basking
on an Alaskan beach, and before one dodged off to sleep,
it poked the next one and woke it up. This grape-vine
telegraph seemed to be for the purpose of having one always
somewhat on the alert. They are shy and harmless,
digging up clams with their tusks for food, and also browsing
on some of the seaweeds. They have been known to attack
a kayak, or boat, but only when wounded or when defending
their young. They use their tusks for helping themselves
out on an ice edge.

Though to Europeans of so little value, to an Eskimo
the walrus may mean everything, — meat, clothing, light,

THE OCEAN MAMMALS 365

housing, boats, weapons, nets (from plaited bowel); every-
thing necessary can be got from a good walrus. However,
the skin of the ring seal or the bay seal is the Eskimo’s
usual clothing. Only the blown and dried gut, which 1s
sewn with sinew and makes an excellent oilskin jumper,
and is mostly used in kayaking, is obtained from the walrus.

The meat is black, and to us offensive. We were walking
along the beach one day, and, while crossing a pebbly ridge,
felt it move up and down as if it were on soft rubber. We
moved a few top layers of stones, and found an immense
cache of raw walrus meat left against next winter. An-
other cache we saw barred into the end of a sea-worn cave.
This was, however, so odoriferous, we could only suppose
it was in reserve for the dogs. A sick Eskimo boy that we
had for twelve months as a patient would at first eat no
“Kablenak”’ food. We had to keep a supply of dried
walrus meat that looked like tarred leather. This he would
tear in strips with his teeth and eat raw, somewhat as men
chew plug tobacco. The tusks are the greatest prize, how-
ever, for on these the Eskimo depend for their harpoon tops,
the bone being heavy and curved exactly as they like it.
We brought out one year a few iron harpoon tops for some
northern friends. But I found they did not use them,
greatly preferring the native tusk tops. These are most
skilfully made; they are purposely divided into three pieces
so that when the harpooned walrus puts a heavy strain on
the line, the pieces come apart, leaving the barbed head
inside the animal. Thus the weapon itself does not
break.

The harp seal (Phoca Grenlandica) is far the most abun-
dant seal on the Labrador. In the late autumn he comes

366 LABRADOR

south from Melville Sound and from even more northern
waters during November to February; at this season the
East Coast men set gill-nets for them. About the first
of March they bring forth their young on the ice-floes off
the coast, and also in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, as far as the
Magdalene Islands, and even Nova Scotia. For this they
herd together in tens of thousands on the floating ice,
which under ordinary circumstances should afford them
safety. But at this time when they are absolutely unable
to escape, the Newfoundlanders hunt them in large steamers,
and kill immense numbers of the babies by clubbing them.
From two hundred and fifty thousand to five hundred
thousand is the average number thus destroyed annually.
The babies are quite white, called “ white-coats,” and are
almost all born on the same day, and also take to the water
on the same day, three weeks later. The baby fur comes
off at this time. He is then called a ‘‘ragged-coat.”’ The
fur of still-born babes does not come off, and the skins are
therefore more valuable and are called “cats.”

During these (generally three) weeks, the ice has been
drifting rapidly to the south. The mother seal has kept
a blow-hole open up through the ice near where she left
the baby, and through this she has been away fishing
every day. She gives such rich milk that her offspring
can be almost seen to grow. They are so fat that I have
seen them looking, in their ice cradles, like bladders full of
lard, as they lay on their backs in the hot sun, fanning
themselves with their flippers. The mother at last forces
the pup to take to the water, and a mysterious instinct at
once teaches him to ‘‘go north, young man.” This he does
in leisurely fashion, and by the end of May these “ beating

THE OCEAN MAMMALS 367

)

seals,” as they are called, have mostly passed along the
Labrador coast.

When these poor creatures are killed, the waste is terrible.
I have seen three or four thousand bodies of young seals,
freshly stripped of their furry jackets, left to rot, or be a
prey for sharks, as the case may be. The sealing industry
is a very popular one, however, in Newfoundland. The
sealing masters are the great men of the fishery, and there
can be no question that from the sealer’s point of view,
the adventure, the call for pluck and hardihood, and the
gamble of it, beyond the few dollars each man may make,
are great attractions. It is not true, so far as I have seen,
that brutalities, such as flaying alive, are ever practised.
Nor can any one, knowing the men as intimately as I
do, ever believe them capable of any such abominable
atrocities.

The “beater seal’? returns as a ‘“‘bedlamer”’ with his
fellow-beaters left from the previous year, when the old
seals come south next winter. He plays about among the
floes, and returns again north in the spring, to come back
a “young harp” the third winter, ready to do his share in
maintaining the race. Often, however, he does not breed
till the fourth year, when he assumes the dignity and name
of an “old harp.” The saddle, or harp, isa large, bilateral,
black, wing-shaped patch across his back showing well on
the lighter, drab-coloured skin of the rest of his body.

Even when the dangers of the ice-floes are over, where
many old seals, as well as the young, are slaughtered, the
harp is still not safe on his northern journey. In May and
June, along the shores of Labrador huge frame nets are put
out from a capstan on the land. The great room of net

368 LABRADOR

has a doorway which, once the seals have entered the room,
is raised by winding up the capstan on the land. As the
seals trim the shores, and even follow round the bays on
their long journey, many are caught in this way. I have
known one settler’s family to take nine hundred seals, while
three hundred to four hundred forms a catch by no means
unusual. Not nearly so many seals, however, are taken
nowadays, spring or autumn, and one can see many aban-
doned capstans standing on rocky points. At one little
Labrador settlement a trapper of the name of Jones be-
came so rich through regular large catches of seals that he |
actually had a carriage and horses sent from Quebec, and
a road made to drive them on; while he had a private
musician hired from Canada for the whole winter to per-
form at his continuous feastings. I was called on awhile
ago to help to supply clothing to cover the nakedness of this
man’s grandchildren.

Yet another mode of welcome the poor harp gets from
southerners, when it leaves its northern home to visit us.
That is given with buck-shot and musket, ball and rifle.
The process is called swatching, and is carried on by two —
men in a light rodney, or punt, which is sometimes provided
with runners. The seals are bound to rise in the “ponds,”’
or fissures, between the great pans of the Arctic floe, to take
breath. The plan is to “get by a likely lead of water,”
build a “gaze,” or shelter, out of ice blocks, and ‘bide your
time.”’ You must be absolutely alert to get any seals. I
have myself chosen a small lead and watched, lying down
with rifle ready loaded, cocked, and pointed, and yet many
times a great harp has noiselessly put up his head and
shoulders and gone down, leaving only a ripple on the sur-

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THE OCEAN MAMMALS 369

face, before I could draw a bead on him. Then for a short
time he floats at this time of the year, and you must rush off
your boat, or throw your many-hooked jigger over him, and
haul him quickly up on to the ice, if you are strong enough
to do so.

If the seals are basking on the ice as the boat approaches,
the men shout and wave, and even fire under the seal, which
- seems to so frighten him that he remains staring into space,
till they land and club him with the rifle. As the slain
animal does not move, the others think there can be no
danger, and will at times allow a man to land and shoot
or club them every one.

Our next most important seal is the bay seal. He is a
small seal, weighing only about one hundred pounds and
looking rather dingy in a drab coat with faded black mark-
ings. Nor are they very numerous, never being seen in
herds. Yet they will probably outlast all the others, being
the most adaptable to their varied environment. They are
found in the Pacific and Atlantic, in Europe, Asia, and
America, and in the south seas. They can bear heat or
cold. I have shot them when driving my komatik over
a frozen arm of the sea, tolling them into range by lying
flat down and waving my feet to represent a seal; I have
also secured them in the hot summer when the mosquitoes
and the heat have made the period of waiting almost un-
bearable. Bay seals are equally at home in salt water or
fresh. Some of our rivers are almost ruined for ordinary
fishing by the number of bay seals that infest their pools.
This “robber of the river,’ to use the name of the
salmon fisherman, is there shown no mercy by the fisher-

men, and cannot possibly escape. The seals will watch
2B

370 LABRADOR

the salmon nets so carefully, and eat the struggling cap-
tives so rapidly, that there is little wonder most fisher-

men are ‘‘agin them.” I have known a seal haunt a net .

so persistently that to get any fish the owner had to watch
all the while at one end of it, and even then the seal was
so ‘‘well adapted to his environment” that he would almost
snap off the fisherman’s hand as he raced to be first to dis-
entangle the salmon. The bay seals are captured by our
people in nets anchored to the bottom. When diving, the
seals become ‘‘meshed”’ and are soon drowned, as they
cannot rise to breathe.

The seals can travel a considerable distance over land
and can remain for long periods out of water. The harbour
seal (Phoca vitulina) breeds and lives in Seal Lake, one
hundred miles inland from Richmond Gulf and eight
hundred feet above the sea. In winter this seal leaves for
islands in the open where the sea does not freeze. The bay
seals of the coast breed on the land in caves, rocks, or beaches.
I have seen them many times with their young. When
the baby is born, he is a dusky white, but he soon assumes
a most beautiful silvery coat mottled with black, which
he wears for a year. During this time he is called a
“ranger,” and his skin makes the most attractive clothing,
sleeping-bags, pouches, etc.

At three years the ranger becomes a “‘doter” and is
a breeding seal. The young are born in April and May
in southern Labrador, and later on as one gets farther north.
The young seal is able to take to the water at once. It is
said that the “‘baby-hair” is cast inside the mother before
his birth.

Clever as the modern circus ‘‘feature”’ shows seals to be,

ah

THE OCEAN MAMMALS StL

they are easily decoyed in the manner above described.
Once, however, the biter got bitten. For one of our Eskimo,
who had hidden himself in a sealskin bag and was lying on
a favourite basking rock flapping his legs, was mistaken for
a seal by a passer-by on the shore, who promptly sent a
bullet through him.

The large, gentle eye makes the seal’s appearance ex-
ceedingly attractive, and those inclined to be sentimental
have found in him a great scope for their effusions. As
a matter of fact, he eats his prey alive. He will take a bit
out of a fish, and leave the rest to struggle away and die
slowly. They are fierce fighters, and will catch and eat
birds swimming on the surface of the water. One was seen
devouring a salmon alive. The seal swallowed him by
inches, swimming a mile while the struggle lasted. It
seemed an open question whether he would succeed or not.
Another seal was seen to capture a gull on the water, but
the persistent harrying he got from the rest of the birds
persuaded him to let the wounded victim go.

The ringed seal, Phoca hispida, so dearly loved of Green-
landers, and so prized by their people for clothing, is rare
in Labrador, only a few specimens being taken, and those
in the extreme north.

Nor does the hooded (or hood) seal (Cystophora cristata)
come much to the shore. Indeed, the ringed seal is a
glacial seal, and the hood a pelagic and glacial seal. The
hoods breed in the ice off our shores in March, a little later
than the harps, and their baby, dark on the back, is called
a “blue-coat.” The old ones are slightly larger than the
harps, and the skin is covered with black patches. The
strange bag on the head, which is inflated from the nose,

a2 LABRADOR

is probably only an ornament like a crest. Some think it
is specially provided to protect its nose from seal bats or
clubs, — of course an impossible theory, for sufficient time
has not yet elapsed for Nature to have evolved armour
against the sealers in the ice-field, any more than she has
yet provided for the ideal requirements of twentieth century
foot-ball man. The hood seal has been so far exterminated
in its favourite resort between Greenland and Iceland, that
the fishery has had to be abandoned.

This seal displays great strength, courage, and affection in
defending its young, and I have seen a whole family die
together on a pan of ice not twelve yards square. Four
men with wooden seal bats did the killing, but not before
the male had caught one club in his mouth and cleared his
enemies off the pan by swinging it from side to side. The
old seal, which must have weighed fully two thousand
pounds, was hoisted on board whole (or unsculped), so as
not to delay the steamer. He was apparently quite dead.
As, however, he came over the rail, the strap broke, and
he fell back into the sea. The cold water must have re-
vived him, for I saw him return to the same pan of ice,
distinguishable by the blood stains left by the recent
battle, and now some little distance astern. The edge
of the pan was almost six feet above water, but he leaped
clear over the edge, and landed almost in the spot where
his family had met their tragic fate. 'The men immediately
ran back and killed him with bullets. He was this time
sculped, and so brought aboard.

The strength of the hood seal is also well illustrated by
the fact that he can descend for food to a depth of sixty
or even ninety fathoms. This is shown by the fact that a

THE OCEAN MAMMALS ate

deep-sea fish called ‘‘bergylt,” which only lives between
those depths, has been found in his stomach.

The last and largest of our seals is the gray seal (Hali-
cherus grypus). We measured one eleven feet long, with
a girth of eight feet. No doubt, however, larger ones have
been killed. These seals are practically devoid of hair,
make the best possible material for covering kayaks, and
for the manufacture of water-tight feet for boots. The
skin of the harp seal is used for the legs and for the bottoms
as well, when the boots are to be used in the coldest weather,
because this skin 1s so much softer, and allows freer move-
ment; but the gray sealskin is much more resistant to
water. The gray seal is generally shot as he plays along
the ice edges, but is occasionally meshed in sunken nets.

Professor E. Wiedlein, now director of the famous
Pittsburgh Laboratories, called ‘‘The Mellon Institute,”
studied during two seasons the secretions of the ductless
glands of our whales. He isolated a crystalline “‘adrena-
lin,” that was a stable substance and gave a solution
that did not decompose in contact with the air. The
synthesising of this under the commercial name super
rennin has, however, prevented the need for extracting it
commercially. The pituitary body was as large as a
man’s fist — the adrenal body about a foot long.

CHAPTER XV

THE BIRDS

By CHarLeS WENDELL TowNseEnp, M.D.

From an ornithological point of view, Labrador has an
interesting past as well as present. The great Audubon
testified to the wonderful interest of Labrador to the orni-
thologist, by visiting this country in 1833. His writings
contain frequent reference to the observations he made
at that time, and he states in his Labrador Journal that he
executed or partly executed seventeen plates of birds during
his brief sojourn of two months on these shores.

Since Audubon’s times there have been sad changes in
the bird life of this country. Two species have become
extinct; namely, the great auk and the Labrador, or pied,
duck. The former bred in great numbers on Funk Island
off the near-by coast of Newfoundland, but was slaughtered
mercilessly during the latter part of the eighteenth and the
beginning of the nineteenth centuries. Cartwright de-
scribes the capture of one of these flightless birds, not far
from the southern coast of Labrador. He says, calling
the bird by its common name of “penguin’’: ‘We were
about four leagues from Groais Island at sunset [Mon-
day, August 5, 1771] when he saw a snow [sailing-vessel]
standing in for Croque. During a calm in the afternoon,
Shuglawina went off in his kyack in pursuit of a penguin;

374

THE BIRDS 375

he presently came within a proper distance of the bird,
and struck his dart into it; but, as the weapon did not
enter a mortal part, the penguin swam and dived so well,
that he would have lost both the bird and the dart, had he
not driven it near enough the vessel for me to shoot it.”
The last auk seen alive was in 1852.

The Labrador duck doubtless occurred in abundance in
past times along the Labrador coast. Audubon was shown
nests supposed to belong to this species, but he saw none
of the birds, and there is much doubt as to the identity of
the nests. Cartwright speaks in his Journal several times
of shooting pied ducks, and there are reasons to believe
that these were Labrador ducks, although the evidence is
of course not absolute. That this duck is now extinct,
there seems no doubt, as none has been seen or shot since
about 1874.

Another bird which seems to be going the same way
towards extinction, a bird which has been in times past
perhaps the most characteristic bird of Labrador, is the
Eskimo curlew. This bird visited the coast regions in
countless multitudes every autumn on its southward mi-
gration. Professor Packard, writing of the Eskimo curlew
in 1860 in Labrador, says: —

“On the 10th of August the curlews appeared in great
numbers. On that day we saw a flock which may have
been a mile long and nearly as broad; there must have
been in that flock four or five thousand! The sum total
of their notes sounded at times lke the wind whistling
through the ropes of a thousand-ton vessel; at others the
sound seemed like the jingling of multitudes of sleigh-
bells.”

376 LABRADOR

The birds were delicious eating. They fattened almost
to bursting on the Empetrum, or curlewberry, so abundant
along the coast. The fishermen kept their guns loaded,
and shot into the great flocks as they wheeled by, bringing
down many a fat bird. About 1888 or 1890 the curlew
rapidly diminished in numbers, and at the present day
perhaps a dozen or two, or possibly none at all, are seen in
a season.

The rocky islands which line the Labrador coast have
always been favourite breeding places for various water-
birds, chief among which may be mentioned the puffin,
black guillemot, the common and Brwnnich’s murres,
razor-billed auk, great black-backed gull, glaucous gull,
herring gull, Arctic tern, common and double-crested cor-
morants, and American and Greenland eider-ducks. These
formerly bred abundantly all along the coast, and before
the arrival of the white man paid a comparatively small and
unimportant tribute to the greed of polar bears, Eskimos,
and Indians. This natural pruning, as it might be called,
had little or no influence on the numbers of the birds.
White men, however, with their insatiable greed and their
more systematic methods, have created havoc in the ranks
of these interesting water-fowl. In Audubon’s time the
vile business of “egging,”’ as it was called, was at its height,
and the horrors of the business are graphically pictured by
the great ornithologist. He describes a shallop with a crew
of eight men: —

“There rides the filthy thing! The afternoon is half
over. Her crew have thrown their. boat overboard, they

enter and seat themselves, each with a rusty gun. One
of them sculls the skiff towards an island, for a century

THE BIRDS ov

past the breeding place of myriads of guillemots, which
are now to be laid under contribution. At the ap-
proach of the vile thieves, clouds of birds rise from the
rock and fill the air around, wheeling and screaming over
their enemies. Yet thousands remain in an erect posture,
each covering its single egg, the hope of both parents.
The reports of several muskets loaded with heavy shot are
now heard, while several dead and wounded birds fall
heavily on the rock or into the water. Instantly all the
sitting birds rise and fly off affrighted to their companions
above, and hover in dismay over their assassins, who walk
forward exultingly, with their shouts mingling oaths and
execrations. Look at them! See how they crush the
chick within its shell, how they trample on every egg in
their way with their huge and clumsy boots. Onward
they go, and when they leave the isle, not an egg that they
can find is left entire. . . . The light breeze enables them
to reach another harbour a few miles distant, one which
like the last lies concealed from the ocean by some rocky
isle. Arrived there, they react the scene of yesterday,
crushing every egg they can find. For a week each night
is passed in drunkenness and brawls, until, having reached
the last breeding place on the coast, they return, touch at
every isle in succession, shoot as many birds as they need,
collect the fresh eggs, and lay in a cargo.”

The days of commercial egging have long since passed
and the laws against egging and shooting the nesting birds
are now fairly enforced in Canadian Labrador. In New-
foundland Labrador, however, there seems to be no pre-
tence of bird or egg protection. The inhabitants and the
summer fishermen appear to consider the eggs and the
breeding parents as godsends to eke out their scanty larder.
Knowing every rock on the coast as these men do, they can
easily keep in touch with the birds and rob them of their

378 LABRADOR

treasures. When I was in Labrador in the summer of 1906,
the fishermen made no concealment of the fact that they
took all the eggs and killed all the birds they could. They
often carried their guns with them when they visited their
fish-traps. In the spring and fall great numbers of migrat-
ing ducks, and even gulls, are shot as they stream through
the narrow tickles.

The Eskimo dogs are not fed in summer, and, foraging
for themselves, they ransack the coast and undoubtedly
destroy many eggs and young, not only of the larger water-
birds, but also of other ground nesting birds, such as pipits
and horned larks.

It is sincerely to be hoped that the wonderful nursery
for water-birds in Labrador will not be entirely depopulated,
but that sufficient protection for the breeding birds will be
given, and that speedily, lest it be soon too late.

Notwithstanding these inroads on the birds, Labrador is
still of great interest to the ornithologist, and it may be
well to take up in turn some of the characteristic birds *
to be found at the present day in the three faunal zones
into which the Labrador peninsula may be divided, —
the Arctic Zone, the Hudsonian Zone, and the Canadian
Zone.

The Arctic Zone includes the barren grounds above the
limit of tree growth on all the larger hills and mountains in
the interior, the whole northern portion as far south as
about lat. 58°, and the entire coastal strip of varying

1In a recent. study of the birds of Labrador by Dr. Glover M.
Allen and myself, we have recorded two hundred and thirteen species
and subspecies of birds for the Labrador peninsula, as shown in the
list in the Appendix.

THE BIRDS 379

width from Natashquan on the southern coast along the
shore of the Straits of Belle Isle, the entire eastern coast,
and the Hudson Bay coast south to about the region of the
mouth of the Great Whale River.

Two characteristic Arctic birds, which the visitor along
the southern and eastern coast will be most likely to see,
are the American pipit and the horned lark. These are
common everywhere along the coast, building their nests
in the deep moss of the barren hills. Both birds are grace-
ful walkers along the ground, and the pipit distinguishes
itself by its habit of constantly wagging its tail up and down.
Both birds are interesting singers, and both indulge in flight
songs, each in its own peculiar manner. ‘The pipit suddenly
springs up into the air, mounting nearly vertically, but
circling slightly. Up, up it goes, singing repeatedly a simple
refrain, che whée, che whée, with a vibratory resonance on
the whée. Attaining an eminence of perhaps two hundred
feet, it checks itself and at once begins its descent. Down
it goes, faster and faster, repeating its song at the same
time faster and faster. Long before it reaches the ground,
it sets its wings and tips from side to side to break its
descent. During the performance it may emit its refrain
eighty times.

The horned lark, on the other hand, mounts silently into
the air in irregular circles, until it becomes a mere speck in
the sky. Here it alternately flaps its wing and sails, emit-
ting a jingling, squeaking, but not unpleasing, song. This
performance continues for several minutes, during which
the bird repeats its song many times. Then the song ceases,
and the bird dives to the earth as silently as it rose. Oc-
casionally the song is given from the ground. The song

380 LABRADOR

resembles in kind but not in quality the famous song of
the English skylark.

Another common bird in this coastal strip is one that
is also a dweller farther south, an inhabitant of the eastern
United States ; namely, the savanna sparrow, and strangely
out of place does it seem here.

In the more northern parts of the Arctic Zone of Labrador
are to be found the Lapland longspur, the wheatear, possibly
the white wagtail, the snow-bunting, snowy owl, rock
ptarmigan, Reinhardt’s ptarmigan, the white, gray, and
black gyrfalecons, and the American rough-legged hawk,
although these four last-named birds may be found even
on the southern coast.

The American rough-legged hawk is a splendid broad-
winged bird almost black in colour. It may sometimes be
seen poised motionless for several minutes at a time over
the brow of a hill, sustaining itself like a kite by the air
currents. The gyrfaleons have more pointed wings, and
the whiteness of the plumage of the white, or Iceland, species
makes it very conspicuous among the dark crags where
it nests.

The two ptarmigans already mentioned, as well as the
willow ptarmigan, which is found in the region of tree growth
of the Hudsonian Zone, resemble their compatriot, the
Arctic hare, not only in becoming white in winter, but also
in possessing shaggy feet at this season, — feet densely
tufted with hair in one case, with feathers in the other.
This tufting probably acts in the manner of snow-shoes
to prevent sinking into the deep snow, and not merely
to keep the feet warm. The generic name of the ptarmigan
is Lagopus, which means rabbit-footed. In the same way

THE BIRDS 881

the snowy owl’s feet are well padded and tufted with
feathers.

The change of colour in the ptarmigan from the brown
and mottled plumage of summer to the snowy white of
winter is due not to any mysterious change in the feathers
themselves, but to the moulting of the brown feathers and
to their replacement by others of a different colour. Both
plumages are wonderfully protective, and it is as difficult
to see the brown bird amid its barren surroundings in sum-
mer as it is to see the white bird amid the snow and ice
in winter.

While the coastal strip is under consideration, it will be
well to speak of the water-birds that breed along the shore.
Of the small wading birds one of the most interesting is
the northern phalarope, not much larger than a “peep,”
that bears the name of “gale bird”’ on the Labrador coast,
“‘sea-goose’’ on the New England coast. It has a habit
of riding the water both of the sea and of the reedy pools
like a miniature goose or duck. On the shores of these
reedy pools along the coast, the females lay the eggs, but
confide to the males, smaller and less brightly plumaged
birds, the duties of incubation and caring for the young,
while they go gadding in companies off at sea. Least and
spotted sandpipers and semipalmated plover also breed
on the Labrador coast, but most of this group go farther
north to raise their young.

Of the divers, the loon and red-throated loon breed com-
monly near fresh-water ponds, and are to be met with in
considerable numbers along the coast. The black-throated
loon is occasionally found in the northern portions.

The puffin, or parroquet, as it is universally called in

382 LABRADOR

Labrador, breeds at favourable spots all along the coast, but
it is to be seen in greatest abundance in the Straits of Belle
Isle near Bradore. Here it breeds in great numbers at
Parroquet Island, a small island of crumbling red sand-
stone in which it burrows and lays its single egg. The
puffin is a good bird to watch from a steamer, for it allows
of close approach before it attempts to get out of the way.
After nervously dabbing with its bill at the water a few
times, it either dives or flies away. In both cases it may
be said to fly away, for in diving it flops out its wings as
it goes down, and continues to use them under water in
flight. Whether swimming on the surface, or in aérial
flight, the shape and appearance of puffins are characteristic.
They are short and apoplectic in form, being devoid of
a neck. Their large red bills and gray eye-rings, which
suggest spectacles, and the dark band about the neck, give
them a comical appearance.

The black guillemot, or sea pigeon, is perhaps the most
ubiquitous bird along the coast. It breeds securely in
deep fissures among the rocks. Its black plumage, relieved
by the large white patches on its wings, makes it very con-
spicuous. Both the common and Brinnich’s murres
breed along the coast, although in sadly diminished
ranks as compared with their former abundance. Hach
species lays a single egg on the rocky ledges. The egg
varies greatly from a delicate blue or bluish green to a
buffy white, and is wonderfully spotted or streaked with
various shades of brown. It is pyriform in shape, so that
it is less able to roll off its precarious perch.

The razor-billed auk, or tinker, is also to be found breed-
ing on the rocky islands, except where the greed of man has

THE BIRDS 383

exterminated it. Its broad, sharp bill in summer at once
distinguishes it from the murre, as well as its habit of cock-
ing up its tail as it swims. In its short neck it resembles
the puffin, but it is a larger bird, and as it flies away,it shows
a black line in the middle of its back between white sides,
while the puffin looks black from the same point of view.
The dovekie, or little auk, breeds farther north, but is found
along the coast during the migrations and in winter.

Of the gull family it is possible to mention only a few
here. Perhaps the most beautiful in flight are the hunters
of the sea, the jaegers, who rob the other gulls and terns
of their prey. A pomarine Jaeger in the black phase twist-
ing and turning in pursuit of a white kittiwake is indeed
a beautiful sight. The kittiwakes breed on the high cliffs
of the northern Labrador coast, but may be seen in great
flocks anywhere along the shore. An assembly of several
thousand of these beautiful white birds settling on the
water and rising to whirl about like gusts of snow driven
by the wind, is a wonderful sight. Their cries suggest the
syllables kittvwake.

The great black-gulled gull and herring gull are such
familiar birds in winter farther south that they need not
be mentioned here, but one must not omit to speak of the
glorious glaucous, or burgomaster, gull. This bird, as large
as a great black-backed gull, breeds on the eastern coast
in moderate numbers. The purity of its plumage vies
with that of the Arctic ice that often surrounds it. The
long feathers of the wings are spotless white, instead of
being marked as in the herring gull. The adults have
a gray-blue mantle on the back, while the immature birds
lack this mantle and are of a universal whiteness slightly
tinged with buff.

384 LABRADOR

Among the tube-nosed swimmers, the greater and sooty
shearwaters may sometimes be found in summer in flocks
of several thousand along this rugged coast. These birds,
however, do not breed here. In fact, they are spending
their winter in the neighbourhood, for they breed in the
Antarctic regions in their summer, our winter. Wilson’s
petrel also wanders here in the same way, while the stormy
petrel wanders from its breeding grounds along the coast
of the British Isles. Leache’s petrel, however, is a true
inhabitant, and breeds on the Labrador coast. Both the
common and the double-crested cormorant, weird-looking
birds, commonly called ‘“shags,’’ breed on the southern
shore. A small colony of gannets also are still to be found
there.

Many species of ducks migrate along the Labrador coast,
seeking and returning from their breeding places farther
north. Others breed on the coast or in the interior on the
shores of rivers or ponds. Perhaps the most conspicuous
bird in this group, one that still attempts to hide its nest
from devastating man or Eskimo dog, along the shores of
the sea-coast, is the American eider. In its nest it lays from
five to eight large, pale greenish eggs slightly tinged with
olive. These eggs it protects and keeps warm with the
eider-down which it plucks from its breast. They are
large birds, and generally fly in single file low over the water.
The strikingly marked males, with the black bellies and
white breasts, necks,and backs, are easily recognized. ‘The
female is a great brownish bird, looking very dark in some
lights, and entirely lacks distinctive markings. Both sexes
have, however, a characteristic way of holding the bill
pointing obliquely downward at an angle, instead of straight

THE BIRDS 385

out before them like most ducks. The king eider, a wonder-
fully marked bird, breeds in scanty numbers along the
coast, and the Greenland eider is a breeder in the northern
parts of the country.

The three species of scoters, or sea-coots, as they are
ealled, breed in the interior, but numbers of each species are
always to be found in summer along the sea-coast. A-small
duck that is diminishing in numbers still breeds in the
interior of Labrador along the course of streams. This is
the harlequin duck, as curiously variegated in colours as is
the individual for which it is named. After the breeding
season, this bird resorts to the salt water.

Of the geese, the Canada goose alone breeds commonly
in the interior of Labrador, and is often caught by the
natives during its helpless moulting period.

The heron and rail family are represented in Labrador
by but few species, and those mostly stragglers.

The upper limit of the Hudsonian Zone coincides with
the upper limit of the tree growth. The lower limit cannot
be accurately placed, for it glides imperceptibly into the Ca-
nadian Zone. There are frequently offshoots and islands of
the Canadian Zone in favourable localities in the Hudsonian
Zone, just. as there are offshoots and islands of the Hud-
sonian Zone in the Arctic Zone. The most characteristic
Hudsonian bird and one that clings closely to the out-
skirts of the Arctic Zone, often indeed invading its territory,
is the white-crowned sparrow, well called the aristocrat of
its family. A most distinguished-looking individual he is,
with his snow-white crown and white bars over the eyes.
The area of the white crown is enlarged when he erects it

in pride or passion, or when the wind blows it up. This is
2c

386 LABRADOR

the familiar dooryard bird of the bleak Labrador coast.
He sings from the roof of the turf-covered tilt, or from the
cross-stays of the fishing schooner in the narrow tickle.
He contentedly picks up crumbs and insects about the
houses and makes his nest in the thickets of spruces or
firs that are unable to struggle more than two or three
feet above the earth. His call note is characteristic and
easily recognized, a metallic chink. He also has a sharp,
chipping alarm note. His song is pleasing, although it has
not the familiar charm of his cousin, the Peabody bird, or
the power and brilliancy of that of the fox sparrow. It
sounds something like more wet-wetter-wet-chezee. There is
a long and somewhat mournful stress laid on the first note,
and a buzz not easily expressed in words comes near the end.

Another Hudsonian bird that frequents the stunted
trees and bushes on the borders of the Arctic Zone is the
tree sparrow. The chestnut crown and large black spot
on the otherwise spotless breast make it easily recognized.
His song is simple and easily memorized, seet-seet, — sit-
iter — sweet-sweet.

Two other sparrows are common and characteristic of
this zone. The Lincoln’s sparrow, discovered by Audubon
in Labrador and named by him after his young friend Tom
Lincoln, resembles closely the song sparrow of more south-
ern regions. Its disposition, however, is very different, for
it is a most retiring bird, skulking out of sight in the bushes
if it but suspects that it is an object of interest. Instead
of mounting to a conspicuous post to sing like its cousin,
the song sparrow, it is apt to select the interior of a fir bush
for this performance, and the listener often looks in vain
for the songster. The song is varied, but partakes at times

THE BIRDS 387

of the warbling character of the song of the purple finch
and of the wren. It is wild and mournful, and well fits
its surroundings.

Of a different type is the fox sparrow. A large, hand-

some, rather showily dressed bird is he, one that does not
hide his light under a bushel. As a musician he takes first
rank. He is a performer of high merit. His clear and
flutelike notes ring out with great purity, yet his song
has not the charm of some simpler bird melodies.
_ The redpoll belongs also in this zone, although it hardly
appears to have a local habitation, such a restlessly wan-
dering bird isit. Its chug chug as it flies recalls the white-
winged crossbill’s call note, and its sweet dee-ar resembles
closely the similar note of its cousin goldfinch. Frequently
in the breeding season it waxes melodious in its own way,
and flies about in irregular circles, alternately chug chugging,
and emitting a finely drawn rattle or trill.

The Tennessee warbler and the Wilson’s warbler are both
found in this zone, the former a very plain, inconspicuous
bird, the latter bright yellow witha glossy black cap. The
Tennessee warbler is as inconspicuous in its habits as in its
plumage, and retires to the depths of thickets when the
observer endeavours to learn its secrets. The Wilson’s
warbler, on the other hand, does not hesitate to display
its charms at close range, and sings its simple little song.

Two other birds, both fine singers, may be mentioned
here, for they belong in this Hudsonian Zone; namely, the
ruby-crowned kinglet and Alice’s thrush. That the di-
minutive kinglet can produce such a loud and wonderfully
clear and varied song is always a surprise and delight.
The Alice’s thrush is a common bird in the scrubby woods

388 LABRADOR

on the edge of the Arctic Zone. Its call note resembles
at times the call of the night-hawk, at times the call of the
veery. Its song, which may be heard in the long summer
twilight of Labrador even after nine o’clock, is interesting
and beautiful. It begins with a single or double note,
followed by a long veery-like vibration, sweet yet mournful.

The Canadian Zone includes the wooded region of south-
ern Labrador. Its limits cannot be accurately defined, and
the birds of this and the Hudsonian Zone intermingle.
Sheltered valleys often enable the Canadian birds to ex-
tend far north into the region of the Hudsonian class.

It is impossible in the space of this chapter to do more
than mention a few of the characteristic birds. The
spruce grouse and the Canadian ruffed grouse here take
the place of the willow ptarmigan of the Hudsonian Zone
and the rock ptarmigan of the Arctic Zone. The spruce
grouse is so tame or so stupid that it is often caught by
a noose on a short stick. The Labrador jay is a sub-
species of the Canada jay, and resembles its cousin closely
in its pilfering habits and in the variety and weirdness of
its call or conversational notes. The young of the year
are dark plumbeous in colour, and resemble large cat-birds.
Pine grosbeaks, white-winged and American crossbills,
and pine siskins are all to be found here on the borders of
the Hudsonian and Canadian zones. They are all de-
pendent for their food-supply on the cone crop of the spruces
and firs. When the crop fails, they wander widely in winter
and visit more southern localities. The common warbler,
whose range extends throughout the wooded area even
to the edge of the Arctic Zone, is the black-poll warbler,
whose simple song can often be heard in little islands of

THE BIRDS 389

struggling spruces among the barren rocks. The Hud-
sonian chickadee is also found here.

Still more southern and more Canadian in their distribu-
tion are the olive-sided and yellow-bellied flycatchers,
the white-throated sparrow, and purple finch. The well-
known Peabody song of the white-throated sparrow recalls
the pastures of Maine. This song has a charm and beauty
unsurpassed even by the songs of more power and com-
plexity. The magnolia, myrtle, bay-breasted, yellow-
palm, black-throated green, and Canadian warblers, and
northern water-thrush are also found in these more southern
regions. The winter wren, golden-crowned kinglet, black-
capped chickadee, olive-backed thrush, and hermit thrush
alsooccurhere. The divine song of the hermit thrush heard
in the wilds of Labrador is indeed an inspiration.

There remain to be added a few wide-ranging birds that
have not been included in these classes. The northern
raven may be mentioned first. While the American crow
is rarely found in Labrador, and then only in the southern
part, the raven takes its place throughout the country,
especially on the sea-coast. Here they build their nests
in inaccessible recesses in the rocky cliffs. No need have
they when snow covers the ground of a change like the
ptarmigan to white plumage for protective purposes.
Their wits alone are sufficient. Their harsh cra-ak or
cru-uk at once distinguishes them from the crow with its
familiar caw. Their larger size cannot be depended upon
as a distinguishing mark, for in vast surroundings one can
with difficulty judge of size. The rounded tail of the raven
is a good field mark, for the tail of the crow is nearly even.

Of the four species of swallows found in northern New

390 LABRADOR

England, all but the eave-swallow have been observed in
Labrador. The strong flying robin abounds in various
parts of Labrador, pushing its way even to the very edge
of the Arctic Zone. It is a strange experience to hear the
familiar morning chorus of the robin in bleak Labrador,
and to find it building its nest on an Eskimo hut.

CHAPTER XVI

THE FLORA

By E. B. DELABARRE

THE writer of this chapter is unwilling to allow it a place
in this book, unless his readers will be truly indulgent and
permit him to preface it with a brief note of personal apol-
ogy. It must be read only with the clear understanding
that it is written not by an expert in botany, but by one
who, with the limited skill of an amateur, studied the plants
of Labrador during a long summer’s visit, and since then
has read with eager interest all that he could find bearing on
the subject. Such a person naturally lacks the technical
knowledge and trained judgment of a botanist by profes-
sion, especially in matters of nomenclature, of important
but not easily observed detail, of good insight into real
causes and conditions. So the present writer would gladly
have persuaded a more competent person to take his place.
Some day the real experts will correct a large number of
inadequacies in this description. But until they are ready,
it seems inevitable that a chapter like this must be contrib-
uted by one who is merely a general observer and ardent
lover of nature, and who happens to have been on the field,
even though he lack an equipment sufficient to guard him

391

392 LABRADOR
from making many errors.’ There is need, then, of indul-

1 In a previous chapter on this subject, in a “ Report of an Expedi-
tion to Labrador in 1900,’’ published as a Bulletin of the Philadelphia
Geographical Society, I unfortunately allowed a number of errors to
occur, especially in exact nomenclature. I welcome this opportunity
to atone for them as well as is now possible. I stated there that I had
myself attempted only the more easy identifications, lying well within
the capacity of the amateur; that, aside from a few special kinds, I
had submitted my collection to Professor Bailey of Brown University
for the correct naming of specimens; and that he had submitted all
doubtful cases to Professors Robinson and Fernald of Harvard Uni-
versity for approval or revision. In making these statements, I
seemed to involve all these eminent authorities in responsibility for
the errors that were included. But, through no fault of others, I
received a mistaken impression as to the finality of many of Pro-
fessor Bailey’s identifications, failing sometimes to distinguish be-
tween his confident namings and his mere suggestions, and as to the
extent to which they had received verification from the professors at
Harvard. I now feel it a pleasure and a duty to apologize to these
three men, who cannot be held accountable in any degree for mistakes
that were due wholly to my own misunderstandings. This case is an
illustration of the difficulty met with by an amateur who wishes to
describe strange and interesting places that he has seen, in guarding
himself against error, and especially in attaching correct names to
the objects he has observed.

Since then Professor Fernald has kindly revised my collection,
and tells me: “The plants are now correctly named, I think, with the
exception of a few upon which I dare not venture a determination.”
Space is lacking here to indicate all the changes that are necessary
in my published list. Ssome new names are secured, some individual
numbers of plants must be credited elsewhere than as given. But
mistaken conclusions in using the list may be largely guarded against
by realizing that the following names are apparently all that need to
be omitted entirely, or altered to another variety or species, or given
a more modern nomenclature: Dicentra Canadensis, Draba nivalis,
Lychnis apetala, Sagina procumbens, Dryas octopetala, Sazifraga
Hirculus, Epilobium alpinum, var. majus, Archangelica, Aster radula,
Taraxacum dens-leonis, Andromeda polifolia, Ledum latifolium, Pyrola
rotundifolia et var., Vaccinium Canadense, V. Vitis-Idaea, Primula

THE FLORA 393

gence from the readers of this account. But if this be
generously extended, the writer permits himself to hope
that, however inadequate his description may be and how-
ever subject to later correction, it may serve largely to
increase the enjoyment of visitors to this fascinating
country, by enabling them to understand more fully the
great interest and attractiveness of its plant life.

Some few visitors to Labrador return with an impres-
sion that it is a bleak and forbidding country, rude, cruel,
unattractive, bare of vegetation. But to many others it
seems full of beauty, of attractiveness, and even of a rich
and appealing fertility. The latter is the truer view, for
it is the one gained by those who observe with more seeing
eyes. Really, the wealth and variety and brilliancy of the
Labrador growths and flowers are very striking to one who
can see them at all understandingly. Very little knowl-
edge of botany and love of plants are needed to realize this
fact. An added ability to recognize and name the more
common forms naturally increases enormously one’s ap-
preciation and satisfaction, and is not difficult to acquire.
It is as important for real enjoyment and profit as to possess
a similar outline knowledge of the geological forms of the
land and of the causes that have moulded its scenic features.
It will not cost a great amount of additional labour to gain
an even more intimate understanding of the plants, — of

Misstassinica, Gentiana propinqua, Pedicularis flammea, Polyganum
littorale, Betula nana, Luzula arcuata, L. hyperborea, Eriophorum
alpinum, Poa laxa, Lycopodium lucidulum; omit also, but leave the
synonym given with it: Comarum palustre, Potentilla rubens. Ina
majority of cases these corrections do not imply that the plants thus
called in this and earlier lists do not exist in Labrador, but that it is
now possible to give them more accurate names.

394 LABRADOR

some of their special means of adaptation to their environ-
ment, of causes of the particular kinds and particular
structures that occur, of their relation to food-supply,
soil and climate, and to insect life. If the observer start
with some ability to make analyses of flowers, and with a
simple equipment of books! to aid in the identification of
specimens, he will soon gain acquaintance with all the more
commonly occurring plants. If, in addition to this, he be
expert in botany, or will make a carefully selected and
annotated collection and submit it to some capable botanist
at home for identification, he may possibly be rewarded by
the discovery of species and varieties hitherto unknown in

1 Of books, among the most useful will be: —
1. As aids to analysis: —
Britton, Manual of the Flora of the Northern States and Canada.
Britton and Brown, Illustrated Flora of the Northern States and
Canada.
Gray: Synoptical Flora of North America (incomplete).
Gray: New Manual of Botany, 7th ed., rearranged and revised by
B. L. Robinson and M. L. Fernald, 1908.
2. For an understanding of forms and distribution : —
Schimper: Plant Geography upon a Physiological Basis. Oxford,
1904.
Dawson: The Geological History of Plants.
Hooker: Distribution of Arctic Plants.
3. For lists of plants already reported from Labrador: —
See lists of books in Delabarre’s Report of Expedition to Labrador
(Philadelphia Geographical Society, 1902), pp. 172, 194, 197.
But for their inadequacy, see previous footnote.

Professor Fernald, our most expert authority on far northern
plants, informs me that nearly all the published lists of Labrador
plants contain many errors. Recent studies have given a much more
intimate acquaintance with the northern flora, and thus all the old
lists need critical revision. It is impossible, therefore, to give an
accurate list of all plants thus far observed as occurring in Labrador,
under their correct names. The whole matter must be decided finally
by competent authorities

THE FLORA 395

that region, which still offers large opportunities for botani-
cal as well as for other kinds of exploration.

Few localities will better repay the amateur or even the
professional botanist than this, either in esthetic gratifi-
cation or in opportunity for scientific research. Labrador
is one of the most southerly of all countries that have a
predominantly Arctic vegetation. It is sufficiently far to
the south to show transitional belts between the temperate
and Arctic zones, as well as those more strictly Arctic. Like
all far northern lands, it presents an amazing wealth of
strikingly coloured flowers, so thickly sown as in many
places to resemble a cultivated garden. Add to this the
exceedingly great picturesqueness of its scenery, its unex-
plored lofty mountains, higher perhaps than any others on
the Atlantic side of the Americas, its fairly easy accessibility,
and the decidedly tolerable nature of its brief summers;
then its attractiveness and charm to those who know it will
be easy of comprehension.

Botanically, Labrador may be considered best by divid-
ing it into two regions of markedly different aspect, —
the interior and the coast. Of the former but little is
known, except that it is covered with trees of good growth,
extending almost to the northern extreme of the country.
These interior portions possess essentially a cold temperate,
not an Arctic, type of flora. Our knowledge of their plants
is derived mainly from journeys across it in several direc-
tions by Dr. Low of the Canadian Geological Survey, and
from the visit of Mr. Bryant to the Grand Falls. Its

1 For these descriptions, see Ann. Rep. Geol. Survey of Canada,
Part L; Vol. VIII, 1896; and Bulletin of Philadelphia Geographical
Club, March, 1904. Other earlier expeditions through the interior,

396 LABRADOR

wealth in accessible timber is considerable, and already
large mills have been established near the head of Hamil-
ton Inlet.

The coastal region, with which all the rest of this chapter
will be concerned, presents a vegetation of a decidedly
Arctic type. A cold ocean current from the north bathes
its shores, bringing with it ice-floes until the last of July,
and icebergs throughout the rest of the summer. Innu-
merable snow-drifts linger from winter back again to winter
in favourable places on the land. Yet for two months of
summer, at least, the days are long, and the temperature
does not fall to the freezing-point even at night. Pictur-
esque hills in the south, and in the north towering, untrodden
mountains rise directly out of the sea and expose their
flanks and summits to the unbroken force of the winds.
The soil is thin, and through it the bare rock frequently
protrudes. There is usually no lack of moisture in soil or
air, and many places, especially in the relatively lower
elevations of the south, are decidedly boggy.

The characteristic features of an Arctic flora are usually
attributed to the need it has for struggle and protection
against severe cold. Schimper has shown that this factor
itself has almost no direct influence. The greatest cold
known anywhere is in Siberia, in a region where forests
still flourish. No special protective devices against cold
are known; if any exist, they consist probably in the internal
structure of the protoplasm itself, not in any observable
external modifications. The observable peculiarities of
and the more recent ones of Hubbard, Wallace, and Mrs. Hubbard,

while adding largely to knowledge of the country, have contributed
little to botanical information.

THE FLORA 397

the vegetation are protections not against ccld, but
against dryness. Even with an abundance of moisture in
the soil, it may not be readily available for the plant. The
soil is cold, the bogs are rich in humous acids, the water of
the shores is full of soluble salts. All these conditions,
which are the prevailing ones throughout the northern
country, are unfavourable to the ready absorption of water
by the plant, and hence lead to physiological dryness.
This is further increased by the lack of protection against
drying winds, which tend to produce strong transpiration.
A plant whose water supply is limited, whether in wet or in
dry soil, must guard against too great transpiration, espe-
cially under conditions where this tends to be large. It
hence assumes a xerophilous structure, or one fitted to con-
tend with physiological dryness. In this respect the flora
of Arctic climates, of alpine heights, of bogs, of sea-shore,
and of deserts will closely resemble one another, though the
particular devices adopted may vary with different con-
ditions.

Except in the rarer situations of sheltered valleys or
sunny slopes, with relatively warmer soil, water free from
acids, and protection from wind, the flora of Labrador may
be considered as universally adopting one form or another
of the various means fitted to protect it from too great
dryness. It becomes an absorbingly interesting study to
observe the different ways in which this object is accom-
plished. The most evident devices are the following :—

1. A well-developed system of roots for the absorption
of nutrient materials and of water.

2. A low and often stunted growth. This characteristic,
as a special modification, applies of course to plants that

398 LABRADOR

are usually shrubs or trees rather than to those of a naturally
low, herbaceous type. The former are of very few species,
mostly willows, alder, and birch, and a few evergreens.
The height of these will vary much, and will be determined
largely by the degree of their protection from drying winds,
whether by the conformation of the land or by a winter
covering of snow. In very exposed situations they will be
lacking, or will lie close to the ground, or will have become
modified into a special low-growing species, such as the
interesting and widely spread willow, Salix herbacea, each
plant of which bears but two or three leaves on a single
unbranching stem, attaining only a fraction of an inch in
height.

3. Reduction in surface of leaves. These tend to be
small and thick (Hmpetrum, Ericacee) or, if thin, either long
and narrow (Crucifere, Caryophyllacee, Salicacee, ever-
ereens, grasses, etc.), or deeply lobed (Pedicularis, some
Rosacee), or much wrinkled with strong veins (Rubus arc-
ticus, R. Chamemorus), or pinnately divided (Leguminose,
Filiccs). The latter form gives them an increased surface
without disadvantage, because of their special mobility,

1Townsend (in Along the Labrador Coast, 1907) gives a few
measured examples of these stunted growths. He found, for example,
a larch 9 inches high and 2 inch in diameter, that was 32 years old; in
another case, a balsam fir 13 inches high, 2 inches diameter, with 27
inches spread, 54 years old. These remind me of the pasture apple
trees of New England, in whose case the stunting agent is not drying
winds, but browsing cows. Much the same effect is produced, —a
lower, thicker, stockier growth, even at great age. I measured one in
western Massachusetts, for instance, that proved to be 40 years old,
yet was less than 5 feet in height, with an average diameter of 2 inches
a little above a much thickened base, and a total spread of about
7 feet.

SE

THE FLORA 399

whereby the !eaflets may open out in moderate illumina-
tion and close together under conditions where transpira-
tion tends to be excessive, in strong wind or hot sun.
Another device consists in folding back the edges of the
leaves underneath (Cassvope tetragona, Ledum, Pinguicula) ;
and still another, in crowding them thickly together (Cas-
siope, Bryanthus). All of these many modifications have
the one object of securing a reduced or reducible transpir-
ing surface, and almost all the plants of Labrador adopt
one or another of these methods of accomplishing it. The
examples given are only illustrative, and might be increased
many fold under almost every heading.

4. Increase in thickness of the leaf and of its cuticle.
Many leaves are tough and leathery (Hricacee, Empetrum) ;
or have thick, strong cuticle (grasses and sedges) ; or develop
a waxy, resinous, or varnished coating on the under side
or on both (Andromeda, Vaccinium Vitis-I[dea, Pyrola,
some Salices, evergreens).

5. Development of water-storing cells in stem or leaves,
the latter becoming thick and succulent. This is not of
very common occurrence. It is found, however, for ex-
ample, in saxifrages, Sedum, and Sphagnum.

6. Protection of the stomata from the influences that
tend to cause evaporation through them. This may be
secured by (1) turning away the under side 0° the leaf from
sun and wind, as in the pinnately divided leaves men-
tioned already; (2) sinking the stomata in the leaf-surface
(Andromeda, Empetrum); (8) covering the under side of
the leaf and sometimes also its upper side and the stem with
a protecting layer of hairs or tomentum, which may vary
greatly in length and thickness, from a mere silvery or

400 LABRADOR

bronzed dust, or a short, thick fuzz, or tomentum, to a felted
growth of longer hairs (most Hricacee and Salices, Draba, —
some Potentille, Cevastuum, Dryas, Papaver, Antennaria,
an: many others.

7. Development of a tendency to grow a thick rosette
of leaves at the base (Arabis, Draba, Antennaria, Lychnis,
Pinguicula, many saxifrages), or to mass themselves in
close, thick clumps or cushions (Diapensia, Silene, Sedum,
saxifrages). These tendencies are similar to the one al-
ready mentioned of crowding the leaves closely together
on the stem. ‘They may develop in species which in more
favourable locations grow apart from one another, and
have their leaves more evenly distributed along the stem.

8. An occasional tendency, in case of difficulty in absorb-
ing nutriment from the soil, to develop devices for trapping
and absorbing insects. Insects are not numerous in Lab-
rador, with the exception of mosquitoes and flies, but a few
plants there are partially carnivorous (Drosera, Pingucula, —
Sarracenia). They appear to be confined almost wholly
to the marshes of the more southerly part of the country.

9. While physiological dryness is extremely unfavourable
to vegetable growth, and necessitates special devices for the
absorption and conservation of moisture, it is, on the other
hand, very favourable to the reproductive functions. Ac-
cordingly, the number of flowers is large, and appears the
larger on account of the crowding of all varieties into one
short season, and by contrast with the lack of luxuriance
in vegetative shoots and foliage. Many of the flowers are
large and brilliant in colouring, and nowhere is there any
lack of them in abundance, unless in situations most severely
open to the winds or destitute of soil.

THE FLORA 401

Such are the main characteristics of xerophytes. They
constitute the great bulk of the flora of Labrador, since
almost all its physical conditions — bog, sea-shore, thin
soil, cold ground, drying winds — are such as to exert a
xerophilous influence. Hygrophytes (reaching their ex-
treme in Aquatics), adapted to conditions of easily avail-
able moisture, and Tropophytes, adapted to alternating
seasons of moisture and of dryness, are of much rarer
occurrence. The former are characterized by weakly
developed roots, more luxuriant vegetal growth, great
expansion of the transpiring surfaces. Tropophytes are
hygrophilous during the summer, the season of mois-
ture, and xerophilous during the winter, which is physio-
logically dry. They secure this change either by shed-
ding their hygrophilous leaves; or by dying down to the
ground as a whole; or, as in evergreens, by developing
shoots which are hygrophilous only when young, turning
xerophilous as they mature.

Thus a relative lack of available moisture is one of the
chief features determining the general appearance of the
vegetable covering of the Labrador landscape. Other
factors, such as cold, wind, and physical nature of the soil,
derive their influence mainly from their tendency to limit
the supply of available water, or to increase transpiration.
Each of them, however, has some direct influence besides.
Thus it is said that cold tends to make leaves broader and
shorter, with bent margins and loss of irregularity in mar-
gin (mosses, Hricacee), and is favourable to the develop-
ment of sexual organs; though the real influence even here
may be perhaps not cold directly, but dryness and the short-
ness of the season of growth. Wind not only favours trans-

2D

402 LABRADOR

piration, but directly increases the tendency to low, shrubby
growth, and favours anemophilous adaptations (7.e. those
using the agency of the wind) for pollination and for dis-
semination of fruits. Differences in the nature of the soil in
Labrador would seem to be not great, and to derive their
importance mainly from their ability to conserve moisture,
free from admixture with growth-hindering acids and salts.

There are, however, some further direct and important
influences. One of them, not often mentioned but very
evident, is the scarcity of insects that aid in pollination.
The proportion of flowers that are anemophilous, or wind
fertilized, as compared with those that solicit insect aid,
is considerable, as might be anticipated from the fact that
flower-haunting insects are rare. Yet there are many
flowers of the latter type, though mainly of species that do
not absolutely depend upon insects for the fertility of their
seeds.

Another positive influence is the relatively protracted
illumination during the period of growth. This, like many
other influences operative here, has been shown to have a
tendency to diminish herbaceous growth, affecting the size
both of the plant and of its leaves; and to favour repro-
duction. The devices that protect against too great trans-
piration often serve at the same time to secure protection
against excessive and prolonged illumination. |

Finally, the shortness of the season of growth is of het
importance. It is this which forces a large proportion of
the plants that are to survive under the conditions which
Labrador supplies, to develop in a previous season the em-
bryonic preparations for the leaves and flowers that are
to appear the following summer. Hence is: derived the

THE FLORA 403

magical rapidity of appearance of vegetation and of flowers,
almost coincident with the disappearance of the snows.
Hardly does the ground become clear of snow before
flowers are there in its place. Not only is there barely
any transition between winter and spring, but all kinds of
flowers follow upon one another so quickly that spring, sum-
mer, and autumn are all rolled into one quickly coming and
quickly disappearing, brief, brilliant, and glorious summer
season. This is the main factor that introduces a difference
into the floral character of different latitudes. In all of
them the same conditions are present otherwise, — the ex-
posure to winds, the coldness of the soil, and other influences
that conduce to physiological dryness, — but the season
grows shorter as one advances farther north, and high
latitude will thus conserve more and more the plants of
the spring-blooming type, that prepare their blossoms and
erowths a season beforehand, and tend to exterminate
those that come more slowly to maturity. In some places
plants relatively unfitted will survive, but will lose some
of their characteristics as the season of growth becomes
shorter. Thus, Rubus Chamemorus and Rubus arcticus, -
which are abundant and fertile in Newfoundland, the writer
found to be much more rarely fertile in Labrador and to
increase in rarity toward its northern extreme; and it is
said that R. Chamemorus survives, but is without flowers,
at its most northern station. In some cases the length of
the season suffices for flowers, but not for fruits and seeds.
In such cases it would seem to be, not the temperature
itself, as Schimper puts it, but the length of time during
which the warmer temperatures persist, that determines
the surviving species and their reproductiveness.

404 LABRADOR

All of these influences together, the most important of
which are evidently the amount of available moisture and
the length of the season of temperatures favourable to
growth, determine the characteristics of vegetation on the
coast of Labrador. The prominent features that result
have most of them been already described. <A few others,
however, still remain to be considered. One of them is
the great variability of the flowers. I observed it myself
markedly in several species. In Rubus Chamemorus and
fh. arcticus, the petals and calyx lobes ranged in number
almost indiscriminately between four and six; and in the
former the ends of the calyx lobes were sometimes single-
pointed and sometimes toothed, the number of teeth vary-
ing, and its leaves were often spotted or even entirely
coloured with deep purple. In Ledum palustre, var. dilata-
tum, flowers of the same cluster showed no constancy in the
number of their stamens, any number from five to eleven
being present. Sedum Rhodiola is very variable. In
flowers of the same plant I found petals ranging in number
from three to seven, sepals from three to five, scales from
two to four, stamens from five to thirteen, and pistils from
two to nine. In Cornus Canadensis, I noticed one variety
with six upper leaves arranged in a whorl, with each side
of the four-sided stem grooved, and with greenish white
flowers; another with three pairs of opposite leaves, only
two of the sides grooved, and flowers dark purple or maroon,
both calyx and corolla; and a third with characteristics
between these two. Pedicularis also, to my inexpert bo-
tanical eye, seemed to present a greater variability than
could be accounted for by the number of already reported
species. |

THE FLORA 405

Of fruits, the most common are such as depend on dis-
semination by wind or by birds and other animals. <A few
species depend on other methods mainly, as in case of the
large easily floating bladders or pods of Oxytropis and
other legumes, or of large seeds that rarely find their way
far from the parent plant. But the families best repre-
sented in individuals, and largely also in species, are such
as bear small berries (Hricacew, Empetrum) attractive to
animals, or numerous small light seeds, or spores, easily
spread abroad by the wind (mosses, grasses, Crucifere,
Caryophyllacee, Composite).

The regions of Arctic vegetation possess relatively fewer
species and varieties than more favoured localities, and most
of these are the same as those growing in the colder tem-
perate zones. As Hooker’ points out, uniformity in
physical characters and absence of those changing con-
ditions which we assume to be stimulants to variation
(different combinations of conditions of heat, light, mois-
ture, and mineral characters) give uniformity in vegetation.
Hooker gives the total number of flowering species in
Arctic Europe as 616, in Arctic East America as 379, in
Greenland as 207. On the other hand, he estimates that
5800 species exist in temperate Australia. Gray’s New
Manual of Botany (7th ed., 1908) enumerates about
4000 species of flowering plants and ferns, belonging
to over 150 families, from the central and northeastern
United States and Canada. But in Greenland, according
to Schimper, there are only 386 species of vascular plants,
belonging to 53 families. Labrador shows similarly a

i Joseph D. Hooker, Distribution of Arctic Plants. Trans. Linnean
Society, 1862, Vol. XXIII, p. 251.

406 LABRADOR

relatively low number of species and families. It is im-
possible to give exact figures. We have already noticed
both that all these northern lands are still insufficiently
explored, and that the nomenclature of their known plants
needs careful revision. The figures quoted from Hooker
and Schimper cannot be regarded as accurate. Yet with
all the revision to which they may be subject, the large
difference existing between Arctic and temperate regions
remains strikingly true, and its degree is probably fairly
well indicated by the figures given. The writer has at-
tempted a calculation for Labrador, based on all the reports,
reliable or otherwise, known to him in January, 1905; but
its results, for the foregoing reasons, must not be regarded
as very exact. According to it, there occur in Labrador
not far from 425 species of vascular plants, belonging to
50 families. In addition to these there are about 300
species of bryophytes and fungi so far discovered. The
number of species:in the orders best represented is as fol-
lows: Composite 36, Ericacee 31, Crucifere 30, Roseacece
29, Cyperacee 28, Graminee 27, Caryophyllacee 26, Salica-
cee 19, Saxifragacee 19, Ranunculacee 19, Scrophulariacee
14. The number of species in the genera best represented
is: Carex 21, Salix 17, Potentilla 11, Saxifraga 11, Draba
11, Ranunculus 10, Arenaria 9, E'pilobium 9, Vaccinium 7,
Pedicularis 7, Lycopodium 7, Stellaria 6, Poa 6.

Having now studied the main influences affecting the
flora of Labrador, and the characteristic features of its
plants resulting therefrom, we are in a position to consider
the general appearance of the Labrador landscape near the
coast, so far as it is determined by vegetable life. It will
be necessary to distinguish several different regions or

THE FLORA 407

typical situations, each with its own peculiar aspect. We
may conveniently divide these into the areas of forest, of
sea-shore, and of the tundra, and the latter again into sev-
eral subdivisions.

1. The forest region is best described by Low.’ He says:

“The southern half of the Labrador Peninsula is included
in the subarctic forest belt, as described by Professor Ma-
coun. Nine species of trees may be said to constitute the
whole arborescent flora of this region. These species
are: Betula papyrifera Michx., Populus tremuloides Michx.,
Populus balsamifera Linn., Thuya occidentalis Linn.,
Pinus banksiana Lam., Picea alba Link., Picea nigra
Link., Abies balsamea Marsh, and Larix Americana
Michx. The distribution of the forest areas and the range
of the various trees depend on several factors, among
which may be mentioned, position as regards latitude,
height above sea-level, distance from sea-coast, and char-
acter of the soil, all of which are important. The forest
is continuous over the southern part of the peninsula to
between latitudes 52° and 54°, the only exceptions being
the summits of rocky hills and the outer islands of the At-
lantic coast. To the northward of latitude 53°, the higher
hills are treeless and the size and number of the barren
areas rapidly increase. In latitude 55°, more than half the
country is treeless, woods being only found about the mar-
gins of small lakes and in the valleys of the rivers. Trees
also decrease in size, until, on the southern shores of Un-
gava Bay, they disappear altogether. ... The tree line
skirts the southern shore of Ungava Bay and comes close
to the mouth of the George River, from which it turns
south-southeast, skirting the western foot-hills of the At-
lantic coast range, which is quite treeless, southward to
the neighbourhood of Hebron, in latitude 58°, where trees

1A. P. Low, Report on Explorations in the Labrador Peninsula,
Ann. Rep. Geol. Survey of Canada, 1896, Part L, Vol. VIII, pp. 30 ff.

408 LABRADOR

are again found in protected valleys at the heads of
the inner bays of the coast. At Davis Inlet, in latitude
56°, trees grow on the coast and high up on the hills, the
barren grounds being confined to the islands and head-
lands, which remain treeless to the southward of the mouth
of Hamilton Inlet. These barren islands and bare head-
lands of the outer coast, along with the small size of the
trees on the lowlands, have caused a false impression to be
held regarding much of the Atlantic coast, which from
Hamilton Inlet southward is well timbered about the
heads of the larger bays and on lowlands of the small
river-valleys. ... Picea nigra is the most abundant
tree of Labrador and probably constitutes over ninety
per cent of the forest. . . . Larix Americana is probably
the hardiest tree of the subarctic forest belt; it grows
everywhere throughout the Labrador Peninsula, and is
probably next in abundance to the black spruce... .
Throughout the forest belt, the lowlands. fringing the
streams and lakes are covered with thickets of willows
and alders. As the semi-barrens are approached, the
areas covered by these shrubs become more extensive,
and they not only form wide margins along the rivers and
shores of the lakes, but with dwarf birches occupy much of
the open glades. The willows and birches grow on the
sides of the hills, above the tree line, where they form low
thickets exceedingly difficult to pass through. Beyond
the limits of the true forest, similar thickets of Arctic
willows and birches are found on the low grounds, but on
the more elevated lands they grow only a few inches above
the surface. In the southern region, the undergrowth
in the wooded areas is chiefly Labrador tea (Ledum latifo-
lium) and laurel (Kalmia glauca), which grow in tangled
masses, from two to four feet high, and are very difficult to
travel through. In the semi-barrens this undergrowth
dies out, and travel across country is much easier in conse-
quence. In the southern regions the ground is usually |

THE FLORA 409

covered to a considerable depth with sphagnum, which
northward of 51° is gradually replaced by the white lichens
or reindeer mosses (Cladonia), which grow freely every-
where throughout the semi-barren and barren regions.”

The traveller along the coast, who penetrates but a short
distance into the interior, will find little evidence of this
forest area, except in sheltered places at the heads of bays.
Of the trees and shrubs mentioned by Low, I found only
Abies (no farther north than Hamilton Inlet), Larix, Picea,
— and none of these evergreens were seen north of Hebron,
—and, mainly in dwarf forms, Alnus, Betula, and Saliz.
Nowhere did I find thickets of undergrowth that offered
any obstacle to travel.

2. The most common plants characteristic of the sea-
shore are seaside sandwort (Arenaria peploides), sea-
lungwort or ice-plant (Mertensia maritima), Potentilla
anserina and tridentata, a few large Umbellifere (Celopleu-
rum acteifolium, Conroselinum Canadense, Ligusticum
Scoticum), and one or two species of Plantago. Iris and
Lathyrus maritimus also are not unusual in the more south-
erly regions. Besides these, almost all of the more common
plants of the tundra may occur close to the sea-shore. On
sandy places, which are rather rare in Labrador, and which
are exposed preéminently to the effect of high winds and
scanty water, the number is more limited. For example,
on one low sand-dune which I studied at Pottle’s Cove,
close by the entrance to Hamilton Inlet, in latitude 54°,
I found only the plants enumerated below, though many
others grew on the rocky heights in the near vicinity. The
more abundant are italicized, the rest were rarer.

a. In the more exposed situations exclusively: Arctos-

410 LABRADOR

taphylos alpina, Betula glandulosa, Empetrum migrum,
Abies balsamea, Juniperus communis, Picea mgra, Boletus.

b. In the more sunny and protected situations exclu-
sively: Rubus arcticus, Potentilla tridentata, Taraxacum,
Polyganum viviparum.

c. In both, but mainly in the more exposed: Cerastium
alpinum, Vaccinvum Vitis-[dea, var. monus, Rhinanthus
Crista-galli, Salix Brownat.

d. In both, but mainly in the more protected: Draba
uncana, Coelopleurum acteifolium, Cornus Canadensis,
Achillea millefolium, Solidago macrophylla, a fine thin
unknown grass.

e. In both about equally: Stellaria longipes, Lathyrus
maritimus, Sedum Rhodiola, Elymus arenaria, Poa pra-
tensis, var. domestica, Barbula ruralis, Brachythecium,
Hylocomium splendens.

At Ford Harbour, a little farther north (56°), the follow-
ing additional species (some but not all of the above being
present also) were found in a similar situation: Arenaria
Grenlandica, Silene acaulis, Astragalus alpinus, Oxytropis,
Saxifraga Grenlandica, E'pilobium latifolium, HK. spicatum,
Antennaria, Solidago multiradiata, var. scopularum, Tarax-
acum officinale, var. palustre, Pyrola grandiflora, Vacci-
mum uliginosum, Polyganum Islandicum, Salix herbacea,
S. Uva-ursi, Polytricum commune, Lycoperdon, Festuca
rubra, Hverochloe alpina, Carex rigida.

3. The open country uncovered by forest, whose highest
growths are low shrubs or shrubby, stunted forms of trees,
and which are more or less continuously carpeted with
Arctic plants of many kinds, is called the tundra. It is
the formation that will be most often met with by the voy-

THE FLORA Asti

ager along the coast; and since Labrador, as at present
geographically limited, and as it must always be known to
the great majority of visitors, is but little more than a
coast-line, the tundra is the characteristic Labrador for-
mation. “Beyond the last stunted trees,’ says Schimper,'
“‘so far as ice does not cover the ground, the frigid desert,
or tundra, almost alone dominates Arctic mainlands and
islands. Only in the less cold and therefore chiefly southern
tracts in the Arctic zone, in more favourable localities a few
less insignificant formations exist; for instance, willow-
bushes and small meadows on river-banks and in fiords, or
even formations of dwarf shrubs, which consist of a denser
growth of the same evergreen, small-leaved, shrubby species
as appear singly in the tundra between mosses and lichens.
Dwarfed growth, a distinctly xerophilous character, the
predominance of mosses and lichens, the incomplete cover-
ing of the ground, — these features are everywhere charac-
teristic of the tundra. . . . In the less cold tundra dis-
tricts, more soil is occupied by vegetation than unoccupied ;
even wide tracts can have a continuous carpet of lichens.
Where the climate is most rigorous, the vegetation forms
only widely separated patches on the bare, usually stony
soil.’’

Conditions in Labrador are such as to make possible the
close continuous growth almost everywhere. It is inter-
rupted only by the occasional intrusion of unfavourable or
improved surroundings. These are of four types: the
summits of the higher mountains; protruding areas of
sparsely covered rocks and gravels; collections of water in

1A. F. W. Schimper, Plant Geography upon a Physiolcgical Basis,
p. 685. Oxford, 1904.

412 LABRADOR

fow depressions, forming moors; and well-watered, sunny
slopes. The first three of these are emphasized forms of
the tundra; the last departs from the tundra type, form-
ing oases in it.

(a) The alpine conditions of the higher mountains, which
are confined almost wholly to the northern half of the
country, are unfavourable to any form of life. The summits
consist of broken masses of rock, a Felsenmeer of rough and
continuous boulders of various size. Among these, only
scattered clumps of struggling plants can find footing and
the essential conditions for living. The number of indi-
viduals, even among the mosses and lichens, is small, and
the species are few. Ononesummit (Mt. Faunce, 4400 feet,
latitude 59°) I found above 3300 feet only the following:
Cerastium alpinum, Draba fladnitzensis, Saxifraga cespitosa,
S. rivularis, S. nivalis, Papaver nudicaule, Sedum ?, Luzula
confusa, mosses (Andreea petrophila, Bryum?, Pogonatum
alpinum or urnigerum, P. capillare, Racomitrium lanugino-
sum), and lichens (Alectoria divergens, A. nigricans, Cetraria
arctica, C. cuculata, Spherophoron coralloides, Stereocaulon
denudatum, S. tomentosum, Theloschistes polycarpus, Umbil-
caria proboscidea). |

(6) On protruding rocks but few plants grow, in low, flat,
spreading cushions. Areas of gravel are also but little
hospitable to plants, and their covering is consequently
scanty. The plants that find it possible to survive there
are to some extent identical with those already described
as growing well in sand. They are pioneers among plants,
such as can take root and nourish themselves on the bare
rock-grains and moisture; and their decay makes richer
soil for others to grow in. The species of most common

THE FLORA 413

occurrence which I found in such situations are: Oxytropis
campestris (rare), Arctostaphylos alpina, Lovseleurva pro-
cumbens (rare), Vaccinium uliginosum, V. Vitis-[dea, var.
minus, Diapensia Lapponica (growing in little rounded
mounds on its own previous growth, very branchy, showing
yearly additions outward and upward, — one specimen I
examined was three inches in diameter and one and a half
inches highin the centre); willows, Empetrum nigrum, Carex
rigida (rare), Festuca brevifolia (rare); three mosses (Di-
cranum, Polytricum § strictum, Racomitrium lanuginosum),
and a lichen (Umbilicaria). Dead roots and branches,
especially of the willows and Hricacee, were frequent, and
on them grew other varieties of moss. Labrador tea and
grasses flourished on the edges of these bare patches, where
some soil had already been formed.

(c) “Shallow depressions of the tundra, where the water
of melted snow and ice accumulates in the soil, become
swamps in the form of tundra-moor, and there a scanty peat
bears a thin layer of sphagnum with a few small phanero-
gams. Such places correspond physically but not physi-
ologically to the oases of the dry desert’? (Schimper).
The moor presents many features that are unfavourable to
the life of plants. Humous acids are abundant and pre-
vent the easy absorption of moisture; mineral substances
are hard to obtain, ‘‘ owing to the great distance of the vege-
tation from the mineral substratum and to the absorptive
influence of humus, rendering it difficult for the plants to
obtain soluble salts’; nitrogen is abundant, but in such
form that the moor is among the poorest of soils in easily
assimilable nitrogenous substances. Sphagnum is the
characteristic and most abundant plant in such situations.

414 LABRADOR

‘“‘Tts spongy, water-absorbing cushions,’’ which “‘ keep even
the highest parts of the moor permanently saturated with
water,. .. gradually grow in height, while the lower parts
pass over into sphagnum peat’”’ (Schimper). The following
list of other plants growing in moors is that given by
Schimper, with those of known occurrence in Labrador
italicized. Some are characteristic of high-moor: Viola
palustris, Vaccinium oxycoccus, Andromeda polifolia, Be-
tula nana. Others are preéminently meadow-moor species :
Epilobium palustre, E. tetragonum, Senecio aquaticus,
S. paludosus, Gentiana pneumonanthe, several species
of Carex. Many others that are essentially moor plants
occur also in dry stations without peat: Vaccinium
Vitis-[dea; or on meadow moors: Drosera rotundifolia,
Comarum palustre, Pedicularis palustris, Salix repens,
species of Hriophorum, many species of Carex. Many
moor plants compensate for their disadvantages by be-
coming carnivorous: Drosera, Pinguicula vulgaris, Sar-
racenia purpurea.

(d) By far the most favourable and fertile situations in
the whole country are the sunny slopes, exposed to the
south, which are abundantly fed by water from melting
snow-drifts, on which the water, not becoming stagnant,
has no opportunity to accumulate humous acids. Schimper
describes them thus: —

‘The physiological analogues in the tundras of the desert
oasis are Heat-oases — sunny slopes protected from the
drying winds — upon which the sunbeams fall almost per-
pendicularly, and thus warm the water in the soil so that
plants can obtain it in actual abundance. Such stations

frequently resemble the flower-beds of a garden. Accord-
ing to Nathorst : —

THE FLORA 415

“<The plants of the slopes are in many respects the most
interesting. The majority of them occur as_ strongly
developed individuals, which here appear to thrive per-
fectly, and apparently can ripen their seeds annually.
This naturally is true of the good localities, namely, of the
slopes that soon become free from snow. Here one has an
opportunity of being able to observe the remarkable in-
fluence of the sun’s rays. Slopes, that a short time before
were covered with snow, a few days later are adorned with
several flowers; the development of these can proceed so
rapidly that one soon finds fruit as well, as in the case of
Draba. Here one sees sometimes quite blue mats of Pole-
monium pulchellum, or red ones of Saxifraga oppositifolia,
with a varied mixture of other tints, yellow, white, green.

When the plants of the slopes occur in the plains,
they are not usually so well developed as on the slopes, but
the difference in this respect is much greater in some
plants than in others.’ ”’

The plants growing on these slopes are for the most part
more flourishing individuals of the same species that are
found on the surrounding tundra. I myself noticed only
a few that seemed confined to these or similar situations:
Ranunculus pygmeus, R. hyperboreus, Linnea borealis,
Gentiana nivalis. Many others might probably yet be
discovered by careful attention to the influence of this
particular situation.

Such aspects of the vegetable growths of Labrador as
have thus far been described may be considered as excep-
tional. The predominant form of vegetation on or near
the coast is that of the true tundra itself. Its appear-
ance as it occurs throughout Labrador I cannot better
describe than in words which I have already used: *—

1 Report of the Brown-Harvard Expedition to Labrador, Geo-
graphical Society, Philadelphia, 1902, pp. 129 ff., 168 ff.

416 LABRADOR

“The interior is said to be well wooded and far from
barren, even almost to the northern extremity. But near
the coast one rarely sees trees of any notable size. At
Hopedale and Nain there are small groves near the mission
stations; but elsewhere we met them only deep in the bays
and in sheltered valleys a considerable distance — five or
ten miles at least—inland. Thus, when not entirely
lacking, they form an unobtrusive feature in the usual
landscape. The low vegetation that predominates clothes
the country with a close green mantle, but leaves its shape
and natural outline unconcealed. Inorganic nature reveals
herself in her own primeval character, leaving all the
strength and charm and variety that she can assume naked
to observation. There is little of softness, little of the
attraction that vigorous organic life can add; though the
green of the low plants, the grays, reds, and browns of
mosses and lichens, the blues and whites and pinks and
yellows of the flowers, add a suggestion of this, yet in a way
that never interferes with the stern grandeur of the lifeless
masses. . 3

“The more northern landscapes differ from those thus
far described mainly in the facts that the greater heights
attained lead to grander impressions of massiveness and
strength, and involve greater ruggedness and variety of
| form; and that the softening influences of soil, water, and

| vegetation are present to a far less degree. ... Plant
| life is still abundant on the lower levels, but finds little
| hospitality on the bleak higher slopes. . . .

“The great mass of the vegetation of Labrador consists
of low forms. It grows so thickly and vigorously in the

thin soil, however, that the country never gives the impres-
sion of being lifeless and barren. In the far south, es-
pecially on moist lowlands, sphagnum is often a prevailing
growth. But aside from its rather rare supremacy, almost
everywhere we went we found the curlewberry (Hmpetrum
nigrum) and the so-called caribou-moss (Cladonia, really a

THE FLORA 417

white lichen) together forming an almost continuous green
and gray sward, touched with red in the autumn. The
berries of the curlew are exceedingly numerous, and those
of the previous season still cling thickly to the vine among
the green new ones, and even until the latter begin to ripen
in the middle of August. In the midst of this continuous
curlew and moss grow occasional clumps of grasses of many
kinds, and a great variety of flowering plants. Perhaps
the most common of the latter are the EHricacee. Some of
them are berry-bearing, with inconspicuous flowers, par-
ticularly the blueberry (Vaccinium Pennsylvanicum and
V. uliginosum), the mountain cranberry (V. Vitis-Idea),
and the bearberry (Arctostaphylos alpina). Others have
more prominent flowers, such as the omnipresent Labrador
tea (Ledum), together with the somewhat less universal
Loieleurra and Bryanthus. These are all exceedingly
abundant in the southern half of the peninsula, but extend
variously far to the north. The white clusters of the
Ledum and the purple umbels of the Bryanthus are very
conspicuous. In the autumn, the red-turning leaves of the
Arctostaphylos are the most attractive of the season’s
colourings. There is also a large number of other plants
that are constantly met with, though few of them are so
nearly omnipresent and continuous as are most of those
already mentioned. The bake-apple, or cloudberry (Rubus
Chamemorus) grows thickly as far north as Hebron, but
very thinly beyond. We could find but very few of its ripe
berries in Labrador, though in Newfoundland they seem
to be common. Associated with its single white flowers
are frequently seen the showy, rose-coloured ones of the
Arctic raspberry (Rubus arcticus). This also, so far as our
experience could determine, had about the same limits and
was equally rare in fruit. Bunch-berry (Cornus Canadensis)
is hkewise very common, especially in the south, and grows
in thick groups. Dense tufts of the white-flowered Diza-
pensia Lapponica and of the beautiful mosslike pink

2s

418 LABRADOR

Silene acaulis greet the eye continually. Astragalus and
Oxytropis, Dryas, a great variety of saxifrages, Sedum,
Pedicularis, the violetlike Pinguicula, and many inconspic-
uous Crucifere and Caryophyllacee complete the list of
forms more universally present in the early part of the
season.

“After the beginning of August, when we had reached
a higher latitude, the character of the vegetation changed
considerably. Caribou-moss, curlewberry, blueberry, and
Arctostaphylos still remained the most continuous growths.
But the flowers began to change to more autumnal forms,
The Arctic goldenrod (Solidago Virga-aurea and S. macro-
phylla) appeared abundantly. The large showy pink
flowers of the Hpiobium and the thick pink heads of
Lychnis were very prominent. Yellow Arnica alpina and
delicate blue harebells (Campanula) were common. A
yellow poppy (Papaver nudicaule), with early deciduous
petals, was not infrequent on the hilltops. A strikingly |
beautiful flower, though a rare one, was the small twin-
flower (Linnea borealis). Fungi, including Boleti, Russule,
and various agarics, also became very abundant toward
the close of the summer; they were fairly numerous in the
north, and the moist woods about Nain and Hopedale were
full of them.”

Thus far we have considered what are the main types and
characteristics of the plant forms that occur in Labrador
and the causes that make these predominant; and what
are the main features and less frequent varieties. of its
landscape, in so far as they are supplied by its floral cover-
ing. If now we consider the affinities of the plants of this
region with those in other parts of the world, a number of
curious and unexpected facts present themselves. Who,
for instance, would anticipate that the northern parts of
America possess many more plants like those of Arctic

THE FLORA 419

Kurope than Greenland does? Or that there are many
plants here identical with those growing on the southern
slopes of the Alps, which are altogether lacking in northern
Europe? Or, still more strangely, that one must seek in
the Arctic regions of America, and not in Europe, for the
closest resemblances to the plants that flourished in the
far distant Miocene age in central Europe? Yet so we
are assured by competent authorities. To these facts we
may add the following statements from Hooker :—

The polar regions have relatively fewer species and vari-
eties than have other regions. The flora of all its parts is
largely identical or closely similar, but is unequally dis-
tributed. Of all Arctic regions, Greenland exhibits the
greatest poverty in number of species. Many Scandina-
vian plants have found their way westward to Greenland,
but have stopped short on its west coast, without crossing
to America; many American types terminate as abruptly
on the west coast of Baffin’s Bay, not crossing to Green-
land and Europe; Greenland contains actually much fewer
species of HKuropean plants than have found their way
- eastwards from Lapland by Asia into Western and Eastern
Arctic America; the Scandinavian vegetation has in every
longitude migrated acivoss the tropics of Asia and America,
while plants typical of these continents which have found
their way into the Arctic regions have remained restricted
to their own meridians.

These facts, at first seemingly inexplicable, and actually
so under existing conditions of sea, land, and temperature,
naturally have their explanation in the evolutionary and
geological history of our globe. Most of them will be
understood clearly from the following account given by

420 LABRADOR

Hooker,’ which in all essential points agrees with the the-
ories advanced in the latest edition (10th) of the Encyclo-
pedia Britannica : —

“Tt appears to me difficult to account for these facts,
unless we admit Mr. Darwin’s hypotheses, first, that the
existing Scandinavian flora is of great antiquity, and that
previous to the glacial epoch it was more uniformly dis-
tributed over the polar zone than it is now; secondly, that
during the advent of the glacial period this Scandinavian
vegetation was driven southward in every longitude, and
even across the tropics into the south temperate zone;
and that on the succeeding warmth of the present epoch,
those species that survived both ascended the mountains
of the warmer zones, and also returned northward, accom-
panied by aborigines of the countries they had invaded
during their southern migration. ... If it be granted
that the polar area was once occupied by the Scandinavian
flora, and that the cold of the glacial epoch did drive this
vegetation southwards, it is evident that the Greenland
individuals, from being confined to a peninsula, would
be exposed to very different conditions to those of the
great continents. In Greenland many species would, as
it were, be driven into the sea, that is, exterminated;
and the survivors would be confined to the southern por-
tion of the peninsula, and not being there brought into
competition with other types, there could be no struggle
for life amongst their progeny, and consequently no selec-
tion of better-adapted varieties. On the return of heat,
these survivors would simply travel northwards, unaccom-
panied by the plants of any other country. In Arctic Amer-
ica and Asia, on the other hand, where there was a free
southern extension and dilatation of land for the same
Scandinavian plants to occupy, these would multiply
enormously in individuals, branching off into varieties and

1 Distribution of Arctic Plants, pp. 253 f.

THE FLORA 471

subspecies, and occupy a larger area the farther south they
were driven... . Hence, on the return of warmth, many
more Scandinavian species would return to Arctic America
and Asia than survived in Greenland; some would be
changed in form, because only the favoured varieties could
have survived the struggle.”

The summer visitor to Labrador, whether scientist or
pleasure-seeker, may naturally be expected to have an
interest not only in the scientific aspects of its flora, but
also in the possibilities it presents of making additions to
his food-supplies. These are meagre, but, so far as they go,
of a very satisfactory nature. Garden vegetables, berry-
bearing plants, and fungi nearly exhaust the list of com-
monly known plants that is available for this purpose.
The former are raised sparingly in the fishing villages of
the southern portion of the coast, and by the missionaries
at the Moravian stations as far north as Nain. Edible
berries are exceedingly abundant, especially blueberries,
Arctic cranberries, and curlewberries. The last two kinds
require cooking to make them palatable, but then are de-
licious. The cloudberry, or bake-apple (Rubus Chamemo-
rus) is abundant in some few parts of the country, and is
much esteemed by the natives. Raspberries also are found
in some localities.

The fungi of Labrador have as yet received but little
study. The most common kinds, both of which are easily
identified by any one with a very slight knowledge of fungi,
are apparently various species of Boletus and of Russula.
These grow in considerable numbers almost everywhere.
Several other kinds of fungi are obtainable in smaller
quantities. They need much further investigation, and

EE a Oe

422 LABRADOR

their study offers a problem for further research, attractive
for both economic and scientific reasons.

Mention may also well be made of certain growths which,
while not ordinarily attractive as foods, may yet serve in
emergency to sustain life for an indefinite period. A list
and description of a number of such ‘‘emergency foods,”
easily available at any season of the year, has recently
been given by Ernest Thompson-Seton (Country Life in
America, September, 1904, Vol. VI, p. 438). After enu-
merating several small forms of animal life that may serve
in this way, he describes and pictures the plants. Among
them are several abundant lichens (Cetraria or Iceland moss,
Cladonia or reindeer moss, Umbilicaria or rock-tripe),
the outer and inner (but not the middle) bark and the
buds of aspen (Populus tremuloides), the shoots of spruce
and tamarack, the inner bark of willows and birch. Most of
these need to be well dried at first, and then either roasted
or boiled for a long time. It is evident that a knowledge
of these plants and of their nutritious qualities might on
occasion prove of the utmost value to the traveller in these
regions. The party of Sir John Franklin lived almost ex-
clusively on such diet for over three months. ‘‘ Lowly in
the scale of diet as they are in the scale of organic nature,”
says Mr. Seton, “the rock-tripes are yet reliable friends of
man, and no one should travel in these vast inhospitable
regions without a knowledge of their appearance, their
qualities, and the best methods of preparing them for
human food.” *

1Some of the edible plants here mentioned are of very common

occurrence in all these northern lands. The list here mentioned could
doubtless be largely extended.

THE FLORA 423

A great deal of work is yet to be done by careful ob-
servers before the full nature of the Labrador flora can be
satisfactorily known. As yet only its more superficial as-
pects have been reported. Hardly any attempt has been
made to determine the influence of different types of situ-
ations, and to enumerate the plants that flourish in each.
It is but a rough preliminary survey that has thus far been
accomplished. There must, moreover, still remain many
species of plants undiscovered. Every new visit to the
country results in fresh finds. A large number of species
has been found in near-by regions as yet unknown in Lab-
rador, but probably occurring there. A striking instance of
this probability seems to be presented by the Cyperacee.
According to methods of calculation already explained,
which cannot be very exact, forty-seven of them seem to
have been reported from adjacent localities, and only twenty-
eight from Labrador. Other instances of similar impor-
tance will probably be found. Especially large rewards
may probably be expected from further investigations of
the mosses, lichens, hepatics, and fungi. A considerable
number of those brought back by the writer in 1900 seemed
to be new for that locality, so far as previous records
showed.

Labrador is no longer the inaccessible land of mystery
it was a few years ago. Its marvellous scenery and varied
charm are sure to attract more and more visitors year by
year. Many will go for technical study, and will find a
rich field for its pursuit. Most will be drawn by the love
of an outdoor life, by the desire for adventure or for ser-
viceableness in the Mission, by the opportunity for seeing
and enjoying a strange and fascinating country. It is

ee a

424 LABRADOR

for these latter mainly that this chapter has been written.
The more they can understand and observe of the great
wild garden that, if really seen and intimately known, makes
impossible any thought of barrenness, the larger will be
their pleasure. However small the knowledge with which
he starts, no one need be deterred from attempting to gain
a larger comprehension of these matters, so significant for
the correct interpretation of the true nature of a country.
If these be its features in which he is most interested, he
will at least add enormously to his own satisfaction and
insight. By making a carefully selected and well-annotated
collection of plants, he may also, on submitting it to
reliable experts, make some extension to the list of re-
corded varieties and species that occur there. If he will
prepare himself as well as possible beforehand and then
make some special study of still unsettled points, such ay
the edibility of various plants, the particular features ot
certain especially variable species and of the conditions
under which they oceur, the influence of particular situa-
tions, soils, and conditions, he may well hope to make
contributions to new knowledge. Plenty of such oppor-
tunities are still open to the amateur. In spite of his
own unfortunate experience in admitting errors into his
published description, the writer still does not hesitate to
encourage amateurs in endeavouring to make really new
additions to knowledge in this far from fully explored
field. The mistakes of an amateur may well be forgiven —
and gradually corrected, if he does not pretend to be any-
thing more; and confession of the difficulties met with by
one of them may help to eliminate similar troubles in the
future, and to render only real discoveries liable to pub-

THE FLORA 495

lication. To make this more certain, the amateur must
always know the authorities to whom he may surely
appeal for final verification, and must leave to the pro-
fessional and expert botanist all the more delicate questions
of identification and the critical settlement of problems
concerning structure, influence, and conditions.

CHAPTER XVII

ANIMAL LIFE IN LABRADOR

By WILFRED T. GRENFELL

TuE struggle for life among the Labrador mammals is well
worthy the title. The state of the soil, climate, temperature,
with the resulting conditions especially of the Flora, make it
possible for only well-adapted an“ vigorous animals to live at
all. The difficulty of survival is increased by the constant
warfare among themselves, many having to live by preying
on the others. The squirrel is never safe from the lynx,
the caribou from the wolf, the rabbit from the fox. The
snow betrays every movement, and in winter the weaker
run a constant risk of extinction. Even our birds force
upon us the fact that the dire conditions of life induce in
them no sentimental feelings of mercy. On one occasion my
retriever brought me too fat auks which he had caught on
the frozen bay, long after most birds have left us. It was
Sunday morning, and to spare the prejudices of the people
I was visiting, I forebore to carry them into the village.
On the ground, however, the tracks of fox and lynx warned
me that the birds were not safe. Accordingly I hung
them high up in a tree. On returning a little later I found
nothing but bones and feathers —an owl had probably
visited my cache. Another time, having done the same
thing with three fat partridges, we caught the robbers
flagrante delicto. They proved to be two small Canada
jays. One very cold day, the sea being covered with young

426

ANIMAL LIFE IN LABRADOR 427

ice, I noticed a belated dovekie cheerfully diving after food
among the slob, while the waters froze to our oars as we
rowed. His pluck and contentment in such a lonely place
made us feel very warmly toward him. As we watched he
rose to wing, apparently to follow his friends to their more
southern home. He had not risen a hundred yards, how-
ever, when a hawk swooped on him like lightning from the
cliff, and returned leisurely to his eyry with the struggling
little fellow, there to tear to pieces alive our poor little
friend.

Moreover, now, man, their main enemy, is increasing in
numbers. Besides his accumulated experience and his new
destructive methods and weapons, he is continually en-
croaching more and more on their territory. Every single
animal lives in terror of man, yet none ever attacks him if
there be any other alternative, unless it be his own half-fed
dogs. All their efforts are directed towards escape. To
afford themselves protection some of the weaker, such as
the caribou, hare, partridge, and ermine, change the colour
of their coat with the seasons. Nearly all grow longer hair
and put on their best fur against the terrible cold of winter.
The fat in the skins of the out-of-season fur is due to this
effort, and is so sure a sign of poaching out of season that
pelts showing fat on the inside are not allowed by law to be
sold or to pass customs. Our seals and birds acquire cor-
responding coats of fat, so that the former will float when
killed. They are able to enjoy the bitterest weather div-
ing under the ice — while the birds have energy enough
stored in that form to enable them to accomplish their long
journeys to South America, the Antilles, and even to Asia
and Europe, without needing to stop to replenish their

428 | LABRADOR

stock. Black bear and woodchuck use this fat as food to
enable them to sleep through the discomforts of winter.

Most of the mammals have their special senses developed
to an extraordinary degree. The wild goose and the eagle
can both see better than we can even with the aid of a
telescope, while huge owls prefer the dark for clear vision.
A wolf or a beaver can tell the scent of an old trail of a
man who has only passed once, and that hours before. A
fox will hear the feeble chirrup of a mouse all across a
marsh. Strangely enough, none of the mammals rely on
sight for protection. Scent is no use down wind and very
little over water. Hearing is an exceedingly unreliable
guide as to direction, while sight would appear to be
valuable under all circumstances. A seal often loses its
life through its inability to know what it is looking at. It
will put its head and shoulders out of water every minute
to try and make out a man, and will come close up to him.
I shall never forget my first caribou, and the “‘ buck fever”’
which made me fire nine times at him. I was lying in a ~
perfectly open marsh, and the animal, which was looking
straight at me, simply stood and sniffed the air and stared -
helplessly. The powder was, of course, smokeless. A friend,
kneeling also in a perfectly exposed marsh, by simply stay-
ing still, tolled a fox so close to him, that when he eventually
fired, the shot, going like a bullet, nearly spoiled a valuable
pelt. But foxes differ — all are not so foolish. A beaver
will look at you down wind from only a few yards away,
and yet not distinguish anything unusual. As shy an ani-
mal as a marten will show no fear so long as you keep still.
Slow, steady movement or stillness always inspires confi-
dence.

ANIMAL LIFE IN LABRADOR 429

Speed is, of course, one invaluable safeguard to our ani-
mals, but dogged endurance is nearly always too much for
them. <A wolf cannot catch a caribou on a straight run, nor
a fox a rabbit, but once they get a really fresh trail they are
pretty sure to kill. I have seen the tracks of the chase of a
fox by a lynx. Round and round the lake they went, the
huge leaps of the lynx giving him an enormous advantage
over the pitter patter of the fox — which was evidently
speedier. But we found the trace of the final act: a bit of
fur and a few tracks of blood.

None of our animals live very long, except the whales,
some of which are said to live a thousand years. Judging by
the immense barnacles which grow upon their skins, it is easy
to believe it of some of the hoary monsters which the whalers
tow into our factories. We consider that a fox or a caribou
of fifteen, or a wolf of twenty years, are in their dotage. I
remember one old black-beaked gull which has been in cap-
tivity thirty-two years. Solemnly each year she makes
half a dozen nests in different places, finally laying three
unfertilized eggs in one, with the regularity of clockwork.

The numbers of animals killed by man each year vary
ereatly. Thus in 1910 and 1911 large numbers of foxes
were killed, while in 1911-1912 scarcely a fox was caught
and all fur was scarce. The reasons attributed were that
in 1910 the mice and leamings were very few and the foxes
had to come to the outer trapping grounds, hunting food
nearer the land-wash, and their hunger made them readily
take bait. In 1911 mice were again very plentiful, and
some foxes certainly went farther inland for them. Some
were caught, but probably too large a toll of breeders had
been taken the year previous.

430 LABRADOR

Canis occidentalis. —'The timber wolf of Labrador seems
to be deficient in the noble qualities allotted to him else-
where. I can find no account of his having courage to
attack even an unarmed man, though on several occasions
men have been followed by small packs of wolves almost
to their doors. I heard of one boy who was attacked by a
wolf, but he fired his gun in its face and ran away without
waiting to see what happened. It seems certain that they
kill defenceless animals merely for the pleasure of killing
them. Settlers have many times described to me how
they have found carcasses of freshly killed deer within a
short distance of one another, only the tongues having been
eaten and the windpipe torn out. This method of killing
may account for the tongue being eaten, owing to its
attachment to the larynx. The wolves have frequently
come out and mixed with the Eskimo dogs, killing and eat-
ing them. ‘This has been used to their destruction by peg-
ging out sluts, and so attracting the wolves within range.
One trapper while tailing his traps noticed that he was
being followed by three wolves. On his return to the
spot where he had left a bag of flour he found that the
woives had been circling round it, but had been afraid to
touch it. On stooping to pick it up he heard a growl close
to him, and a single wolf stood facing him snarling. With
considerable coolness he stood still and took time to load
his muzzle-loading gun. The wolf meanwhile was walking
around. The other two wolves did not show up out of the
thicket. When he was ready he shot and killed the one
in sight, whereupon the other two dashed out of the thicket
and fled. This man has had a very large experience with
our wild animals. The wolf in question was far advanced in.

ANIMAL LIFE IN LABRADOR 431

starvation, and only the pangs of hunger gave the poor
beast the courage to face a man. I have in my collection
the skull of a large wolf which had killed itself by eating
sticks. A piece the exact width of the mouth, cut off by
the two large lateral teeth, had sprung across the mouth
like a bow, and the pressure on each end had absorbed the
alveolus of the jaw, so that the stick was right through on
both sides above the teeth. The pressure had also ab-
sorbed the bone above it, and eaten a long hole the size of
the stick through the base of the skull, and so probably in-
fected the brain. The stick is still 7m situ in the skull.

The method by which the wolves destroy the caribou was
hotly debated some time ago. I append two detailed de-
scriptions from eye-witnesses. Mr. Flowers of Hamilton
Inlet, hunting with his brother, noticed a full-grown caribou
flying at top speed across the barrens. From the hill on
which they were they watched it through their field glasses,
and noticed it mount a neighbouring steep ascent at the
same matchless pace, and then suddenly stop and lie down.
Very shortly a large timber wolf came flying by. As soon
as it sighted the caribou it turned off and ran to leeward,
making a long circle as if afraid to go near. Probably it
had had experiences before. Soon after two more wolves
came along, and one of these also started to circle round.
The other, however, went straight at the deer from behind,
while its attention was drawn the other way. It ran right
in under the forelegs and grabbed the deer high in the
throat. The deer, a fine old. stag, reared up on his hind
legs, the wolf still holding on. The deer then went down
and tried to knee the wolf to pieces against the hard
ground. Just at that moment one of the party shot the

432 LABRADOR

deer, with the result that all three wolves got safely away.
The deer would certainly have been killed anyhow.

In the second case, the deer, a doe, took to the water
and swam off to a small islet. The wolf, a single one, only
followed after a long delay, and did not seem very anxious
for the fight when he first landed. However, when he did
_ begin, the deer succeeded in knocking him down three
times by rising on her hind legs. But the wolf got hold
by the throat, and the caribou would probably have been
quickly killed, even if a shot had not at that moment
ended her life. In other cases I have known them to be
hamstrung, or disabled, by the wolf biting the small of the
back.

Rangifer arcticus, or Rangifer caribou (Caribou). — The
young are easily tamed and very affectionate. One which —
I had as a companion on our steamer would always bleat
after me as I left the side in a boat, would follow me where-
ever I went on the land, and would swim off after me again
when I left the shore. If it was in the field and heard my
voice it would at once rush to me, and would stand up on
its hind legs and batter the palings in its attempts to ac-
company me when I left. They have also been tamed and
used for traction in Newfoundland, in isolated instances.
Only the woodland variety are commonly found in the
south of Labrador, and these have not noticeably diminished.
Their paths suggest that for ages they have been there in
great numbers — just as they still are on the barren lands
to the west of the Bay. The almost extravagant supply of
their food which now goes unused in Labrador would insure
protected herds great abundance and permanence of food.

Lutra Canadens is (Canada Otter). — These animals are

ANIMAL LIFE IN LABRADOR 433

among our most reliable furs. They do not seem tc have
appreciably decreased. They make rude lairs under the
snow near some open running water. They seem able to
catch fish whenever they wish to do so, summer or winter,
but whether they merely outswim, or simply pounce on
their prey like a hawk, is doubtful. They never seem
to starve like wolves and foxes, being almost always in
good condition. No water at all adheres to their coats,
so, unlike a dog, they appear not to “freeze up.’ They
are among our most enduring animals. A friend described
how he had seen a fox on one occasion sight an otter, and
at once attack it. The otter, however, turned on his
assailant and damaged him so badly that he was glad to
escape with his pelt in a woful condition for the fur market.
Their characteristic ‘‘rub” is so evident on the snow that
they are easily marked down, and by waiting quietly can
readily be shot in the water.

I had a similar story told me of an otter and a lynx.
The lynx, waiting in hiding, pounced on the otter as he came
out of a pond with a fish. But the otter gave such a good
account of himself that the cat fled.

Ursus Americanus. —'The black bear is one of our
commonest furs. As he is large and his flesh excellent eat-
ing, he is, unfortunately, always shot at sight, though his
skin in summer is practically valueless. The meat is like
dark mutton. He is a most harmless creature, and I can
get no record of even a mother with her family (generally
two) having been dangerous to man. A trapper on snow-
shoes in the spring came on a bear just out of his cave.
He gave chase, and, owing to the deep, soft snow, the bear
had no chance of getting away. Seeing that it was fight or

2F

i i a i I an
Sz “See

434 LABRADOR

die, the bear attacked, only to learn, however, that against
modern guns he had no chance. The poor beast’s attack
was entirely due to his inability to avoid death. Apropos
of caves, the black bear is, of all our mammals, the one
which looks out most for his personal comfort. With us
they “cave up” and sleep for about six months to avoid
the cold of winter. I once purchased a young cub taken
from its dead mother soon after its birth. When October
came, we placed a barrel in the bear’s run to see if he would
know how to make a nest, not having had any opportunity
of a “school of the woods.’ He took to it, however, with
apparent zest, and no less efficiently for lack of education.
He lined the barrel with grass and moss, and padded it all
tight and solid with his paws, almost as a man would do.

On one occasion a trapper on his fur path found a con-
venient hole into a cave under a cliff. He crept in, lighted
a small lantern which he carried, and, after having his
supper, lay down to sleep. In the night a noise, as of
some visitor, awakened him, and he turned up his lantern
to find a large bear, standing as high as the roof. He
promptly shot the bear and got sie where, by waiting,
he got two others.

Their fondness for sweets, and especially molasses, occa-
sionally gets them into trouble. One time a trapper hauled
over $200 worth of food to one of the huts on his fur path.
When he came back he found a big hole through the roof
and most of his food spoilt. He nailed up the hole twice
as strong and headed up the barrel of molasses. On his
next visit he found that bears had again got in, broken the
top of his barrel, and eaten all his molasses.

These bears also eat fish along the land-wash, as well as

ANIMAL LIFE IN LABRADOR 435

berries, and will occasionally catch fish in the ponds and
pools. Many attempts have been made to keep them as
pets, and I did succeed in keeping two for quite a long
period. ‘The general experience is, however, that they re-
main bears, and are not to be trusted. They have a habit
of playfully hitting with their paws, and their long nails
inflict very nasty scratches. I have had more than one
experience of this.

Gulo luscus L.— The wolverine is considered by all our
trappers as the wiliest of our wood folk. He will reach
under a trap and turn it over so that it will go off safely,
almost every time. Rather than go into a lynx house by
the open door, which is of course guarded by a leg trap,
he will dig down under the back of it, and come up inside,
and thus get what he wants, viz. the bait. He is far the
most persistent trap robber. Not satisfied with having
eaten all he needs, he will take a marten out of a trap and
bury it, and then following the man’s trail all along the fur
path, he will rob any and all of the other traps as he passes.
The Indians have a tradition that the wolverine never eats
a marten, but simply steals them out of wantonness and
buries them. I have known of one of these beasts stealing
fourteen marten at one time, and these were suspended in a
tilt. In the same way he will climb a tree and rob a
scaffolded cache of food. Their endurance is perfectly re-
markable. An old wolverine was caught by the fore leg
in a steel “jumper” trap at Paradise; fourteen days later
he was sighted and shot.at Dove Brook, a good twenty-five
miles away. The steel trap and chain were still on the
poor beast’s leg, which was not frozen. When first seen
he was carrying the trap in his mouth, and quite a large

436 LABRADOR

ball of ice had formed on it, apparently where the saliva
had made it sticky and the snow had balled on it; yet the
poor brute was marching along on his journey. A wolverine
taken in a trap shows fierce fight and endurance. From
the latter fact have arisen some of the stories of his cun-
ning. Thus, a wolverine in a trap was hit over the head
by a hunter, and “killed.” But as soon as the trapper
stooped to pick him up, he jumped up and bit him. On
another occasion a wolverine lay ‘“‘dead’”’ while the trap
was taken off his leg, whereupon he immediately leaped up
and ran away.
_ The red squirrels are very numerous and very tame. One
frequently finds their caches of food in holes in the ground
or in stumps. They will also make their way into houses
and stores, appropriating biscuits, bread, and other pro-
visions. At Rigolet, the Hudson’s Bay Company’s agents
have twice found collections of biscuits amounting to
nearly a barrelful, which the little fellows had carried off
and stored for winter. Their skins are of little value, but
the animals are not bad eating when proteid food is scarce.
Castor Canadensis. —'The Labrador beaver has been abso-
lutely protected by law for many years, and in some of the
rivers near the East Coast, which are only hunted by single
settlers, has become quite numerous. The hunters are
most law-abiding, for it is very easy to sell the skins, and
there is practically no one in Labrador to enforce the law.
Their sturdy honesty, however, has not permanently saved
the beaver. The roaming Indians found the animals extend-
ing farther up the rivers on to their own more central hunt-
ing grounds, and followed them down-stream to the coast,
killing every animal which they met with as they went

ANIMAL LIFE IN LABRADOR 437

along. Being short of food, as they always are, and the
meat of the beaver being most succulent, there was a double
incentive, for they would carry the skins away and sell
them on the Gulf Shore, where these Indians go for sup-
plies and for their religious ceremonies. Meanwhile, they
not only kill beavers, but all the other fur which the white
settlers depend upon for their living. We have had more
than once to take refuge under the fact that, though we are
magistrates, we are not policemen.

The beaver is the gentlest of our wood folk, strong, heavy,
and active. He is entirely devoted to peace; even when
caught when coming out of his house by a man’s hand, he |
will not turn and bite, but will allow himself to be lifted
out of the water and then dealt with at leisure. The humble
muskrat is often caught lodging in the house of his larger
congener, who appears not to mind this intrusion on his
family circle. Otters, also, have been seen to enter occupied
beaver houses, and though it seems unworthy of them, they
have been found guilty of killing their hosts.

One trapper told me that he was watching a beaver
house, waiting to stake the last door as soon as the owner
of the house returned. The ice was quite clear, but four or
five feet thick. Hearing some animal crackling and creak-
ing along the bank, he lay and watched. Presently he saw
a pair of otters swim out under the ice and enter the still
open door of the beaver house.

On his logging brook, Mr. Harry Crowe had dammed
the brook in order to raise the level for log floating. This
happened to interfere with a beaver whose house was just
above, so he had to build the house higher and higher till
it was like an Eiffel Tower. But one night he came down-

438 LABRADOR

stream to see what the matter was. Finding the dam, he
coolly pulled out the mud and caulking, and lowered the
level again to suit his pleasure. When, however, the
loggers rebuilt the dam, the beaver very philosophically
moved house and rebuilt in a pool much higher up-stream.

Erethizon dorsatum picinum. ‘The porcupine is not very
common, but is considered by our settlers as the best eat-
ing of any of the animals. The flavor differs with the
season, and it is best in summer ‘and fall, when he lives
mostly on berries. In the spring he is apt to be “sprucy,” as
at that time he lives in the trees, and eats practically noth-
ing but bark. As he prefers the soft bark, he often kills
the trees, but though he destroys our small firs, often as
many as a hundred in a winter, he is not so numerous as to be
a serious economic danger. Perhaps it is as well that our
herbivorous mammals choose different ways of meeting the

winter. Thus, the bears sleep, the rabbits eat young

birch, the squirrel stores food, the porcupine keeps to
conifers. In spite of his succulency he has little to fear
from his enemies —except man. His short thick quills
are barbed as well as sharp, and many a dog, wolf, or fox
has attempted his life at the cost of their own. Once a
quill gets well set in, every movement drives it on, so that
festering sores are caused all over the body. Dogs get them
in their tongues, and I have seen a fox skin spoiled by big-
sores left from the wounds of the quills.

Thalarctus maritumus.— Most specimens of the polar
bear which are taken now have come south on the floe ice
in pursuit of the seal herds which have their young on it at
about the latitude of North Newfoundland. They are our
greatest travellers. J have found no instances of their

ANIMAL LIFE IN LABRADOR 439

attacking man; yet a large one will stand six to seven feet
high, on his hind legs, and weigh about 1200 pounds.
After having been carried south on the ice they are saga-
cious enough to find their way north again, even if they have
to take to the land to do so. Every year a ragged line of
straggling polar bears lands somewhere between St. John’s
and Cape Chidley, and all immediately seem to start on
their long trip to the north. I have followed their trail
over barren land and thick woods to the edge of the
Straits of Belle Isle. The bear went straight north all the
while, swimming over to Labrador. It seems to us that
they must have some magnetic sense, as no one ever heard
of one going south by mistake. They will loiter on the
outer islands, eating the eggs of the numerous sea birds as
they travel. It would seem that they are conscious of
having one black spot, their nose. In approaching a seal
on the ice, they have been seen to hide it in the snow, and
in swimming after ducks they sink their whole body under
water, and leave only their black nose out, so as to toll
the birds nearer.

I have myself seen a polar bear swimming at least three
miles out from land, in the open sea, and with no ice
about. He too was bound north. When shot he floated
fairly high in the water, so we judged he could remain
swimming as long as he liked. They are not fleet or agile
enough to escape from dogs, and many times the Komatik
dogs have run them down, and, on one occasion at least,
killed the bear without any assistance from man. In the
water they have been killed frequently by the fishermen,
with an axe, or even blows from an oar, or seal bat. They
do not swim fast, but they dive well. We lost one this

440 LABRADOR

way in rough water, the white foam making it impossible
to distinguish him when he came up. I have known a
large bear to get at the seal oil in a headed-up hard wood
puncheon, and actually break the staves, presumably with
blows from his paw. ‘Their flesh has a fishy flavor, but the
natives value the meat very highly.

Phoca Greenlandica.—The seal was once almost innumer-
able, but is now getting scarce, owing to the pelagic fishing —
during the breeding season. They are of immense value
to the residents for the skin, fat, and meat. They seem to
share the magnetic sense of the bears and birds. A baby
seal six weeks old is called a “beater,” and goes straight
north almost at once. That he does not permanently lose
his way as he wanders off into the mouths of our big bays
is a difficult fact to explain otherwise.

‘Odobenus rosmarus. — A walrus was killed at St. Anthony
on the northeast coast of Newfoundland in the spring of
1910. They are still occasionally taken along the east
coast of Labrador, but are gradually being driven north.

Lynx Canadensis. — The lynx is getting decidedly scarcer.
His size and strength puts him with us among our most
destructive animals. His skin has risen to about ten times
the value it had twenty years ago. A trapper told me a
story of two lynx who regularly hunted and rounded up a
fox. I myself have seen where one had run down a fox
and killed him. Another trapper described seeing two
lynx attack an otter, which, however, got away safely.

Putorius vison.—The mink has the habits of the otter
and preys on fish.

Arctorus ignavus.—Our woodchucks hibernate in the
winter like bears. Our people have to leave their houses in

ANIMAL LIFE IN LABRADOR 441

the bays and come to the outer islands to fish in the summer.
They plant their gardens before leaving, and more than
one woodchuck, burrowing in under a paling, has lived
happily all summer at the expense of the family who are
fishing.

Vulpes rubricosa.—The fox has pups of varying colors
from red to black. The silver and black coloured ones are
now being bred in many places for their pelts, especially in
Nova Scotia. They have now got a law in Labrador pro-
hibiting the export of live wild foxes, in order to encourage
- the fox farming industry, which has just begun in 1912.
A single pair of the animals alive has fetched as much as
$10,000, while 1100 pounds sterling is said to have been
paid by the late King Edward for a single skin for his
Queen. Twosilvers bred together will throw silver pups for
certain after three generations. At present they breed only
once a year, but it is supposed that in ease and domesticity
they may be induced to breed oftener, like their conquerors,
the dogs. They are exceedingly sly. I made an attempt
to propagate foxes for several seasons before the movement
became general, but my animals always lost or destroyed
their young. This presumably was due to the fact that we
failed to prevent streams of visitors from getting access to
the pens. The silvers are always more sly than the reds.
I had a red and a patch fox which would scream with joy
whenever they saw me approaching the pen, and run to me
like a dog. The adult is apparently not so clever as he is
supposed to be; though there are many stories of foxes
tolling geese and shell birds to shore by either walking up
and down and showing only their tail, or lying quietly down
and waving it. As I have seen the same result occur

442 LABRADOR

when my retriever has been running up and down quite
visibly on the bank, it is possible that the manceuvre really
needs no supposition of especial cunning to explain it.

A hunter in spring, on soft snow, will easily tire a fox out
and run him down. Unlike most animals, foxes will eat
one another.

CHAPTER XVIII

CONSERVATION AND EXPLORATION IN LABRADOR

By WILFRED T. GRENFELL

IT is patent to the most casual observer that coincident
with the increase of population in any country the weaker
creatures must inevitably go to the wall. This is as true
of the aboriginal inhabitants as it is of the lower animal
kingdom. Before men, armed with modern weapons of
destruction, and with ever increasing means of transport,
almost all the barriers behind which weaker Nature shelters
herself are disappearing. In the Northwest the buffalo
and the elk lands had to give way before cultivation, the
prairies almost to the Arctic Circle are submitting to the
taming hand of man, and the entrance of roads and rail-
way tracks and growing townships ultimately make it
practically impossible and even inadvisable to protect and
preserve the wild creatures in their natural habitat. It is
true that some animals can be domesticated and properly
propagated in captivity, and so saved from extinction; but
many others must be lost to mankind unless large areas
ean be found where natural conditions make it easy and
economically wise to assign sanctuaries for them. Unfor-
tunately there seems to be a low level limit beyond which
it is impossible for a particular species to recuperate, and this
is especially the case with birds. On the other hand it has
been shown that instinct teaches animals, and birds in par-
ticular, the districts in which they are safe, however small

443

444 LABRADOR

those regions may be. Note the gulls in our large har-
bours, and the ducks and other sea birds which are safe in
the middle of a city like San Francisco and feed fearlessly
in huge numbers in the lake at Oakland, while a mile or
two away, where gunners lie in wait for them, they are shy
and unapproachable unless deceived by decoys.

Nowhere in the world could be found a better natural
reserve than Labrador. The impenetrable ice barrier
which shuts it in in winter has, so far at least, defied the
entrance of rapid transit and its vast area of over half a
million square miles, except for its fringe of population
along the seaboard, and its now roaming Indians, is still
practically uninhabited.

Its vast barrens, its enormous superficial fresh-water
area, and its almost bare mountain sides seem to foretell
that, however scientific are men’s methods of farming, huge
tracts must always in all probability be unoccupied by man.
Of course in these days, when faith in the unity of elements
is receiving currency, there is a possibility that if the ele-
ments are transmutable, in some way Laurentian gneisses
may be turned into gold, or even butter. No one can deny
possibilities! But except for the likely establishment of
some few mines, geology seems to tell the same story as
regards Labrador — that large areas of it will long be un-
profitable for man’s occupation.

As a consequence, Labrador is still practically a land of
pirates on Nature, or, as Hesketh Pritchard, in his delight-
ful book, Through Trackless Labrador, puts it, we are “a
purely predatory people on a barren but luxuriant coast.”

The end can only be what might be expected when the
golden goose is killed — those who lived off its eggs will

CONSERVATION AND EXPLORATION 445

starve. So true is this that Professor W. A. Stearns, orni-
thologist, who wintered on our coast, described Labrador as
‘‘a long barren coast, the miserable home of half-starved
humanity.”’

Any one who was to judge of the future of Labrador by
such a category as follows might have some excuse for
pessimism : —

All natives, both Eskimo on the seacoast and Indians in
the interior, are decreasing in numbers, and even the white
settlers are scarcely holding their own. About one hundred
Indians who came out only last winter had to live on the
charity of the Hudson’s Bay Post at Davis Inlet till May
or starve.

Walrus, practically gone.

' Whales, seriously diminished.

Codfish, shoals scarcer and far more uncertain than
formerly.

Capelin, not nearly so abundant.

Seals, so seriously diminished that the lack of food and
clothing which they formerly provided is one chief cause
of the depopulation of the country.

Herring, once world famous, now no longer fished at all.

Salmon, spasmodic, but greatly diminished.

Trout, never a serious industry, but not at all what it
was.

White bear, only very occasionally seen now.

Black bear, and all other fur-bearing animals, so much
scarcer that in spite of trappers covering the country from
as far in as Lake Petitsikapau and thence to the coast of
St. Augustine, the total catch is getting annually smaller.

Great auk, Labrador duck, oyster catcher, — extinct.

446 LABRADOR

Eskimo curlew, in thousands twenty years ago, now
practically extinct. (I got four in September, 1912.)

Hider duck, much scarcer, once they lived on every island.
Now very few nest on the coast at all.

Canada goose, still plentiful.

Black duck, widgeon, teal, and pintail, markedly fewer.

Willow grouse, so variable that it is hard to gauge their
numbers.

Spruce grouse, scarcer. |

Puffins, guillemots, auk, noticeably less.

Woodland caribou, scarcer.

Barren Land caribou, uncertainly met with. Mrs. Hub-
bard and Mr. Pritchard think still plentiful.

At best it is a disheartening list, especially when we
have to add that in a country so hard to reforest vast
areas of the excellent pulp timber have been destroyed by
fire. ;

On the other hand, the fact remains that these waters
are ideal for shoals of fish which are more valuable now
than ever; that seals can flourish in immense herds on the
coast, and still pay a reasonable tax without serious re-
sults, while aviation and motoring is making their pelts
exceedingly valuable.

For long-haired and dark furs this environment cannot
be excelled, and every year the price of good pelts advances.
They average more than 100 per cent more on this coast
than they did twenty years ago. Moreover, the country
can support enormous numbers of deer, and thus yield a
huge quantity of proteid food which is increasingly needed
by the outside world. This is clearly shown both by ex-
periment and by Nature. Again, its numerous rivers and

CONSERVATION AND EXPLORATION 447

estuaries, if properly guarded, can afford a supply of salmon
and trout far superior in quality to the warm water fibrous
fish of the North Pacific.

Mr. Hesketh Pritchard and other writers have claimed
that for travellers Labrador will one day be the Norway of
North America, when once the means for comfortable
transport along its magnificent seaboard is obtainable. But
if its wild life is all destroyed, and as it has no historical

‘monuments to boast of, it must lose a great deal of its

attractive possibilities, just for want of scientific attention
and capital. One other lamentable feature which cannot
help striking the intelligent observer is the immense waste
of Labrador. There is as yet no cold storage to improve
the value of exports. All offal of cod and all coarse fish
are wasted. Capelin and herring are put to no commercial
value. Norway last year showed a record of : —

Waste herring ground to flour. . . . . . $709,412
Peaimncrccmerring oll...) ke wee 258,376
eaumemeacde from cods’ heads. . . . 4 - 350) 2iuh
TMM MT Lk eas pt ab hibits, oe eek oh de 312,543

$1,616,542

Germany now does an immense business in converting
fish offal into feed for poultry. By not using fatty fish,
like herring, no taste is given to either eggs or meat. At
Gloucester, Mass., the same work is carried on, and im-
mense supplies of glue made from the skin and bones.

Our innumerable berries rot where they grow. There
has been no attempt whatever at the adaptation of plants
or animals. Immense water powers and vast pulp lands
are yet entirely undeveloped. Our coast is poorly lighted

AAS LABRADOR

and charted; yachts are practically unable to visit us.
Nothing is done with fresh-water pearls, mussels, kelp,
and other possible sources of revenue. Some advance,
however, has been made. In summer there are wireless
telegraph stations nearly halfway down our coast, and
a small steamer has been detailed to visit along the north-
ern two hundred miles as far as Cape Chidley. This
northern part is much the most picturesque section of
Labrador. But the vessel is still sadly inadequate for.
tourist traffic. The British Government has at last de-
tailed a vessel for improving the surveys of the Labrador
coast, and Dr. Louis King of Ottawa has done some ex-
cellent work on detecting the presence of icebergs in thick
weather. The Hudson Bay Route is also approaching a
working basis. It has been suggested also that steamers
making the round trip from the Bay to the Gulf of St.
Lawrence call at Labrador ports on the way.

Personally I feel convinced that a winter port at Cape
Charles in the Straits of Belle Isle could be made acces-
sible all the year round.

Many prospectors and timber cruisers have been rang-
ing Labrador, and the universal decision has been that
valuable pulp areas exist. A rush on land followed, and —
every acre, including barrens and lakes, was applied for
and granted. Companies were formed and attempts
made to sell stock on the London and New York markets.
Each year we have been informed that some area would
certainly be worked. Plans with the minutest details
have been sent in, and we had a request from one com- |
pany to find them a doctor. But nothing has yet begun,
though it cannot be doubted that the logs are there in

CONSERVATION AND EXPLORATION 449

abundance. The difficulties of shipping, the long winter,
and the lack of either roads, railways, or telegraphs has
militated sorely against such plans materializing. Now,
however, it does seem that a large syndicate, with a
three-million-dollar capital, is to start in the spring, and
if it does, it may be one more plea for a Labrador railway.
A second large lumber concern has also given us notice
that they intend to commence operating this. winter.
But the snow is on the hills, and the ice making, and
there are as yet no arrivals. This company with orders
for 7,000,000 tons of pulp annually for 36 New York
newspapers had everything ready, having engaged en-
gineers and managers, when they were warned that owing
to the boundary dispute neither Canada nor Newfound-
land could give them a valid title, and after an outlay in
survey and other expenses of about $50,000, it was pre-
vented from proceeding. But in spite of all statements
to the contrary the pulp production of the world for
paper is far below the requirements, and Labrador’s vast
pulp forests must sooner or later be exploited.

Our reindeer experiment has advanced considerably.
Next spring a herd goes to North Labrador in charge of
some herders from that section, who have been trained at
St. Anthony. Only a small number of people, and conse-
quently few dogs are there, and these latter are the great-
est menace to the success of the reindeer. A herd of fifty,
with three of our herders, left in 1911 for Athabasca and a
small herd of six has been privately purchased for the
Indians of lower Quebec. We have had some trouble with
the people killing our reindeer while hunting for caribou.
But the Newfoundland Government has not yet been

450 LABRADOR

willing to create the north end of the island as a national
preserve for the herd. We have found out that the same
reindeer can no more be expected to be ranched for meat,
to be milked for dairy purposes, and to haul and drive
successfully, than can cattle or any other animals. For-
merly we expected too much from them. For packing in
summer they are all right, and in deep snow in early
winter better for driving than dogs. The herd for ranch-
ing must be separate from the dairy animals, and the
latter must be taken from their fawns. Only the ox deer
are used by us for hauling, which they do most excel-
lently, though they are slow for driving. With only a
very small sum for upkeep the herd must support itself, —
and so dairy experiments on any large scale have had to
be postponed.

In the fall of 1911 the first shipment of carcasses for the
market from the Alaskan reindeer herds was permitted.
One hundred and twenty-five carcasses were sent up in
cold storage, and realized from twenty-five to seventy-
five cents a pound.

We have now one thousand deer, having sold fifty,
killed over one hundred for meat for hospital, and lost one
hundred and fifty through straying, illegal killing, and
accidents. We have now given an option on four hun-
dred of the animals to a company that is proposing to
start in ranching on a commercial basis for the London
and New York markets. This is one of the ends which
we most desire, as it will give the industry that lasting
hold on the country which will ensure its permanence
and extension, without which, and the government back-
ing such as is given in Alaska, it must remain on a very

CONSERVATION AND EXPLORATION 451

small scale as a mission enterprise. The experiment
needs more money to make it mature quickly, otherwise
it must attain its final results very slowly. It is impos-
sible to replace the dogs till there are enough deer to
take their place. Commercializing at once part of the
scheme seems anyhow to us to be absolutely essential
unless more money can be placed behind it in some other
way.

One exceedingly helpful circumstance is the advent to
Labrador of a large fur-farming concern. The great suc-
cess made of fox farming in Nova Scotia and Maine has
encouraged this enterprise, and there is every prospect
of its becoming a great success. Small receiving stations
have been established all along the coast, and Mr. Clar-
ence Birdseye, the manager in charge, is creating a cen-
tral farm. He is a trained naturalist of proved ability,
having done three years’ service in the field, under the
Federal Government at Washington. With characteristic
energy he has already succeeded in getting two laws
passed to prevent the exportation of live wild foxes, and
also of digging and destroying their burrows in summer.
He anticipates that in future he may add mink, marten,
and even otter and beaver breeding to his work.

Enthusiastic prospectors continue to seek for the gold
that the finds in the similar belt of rocks in the middle and
far Northwest have suggested. Gold discoveries in Baffin
Land sent four expeditions flying down there this summer.

In short, everything seems to point to the fact that
Labrador will come to her own in the not very distant
future.

APPENDICES

I
INSECTS OF LABRADOR

The Insects, excluding the Beetles

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON

Our knowledge of the insects of Labrador is based largely on
the various papers by Alpheus 8. Packard. The lists of the species
recorded in these papers were later brought together and pub-
lished in his work, The Labrador Coast. In this work about two
hundred and twenty species are mentioned. A few additional
species from the interior are listed in A. P. Low’s Report on Ex-
plorations in the Labrador Peninsula.' These, with a few scattered
species, make the total number about two hundred and fifty.
This is a small number if we consider the whole Labrador penin-
sula, but a large number when we take into account the limited
amount of entomological work which has been done and the small
area covered.

A. P. Low defines the southern boundary of the Labrador pen-
insula as a straight line extending nearly east from the south end
of James Bay, near lat. 51°, to the Gulf of St. Lawrence near
Seven Islands, in lat. 50°. This gives a clearly defined geograph-
ical area, which, bordered by Arctic seas, and a more elevated
interior, gives quite uniform climatic conditions, and would make
it possible to study the insect fauna to better advantage than if
it were limited by political boundaries.

The section from which nearly all the insects have been collected
(the immediate coast-line) is in that portion of the boreal region
which has been designated as Arctic, the flora and fauna of which
are largely governed by the effect of the winds from the cold Arctic
seas. On the other hand, a short distance inland, we enter the
subarctic forest belt, or Hudsonian Zone, with a much richer
~ insect fauna than could exist on the bleak, storm-swept coast,

1Am. Rep. Geol. Survey of Canada, Vol. VIII, 1895.
453

454 APPENDIX I

The close proximity of the wooded section in the more southern
portion and the narrowness of the so-called Arctic Zone causes
it to be inhabited during the summer by many species from the
strictly Hudsonian area to the west and south, even though condi-
tions are not favourable for their permanent existence. Botan-
ically the two zones are quite clearly defined, but from an entomo-
logical standpoint it would be difficult to draw the line.

Taking the country as a whole, the two hundred and forty
recorded species probably represent less than thirty-five per cent
of the insects which will be found to inhabit this region. It is
somewhat difficult to make an estimate of the number of species
in the more northern latitudes, where the tendency is toward vast
numbers of individuals and few species, and where the insects
with incomplete metamorphosis are poorly represented. There
are, however, many -reasons for considering. that our knowledge
of the insects of Labrador is very imperfect. The country with
its comparatively rich flora (over five hundred species) presents
quite favourable conditions for insect life, a fact which is shown
by the large number of species recorded from the so-called Hudson
Bay region, and the tendency of species in northern latitudes to
extend entirely across the continent. There has been an almost
total neglect of the Diptera, or flies, the order most prevalent in
‘boreal regions, only fifteen species being recorded, while from
Alaska, for example, two hundred and seventy-six species represent-
ing one hundred and thirty-eight genera and thirty-six families
were obtained by Professor Trevor Kincaid of the Harriman expe-
dition during the summer of 1899.

Under each order will be given a brief account of our present
knowledge of the insects of this region, with notes on their habits,
distribution, and other features of general interest.

I am indebted to Mr. H. H. Newcomb for the loan of some
butterflies, to Mr. J. A. Cushman for photographs, and to Miss
L. R. Martin for drawings illustrating this article.

The Diptera, or two-winged insects, comprise what are popu-
larly known as flies, midges, gnats, and mosquitoes. I have stated
that this is a very much neglected order, but I am told that they
never neglect the visitor; in fact we would probably know more
about the flies of Labrador if they were not quite so attentive.
They constitute the most annoying, and at times an almost un-
bearable, feature of the short summer, nature seeming to strive
to make up in individuals what it lacks in species. It seems
remarkable that insects can increase in such numbers in so short
a time, and under conditions apparently so unfavourable, but
cold does not seem to hinder the development of certain species.
Professor John B. Smith, in his work on the mosquitoes of New

APPENDIX I 455

Jersey, has positively proved that during the early days of Feb-
ruary, in water just above the freezing temperature, the larva of
Culex canadensis hatches from the egg. A wingless snow gnat
(Chionea valga) is found only during the winter in the northern
United States and Canada, crawling on the snow with the ther-
mometer as low as 15° above zero. There are many other insects
which seem to thrive under similar conditions.

Another feature which enables Diptera to withstand most un-
favourable climatic conditions is their diversity of habit; aquatic,
parasitic, herbivorous, and carnivorous, they feed upon almost
everything from living tissue to the most putrid and decayed animal
and vegetable matter, and are thus hable to be widely distributed
through commerce. Many of the blood-thirsty species breed in
water, the larva of the mosquito living in swamps and stagnant
pools, while those of the black-fly frequent the rapidly running
streams. These conditions, existing to so great an extent through-
out the interior, present very favourable breeding places for these
insects, and render some districts practically uninhabitable by man.

A great similarity prevails throughout the whole dipterous
fauna of the more northern regions. Many are circumpolar in
their distribution, others differ so slightly that it is almost impos-
sible to determine them from descriptions, and comparison with
European specimens is necessary. That they have not become
more differentiated is probably due to the uniform climatic condi-
tions under which they have existed. In numbers the Diptera
extend farther into the Arctic region than any other order of
insects, therefore presenting one of the best groups for tracing
boreal distribution.

The flies include most of the many species of insects which
infest mammals and birds. Of these parasites some may be ex-
ternal, others internal. Their generally small size and the indif-
ference of trappers and most collectors of animals and birds to
their existence, is one of the principal reasons for our lack of
knowledge of these forms, especially from more northern latitudes.
It is doubtful if there is an animal or bird which is entirely free
from a parasite. While these are probably less numerous in the
colder region, the conditions are quite favourable, and they are
undoubtedly more abundant than is generally supposed.

There are two species of flies of which we know but little, but
which we do know infest the caribou. They belong to the family
Cistridze, popularly known as bot-flies. The habits of one of the
_ species are apparently similar to those of the sheep bot-fly. A
description, therefore, of what is known of the latter species may
aid in studying the life history of the one infesting the caribou.

The fly of the, sheep-bot is about one-half of an inch in length,

456 APPENDIX I

very rapid in its actions, and consequently not readily seen when
flying. Its small size and obscure colouring would also prevent
its detection when at rest in protected places during cold, wet
days, for it only flies during the dry, warmer days, at which time
the female attempts to deposit its young larve in the nostrils of
the sheep. The eggs of the sheep bot-fly are retained until hatched
in the oviduct, and emerge as young larve or maggots. The
appearance of one of these flies among a flock of sheep causes con-
siderable alarm, and they try various ways to prevent it from
depositing its young larve. ‘They huddle together, lie down and
bury their noses in the dirt, and even raise a cloud of dust to deceive
their enemy. When deposited in the nose of the sheep, the young
maggot, by means of small hooks and spines, begins its migrations
upward through the nostrils to the frontal sinuses. The move-
ment of the larva, as it increases in size, greatly irritates the poor
victim, and it makes many attempts, by sneezing and snorting,
to rid itself of the parasite. This is rarely accomplished, however,
until the larva reaches maturity, when it detaches itself from
the mucous membrane, reaches the nose, and is expelled by the
violent snorting of its host.

The grub remains about ten months in the nasal cavity of the
sheep. After leaving the sheep it pupates and remains in that
state from four to six weeks, when the adult fly makes its ap-
pearance. |

Dr. Grenfell informs me that in all of the heads of the caribou
that he has examined, he has found parasitic larve, usually just
below the ethmoid. The injury done the caribou by this parasite
is not known, nor do we know the species, as neither the larva nor
fly has been secured. It probably belongs to the genus Cephalo-
myia. To work out its life history and determine the species
would prove an interesting subject for investigation.

The second species infesting the caribou is a subcutaneous para-
site, which may prove to be the same as the reindeer bot-fly (Hde-
magena tarandi). If not, it is a closely related species, with a
life history probably similar to that of the ox bot-fly, or warble
(Hypoderma). The eggs are deposited on and fastened to the
hairs in a similar manner to thos2 of the horse bot-fly, and always
in a position within reach of the animal’s mouth, as on the fore
legs and sides. In licking itself the animal transfers these eggs
to the mouth, the saliva rapidly dissolves the hard egg cases, and
the young larve already formed within are liberated. These
young spiny larve pass by way of the csophagus through the
tissues of the animal to the subcutaneous tissue along the back,
forming large tumours or swellings before reaching maturity. When
the larva has attained its full size, it bores its way out and drops

APPENDIX I 457

to the ground, into which it enters and pupates. It remains in
this dormant stage about four weeks, when the fly emerges, soon to
lay another lot of eggs. The larval period lasts about ten months,
the presence of the larve causing inflammation, loss of flesh, and
injury to the skin. Dr. Grenfell says that he has seen a skin so
perforated that it was practically impossible to cut from it a pair
of moccasins. Mr. Owen Bryant informs me that the caribou of
Newfoundland are infested by what is apparently the same fly.
The reindeer bot-fly is found in Alaska.

The birds and mammals of Labrador would indicate the pres-
ence of other families of insects. In the Diptera should be found
members of the family Hipposcide, popularly called the louse-fly,
from their habits of living parasitically upon birds and animals.
They have flattened bodies adapted for moving readily between
the feathers and hairs. Some species have wings, while in others
the wings are obsolete or wanting. The term Pupipara is applied
to this group on account of its remarkable mode of reproduction.
The eggs hatch within the body of the parent, the larva being
retained and nourished until full grown and ready to change to
the pupa. These flies are most commonly observed on the hawks
and owls, although many other birds are infested. The owl-fly
(Olfersia americana) lives upon the great-horned owl. The
Pseudolfersia maculata Coq. (= fumrpennis) infests the osprey and
loon, while on blackbirds and other small birds are frequently
found the more common bird-fly, Ornithomyia pallida. Many
species of the Mallophaga, or bird-lice, are probably present on
various species of birds.

The horse-flies, or gad-flies, are represented by the two most
prominent genera — Chrysops, or deer-flies, and Tabanus, or true
horse-flies. Both are at
times very annoying, es-
pecially in the woods,
swarming about in great
numbers and frequently
giving sharp bites. Pack- Larva of the Horse-fly.
ard, in referring to these
flies, says: ‘Half a dozen frightful horse-flies of gigantic stature
hovered about. Now and then, when we are not watching, they
will settle down on our hands and bite terribly, making a wound
which does not heal for days.” I am told the natives call them
“‘waps,”’ probably a corruption of “‘wasps.”” They are not as active
on a cloudy day, and a strong breeze will usually disperse them.

The three species of Chrysops are all black forms with the
usual broad black band on the centre of the wing. Chrysops
excitans (Pl., Fig. 1) has two of the basal segments of the abdomen

458 APPENDIX I

yellowish on the sides with a large gray triangle on the second
segment. Chrysops mitis has the abdomen entirely black, with
faint triangles of grayish hairs. Chrysops sordidus is distinguished
by having the first and second segments of the abdomen marked
with yellow on the sides, and the posterior margins of all the seg-
ments narrowly bordered with gray, and a dorsal row of small
triangles. The species are all of about the same size, a little less
than a half inch in length, C. excitans as a rule being a little larger
than the other two.

The larger horse-flies are represented by at least six species,
all belonging to the group with hairy eyes. These were formerly
separated from the genus Tabanus and placed in the genus Therio-
plectes, but they are now united, the character used in separating
them being probably only of subgeneric value. The two most promi-
nent species are J'abanus flavipes, or the yellow-footed horse-fly, and
Tabanus zonalis, or banded horse-fly (Pl., Fig. 2). They are nearly
three-quarters of an inch in Jength, with wings spreading an inch and
a quarter; black, with the posterior margins of the abdominal seg-
ments bordered with a band of golden-yellow hair; the wings are
brownish, tinged with yellow toward the base. The two species
closely resemble each other, but can he readily separated by the
latter’s having the tubercle in front of the base of the wing reddish,
and the yellow bands of the abdomen broader, with slight ante-
‘rior projections on the second and third segments. The Tabanus
auripilus of northern Europe is closely related to flavipes. Another
species of about the same size is Tabanus affinis (PL., Fig. 3);
it is a dark brownish black, with the sides of the abdomen red.
The little-headed horse-fly, Tabanus microcephalus, is about one-
half inch in length; the head is comparatively small, not exceeding
the width of the thorax; the abdomen is marked with three rows
of conspicuous grayish triangles. The northern horse-fly, Ta-
banus septentrionalis, is similar in general appearance, but with a
larger head and less prominent abdominal markings. The sixth
species, T'abanus illotus, is distinguished from the preceding one
by the broad, distinctly excised, third antennal joint, and faint
brown clouding on the cross-veins.

The larve of the horse-flies (Fig. 4) are aquatic or subaquatic,
living either in the mud in streams and swamps, or in wet earth
adjacent to springs. The eggs are placed on plants overhanging
the water or in very wet situations. The eggs hatch in about a
week, and the young larve drop into the water or mud. The
larve are carnivorous, feeding upon other insects and snails, and
probably repaying to some extent their annoyance when adult.
They are cylindrical, tapering gradually toward the end, and
usually translucent, whitish, and in some of the larger species

Chrysops excitans
(enlarged)

Tabanus zonalis

Tabanus affinis

Sirex flavicornis

Fic. 9. Brenthus frigga

APPENDIX I 459

frequently banded with brown or black. They possess great ex-
tensile and retractile powers, which enable them to move quite
rapidly through the mud and decaying vegetable matter. When
captured they are restless and active; if held carelessly in the
closed hand they use their mandibles freely, puncturing the skin
and causing severe pain.

The family Tipulide, or the crane-flies, as they are popularly

called in reference to their long, slender legs, constitute a very
conspicuous group of flies which extends well into the Arctic
region. Six species have been recorded from Labrador, but there
are probably four or five times this number. The large tessellated
erane-fly, Tipula tessellata (Pl., Fig. 5), is over an inch in length, with
spotted wings and dark body ‘covered with a grayish pollen. The
northern crane-fly, Tipula septentrionalis, is a smaller species,
with darker wings marked with white and black. The larve of
this group live either in damp, decaying vegetation, or in wet
earth and water.
- Of the mosquitoes of Labrador we only know that they are abun-
dant and constitute a very annoying feature, but from a systematic
standpoint we know very little. Specimens collected by Dr.
C. W. Townsend and Dr. G. M. Allen were submitted to Dr. H. G.
Dyer, who says: “I have looked over your specimens, and find
that they unfortunately belong to that group of Aides which can-
not be determined with any certainty without the larve. I have
been able to separate most of the species from regions collected
over, but as these come from Labrador, it is possible that they
represent new species, which would have differential larve, but
be very close as adults. These are some of the early spring species,
which in Labrador are doubtless the dominant, if not the only
occurring, species.”

Closely related to the Culicide, or mosquitoes, are the Chiro-
nomidez, or midges. Four or five species of this family have been
collected, but among them are no representatives of the biting
forms. To the genus Ceratopogon belong the ‘punkies,” or
“biting gnats,” which the Indians call the ‘“‘no-see-um.”’ These
very minute but annoying insects are sometimes abundant in north-
ern Maine, and especially noticeable just after sunset when there
isno wind. They may possibly extend into southern Labrador.

The black-fly, Simulium (Fig. 6), is an even more formidable
pest than the mosquito, for, unlike the latter, it makes its appear-
ance only on the bright sunny days and disappears during the
cloudy weather. In describing their attacks, Packard says: ‘‘The
armies of black-flies were supported by light brigades of mosquitoes.
They fly into our faces; they do not bite hard, like the mosquitoes,
but the vampires suck long and deep, leaving great clots of blood.

460 APPENDIX I

No wonder that these entomological pests are a perfect barrier
to inland travel, and that few people live during the summer away
from the sweep of the high winds and dwell on the exposed shores
of the coast to escape these torments.” The
larva of the black-fly (Fig. 7) lives in the swiftly
flowing streams, while those of the mosquito
are found in stagnant water, and as “ one-third
of the area is given up to ponds and streams,”’
conditions are very favourable for their increase.
There are many other species of flies, fully
as interesting as the biters. The little Doli-
chopodidze and Empidide are each represented
by four or five species; the bright-coloured
Syrphide, by about twelve species, including
such forms as Syrphus contumaa, S. diversipes,
Melanosto mamellinum, Eristalis bastardi, and
Helophilus glacialis; the Tachinide, or para-
sitic flies, by the large Echinomyra florum; the
Muscide, or house-flies, by the ‘‘blow-fly”’ (Calliphora vomitoria),
the blue fiesh-fly (Cynomyia cadaverina), the common green carrion-
fly (Lucilia cesar), and the dark blue (Phormia terre
nove). Hosts of Anthomyide are yet to be determined,
while the Scatophagide are represented by the widely
distributed Scatophaga stercoria, furcata, and islandica.
The order Hymenoptera includes the bees, wasps, ants,
saw-flies, etc. Notwithstanding their diversity of habit,
it is one of the orders which diminishes greatly in num-
bers as we approach the more Arctic regions. Only
twenty-six species have been recorded from Labrador.
Further research will, however, increase this number,
especially in the Ichneumonide, or parasitic species.
The large percentage of Phyllophaga, or leaf-eaters,
is very marked, eleven of the above numbers represent-
ing this group. They belong to the family Tenthri- :
dinide, popularly known as saw-flies, a term derived yp, 7
from a peculiar structure on the under side of the last ee

The Black-fly.

abdominal segment of the female, consisting of a pair ae a
of chitinous, sawlike pieces with which she cuts little aa ae
y.

pockets in the leaves in which to deposit her eggs.

Many of the saw-flies are injurious to the spruce, larch, willow,
birch, and other trees and plants, often completely defoliating
them. The larve resemble some of those of the butterflies and
moths, but can be quite readily distinguished by having from
twelve to sixteen prolegs, or abdominal feet, while the true cater-
pillars have as a rule only ten. Various species of the genus Ne-

APPENDIX I 461

matus infest the spruce, willow, and birch. Hwuura orbitelis makes
a gall on the willow. :

Closely allied to the saw-flies are the Xylophaga, or wood-eating
Hymenoptera, comprising the family Siricide, or horntails, the
females being provided with a long, hornlike ovipositor adapted for
boring, as the eggs are laid in solid wood on which the lJarve feed.
Two species are recorded from Labrador. The large and beautiful
Sirex flavicornis (Pl., Fig. 8), with its handsome livery of deep black
and orange-yellow, seems to be quitecommon. The male is smaller
and darker than the female, the yellow being confined to the four
middle segments of the abdomen, at the end of which there is only
a short triangular projection. It differs so much from the female
that for a long time it masqueraded under the name of Sirex ab-
dominalis. In more southern localities this insect infests the
white pine, but in this region it probably lives in the spruce. Sirex
cyaneus, a dark blue species, has been recorded from Hopedale.
We should naturally expect to find one of the large ichneumon
flies (Thalessa or Rhyssa) with very long ovipositors, which para-
sitizes the horntails farther south.

There are a large number of parasitic species belonging to the
family Ichneumonide. Packard collected about twenty-five
species, only five of which have been determined. He also records
two or three species of Chalcide. Both of these groups are prob-
ably mostly parasitic, as the various species of moth.

Two species of ants are recorded, — the large Campanotus her-
culeanus, or black carpenter ant, which builds extensive nests
in logs and stumps and even living trees, and Formica sanguinea,
or the “slave makers.” It would be interesting to note the habits
of this species in the more northern latitudes. The white-faced
hornet, or paper-making wasp (Vespa maculata), has been recorded
from the more southern portions of the peninsula, and Vespa nor-
vegica from Caribou Island. Five species of bumblebees (Bombus)
have been collected, some of which have a wide band of dark orange-
red pile on the abdomen. There are probably a number of the
smaller bees, such as Andrena and Halictus, several species of
which often appear very early in the spring in more southern
latitudes.

The order Lepidoptera, or the buttcrflies and moths, is not only
very well represented, but includes many rare and interesting
species. Upwards of one hundred and fifteen have been recorded,
of which number eighteen are butterflies. Among the latter are
four species of the smaller Fritillaries, — Brenthus frigga (Pl., Fig. 9),
B. polaris, B. triclaris, and B. chariclea. They are similar in appear-
ance, the upper surface of the wings being reddish, marked with
black, while the under side of the hind wings bears a series of

462 APPENDIX I

whitish spots or markings. A larger species, Argynnis atlantis,
the ‘‘mountain silver-spot,’’ has been recorded from the interior
of the peninsula. It may prove to be only an accidental visitor,
although two species of violets, the food plant of the Fritillaries,
are recorded as far north as Hopedale. Papilio turnus, the
yellow swallow-tail, has also been recorded from the interior.

The northern white butterfly (Pontia nap, variety frigida)
varies greatly in different localities, and consequently has received
many varietal names. The wings are white, with the veins on the
under side more or less broadly marked with gray, with the tip of
the fore wings and the hind wings pale yellow. The larve feed on
various species of the Cruciferous plants, especially turnip and
mustard.

The smaller yellow, or sulphur, butterflies are represented by
three or four species, — Eurymus paleno, nastes, and pelidne or
labradorensis. The large ‘‘white-j} butterfly,” Hugonia j-albwm
(Pl., Fig. 10), is marked with dull yellow and reddish brown, irregularly
maculated with black, with a spot of white near the tip of the wing,
and the outer margin with a double crenulated line; the hind
wing 13 reddish brown, black along the anterior margin, with a
central patch of white; the wnder side consists of various shades
of grayish brown, giving a woody or mossy effect, and when the
insect is at rest presenting an interesting example of protective
coloration. The larve feed on birch. It has been taken as far
north as Okkak.

The barren-ground butterfly, or Arctic satyr, Gineis jutta (Pl.,
Fig. 11), is cireumpolar, being found in the more northern parts of
both the eastern and western continents. The colour of the fore
wings is a dark brown, with six yellowish spots of varying sizes near
the outer margin and somewhat blending into the brown, spots
with or without central points of black; the hind wing has four
yellowish patches, the anal one with a small black spot; the under
side is brownish, the hind wings being mottled with gray and closely
resembling the moss-covered ground and rocks. A closely related
species, the ‘“‘White Mountain butterfly” (Zneis norma, variety
semidea), is very similar in colour, and its habits have been so
nicely described by Mr. A. H. Scudder that I quote the following : —

‘As soon as one alights it tumbles upon one side with a sudden
fall, but not quite to the surface, exposing the under side of the
wings with their marbled markings next the gray rocks mottled
with brown and yellow lichens, so that the ordinary passer-by
would look at them without observing their presence: it is an ob-
vious case of protective resemblance. The surface is generally ex-
posed so as to receive the fullest rays of the sun, or else the creature
falls so as to let the wind sweep over it, its base to the windward.”

APPENDIX I 463

The larva of the Arctic satyr feeds on carax. It has been found
at Nain, Hopedale, and Square Island Harbour during the months
of June and July. (nets norma, varieties semidea (eno) and bore,
are recorded from Strawberry Harbour and Hopedale, collected
August 3.

The little “Arctic bluet,”’ Agriades aquilo (Polyommatus franklini
Curtis), which Packard refers to as “half skipping and half flying
over the lichened boulders,’ has been taken at Sloop Harbour,
Henley Harbour, and Hopedale, July 19 to August 15. In the in-
terior of the peninsula, one of the varieties of the “Spring Azure”
— Lycena (Cyaniris) ladon, variety lucia — has been collected. Its
colour is a pale violet, the wings having a broad blackish border
in the female; under side of the wings is light gray, flecked with
brownish black. The wings expand about one inch. It feeds
on a great variety of plants, especially Cornus.

Two species of the Hesperide, or skippers, are recorded. The
Pamphila comma, representing the variety ‘“‘catena Stand.,”’ is also
found in northern Scandinavia and Lapland. The other species
is Hesperia centauree Ramb.

The family Arctiide is represented by only four species. One
of the tiger-moths (Apantesis quenseli), a small black species with
the fore wings tessellated with white, is also found throughout
Arctic America, Europe, and Asia, and on Mount Washington,
New Hampshire, and the Swiss Alps. The great tiger-moth,
Arctia catia, has dark brown fore wings marked with white, and
bright red hind wings spotted with black. It is also cirecumpolar
in its distribution. The large and beautiful “St. Lawrence tiger-
moth,” Hyphoraia parthenos (Pl., Fig. 12), with its bright reddish
brown fore wings spotted with yellow, and bright yeilow hind
wings banded with black, is recorded from the Moravian stations.

The Noctuide, or owlet-moths, number about forty species,
and form a very interesting group worthy of a great deal of study.
Professor Packard refers to those boreal forms as follows : —

“The moths were all Arctic species, and when at rest so harmo-
nized in colour with the lichens and other vegetation in which they
nestled as to entirely deceive me. And yet what was the use of
practising, even unconsciously to themselves, this deception?
The answer was not far off — there was a shore lark, or some such
bird, flitting about and running over the rocks, busily searching
for just such moths as these, and the only hope of safety for
the insects from their sharp eyes was in their resemblance to the
lichens.”’

The forty species are divided among some fourteen genera
according to the more modern classification, the more prominent
of these being Mamestra, Pachnobia, Hadena, Semiophora, Anarta

464 APPENDIX I

(PL, Fig. 13), Noctua, and Syngrapha. To this family belong the
cutworms and many other injurious species. The larve vary con-
siderably in appearance, and feed upon a great variety of plants.

The Geometride, or measuring-worms, are so named from the
peculiar looping gait of the larve, as if measuring the surface over
which they move. There have been recorded about twenty species.
The family Lipariide is represented by Gynephora rossi; and the
Hepialide, or ghost-moths, by Hepialus hyperboreus and mus-
telinus.

The family Pyralide, numbering about eight species; the
Crambide, or “close wings,’ some six species; the Tortricidae,
or leaf- rollers, — a term derived from the habit. of many of the
larve,— with about twenty species; and the Tineidz, which con-
tains the clothes-moths and a number of the leaf-miners, and rep-
resented by some ten species, comprise the smaller species, and
constitute in part what are commonly classed as the Microlepi-
doptera.

The caddis-flies constitute one of ake most interesting groups
of aquatic insects. They belong to the order Trichoptera, or
hairy-winged insects. At first sight many of these resemble a
moth, but with a closer acquaintance no one need confuse the two.
The peculiar habits of the larve of the various species form one
of the most interesting studies of insect life. A bundle of little
sticks, or a tube made of coarse grains of sand, moving mysteriously
about the bottom of a stream or spring is apt to attract the atten-
tion of the most casual observer, but how few know what these are.
They are the cases of the caddis-worms, the larve of the caddis-
flies, built to protect their soft bodies from their enemies. What
adds so much to their interest is that each species has a very differ-
ent method of house building, some preferring wood, others stone,
but the caddis carpenters and masons do not always build in the
same manner. Some place the sticks crosswise, while others
arrange them longitudinally; some have the curious habit of
decorating by fastening shells, etc., to the outside of their houses;
others make -a case largely composed of pieces of leaves. The
numerous masons seem to be very particular about the size of the
stones and the shape and position of their domiciles. One will
make a beautiful tube of sand, unattached, in which it wanders
to all parts of the stream; another will make a spiral tube so closely
resembling a snail-shell as to lead a conchologist to describe it as a
mollusk. One, commonly observed in running streams, is made
of a few small pebbles attached to a large stone. Some of the
dwellers in these rude homes are also fishermen and construct a
funnel-shaped net at their doors, with the opening upstream.
Their nets are made of silken threads, such as are used in fastening

Fic. 15. Aeshna constricta

Fic. 10. Eugonia j-album

Leucorhina hudsonica

ical: Gneis jutta

Fic. 13. Anarta

APPENDIX I 465

together the stones and sticks. In some species the entire case is
made of silk. Some five or six species have been recorded from
Labrador. Limnophilus subpunctatus is a common species which
is also found in Lapland. Desmataulius planifrons is recorded by
Professor Packard from Okkak.

The Hemiptera, or true bugs, are poorly represented, — two
leaf-hoppers, including Deltocephalus debilis; a small bug, Trigono-
tylus ruficornis; and one of the ‘“water-boat-man,”’ Corisa, are
all that have been discovered. Equally scarce are the Orthoptera,
only one species of grasshopper, Melanoplus, having been recorded.

The Odonata, or dragon-flies, are among the most active and
swift-flying of insects, darting back and forth over the pends and
streams and turning suddenly as they seize
any unfortunate midge that comes within
their reach; or alighting on the tip of a
dead stick or reed from which vantage-
point they can swoop like hawks upon
their prey. Thus they are in many sec-
tions of the country known by the popular
name of mosquito hawks.

The dragon-fly lays her eggs in the
water, where the young or nymphal stages
are passed. The nymph (Fig. 14) is a
clumsy, awkward creature, crawling over
the mud and among decaying vegetation,
where it will lie partly concealed until its
unsuspecting victim comes within reach
of its extensible lower lip, which is armed
with a pair of jawlike hooks. They are
voracious feeders and not at all particular,
for young fish are frequent victims. They Fic. 14.
are, however, to be classed among the
beneficial insects, for they undoubtedly
ey great numbers of the pestiferous gnats, mosquitoes, and

les.

After moulting several times, the nymph, when it attains its
full size, crawls out upon some stick or plant, the skin splits longi-
tudinally along the back, and the adult dragon-fly emerges. The
life of the adult is from twenty to forty days, depending on cli-
matic conditions, the more northern latitudes being unfavourable.
About three hundred species are known from the whole of North
America, of which only eight have thus far been collected in Labra-
dor, including such large and widely distributed species as
Aishna constricta (Pl, Fig 15), #. crenata, 4. septentrionalis, the
type of which was from Labrador, four species of the genus Somato-

24

Nymph of the Dragon-fly.

466 APPENDIX f

chlora, two of which were originally described from this region,
and Leucorhina hudsonica (Pl., Fig. 16).

The May-flies, or day-flies, ake to the order Ephemerida,
an application which refers to the short lives of the imagoes. They
represent one of the more primitive groups, with mouth-parts
rudimentary or almost wanting in the adult, as they do not feed
during their few hours of existence as winged insects. The wings
are delicate, with a fine network of veins; the hind wings are much
smaller than the fore wings, or sometimes wanting; the abdomen
bears two or three long, many-jointed, bristlelike appendages,
while the antenne are very short. In
the nymph or the wingless aquatic stage
their life is a long one, in some species
often extending to two or three years.
The nymphs are interesting objects of
the streams and lakes, clinging to the
under sides of stones and sticks and feed-
ing on the smaller animal and plant life.
They are readily recognized by having
their sides fringed with tracheal gills,
two or three caudal appendages, and feet
with single claws. When the nymph
attains its full size, it rises to the sur-
face, the cuticle along the back suddenly
splits, and a frail-winged creature appears,
but this is not the true imago; it is what
is known as the subimago stage. In a
short time another moulting takes place,
and we have the adult day-fly. This
subimago stage is unknown in any other
order of insects. Potamanthus marginatus,

Fie. 17. the only species recorded from Labrador,

Nymph of the Stone-fly. also occurs in northern Europe.
Somewhat resembling the nymphs of
the day-flies are those of the stone-flies, belonging to the order
Plecoptera, or plaited-winged insects. These can, however, be
easily separated, the gills being in the form of tufts of short hairs
on the thorax and behind each leg, and not on the sides of the
abdomen. The feet have two claws, the legs being usually fringed
with hairs, and there are two caudal processes. They are found
in streams which are quite rapid, as they require more aérated
water than the nymphs of the day-flies. Reaching its full size,
the nymph (Fig. 17) crawls out upon the rocks or trees, the skin :
splits along the back, and the adult appears. ~

The full-grown stone-fly (Fig. 18) is, however, very diftereme in

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APPENDIX I 467

appearance from the day-fly. The body is flattened, the antenne
are quite long, the fore wings narrow, and noticeably smaller than
the hind wings. Some of the smaller species appear very early in
the spring, long before the snow has melted.
Three species have been recorded from this
region, — the large Pteronarcys regalis, Perla
sp., and one of the small green Chloroperla.
The Thysanura, popularly known as the
bristle-tails or spring-tails, constitute the most
primitive group of insects. Although not
recorded from Labrador, there is little doubt
that the order is represented, for they seem
to thrive under very unfavourable conditions.
The snow-flea (Achorutes nivicola), a minute,
blue-black insect, is exceedingly abundant in
the snow in New England and Canada, and
undoubtedly extends northward. A closely
allied species, Podura humicola, is found in \
Greenland. .
While the spiders do not belong to the true Fie. 18.
insects, but constitute a separate class known The Stone-fly.
as Arachnida, they are very frequently re-
ferred to in connection with insects. Spiders are distinguished
by having four pairs of legs, the head and thorax united, forming
the cephalothorax and an unsegmented abdomen. Eleven species
have been recorded, including several of the genus Lycosa, or run-
ning spiders, two of the “orb-weavers” (Hpzera), and a ‘‘tube-
weaver” (Clubiona). A Myriopoda (Muillepede) is recorded from
Square Island.

The Beetles
By JouHn D. SHERMAN, JR.

A ust of the beetles and other insects of Labrador was pub-
lished as long ago as the summer of 1888 by the late A. 8. Packard
of Brown University, and reprinted in his book, The Labrador
Coast. This list included about sixty different kinds of beetles
collected at various places along the coast, many of them gathered
by himself in 1860 when he made his first trip to Labrador, and
most of the others by Dr. Robert Bell. Even before Packard’s
visit to Labrador, several insects from the Hudson Bay region had
been mentioned and described by the well-known British ento-
mologist, Kirby. This was in 1837.

During the last two or three years the writer, through the kind
assistance of Dr. Grenfell, has had the good fortune to receive a

468 APPENDIX I

farge number of Labrador beetles from correspondents living at
the following points: West St. Modest (Ernest Doane), Red
Bay (W. Y. Pike), Cape Charles (Albert Pye), Nain (Chesley Ford),
Nachvak (George Ford), and Fort Chimo (Duncan Matheson).

These men, without any previous experience in insect collecting,
succeeded in finding seven or eight thousand beetles representing
over eighty distinct species, some of them less than one-sixteenth
of an inch long. Their success in this occupation of hunting
beetles — an unusual one to say the least — seems truly remark-
able, and the men selected by Dr. Grenfell certainly lived up to
his opinion of their cleverness and very much more than fulfilled
my own expectations.

A very large percentage of the beetles sent to me from Labrador
have been feebly developed, and I have noticed the same condi-
tion in collecting beetles, particularly water-beetles, above the
tree line in the White Mountains. So it would seem that. insect
life in these cold countries does not attain the average and normal
full development found in our warmer climates.

Beetles are at once separated from all other insects by their
hard shell and elytra, two horny wing covers meeting on the: back
in a straight line and covering the real wings, which, like those of
flies and wasps, are formed of delicate membranes. In some beetles
these real wings are only feebly developed,
being but little used, and a few species have
no true wings at all, but only the hard wing
covers.

More than one-third of all the known Lab-
rador beetles belong to one family (Carabidz).
The species of this family are carnivorous,
feeding on other forms of animal life, and
are commonly called ground beetles, as they
are usually found upon the surface of the
ground, under stones, logs, or dead leaves,
or around the roots of plants, in moss, and
in similar places. The Labrador forms are

| all of dark colours, though a few have a
Fia. 19. metallic lustre, and nearly all are of graceful
Carabus chamissonis. form.

A typical Labrador beetle of this family is
shown in Figure 19. It is an opaque black insect a little over half
an inch long, and it is known to scientists as Carabus chamissonis
Fisch. This beetle, like a great many others of the Labrador species,
is found in Alaska, and above the tree line on Mount Washington.
It occurs also in Greenland.

A large number of the beetles of Labrador are generally distrib-

APPENDIX I 469

uted throughout the northern part of America, occurring through-
out Canada, on the shores of Lake Superior, and on our high moun-
tains, both the White Mountains and the
Rockies. Several of them are found in the
Arctic regions of Europe and Asia as well. It
is not strange that forms of life sufficiently hardy
and sturdy to live in these far northern coun-
tries have been vigorous enough to spread over
such a large territory.

The insect represented in Figure 20 (Pelo-
phila ulker Horn), on the other hand, is, so far
as known, peculiar to the Labrador country
and the Hudson Bay region, though a closely
allied form is found in Alaska. The Labrador
species is about three-eighths of an inch long,
and, though entirely black, is of peculiarly grace-
fulform. It is quite flat, and slender and very Bie, 20.
shining, and has several distinct punctures and ppp ulk

: elophila ulkei.
tubercles upon the wing covers. Another beetle
of the same genus (Pelophila rudis Lec.) is also found in Lab-
rador, though it is very rare. It is about the same size as the
former species, but the outer border of the wing cases is dark red.
The mere difference of colour does not, of course, make it a different
species, but these two beetles can easily be separated in this way,
without recourse to more scientific distinctions.

Several of the Labrador Carabide belong to the genera Ptero-
stichus and Amara, and are proportionately more elongate and
narrower than the two beetles illustrated.
Most of these species are of blackish colours,
but there is one kind (Amara similis Kirby)
which is often metallic green or purple on the
upper side of the body, with reddish legs.
Amara similis is another one of the Labra-
dor forms found in Mount Washington, and
it has recently been found in the Green
Mountains of Vermont.

In a region where there are so many
pools and ponds and so much water, we find
that water-beetles are very common indeed.
fice 1. These belong mostly to the family Dytis-
cide, and are, like the ground-beetles, car-
nivorous, feeding on tadpoles, aquatic insects,
and small fish. My desire to obtain two particular members of
this family was what first interested me in Labrador insects.

One of these beetles (Agabus arcticus Payk) is shown in Figure 21.

Agabus arcticus.

470 APPENDIX I

It was first described from Lapland, and is very common in Lab-
rador, but occurs nowhere else in America. It is a narrow, slender
insect one-quarter of an inch long, yellowish brown, with the head
and a band across the thorax (or middle portion of the body)
black. The wing cases are quite rough and uneven.

va | z The other beetle which 1

sought in the beginning from
my Labrador friends (A gabus
infuscatus Aube) is appar-
ently even more common -
there than the one in the
illustration. It has been re-
corded from Mount Wash-
ington and Lake Superior,
but it is certainly not com-
mon at either of these points.
It is shorter and more robust
than Agabus arcticus; the
wing covers are brown, the
head and thorax black.

The large water-beetle
shown in the next figure (No.
22 Dytiscus dauricus Gebl)
is one of the largest of the
Bike Hoo. Labrador beetles, being an
inch and a quarter long. It
is greenish black, with the
borders of the thorax and of the wing covers yellow. The under side
of the body is yellow, with several black lines and markings. The
beetles of the genus Dytiscus are probably the most highly devel-
oped of all beetles. The males have the three basal joints of the
front tarsi (the last segment of the leg) enormously dilated and
enlarged into a large circular disk, the under side of which is cov-
ered with a large number of palettes, some large, some small. The
middle legs are similarly modified, but to a less degree. These
disks are of use in enabling the beetle to cling to objects, and are
probably also very sensitive organs. The females do not have
these disks at all, but, on the other hand, they often have deep
grooves or furrows extending longitudinally halfway or more along
the wing covers.

While speaking of water-beetles, it is interesting to note that
they all possess real wings and are capable of flying great distances.
In countries where there are artificial lights, the beetles are often
attracted to them and are sometimes found many miles away from
any water.

Dytiscus dauricus.

APPENDIX I AT1

The next beetle which is shown (Silpha lapponica Hbst., Fig. 23)
belongs to a family whose members are scavengers feeding on decay-
ing animal matter. This beetle is very common in Labrador,
living, no doubt, on dead fish. As seen in the illustration, it is
rather a square-shaped beetle, black, covered
with a yellowish pubescence. It is about
five-eighths of an inch long. The wing cases
are covered with very prominent small tu-
bercles arranged in rows; the antenne, or
feelers, are thickened at the end as in other
allied forms. Silpha lapponica occurs nearly
everywhere in North America except in the
southeastern states. It is an inhabitant of
Europe also, but there it is confined to the
Arctic regions.

In general the Arctic species are more in-
clined to extend toward the temperate
climates to the south, here in America, than Fig. 23.
in Europe. The northerly and southerly di- Silpha lapponica.
rection of our American mountain ranges
enables the insect forms of the two climates to maintain a geograph-
ical connection and specific identity. In Europe, the mountains
running from east to west have tended to form a definite boundary
for both Arctic and southern species, so that there the allied forms
of the two regions have either remained distinct or become so,
through separation from one another. This interesting fact was
pointed out by Mr. Schwarz some years ago.

Another Labrador beetle quite generally distributed in Europe,
Asia, and America, through commerce, is the “bacon beetle”
(Dermestes lardarius Linn., Fig. 24). The beetle
is about one-third of an inch long and brown-
ish black, with a yellow band extending across
the front of the wing eases. Its larva lives on
preserved animal food products, such as hams,
bacon, old cheese, and in dried skins, hair, ete.

The last two of Mr. Joutel’s figures represent
two members of the family Cerambycide.
Both of these beetles are quite large, and have
very long antenne, or feelers, like the other
eS species of this family.

Hea od Criocephalus agrestis Kirby (Fig. 25) is a
long, narrow, brownish beetle varying consid-
erably in size, with two or three curious depres-
sions in the thorax, and two longitudinal ridges extending along
each wing case. The species is found generally in the northern

bE}.

S

Dermestes lardarius.

AT2 APPENDIX I

parts of our continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Its larva
feeds on the wood of living pine
trees, boring its way out to the
surface.

Pachyta liturata Kirby (Fig. 26)
is not so common as the preced-
ing, but is found over practically
the same wide territory. It is
much shorter, being only three-
quarters of an inch long, and the
sides of the body are not parallel,
as in that species. The wing -
cases are light yellow, faintly
marked with black, and when
folded the insect is very much
wider and thicker at the middle
of the body than at either extrem-
ity. On each side margin of the thorax is a small spine.

Beetles belonging to several other families besides those I have
mentioned are found in Labrador. Byrrhus Americanus Lec.,
a small, convex, silky, greenish black beetle
was taken by Professor Packard on the
stems of the ‘Labrador tea,” and several
specimens of this and another smaller, close- « \—-q"#ee
ly allied kind have been sent to me. The % \ aga
beetles of the family Byrrhidz are common ae...
in northern climates, living in mossy places,
around the roots of plants, ete.

Then there are some small snapping
beetles of the family Elateride, and some
Buprestidz (whose larve are wood-borers).
Also some species of weevils which are
bark-borers, and a few beetles which we
might expect to find upon the blossoms of
plants. The regular leaf and plant beetles,
however, are conspicuous by their absence,
though very likely some of them may be Fic. 26.
found in Labrador. None were found by Pachyta liturata.
Dr. Packard, and I have not received any.

There is no doubt that there are many species of Labrador
beetles besides those already known. The additions made to former
records by Dr. Grenfell’s friends show this clearly enough, and if
these men continue the search, we can probably look for many
more important captures from this very interesting region.

Criocephalus agrestis.

Jovter

eh

THE MARINE CRUSTACEA

By Mary J. RATHBUN

CRUSTACEA are the most conspicuous invertebrate animals on
the coast of Labrador by reason of their vast numbers, brilliant
colours, swift movements, and diversity of form. The shallow
water fauna is most abundant on the northern and southern shores,
especially in Ungava Bay and from Hamilton Inlet southward
and westward, where the harbours are enriched by the silt of
numerous rivers and the land slopes gradually into the sea. Vari-
ous kinds of Amphipods and other small forms swarm under the
rocks and in masses of alge or in pools of water. Along most of
the Atlantic coast, however, the bays are barren and rocky, with
little seaweed, and there are few large streams carrying down
sediment to form muddy and sandy bottoms; the rocks at the
water’s edge are precipitous, supporting a narrow line of Fucus,
which gives shelter only to the common sand-flea. In quiet eddies
in the passages between the islands which fringe the coast, condi-
tions are more favourable for the development of life. Here the
dredge rewards the collector with spidery crabs and darting shrimps.'

The species found in Labrador are not numerous, nor are they
peculiar to the peninsula, but in general range from Cape Cod to
Greenland, while many extend to Europe or are Arctic in distri-
bution, in not a few cases reaching into Bering Sea and the North
Pacific Ocean.

The common shore-crab, or rock-crab (Cancer irroratus), of the
New England coast is also the shore-crab of Labrador, but has not
been found north of Hamilton Inlet. It occurs frequently under
stones in the Strait of Belle Isle. Occasionally it is caught and
eaten by the natives. The shell is broadly oval, with nine saw-
teeth on each side, and is speckled with fine red or brown dots;
the claws are stout and similar in size and shape, and there are
four pairs of smooth, flattened walking feet.

Three other crabs inhabit the coasts of Labrador, but live offshore
in depths varying from a few fathoms to fifty or more. They
belong to the group popularly known as spider-crabs, on account
of their relatively long and slender legs, but differ widely from the

1 Cf. Packard, The Labrador Coast.
A473

ATA APPENDIX II

common round-bodied spider-crabs of the eastern coast of the
United States. The largest (Chionecetes opilio) has a rough,
flattened back, semicircular behind and narrowed in front, with
a short bifid beak and very long, flat legs armed with small spines.
This crab attains a large size, sometimes having a span of over
two and a half feet, with the shell itself five inches in width. The
smaller species are much alike, and are known as toad-crabs, from
a fancied resemblance to that batrachian; their shells are two or
three inches long, shield-shaped, one having lateral wings on the
forward half (Hyas coarctatus), while the other has not (Hyas
araneus); the beak is short and broad, and split through the
middle. Like most of the family to which they belong, they
have the habit of attaching to their backs foreign substances, like
seaweed, bryozoans, and sponges, which are held in place by
hooked hairs on the surface of the crab. In this way the carapace,
and the legs also, may become entirely hidden by a miniature
forest which serves to protect the crab from its enemies. Never-
theless, many individuals find their way into the stomachs of
fishes. This is true not only of crabs and shrimps, but of smaller
crustaceans, such as schizopods and amphipods, which are con-
sumed in great quantities by cod and other large fish as well as by
whales and shore-birds.

Only two hermit-crabs are known on the coast, but in favourable
spots they are abundant from low-water mark to perhaps fifty
fathoms. They are quite different in appearance and behaviour
from true erabs. The eyes are not incased in sockets or orbits,
the antenne are long, the claws are very unequal in size, — the
right (in these species) always the larger, —and the walking legs
are four in number. The hinder part of the body is soft, tapering,
and asymmetrical, as it has to accommodate itself to the shape of
the gasteropod shell which forms the crab’s dweliing. Each indi-
vidual appropriates a dead shell, and is never seen without it
except when the increasing size of the inmate compels it to seek a
larger tenement. The transfer from one shell to another is made
with striking rapidity, the little creature being very active and
wary and on the lookout for its stronger enemies. Although it
crawls about with the body covered by the shell, and the limbs
extruded, yet it is capable of retreating entirely into its domicile
and closing the aperture with its claws. The two Labrador species
are very similar; one (Pagurus pubescens) has claws covered with
stout spines and with hairs which retain particles of mud and sand,
while the claws of the other (Pagurus krg@yert) are rough, with finer
and more numerous spines, and are almost devoid of hair; there is
a difference, too, in the shape of the left or smaller claw: the outer
surface of the prismatic hand-joint is narrow and lanceolate in

APPENDIX II 475

P. pubescens, and about four times as long as wide, while in P.
krgyerz it is obliquely triangular, between two and three times as
long as wide. The eyes of P. pubescens are longer than those of
P. krgyeri, so that the slender scale at the base of the outer antenne
does not reach the end of the eye in the former but does in the
latter. By far the easiest way to distinguish these two forms is
by the colour pattern; in P. pubescens the bands of red on the
walking feet are disposed across the middle of each segment, while
in P. krgyerz they run across the articulations between the segments.

The common lobster of New England extends to southern
Labrador and occurs in abundance on the coasts of the Gulf of St.
Lawrence. It has been found as far north as Henley Harbour
(52° north lat.), and extends perhaps a few miles farther. Its
absence along the Atlantic coast of Labrador is explained by the
lower temperature produced by the Arctic current, which flows
southward close to the shore. While many lobsters are trapped
in the shallow bays of the southern coast, the catch is not sufficient
to supply a cannery. The lobsters appear to be all fished out
when the traps are first set, and various attempts to operate can-
neries have had to be abandoned.

There are fourteen species of shrimps known on the Labrador
coast, varying in length from a half inch to four or five inches.
They agree in having the abdomen or posterior part of large size,
and generally extended to the full length, though sometimes bent
at a right angle instead of being folded up under the thorax, as in
the crabs. The shrimps are further marked by a spreading tail
fan composed of the terminal segment, or tail, and the two pairs
of appendages attached to the preceding segment. In one of
the most abundant species (Sclerocrangon boreas), of a pale brownish
red colour with a chestnut stripe along the sides, the skin is hard
and rough, the body is stout in front, tapering posteriorly, the tiny
claws which arm the first pair of trunk legs are of curious shape
peculiar to the family Cragonide, the palmar portion being oblong
and bearing a small spine in place of the weil-known thumb or
immovable finger of the lobster and most shrimps, while a slender
movable finger lies transversely or across the end of the palm.

One of the largest shrimps is Pandalus montagui, which is abun-
dant especially in weeds on a clear, pebbly bottom; it is compressed
laterally and armed with a long, slender, swordlike rostrum or beak,
with a row of sharp spines on its middle line; the antennze may
be as long as the rest of the animal, and the legs are all slender
without conspicuous claws. The red colour which plays a promi-

1 Gf. Herrick, The American Lobster, in Bull. U.S. Fish Comm.
for 1895, pp. 14-15.

476 APPENDIX II

nent part in all these shrimps is here arranged in obliquely trans-
verse lines or bars on the body, and in specks, blotches, or rings
on the legs.

In the numerous species of Spirontocaris, the body is shaped
as in the preceding, but the beak is much shorter and variously
shaped and toothed, but always thin and compressed. ‘The first
pair of legs have small but well-defined claws; those of the second
pair are notable in being very slender and in having the wrist or
antepenultimate segment divided into many small pieces jointed
together and tipped with a minute claw.

Besides the true shrimps there swarm at the surface numbers
of transparent schizopods, or cleft-footed shrimps, known as
Mysis, which swim in immense shoals, and form the main food of
the sea-trout. These shrimps are of small size, an inch or less
in length, with large,.dark eyes, and have seven instead of five
pairs of trunk-legs, devoid of claws, but each provided with an
appendage adapted for swimming. The eggs are carried by the
female in a marsupial pouch beneath, which has suggested the
name of “opossum-shrimp.”’

The Cumacea are still smaller crustaceans, half an inch or less
in length, distinguished by having the anterior half very robust,
the posterior half slender, the eyes sessile, not stalked as in the
crabs and shrimps, the carapace leaving five segments of the trunk
exposed, the antepenultimate segment of the body the longest,
the tail fan composed of three branches. They are abundant in
sand at the depth of a few fathoms.

The Phyllocarida, or leaf-shrimps, so called on account of the
laminar or leaflike expansions with which their legs are provided,
are represented by Nebalva bipes, which was dredged by Dr. Pack-
ard at the mouth of Henley Harbour in four to twenty fathoms.
This little creature, less than an inch in length; is most remarkable
for the great size of its ancestors, whose paleozoic remains measure
nearly two feet.

The Amphipods, or sand-fleas, are by far the most abundant
of the Crustacea, both in species and individuals. They are found
on the sand near high-water mark, in seaweed, and among rocks
in shallow water, and may be dredged at any depth. None is of
large size; individuals range from about one-eighth of an inch to
an inch. Many of them hop like fleas. Others move rapidly
while lying flat. They act as scavengers, often nearly consuming
a dead fish before it can be hauled in. They are sessile-eyed,
laterally compressed, somewhat crescent-shaped, with rounded
backs, and usually of stout build. An exception is the slim skele-
ton-shrimp, Caprella, which clings to finely branched seaweed
and is so flexible that it can bend itself into a ring. Another

APPENDIYX II ATT

slender form (Hricthonius difformis) inhabits the delicate tubes of
a hydroid, while a third (Hyperia medusarum), as its name signi-
fies, lives in the stomach cavity of a jellyfish. The Huthemisto
is a surface-swimming amphipod, and in sufficient numbers forms
an acceptable meal for hungry fishes, as examination of their
stomachs has proven. Gammarus locusta, the common amphipod,
or scud, is the most noticeable species of the shore, being very
abundant between tide-marks. These creatures are of an olive
brown or light chestnut-brown colour, much like that of the Fucus
they inhabit. They skip about on their sides, and on entering
the water swim rapidly with the back downward or sideways.

The isopods, unlike the amphipods, are flattened above, and
are usually of a uniform width throughout their length; in many
cases all their legs are about the same size, whence the name
“isopod.” They also have sessile eyes and are usually of small
size, the largest ones in the Labrador fauna being the two Mesi-
dotea, which are about three inches long and taper at the posterior
end to a sharp point. The most slender form is Arcturus baffint,
which may attain a length of nearly two inches, with antenne
even longer. Several species are parasitic, as the fish-louse, 4ga
psora, which lives on the skin of the cod and halibut; the shrimp
parasite, Phryxus abdominalis, a hemispherical, distorted little
lump of an isopod occurring under the abdomen of various species
of Spirontocaris and Pandalus; and a similar but smaller form
which attaches itself to the schizopod, Mysis oculata. The last
two isopods exhibit great sexual dimorphism, the females being
vastly larger than the males and of wholly different appearance.
Other parasites belong to different orders of Crustacea.

The copepods live mostly on the external surface or in the gill
cavity of fishes, to which they cling by means of claws and sucking
disks. They are represented by Lepeophtheirus salmonis, parasitic
on salmon and sea-trout. This species is distinguished in the
female by a metallic lustre and by long, slender egg strings. An-
other species is Lernea branchialis, variety sigmordea, in which the
female is fixed in one position for life, having lost all trace of appen-
dages save those which fasten her to the host, while the male is
reduced to minute size, and, although capable of motion, adheres
to some part of the body of the female.

Occasionally a hermit-crab is infested with one of the Rhizo-
cephala (Peltogaster), parasites which are allied to the Cirripedia,
or barnacles, but are degenerate forms with saclike, unsegmented
bodies without limbs; their antennz are modified into rootlike
processes, which bury themselves in the host, from which they
derive nourishment.

The barnacles reperted from Labrador all belong to the sessile

A478 APPENDIX II

variety known as acorn-shells. They are found here, as every-
where, incrusting stones, wharves, shells, and other objects. The
body of the animal is surrounded by a shell, composed of six or
more plates, and in the shape of an irregular cone with the top
cut off; the base of the cone is attached to the object incrusted,
while the small end is closed by a shelly operculum which may be
opened at will. The feathery tentacles, which are modified feet,
are then extended and kept constantly waving. The smallest
species, Balanus balanoides, is the commonest, and is known as the
rock-barnacle. A large species, Coronula diadema, two inches in
diameter and witha very thick shell, lives on the surface of whales.
Balanus porcatus has been found fossil at Hopedale and Caribou
Island in beds of sandy clay and coarse gravel which are exposed
between tide-marks and extend beneath the water.

It seems not inappropriate to include in our list two forms which
live in pools of fresh water close to the sea; one of these is a schizo-
pod, Mysts relicta, which also inhabits Lake Superior, Lake Michigan,
and the lakes of northern Europe. It is so closely related to a
certain marine form as to suggest a common origin. At Indian
Tickle abound the ‘“‘fairy shrimps,” or branchiopods, in which the
gills or branchiz are situated on the feet, the eyes are large and
stalked, and the tail is long and slender. These shrimps are able
to live in pools which are dry for long periods, as the eggs, when
dried, preserve their vitality for an indefinite time. They swim
with the back downward, and the gills are bright orange.

II

THE MOLLUSKS

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON

THE summer visitor, or even the native Labradorian, can know
little about the mollusks of Labrador unless he be provided with
suitable appliances for dredging in moderate depths of water.
The great mass of pack-ice which bounds the shore for a large por-
tion of the year is a destructive agency, preventing the possibility
of existence of what, in more southern latitudes, is termed the
littoral fauna. Beyond the area affected by the ice, however,
there is a rich and varied fauna, with constant surprises awaiting
the collector with suitable facilities for dredging. Not only is
the number of species quite large, but these are also, in many
cases, individually abundant. Occasionally one of the larger, rare
gasteropods finds its way into the dredge, alluring one to further
activity, with the prospect of new species in this comparatively
neglected region. The fauna is Arctic, the southern boundary of
the Arctic province being the limit of floating ice, which on the
Atlantic coast of North America extends to southern Newfoundland.
Many of the species are circumpolar in their distribution, or rep-
resented by closely related forms or local variations, having un-
doubtedly a common origin.

Several annotated catalogues of the mollusks of Labrador have
been published. Professor A. 8. Packard, in 1863 (Canadian
Naturalist and Geologist, Vol. VIII, p. 412), published “a list of
the animals dredged near Caribou Island, southern Labrador,
during July and August, 1860.” The list contains seventy-eight
species of mollusks. In 1867, Professor Packard (Memoirs Boston
Soc. Nat. History, Vol. I, p. 262) published in connection with a
paper on the glacial phenomena of Labrador ‘‘a view of the recent
invertebrate fauna” in which are recorded one hundred and eight
species of mollusks. Miss Katherine J. Bush, in 1883 (Proceed-
ings U. S. Nat. Museum, Vol. VI, p. 236), recorded seventy-nine
species obtained by the expedition under Mr. W. A. Stearns in
1882. The collection was made at various points between
Forteau Bay and Dead Island. Again, in 1891, Professor Packard,
in his work, The Labrador Coast, published a list of one hundred
and twenty-nine species, including all those in the previous lists.

479

480 APPENDIX III

There are many other works bearing on the Mollusca of Labrador,
including Gould’s [nvertebrata of Massachusetts (2 ed.), 1870; Sars’s
Mollusca Regionis Arctice Norvegie, 1878; Friele’s Den Norske
Nordhavs Expedition, Mollusca; etc.

The following remarks are based partly on the above papers,
and partly on a collection of shells made by Mr. Owen Bryant
during the summer of 1908. A partial study of these adds several
species to the fauna. Very little is said by writers in regard to
the mollusks of this region being used for food. The common
clam (Mya arenaria) is reported plentiful in the more southern
portions, but, living in deeper water, it is no doubt more difficult
to obtain than in more southern latitudes, while in the more north-
ern portions of the coast it is probably rare or wanting. The
truncated clam (Mya truncata), a closely related species, but
apparently less abundant, extends farther northward than the
common clam. The habit of these two species of burying deep
in the mud and sand, with only their long siphons extending to
the surface, makes it practically impossible to obtain them by
dredging, while flats exposed at low tide and subject to freezing
would be too cold for their existence. A smaller shell related to
the Mya is the little nestling shell (Saxicava arctica), which, living
in various-shaped cavities in the rocks, etc., is therefore frequently
very irregular in form. They usually measure about an inch,
though sometimes reach an inch and a half in length.

There are two scallops which frequent the waters of this region.
The great scallop (Pecten magellanicus), locally known by the name
of ‘“‘pussel,”’ is found in the Strait of Belle Isle. It is excellent
eating, the large adductor muscle being removed and fried in lard
or butter. The Iceland scallop (Pecten islandica) is found along
the entire coast in from ten to fifty fathoms; it is also doubtless
good eating, but more difficult to obtain. The edible mussel
(Mytilus edulis) is reported from the entire coast; it spins numer-
ous silken threads called the byssus, by which it attaches itself to
various objects. In some places it is extensively used for food,
usually boiled and pickled in spiced vinegar. The horse mussel
(Modiolus modiolus) is found in the more southern part; it also spins
a byssus and nestles in chinks and cavities. The great seaweed,
or kelp (Laminaria digitata), frequently attaches to this shell
and, after attaining its great size, the force of currents and waves
tears the shell from its mooring and carries it to other places, or it
is ruthlessly cast upon the beach to die. Two other mussels are
commonly dredged, the black mussel (Modiolaria nigra), and the
discordant mussel (Modiolaria discors), with part of the valves
ribbed and part smooth.

Two species of cockles, or heart-shells, are commonly associated

APPENDIX III 481

in from ten to fifty fathoms. The Greenland cockle (Serripes
grénlandicus) is about three inches in length, nearly smooth,
with only a few obsolete ribs on the ends; the young is thin, and
beautifully mottled with reddish purple. The hairy heart-shell
(Cardium ciliatum) is about two inches in length, with about
thirty-six acute radiating ribs on each valve. ‘The shell is covered
with a yellowish epidermis, forming rows of stiff bristles on the
edge of the ribs. The common cockle of Europe (Cardvum edule)
is largely used for food. It is probable that both of these are also
edible. Perhaps the most common shell of the coast is Macoma
calcarea, quantities being brought up with each dredge. When on
a muddy or sandy bottom, the thin epidermis is usually eroded,
giving the shell a chalky appearance. Another characteristic
bivalve of the more northern waters is the little brown clam,
Astarte, of which four or five species are to be found along the
Labrador coast. They are about an inch to an inch and a quarter
in length, somewhat triangular in form, thick, with prominent
concentric ridges, and a dark brown epidermis. Related to Astarte
is Venericardia borealis, which has radiating, instead of concentric,
ridges.

Other bivalves which are constantly being caught in the dredge
are the little, round, glossy brown Nucula tenuis, the polished
greenish brown Yoldia myalis, and the pointed Leda pernula with
a greenish epidermis and fine concentric lines. ‘This group can be
readily recognized by having numerous minute teeth along the hinge.
There are a number of other bivalves which are occasionally
brought up by the dredge, including a group with thin, pearly shells,
represented by Thracia myopsis, Pandora glacialis, and Lyonsia
arenosa.

Some of the rivers and streams of the interior contain the fresh-
water clam, or pearl mussel (Wargaritana margaritifera), a species
which is also found in northern Europe and Asia. It sometimes
vields very handsome pearls, and I have seen a few beautiful ones,
which were said to have come from Labrador.

The Gastropoda, or the univalves, as they are often popularly
called, slightly exceed the bivalves in the number of species.
They seem, however, to be less abundant individually, especially
the larger ones. The most prominent of the larger forms belong
to the family Buccinide, or whelks. The common whelk (Buc-
cinum undatum) is found along the entire coast. In northern
Europe, where this species is abundant, it forms an extensive
article of food. They make an excellent soup; or boiled, until
they can be easily removed from the shell, they can be either
fried in fat until brown, or eaten with pepper and vinegar. There
are six or seven other species of whelks on the Labrador coast,

21

482 APPENDIX III

including: Buccinum cyaneum, B. ciliatum, B. gouldi, B. donovani,
and B. tottenii, dredged in from five to thirty fathoms, and asso-
ciated with Chrysodomus despectus, Tritonofusus kroyeri, variety
cretaceus, and Tritonofusus spitzbergensis Reeve (Sipho lividus
Morch). To these Mr. Bryant has added the true Tritonofusus
tslandicus and the large brown Beringius largillierti with its big
protoconch. Trophon clathratus is a slender, waxy, white shell,
with about twelve thin, elevated, longitudinal ribs, while between
the ribs are numerous slight spiral lines. In almost every dredge,
we find the little hairy-keeled shell, Trichotropis borealis, and
equally common the small, cancellated Admete couthouyi, belong-
ing to the family Cancellaridz. Another conspicuous group of
shells, which may appropriately be called the little “ tower-shells,”
is represented by three species, — Turritella erosa, T. reticulata,
and Turritellopsis acicula. Professor Packard records a dozen
species of Bela, little high-spired shells, the most northern repre-
sentatives of the family Pleurotomide. The little pearly Marga-
ritas are quite common in some localities; Margarita grenlandica,
M. cinerea, M. argentata, and M. helicina are the principal species.
The sea-snails are represented by three species. Natica clausa is
found in almost every haul of the dredge. It is readily distin-
guished from the others by having a calcareous opercula, and the
umbilicus entirely covered by a callus. Lunatia heros is recorded
from the Strait of Belle Isle, and L. grenlandica from fifteen fath-
oms in Chateau Bay. A large and interesting shell is the Aporrhais
occidentalis, allied to the “‘pelican’s foot” (A porrhais pes-pelicant)
of Europe, but having the lip entire and not lobed as in that
species. It was dredged in numbers, at Gready and Egg harbours,
in seven: to twenty fathoms. Three species of limpets are also re-
corded, Acmea testudinalis, A. rubella, and Lepta ceca, the latter
being the most plentiful.

A remnant of the littoral fauna, of more southern regions, exists
in the presence of a few species of the family Litorinide. The
“periwinkle,” Littorina litorea, is reported by Stearns as rare;
L. palliata is recorded from the Strait of Belle Isle, while L. rudis
is not uncommon along the whole coast. Living in the crevices
of the damp, spray-covered rocks. above the direct effects of the
ice, they are able to withstand the Arctic conditions.

Shells are frequently covered with a light pink or reddish col-
oured, stony alge (Lithothamnion polymorphum), frequently
referred to as “ Nullipores.” Clinging to the rocks and shells
covered with this reddish growth, we find the little red chitons, T’ra-
chydermon rubrum and Tonicella marmorea, so closely resembling it
in colour as to almost escape detection. This was especially notice-
able in the collection made by Mr. Bryant at Gready Harbour, in

APPENDIX III 483

twelve fathoms, where the shells were quite thickly covered with
the red alge. Seventeen specimens of both species of the red
chitons were obtained. The chitons are now placed in a separate
order, Amphineura, and represent the lowest type of the Mollusca.
They have a shell consisting normally of eight plates, hence the
name Polyplacophora, the many-plate bearer, is applied to the
most important of the two suborders.

A group of beautiful creatures when living, but very difficult to
preserve, are the Nudibranchs, or the naked-gilled Mollusca. The
large and handsome Dendronotus arborescens, with a row of tree-
like gills on each side of the back, and branching appendages on the
head, was obtained by Professor Packard in Henley Harbour,
at a depth of four fathoms. A species of Eolis is also reported
from the same harbour, and Coryphella diversa from L’Anse au
Loup. A group of small shells, which are usually present in each
haul of the dredge, are known as Tectibranchs. They are re-
lated to the Nudibranchs, but have the gills covered, and usually
a shell varying considerably in form in the different families.
Cylichna alba, Retusa pertenuis, Philine lima, Scaphander punctos-
triata, and Diaphana Miemalis are the principal species.

Each haul of the dredge brings in many other forms of animal
life besides Mollusca. The large brachiopod, Hypothyris psit-
tacea, is frequently obtained in from eight to fifteen fathoms, while
attached to the shells are a number of species of the beautiful
incrusting Polyzoa, or Bryozoa, and the minute Foraminifera.

Among the interesting objects of the more open Arctic sea are
the little Pteropods, or wing shells. Packard reports great numbers
of the little Arctic pteropod Limacina helicina off Cape Webuc,
and says they are like winged sweet-peas, the shape of the body
and colour suggesting the resemblance. Another species, Clione
limacina, with long wings and bright red tints, belongs to the shell-
less group Gymnosomata. They sometimes appear in such num-
bers as to actually discolour the surface of the water. They are
said to afford food for the Greenland whale. The pteropods
usually come to the surface in the greatest numbers during the
night, and can be caught by using a towing-net.

The land mollusks of Labrador are few and scarce. The slug
Agriolimax agrestis is reported by Packard from Strawberry
Harbour, together with the little Pupilla hoppii, Vitrina angelice,
and Huconulus fulva, variety fabricit. They occur under spruce
bark and chips in the damp verdure, and represent the few truly
Arctic species found also in southern Greenland.

IV
LIST OF THE MAMMALS OF LABRADOR

By Outram BANGS

At Dr. Grenfell’s request I have prepared the following list of
the mammals of the Labrador peninsula. As I had before written
a list of the mammals of this region,' it was very simple to compile
the present one, which is merely the old one corrected and brought
up to date.

In this list political divisions of the region are disregarded, and
the area considered includes the whole Labrador peninsula lying to
the northward of a line joining the mouth of the river St. Lawrence
and the foot of James Bay.

I am able to say very little about the habits of the various forms
of mammalian life, occurring in the great Labrador peninsula,
knowing them myself only from museum specimens, but under each
species or subspecies the distribution, so far as it is known, is given,
the first reference is cited, and where a form was described from
Labrador the type locality is mentioned.

I believe the list to be practically complete; the species are all
given by the names in current use by the best systematists.
I trust it may prove of some help to those interested in the biota of
the great peninsula.

1. BAL™NA GLACIALIS Bonnat.
Balena glacialis (Right whale) Bonnat. Tab. Encycl. Céta-
logil., p. 3. 1789.
Formerly common on east and south coasts, now nearly exter-
minated.
2. BALZNA MYSTICETUS Linn. Bow head; Greenland whale.
Balena mysticetus Linn. Fauna Suecica, Vol. II, p. 16. 1761.
Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait, along the edge of the ice.
3. MrGapTERA NoposA Bonnat. Humpbacked whale.
Balena nodosa Bonnat. Tab. Encycl. Cétalogil., p. 5. 1789.
Common on south and east coasts.

oe American Naturalist, Vol. XXXII, No. 379, July, 1898, pp. 489-
484

APPENDIX IV 485

4, BALHZNOPTERA ACUTO-ROSTRATA Lacép. Little-piked whale.
Balenoptera acuto-rostrata Lacép. Hist. Nat. Cét., Vol. I,
p. 197. 1803-4.
Common close inshore along the east and_north coasts.
5. BALH#NOPTERA PHYSALUS Linn. Common finback.
Balena physalus Linn. Syst. Nat., Ed. X, Vol. I,p. 75. 1858.
Common along the coasts.
6. BALH/NOPTERA BOREALIS Lesson. Pollock whale.
Balenoptera borealis Lesson. Hist. Nat. Cét., p. 342. 1828.
A rare species.
7. BALEZNOPTERA MUSCULUS Linn. Sulphur-bottom.
Balena musculus Linn. Syst. Nat., Ed. X, Vol. I, p. 76. 1758.
Common all along the coast.
8. PHYSETER MACROCEPHALUS Linn. Sperm whale.
Physeter macrocephalus Linn. Syst. Nat., Ed. X, Vol. I, p.
fom 1798.
Very rare in Labrador waters, one record by Packard.
9. HYPEROODON AMPULLATUM Forster. Bottle-nosed whale.
Balena ampullatum Forster. Kalm’s Travels in North Am.,
Molfit, p. 18... 1770.
Common on the northern coast.
10. DELPHINAPTERUS LEUCAS Pallas. White porpoise.
Delphinus leucas Pallas. “‘Jt. ili, p. 84, t. iv.”
Common everywhere along the Labrador coasts.
11. Monopon monocerRaAs Linn. Narwhale.
Monodon monoceras Linn. Ed. X, p. 75. 1758.
Common all along the Labrador coasts.
12. Orcinus orca Linn. Killer.
Delphinus orca Linn. Syst. Nat., Ed. X, Vol. I, p. 77. 1758.
Common on the east coast.
13. GLOBICEPHALA MELAS Traill. Black fish; pilot whale.
Delphinus melas Traill, Nicholson’s Journal, Vol. XXII, p. 81.
1809.
Recorded from Newfoundland, probably occurring on the south
coasts of Labrador, a migratory species.
14. PHocana pHocHNA Linn. Harbour porpoise.
Delphinus phocena Linn. Syst. Nat., Ed. X, Vol. I, p.77. 1758.
Found commonly along the south and east coasts.
15. LAGENORHYNCHUS AcUTUS Gray. Striped porpoise.
Delphinus acutus Gray. Spicil. Zool., p. 2. 1828.
Occurs along south and east coasts.
16. DeLPHINUS DELPHIS Linn. Common dolphin.
Delphinus delphis Linn. Syst. Nat., Ed. X, Vol. I, p.77. 1758.
South and east coasts.
17. Tursiops TRuNcATUS Montagu. Bottle-nosed dolphin.

A86 APPENDIX IV

Delphinus truncatus Montagu. Memos. Wernerian Soc., Vol.
Dp. do. s2a,

Common on the south and east coasts.

I am under the greatest obligation to Dr. Glover M. Allen for
helping me prepare this list of the Labrador cetaceans. Many of
the species were observed and identified by him during a cruise
along the coast in the summer of 1906.

18. PARALCES AMERICANUS Clinton. Moose.
Cervus americanus Clinton. Letters on Nat. Hist. and Int.
Resources of New York, p. 198. 1822.

Low is in doubt whether or not the moose enters the south-
western limits of Labrador. It is occasionally killed in the region
about Lake Edward, Quebec.

19. RANGIFER CARIBOU Gml. Woodland caribou.
Cervus tarandus y. caribou Gmelin. Syst. Nat., Vol. I, p. 177.
1789.

Reported by Low to now be very rare, — almost exterminated,
—though formerly abundant throughout the wooded regions.
Low also says that the destruction of the woodland caribou has
resulted in the dying off, from actual starvation, of a large propor-
tion of the interior Indians, which, in its turn, has caused a great
increase in the numbers of the fur-bearing animals.

Mr. Ernest Doane took specimens at Black Bay in September,
1898, and sent me three fine adult females and a male.

20. RANGIFER ARcTICUS Richardson. Barren-ground caribou.
Cervus tarandus var. a. arctica Richardson. F. B. A., Vol. I,
pi 24d. 11820:

According to Low, the barren-ground caribou still ranges in
immense herds over the barrens and semi-barrens, south to the
Mealy Mountains, between Hamilton Inlet and Sandwich Bay.
21. ScluRUS HUDSONICUS HUDSONICUS Erxl. Northern pine squir-

rel; red squirrel.
Sciurus vulgaris €. hudsonicus Erxl. Mammalia, p. 416. 1777.
Type Locality. Wudson Strait.

Common in the wooded regions, and extending into the semi-
barrens. Goldthwaite took specimens at Rigolet. Turner took
specimens at Fort Chimo and at Forks, Northwest River, and
Doane sent me a large series from Black Bay.

22. ARCTOMYS IGNAVUS Bangs. Labrador woodchuck.
Arctomys ignavus Bangs. Proc. New Eng. Zoél. Club, Vol. I,
py 18-1899:
Type Locality. Black Bay, Labrador.

Common throughout southern Labrador, in the region about
Black Bay and L’Anse au Loup.

Low speaks of a woodchuck as common in the country between

APPENDIX IV 487

Lake St. John and the East Main River; this may possibly be an-
other form, — Arctomys monax empetra Pallas.
23. SCIUROPTERUS SABRINUS MAKKOVIKENSIS Sornborger. Labra-
dor flying squirrel.
Sciuropterus sabrinus makkovikensis Sornborger. Ottawa Nat-
uralist, Vol. XIX, p. 48. June, 1900.
Type Locality. Makkovik.

Rather generally distributed throughout the wooded region,
though apparently not common anywhere. The Labrador form
is a very well-marked subspecies.

24. CASTOR CANADENSIS CANADENSIS Kuhl. Canadian beaver.
_Castor canadensis Kuhl. Beitrdge zur Zoologie, p. 64. 1820.

Low says the beaver is common in the wooded regions, and
extends into the semi-barrens, where food is found. I have seen no
Labrador specimens.

25. Mus norvecicus Erxleben. Brown rat; Norway rat.
Mus norvegicus Erxleben. Syst. Reg. Anim., Vol. I, p. 381.
MEG ts

Doane took one Norway rat at Black Bay, November 30, 1899.
This is the only specimen I ever saw from Labrador. I have never
received specimens of the house mouse, Mus musculus Linn., from
Labrador, though it must undoubtedly occur there.

26. PEROMYSCUS MANICULATUS MANICULATUS Wagner. Labrador
deer-mouse.
Hesperomys maniculatus Wagner. Weigmann’s Archiv., Vol.
XI, p. 148. 1845.
Type Locality. ‘The Moravian settlements in Labrador.”

Common throughout the peninsula south at least to Hamilton
Inlet. The Labrador deer-mouse, like many of its congeners, is apt
to take up its abode in buildings and huts like the house mouse, and
in Labrador seems to be much more abundant in such places than
in the woods and among rocks. I have examined very large series
of this species.

27. PHENACOMYS LATIMANUS Merriam. Small yellow-faced phena-

comys.
Phenacomys latimanus Merriam. North Am. Fauna, No. 2,
p. 34. 1889.

Type Locality. Fort Chimo, Ungava, Labrador.

Probably of general distribution in the drier semi-barrens.
Known from Labrador only by the specimens sent to Washington
by Turner.

28. PHENACOMYS CELATUS CELATUS Merriam. Large yellow-faced -
phenacomys.
Phenacomys celatus Merriam, North Am. Fauna, No. 2, p. 33.
1889.

488 APPENDIX IV

This northern form has, so far as I know, been taken in the Labra-
dor peninsula only at Fort Chimo, Ungava, whence it ranges west
at least to Godbout, Quebec.

29. PHENACOMYS CELATUS cRASSUS Bangs. South Labrador

phenacomys.

Phenacomys celatus crassus Bangs. Proc. New Eng. Zoél. Club,
Vol. TI, p. 39. 1900.

Type Locality. Rigolet, Labrador.

This is a southern form occurring in the eastern forest belt from
L’Anse au Loup north at least to Hamilton Inlet; it is much larger
than true P. celatus, being the largest member of the genus yet known.
30. Evoromys UNGAVA Bailey. Ungava red-backed mouse. -

Evotomys ungava Bailey. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash.,p.130. 1897.
Type Locality. Fort Chimo, Labrador.

Probably restricted to the barrens and semi-barrens. Turner
reported the species to be abundant at Fort Chimo, but apparently
did not send many specimens to Washington.

The differences between this and the next species appear to be
as great as between any two members of the genus Evotomys.

31. Evotomys protTEeus Bangs. Hamilton Inlet red-backed mouse.
Evotomys proteus Bangs. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., p.137. 1897.
Type Locality. Rigolet, Hamilton Inlet, Labrador.

Very abundant at Hamilton Inlet, and probably throughout the
wooded regions. Goldthwaite took a large series at Rigolet, and
Doane found it very abundant in the woods, in the neighbourhood
of Black Bay.

32. MIcROTUS PENNSYLVANICUS LABRADORIUS Bailey. Small

Labrador vole.

Microtus pennsylvanicus labradorius Bailey. Proc. Biol. Soc.
Wash., p. 88. April 30, 1898.

Type Locality. Fort Chimo, Ungava, Labrador.

This little vole probably occurs only in the barrens and semi-
barrens. It can be told from M. enixrus by its smaller size, shorter,
more hairy tail, by its smaller, flatter skull, with shorter rostrum
and nasals, and smaller, shorter, incisive foramina, differently
shaped zygoma, and larger auditory bulle. There are, probably,
colour differences also, but I have seen alcoholic specimens only.
Turner took many specimens at Fort Chimo.

33. Microtus ENIxus Bangs. Larger Labrador vole.

Microtus enixus Bangs. Am. Nat., Vol. XXX, p. 105. 1896.
Type Locality. Rigolet, Hamilton Inlet, Labrador.

Probably common throughout all the wooded regions, its range
extending north to the semi-barrens and meeting that of M. penn-
sylvanicus labradorius.

Goldthwaite took a large series at the type locality. I have

APPENDIX IV 489

examined three specimens in the collection of the Geological Survey
of Canada, from ‘50 miles north of Fort George.”’ Turner took
quite a number at Fort Chimo, and Doane secured a large series
at Black Bay.
34. MicRoTUS CHROTORRHINUS RARUS Bangs. Labrador rock
vole.
Microtus chrotorrhinus rarus Bangs. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash.,
Vol. XII, p. 187. 1898.
Type Locality. Black Bay, Labrador.
Known only from Black Bay, where Doane secured a good series.
35. FIBER ZIBETHICUS AQUILONIUS Bangs. Labrador muskrat.
Fiber zibethicus aquilonius Bangs. Proc. New Eng. Zoél. Club,
Volkelp. 11: 1899:
Type Locality. Rigolet, Hamilton Inlet.

Common throughout the southern wooded region, and found,
though probably not in such abundance, north to the barren and
to Fort Chimo.

36. SYNAPTOMYS INNUITUS INNUITUS True. ‘True’s bog lemming.
Mictomys innuitus True. Proc. Nat. Mus., Vol. XVII, No.
999. Advance sheet. April 26, 1894.
Type Locality. Fort Chimo, Labrador.
Known at present only by the type.
37. SYNAPTOMYS INNUITUS MEDIOXIMUS Bangs. Intermediate
bog lemming.
Synaptomys innuitus mediorimus Bangs. Proc. New Eng.
Zool. Club, Vol. Il, p. 40. 1900.
Type Locality. L’Anse au Loup.

This form, larger than, and otherwise different from, true S.
imnuitus of Fort Chimo, is at present known only by two specimens,
—one, the type from L’Anse au Loup, and the other from Hamil-
ton Inlet.

38. DicrostoNyx HUDSONIUS Pallas. Hudson Bay lemming.
Mus hudsonius Pallas. Glir. p. 203. 1778.
Type Locality. Labrador.

Found throughout the barrens and on the treeless hills, south at

least, to Hamilton Inlet.
39. ZAPUS HUDSONIUS LADAS Bangs. Labrador jumping mouse.
Zapus hudsonius ladas Bangs. Proc. New Eng. Zoél. Club,
Vole), pa lOsgasgo:
Type Locality. Rigolet, Hamilton Inlet.

Abundant in the southern wooded region, about Black Bay, etc.,
and extending northward, along the coast, to beyond Hamilton
Inlet.

40. NAPAOZAPUS INSIGNIS ABIETORUM Preble. Northern wood-
land jumping mouse.

490 APPENDIX IV

Zapus (Napeozapus) insignis abietorum Preble. North Am.
Fauna, Noli; pba) 1399

I have seen but one Labrador specimen of this species, a mounted
example from the Geological Survey of Canada collection, taken
by Low at Hamilton River.

41. ERETHIZON DORSATUM PICINUM Bangs. Labrador porcupine.
Erethizon dorsatus picinus Bangs. Proc. New Eng. Zool. Club,

Vol. Ep. 37 1900:
Type Locality. L’Anse au Loup, Labrador.

Common and generally distributed from the St. Lawrence, north
to the semi-barrens. y¥
42. Lepus LABRADORIUS Miller. Labrador polar bear.

Lepus labradorius Miller. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol. XIII,
p- 39. 1899.
Type Locality. Fort Chimo, Ungava.

Of general distribution in the barrens and semi-barrens of Labra-
dor, occasionally reaching so far south as Hamilton Inlet. Turner
took specimens at Fort Chimo and Solomon Island.

43. LEPUS AMERICANUS AMERICANUS Erxl. American varying hare.
Lepus americanus Erxl. Syst. Reg. Anim., p. 330. 1777.
Type Locality. South side of Hudson Strait.

Common throughout the wooded region, and extending into
the edge of the barrens. Goldthwaite took fourteen specimens at
Hamilton Inlet.

44, PHoca viTuLINA Linn. Harbour seal.

Phoca vitulina Linn. Syst. Nat., Vol. I, p. 38. 1758.

Common along the whole coast, and in the lower parts of the
rivers. It is also, according to Low, found in many of the fresh-
water lakes of the interior, and the Indians assert that these fresh-
water seals never leave the lakes. This should be carefully looked
into, and it is to be hoped that collectors in Labrador may be able
to take some of these fresh-water seals.

One skull in Bangs’s collection from Okkak, obtained by Sorn-
borger from the Eskimo.

45. PHOocA HISPIDA Schreber. Ringed seal.

Phoca hispida Schreber. Sédug¢., Vol. III, p. 312, Pl. LXXXVI.
1775. (Vide Thomas. Zodlogist, p. 102. 1898.)

Common along the entire Labrador coast.

46. PHocaA GRa@NLANDICA Fabricius. Harp seal.

Phoca grenlandica Fabricius. Miiller’s Zoél. Dan. Prod., Vol.
VILLE Aas:

Common along the whole Labrador coast.

47. Ericnatuus Barpatus Fabricius. Bearded seal.
ites a Fabricius. Miiller’s Zool. Dan. Prod., Vol. VILL

APPENDIX IV 491

Low reports this seal to be rare in the St. Lawrence and in south-
ern Labrador, but more common northward, — in Hudson Strait,
Hudson Bay, and James Bay.

48. HaLICH@RUS GRyYPUS Fabricius. Gray seal.
Phoca grypus Fabricius. Skriv. af. Naturh.-Selsk., Vol. I, ii,
ptor, Ply XI Vie! 4 Var

Rare along the Labrador coast.

49. CYSTOPHORA CRISTATA Erxleben. Hooded seal.
Phoca cristata Erxleben. Syst. Reg. Anim., p. 590. 1777.
Not common along the Labrador coast.
50. OpDOBENUS ROSMARUS Linn. Atlantic walrus.
Phoca rosmarus Linn. Syst. Nat., Ed. X, Vol. I, p. 38. 1758.

Now restricted to northern Labrador, reaching south only to
about Nachvak. Formerly abundant along the whole Labrador
coast. A fine pair, ¢ and 9, skulls in Bangs’s collection, obtained
by Sornborger from the Eskimo at Okkak.

51. LYNX CANADENSIS CANADENSIS Kerr. Canada lynx.
Lynx canadensis Kerr. Anim. King., p. 157. 1792.

Common within the wooded area from the Atlantic coast to Hud-

son Bay, Low.
52. VULPES RUBRICOSA BANGSI Merriam. Labrador red fox.
Vulpes rubricosa bangsi Merriam. Proc. Wash. Acad. Sci.,
Vol. II, p. 667. 1900.
Type Locality. L’Anse au Loup, Labrador.

Common throughout the whole of Labrador from the St. Lawrence

to Hudson Strait.
53. VULPES LAGOPUS UNGAVA Merriam. Labrador white fox.
Vulpes lagopus ungava Merriam. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol.
POV tp? 170. 1902:
Type Locality. Fort Chimo, Ungava.

The Arctic fox is abundant in the barren-grounds and extends
south to about Lake Michikamaw and to Nichicum. Along both
coasts it pushes rather farther south; on the Atlantic to Hamilton
Inlet, and rarely even to the Strait of Belle Isle; on the coast of
James Bay to its southern part.

Two skulls in Bangs’s collection from Hebron, sloweiaae! by
Sornborger.

54, CANIS OCCIDENTALIS Richardson. Timber-wolf.
Canis lupus, occidentalis Richardson. F. B. A. Mamm., p. 60.
1829.

According to Low, the timber-wolf is now very rare in the southern
wooded region, owing to the extermination of the woodland caribou.
It is still common in the barrens and semi-barrens of the north.

One skull in Bangs’s collection from Hopedale, collected by
Sornborger.

492 APPENDIX IV

55. Canis ALBUS Joseph Sabine. Arctic wolf.
Canis lupus — albus Joseph Sabine. Franklin’s Narrative.
Appendix, p. 655. 1823.

Occasionally taken in northern barren-grounds, Low.

56. LuTRA CANADENSIS CANADENSIS Schreber. Canada otter. .
Mustela lutra Canadensis Schreber. Saugthiere, Pl. CX XVI, B.

Low states the otter to be common throughout the wooded
region and to range northward into the semi-barrens. One skull
in Bangs’s collection from Okkak, Sornborger. Turner sent one
specimen to Washington from “Forks,” Ungava. (Although it
appears in the catalogue, it cannot now be found.) Doane took
specimens at Black Bay.

57. MEPHITIS MEPHITICA Shaw. Canada skunk.
Viverra mephitica Shaw. Museum Leverianum, p. 172. 1792.

Said by Stearns to be found occasionally on the southern coast
of Labrador. I found it common at Lake Edward, Quebec, and
it is probable that its range does reach Labrador, though I never
have seen a specimen from that region.

58. GuLo Luscus Linn. American wolverine.
Ursus luscus Linn. Syst. Nat., Ed. X, Vol. I, p. 47. 1758.

Abundant throughout Labrador, especially northward to Hudson
Strait. |

Two skulls from Okkak in Bangs’s collection, obtained by Sorn-
borger. Turner sent one specimen to Washington from Fort Chimo.
Doane sent me some beautiful specimens from L’Anse au Loup.

In Labrador the wolverine is usually called “badger.”’

59. PuToRIus vISON vison Schreber. Little black mink.
Mustela vison Schreber. Sdugt., Vol. II], p. 463. 1778.

Low says the mink is found only in the southern part of Labrador,
seldom occurring north of East Main and Hamilton rivers. Doane
sent me four specimens from Black Bay.

60. PUTORIUS CICOGNANII CICOGNANII Bonap. Small brown weasel.
Mustela cicognanii Bonap. Fauna, Italica, Mamm.,p.4. 1838.

Reported by Low to be common everywhere south of tree limit.

Goldthwaite took two specimens, 6 and 9, at Rigolet. Turner
took one at “Forks,” Ungava. Doane sent me a fine series from
Black Bay and L’Anse au Loup.

One would expect to find Putorius cicognanii richardsoni Bonap.
replacing the present form in the western and northern barrens,
and very possibly it does, but I have seen no specimens from that
region.

61. Me AMERICANA BRUMALIS Bangs. Labrador marten;
sable.
Mustela brumalis Bangs. Amer. Nat., Vol. XXXI, p. 162.
February, 1897.

APPENDIX IV 493

Type Locality. Okkak, Labrador.

Formerly I thought that the marten of southern Labrador would
prove to be true M. americana, but specimens sent me by Doane
from L’Anse au Loup are M. a. brumalis, and I now doubt the ex-
istence in Labrador of two forms.

The Labrador subspecies is a fine large, dark-coloured mar-
ten, and is generally distributed throughout the wooded regions.
62. MUSTELA PENNANTII PENNANTII Erxl. Pennants’s marten;

fisher.
Mustela pennantu Erxl. Syst. An., p. 479. 1777.

Pennants’s marten, according to Low, rarely enters the south-
western limits of Labrador, not occurring east of Mingan nor north
of Mistassini.

63. URSUS AMERICANUS Pallas. Black bear.
Ursus americanus Pallas. Spicil. Zool., fasc. XIV, p. 5. 1780.
Ursus americanus sornborgert Bangs. Amer. Nat., Vol. XXXII,
p- 500. 1898.
Type Locality. Okkak, Labrador.

Of general distribution throughout Labrador, north to tree limit.

At one time I thought the Labrador black bear was separable
as a subspecies and named it W. a. sornborgeri, but since then I
have examined a large number of additional skulls and find none
of the characters on which I based the subspecies to hold good,
most of these skulls being indistinguishable in size or in any other
. way from skulls from Nova Scotia, Maine, New Hampshire, etc.,
with which I compared them.

In my former list I included Ursus richardsoni Swainson — the
barren-ground bear — on the strength of reports that Low had of
it from the Nascaupee Indians. Iam now inclined to discredit these,
so far as Labrador is concerned. Indians everywhere have many
traditions that persist in a remarkable manner, and often they are
borrowed from tribes that live at a distance. I can find no evidence
that the barren-ground bear occurs in the barrens of Labrador, and
until it is actually known to be there it must be struck from a list
of the mammals of Labrador.

64. THALARCTOS MARITIMUS Linn. Polar bear; ice bear.
Ursus maritimus Linn. Syst. Nat., Ed. XII, Vol. I, p. 70.
1766.

Low says the polar bear ranges south along the Atlantic coast of
Labrador occasionally as far as the Strait of Belle Isle, and in
Hudson Bay to Charleton Island. The species seldom goes far
inland, except to produce its young. Sornborger told me that the
polar bear is very common and resident in northern Labrador.

Four skulls in Bangs’s collection, all obtained by Sornborger of
the Eskimo at Hebron and Okkak.

494 APPENDIX IV

65. SOREX PERSONATUS MISCIxX Bangs. Labrador shrew.
Sorex personatus miscix Bangs. Proc. New Eng. Zoél. Club.,
Vol. I, p. 15. 1899.
Type Locality. Black Bay, Labrador.
Common throughout the Labrador peninsula from Fort Chimo
south.
66. CoNDYLURA CRISTATA Linn. Star-nosed mole.
SorEX cRISTATUS Linn. Syst. Nat., Ed. X, Vol.I,p.53. 1758.
Goldthwaite saw and fully identified a star-nosed mole that the
dogs had caught at Rigolet.
Doane sent me a female from Black Bay, taken October 20, 1898.
67. MyorTis LuciFUGUS LUcIFUGUS Le Conte. Little brown bat.
Vespertilio lucifugus Le Conte. McMurtries’ Cuvier, Appen-
dix, p. 431. 1881.
Low supposed the bats seen by him on Hamilton River and at
Lake Mistassini to belong to this species. I took this bat at Lake
Edward, Quebec, and Miller (North Am. Fauna, No. 13, p. 63)
records it from Godbout and Ottawa, Quebec, and from James
Bay, Ontario. It is also found in Newfoundland. |
68. Myoris SUBULATUS SUBULATUS Say. Say’s bat.
Vespertilio subulatus Say. Long’s Exped. to Rocky Mts., Vol. II,
p. 65, footnote. 1823.
Reported by Stearns from Natashquan. Miller (North Am.
Fauna, No. 13, p. 76) records specimens from Mount Forest and
North Bay, Ontario, and Godbout and Ottawa, Quebec.

Vv

LIST OF THE BIRDS OF LABRADOR

With brief aimotations

By CHARLES W. TownsEnp, M.D., and
GioveR M. AuuENn, Pu.D.!

1. Cotymgeus HOLB@LLI. Holbeell’s grebe.
Rare transient visitor.
2. CoLymBus AuRITUS. Horned grebe.
Rare transient visitor; possibly breeds.
3. GAVIA IMBER. Loon.
Common summer resident.
4, Gavia arcticus. Black-throated loon.
Summer resident, not uncommon in the north; rare in the south,
5. Gavia LuMME. Red-throated loon; ‘‘ whabby.”
Common summer resident.
6. FRATERCULA ARCTICA. Puffin; ‘“paroquet.”
Abundant summer resident.
7. CEPPHUS GRYLLE. Black guillemot; “sea-pigeon.”
Abundant summer resident.
8. CEPPHUS MANDTII. Mandt’s guillemot.
Summer resident.
9. Urta TROILE. Murre.
Common summer resident in south; a few winter.
10. Urta tomvia. Brunnich’s murre.
Common summer resident; a few winter.
11. Atca TorDA. Razor-billed auk; ‘ tinker.”
Common summer resident; a few winter.
[PLAUTUS IMPENNIS. Great auk; “‘penguin.”]
Extinct.
12. ALLE ALLE. Dovekie; “bull-bird.”
Abundant transient and winter visitor.
13. MEGALESTRIS SKUA. Skua; “sea-hen.”
Accidental visitor.
14. STERCORARIUS POMARINUS. Pomarine jaeger; “bo’s’n.”
Common summer visitor; probably breeds in north.

1 Vide The Birds of Labrador, Proc. Boston Soc. of Nat. Hist., Vol. 33,
No. 7, July, 1907.
495

496 APPENDIX V

15. STERCORARIUS PARASITICUS. Parasitic jaeger.
Common summer visitor; perhaps breeds in north.
16. STERCORARIUS LONGICAUDUS. Long-tailed jaeger,

Rare summer resident.

17. PAGopHILA ALBA. Ivory gull; “ice partridge.”

Common winter visitor.

18. Rissa TRIDACTYLA. Kittiwake; ‘tickler.”
Abundant summer resident.

19. Larus Guaucus. Glaucous gull.
Common summer resident; a few winter.

20. Larus LEucopTERUS. Iceland gull.
Rare transient or winter visitor.

21. Larus MARINUS. Great black-backed gull;
Common summer resident.

22. LARUS ARGENTATUS. Herring gull.
Common summer resident.

23. LARUS DELAWARENSIS. Ring-billed gull.
Uncommon summer resident, locally in south.

24. LARUS PHILADELPHIA. Bonaparte’s gull.
Common transient; autumnal visitor in south.

25. XEMA SABINII. Sabine’s gull.
Rare transient visitor.

26. STERNA CASPIA. Caspian tern.
Very rare summer resident in south.

27. STERNA HIRUNDO. Common tern.
Common summer resident in south.

28. STERNA PARADISHA. Arctic tern.
Common summer resident, locally.

29. STERNA ANTILLARUM. Least tern.
Extirpated.

30. FULMARUS GLACIALIS. Fulmar.
Common summer visitor.

31. PUFFINUS GRAVIS. Greater shearwater.
Abundant summer visitor.

32. PUFFINUS FULIGINOSUS. Sooty shearwater.

Common summer visitor.

33. PROCELLARIA PELAGICA. Stormy petrel.
Rare summer visitor.

34. OCEANODROMA LEUCORHOA. Leach’s petrel.
Common summer resident in south.

35. OCEANITES OCEANICUS. Wilson’s petrel.
Uncommon summer visitor.

36. SULA BASSANA. Gannet.
Uncommon summer resident, locally.

37. PHALACROCORAX CARBO. Cormorant.
Common summer resident, locally.

‘‘ saddle-back.”

ee oe

APPENDIX V

38. PHALACROCORAX DILOPHUS. Double-crested cormorant;
shag.

Common summer resident, locally.

39. MERGANSER AMERICANUS. American merganser.
Rare summer resident.

40. MmRGANSER SERRATOR. Red-breasted merganser,
Common summer resident. .

41. LopHopYTES cucULLATUS. Hooded merganser.
Rare summer resident.

42. Anas BoscHas. Mallard.
Rare transient visitor.

43. Anas opscuRA. Black duck.
Common summer resident.

44, ANAS OBSCURA RUBRIPES. KHKed-legged black duck.
Common summer resident.

45. MARECA AMERICANA. Baldpate; American widgeon.
Rare transient visitor.

46. NetrrTion crecca. European teal.
Accidental visitor.

47. NETTION CAROLINENSIS. Green-winged teal.
Rare summer resident.

48. QUERQUEDULA DIScoRS. Blue-winged teal.
Very rare summer resident.

49. SPATULA CLYPEATA. Shoveller.
Accidental visitor.

50. Dariza acuta. Pintail.
Very rare transient visitor.

51. AYTHYA AMERICANA. Redhead.
Very rare transient visitor.

52. AYTHYA MARILA. Greater scaup duck.
Rare summer resident in northwest.

53. CLANGULA AMERICANA. American golden-eye; whistler.
Common summer resident.

54. CLANGULA ISLANDICA. Barrow’s golden-eye.
Rare transient visitor and summer resident.

55. CHARITONETTA ALBEOLA. Buffle-head; “sleepy diver.”
Rare transient visitor.

56. HaRELDA HYEMALIS. Old-squaw; “hound.”
Common summer resident in northern parts.

497

57. HISTRIONICUS HISTRIONICUS. Harlequin duck; “lord and lady.”

Common summer resident in northern parts.
[CAMPTOLAIMUS LABRADORIUS. Labrador duck. Extinct.]

58. SOMATERIA MOLLISSIMA BOREALIS. Northern eider; Greenland

elder.
Abundant summer resident north of Hamilton Inlet.
2k

498 APPENDIX V

59. SOMATERIA DRESSERI. American eider; “sea-duck”; “ metik.”
Common summer resident in southern part.

60. SOMATERIA SPECTABILIS. King eider; ‘king duck.” :
Abundant transient visitor; not uncommon summer resident

in the north.

61. OIDEMIA AMERICANA. American scoter ; “butter-bill coot.”
Common transient visitor; rare summer resident.

62. OIDEMIA DEGLANDI. White-winged scoter ; ‘‘ brass-wing diver.”
Abundant summer resident.

63. OIDEMIA PERSPICILLATA. Surf scoter; “bottle-nosed diver.”
Abundant summer resident.

64. ERISMATURA JAMAICENSIS. Ruddy duck.
Uncommon summer resident on shores of Hudson Bay.

65. CHEN HYPERBOREA NIVALIS. Greater snow goose; ‘‘wavey.”
Very rare summer resident in northwest ; common transient visitor

on shores of Hudson Bay.

66. CHEN CHRULESCIUS. Blue goose; ‘‘blue wavey.”
Common transient visitor on shores of Hudson Bay.

67. ANSER ALBIFRONS GAMBELI. American white-fronted goose.
Accidental visitor.

68. BRANTA CANADENSIS. Canada goose.
Common summer resident.

69. BRANTA BERNICLA GLAUCOGASTRA. White-bellied brant.
Abundant transient visitor locally.

70. OLOR COLUMBIANUS. Whistling swan.
Very rare summer resident in northwest.

71. BoTauRUS LENTIGINOSUS. American bittern.
Very rare summer resident in southwest.

72. ARDEA HERODIAS. Great blue heron.
Accidental visitor.

73. FLORIDA C@RRLEA. Little blue heron.
Accidental visitor.

74. NycTicoRAX NYCTICORAX N#VvIUS. Black-crowned night-

heron. !

Accidental visitor.

75. RALLUS VIRGINIANUS. Virginia rail.
Accidental visitor.

76. PoRZANA CAROLINA. Sora.
Accidental visitor.

77. FULICA AMERICANA. American coot.
Accidental visitor.

78. CRYMOPHILUS FULICARIUS. Red phalarope.
Common transient visitor; rare summer resident.

79. PHALAROPUS LOBATUS. Northern phalarope.
Common summer resident.

APPENDIX V 499

80. GALLINAGO DELICATA. Wilson’s snipe.
Rare summer resident.
81. MAcRORHAMPHUS GRISEUS. Dowitcher.
Rare transient visitor.
82. TRINGA CANUTUS. Knot.
Uncommon transient visitor.
83. ARQUATELLA MARITIMA. Purple sandpiper.
Rare transient and winter visitor.
84. ACTODROMAS MACULATA. Pectoral sandpiper.
Common autumnal transient visitor.
85. ACTODROMAS FUSCICOLLIS. White-rumped sandpiper.
Common transient visitor.
86. ACTODROMAS MINUTILLA. Least sandpiper; “peep.”
Common summer resident.
87. PELIDNA ALPINA SAKHALINA. Red-backed sandpiper ; Ameri-
ean dunlin.
Uncommon transient visitor.
88. EREUNETES PUSILLUS. Semipalmated sandpiper; ‘‘peep.”
Common summer resident, locally.
89. CALIDRIS ARENARIA. Sanderling.
Common transient visitor.
90. Limosa N&MasTIcA. Hudsonian godwit.
Very rare transient visitor.
91. ToTANUS MELANOLEUCUS. Greater yellow-legs.
Common summer resident.
92. ToTANUS FLAVIPES. Yellow-legs.
Uncommon transient visitor.
93. HELODROMAS SoLiTarRius. Solitary sandpiper.
Uncommon summer resident.
94. TRYNGITES SUBRUFICOLLIS. Buff-breasted sandpiper.
Very rare transient visitor.
95. ACTITIS MACULARIA. Spotted sandpiper.
Common summer resident.
96. NUMENIUS HUDSONICUS. Hudsonian curlew.
Uncommon autumn transient visitor.
97. NUMENIUS BOREALIS. Eskimo curlew; “the curlew.”
Formerly abundant autumn transient visitor; now very rare.
98. SQUATAROLA SQUATAROLA. Black-bellied plover.
Common transient visitor.
99. CHARADRIUS DOMINICUS. American golden plover.
Uncommon autumn transient visitor.
100. ANGIALITIS SEMIPALMATA. Semipalmated plover; “ring-neck.”
Common summer resident.
101. ARENARIA MORINELLA. Ruddy turnstone.
Common transient visitor.

500 APPENDIX V

102. HmmatTorus PALLIATUS. American oyster-catcher.
Extirpated ; formerly summer resident.
103. CANACHITES CANADENSIS. Hudsonian spruce grouse.
Common permanent resident.
104. BoNnaSA UMBELLUS TOGATA. Canadian ruffed grouse.
Not uncommon permanent resident in southern part.
105. Lacoprus tacopus. Willow ptarmigan.
Common permanent resident in wooded portions.
106. Lacopus RuPEsTRIS. Rock ptarmigan.
Common permanent resident in treeless portions, except in extreme
north.
107. LAGOPUS RUPESTRIS REINHARDTI. Reinhardt’s ptarmigan.
Common permanent resident in the extreme north.
108. PEDIOCTES PHASIANELLUS. Sharp-tailed grouse.
Uncommon, permanent resident in western Labrador.
109. EcTOPISTES MIGRATORIUS. Passenger-pigeon.
Formerly very rare, now extirpated.
110. ZeNAIDURA MACROURA. Mourning dove.
Accidental visitor.
111. CATHARTES AURA. Turkey vulture.
Accidental visitor.
112. Crrcus HUDsoNnIus. Marsh-hawk.
Very rare summer resident in the south.
113. AccIPITER VELOX. Sharp-shinned hawk.
Very rare summer resident in the south.
114. AccrPITER COOPERI. Cooper’s hawk.
Rare summer resident in the south.
115. AccIPITER ATRICAPILLUS. American goshawk.
Uncommon permanent resident.
116. ButTrko BorHALIS. Red-tailed hawk.
Very rare summer visitor.
117. ARCHIBUTEO LAGOPUS SANCTI-JOHANNIS. American rough-
legged hawk.
Very common summer resident.
118. Aguita cHRYs@Tos. Golden eagle.
Very rare permanent resident.
119. HaniamTus LEUCOCEPHALUS ALASCANUS. Northern bald
eagle.
Rare summer resident.
120. Fautco 1istanpus. White gyrfalcon.
Common permanent resident.
121. Fatco rusticotus. Gray gyrfalcon.
Rare winter visitor.
122. FALCO RUSTICOLUS GYRFALCO. Gyrfalcon.
Rare visitor.

a

APPENDIX V 501

123. FALCO RUSTICOLUS OBSOLETUS. Black gyrfalcon.
Common permanent resident.

124. FALCO PEREGRINUS ANATUM. Duck-hawk.
Common summer resident.

125. FaLco coLuMBARIuS. Pigeon-hawk.
Common summer resident.

126. Fatco sPARVERIUS. American sparrow-hawk.
Rare summer visitor.

127. PANDION HALIAETUS CAROLINENSIS. American osprey.
Common summer resident in south.

128. ASIO ACCIPITRINUS. Short-eared owl.
Common summer resident.

129. SyRNrIuM vARIUM. Barred owl.
Very rare summer visitor in the south.

130. CRYPTOGLAUX TENGMALMI RICHARDSONI. Richardson’s owl.
Rare permanent resident.

131. CRYPTOGLAUX ACADICA. Saw-whet owl.
Rare summer resident.

132. Mmcascops asio. Screech owl.
Very rare summer visitor in southern part.

133. ASIO MAGELLANICUS HETEROCNEMIS. Labrador horned owl.
Common permanent resident.

134. NycTEA NYCTEA. Snowy owl.
Not common permanent resident.

135. SURNIA ULULA CAPAROCH. American hawk-owl.
Common permanent resident.

136. CoccyzUS ERYTHROPHTHALMUS. Black-billed cuckoo.
Very rare summer visitor in south.

137. CERYLE ALCYON. Belted kingfisher.
Common summer resident in southwest.

138. DRYOBATES VILLOSUS LEUCOMELAS. Northern hairy wood-

pecker.

Uncommon summer resident in south.

139. DrYOBATES PUBESCENS MEDIANUS. Northern downy wood-~

pecker.

Common permanent resident in southern half.

140. PicorpEs arcticus. Arctic three-toed woodpecker.
Common permanent resident north to tree limit.

141. PicomipES AMERICANUS. American three-toed woodpecker.
Common permanent resident north to tree limit.

142. CoLAPTES AURATUS LUTEUS. Northern flicker.
Uncommon summer resident in southern half.

143. CHORDEILES VIRGINIANUS. Night-hawk.
Common summer resident in south.

144. TROCHILUS COLUBRIS. Ruby-throated hummingbird.
Very rare summer resident, |

502 APPENDIX V

145. TYRANNUS TYRANNUS. Kingbird.
Rare summer resident in south.

146. SAYORNIS PH@BE. Pheebe.
Very rare summer resident in south.

147. NUTTALLORNIS BOREALIS. Olive-sided flycatcher.
Very rare summer resident in southwest.

148. EMPIDONAX FLAVIVENTRIS. Yellow-bellied flycatcher.
Common summer resident in southwest.

149. EMPIDONAX TRAILLII ALNORUM. Alder flycatcher.
Not uncommon summer resident in southwest.

150. OrocorIs ALPESTRIS. Horned lark; shore lark.
Abundant summer resident throughout the Arctic Zone, especially

on coast.

151. PrRISOREUS CANADENSIS NIGRICAPILLUS. Labrador jay.
Abundant permanent resident in forested regions.

152. CoRVUS CORAX PRINCIPALIS. Northern raven.
Common permanent resident.

153. CoRVUS BRACHYRYNCHOS. American crow.
Uncommon summer resident in the south.

154. XANTHOCEPHALUS XANTHOCEPHALUS. , Yellow-headed black-

bird.

Accidental visitor.

155. EupHAGuUS CAROLINUS. Rusty blackbird.
Common summer resident.

156. PINICOLA ENUCLEATOR LEUCURA. Pine grosbeak.
Common summer resident; winters in southern portion.

157. CARPODACUS PURPUREUS. Purple finch.
Common summer resident in south.

158. LoxIA CURVIROSTRA MINOR. American crossbill.
Uncommon summer resident ; may winter.

159. Loxta LEUCopTERA. White-winged crossbill.
Common permanent resident.

160. ACANTHIS HORNEMANNI. Greenland redpoll.
Abundant winter visitor in the north.

161. ACANTHIS HORNEMANNII EXILIPES. Hoary redpoll.
Abundant permanent resident in the north.

162. ACANTHIS LINARIA. Redpoll.
Abundant permanent resident.

163. ACANTHIS LINARIA ROSTRATA. Greater redpoll.
Common winter visitor; rare summer resident in the north.

164. ASTRAGALINUS TRISTIS. American goldfinch.
Accidental visitor.

165. Sprinus Pinus. Pine siskin.
Uncommon summer resident in the south.

166. PASSERINA NIVALIS. Snowflake; snow bunting.

APPENDIX V 003

Abundant summer resident in the north; winter visitor in the
south.
167. CALCARTUS LAPPONICUS. Lapland longspur.
Abundant summer resident in the north ; winter visitor in the south.
168. PASSERCULUS SANDWICHENSIS SAVANNA. Savanna sparrow.
Very common summer resident.
169. ZONOTRICHIA LEDCOPHRYS. White-crowned sparrow.
Abundant summer resident.
170. ZONOTRICHIA ALBICOLLIS. White-throated sparrow.
Common summer resident in south.
171. SPIZELLA MONTICOLA. ‘Tree sparrow.
Common summer resident.
172. JUNCO HYEMALIS. Slate-coloured junco.
Uncommon summer resident.
173. MELOSPIZA CINEREA MELODIA. Song sparrow.
Uncommon summer resident in southwest.
174. MeuospizA LINCOLNI. Lincoln’s sparrow.
Common summer resident in south.
175. M®LOSPIZA GEORGIANA. Swamp sparrow.
Common summer resident in southwest.
176. PASSERELLA ILIACA. Fox sparrow.
Common summer resident in south.
177. HitRUNDO EBRYTHROGASTER. Barn swallow.
Very rare summer resident.
178. IRIDOPROCNE BICOLOR. ‘Tree swallow.
Common summer resident locally.
179. RiIpPARIA RIPARIA. Bank swallow.
Common summer resident in a few localities.
180. AMPELIS CEDRORUM. Cedar waxwing.
Rare summer resident.
181. Lanius BoREALIS. Northern shrike.
Not uncommon summer resident.
182. HELMINTHOPHILA RUBRICAPILLA. Nashville warbler.
Very rare summer visitor in the south.
183. HELMINTHOPHILA PEREGRINA. ‘Tennessee warbler.
Not uncommon summer resident in Hudsonian Zone.
184. DrnprRoica sTIvA. Yellow warbler.
Common summer resident locally in the south.
185. DENDROICA CH#RULESCENS. Black-throated blue warbler.
Accidental visitor.
186. DENDROICA CORONATA. Myrtle warbler; yellow-rumped
warbler.
Common summer resident, chiefly in Canadian Zone.
187. DrenpRoica MAcuLosA. Magnolia warbler.
Common summer resident in Canadian Zone.

504 APPENDIX V

188. DENDROICA CASTANEA. Bay-breasted warbler.
Very rare summer resident.
189. DENDROICA STRIATA. Blackpoll warbler.
Very common summer resident.
190. DENDROICA BLACKBURNI&. Blackburnian warbler.
Rare summer res!dent in the south.
191. DENpROICA vIRENS. Black-throated green warbler.
Common summer resident in the south.
192. DenprRoIcA vicorstt. Pine warbler.
Very rare summer resident.
193. DENDROICA PALMARIUM HYPOCHREPEA. Yellow-palm warbler
Rare summer resident in the south.
194. SEIURUS AUROCAPILLUS. Oven-bird.
Rare summer resident in the south.
195. SEIURUS NOVEBORACENCIS. Water-thrush.
Not uncommon summer resident in wooded portions.
196. GEOTHLYPIS TRICHAS BRACHIDACTYLA. Northern yellow
throat.
Common summer resident in south.
197. Witsonta pusitua. Wilson’s warbler.
Common summer resident in south.
198. WILSONIA CANADENSIS. Canadian warbler.
Rare summer resident in south.
199. SETOPHAGA RUTICILLA. American redstart.
Common summer resident in south.
200. MoraciLia ALBA. White wagtail.
Accidental visitor.
201. ANTHUS PENSILVANICUS. American pipit.
Abundant summer resident throughout Arctic Zone.
202. OLBIORCHILUS HIEMALIS. Winter wren.
Uncommon summer resident in south. |
203. SirTa CANADENSIS. Red-breasted nuthatch. }
Uncommon summer resident in south.
204. PARUS ATRICAPILLUS. Chickadee.
Not uncommon summer resident in south.
205. PARrus HUDSONICUS. Hudsonian chickadee.
Abundant permanent resident.
206. REGULUS SATRAPA. Golden-crowned kinglet.
Common summer resident in south.
207. REGULUS CALENDULA. Ruby-crowned kinglet.
Common summer resident in south.
208. HyLocIcCHLA FUSCESCENS. Wilson’s thrush.
Rare summer resident in south.
209. Hyiocicuia aLict@. Gray-cheeked thrush; Alice’s thrush.
Common summer resident.

Z
3

APPENDIX V 505

210. HytoctcHLA USTULATA SWAINSONII. Olive-backed thrush.
Common summer resident in southwest.

211. HyLocicHLA GUTTATA PALLASII. Hermit thrush.
Common summer resident in south.

212. MERULA MIGRATORIA. American robin.
Abundant summer resident.

213. SAXICOLA (®NANTHE LENCORHOA. Greenland wheatear.
Rare summer resident.

ADDITIONAL SPECIES

Observed by CHaRLES W. TownsEnD, M.D., and
A. C. Brent, in 1909.

214. ANGIALITIS MELODA. Piping plover.
Rare summer resident in south.

215. CYANOCITTA CRISTATA. Blue jay.
Accidental visitor in south.

216. MNioTILTA VARIA. Black and white warbler.
Not uncommon summer resident in south.

VI
LIST OF CRUSTACEA ON THE LABRADOR COAST

By Mary J. RatTHsBun

Compiled from various lists published by Dr. Packarp,! PRorEs-
SOR SMITH,” and Dr. ORTMANN,’ from collections in the U.S. National
Museum,‘ obtained by Mr. Lucien M. TurRNER,’ in 1882 and 1883,
and by Mr. OwEn Bryant,’ in 1908.

BRACHYURA

Cancer irroratus Say. Hamilton Inlet 7 (Packard); Caribou Island
(Packard).

1 PacKARD, A. S., Jr., “A List of Animals dredged near Caribou
Island, Southern Labrador, during July and August, 1860,” The
Canadian Naturalist and Geologist, Vol. VIII, pp. 401-429, Pls.
I-II, December, 1863.

Packarp, A. S., Jr., ““Observations on the Glacial Phenomena of
Labrador and Maine, with a View of the Recent Invertebrate Fauna
of Labrador,” Mem. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. I, pp. 210-303, Pls.
VII-VIII, 1867.

Packarp, A. S., ‘Life and Nature in Southern Labrador,’’ Amer.
Nat., Vol. XIX, pp. 269-275, 365-372, 1885.

2SmituH, Sipney I., “List of the Crustacea dredged on the Coast
of Labrador by the Expedition under the Direction of W. A. Stearns,
in 1882,” Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., Vol. V1, pp: 218-222, 138385

SmituH, Sipney I., ‘“‘ Review of the Marine Crustacea of Labrador,”
Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., Vol. VI, pp. 228-232, 1883.

SmituH, S. I., “List of Crustacea from Port Burwell collected by
Dr. R. Bell in 1884, in Observations on the Geology, Mineralogy,
Zoology, and Botany of the Labrador Coast, Hudson’s Strait and Bay.”
By Robert Bell. Appendix IV, pp. 57DD-58DD. Geol. and Nat.
Hist. Survey of Canada, 1884, Montreal. Pp. 1DD-62DD.

3 ORTMANN, A. E., “‘Crustacea and Pycnogonida collected during
the Princeton Expedition to North Greenland,” Proc. Acad. Nat.
Sct. Phila., Vol. LIII, 1901, pp. 144-168, 1 text figure.

* By permission of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

5 Determined by Prof. 8. I. Smith.

®° By permission of Mr. Bryant in advance of his report on the
expedition.

7On p. 203 of The Labrador Coast, Packard says that the shore-
crab occurs south of Hamilton Inlet.

506

APPENDIX VI 507

Chionecetes opilio O. Fabricius. Off northern Labrador, 10-15
fms. in stomachs of fish (Packard) ; Henley Harbour (Smith) ;
Chateau Bay, 30-50 fms. (Packard) ; Strait of Belle Isle, 10-50
fms. (Packard).

Hyas araneus Linn. Outside of Hebron, 60 fms., gravel (Bry-
ant); off Fish Island, 75 fms., mud, and Nain, 7 fms., mud
(Bryant); Domino Run, 0-1 fm. (Ortmann); Battle Harbour,
12-14 fms. (Ortmann); Henley Harbour (Smith); near Cari-
bou Island, common (Packard); L’Anse au Loup and Forteau
Bay, 15-25 fms., sand, kelp, and dirt (Stearns); abundant
along the whole coast, 5-50 fms. (Packard).

Hyas coarctatus Leach. Henley Harbour, shallow water and 8 fms.
(Smith), 30 fms. (Packard); Temple Bay (Smith); near
Caribou Island, common (Packard).

ANOMURA

Pagurus pubescens Kroyer. Hopedale, 10 fms. (Packard); Egg
Harbour, 7 fms., mud (Bryant); Dead Island, 1-3 fms.,
rocky (Smith); Fox Harbour, 3 fms., sand (Smith); Battle
Harbour, 0-1 fm. (Ortmann); Henley Harbour, shoal water
(Smith); Temple Bay, 10 fms. (Smith); Strait of Belle Isle,
50 fms. (Packard); L’Anse au Loup, 10-15 fms., sandy
(Smith); abundant on the whole coast from low-water mark
to 50 fms. (Packard).

Pagurus kréyert Stimpson. Port Burwell (Smith); Nachvak, in
stomach of cod (Turner); outside of Hebron, 60 fms., gravel
(Bryant); off Fish Island, 75 fms., mud (Bryant); halfway
from Cape Mugford to Hebron, 60 fms., mud, sand (Bryant) ;
Port Manvers, 30 fms., sticky mud (Bryant); Nain, 7 fms.,
mud (Bryant) ; Shoal Tickle near (southeast of) Nain (Bryant) ;
Dead Island, nullipore (Smith); Henley Harbour, 3-15 fms.
(Smith); Temple Bay, 10 fms., rocky (Smith); not so abun-
dant as P. pubescens (Packard).

MACRURA

Homarus americanus Milne Edwards. South of Hamilton Inlet
(Packard); Henley Harbour, rare (Packard); near Caribou
Island, common (Packard).

Crago septemspinosus Say. Caribou Island, very large and abun-
dant on mud flats (Packard).

Sclerocrangon boreas Phipps. Labrador Reef, Ungava (Turner) ;
Port Burwell (Smith); Komaktorvik Bay, 5 fms., rocky

508 APPENDIX VI

(Bryant); Nachvak, cod stomach (Turner); Egg Harbour,
7 fms., mud (Bryant); Dead Island, 1-3 fms., rocky (Smith),
Square Island, 30 fms. (Packard) ; Henley Harbour, 4-10 fms.,
one with a Pontobdella an inch long attached to under surface
(Packard); Strait of Belle Isle, 10 fms. (Packard); Caribou
Island, 8 fms. (Packard) ; L’Anse au Loup, 8-10 fms. (Smith).

Nectocrangon dentata Rathbun=N. lar Smith, not Owen. Nach-
vak' (Turner); outside of Hebron,’ 60 fms., gravel (Bryant) ;
Nain,' 7 fms., mud (Bryant) ; Shoal Tickle ' near (southeast of)
Nain (Bryant), Egg Harbour,’ 7 fms., mud (Bryant); Dead
Island,’ nullipore (Smith) ; Square Island,” 30 fms. (Packard) ;
Henley Harbour,' 10 fms. (Smith); near Caribou Island,’
10 fms.,? mud, rare (Packard).

Sabinea septemcarinata Sabine. Halfway from Cape Mugford to
Hebron, 60 fms., mud, sand (Bryant); Thomas Bay, 15 fms.
(Packard).

Spirontocaris grenlandica J.C. Fabricius. Port Burwell (Smith) ;
Komaktorvik Bay, 5 fms., rocky (Bryant); Nachvak, in cod
stomach (Turner); Egg Harbour, 7 fms., mud (Bryant) ;
Dead Island, 1-4 fms. (Smith); Square Island, 15-30 fms.
(Packard) ; Domino Harbour, 7 fms. (Packard) ; Fox Harbour,
1 fm. (Smith); Strait of Beile Isle, 10 fms. (Packard); Cari-
bou Island, 14 fms. (Packard); L’Anse au Loup, 10-15 fms.
(Smith).

Spirontocaris spina Sowerby. Nachvak (Turner); outside of
Hebron, 60 fms., gravel (Bryant) ; Shoal Tickle near (southeast
of) Nain (Bryant); Egg Harbour, 7 fms., mud (Bryant) ;
Square Island, 15-30 fms., not common (Packard); Henley
Harbour, shoal water and 10-15 fms. (Smith); Temple Bay,
rocky (Smith), near Caribou Island, frequent in 10-50 fms.
(Packard). ;

Spirontocaris phippsii Kreyer. Port Burwell (Smith); Komak-
torvik Bay, 5 fms., rocky (Bryant) ; Nachvak (Turner) ; outside
of Hebron, 60 fms., gravel (Bryant) ; halfway from Cape Mug-
ford to Hebron, 60 fms., mud, sand (Bryant); Shoal Tickle
near (southeast of) Nain (Bryant) ; Battle Harbour, 12-14 fms.
(Ortmann); Domino Harbour, 7 fms. (Packard); off Belles
Amours, 10 fms., rocky (Packard, as turgida) ; L’Anse au Loup,
8 fms. (Smith).

Spirontocaris polaris Sabine. Labrador Reef, Ungava, pale flesh

1 Specimens examined by the present writer.
2 Probably this species. s y
3In Packard’s first list (1863) the depths are erroneously given in

APPENDIX VI 509

colour, not active (Turner); Port Burwell, 68 mm. long
(Smith); Nachvak (Turner); outside of Hebron, 60 fms.,
gravel (Bryant); Dead Island, 3 fms., seaweed (Smith) ;
Square Island, 15-30 fms. (Packard), Strait of Belle Isle,
10 fms. (Packard).

Sptrontocaris fabricia Kreyer. Labrador Reef, Ungava (Turner) ;
Port Burwell (Smith); Nain, 7 fms., mud (Bryant); Shoal
Tickle, near (southeast of) Nain (Bryant); Egg Harbour,
7 fms., mud (Bryant); Dead Island, 3 fms. (Smith); Fox Har-
bour, 1 fm. (Smith); Henley Harbour, 10-15 fms. (Smith) ;
Domino Harbour, 7 fms., not common (Packard); L’Anse au
Loup, 15 fms., sand, and on rocky bottom (Smith); Forteau
Bay, 20 fms. (Smith).

Spirontocaris gaimardw Milne Edwards. Komaktorvik Bay, 5
fms., rocky (Bryant), varying toward belcheri; halfway from
Cape Mugford to Hebron, 60 fms., mud, sand (Bryant), varying
toward belcheri; Nain, 7 fms., mud (Bryant), varying towards
belchert; Shoal Tickle near (southeast of) Nain (Bryant) ;
Hopedale, 10 fms., (Packard); Egg Harbour, 7 fms., mud
(Bryant) ; Square Island, 30 fms. (Packard) ; Henley Harbour
and Sloop Harbour, 8 fms. (Packard) ; Caribou Island, 15 fms.
(Packard) ; common (Packard).

Spirontocaris gaimardii belchert Bell. Nachvak (Turner); off
Fish Island, outside of Hebron, 75 fms., mud (Bryant) ; Henley
Harbour, 10 fms. (Stearns), varying toward typical gaimardi ;
L’Anse au Loup, 8-15 fms. (Stearns).

Spirontocaris stoneyt Rathbun. Shoal Tickle, near (southeast of)
Nain (Bryant).

Spirontocaris macilenta Kreyer. Off Fish Island, 75 fms., mud
(Bryant); halfway from Cape Mugford to Hebron, 60 fms.,
mud, sand (Bryant); Shoal Tickle near (southeast of) Nain
(Bryant) ; Square Island, 15-30 fms., rare (Packard).

Pandalus montagui Leach. Port Burwell (Smith); Nain, 7 fms.,
mud (Bryant); Hopedale, 10 fms. (Packard); Egg Harbour,
7 fms., mud (Bryant); Sloop Harbour, 6 fms. (Packard) ;
Henley Harbour, 20 fms. (Packard); Temple Bay, 10 fms.,
rocky (Smith); L’Anse au Loup, 8-15 fms. (Smith); Forteau
Bay, 20 fms. (Smith).

SCHIZOPODA

Mysis oculata O. Fabricius. Port Burwell (Smith); Komak-
torvik Bay, 5 fms., rocky (Bryant); Dead Island (Smith) ;
Caribou Island (Packard) ; swarms in tidal pools and abundant
along the whole coast (Packard).

510 _ APPENDIX VI

Mysis mixta Lilljeborg. Ungava in stomach of murre, Uria
columba (Turner); Rigolet, not common (Turner).
Mysis relicta Lovén. Indian Harbour, fresh water (Bryant).

PHYLLOCARIDA

Nebalia bipes Fabricius. Mouth of Henley Harbour, 4-20 fms.
(Packard).

CUMACEA

Diastylis rathkii Kreyer. Mouth of Koksoak, Ungava (Turner) ;
Fox Harbour, 3 fms., sand, abundant (Smith) ; Belles Amours,
6 fms., Thomas Bay, 15 fms., mud, Square Island, 15-30 fms.,
Henley Harbour, 8 fms., Chateau Bay, Long Island, 15 fms.
(Packard); common in 10-50 fms. (Packard).

TIiastylis quadrispinosus G. O. Sars. Off Belles Amours, 4-6 fms.
(Packard, The Labrador Coast, p. 118. Not given, however,
in his list of Crustacea and perhaps confused with the preced-

ing).
Isopopa !

Leptochelia filum Stimpson. Caribou Island, 8 fms., sandy, rare
(Packard).

Gnathia cerina Stimpson. Chateau Bay, Long Island, 15 fms.,
sandy (Packard).

4iga psora Linn. Port Burwell (Smith); Nachvak (Turner) ;
Strait of Belle Isle, on under side of cod (Packard) ; north shore
of Gulf of St. Lawrence (Whiteaves).

Arcturus baffini Sabine. Port Burwell (Smith).

Mesidotea entomon Linn. Nachvak (Turner).

Mesidotea sabini Kreyer. Halfway from Cape Mugford to He-
bron, 60 fms., mud, sand (Bryant).

Synidotea marmorata Packard. ‘Cock Capelin,’” Gready Har-
bour (Bryant) ; Sloop Harbour, Kyuetarbuck Bay, 7 fms., sandy,
reddish brown (Packard) ; Battle Harbour (Ortmann).

Asellus aquaticus Linn. Hopedale and Square Island, com-
monin soil under stones, etc.,in company with Limaz (Packard).

Jera marina O. Fabricius. Indian Tickle (Packard); Indian
Harbour, Sandwich Bay (Packard); Fox Harbour (Smith) ;
Caribou Island, common near high-water mark (Packard) ;
abundant at low water under stones (Packard).

1 Names revised according to Richardson, ‘‘A Monograph on the
Isopods of North America,” Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 54, 1905.
Isopods in Bryant collection determined by Dr. Harriet Richardson.

APPENDIX VI 50

Munnopsis typica M. Sars. Halfway from Cape Mugford to He-
bron, 60 fms., mud, sand (Bryant); off Beachy Island, be-
tween Flint Island and Cape Mugford, 80 fms., soft mud
(Bryant).

Phryzus abdominalis (Kroyer). Port Burwell, on Spirontocaris
polaris (Smith); Nachvak, on S. polaris (Turner); off Fish
Island, 75 fms., mud, on S. macilenta (Bryant) ; halfway from
Cape Mugford to Hebron, 60 fms., mud, sand, on S. macilenta
(Bryant); Nain, 7 fms., mud on S. gaimardi var. (Bryant) ;
Shoal Tickle near (southeast of) Nain, on S. macilenta (Bryant) ;
L’Anse au Loup, on S. gavmardii belcheri (Stearns).

Dajus misidis Kreyer. Labrador (Packard), probably from M ysis
oculata (Smith).

AMPHIPODA !

Hyperia medusarum (O. F. Miller). Domino Harbour, found with
numerous young in the stomach cavity of Cyanea arctica (Pack-
ard); Dead Island (Smith).

Euthemisto libellula Mandt. Mouth of Koksoak, Ungava (Turner) ;
lat. 56° north, long. 60° west (Turner).

Socarnes vahli Kreyer. Nachvak (Turner).

Orchomenella minuta Kreyer. Henley Harbour, 10-15 fms. (Smith).

Tryphosa héringi Boeck. Labrador (Packard).

Anonyx nugax Phipps. Port Burwell (Smith); Fox Harbour,
3 fms. (Smith); Dumplin Harbour, Sandwich Bay, 4 fms.
(Packard); Henley Harbour, 10-15 fms. (Smith); off Henley
Harbour, 40 fms., 3 miles from land, pebbly bottom (Packard) ;
Sloop Harbour, 8 fms. (Packard).

Centromedon pumilus Lilljeborg. Labrador, 15 fms., sand
(Packard).

Onesimus edwardsii Kreyer. Atlantic coast of Labrador (Smith).

Pontoporeia femorata Kreyer. Fox Harbour, 1-4 fms. (Smith) ;
Belles Amours, 5-8 fms., muddy, abundant (Packard).

Phoxocephalus holbélli (Kreyer). L’Anse au Loup, 15 fms. (Smith).

Ampelisca macrocephala Lilljeborg. L’Anse au Loup, 10 fms.
(Smith); Henley Harbour, 10-15 fms. (Smith); Chateau
Bay, 30 fms. (Packard); Stag Bay, 10 fms., hard bottom
(Packard); Caribou Island, 8 fms., sand (Packard); Long
Island, 15 fms., sand (Packard); Strawberry Harbour, 14
fms., hard (Packard).

Ampelisca eschrichtti Krayer. Mouth of Koksoak, Ungava (Turner) ;
Ungava Bay, 28 fms. in mud, pale yellow (Turner) ; Nachvak

1 Names revised according to G. O. Sars, An Account of the Crustacea
of Norway, Vol. I, 1895,

512 APPENDIX VI

(Turner) ; Chateau Bay, presumably (Smith); Caribou Island,
14 fms. (Packard).

Byblis gaimardi Kreyer. Dead Island, 2-4 fms. (Smith);
Henley Harbour, 10-15 fms. (Smith); Temple Bay (Smith) ;
Chateau Bay, 30 fms. (Packard); Chateau Harbour, Long
Island, 15 fms., sand (Packard).

Haploops tubicola Lilljeborg. Chateau Harbour, Long Island, 15
fms., sand (Packard); Caribou Island, probably (Smith).
Stegocephalus inflatus Kreyer. Nachvak, in cod stomach (Turner).
Parediceros lynceus M. Sars. Port Burwell (Smith); Henley
Harbour, 10-15 fms. (Smith); Henley Harbour, 4 fms. (Pack-
ard); Temple Bay, 10 fms. (Smith); Caribou Island, 8 fms.,
sand (Packard); L’Anse au Loup, 15 fms. (Smith); Forteau

Bay, 20 fms. (Smith). ;

Pleustes panoplus Kreyer. Port Burwell (Smith); Henley
Harbour, 4 fms., among weeds, not uncommon (Packard) ;
L’Anse au Loup, 10 fms. (Smith).

Paramphithoé bicuspis Kreyer. Henley Harbour, probably (Smith).

Acanthozone cuspidata Lepechin. Temple Bay, 10 fms. (Smith).

Acanthonotosoma inflatum Kroyer. L’Anse au Loup, 8 fms.,
rocky (Smith).

Acanthonotosoma serratum O. Fabricius. Dead Island, shallow
water (Smith).

Rhachotropis aculeata Lepechin. Port Burwell (Smith); Nachvak
(Turner) ; Square Island, 30 fms. (Packard) ; Henley Harbour,
10-15 fms. (Smith); Temple Bay, 10 fms. (Smith).

Halirages fulvocinctus M. Sars. Henley Harbour, 10-20 fms.,
hard, weedy bottom (Packard).

Apherusa bispinosa Bate. Henley Harbour, 10-20 fms., hard,
weedy bottom, rare (Packard).

Calliopius leviusculus Kroyer. Henley Harbour, 4 fms., very
abundant (Packard); Stag Bay, 15 fms., on hard, weedy
bottom (Packard).

Pontogeneia inermis Kreyer. Square Island, 15 fms. (Packard) ;
Henley Harbour, 4 fms. (Packard) ; Stag Bay, 15 fms., on hard,
weedy bottom (Packard).

Amathilla homari J. C. Fabricius. Labrador Reef, Ungava
(Turner); Rigolet (Turner) abundant under stones on beach.

Gammarus locusta Linn. Ungava Bay, amid floating ice (Turner) ;
Labrador Reef, Ungava, abundant under stones among the sand
and silt (Turner); mouth of Koksoak, Ungava, common under
stones on beach (Turner); Davis Inlet, common (Turner) :
Port Burwell (Smith); Rigolet (Turner); Fox Harbour, 1-4
fms. (Smith); Gulf coast (Whiteaves) ; whole coast (Packard).

Melita dentata Kreyer. Square Island, 15-30 fms. (Packard) ;

APPENDIX VI 513

Henley Harbour, 10-15 fms. (Smith); Temple Bay, 10 fms.
(Smith); Strait of Belle Isle, 15 fms., mud (Packard) ; Chateau
Bay, 20-30 fms. (Packard) ; near Caribou, 10 feet, mud, sand
(Packard).

Amphithoé rubricata Montagu. Henley Harbour, 8 fms. (Packard).

Ericthonius difformis Milne Edwards. Caribou Island, 8 fms., sand
(Packard).

Unciola irrorata Say. Henley Harbour (Smith); Caribou Island
(Packard).

Dulichia porrecta Bate. Rarely found (Packard).

Caprella linearis Linn. Battle Harbour, 12-14 fms. (Ortmann).

Caprella septentrionalis Kreyer. Henley Harbour (Smith); whole
coast, 4-30 fms., among weeds (Packard).

OSTRACODA

Cypridina excisa Stimpson. Labrador (Packard).

CoPEPODA

Lernea branchialis Linn. var. sigmoidea Steenstrup and Liitken.
Labrador in Stearns collection (Smith); attached to skin of
cod (Packard).

Lepeophtheirus salmonis Kreyer. Ungava Bay, on salmon and sea-
trout (Turner); Rigolet, on Salmo salar (C. B. Wilson).

BRANCHIOPODA

Branchinecta arctica Verrill. Indian Tickle, north shore of In-
vuctoke Inlet, abundant in a pool of fresh water (Packard) ;
Indian Harbour (Bryant).

CIRRIPEDIA

Balanus porcatus Costa. Whole coast, only in deep water (Packard).

Balanus crenatus Bruguiére. L’Anse au Loup, 10 fms. (Smith) ;
whole coast (Packard).

Balanus balanoides Linn. Whole coast (Packard).

Coronula diadema Linn. Taken quite frequently from the skin of
whales caught in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Packard).

RHIZOCEPHALA

Peltogaster paguri Rathke. Henley Harbour, on Pagurus pubescens,
shallow water (Smith).
21

RR te OAS OT > ae,

BOOKS, ETC., ON LABRADOR

Census of Newfoundland and Labrador, 1901. Newfoundland
Colonial Secretary, St. John’s, N. F., 1903. 2 vols. 8°.
Browne, Parrick Wiuuiam. ‘Where the Fishers Go,’’ The Story

of Labrador. New York (Cochrane Pub. Co.), 1909. Illus.

Bryant, Henry GRIER. A Journey to the Grand Falls of Labrador.
New York (Century Co.), 1892. pp. 48. 8°.

(From the Geographical Club of Philadelphia, Bulletin No. 2,
Volo ¥.)

Caxsot, Wm. Brooxs. In Northern Labrador. Boston (Badger,
publisher), 1912. Portraits.

CaRTWRIGHT, GEorGE (1739-1819). Captain Cartwright and His
Labrador Journal, edited by Charles W. Townsend, with intro-
duction by W. T. Grenfell. Boston (Kstes & Co.), 1911.
Portraits and maps.

Last Cruise of Miranda. ‘Transatlantic Publishing Co., 1893.

CARTWRIGHT, GEORGE. A Journal of Transactions and Events,
During a Residence of nearly Sixteen Years on the Coast of
Labrador. Newark (Allin & Ridge), 1792. 3 vols., portrait
and maps. 4°.

CHAPPELL, Epwarp. Voyage of His Majesty’s ship Rosamond to
Newfoundland and the Southern Coast of Labrador. London
(J. Mawman, pub.), 1818. 8°.

CILLEY, JONATHAN Princk, JR. Bowdoin Boys in Labrador. An
account of the Bowdoin College Scientific Expedition to Labra-
dor. Rockland, Maine, 1891. 8°.

DELABARRE, EpMuND Burke. Report of the Brown-Harvard Ex-
pedition to Nachvak, Labrador, in 1900. Philadelphia, 1902.
Maps. 8°. (Reprinted from Bulletin of Geographical Society
of Philadelphia, Vol. 3, 1902.)

Dourecin, Grorce Francis (1858-1905). Letters from Labrador.

mee concord, N: H., 1908: L17 pp.

Fisk, WILBUR WARREN. The Glazier Party in the Wilds of Labra-
dor. Boston (?), 1902. Broadside. 2 columns, size 133’ x 63’’.

515

516 BOOKS, ETC., ON LABRADOR

GRENFELL, W. T. Labrador; The Country and the People. New
York (Maemillan), 1909.

GRENFELL, W. T. Vikings of To-day. London (Marshall), 1895. .
8°.

Haypon, A. L. Canada at Work and at Play. With a chapter on
Newfoundland and Labrador with introduction by Lord
Stratheona. London (Cassel & Co.), 1904. sm. 8°.

Hinp, Henry Youur. Exploration in the Interior of Labrador
Peninsula, the Country of the Montagnais and Nasquapee
Indian. London (Longman), 1863. .2vols., colored plates. 8°.

Duncan, Norman. Dr. Grenfell’s Parish. F. H. Revell Co.,
1905. 12°.

Duncan, Norman. Dr. Luke of the Labrador. F. Revell. 1903.

Hutton, Samuet Kine. Among the Eskimos of Labrador. A
record of five years’ close intercourse with the Eskimo tribes
of Labrador. Philadelphia (J. B. Lippincott Co.), 1912.

Portraits.

GRENFELL, W. T. Down to the Sea. New York (KF. H. Revell
Co.), 1910.

GRENFELL, W. T. Off the Rocks. Philadelphia (S. S. Times Co.),
1906.

GRENFELL, W. T. Down North on the Labrador. New York
(F. H. Revell Co.), 1911. 229 pp., portrait.

KLEINSCHMIDT, SAMUEL. Grammatik der grinlandischen sproché
mit theilweisem EHinschluss des Labradordialects. Berlin
(G. Reimer), 1851. 182 pp., folded table, 8°.

Labrador. ‘‘Great Probability, The, of a North West Passage De-
ducted from Observations on the Letter of Admiral de Fonte.”’
Appendix containing the account of a discovery of part of the
coast and inland country of Labrador, made in 1753. London,
1768. xxiv+ 153.

Storer, Horatio Rosinson. Observations on the fishes of Nova
Scotia and Labrador, with Description of New Species. (From
the Boston Journal of Natural History, Oct., 1850.) Boston,
1850. 24 pp., 2 plates. 8°.

United States, Hydrographic Office. Publications, No. 73, 78.
Newfoundland and Labrador (1884), compiled by W. W. Gill-
patrick and John Gibson; (also), supplement No. 1 (corrected
to April 1, 1886), compiled by Richard G. Davenport and John
Gibson. Washington, 1884-86, 2 vols. 8°.

Gostine, W. G. Labrador; Its Discovery, Explanation and Devel-

BOOKS, ETC., ON: LABRADOR 517

opment. New York (John Lane Co.), 1911. Portraits, 22 em.
in 8 maps. |

RicHarps, Grorce Mitron. Geological notes, microscopical feat-
ures of the rock specimens. Maps. (In Dillon Wallace, The
Long Labrador Trail. N. Y., 1907. pp. 289-308.)

United States Coast Survey Sketch showing the Geology of the Coast
of Labrador. By Oscar M. Lieber. Washington, 1860.

PackarD, ALPHEUS SPRING, Jr., M.D. (born 1839). ‘‘Observations
on the Glacial Phenomena of Labrador and Maine with a View
of the Recent Invertebrate Fauna of Labrador. Oct. 5, 1865,
illus. two plates. (In Boston Sec. of Natural History, Me-
moirs, Vol. 1, pp. 210, 303. Boston, 1867.)

Daty, Recinatp AtpwortH. The Geology of the Northeast Coast
of Labrador. Illustrated. Map. (The Harvard College, Mu-
seum of Com. Zodlogy Bulletin. Cambridge, 1902, Vol. 38,
pp. 203-270).

GLADWIN, GEorGE EK. Pen and Ink Sketches. ‘‘Coast and Har-
bors of Labrador, Summer of 1876.’’ Boston (Osgood & Co.),
1877. 32 heliotypes, map. 8°.

United States, Hydrographic Office. North America. East Coast.
Coast of Labrador from Cape St. Charles to Sandwich Bay.
From British surveys to 1882 (chart edition of Sept., 1887).
Washington, 1887.

ProwsE, Danig1, Wooptey, Editor. The Newfoundland Guide
Book, 1905. Including Labrador and St. Pierre. London,
1905. Maps. 8°.

(SayER, Rosert, and BENNETT, Joun, publishers.) The North
American Pilot for Newfoundland, Labrador. A collection of
60 charts: and plans drawn from original surveys, ete. Lon-
don, 1779.

Wauuace, Ditton. The Long Labrador Trail. New York (The
Outing Publishing Co.).

Wauuace, Ditton. The Lure of the Labrador Wild. The story of
the exploring expedition conducted by Leonidas Hubbard, Jr.
Maps. New York (F. H. Revell Co.), 1905. 8°.

Tucker, KpHraim W. Five Months in Labrador and Newfoundland
during the Swmmer of 1838. Concord (Boyd & White), 1839.
156 pp. 16°.

United States, Hydrographic Office. Newfoundland and the Labra-
dor Coast. 3d edition, 1909. Washington, 1909. 816 pp., 24
em. in 8.

518 BOOKS, ETC., ON LABRADOR

TOWNSEND, CHARLES WENDELL. Along the Labrador Coast. Boston
(Dana Estes & Co.), 1907. Maps, portraits. 8°.

TOWNSEND, CHARLES WENDELL. A Labrador Spring. Boston,
(Dana Estes & Co.), 1910. Plates and 213 em.

STEARNS, WINIFRED ALDEN. Labrador, a Sketch of Its People, Its
Industries, and Its Natural History. Boston (Lee &
Shepard), 1884. 12°.

SwEETSER, Moses Foster. The Maritime Provinces. A handbook
for travellers, a guide to maritime provinees of Canada, also
Newfoundland and the Labrador Coast. Boston (J. R.
Osgood & Co.), 1875. 16°.

RovuiILuaRD, OLivieR Eucene. ‘‘La cote nord du Saint-Lauraut
et le Labrador Canadien. Quebec (Laflaunne & Proulx),
1908. 188 pp. 8°.

PacKARD, ALPHEUS, SPRING, Jr., M.D., 1839, The Labrador Coast.
A journal of two summer cruises to that region with notes on
Eskimo, ete. New York (N. D. C. Hodges), 1891. 8°.

PricHarD, Hesxetu-Heskxety (born 1876). Through Trackless
Labrador. New York (Sturgis & Walton Co.), 1911. Portraits,
maps, ete. 8°.

Hvarp, Victor A. Labrador et Anticosti. Montreal (Beauchenim),
1897; > Ulos,"map. ~S°.

Hussparp, Mina Benson (Mrs. Leonidas). A Woman's Way
through Unknown Labrador. London (Murray), 1908. Por-
traits. 8°.

Nose, Lovis Lecranp. After Icebergs with a Painter. A sum-
mer voyage to Labrador and around Newfoundland. New
York (Appleton & Co.), 1861. 12°.

Canto, ERNESTO DO. Quem den o nome ao Labrodor? Ponta
Delgada (Archivo dos Acores), 1894. 23 pp. 4°.

Lonc, Wm. JospexH. Northern Trails; Some Studies of Animal
Life in the Far North. (Illus. by Copeland.) Boston (Ginn &
Co.); 1905, 12°

These studies were made in Labrador.

STEARNS, WINIFRED AupEN. Bird Lifein Labrador. (Cut from
the American Field for April 26, Oct. 11, 1890.) New York,
1890.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Animal Sanctuaries in Labrador. Cou. WM. Woop. Commission
of Conservation. Ottawa, 1912.

Through Trackless Labrador. HiskntTH PRICHARD.

Labrador. Professor A. S. Packarp, 1891.

Cruise of Neptune. Dr. A. P. Low, 1906.

After Icebergs with an Artist. Wn. BrapFrorp, 1864.

Notes on the Natural History of Labrador. W. H. Stearn, 1875.
Rosert Bett, 1884.

In an Unknown Land. EK. C. Rosinson.

Last Cruise of Miranda. Euutot Stoca, 1909.

Bowdoin College Exploration, 1891. A. H. Norton, 1901.

Ornithological Results of Canadian Neptune Cruise.

Expedition to Hudson Bay and Northwest. C. W. E1rria, 1903-
1904.

The Lure of the Labrador Wild. Di1nLoN WALLACE.

The Long Labrador Trail. Di1~tLOoN WALLACE.

A Woman’s Way in Labrador. Mrs. HusBarp.

Captain Cook. Charts on Record Voyage, 1768.

Captain Cartwright and His Journal. Dana Estes & Co. CHARLES
TOWNSEND, I911.

Along the Labrador Coast. Dana Estes Co. CHARLES TOWNSEND,
1911.

A Labrador Spring. Dana Estesand Co. CHARLES TOWNSEND,
1909.

Journals of Captain George Cartwright. Published in Newark,
England, 1792.

Newfoundland and Its Untrodden Ways. J.S. Mruuais.

Guide to Labrador. D. W. Prowss, 1910.

The Tenth Island. Brcxs Wiuson, 1897.

Audubon. GRANT EDWARDS.

Labrador. Prorressor A. 8. PackKarp,

Voyages to Newfoundland. Lt. Epwarp CHAPPELL, R. N. 1818.
Mawman, London, publishers.

019

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INDEX

Acadians, settlement of, in Labrador,

3k,
Alaska, introduction of reindeer into,
252-253.

Albert, Mission yawl, 236, 237, 238.

Alexis River, 8.

Allen, Dr. Glover M., 378 n., 495.

Anglican church mission, 236.

Anglo-Newfoundland Company, 180.

Angora goats, importation of, 2438.

Ants, 461. .

Archean rock formations, 85-86.

Ashuanipi River, 156-157.

Ashwanipi Lake, derivation of name,
206.

Aspen buds and bark as an emer-
gency food, 422.

Attikonak River and Lake, 156-157.

Audubon in Labrador, 374, 375, 376,
386.

Auk, extinction of the, 374;
razor-billed, 382-383.

Aulatzevik, island of, 59, 93.

Avagalik Island, 62.

the

Bache, Mount, 58.

Baine, Johnston & Company, 180.

Bait for cod fishing, 302-303.

Barren-ground People and River,
198.

Bartlett, Captain, 302.

Basement Complex, the, 86 ff.

Basque fishermen in Labrador, 13;
relics of, 164.

Bastian, John, 187, 206—207.

Battle Harbour, Anglican church
mission headquarters at, 236;
mission hospital at, 238, 239 ff.

Bear-hunting, 47, 145, 213.

Bear Island, 130.

Beaver-hunting, 204.

Beetles, 467-472.

Beeton, Mayson, 260.

Bell, Dr. Robert, quoted, 123-124

Belle Isle, Strait of, 7, 8, 27.

Beothuk Indians, 25.

Berries, varieties of, 212-213, 421.

Bersimis, 189; trading-station at,
193; canoes of, 207.

Bersimis, Long Portage of the, 191.

Biggar, H. P., work by, cited, 7.

Birds of Labrador, 374-390, 495-
505.

Bishop’s Mitre, the, 108.

Bissot, Francois, 17.

Blane Sablon, 27, 29; fishery of, 165.

Blandford, Captain Sam, 165.

Blow-me-down, Mount, 98.

Boston Transcript reindeer fund, 260.

Botany of Labrador, 391 ff.

Botflies on deer, 256, 455-456.

Boulders, glacial, 130.

Bounty system in French fisheries,
323-324.

Bourdon, Jean, 12.

Bowdoin Canyon, Hamilton River,
153-155.

Bowring Brothers, firm of, 304.

Bradore Bay, 21.

Brave expedition, 81-138.

Brest, harbour of, 13,
accounts of, 15-17.

Brigs and brigantines in fishing in-
dustry, 318.

Brouague, Martel de, 21.

‘“Bultows,”’ 303.

Burial-places, Indian, 159, 225.

Business firms conducting trade with
Labrador, 179-180.

Butterflies, 461-462.

14; early

521

522

Cabot, John, discoverer of Labrador,
5-6.

Cabots, voyages of the, 6-8; reports
of, on fisheries, 13.

Cachalot whale, the, 357-358.

Canoe bark, 207.

Canoeing in Labrador, 54.

Canoes, for exploration trips, 161;
trade in, 207.

Cape Chidley, Moravian Mission
station at, 227-228.

Caribou, 145, 158; spearing of, 210;
range of, and habits, 213-215;
botflies on, 256, 455-456 ; num-

bers of, 258-259.

Caribou Castle, 26.

Carnegie, Andrew, portable libraries
from, 242.

Carter’s Basin, 142.

Cartier, Jacques, 11, 138.

Cartwright, Major George, 19, 24-
27, 35; his opinion of Labrador
quoted, 138; description of a
school of cod by, 287; quoted
on the abundance of salmon in
Labrador, 335-336; quoted on
capture of penguins, 374-375.

Cartwright, Hudson’s Bay station at,
182.

Castle Mountain, 59-60.

Charles Harbour, 26.

Childhood, high rate of mortality in,
178, 256.

Chimo, Indians trading at, 196-197,
210:

Class distinctions, absence of, 176—
rire

Cliffs along coast, 44.

Climate of Labrador, 69.

Clothing of Indians, 209-210.

Clouston, James, 53.

Cochrane, Sir Thomas, 29-30.

Cod, uses of the, 282-283; food
value of, 283-284; methods of

preserving, 284; its spawning
habits, 285; lifeof young, 285-
286; size of, 286; digestive

powers of, 287-288; supply of,
288-290; habits of, 289, 294—
296; methods of catching, 302-

INDEX

306; curing of, 307-309; sta-
tistics of takings of, 314-316;
prices commanded by, 316-317;
European markets for, 320; im-
port duties on, 323-324; in-
fluence exerted on mankind by,
324-326.

Cod fishery, 13, 78, 282 ff.

Codfish hatchery in Newfoundland,
290.

Cod-liver oil, 326.

Cod trap, the, 305-306.

Cooperative stores, 240, 241, 247,

Coéperator, schooner, 241.

Cormorants, 384.

Corte-Reals, voyages of, 8-10.

Courtemanche, Augustin de, 16-17,
18-19, 21.

Courts of justice, travelling, 246—
247.

Cree language, 219-223.

Croucher, Mr., 302.

Crustacea, the marine, 473-478 ; list
of, 506-513.

Culling of codfish, 320-321.

Curing, of codfish, 307-309; of her
ring, 345.

Curlew, the Eskimo, 375-376.

Curtis, Roger, 138.

Dab fishing, 347-348.

Daly, R. A., study of temperature of
coastal waters by, 292-294.

Darby, Captain Nicholas, 22.

Daryl, mission launch, 243-244.

Davis, John, explorations of, 11.

Davis Inlet, 11, 45; Hudson’s Bay
Company post at, 181. .

Dawe, C. & A., 180.

Dawson, W. Bell, monograph on
tides by, 68 n.

Deep-sea Mission, the, 236—250.

Deer-hunting, 47, 78-79, 213-215.

Diphtheria, brought by Eskimos from
Buffalo Exposition, 179, 230.

Diseases, 179, 188, 229, 230.

Doane, Ernest, 468.

Dogs, used in hunting, 204; killing
of cattle by, 257; description of,
272-273; habits and general

INDEX

traits, 273-281; destruction of
eggs and young birds by, 378.

Dog-teams, 183.

Drunkenness, absence of, 176.

Duck, season for shooting, 78-79;
breeding habits of, 384; the Lab-
rador or pied, 374-375.

Duties on fish imported into foreign
countries, 323-324.

Eagle River, salmon fishing on, 333.

Eclipse Channel, 59.

Education, problem of, 174-175.

Egging, 376-377.

Ejider-duck Islands, 60.

Eider ducks, 60, 384-385.

Elliot, Henry, 363, 364.

Emergency foods, 422.

English, engaged in early fisheries,
14; conquest of Canada by, and
effect on Labrador, 22-28.

Ericson, Leif, 3.

Eskimos, Moravian missionaries and
the, 33-36; places for best
study of, 47-48; best educated
people in Labrador, 175; diseases
among, 179, 229, 230; lessening
numbers of, 229, 232-233; cause
of decrease in numbers of, found
in lessening numbers of seal and
walrus, 361-363. See Indians.

Estotiland, legend of, 4-5.

Etienne family of Indians, 202-203.

Factors, in Hudson’s Bay Company
service, 183.

Fanny’s Harbour, 45.

Fernandes, Joao, 10.

Finback whales, 355.

Fiords of Labrador, 39, 55, 57.

Fisheries, Labrador, 12-14, 282 ff.;
cod, seal, salmon, and porpoise,
20; establishment of sedentary,
by English, and troubles caused
by, 23-24; troubles with foreign
nations over, 30; business firms
interested in, 180; of interior,
204-207; cod, 282-327; salmon,
328-339; herring, 340-345; hali-
but, 345-347; dab, 347-348;

523
winter fluke, 348; lump-fish,
348-349; sculpin, 349; rock

cod, 349; hake or haddock, 350;
shark, 350-351; whale, 352-
361; walrus, 362-365.

Fishing, on upper Hamilton River,
158.

Fishing customs along the coast, 165-
169.

Fiske, John, quoted, 5.

Flies varieties of, 84, 453 ff.

Flora of Labrador, 391 ff.

Flour Lake, 155.

Flower’s Cove, cooperative store at,
241.

Fluke, the winter, 348.

Flycatchers, varieties of, 389.

Fog, mistake concerning prevalence
of, 70.

Food of Indians, 211-215.

Ford, Chesley, 468.

Ford, George, 60, 468.

Forest fires, disastrous effect of, on
game resources, 191-192.

Forest growth, Hamilton River
region, 147.

Forests, Dr. Low’s description of, 407—
409.

Forteau Bay, 27.

Four Peaks, the, 102.

Fox farm, establishment of, 242.

Fox sparrow, the, 387.

France, encouragement of home fish-
eries by, 323-324.

Fraser, James D., 183.

Freels, Cape, 8-9.

French, depredations by naval vessels
of the, 28; agreement of tem-
perament of, with the Indian,
194.

French Canadian settlements, 14-22.

French fishermen, early, 13-14.

French shore, the, 14.

Frobisher, Martin, voyage of, 11.

Fungi of Labrador, 421-422.

Furs, months for taking, 75—76.

Fur trade, 181.

Geology of northeast coast, 81-139
George, Lake of the, 213.

524

George River, 158.

Gibb, E., experiment by, in salmon

industry, 339.

Gibbons, Captain, 12.

Gilbert River, 8.

Glacial Period, Labrador during the,
114-126.

Gnats, 84, 459.

Gnupsson, Eric, 3.

God, Indian conception of, 224.

Gomez, Estevan, 14.

Goode, Professor, quoted, 343.

Goose, the Canada, 385.

Gosling, W. G., 329 n.

Grampus, the, 357.

Grand Falls of Hamilton River, 49,
53, 150-153; Indian name of,
and legend concerning, 193.

Grand Lake, 142.

Grand River Lumber Company, 143.

Grant for schools, 171.

Grants, of fishing and trading rights
in Labrador, 19; of land, 172-173.

Gray, Captain, 181.

Gray Straits, 181; tides in, 301.

Greece, market for Labrador fish in,
320.

“‘Green fish”’ catchers, 168.

Grieve, W. B., 238.

Grinnell Glacier, 115-116.

Grouse, Canadian ruffed and spruce,
388.

Guides, 40.

Guillemot, the black, 376, 382.

Gull Island Lake, 148.

Gulls, 383.

Gyrfalcons, white, gray, and black,
380.

Haddock, 350.

Hake, 350.

Half-breeds, hope of future popula-
tion of Labrador lies in, 235.

Halibut fishing, 345-347.

Hamilton Inlet, 7, 8,11, 19, 47, 140-
146; geological theory concern-
ing formation of, 137; head
post of Hudson’s Bay Company
at, 181; landlocked salmon in,
333,

INDEX

Hamilton River, 46-47, 51, 52, 54;
- description of, 146-160; hunt-
ing along the, 195.
Hamilton Valley, 51.
Harp seal, the, 365-367.
Harrigan, Cape, 45.

Harrington, mission hospital at,
238 ff.

Harvey, Dr. Moses, on herring in-
dustry, 344.

Harvey & Company, 180.

Haven, Jans, 33.

Hawk, American rough-legged, 380.

Hawke Bay, 8.

Hayward, John, 303.

Health conditions,
247.

Hebron, Moravian Mission station,
35, 102, 229-230.

Helluland, 3.

Herjulfson, Bjarni, 2.

Hermit-crabs, 474-475.

Hermit thrush, 389.

Herring fishery, 340-345.

Hind, Labrador Peninsula by, quoted,
216-217; study of cod-fishery
by, 295, 296.

Hog’s Back reef, 63.

Holmes, R. F., 53.

Hooded seal, the, 371-378.

Hook-and-line fishing for cod, 302~-
304.

Hooker, Joseph D., cited, 405, 406,
419-421,

Hopedale, Moravian Mission station
at, 34, 235.

Hopwood, Sir Francis, 237.

Hospital, at Okkak, 230-231.

Hospitals, of Mission to Deep-sea
Fishermen, 236 ff.

Hospital vessels, 236 ff.

Hubbard, Leonidas, 162.

Hubbard, Mrs., 162-163.

Hudson, Henry, 12.

Hudson’s Bay, 12.

Hudson’s Bay Company in Labrador,
31-32, 53, 181-182; life at
inland posts of, 158-160; factors
employed by, 183.

Hudson Strait, tides in, 301.

177-179, 245-

INDEX

Humpback whales, 355-356.

Hunting, locations for, 47;
for, 78-79.

Hunting grounds of Indians, 189-—
190, 195-197, 199, 202-203, 213-
214; custom regarding infringe-
ment on one another’s, 203-204.

Huxley, Professor, on the herring
industry, 340, 343.

season

Icebergs, 78.

Iceland moss, 422.

Import duties on Labrador fish, 323-
324.

Indian Harbour, mission hospital at,
238, 240, 241 ff.

Indians, taken as slaves by Corte-
Real, 9; troubles of French with,
21; Major Cartwright and the,
25; numbers of, 186; diseases
among, 188, 229-230; hunting
regions of, 189-190, 195-197,
199, 202-203, 213-214; migra-
tions of, 190-191; custom re-
garding infringement on one
another’s grounds, 203-204;
polygamy among, 215; life of
women, 215-216; language and
dialects of, 217-223; «religious
beliefs and practices, 223-225.

Infant mortality, 178, 256.

Inhabitants of the coast, 164-183.

Insects, 453-472.

Iron deposit, 48.

Isle aux (ufs, 17.

Isle de Bois, 27.

Italy, best market for Labrador fish,
320.

Jack Lane’s Bay, 45.

Jackson, Dr. Sheldon, 252, 258.

Jacopie Lake, 155.

Jaeger gull, the, 383.

Jay, the Labrador, 388.

Jem Lane’s Bay, 45.

Jesuits, no missions of, in Labrador,
20.

Job Brothers & Company, 180.

Jolliet, explorations of, 12; sketch
of career of, 17-18.

525

Julia Sheridan, mission launch, 240,
241.

Kaumajet Mountains, 103-105, 109.

Kayaks, 255.

Kelts, 331.

Kenamich River, 142.

Kenamow River, 52, 142-143.

Kennedy, Admiral Sir W. R., quoted,
244-245.

Kensington, Minn., Runic stone at,
4n.

Kiglapait Range, 109-110.

Killer whales, 356.

Killinek, Moravian Mission station
at, 227-228.

Kinglet, the ruby-crowned, 387.

Kittiwakes, 383.

Knight, John, 11.

Labrador, early visitors to, 1 ff.;
John Cabot the true discoverer
of, 5-6; voyages of Cabots to,
6-7; the Corte-Reals’ voyages,
8-10; origin of name, 9-10;
early maps of, 10-11; Rut’s
and Cartier’s voyages, 11; later
voyages to, 11-12; fisheries the
great industry of, 12-14, 282 ff.;
French Canadian settlements
along the Quebec Labrador, 14—
22; effect of English conquest
of Canada on, 22-28; annexa-
tion of, to Newfoundland, 22,
24,. 28-29; Acadians in, 31;
Hudson’s Bay Company in, 31-

32, 226-227; Moravian mis-
sionaries in, 32-36, 226-236;
travelled routes to, 36 ff.;

physiography of, 49 f.;
of peninsula, 50;
rainfall, 70; summer tempera-
ture, 71-73; seasons in, 74-80;
geology and seenery of northeast
coast, 81-138; missions of, 226-
250; experiment with reindeer
in, 251-271; dogs of, 272-281;
fisheries of, 282-373; birds of,
374-390, 495-505; flora of, 391-
425; insects and beetles of,

area
climate, 69;

526

453-472 ; marine crustacea of,
473-478, 506-513; mollusks of,
479-483 ; mammals of, 484-494.

Labradorite, 93-95, 232.

Lakes of the interior, 54.

Lake trout, 204—205.

Land, acquisition of, by grant or
purchase, 172-173.

Landlocked salmon, 206, 333.

Language and dialects of the Indians,
193-195, 217-223.

Lark, the horned, 379.
Lemoine, French-Montagnais
tionary of, 220, 221.
Libraries, portable, 242, 248.

Lichens, 422.

Lighthouses, absence of, 300-301.

Lindsay, Lieutenant W. G., 244, 264.

Liquor question, 175-176, 248-249.

Little, Dr. J. Mason, 244.

Livyeres, Labrador settlers, 164.

Lobsters, 475.

Lobstick Lake, 156.

Loon, the, 381.

Lorna Doone, schooner, 244.

Low, Dr. A. P., 50, 363, 427; quoted
on physiography of Labrador,
50-54; chapter on Hamilton
River and the Grand Falls by,
140-163; quoted on the Indians,
185; description of forest region
by, 407-409.

Lump-fish, the, 348-349.

Dic-

McCallum, Sir Henry, quoted, 247 n.

McCrea & Son, firm of, 180.

MacGregor, Sir William, 169, 258,
315.

McKenzie, Peter, 196, 213.

McLean, John, 32, 53, 216.

Mackerel, not taken in Labrador, 345.

Made Beaver, as unit of value, 202..

Mail service, 169-170, 171; by dog-
teams, 183.

Makkovik, Moravian Mission station
at, 35, 235-236.

Mammals, the ocean, 352-373; list
of, 484-494.

Maniquagan River, Indian hunters
on the, 189.

INDEX

Manvers, Port, 110, 112.

Maps, early, 10-11, 52; British ad-
miralty charts, 12, 64-65; of
Moravian missionaries, 12.

Marconi stations, 170.

Markland, 3.

Martin, Abbé, 20-21. :

Matheson, Duncan, 214, 442.

Mealy Mountains, 142, 145.

Mendrys, Dr., 53.

Merchants carrying on business in
Labrador, 179-180.

Merchants’ Map of Commerce, 15.

Methodist church mission, 236.

Mettek Islands, 60.

Milk, the demand for, 257; of rein-
deer, 270-271; of the porpoise,
357.

Minerals, 48.

Minerva, Boston privateer, 26.

Mingan, trading-station, 193.

Minipi River, 147, 148.

Missionaries, susceptibility of Indians
to instruction by, 224.

Missions, Moravian, 181, 183, 226-—
236; the Labrador Deep-sea
Mission, 236-250.

Mistassini, Indians trading at, 201—

202.
Mistinisi Lake, 214.
Moccasins, snow-shoe, 209; deer

skins for making, 254.

Moisie River, 193.

Mollusks, 479-483.

Montagnais Indians, 48, 184, 186,
196, 209, 216; fur trade with,
181; Catholic religion of, 223.

Moravian missionaries, charts of, 12;
work of, 32-36.

Moravian Missions, stations of, 181,
183, 227; justification of trade
methods of, 233-235.

Mosquitoes in Labrador, 69, 84, 459.

Mosses as emergency food, 422.

Moths, 463.

Mountains, 44-45, 62;
geologically, 86 ff.

Mugford, Cape, 107-108.

Mugford Tickle, 46.

Munn Brothers, firm of, 180.

considered

INDEX

Murres, the, 376, 382.
Muskrat Falls, Hamilton River, 147,
148.

Nachvak, Hudson’s Bay Company
station at, 229.

Nachvak Bay, 63, 101-102.

Nachvak dog-teams, 183.

Nain, Moravian Mission station at,
34, 231-235; Bishop and Ger-
man consul at, 164, 231.

Nain Bay, 12.

Names, Indian, 218-219.

Nansen, Fridjof, 362.

Narwhale, the, 358.

Nascaupee, Fort, 158-159.

Nascaupee Indians, 9, 48, 184, 192,
209; meaning attached to name,
197-198; home of the, 214.

New England fishermen, early diffi-
culties with, 23-24, 30; visits
of, 165-166.

Nichicun, Indians at, 200-201.

Noble and Pinson, firm of, 22, 26, 27.

Northern Messenger, mission launch,

' 242.

Northmen, voyages of, to Labrador.
2-4.

Northwest River, 52, 142; Hudson’s
Bay station on, 182.

Ogua’lik, island of, 105-106.

Okkak, Moravian Mission station at,
34, 230-231.

Old, fate of the, among the Indians,

216.

Orphans and orphanages, 240, 242,
243.

Outardes River, Indian hunters on
the, 189.

Packard, A. S., quoted and cited, 81,
133, 375, 473, 479.

Palliser, Sir Hugh, 23, 33, 35.

Parroquet, the, 381-382.

Paul’s Island, 93.

Pemmican, making of, 211.

Petitsikapau Lake, 155, 158-159.

Petrels, the, 384.

Phalarope, the northern, 381.

527

Physiography of Labrador, 49-69.

Pied duck, the, 374-375.

Pike-perch, the, 206.

Pipit, the American, 379.

Place-names, Indian, 218.

Pletipi River, 189.

Polygamy among Indians, 215.

Ponchartrain, Fort, 21.

Population, statistics of, 178.

Poreupine Rapids, Hamilton River,
148.

Princess May, hospital launch, 238,
239, 241.

Ptarmigans, rock, Reinhardt’s, and
willow, 380-381.

Puffin, the, 381-382.

Pye, Albert, 468.

Quebee Labrador, 29..

Rainfall, extent of, 70-71.

Ramah, Moravian Mission station at,
35, 229; cliffs at, 44.

Ranger Lodge, 26.

Raven, the northern, 389.

Razorback, Mount, 61, 101.

Redpoll, the, 387.

Reid-Newfoundland Company boats,
37-38.

Reindeer, introduction of, 249; value
of, when domesticated, 251-252;
suitability of, to subarctic region,
252; experiments in introducing
into Alaska, 252-253; uses of,
as food, for clothing, etc., 253-
255; propagation of, 255-256;
cost of importing, 260-267;
arrival of consignment in Labra-
dor, 264; success with, to date,
268-271.

Reindeer moss, 422.

Religion of Indians, 223-225.

Representation, Labrador’s lack of,
173-174.

Revillon Fréres, firm of, 142, 182.

Rigolet, 140, 181; Methodist mission
headquarters at, 236.

Rigolet dog-teams, 183.

Rivers of Labrador, 52.

Robertson, Charles, 214.

528

Robertson, Samuel, 16, 30.

Robin, the, 390.

Rock cod, 349.

Rock-tripes, 422.

Roddick, Dr., boat given by, 240.
Romaine River, 193.

Rorke & Sons, firm of, 180.

Rut, John, 11.

Ryans, firm of, 180.

Ryan’s Bay, 61, 62.

Sabbath, observance of the, 165-166.

St. Anthony, mission hospital at,
238, 241, 242 ff.; codperative
store at, 244.

St. Augustine trading-station, 193.

St. Marguerite River, 193.

St. Paul, Godefroy de, 19.

Salmon, 206, 333; instincts and
habits of, 328-334; destruction
of supply of, 334-335; former
and present supply of, 335-337;
methods of taking, 337-338.

Salmon cannery, Eagle River, 338.

Salmon fishing, 46, 78, 206, 328 ff.;
on upper Hamilton River, 158.

Sandgirt Lake, 155-156.

Sandhill Bay River, salmon fishing
on, 333.

Sanitary conditions, 177-178, 245-
247.

Sardines, herrings sold as, 343.

Scenery of Labrador, 39, 44-46, 51-—
52; relation of, to geological
formations, 85.

Schimper, A. F. W., quoted and
cited, 394, 403, 405, 411, 413,
414415.

School grant, 171.

Schools, denominational system of,
174.

Schooners, fishing, 298-299, 318.

Scotch, success of, with the Indians,
194,

Scoter ducks, 385.

Sculpin, the, 349.

Sea-coots, 385.

Seal, the harp, 365-366; the bay,
369-370; the ringed, 371; the
hooded, 371-372; the gray, 373.

INDEX

Seal hunting, 20, 144, 145, 168-169,
361-362, 369.

Sealskin-boot-making industry, 243,
248.

Seasons in Labrador, 74-80.

Seine-nets for cod fishing, 304-805.

Seven Islands Bay, 62.

Seven Islands trading-station, 193;
Indians at, 196.

Shark, the sleepy, 350-351.

Shearwaters, the, 384.

‘‘Shebeens,’”’ 175.

Shrimps, 475-476.

Sir Donald, Mount, 58.

Sir Donald, hospital vessel, 240.

Slaves, Labrador Indians taken as, 9.

Sleds, construction of, 208.

Smith, Sir Donald A., 240.

Snow-shoes, styles of, 208-209.

Spain, market for fish in, 320.

Sparrow, the savanna, 380; white-
crowned, 385-386; tree, 386;
Lincoln’s, 386-387; fox, 387.

Spearing fish, 206.

Sperm whale, the, 357-358.
Steamers, for fishing and sealing, 168;
for whale hunting, 359-360.

Stone age, relics of the, 47—48, 58.

Stratheona, Lord, 182, 240.

Strathcona, hospital steamer, 240-
241.

Striped Island, 99.

Sulphur-bottom whales, 352, 354~
355.

Sunday, rule against fishing on, 165.

Swaine, Captain, 33.

Swallows, species of, 389-390.

Szkolny, John, 5.

Tamarack, shoots of, as an emergency
food, 422.

Tasker, Mr. and Mrs., 197.

Telegraph system, 170-171.

Temperature, summer, 71-73.

Temperatures of coastal waters, 292-
294.

Temple Bay, 22.

Thompson-Seton, Ernest, cited, 422

Thoresby, Mount, 110.

Thresher whales, 356.

INDEX

Thrush, the Alice’s, 387-388;
hermit, 389.

Tides, 43-44, 68, 301.

Timber land, grants of, 172-173.

Torngat Range, 100-101, 109, 111.

Trappers, the, 226.

Trawl fishing for cod, 303-304.

Trees, along Hamilton River, 147,
157. See Forests.

Trout, lake, 204—205.

Trout fishing, 46, 78; at Hamilton
Inlet, 145-146; on upper Hamil-
ton River, 158.

Truck Act of 1831, 247 n.

Truck system of trade,
break up, 240, 247.

Tuberculosis, prevalence of, 178, 179,
256-257.

Tundra, defined, 410.

Turner, Lucius M., cited, 197, 198.

Typhoid fever, brought by Eskimos
from Chicago Exposition, 179;
anecdote concerning a patient
with, 231.

Tyrrell, J. B., 259.

effort to

Uinastikai, Indian food, 211-212.
Ukasiksalik (Davis Inlet), 11, 45, 181.
Urelia McKinnon, mission boat, 240.

Vessels, of Northmen and of Colum-
bus, 3; hospital, 236 ff.; in
fisheries, 298-299, 318.

Vikings, Labrador voyages of, 1-4.

Vinland, 3, 4.

Volcanic formations, 99 ff., 103.

Voyages of the Cabots and Corte-
Reals, Biggar’s, 7.

Wallace, Dillon, 162-163.

Walrus, killing off of, 362-363;
slight value of, to the white man,
363-364; size and habits, 364;
value to Eskimo, 364-365.

2m

529

the | Warblers, Tennessee and Wilson’s,

387; common and _ black-poll,
388-389; Canadian and other
varieties, 389.

Waswanipi Lake, derivation of name,
206.

Water-birds, 381-385.

West St. Modiste, codperative store
at, 241.

Whale factories, 358.

Whale hunting, 358-360.

Whale Island, 62.

Whale River, the smaller, 199.

Whales, physiology of, 352-354;
six species of, 354; sulphur-
bottom, 354-355; finback, 355;
humpback, 355-356; white, 356;
thresher, or killer, 356; the
grampus and porpoise, 357;
sperm, or cachalot, 357-358; the
narwhale, 358; food of, 358;
hunting and cutting up of, 358-
361; figures of the industry, 361.

Whitbourne, quoted, 84.

Whitefish, in upper Hamilton River,
158; (labradoricus), taking the,
205.

White Handkerchief, Cape, 44-45.

Whiteway, Sir William, 290.

Windigo, evil spirit, 223.

Winokapau Lake, 149-150.

Wolstenholme, Cape, 55.

Wolves, with caribou herds, 215;
resemblance of Labrador dogs
to, 272-274; respect of, for man,
274.

Women, life of Indian, 215-216.

Wocd, Francis H., 260 ff.

Yachting, Labrador as a field for,
41-44,

Zeno, Antonio, narrative of, 4—5.
Zoar, Moravian Mission station, 35

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