196 THE LABRADOR PENINSULA. CHAP. xn. 



the foot of a high mountain, which he thought might 

 possess some medicinal virtues. He drank frequently of it, 

 and found the effect beneficial. The description given by 

 Pere Arnaud of his journey up the Manicouagan, and his 

 residence with the Montagnais in the interior, is very inte- 

 resting. I met Pere Arnaud at Seven Islands, and also 

 one of the Indians who accompanied him on his perilous 

 journey. The Indian drew a map of the country, which 

 I subsequently compared with one which I obtained 

 from Pierre. The delineations of the windings of the 

 river and of the lakes and portages resembled one another 

 so completely, that if I had not seen the Indian draw the 

 map in my tent I should have thought that one had been 

 copied from the other, on a different scale. 



Pere Arnaud started from the mouth of the Mani- 

 couagan on August 29, 1853, in company with a little 

 flotilla, consisting of seventeen birch-bark canoes, eleven 

 manned by Montaguais who were returning to their hunt- 

 ing-grounds, and six by Nasquapees who had come from 

 the far interior to see the priest of whom they had heard so 

 much from their Montagnais neighbours. A singular inci- 

 dent happened to one of the Nasquapees when they were 

 about halfway on their journey, which may account for 

 some of the extraordinary actions of Indians in the savage 

 state. After a very fatiguing portage, under a hot sun, 

 a Nasquapee suddenly fell down in an unconscious state. 

 They brought him to life again by throwing cold water 

 over him, but as soon as he could stand he became furious 

 and rushed into the woods, articulating sounds which none 

 of his companions could understand. The mountainous 

 character of the country prevented him wandering far, 



