110 THE LABRADOR PENINSULA. CHAP. vn. 



Indians die so quickly when they go to the coast ? ' I said, 

 as we returned to nay tent. 



' Well, perhaps,' said Pierre, ' because they marry so 

 much together in one family. It is the same every- 

 where in " the woods." 



Among the Ojibways, all the way from Lake Superior 

 to Eed Eiver, intermarriages form the rule instead of the 

 exception. One may visit a small camp, and find them 

 all cousins, or brothers, or half-brothers, or half-cousins, 

 but nearly always related to one another. It is curious 

 that the children of a brother and sister can marry, but 

 the children of two brothers or of two sisters cannot. 

 They call one another brother and sister. One often finds 

 that the first wife, even if she has no children, is mistress 

 over the others, the younger ones doing the work. The 

 wives call each other sisters, and the children of one call 

 the others aunts. 



After breakfast we passed the second Gorge without 

 great difficulty. The labour was severe, but there was 

 no necessity for discharging any part of our cargo. 

 The men and some of the gentlemen were compelled 

 to wade occasionally, when the water was shallow close 

 in shore,- and the current too strong for paddles, and too 

 deep for poles in the main channel. 



The presence of boulders in the middle of the stream 

 was sometimes very troublesome, requiring great care 

 and hard labour to get past them. 



Bitterly did the men complain among themselves of the 

 current of the Moisie, and they looked aghast at the 

 answer Michel gave to the following questions which 

 I put to him when we ah 1 stopped to rest. 



