OE EED INDIANS OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 161 



half. The coiirse of it rau through a marsh, as it is called, or bog', aud over some soft 

 ground. But on examination it is found that over all such places they had laid a pave- 

 ment of stones. Though these must have in some measure sunk in su>;h ground and the 

 moss has partly covered them, yet the sort of causeway which they formed can still be 

 traced. To the least intelligent observer it is manifest that they were placed there by the 

 hands of men. And they have been carried some distance. There is a slaty rock on the 

 river below from which they had taken slabs from two to three «feet in length and 

 breadth. It is probable that there was first laid down a layer of poles or brush to sup- 

 port them. This work must have been done after the Beothiks were driven from the 

 coast aud obliged to retire to the interior, when their original numbers were reduced. 



Another circumstance connected with this place may be mentioned, communicated to 

 me by Mr. Bradshaw. If the lowest of these rapids could be passed in canoes so much of 

 the river immediately above would bo navigable that the portage would be reduced to 

 about half a mile. But it is very difficult to do this, as a fall of water comes in from the 

 side and it requires quick and very powerful strokes, especially from the man in the stern, 

 to prevent the canoe from being swung under it. Two of the Micmacs in his employ- 

 ment attempted the passage, but their canoe was caught in the descending water and 

 upset, so that they lost its contents and themselves were in danger in the pool below. In 

 consequence fhey do not now try it. But they pointed out to Mr. B. the remains of Red 

 Indian encampments just at the foot of the upper rapids, marking that as their point of 

 embarking on the river. From the signs observed they regarded it as certain that that 

 people were in the habit of shooting the lower rapids, and they adduced this as evidence 

 of their superior strength. The point is one on which they could scarcely be mistaken, 

 and it is sufficient to show at least that the Beothiks were most expert canoemen, and per- 

 haps that their canoes were better fitted for such work than those of the Micmacs. 



Mr. Lloyd did not find many of their remains at the lake, doubtless from their being- 

 covered with vegetation. But at various points on the coast their kitchen middens have 

 been discovered, affording a variety of specimens of their stone implements and other re- 

 mains of their art. Perhaps the most important find of this kind was made in 18*75 on 

 Long Island, Placentia Bay. At the depth of from six to twelve inches beneath the sur- 

 face, where there had been a stout growth of timber, there was found a qitantity of arrow 

 and spear heads, gouges, axes, rubbing aud sharpeuiug stones, and a pot shaped out of 

 serpentine. The arrow and spear heads were in every stage of manufacture from the first 

 block rudely shaped out of the raw material to the completely finished implement. 



Mr. Lloyd mentions the following additional places where their remains have been 

 found, starting from St. John's northward round the island : Fox Island, Randra Sound, 

 Trinity Bay, Funk Island, Twillingate Island, Notre Dame Bay at Bay of Exploits and 

 Hares Bay, Granby Island and Sops Island "White Bay, Conche Harbour, How Harbour, 

 Hare Bay, Bonne Bay, Mouth of Flat Bay Brook, St. George's Bay and Codroy River. 

 These are all on the sea coast. Any sites of the kind inland must be covered with vege- 

 tation, but considering how much of the coast is uninhabited and the soil undisturbed, it 

 is probable that there are many more such places. Altogether the indications are that 

 the Beothiks were numerous for an Indian tribe, and that they occupied this region for a 

 lengthened period. 



Of the implements thus found the principal are axe and chisel shaped tools of polished 



Sec. II, 1891. 21. 



