THE ST. LAWRENCE ISLANDS. 147 



unimpaired. It appeared more and more enigma- 

 tical to me, how the population could be so scanty, 

 and yet the health of the people so durable, till 

 Kadu gave me the following reason ; on account 

 of the scarcity of provisions, the barbarous and 

 revolting law prevails, that no mother is allowed 

 to bring up more than three children j the rest 

 must be sacrificed. We ourselves experienced 

 the beneficent influence of this climate on the 

 body ; as, notwithstanding the want of fresh pro- 

 visions, we were never better in health. 



Up to the 6th of March, we enjoyed the finest 

 weather, and a mild E.N.E. wind. In the night, 

 a calm prevailed, which is very unusual ; and, on 

 the 7th, the N.E. monsoon changed, for the first 

 time, during our stay at Radack, to N.W. and W. 

 It rained, at the same time, very violently till 

 sunset. On the following morning, the wind again 

 blew from the N.E., and the sun shone brightly. 

 The barometer is not generally subject to great 

 alterations between the tropics, distant from high 

 land ; we likewise observed none, setting aside the 

 daily oscillation, except during the west wind, 

 when it fell four lines. 



The 9th and 10th, we could do no work on 

 board, on account of the heavy rain, and therefore 

 hurried to finish on the 11th, while the fine weather 

 permitted us. According to our observations, which 

 were confirmed by Kadu, the E.N.E. wind is the 

 most usual at Radack, It is, however, said, that the 



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