466 



LABRADOR. 



LANDS, PUBLIC. 



The summer of Labrador corresponds almost 

 with the English summer, from the middle of 

 June (when snow disappears) to the middle of 

 September. The arctic current freezes the 

 coast, but has little effect inland. Twelve 

 miles from the coast begins a luxurious forest- 

 growth. Toward the north are barren moors, 

 the homes of large herds of caribou. Randle 

 F. Holme says : " A journey of twenty or 

 thirty miles inland in summer-time, up the 

 country from the sea, is like passing from win- 

 ter to summer. The southern coast rises ab- 

 rupt from the water's edge 200 feet, increasing 

 to 500, and on the eastern coast to 1,400, until 

 it reaches nearly 6,000, then diminishing in 

 height until we reach the northern Cape Chid- 

 ley, which is about 1,500 feet high. The 

 mountains consist chiefly of Laurentian gneiss 

 and red syenite, with characteristic scenery. 



The greater part of the interior is table-land 

 over 2,000 feet high, slowly falling toward the 

 northwest until it reaches Hudson and Ungava 

 Bays. Most of the streams are formed by a 

 chain of ponds, connected by rapids and water- 

 falls, in an uncommon way. The southern 

 part is especially well watered, and the whole 

 interior is dotted with large lakes. The In- 

 dians are acquainted with a system of internal 

 navigation joining the Seven Islands, Mingan, 

 and the mouth of St. Augustine river, on the 

 south coast, with Northwest river on the east, 

 and Ungava on the north. The largest stream 

 is South river, which flows into Ungava Bay 

 the harbor resembling very much that of Lon- 

 don. In consequence of the mountainous and 

 broken features of the southern and eastern 

 coast, there are innumerable good harbors. 



The Government is represented by the Hud- 

 son Bay Company only. In summer there is 

 mail communication from Newfoundland as far 

 as Nain, but only once in winter. There is 

 an English mission-house in Cartwright, and 

 farther northward are several Moravian mis- 

 sion and trading settlements. 



The accompanying map was compiled for 

 the " Annual Cyclopaedia " by Frederick Leuth- 

 ner, according to the latest explorations. The 

 hydrographic charts, a map of the Moravian 

 Brethren, and the explorations of Hind, Ran- 

 dle F. Holme, and A. S. Packard furnished the 

 material. 



From Hamilton inlet along the coast live a 

 large number of Eskimo and half-breeds, in 

 scattered homesteads, who are occupied in sal- 

 mon-fishing, trapping in winter, and hunting 

 seal in spring. They are civilized, and have 

 received Christian education by the Moravian 

 Brethren; but those toward the north are pa- 

 gan and uncivilized, and live in snow-houses. 

 In the interior live a considerable number of 

 Red Indians of the Cree nation, in families. 

 They are nomadic, and in spring camp near 

 the Hudson Bay Company's posts for trading. 

 Their tents and canoes are very light, made of 

 birch-bark or deer-hide, and they walk long 

 distances over the snow. Newfoundlanders 



visit the coast in spring, returning home at the 

 close of the fishing-season. 



The most common birds are wild geese, 

 black ducks, shell-birds, divers, loons, and 

 plover. Salmon, trout, and white fish are 

 very common. No cattle can be kept. Iron 

 is plentiful, and a beautiful stone called " Lab- 

 radorite" may be seen about the beach of 

 Hamilton inlet. Eskimo dogs are kept in large 

 quantities. Mosquitoes and black flies are said 

 to be worse than anywhere else. 



LAXDS, PUBLIC. The public lands of the 

 United States lie within the boundaries of six- 

 teen States Alabama, Arkansas, California, 

 Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, 

 Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ne- 

 braska, Nevada, Oregon, and Wisconsin and 

 eight Territories Arizona, Dakota, Idaho, 

 Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and 

 Wyoming which are known as " Land States 

 and Territories." A few isolated tracts remain 

 also in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The esti- 

 mated area of the public lands, exclusive of 

 Alaska, is 603,448,145-40 acres, of which, 83,- 

 158,990-51 acres have been restored to the 

 public domain since March 4, 1885. The re- 

 covery of 148,179,528-84 additional acres has 

 been recommended to Congress. The only 

 States that have not, at some time, contained 

 public lands, are the thirteen original colo- 

 nies, and Kentucky, Vermont, Maine, West 

 Virginia, Tennessee, and Texas. Maps of the 

 public-land States and Territories are prepared 

 by the General Land Office at Washington. 



History. The public domain, as distinguished 

 from and included within the national domain, 

 of 4,000,000 square miles, embraces all lands 

 acquired by the United States Government by 

 treaty, conquest, cession of States and pur- 

 chase, which are disposed of under and by its 

 authority. (Article IV of the Constitution, 

 section 3). It contained 2,843,575-91 square 

 miles. The nucleus of this domain was an 

 area of 404,955-91 square miles, ceded by seven 

 of the original thirteen States to the General 

 Government under the Articles of Confedera- 

 tion and the Constitution, after the definitive 

 treaty of Sept. 3, 1783. These cessions of un- 

 occupied chartered territory, extending to the 

 Mississippi river, claimed often under conflict- 

 ing grants, were made respectively by the 

 States of. New -York, Virginia, Massachusetts, 

 Connecticut, North and South Carolina, and 

 Georgia, at intervals between March 1, 1781, 

 and April 24, 1802. The first was volunteered 

 by the State of New York, after previous dis- 

 cussion of expediency in Congress, and the 

 passage of a resolution, Oct. 30, 1779, disap- 

 proving of the disposal of Western lands by 

 States holding them. The total number of 

 acres disposed of by State authority prior to 

 June 30, 1796, was 1,484,047. Receipts, 

 $1.201,725.68. 



A peculiar feature of the cession by North 

 Carolina of the territory now constituting the 

 State of Tennessee (45,600 square miles) was 



