17 



supplied with firearms by the French. They retreated north- 

 eastward to the Strait of Belle Isle, where they maintained 

 themselves until about 1760 in a fortified camp on an island near the 

 western end. Here they were again attacked and completely 

 routed by overpowering numbers of French and Indians. Tra- 

 dition places this last battle at Battle harbour, and gives the 

 number of Eskimo slain as a thousand souls, which is probably 

 an exaggeration. 



The Eskimo were at a distinct disadvantage in the fighting 

 on land, as the Indians were in larger numbers and possessed 

 superior weapons. But it is said that once the Eskimo could 

 draw them away from the coast, the condition was reversed. 

 The story still lingers in the vicinity that it was the practice 

 of the Eskimo to lure bands of the Indians to the islands adjacent 

 to the coast, by a single kayaker acting as a decoy, where the 

 main body would descend on them when the Indians were off 

 their guard, take possession of their canoes, and massacre the 

 whole outfit. A certain island on the Labrador coast is said to 

 take its name of Massacre island from such an occasion. 



After their defeat on the south coast, the Eskimo retreated 

 northward and established themselves at Hamilton inlet, then 

 called Ivuktoke or Eskimo bay. A few stragglers remained in 

 Sandwich bay, the next inlet south of Hamilton inlet. Some 

 authorities are of the opinion that the Labrador Eskimo never 

 settled permanently farther south than Hamilton inlet, and that 

 the large bands encountered by early French and English ex- 

 plorers were summer voyagers from the north. It is true that 

 after this date the Eskimo descended into the strait from their 

 strongholds in the north, but it would appear that the presence 

 of fortified settlements, camps, and burying grounds south of 

 Hamilton inlet, as well as archaeological material extending as far 

 south as the state of New York, were evidence of at least a 

 scattered population. The Eskimo rarely inhabit a border 

 country in heavy numbers, but prefer a screen of hunting ter- 

 ritory between themselves and their inveterate enemies, the 

 Indians, over which small bands wander with caution. This is 

 true of northern Alaska, the Mackenzie and Coppermine districts, 

 Hudson bay, and Labrador as well. So we may judge from the 



