Squatters in Labrador. 355 



eluded himself from the world. For // he had no relish, 

 and although he had received a liberal education and had 

 mixed with society, he never intended to return to it. 

 'The country round,' said he, 'is all my own much farther 

 than you can see. No fees, no lawyers, no taxes are here. 

 I do pretty much as I choose. My means are ample 

 through my own industry. These vessels come here for 

 seal-skins, seal oil, and salmon, and give me in return all 

 the necessaries, and, indeed, comforts of the life I love to 

 follow; and what else could the world afford me?' I 

 spoke of the education of his children. ' My wife and I 

 teach them all that is useful for them to know, and is not 

 that enough? My girls will marry their countrymen, my 

 sons the daughters of my neighbors, and I hope all of 

 them will live and die in the country.' I said no more, 

 but by way of compensation for the trouble I had given 

 him, purchased from his eldest child a beautiful fox-skin. 

 Few birds, he said, came round in summer, but in winter 

 thousands of ptarmigans were killed, as well as great 

 numbers of gulls. He had a great dislike to all fisher- 

 men and eggers, and I really believe was always glad to 

 see the departure of even the hardy navigators who an- 

 nually visited him for the sake of his salmon, his seal- 

 skins, and oil. He had more than forty Esquimaux dogs ; 

 and as I was caressing one of them he said, ' Tell my 

 brother-in-law at Bras-d'Or that we are all well here, and 

 that after visiting my wife's father I will give him a call. 

 " Now, reader, his wife's father resided at the distance 

 of seventy miles down the coast, and" like himself was a 

 recluse. He of Bras-d* Or was at double that distance; 

 but when the snows of winter have thickly covered the 

 country, the whole family in sledges drawn by dogs travel 

 with ease and pay their visits or leave their cards. This 

 good gentleman had already resided there more than 

 twenty years. Should he ever read this article, J desire 



