52 LABRADOR 



from cold temperate in its southern parts to sub-Arctic 

 on the shores of Hudson Strait. The climate of the in- 

 terior is Arctic in winter, but during the short summer is 

 much warmer than the coast, with hot days, cool nights, 

 and occasional frosts, so that heavy blankets are always 

 comfortable. The annual rainfall is not heavy, and during 

 the summer heavy rains are rare; light showers fall almost 

 daily, but are not very inconvenient to the traveller. The 

 northern limit of trees extends to the southern shores of 

 Ungava Bay. About the upper waters of Hamilton River, 

 the valleys are thickly wooded with small spruce, fir, aspen, 

 and poplar, while the hills are partly bare. There is a 

 marked absence of underbrush, the ground being carpeted 

 with white lichens on the higher parts and with mosses in 

 the damp lowlands. Blueberries and other small fruits 

 are abundant in the burnt areas and along the banks of 

 streams. 



" Owing to the high coastal range along the Atlantic, 

 the only large rivers flowing eastward empty into the head 

 of Hamilton Inlet, which itself is cut through the range. 

 The Hamilton River is by far the largest of these; next 

 in size is Northwest River, the outlet of Lake Michikamou, 

 a very large body of water some three hundred miles inland 

 to the northwest. The Kenamow is the third, and flows 

 from the highlands to the southwest. 



"Some knowledge of the interior of Labrador was pos- 

 sessed by the French in 1700, as shown by the map pub- 

 lished at Paris, by Delisle, in 1703. This information was 

 probably obtained from Jesuit missionaries and fur traders. 

 By 1733, seven fur-trading posts had been established along 

 the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and in the 

 southern interior. 



"The fight for the fur trade, between the Northwest 

 Company and the Hudson's Bay Company, lasting from 

 shortly after the conquest of Canada until 1820, led to the 

 establishment of many small posts and outposts far in the 



