158 LABRADOR 



paradise for fishermen; the swiftly flowing water, in the 

 numerous channels connecting the lake expansions, swarm 

 with large brook trout greedy for any description of lure, 

 from a salmon-fly to a bit of red flannel on a cod-hook. 

 More fish were taken with cod-hooks by the canoemen than 

 I could catch with the regulation rod and tackle. The deep, 

 quiet eddies and the foam-covered spots at the foot of rapids 

 are the resort of lake trout reaching more than twenty 

 pounds in weight. In the rapids the game ouaniniche, or 

 land-locked salmon, may be easily captured with a fly. 

 Whitefish are also seen bobbing about in the thick foam, 

 and take an artificial May-fly; as they jump and fight as 

 fiercely as the ouaniniche, they afford good sport, but, being 

 very tender in the mouth, they are often lost. The willow 

 ptarmigan and Canada goose breed abundantly in this region. 

 The flocks of unmated geese lose their wing-feathers in 

 the summer, and, being unable to fly, may be chased ashore 

 and captured, usually after a most exciting run. Caribou 

 may be secured with little trouble. Bears are not very 

 numerous. 



At the head of the long northwest course, a short stream 

 leads into Lake Petitsikapau, a large, irregularly shaped 

 body of water, separated by a rocky ridge from the head 

 waters of the George River, flowing north into Ungava 

 Bay. On its shore is situated the ruins of Fort Nascaupee, 

 established by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1842, and 

 abandoned in 1873. The ruins stand in a small clearing 

 close to the edge of the lake. The houses were built of small, 

 squared logs with sawn-board roofs. The main building 

 is about twelve by eighteen feet, with a low attic. Smaller 

 buildings adjoined the house on both sides, and were prob- 



