THE HAMILTON RIVER AND THE GRAND FALLS 159 



ably used as kitchen and shop. The foundation of an- 

 other small building about twenty yards in the rear is 

 probably the remains of the servants' house, while the 

 powder-magazine, half buried in the ground, stands farther 

 back. Adjoining is a small burying-ground with a large 

 cross in the centre; no marks were found on the graves. 

 In the attic of the main building a fragment of the Albion 

 of March 7, 1846, was found. Close to the house are several 

 patches of rhubarb in a flourishing condition. The whole 

 forms the ruined remains of what corresponded to a typical 

 inland post of to-day, as, for example, those of Nichicun and 

 Mistassini. Such a post is in charge of a postmaster, usually 

 graduated from the ranks of the superior servants of the 

 larger posts, and married to an Indian woman. He has 

 generally two or three Indians or half-breeds under him, 

 and these with their families make up the settlement. 

 Owing to the great distances from the coast and the diffi- 

 culties of transportation, the amount of civilized provisions 

 brought in is small, and the daily ration is very meagre. 

 About one pound of flour per day falls to the share of each 

 family, with tea and sugar in proportion, so that all must 

 look to the country for food. This is largely provided by 

 nets, as the posts are always located conveniently to some 

 good fishing lake. Ptarmigan and other game birds 

 provide most of the flesh, supplemented with caribou, bear, 

 beaver, lynx, muskrat, and rabbits. 



At Nichicun potatoes will not grow in the short summer 

 season, and this was probably the case at Nascaupee, so 

 that the farinaceous food was limited to the family share 

 of the daily pound of flour. The life at an inland post is a 

 lonely one. With the departure of the ice in spring, the 



