THE INDIANS 199 



The lake and river route from the middle George to 

 Chimo leads westerly to Whale River. This is not the 

 Whale River mentioned in connection with the coastal 

 Indians, which is a great stream of the Hudson Bay slope. 

 The present river is smaller, and is known to the Indians 

 as Manouan, " Egg-gathering Place." They describe the 

 route as a hard one, and the Manouan as alinum, " diffi- 

 cult." The river route eastward to the Atlantic is not 

 difficult for a light party, but as it includes more than twenty 

 lakes with many long portages between, it is hard to follow 

 without a guide, and is at best rather formidable for a loaded 

 party. 



Formerly some of the southern Indians came up North- 

 west River and hunted on its upper waters and those of 

 rivers flowing eastward into the Atlantic. Their country, 

 poor at best, suffered by fire ; fish were small, the caribou 

 more and more uncertain. Finding that the deer summered 

 in the unoccupied lake country south of the Nascaupees 

 and west of Hopedale, they adopted that region and gave 

 up the difficult Northwest River route. Having changed 

 their trading-point to Seven Islands, the easier route by 

 the upper Hamilton and Lake Michikamau was very direct. 

 The number of these families varies from half a dozen to 

 as many as fifteen or more. Their summer route finally 

 reaches the east coast by the Notaquanon (" Porcupine- 

 hunting-place ' ' ) River. 



In winter, they can traverse the country without much 

 reference to watercourses. The camps are in sheltered 

 places, where there are trees enough to protect from the 

 wind, and are almost always near water. The ice becomes 

 too thick to be cut through easily, but whenever there is 



