SOME LABRADOR RIVERS 



of the Manitou River rising up in the dark 

 forest as we steamed along the coast, even if I 

 could not see the falls themselves, which are a 

 mile and a half from the shore. The river is the 

 third or fourth in magnitude on the coast, and 

 the falls, which make a sheer descent of 1 13 feet, 

 must be of considerable grandeur and beauty. 

 Hind relates that the " Manitou River takes 

 its name from the following incident, which is 

 often described in Montagnais wigwams to 

 eager listeners never weary of repetition. About 

 200 years ago, when the Lower St. Lawrence was 

 first visited by the Jesuits, the Montagnais 

 were at war with the Souriquois or Micmacs 

 of Acadia, who inhabited the south shore of the 

 St. Lawrence and the country now called New 

 Brunswick. A large party of Micmacs had 

 crossed over the estuary of the St. Lawrence at 

 its narrowest point and coasted towards Seven 

 Islands, but not finding any Montagnais there, 

 they descended during the night-time to the 

 Moisie, and thence to the Manitou River, down 

 which stream a few Montagnais bands were 

 accustomed to come from the interior to the 

 coast, to fish for salmon and seals. The Micmacs 

 landed some miles before they reached the 



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