Labrador coast as far as Hamilton inlet, where he could have 

 procured "snares for game and needles for net-making" from the 

 Eskimo of that vicinity. 



Sebastian Cabot, son of John Cabot, in his memorable 

 voyage brought back with him "three savage men," who "were 

 clothed in the beastes skinnes and ate raw flesh, and spake such 

 speech that no man could understand them"; these are unde- 

 niably Eskimo. 



Curiously enough, Jacques Cartier does not mention meeting 

 any Eskimo in the Strait of Belle Isle. Gosling^ takes this as 

 evidence that the Eskimo did not begin to frequent the Gulf of 

 St. Lawrence until drawn thither by the desire to obtain iron 

 tools and fishing gear from the Basque, French, and English 

 fishermen; but the inference is not conclusive. It might have 

 been an off year for Eskimo migration, due to disease or some 

 religious taboo, as often happens, or Cartier might have simply 

 missed the wandering bands. One thing is certain; when the 

 French began settling on the coast in 1702 they found the Es- 

 kimo in considerable numbers on the north shore of the Gulf of 

 St. Lawrence, as far west as Mingan. 



The first attempt to found a permanent settlement on the 

 Labrador coast was by Courtemanche, about 1704, who estab- 

 lished a fishing and trading post at Bay Philypeaux, now Bodore. 

 His concession extended from Kegashet (now the Kegashka 

 river) to Kessessasskiou (Hamilton inlet). Here, with a party 

 of forty French-Canadian servants and thirty or forty Monta- 

 gnais hunters, he lived the life of a grand seigneur, carrying on an 

 extensive fishery, and trading with the natives. He was greatly 

 annoyed by the Eskimo in the establishment of his fishing sta- 

 tions. During the winter, they tore down his stages, destroyed 

 his nets, and stole his boats. He tried to make peace with them, 

 but was unsuccessful. The number of Eskimo in southern 

 Labrador at this time must have been considerable. A con- 

 temporary anonymous author estimated them at 30,000.^ 



' Gosling, Op. cit., pp. 165-166. 



'This number is evidently an exaggeration. 3,000 would probably be nearer the actual 

 number. Courtemanche writes that a band who visited him in 1716 numbered about 800. 

 Palliser made peace at Chateau in 1765 with 400 Eskimo, which may be considered the sur- 

 vivors, at that date, of the southern bands. 



