Newfoundland, 3 ^^^ 



the bargain. I spent part of the day drawing, and then 

 visited the wigwanls of the Indians across the bay. We 

 found them, as I expected, all lying down pell-mell in 

 their wigwams, and a strong mixture of blood was per- 

 ceptible in their skins, shape, and deportment: some 

 were almost white, and sorry I am to say, that the nearer 

 they were to our nobler race the filthier and the lazier 

 they were. The women and children were particularly 

 disgusting in this respect. Some of the women were m.a- 

 king baskets, and others came in from collecting a fruit 

 called here the baked apple {RuhtLs chamcBfirous), and 

 when burnt a little it tastes exactly like a roasted apple. 

 The children were catching lobsters and eels, of which 

 there are a great many in the bay, as there are in all the 

 bays of the island, whilst at Labrador this shell-fish is 

 very rare. The young Indians found them by wading to 

 their knees in eel grass. 



" We bargained with two of the hunters to go with our 

 young men into the interior to hunt for caraboos, hares, 

 and partridges, which they agreed to do for a dollar a day. 

 The Indians cook lobsters by roasting them in a pile of 

 brushwood, and eat them without any salt or other con- 

 diment. The caraboos are at this date in ' velvet,' their 

 skins are now light grey, and the flesh poor but tender. 

 The average weight of this animal, when in good condi- 

 tion, is four hundred pounds. In the early part of March 

 they leave the hilly grounds, where no moss or any other 

 food can be obtained, and resort to the shores of the sea 

 to feed on kelp and other sea grasses cut up by the ice 

 and cast up by the waves along the shore. Groups of 

 several hundreds may be seen at one time thus feeding : 

 their flesh here is not much esteemed ; it tastes like in- 

 different, poor, but very tender venison. 



^^ August 17. We should now be ploughing the deep 

 had the wind been fair, but it has been ahead, and we 



