68 FISHERIES OP THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC 



work and soon exhausted, and cause the death of a great 

 many persons. A great advantage for this establishment 

 will be that the river Kessessaki is much frequented by the 

 Esquimaux, who are adroit in the chase and in the fishery, and 

 will be able to render great service to the French and furnish 

 them with quantities of fish, oils, walrus teeth, caribou skins, 

 and valuable furs. 



"This immense country is filled with animals. 



"It is said that the Esquimaux number more than thirty 

 thousand. They have no communication with any Europeans 

 nor with other savages, from whom they differ greatly. 

 They have no beards, are light colored, well made and very 

 adroit. They clothe themselves very properly in seal skins. 

 They make canoes and boats, the construction of which is 

 admirable, and are good smiths. It is believed that they 

 take their origin from the Icelanders or Norwegians, but per- 

 haps instead they may have originated from the colony the 

 Danes had in Greenland about three hundred years ago, which 

 has since disappeared. Without doubt one will find in their 

 language words of European origin. It is easy to throw 

 light upon them by means of Basque, Icelandic, Norwegian, 

 and Danish languages. 



The Esquimaux are considered extremely savage and in- 

 tractable, ferocious and cruel ; they flee at the sight of Euro- 

 peans, and kill them whenever they are able; but I believe 

 they fly from Europeans because they have been maltreated, 

 fired on, and killed, and if they attack and kill Europeans it 

 is only by way of reprisal. 



"I think that in the beginning of their intercourse with 

 Europeans on their coasts they stole some trifling articles 

 and then fled, but this did not warrant that they should be 

 fired at and killed. 



"Messieurs Jolliet and Constantin, who have visited 

 them, have received a thousand tokens of friendship. M. 

 Courtemanche, who has had eight or ten interviews with 

 them, told me at Versailles in 1713 that they are good, civil, 

 mild, gay, and warm-hearted men and women, and that they 



