HISTORY OF NEWFOUNDLAND MICMACS 219 



run of four or five miles it slows down and is eventually 

 overtaken. 



In 1822 the Micmacs were professedly Roman Catholics, 

 with a dash of the Totem Pole thrown in. They blended 

 their own particular ceremonies with the worship of God, and 

 were besides that very superstitious. To-day they are all 

 Roman Catholics, and show the greatest respect for their 

 priest, who lives in Harbour Breton and visits Conn River 

 twice a year for the purpose of holding the confessional, 

 receiving subscriptions to the Church, and performing mar- 

 riages. During these visits the Indians are very devout, and 

 listen to their pastor with close attention. They are very 

 generous with their money, and do whatever he tells them. 

 At Christmas Joe Jeddore is high priest, and conducts the 

 Sunday service. 



It is a common saying in Newfoundland that the Indians 

 are dying out, but the following notes given to me by Joe 

 Jeddore and five other Indians speak for themselves. They 

 are not dying out, but have left certain old stations owing 

 to the pressure of the white man and the exhaustion of the 

 hunting-grounds in the neighbourhood of the coast and 

 railway. Consequently they have concentrated at the Conn 

 River in Bay Despair, and make this their headquarters, from 

 which they work the whole of the central portion of the main 

 island, south of the Red Indian Lake. Altogether there are 

 twenty-five families at Conn River to-day, consisting of about 

 125 souls. These, added to the few individuals in other 

 parts of Newfoundland, make a total very similar to that 

 given by Cormack in 1822. All the able-bodied men are 

 hunters and trappers. They also do a little lumbering in the 

 spring, and the routine of their lives is as follows. They live 

 at home in their houses from February to April, eating dried 



