LABRADOR JOURNAL 267 



insist on their eating tiieni. i then hit upon an 

 expedient whieh was of singular help to nie; for 

 on cateliing- the tirst wliite-fox, I skinned him 

 \\ith great care and ate him myself, telling my 

 l)eoi)le, thai a white-fox was superior to a hare. 

 This set them a longing; and then, by way of an 

 indulgence, I gave them all we caught aftenvards; 

 ))ut the fact was, thev were no better than those 

 of other colours; they however satisfied the cra- 

 vings of the appetite, and kept us from famishing. 

 Before thev went off this morning, I had the sat- 

 isfaction to receive their voluntarv thanks for not 

 giving way to their unreasonable demands; they 

 being now convinced, that we must all inevitably 

 have perished if I had. 



Tui'yiihijj, June 8, 1779. This was a teriible, bad 

 day. The ground is greatly flooded, and I fear 

 the rivers will overflow. If any ships are on this 

 coast now, God help them! unless they are pirat- 

 ical privateers, coming to plunder innocent peo- 

 l)le again: for such, I recommend to their friend 

 the D -1. 



Fridcuj, J arte 11, 1779. I got a shot at about 

 fully eider-dueks, pretty well doubled up, and 

 killed three; also ei'i])j)led five or six more, but 

 got only one. Upon examining the down of these 

 ducks, whicli is so valuable, warm, elastic, and 

 b'ght, 1 round tliat it gi'ows out of the body in 

 tlic in;iiinei- of ;i rc'itlici-; whose whole length, 

 bolli mI" (piill ;ind shaft, is cxti-emely line, and does 

 not exceed one tenfh oi' .-m iii<-li in lengih. On this 

 grows a buncli of feather}' substances, resembling 



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