ON THE LABRADOR. 63 



mately three twilligs and a red-breasted merganser made 

 up the bag. Just before we came in sight of Broomfield's 

 house an exceedingly wild seal, of the species known as 

 harbour seal, or bay seal, an animal identical with our 

 common seal, Phoca vitulina, showed at a distance of about 

 three hundred yards, but having evidently had some former 

 experience of boats, it dived immediately, only to reappear 

 some ten minutes later in mid-estuary. 



As a matter of fact, seals are wilder about Labrador than 

 in any waters I have visited, excepting only the Froien off 

 the coast of Norway, a group of bare islands almost cut by 

 the Arctic circle. Of course, the reason of the wariness of 

 the seals in Labrador fiords is not far to seek. The skin, 

 flesh, and blubber form very important assets in the lives 

 of the shore-dwellers. Boots made of sealskin are the 

 universal foot-gear, and fetch about $1.50 to $2 a pair. I 

 afterwards found that in the making of these boots, and 

 indeed in all Arctic needlework, Mrs. Sam Broomfield stood 

 unrivalled even by the Eskimo. She uses the pelt of the 

 common seal for the legs and that of the square-flipper for 

 the soles, while she ornaments the tops with a fringe of 

 ring-seal. Boots and moccasins made by her are sought 

 after far and wide. While I was up country she made 

 me a camera case and a cartridge bag of sealskin, both of 

 which show absolutely no sign of wear, even after the many 

 hard trips they have undergone. 



However, we have travelled ahead of the boat, which 

 soon beached beneath the cabin. Our landing was attended 

 by a dozen huskies, animals which recent fiction has glori- 

 fied beyond their deserts. These dogs, led by a powerful 

 animal called Buller, watched us disembark with their bright 

 eyes. Fiction has told how the moment a husky, van- 

 quished in fight, loses its legs its team-mates fall upon and 

 tear it to pieces, but fiction has not added that a child, 

 or even at night in some instances a strange adult, must 



