74 LABRADOR 



In a country like Labrador the seasons are so marked, 

 and bring with them such great changes, that one must 

 know exactly at what time to come in order to enjoy any 

 favourite pastime to the best advantage, or pursue any 

 particular object. One visitor landed on the coast, and we 

 drove him over a frozen harbour in the end of May. He 

 had been enjoying fresh strawberries at home before he 

 left, and expected to find summer here, and not our last 

 month of winter. I may therefore give a brief description 

 of the seasons so that one can tell at a glance what is likely 

 to be going on at any particular portion of the year. 



January. The second coldest of the winter months; 

 only occasional temperatures above freezing, and then only 

 for a short spelt. The whole country everywhere is under 

 ice and snow. The first winter mail arrives from Quebec 

 by dog train. Natural bridges make it possible to cross 

 all the rivers, bays, and arms of the sea. Thus, travelling 

 is usually begun in this month, though in the green woods 

 snow is not yet hard packed, and consequently one has to go 

 round the " drogues," as we call them. The dogs are able 

 to go fifty to sixty miles in a day. The shortness of the 

 days is the chief drawback. The settlers are all in their 

 homes in the woods at the heads of the bays. They are 

 trapping fur, hunting deer, and lumbering. The great 

 herds of deer are in the low marshes and woods near the 

 land-wash, and are often obtainable in great plenty. Willow 

 grouse and rabbits are plentiful at times in the woods. 

 Harp seals are being netted as they pass south along the 

 Labrador coast. The sea is impossible to navigation, ex- 

 cept now and again in the Strait of Belle Isle. 



February. The coldest month with seldom any " let up" 



