Squatters in Labrador. 2>'^'^ 



quitoes, and other insects filled the air, and were as ti-ou- 

 blesome to me as if I had been in a Florida swamp. 

 The squatter returned, but he was ' chopfallen ; ' nay, I 

 thought his visage had assumed a cadaverous hue. Tears 

 ran down his cheeks, and he told me that his barrel of 

 rum had been stolen by the ' eggers ' or some fishermen. 

 He said that he had been in the habit of hiding it in the 

 bushes to prevent its being carried away by those merci- 

 less thieves, who must have watched him in some of his 

 frequent walks to the spot. 'Now,' said he, 'I can ex- 

 pect none till next spring, and God knows what will be- 

 come of me in the winter.' Pierre Jean Baptiste Michaux, 

 * had resided in that part of the world for upwards of ten 

 years ; he had run away from the fishing-smack that had 

 brought him from his fair native land, and expected to 

 become rich some day by the sale of his furs, skins, and 

 eider-ducks' down, seal-skins, and other articles which he 

 collected yearly, and sold to the traders who regularly 

 visited his dreary abode. He was of moderate stature, 

 firmly framed, and as active as a wild cat.' He told me 

 that, excepting the loss of his rum, he had never experi- 

 enced any other cause of sorrow, and that he felt as 

 ' happy as a lord.' Before parting with this fortunate 

 mortal, I inquired how his dogs managed to find sufficient 

 food. * Why, sir, during spring and summer they ramble 

 along the shores, where they meet with abundance of 

 dead fish, and in winter they eat the flesh of the seals 

 which I kill late in the autumn, when these animals return 

 from the north. As to myself, everything eatable is good, 

 and when hard pushed, I assure you I can relish the fare 

 of my dogs just as much as they do themselves.' Pro- 

 ceeding along the rugged indentations of the bay with my 

 companions, I reached the settlement of another person, 

 who, like the first, had come to Labrador with the view 

 of making his fortune. We found him after many diffi- 



