id - LABRADOR 
from cold temperate in its southern parts to sub-Arctic 
on the shores of Hudson Strait. The climate of the in- 
terior is Arctic in winter, but during the short summer is 
much warmer than the coast, with hot days, cool nights, 
and occasional frosts, so that heavy blankets are always 
comfortable. The annual rainfall is not heavy, and during 
the summer heavy rains are rare; light showers fall almost 
daily, but are not very inconvenient to the traveller. The 
northern limit of trees extends to the southern shores of 
Ungava Bay. About the upper waters of Hamilton River, 
the valleys are thickly wooded with small spruce, fir, aspen, 
and poplar, while the hills are partly bare. There is a 
marked absence of underbrush, the ground being carpeted 
with white lichens on the higher parts and with mosses in 
the damp lowlands. Blueberries and other small fruits 
are abundant in the burnt areas and along the banks of 
streams. 
“Owing to the high coastal range along the Atlantic, 
the only large rivers flowing eastward empty into the head 
of Hamilton Inlet, which itself is cut through the range. 
The Hamilton River is by far the largest of these; next 
in size is Northwest River, the outlet of Lake Michikamou, 
a very large body of water some three hundred miles inland 
to the northwest. The Kenamow is the third, and flows 
from the highlands to the southwest. 
“Some knowledge of the interior of Labrador was pos- 
sessed by the French in 1700, as shown by the map pub- 
lished at Paris, by Delisle, in 1703. This information was 
probably obtained from Jesuit missionaries and fur traders. 
By 1733, seven fur-trading posts had been established along 
the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and in the 
southern interior. 
“The fight for the fur trade, between the Northwest 
Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company, lasting from 
shortly after the conquest of Canada until 1820, led to the 
establishment of many small posts and outposts far in the 
