144 LABRADOR 
and winter’s fur hunt, they obtain food and clothing, to- 
gether with a few “luxuries.” Early in the summer they 
leave their houses on the inlet for the outer coast, where 
they engage in the cod-fishing, usually with nets and gear 
provided by some Newfoundland fishing firm. As a rule, 
the amount of fish caught does not pay for the advances 
of provisions and clothing at the prices charged by the 
merchants, so they get deeper and deeper in debt year by 
year. At the close of the cod-fishery they return to their 
houses on the inlet, stopping on the way at the Hudson’s 
Bay posts, where they receive other advances of provisions 
and clothing to be charged against their coming winter’s 
hunt. Arriving home, they dig their potatoes and catch 
and freeze trout, which swarm in the mouths of all the 
streams at this season. As soon as sufficient snow falls, 
they set their traps for marten, fox, otter, lynx, and other 
fur-bearing animals. Each hunter has a “path” or line 
of traps fifty miles or more in length. A single winter 
visit to all the traps on the line may involve a week’s 
journey. Small “shacks” or shelters, where the hunters 
may pass the night, are built at convenient distances along 
the path. 
With the advent of spring, the skins get out of condition, 
and the fur path is abandoned for the seal hunt. These 
animals are killed by shooting them on the ice, where they 
come up through cracks and holes to bask in the sun. 
Later, when the ice leaves, they are caught in heavy nets. 
By the time the seal hunt is over, the garden dug, and 
potatoes planted, it is time to go to the outer coast for the 
cod-fishery. 
This is the yearly round of the planter. It applies all 
