THE MONTAGNAIS INDIANS 
— for the benefit and spiritual health of these 
Indians. Indeed the Musquarro missionary 
had come down on the steamer with us, —a 
tall, austere man, a typical robe noir. It was 
in 1660 that the Indians of Seven Islands re- 
quested the Jesuits at Tadousac to send them a 
robe notr, as they dared not go to Tadousac for 
fear of the Iroquois. 
At Musquarro the Indians stay several weeks 
enjoying their religious life, for besides the sale 
of their furs, one of the chief objects of their 
visit to the coast is the attainment of a veneer 
of Christianity. With this veneer they return 
to the Natashquan River and ascend it in 
August for another winter’s work in the interior, 
where, doubtless, some of the veneer wears off, 
and a little paganism crops out. 
Cabot says: ‘‘ Under the strict injunctions 
of the Gulf missionaries, the sound of the 
téuehigan, ‘the ceremonial drum,’ is not heard 
on the summer reserve, but once beyond hearing 
of the missions some remnant of the old rites 
is not far to seek. On the other hand, the 
church calendar is carried everywhere over 
the Montagnais country; each day a pin is 
moved forward and pinned through the paper 
161 
