THE MONTAGNAIS INDIANS 
wooden racks, generally decorated with drying 
stockings, mittens and moccasins. On hooks 
on the rafters were five guns of various makes 
and ages, the most formidable of which was a 
great muzzle-loader with a barrel three and a 
half feet long. Long benches were placed 
around the room for the convenience of the 
family and the visitors, and the conversation 
in the three different tongues was chiefly about 
salmon, although it may have wandered to 
other channels in the case of the blushing clerk 
and the eldest daughter. 
Mingan has an interesting history. The 
company of the One Hundred Associates, also 
called the company of New France, was founded 
in 1627 by Cardinal Richelieu and five partners. 
Under them was held the “ Terre ferme de 
Mingan,” which was described as extending 
from Cape Cormorant on the west to “La 
Grand Anse ’’ or “‘ La Baie des Espagnols ”’ on 
the east, and two leagues back. This eastern 
boundary has been liberally interpreted by the 
company as Bradore, while the crown recently 
contended that it was Agwanus. In 1661, or 
nine years before the Hudson’s Bay Company 
received its charter, a charter was granted to 
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