2 THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF LABRADOR. 



River, and the Moravian missionaries Kohlmeister and 

 Knoch, who in their " Journal of a Voyage from Ok- 

 kak" described the Koksoak River and its probable 

 source, as well as from our own scanty observation^ 

 taken from elevations near the coast, the interior of 

 Labrador is thickly studded with lakes, somewhat as in 

 the Adirondack region of New York, though the in- 

 terior country is far more broken and mountainous. 



It is certainly most desirable that explorers should 

 penetrate this vast and unknown wilderness, however 

 formidable may seem the barriers to travel These 

 obstacles would be the rapids and water-falls, the long 

 and difficult portages or carries, and the unceasing 

 plagne of mosquitoes and black flies. But the annoy- 

 ance from insects might not be greater than that en- 

 countered by explorers in Siberia, or by trout or salmon 

 fishermen in northern New England and Canada, while 

 the difficulties and dangers of river navigation would 

 not compare with those of a passage through the Colo- 

 rado River. The route which would be most prolific 

 in results would be to ascend the Meshikumau or Es- 

 quimaux River from its mouth near Salmon Bay, in the 

 Strait of BeHe Isle, to its source, and thence to connect 

 with the probably adjacent source of Grand or Hamil- 

 ton River to the Hudson Bay post at Rigolet, in 

 Hamilton or Invuktoke Inlet. Another journey which 

 would be productive of good geographical residts would 

 be to cross the peninsula from Prince Rupert's Land by 

 way of Rupert River and Lake Mistassini to Hamilton 

 Inlet The Koksoak River should be explored to its 

 sources, and the low, flat, wooded region of the East 

 Main, lying between Hudson Bay and the Labrador 



