MOUNTAINEER INDIANS. 6"] 



this time the " 'longshoremen" abandon theii' diet of 

 salt pork, bread and molasses, and feast on game, for 

 then, we were assured, they have "great plenty fowl." 



In August, also, one or two families of the red Indians 

 or Mountaineers of the interior come down to the mouth 

 of the Esquimaux, or " Hawskimaw" River, as it is pro- 

 nounced by the settlers, to hunt seal, especially the 

 young, and ducks as well as curlew. These Indians are 

 entirely governed in their wandering by the situation of 

 the deer and other game. One may travel a hundjred 

 miles up the Esquimaux River without meeting them. 



I saw but a single Esquimau man at Caribou Island. 

 His low stature, his prominent, angular cheek-bones, 

 pentagonal face, and straight black hair sufficiently char- 

 acterized his stock. The only other native Esquimau 

 was the wife of an Englishman, John Goddard, the 

 " King of Labrador," who lived on a point of land three 

 miles west of Caribou Island. She was a famous hunter, 

 would go out in a boat, shoot a seal and dress it, making 

 boots and moccasins from the skin. Whether these 

 Esquimaux had strayed down from the north or, as I 

 suspect, were the remnants of their people who may 

 have inhabited the entire coast from the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence to the arctic regions, deserves further investi- 

 gation. 



Few mammals were to be seen. The deer and cari- 

 bou were confined to the mainland. On our island was 

 a white fox, or rather a blue one, for his summer pelage 

 was of a slate-color. His burrow was situated in a hill- 

 side behind our house. He would prowl about our 

 camp at night, and he might have known that it was un- 

 safe to come within reach of our guns. His skin un- 



