l88 A summer's cruise to northern LABRADOR. 



sufficiently distinguish the arctic fox and its varieties 

 from the red or Virginian species. They had never 

 seen the walrus about here. The spruce-trees up in the 

 interior are quite large, Cole said, some of them reaching 

 a diameter of thirty inches at the butt ; but the birches 

 are small, none large enough to make canoes. 



Of the red Indians of the interior but little could be 

 learned. The reader will find the best account of them 

 in Hind's Labrador, while the subjoined extract will 

 convey some idea of the Labrador Indians as they were.* 



* " As for the interior parts of the Labrodore, it is wholy occupied by the 

 northern Indians before taken notice of, who live and depend mostly on fish 

 and deers flesh; woolves, foxes and otters, affords cloathing; and as these are 

 to be had by traps, and guns, and other contrivances, their necessities nor 

 ambition dont prompt them to desire many things from us: our twine, fish- 

 hooks, ice chizzels, ketles, and small wares, make up the ultimate of their wants. 

 As for guns, powder, and shott, their are numbers of them don't know their use^ 

 The moulted fowls at proper seasons, and what else may be had with the bow 

 and arrow, procure enough for change of dyett, who live in great plenty other- 

 wise, do reduce these peoples wants into a narrow compass. 



"The skirts and borders of Labrodore are hilly and mountainous on every 

 side (a small part excepted); but the interior parts is covered with lakes and 

 morassis to a wide extent, which affords an easy communication into all our 

 principal rivers; but as above, these people have their food and rayment on so 

 easy terms, that hardly one in twenty have ever taken the trouble to go to ours, 

 or any of the French setlements. Indolence and idleness has a good share ia 

 this indifference: but surely tis a mark of great wisdom in them. 



" However, those few that has frequented the setlements, begin to like our 

 commodities better; their women like our nicknacks and guegaws, and the men 

 begin to love brandy, bread, and tobacco, so that a little address and manage- 

 ment will bring these happy drones out of this profound lethargy. You'll say 

 these people would, from their manner of life, have increased faster than the 

 other Indians; but the reason I gave before has, in some measure, prevented 

 them; and now it will be a good motive to apply themselves in earnest to the 

 use and defence of the gun, who, by the aid and convenience of our setlement 

 at Richmond Fort, will be enabled to keep in a body, and repell force by force,, 

 without being divided, or under a necessity to travell a great distance from- 

 their familys, by having all those things brought to their own doors. 



" All the hilly and mountainous parts of Labrodore are occupied by the 

 Usquemews, from the bay of Saint Lawrence on the southern, eastern, and 



