IN AUDUBON'S LABRADOR 



caused him to turn back. In 1912 Mr. Henry 

 G. Bryant,^ of Philadelphia, one of the few 

 white men who has seen the Grand Falls of 

 the Hamilton River, attempted the traverse of 

 this part of the peninsula by way of the St. 

 Augustine River. He and his companion, Mr. 

 Russell W. Porter, had provided themselves 

 with experienced canoe-men, but they espe- 

 cially desired to obtain Indian guides to insure 

 the success of the expedition. "Aside from the 

 usual disinclination of the Indians to engage 

 in systematic labor," he says, "we soon learned 

 that the most serious obstacle arose from their 

 unwillingness to have white men spy into the 

 secrets of their country." They had no desire 

 for timber mills or mining camps in their 

 hunting grounds, and they are not to be 

 blamed. At last, with the help of P^re Hesry, 

 two young Indians were obtained who agreed 

 for five dollars a day apiece to guide the 

 party as far as the height of land. The expe- 

 dition started in three canoes on the 12th of 

 July. The Indians kept ahead out of sight in 

 their lightly laden canoe, and appeared only 



• An Exploration in Southeastern Labrador, Bulletin of the 

 Geographical Society of Piiiladelphia, vol. xi (1913), pp. I-15. 



180 



