
WOMEN OF THE NORTHERN MONTAGNAIS TRIBE 
hospitality and good nature being sincere, 
while the plucky fight they continually carry 
on against that gaunt fiend starvation re- 
quires qualities of manhood and strength 
found among few peoples. 
_ For a true appreciation, however, of the 
hard and bitter fight carried on for the 
necessaries of life on the Labrador, one 
must go farther north and see the Nascau- 
pees of the Barren Grounds; perhaps, no- 
where in the world is such a war waged for 
mere existence as among these people. They 
afford an excellent opportunity to study the 
Indian in his primitive state, untouched by 
any of the influences of civilization, and 
guided by the same old customs and super- 
stitions that governed his forefathers. The 
word Nascaupee, in the Montagnais dialect, 
signifies ‘‘the ignorant ones,” given. on 
account of their lack of knowledge of the 
ways of civilization. 
The Nascaupees visit the post but once 
a year, except in case of extremity, when the 
younger men tramp hundreds of miles to 
Fort Chimo in search of relief, hauling 
their purchases home on long, narrow 
toboggans. Their speed and endurance is 
marvelous, and even with a heavily loaded 
toboggan they will cover twice as much 
ground in a day as a white man. 
The annual visit with their families | is 
made in August, when the entire tribe of 
two hundred descend the Koksoak River 
in canoes and remain at the post for two 
weeks trading their stock of furs for guns, 
ammunition, tea, tobacco, etc., leaving, as 
has been said, just before the company’s 
ship arrives. They are keen traders, re- 
sorting to all manner of tricks to obtain over- 
value for their furs; and, though property 
is perfectly safe in their camps or cached in 
the country, they must be constantly 
watched while trading in the stores, as they 
consider it a mark of great cleverness to 
steal, provided they are not caught, and if 
detected laugh heartily, not a whit abashed 
by the exposure. Very little flour or cloth 
is ‘taken up” in trade by the Nascaupees; 
their furs are exchanged for such luxuries 
as tea, tobacco and sugar; and they are thus 
dependent entirely upon the caribou for 
most of the necessaries of life. Were these 
animals exterminated, the Nascaupees 
would not long survive, as their habitations, 
