Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1885-12-17
TIE PEOPLE OF LABRA-
DOR

tures of tho country, the undisputed
snnremacy OF the sea. the isolation
from the world-all their cicumstan-
ces. indeed-are SO strongly marked
as TO be irresistible. The population
Of the Canadian part Of the coasl--
down to the boundry line at Blame Sa-
blon-is OF French origin, Canadian
and Arcadian the Newfoundland part
Of Labrador the Strait of Belle Isle
and the Atlantic coasts INHABITED by
Enrlish-spoaking people Morayians
and E,quimauX are found in the far
North The French Canadians consist
of two classes; a part OF them come
here every spring TO fish Tor the mer-
chants, and return every fall to their
families and small homestcads between
O lebec and Gaspe; others live here
permanently, own i,tie isolated es-
ADJUSTMENTS, and fish ON their own ac-
count. The Acadians have collected
in two principal settlements, Esqui-
mauX point and Natashquan. where
they have their schools, priests, churcn-
es, and some other features of village
life.
/ WIN AOA LuldtG III bNA4lZ ctOt lA-SAIA
ed ut few OF these French Canadian
homes, where found now and then a
person able to give me some account
of the summer and winter life of the
people To begin with external and
material things, the average home OF
Labrador generally consists of rough
board dwelling, with two rooms and
rarret, a small dock and store-house
for receiving, cleaning, curing, and
storing fish, and two or three open
dshing-boats. All these buildings
perch ike anxious water-fowis on the
bare rocks; they never impress me as
no Us, Tor they make for themselves
no niche or place in the surface OF the
earth; you expect them to be washed
or blown away at the next gale-as
they sometimes are. For the sake OF
being near tho tismng-grounds these
shelters are generally established on
some outlying island offering a moor
inc or else a Ueach tor the boats; they
seem TO be banished from the earth us
far as possible seward They stand
up gaunt, stark naked in the gales, in
the midst Of desert OF sea and rocks.
in the best places there may be in a
hollow little sand, enriched with de-
caylng iisR, whore Il few turnips and
cabOuges manage TO show themselves
during q brief season. You get
e.c.m Of hope and of horror on be-
houug gauut scatiold about eigh-
teen ieet nigh; but il is not u gallows
fer inc ending OF lie, only platform
for Eecpng the frozen fish for dog
meat, The interior of tho Sc homes IS
no, quite SO distressing as their hard
surroundings Tor the human hand in
doors can make its mark, which is not
always - clean one. The furniture,
dIc,. costumes, are rough and COM
mouuaCC; lut the people are cOurJe-
Gus auj tIud, and they observe well
their religious rites Their isolation is
sucn Dhu; tney keep the run OF time by
mrkIng the days Of the week on the
dOol-Post. An exception to this drear-
mess is 10 be met mere and there, at a
or ut the nome OF mer-
chant | asked an intelligent fisher
man how nc could content himself in
sue pace.
"Wcl, SIR, | expect we're fools to
stay mere. The worst OF Is, our
chIureu are growing up as ignorant
as we ,.re-juaJ like inc dogs. Hardly
ANY OF us can read or write. Our
houses are 100 tar apart 10 get tue
cul uen together for school, excepting
at Esq im,ux Point. Naiasnquan, ANA
Muuoa Say. Then, too, we can see
the p..r-. more tHau once or twice q
year. .ud mats very announcement
about .ym@, Tor pieurisy and con-
suupaou are very heau-otron. Aud
there no doctor at aA, nor any roots
or nfus Tor medicines. We keep
alive ga pun-kiIer auI salt, tnat the
trader, sell. It's q hard ne, and we
don ave 90 be- very old We nave TO
do All oar own WorN j.ch-o.-a.l-
trades, you know. When we came
here to live, my wife nd ! cut ali the
timer in the winter for building these
houses, sawed it by hand in a pit, and
in the spring RATED itdown the river.
The social season of Labrador is the
winter. There is no fishing then to
Keep people at home; cutting wood
and little hunting are the only occu-
pali0ns. Winter lasts about eight
months; when the channels among the
island, and the bays are frozen over,
dor teams can run uD and down the
coast FOR three hundred miles from
Mingan TO Bonne ESperance. People
then 20 visiting; they carry no proyIs-
ions, for everybody keeps open house.
and the little cabins are often packed
with people and dogs. The winter
homes, rs a rule, are back som miles
from the coast. where wood Is aandy.
Several amiiics who fish at Whale
Head live on 4 swamp in winter, where
The tread of 4 man along the street
shakes every house. The Able Fer
iand says that in his tim ABOUT fifty
years ago-the hospitality OF tine COST
was sucn the people on going away
lJum home used to leave food, and
sometimes even money, on the table,
ami the doors unlocked, that needy
travellers might enter and help them
selves. But the advent OF more try-
ciers IN these days has led to more eau
lion and less generosity.
lt Is not surprising to find all sea-
men superstitous; the irresistible and
whimsical forces Of the ocean must APP
pear 70 them supernatural, and their I