Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1889-11-07
LABRADOR.
g.. pronounced the Most Worthless
II ,,r, Of the whole World.

rsav. a. the w none NoAih-
III If the information secured
IA' s faw weeks cruise leads me to be-
durLlI1 ,- the portion Of Labrador east of a
le't ......,5ino due north from the mouth
Illg y. Lawrence River to Hudson bay
81 '.L most worthless part OF the whole
j - Indeed. it is scarcely worth VISIT
|.i'"- ~. 4 curiosity in sterlllty and des-
ing In the 600 miles Of coast upon
o' i.t t,sra is any pretense of population,
EA-.- u number of resident human being
iar ..l' ,-;iI not exceed 5000 souls. This
aiL 'g.~ H. includes all Indians of the
lIlntgenais. Nasquapee and Eskimo !. tribes;
Il +;7garinr the peninsula as aquadrllateral
;tt sides averaging 500 miles m length,
Moderate computation, tins would give
Ks 1G0 900 900 acres; and just one
i-.,9o beiur to about $1,000 acres. That
i'rs Il hoo acres Of land capable OF cultlva-
G.. ,rithiu ais mighty eXpanse has been
--,,...'.r.eas.ly disproved for over $50 years
.Ls Efforts of lesuits and other mission
hv those of Christianized Indians and
4, .sr+'pr, who have been ured upon
t6e.e shores to starye and perish. Il IS
,.s.ih.a that during two, and possibly three,
I-,hs ~ The summer. 40 900 fisherman
xxx. Il, fanpd off Labrador; $4,000 within
+s,,v.f III ST. Lawrence and $4,000 along
H. Atlantic Labrador shores. They are
sj.ut- of the United States Of Nova
S.atia. Cane Breton and Plnce Edward
Islands and Newfoundland. They have
M interest whatever, save to come and
.r,I md no. There are not enough stand
e.. .-aa. i'm an the Labrador district nam
81 and that comprises all Of the Labrador
,.ran.-. available for building timber, to
,., for transporting 70 any place and hight
,ul the fr-t fire IN a single saw mil
81. .ue frantic efforts OF the dominion gov
ar.uaat 90 discover mineral deposits have
hau wavumg.
What then does Labrador possess? An
umpa-med and measureless reach OF stone
and ice covered here and there with moss;
AGAIN occasionally patched with stunted
.rruee. ofteuer for hundreds of miles scared
anJ lackened by burned spruce stumps,
between which Hintv rocks project like
cruel spears: with countless impossible
river. blowing in mgovernable torrents
through hidaous gorges; 1000 whites nm
athletic leave their Imprisonment or better
taei- condition. living half the year like
beasts, and the other half little better;
1000 Indians ubsisting on salt fish and
Hin. with occasionally bit Of musty -four
d. maa: 800 or 400 Eskimo dogs; amy
number Of wolves and countless seals and
a,h Now that is all there is to Labrador
b... climate OF Greenland, and even
u.s. SEALS and fish do not exclusively belong
tat. for they are a common product of the
ocean. aud as common to all other north
ea. shores. ANY land so God-forsaken
tN.r ,he government possessing it cannot
survey 1T or procure amy form Of statistics
concerning it is a veritable castaway IN
deed. 1t is impossible to obtain statistics
Of even seal and FISH But from the known
los. IN naval and commercial expeditions.
and the wreckage of coasting and fishers
vessels along the coasts. since Labrador
WI, discovered, it would be a safe calcula-
ton that for every dollar in value of fish
Or fur secured upon the Labrador coast for
tac past 400 years, an equal or greater ac-
tua, los, 5y somebody has been sustained.
And when the additional frightful loss Of
life ha> been taken into account, the mex
prassiha WorthIessness of the entire pen
iu-uIa may be to some extent conceived
Springfield Republican.