Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1889-08-17

ton; and but one little hint to man of the
inconceivably awful power within the nigh
ty elemental forces. Ny timber-hunter
friends speculations were upon different
lines, however. Changing his cud, he meas
uredly and pathetically remarked:
"If could jess tow what ice wuE wasted
in that cusaed blow-up into Bosting harbor,
I'd buy the Capitol for a residence an git the
old Common fur front yard; dami-
wouldn't"
Here at Indian Harbor of Indian Island,
the latter one of the three-soore or more Es-
guimaux Islands at the mouth of Hamilton
Inlet, we found a resident population of pos
sibly three hundred, and temporary popu-
lation on vessels of fully four thousand souls.
The former chiefly comprised the Esqui-
maux Indians who from appearance are fully
as lazy and sodden as the Montagnais and
Nasquapees. The missionaries all give an
excellent account of their dooility, good nu-
NOR and general admirable qualities. But
fishermen and others who have no interest in
impressing strangers with their importance
fatty say that they are the most miserable
wretches who live, and that the missionaries
would not be here with them but for the
large sums made out of them in the annual
chickering's for furs and fish, and In provi-
ding them with supplies for the missiona-
ries are not only leaders and teachers, but
they virtually control them as go many
slaves, paying them what they like for their
furs, and conducting every transaction of
purchase and sale at outrageously low and
high valuations. This may be Christianity
to the heather, but 1t seems q much like
heathenish business with pretentious Chris
tianity. During July, August and Septem-
Der there are always busy scenes here; but
they are all connected with preparing and
dispatching fish, chiefly the cod. This is
wholly secured by s'shore" fishing, there be-
ing no fishing whatever on "banks' along
the Labrador coast. Herring is principally
used for bait; though the launce, and TO a
much greater degree than the launce, the
capelin, in the absence of herring, are also
used.
The capelin is peculiar to these and the
Newfoundland shores. 1t resembles the
smelt and is one of the most delicate and sa-
vory of salt water fish. During our entire
voyage We caught cod and capelin from the
deck of the Sophie whenever at anchor, and
our cod steaks and capelin broils. cooked
when the fish were not an hour out of water,
were something worthy of precious memory
| to an ordinary American man with an extra
ordinary American appetite. Some of the
! habits of the capelin are very strange, par
| ticularly it's method of spawning. The
males are provided with ridged backs. Two
| der these projecting eave-like ridges, dart
| ashore with her in grand rush, and by sud-
| den compression expel the spawn from the
| roe fish, when the trio, still in company,
| wriggle back from the sands into deep water.
The shore of Indian Harbor consists of an
| irregular series of broadly arched shelving
rocks. There is nothing is sight but harbor
huts, sea, rocks, vessels, their crews, Esqui-
| maux and fish. More vessels are moored to
huge staples embedded in these rocks than
by anchor. All vessel requires for wharf
age is hawsers and staples. They are run
alongside these natural piers, moored, and
the work of wheeling the fish in breaking
barrows to the "wash houses" begins. From
| these they go upon the rocks for drying and
curing. Piles like small haystacks are Otter
seen, and for more than two miles of shore
the entire harbor takes on q pale yellowist
tint Of curing fish, as strange temporary
fringe to the purple darkness of the blach
and barren stone behind. Boats are con-
stantly arriving with their loads of fresh
| fish; frequently hundreds will como rushing
in pellmell together, to escape sudden squallI
outside; and brigs, brigsntines and schoon
els are daily setting sail for the south
slowed to the gunwales with the ripened har
vest of these shores.
T Hamilton Inlet has other features OF inter
/ est besides its greasy Esquimaux and its fish
Behind the numberless picturesque island
at its mouth it stretches back for fully on
| hundred and fifty miles, the expanses Q
Lake Melville and Goose Bay included,
vast land-locked inland sea; and from thenc
its windings are followed for hundreds c
miles to its river source, but short distant
| from Seven Islands Bay at the mouth of I'll
st. Lawrence; forming, with few portages
undoubtedly the longest canoe route In th
world. Midway between Its source and th
| Atlantic are falls variously stated to be fro1
four hundred to one thousand feet in height
| at the feet of which the great river is com
pressed into narrow gorge three hundre
feet deep, through which it leaps in might
cataracts for distance of thirty miles. A
Rigoulette, some seventy-fve miles abov
Indian Harbor, where the inlet is narrowe
between tremendous cliffs at point calle
the Narrows, is triaing Esquimaux settle
ment, and one of the ancient Hudson Ba
companys trading posts. All the way fror
| Rigoulette to the sea gigantic masses of ston
frown above the bay. Behind these to tn
south in little pockets of valleys there are
all told. perhaps twenty acres of ground ar
der sickly cultivation; and this district
proudly termed the garden spot of the Al
lantic Labrador coasti"
| From Indian Earbor We set sail for Hope
dale, the largest of the Esquimaux settle
ments. On our way, though we met sewers
|, vessels whose appearance betokened roug
treatment from savage weather, we were fs
| vored with almost cloudless skies. A fsf
/ lux village OI SAciuSitciy SuutuoI tluo pop
| ulation at Cape Harrison, or Webeck Hal
, Dor, disclosed large number of sails; an
Ailik, or "Eyelick," another tiny Esquimau
, village in charge of Moravian missionaries
, was seen. Captain Deschamps now bscam
doubly valuable from his knowledge of El
quimaux words; for without him we woul
have missed the pleasure of knowing that
, short distance beyond Webeck we passed
group of island crags known as kyuckti
buck; that the next group reached bore tn
soundful name of Nowyockshuocksh an
, that to their west the waters of mighty il
let invited the jabberwockian poet with tt
| murmurous Silurian title of Cannuckthows
tooktnock. My friend, the timber hunte
= after hearing this last name pronounced
the captain as if an effort to escape strangr
p lation, gave up the idea of forest discover
: completely; as there could not possibly
n room for timber and that sort of thing
e eny one country. Still this portion of OF
voyage disclosed an interesting fact for ii
4 scientists. The shores presented the san
Il unending lines of lofty and indented ston
H here and there diversified by black and hi
,f eous peaks of lottier heights behind. B
v along these. and to a remarkable e1te
y along the whole Labrador coast, it is easy
- observe actual evidences of either the up
d sing of the land or gradual subsidence
- the sea. In all this five hundred miles
h coast line may be found unbroken aer
"a beaches of boulders, sand, shells, FOSSIL,
y tions, ten, twenty, thirty and even forty f,
!. above the present sea level. How many oe
v turtles, or ages, have been required TO I
q complish this upheaval, which navigate
a. tell me is clearly noticeable to startling {
a gree all along the northern hemisphere;
=. at what rate the oceans are subsiding, 1
"a there is certainly an upheaval of the land
II displacement of the sea; would form
- most curious and perhaps valuable subj
: for scientific attention and revealment.
y. EDGAR L. WAKEAAN