The times., 1898-11-14
LABRADOR INDIANS STRICKEN.


"Once more from the bleak coast of
Labrador comes a recurrence of the pc
riodicai wall of disease and death among
the miserable remnants of the once pew
erful Montagnais and Nascapee tribes OF
Indians says a writer in the New York
Sun, dating his dispatch Quebec, Novem-
ber .. In the times of Charter and
Champlain these Montagnais Indians oc-
cupied Quebec and the surrounding coun-
try. as well as the interior of the great
Labrador peninsula. The steady advance
Of civilization has driven them farther
and farther into the wild interior, and the
gradual decrease of the game that they
hunt and of the fur-bearing animals that
they trap for the Hudson Bay Company
mas led to such rapid decrease in the
numbers of these poor redskins that the
early extinction of the race seems prob
able. The half-starved condition of many
OF their number renders them favorite
subjects for the ravages of disease and it
Is not surprising to learn that the grip
has claimed many victims among them
during the last few weeks, having in fact
attained the proportions OF a veritable
plague.
These Indians are branch OF the Creek
family, and are divided into two tribes
the Nascapees or inland Indians, and the
Montagnais or shore Indians The last of
the Jesuit missionaries to the Montagnais
Of Tadousac-the learned Father La
brosse-had an ingenious theory of the
origin of the North American Indian. He
maintained that when Solomon decided
upon the erection of his temple at Jeru-
salem he dispatched vessels to every
known part of the globe for artists and
materials. One of these ships was driven
by a storm upon the coast of North
America. and the crew. unable from their
ignorance of navigation to trace their
way back, landed and were the first in
habitants of this continent And in sup
port of this theory the Jesuit indicated
what he thought the points of reSem-
blance between Indians and Israelites.
AT the time of the first arrival Of Euro
peanS at Tadousac and before the advent
of missionaries among them, the Mon
tagnais were of the lowest Algonquin
type. Parkman relates that often, goad-
ed by deadly famine, they would subsist
on roots, Ine bark and buds of trees, and
that in extreme cases cannibalism was
resorted to. The Indians of the interior
have continued most of these practices
up to quite modern times. No later than
1850 Father Arnaud. who is still Lying
met at Sept Isles Nascapee woman who.
before her conversion to Christianity by
Father Durocher. was not only n noted
sorceress of her tribe, but an inveterate
cannibal Her first victim was her hus-
band, who had died Of hunger. AS late
as 1851 Father Nedelec. who journeyed as
far as Lake Mistassini. to minister to the
Indians there. reported the murder of a
youth OF eighteen years by his own
mother
Although still clinging to many of their
old superstitions, deeds of blood and vio-
lence are far less common than formerly.
Up to quite recent times, however, it
was the custom among both Montagnais
and Nascapees to strangle their old and
infirm whenever il became impossible for
them to follow the rest of the party upon
their hunting trips To carry them about
with them was out OF the question-their
own guns. tents, provisions and canoes
being all that they could manage. They
probably justified the murder upon the
ground that ii was more mercifuI than
TO allow the infirm to die alone of hun
ger. Many old Hudson Bay officials now
living. such as Peter Mackenzie of Mon
treal. and Henry Connolly and Allan c.
Cameron. formerly of the Labrador posts.
can furnish instances, just as the older
missionaries do. of successful interven-
tion in cases of intended murder of aged
ana helpless Indians But some times hu-
name efforts of this kind have been
thwarted. and Mr.. Connolly tells of an
old Indian woman thus ruthlessly killed
close to his post. his first intima tion OF
the murder being a conversation which
he overheard between two other squaws.
who were discussing the division of the
victims poor belongings, and her appar-
ent unwillingness to die. Usually, how
ever. in such cases there is a quick and
ready understanding of the situation and
when the victim feels that he or she is of
no further use there is perfect resigna-
tion to approaching fate.
Among the Indians who hunt In the
Gatineau country and thence TO the head
waters of the ST Maurice it was Gus
tomary up to a very few years ago. and
doubtless is so still in the interior of the
country, for an aged hunter, when he felt
himself no longer able to accompany his
companions upon the chase, to divide his
belongings upon the ground into as many
little piles as he had sons. Beneath one
of these was concealed his ak. Then the
sons Were summoned to select each the
ther's goods Upon him who discovered
the AK beneath his patrimony devolved
the duty of becoming his fathers execu-
toner While the children were engaged
in making the terrible selection the old
hunter chanted a mournful dirge. of
which the following is a free translation:
'Withered and old am /; the fish can no
longer take. the deer can no longer chase.
the rabbit no longer trap. and life is NJ
more for me- -