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THE CENTURY MAGAZINE.

No. 5.

VOL. XLIV.

SEPTEMBER, 1892.

THE GRAND FALLS OF LABRADOR.

FUGITIVE article relating to a great cataract in Labrador, appeared in several newspapers during the early part of 1891. It referred to the stories current among the Indians and voyageurs which tended to prove the existence of such a great waterfall on the upper waters of the Grand, or Hamilton, River, and ascribed to it the stupendous height of 1500 feet. This attractive piece of geographical news, with its apparent flavor of aboriginal hyperbole, chanced to catch the eye of the present writer. An examination of the literature relating to Labrador which was accessible revealed the suggestive fact that although it was probably the first part of the mainland of America visited by Europeans, yet, in this last decade of the nineteenth century, one must seek there for the largest unexplored area on the western continent. Many generations of mariners and fishermen have sailed along Labrador's bleak coast, since John Cabot visited those shores in 1497; and all have borne abroad the fame of its arctic climate and desolate seacoast. The uninviting character of its rocky seaboard has thus given a bad name to the whole country, and in this we must find the reason why Labrador has received so little at tention from explorers.

A glance at any of the maps of the peninsula which have been published will show them to be very defective specimens of chartography.

None of the maps show the river-systems and lakes with any degree of accuracy. It has long been assumed, however, that the interior contains a great table-land. The highest portion of this elevated region is probably in the southern part of the peninsula, where its greater rivers have their source. The most important of these, the Grand, or Hamilton, River, rises in the lakes on this table-land, and flows in a general southeasterly direction a distance of nearly 400 miles into Hamilton Inlet, the great marine estuary which, under different names, penetrates the interior a distance of 150 miles. No scientific explorer has penetrated far into the country, and the imperfect knowledge of this vast territory (estimated to contain 289,000 square miles) rests entirely on the vague reports of Indians, a few missionaries, and information furnished by some agents of the Hudson Bay Company.

Interesting as these researches were, they yielded but little real information relating to the configuration of the interior. Enough was learned, however, to establish the existence of the Grand Falls, and to show that the time had long since passed when any enterprising traveler could claim the honor of their discovery.

The traditions of the Hudson Bay Company affirm that two officers of the Company visited the spot many years ago. The first of these, John M'Clane, was unquestionably the first white man to gaze upon this remote cataract, which he discovered in the year 1839 while engaged in seeking an inland route between two

Copyright, 1892, by THE CENTURY Co. All rights reserved.

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posts of the Company. Twenty years after M'Clane's visit, Joseph McPherson was guided to the spot by an Iroquois Indian named Louisover-the-fire, who is still living, an aged pensioner of the Company, at Northwest River Post. These are the only white men who, previous to the summer of 1891, are known to have seen the Grand Falls. Neither M'Clane nor McPherson measured the height of the Falls, and, in fact, it does not appear that the latter ever gave any account of his visit to this region. To continue the brief record of Labrador exploration, mention should be made of the journey of Professor H. Y. Hind, who thirty-one years ago started from the Seven Islands, on the St. Lawrence coast, and ascended the

no traveler or trader disturbed the loneliness of this remote wilderness. Fort Nascopie, the only interior post of the Hudson Bay Company, was abandoned some twenty-eight years ago, and the inland trail to it, which passed within fifty miles of the Falls, was disused in the interval. No one endeavored to ascend the Grand River, and the dim tradition of the Falls was almost forgotten. At length, in 1887, a young. Englishman, R. F. Holme of Oxford University, journeyed to Labrador and started up the Grand River, having the Falls as the objective point of his expedition. He relied on Professor Hind's statement that the cataract was 100 miles from the mouth of the river, and consequently found himself insufficiently equip

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PART OF THE LOWER OR MUSKRAT FALLS OF THE GRAND RIVER. (FROM A PHOTOGRAPH.)

gun, the writer determined to essay the voyage. Preparations for the journey were made in the early part of June, 1891. The various articles of equipment were gotten together with some care, and included, among other things, a Rushton canoe sixteen feet in length. An associate who entered with enthusiasm into the enterprise was found in Professor C. A. Kenaston, of Washington, D. C., and on June 23 we sailed from New York on the steamship Portia for St. John's, Newfoundland, where we arrived on the 29th of the same month. After an unexpected and vexatious delay here of over two weeks, we sailed from St. John's on the small steamship Curlew, the boat engaged by the Newfoundland Government to carry the mails on the Labrador coast during the summer. After calling at several ports on the northeastern coast of Newfoundland, our stanch little craft turned north, and, steaming through the dense fogs of the Strait of Belle Isle, soon revealed to our eyes the wild and desolate coast of Labrador. The four-days' sail along this coast proved to be most enjoyable, and formed an impressive introduction to the rugged northland which was to be the scene of our wanderings. On July 23, the Curlew landed us at Rigoulette, in Hamilton Inlet. This is the chief station of the Hudson Bay Company in Labrador, and at the time of our visit was in charge of Chief-factor Bell, a veteran officer of the Company. A small schooner having been placed at our disposal by Mr. Bell, the following day we continued our journey inland, sail

ing westward for ninety miles through the great interior basin known as Melville or Grosswater Bay.

Northwest River Post, at the head of the bay, where we arrived on July 27, is the most inland station of the Hudson Bay Company, and is the chief trading-point of the Montagnais, or Mountaineer Indians, who make annual visits to this post to meet the Roman Catholic missionary, and to exchange the outcome of their winter's trapping for supplies and ammunition. Many of the Indians had already visited the post and returned to the interior; but a number were still encamped in the neighborhood. A few half-breed "servants" here live in cabins, which cluster about the ancient storehouse of the Company. The Grand River flows into the bay twenty-five miles from here, and at this point preparations were made to ascend that river. Marvelous tales anent the raging rapids and dangers of the river met us at the post; but by securing the aid of a number of Indians and their canoes, we hoped to overcome all these difficulties of inland navigation and gradually to work our way up. A grievous disappointment as to this part of our plans was in store for us. In addition to their natural disinclination to engage in an undertaking involving so much hard work, we found that a superstitious dread of the Grand Falls obtained among the Indians. They believe the place to be the haunt of evil spirits, and assert that death will soon overtake the venturesome mortal who dares to look upon the mysterious cataract.

As is well known, the Eskimos of Labrador the lacustrine basins of the northern part of the dwell on the coast, and seldom venture far into peninsula, are closely allied to the Mountaineers the interior. Hamilton Inlet may be regarded in language and habits, but are a more hardy as the southern boundary of their habitat, which and primitive people. Their clothing is entirely stretches north to the shores of Hudson Strait. composed of reindeer-skins, and many have no Contact with civilization seems to lessen the intercourse whatever with white men. Numvitality of this interesting race, and the Mora- bers of them, however, make annual visits to Fort Chimo, a station of the Hudson Bay Company near Ungava Bay, where, in exchange for their pelts, they obtain flour, ammunition, and a few other articles. We were informed, by one who lived two years at this fort, that the savage custom of killing the old and helpless still prevails among the Nascopies. The victim is not despatched outright, however, but is supplied with sufficient food to last a few days, and is then abandoned to a cruel death by starvation.

GRAND FALLS Height 316

Big Lake

Lake of Islands

Lookout M
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Big Hill

800'

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SKETCH MAP

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Thwarted in our project of Indian coöperation, we nevertheless resolved to make the best of the situation, and our party on starting up the river comprised, besides Professor Kenaston and the writer, John Montague (a strong young Scotchman, well acquainted with the lower part of the river, and the man who had accompanied Mr. Holme in 1887) and Geoffrey Ban, a full-blooded Eskimo, whom we had brought from the coast. Geoffrey was a typical specimen of his race, strong and of stocky build, with a swarthy, Tatar cast of features, and a cheerfulness of disposition which the vicissitudes of

Wanakolow
Depth 406

The great wilderness of the interior is the home of the Indians. These belong to the Cree nation of the Northwest, and are divided into two families: the Montagnais, or Mountaineers, who are found as far west as Lake St. John, in the province of Quebec; and the Nascopies, a less numerous tribe, who dwell on the barren grounds extending to the far north.

All the Indians who resort to the tradingpost are nominally Roman Catholics; but as the ministrations of the priest extend over a period of only three weeks each year,—during which all marriages and baptisms are solemnized, there is time in the long interval for many of the precepts of the Church to be forgotten, and for inherent superstition to assert itself. The heathen element is exemplified in the survival of the native medicine-men, or "conjurers" as they are termed, who undoubtedly wield much influence over their followers. The priest exerts himself to lessen the authority of this savage hierarchy; but it is well known that, away from his watchful care, the old barbaric incantations and prophecies are still practised. As a result of their almost complete isolation, these Labrador Indians show but few evidences of contact with white men, and their mode of life and customs present many aspects of interest to the ethnologist. The Nascopies, who dwell about

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the channel and presenting a granite bulwark through which the stream has forced its way. There are two steps in the descent, and the total drop is seventy feet. To go around this fall, a long and steep "carry was necessary. The unwieldy character of our boat, which weighed 500 pounds, was here a serious disadvantage. By means of a block and tackle, and with much laborious lifting and pulling, we dragged it up the precipitous banks. This operation and the packing occupied a day and a half. During the subsequent advance of 175 miles up the river, oars and paddles were, for the most part, of little use, owing to the swiftness of the current. The method employed was what is technically known as "tracking"- that is, a strong rope, about the thickness of a clothes-line, was tied to the gunwale of the boat just aft of the bow. To the shore end broad leather straps were attached. With these across their shoulders, three of the party tugged along the rocky bank, while the fourth man, with an oar lashed in the stern, steered a devious course among the rocks and shallows of the river.

In this laborious fashion the advance continued for three weeks. With the exception of a smooth stretch, which Montague called "slack water," the current was almost uniformly swift and the "tracking" of the most arduous character. Sandy terraces, and extended reaches covered with glacial boulders, characterized the lower portion of the river, while farther up-stream great numbers of smaller boulders, insecurely lodged on the precipitous sandy banks, presented a precarious footing to those trudging along the rocky "tow-path." When a combination of this "rubble" and a troublesome rapid occurred, it was only by the most violent exertion, and no end of slipping and sliding, that the tension of the tow-line could be maintained on the treacherous ground. Then again, stretches of steep rocky bank, where no "tracking" was possible, often necessitated scaling the rugged cliffs and passing the line from

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undermined the banks, and where numbers of trees, stumps, and underbrush littered the shore and formed chevaux-de-frise of the most formidable character.

The popular impression that Labrador possesses a climate which even in summer is too rigorous for the enjoyment of open-air life was not verified on this trip. The temperature during the day was found to be delightful—just cool enough to be stimulating; while the average minimum temperature registered during the forty-two nights of the journey was ascertained to be but 420 Fahrenheit. Nor was verdure lacking in this subarctic landscape, for dense growths of spruce and fir extended back for miles into the blue distance, and even where fire had blackened the slopes of adjacent hills, the somber aspect of the scene was much relieved by a second growth, which showed the delicate green of its leaves among the charred remains of the original forest. Game and fish. proved to be fairly abundant, and two fine black bears were killed by members of the party. The fresh meat thus obtained, together with the trout captured from time to time, made welcome variations in the dietary of the expedition.

The declining sun of August 20 beheld our small craft glide into the smooth waters of Lake Wanockalow. The first view of the lake was beautiful, and most grateful to our eyes after the long struggle with the rapids. Even Geoffrey and John, usually indifferent to scenic effects, could not conceal their admiration as we glided by towering cliffs and wooded headlands, and beheld at intervals cascades leaping from the rocks into the lake, their silvery outlines glistening in the sun and contrasting distinctly with the environment of dark evergreen foliage.

This romantic sheet of water stretches in a northeasterly and southwesterly direction for about thirty-five miles, and has an elevation above sea-level, according to the aneroid observations secured, of 473 feet. Low mountains

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of granite and gneiss rise on each side, and the average width of the lake is less than one mile. A sounding taken near the middle showed a depth of 406 feet. This narrow elevated basin

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