Probably the most appalling disaster on record is that which befell the ship Greenland many years ago. Forty-five of the men were out upon the ice killing the young seals one night, when a terrific blizzard suddenly sprang up and cut off their retreat to the ship. When the blizzard had spent its force, the poor hunters were found lifeless on the great stretch of snow-covered ice. They were taken by loving hands from the ice, wrapped in canvas, and placed on deck to be brought back for interment at St. John’s, the city from which they had set out only a few weeks before, with buoyant spirits and hopes of a “bumper” voyage. It was one of the gloomiest days in the history of St. John’s when the dead bodies of those daring hunters were lifted from the deck and taken to their last resting-place in the presence of sorrowing multitudes.
CHAPTER XVI
LABRADOR
As Labrador adjoins the provinces of Quebec and Ungava, it is often erroneously thought that the whole of it is under the jurisdiction of the great Dominion of Canada, and the majority of boys will be surprised to hear that the coast of this little-known country is a dependency of Newfoundland. It is associated with the life of the Eskimos, a people who dwell in “thrilling regions of thick-ribb’d ice,” and is considered by the outside world as
“A land forsaken and dead,
Where the ghostly icebergs go.”
There is a great deal of tradition interwoven with the discovery of Labrador. Some historians contend that as early as A.D. 1000 Europeans had found their way to this bleak shore, and some are of the opinion that the Icelanders and Greenlanders had set foot on the barren rocks at a much earlier date. The true discoverer of Labrador, say other historians, was John Cabot, of whose voyages we have given an account in an earlier chapter.
UNLOADING THE HIDE AND FAT OF SEALS AT ST. JOHN’S.
The present inhabitants obtain a livelihood by fishing and hunting, and are really a peaceful people. Strange as it may seem, the best educated people in Labrador are the Eskimos, which is due solely to the untiring efforts of the Moravian missionaries. And when the inhabitants are brought into closer communication with the outer world by increased steamer, mail, and telegraphic services, there will be a greater future reserved for the country than has ever been thought possible by even those who know the Eskimo well, and the conditions under which he maintains his existence.
The life of the Eskimo boy is a very hard one, but in their own way the children enjoy themselves, and their days are not without pleasure and sunshine. The baby boys are carried in a bag on the backs of their mothers until they are able to eat a slice of walrus, and then they are put into a pair of trousers, which the mother makes from seal-skins. Their homes are made of wood and mud, or snow if the winter is unusually cold. They consist of one room, through the top of which is a hole to carry away the smoke from the open fire.