h fur bearing animals and food game. So
it is in Labrador. When I have been in that country I have depended
upon my gun to get my living, just as the Indians do. One year I all
but starved to death, because caribou and other game was scarce. Other
years I have lived in plenty, with a caribou to shoot whenever I
needed meat.

In Labrador the Eskimos and liveyeres rely upon the seals to supply
them with the greater part of their dog feed, supplemented by fish,
cod heads and nearly any offal. The Eskimos eat seal meat, too, with a
fine relish, both cooked and raw, and when the seals are not too old
their meat, properly cooked, is very good eating indeed for anybody.

The Indians rely on the caribou, or wild reindeer, to furnish their
chief food supply, and to a large extent the caribou is also the chief
meat animal of the liveyeres.

Sometimes caribou are plentiful enough on certain sections of the
coast north of Hamilton Inlet. I remember that in January, 1903, an
immense herd came out to the coast north of Hamilton Inlet, They
passed in thousands in front of a liveyere's cabin, and standing in
his door the liveyere shot with his rifle more than one hundred of
them, only stopping his slaughter when his last cartridge was used.
From up and down the coast for a hundred miles Eskimos and liveyeres
came with dogs and komatik to haul the carcasses to their homes, for
the liveyere who killed the animals gave to those who had killed none
all that he could not use himself, and none was wasted.

That was a year of plenty. Oftener than not no caribou come within
reach of the folk that live on the coast, and in these frequent
seasons of scarcity the only meat they have in winter is the salt pork
they buy at the trading posts, if they have the means to buy it,
together with the rabbits and grouse they hunt, and, in the wooded
districts, an occasional porcupine. Now and again, to be sure, a polar
bear is killed, but this is seldom. Owls are eaten with no less relish
than partridges, and lynx meat is excellent, as I can testify from
experience.

But the smaller game is not sufficient to supply the needs and it
occurred to Doctor Grenfell that, if the Lapland reindeer could be
introduced, this animal would not only prove superior to the dog for
driving, but would also furnish a regular supply of meat to the
people, and also milk for the babies.

The domestic reindeer is a species of caribou. In other words, the
caribou is the wi