sunbeams entering at the
southern. In his left hand he holds a red string, with which he plays
in the water to allure the fish, and in his right, a spear ready to
strike them as they approach; and in this manner, they soon take as
many as they want. The trout on this coast are from twelve to eighteen
inches long, and in August and September so fat, that the Esquimaux
collect from them a sufficient quantity of oil for their lamps. The
great shoals of herrings, which are the staple of the Greenlanders, do
not touch at the shores of Labrador, but they have abundance of cod at
many of their fishing stations, which the missionaries have shown them
the method, and set them the example, of curing for their winter's
supply.

Sea-fowl of the duck and goose species frequent the shores of
Labrador, and the islands scattered around it, and afford to the
natives, as they do to the rest of the northern tribes, food, warmth,
and materials for trade. Of the land birds, the large partridge,
[reiper,] or American wild pheasant, is the only one which the
missionaries mention as being used by them as an agreeable variety of
food, when, other resources failing, they have been confined to salted
provisions.

The peninsula is chiefly inhabited on the coast, where the Moravians
have now four settlements. The natives style themselves _Innuit_,
_i.e._ men; and foreigners, _Kablunat_ or inferior beings. Their
original national name is Karalit, also denoting superiority, and the
term Esquimaux, by which they are now so generally known, was given
them by their neighbours the Indians, in whose language it signifies
"men's raw meat," and probably imports that the Indians were, or it
may be, are cannibals, and devoted their captives for this horrible
repast. In lowness of stature, in their flat features, and dark
colour, they exactly resemble the Greenlanders. Their language is a
dialect of the same tongue, intelligible by both; but from their
intercourse with foreigners, and their adopting some foreign customs,
and becoming possessed of foreign utensils, a number of strange words
have been introduced into each, only the former borrowed Danish or
English phrases, while the latter had learned many French words. Their
dress is nearly similar, being seal-skin coats and breeches, except
the outer garment of the women ends behind in a train that reaches to
the ground, and their boats are sufficiently large to carry their
children if they are mothers--o