George Cartwright's The Labrador Companion 9780773548398

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George Cartwright’s The Labrador Companion

George Cartwright’s

The Labrador Companion Edited by Marianne P. Stopp

McGill-Queen’s University Press Montreal & Kingston • London • Chicago

© Marianne P. Stopp 2016 isbn isbn isbn isbn

978-0-7735-4805-3 (cloth) 978-0-7735-4806-0 (paper) 978-0-7735-4839-8 (epdf) 978-0-7735-4840-4 (epub)

Legal deposit third quarter 2016 Bibliothèque nationale du Québec Printed in Canada on acid-free paper This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Awards to Scholarly Publications Program, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. McGill-Queen’s University Press acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for our publishing activities. Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Cartwright, George, 1739–1819, author George Cartwright's The Labrador companion / edited by Marianne P. Stopp. Includes bibliographical references and index. Issued in print and electronic formats. isbn 978-0-7735-4805-3 (cloth).–isbn 978-0-7735-4806-0 (paper).– isbn 978-0-7735-4839-8 (epdf).–isbn 978-0-7735-4840-4 (epub) 1. Cartwright, George, 1739–1819. 2. Fur traders–Newfoundland and Labrador–Labrador–History–18th century. 3. Fur trade–Newfoundland and Labrador–Labrador–History–18th century. 4. Frontier and pioneer life–Newfoundland and Labrador–Labrador. 5. Hunting–Newfoundland and Labrador–Labrador–History–18th century. 6. Natural history– Newfoundland and Labrador–Labrador. 7. Inuit–Newfoundland and Labrador–Labrador–History–18th century. 8. Labrador (N.L.)–History– 18th century. I. Stopp, Marianne P., editor II. Title. III. Title: Labrador companion. fc2193.3.c37a3 2016

971.8'202092

c2016-904205-7 c2016-904206-5

Contents

Acknowledgments vii Preface ix Introduction xi

George Cartwright’s The Labrador Companion 1

Appendix 327 Bibliography 343 Index 349

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Acknowledgments

Michael and Ragnhild Sweet-Escott have my deepest thanks for allowing The Labrador Companion to be brought into the Canadian historical repertoire. Ellen Sweet-Escott and Ian Smith also supported the advancement of this three-year project, and I am grateful for their help and interest. With The Labrador Companion, Cartwright guides us yet deeper into eighteenth-century Canadian history, and in a way that is quite unlike other documents of the period. “Old Labrador,” as George Cartwright was sometimes called, has figured large in my focal and physical absences from home. Richard and Thomas have always been there when I’ve returned, and this work is dedicated to them. Jonathan Crago, Kathleen Fraser, and Grace R. Seybold of McGillQueen’s University Press were encouraging editors and ensured a smooth publication process. I am also grateful to three reviewers whose comments helped to improve the initial manuscript. A Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grant partially funded a trip to England to meet the Sweet-Escott family and to study the manuscript upon which this book is based.

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Preface

With the discovery in 1979 of Captain George Cartwright’s manuscript entitled Additions to the Labrador Companion in a family archive in South Africa, it became clear that Cartwright (1739–1819) had at some time in his life written an earlier manuscript named The Labrador Companion. Persistent searches for this document were unsuccessful until the autumn of 2013, when its owners found me. The Labrador Companion was written by Cartwright in 1810 when he lived in the Nottingham area. On his death, most of his belongings passed to his unmarried sister Frances Dorothy Cartwright, who was also the executrix of his will. The manuscript was then handed down through Cartwright family descendants in England and is currently in the possession of Dr Michael and Ragnhild Sweet-Escott of Yorkshire. Michael Sweet-Escott is the grandson of Alice Beatrice Sweet-Escott (1859–1948; née Cartwright) whose father, John Cartwright (1820–1863), was a grandson of the Reverend Doctor Edmund Cartwright (1743–1823), a well-known inventor and Captain George Cartwright’s brother. Upon Frances Dorothy Cartwright’s death, or perhaps before, the manuscript came into the possession of the Reverend Doctor’s family. Both The Labrador Companion and Additions to the Labrador Companion remained in this family line and it is Edmund’s grandson, John Cartwright, whose signature is found on the flyleaf of both manuscripts. Following the early deaths of John Cartwright and his wife Helena Augusta (née von Beverhoudt) in 1863, their three young children, George, Frances Dorothy, and Alice Beatrice, were raised by their uncle George Cartwright (1811–?) who lived in Lyme Regis in a house known as Cliff Cottage. The two manuscripts also came to Lyme Regis at that time along with other books and papers originally from Captain George Cartwright’s estate. In the mid-twentieth century, members of the Lyme Regis arm of the Cartwright family emigrated to South Africa, which is how Additions

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came to be found there along with the original oil portrait of Captain Cartwright and other papers relating to Labrador.1 The Labrador Companion, however, remained in England and passed to Alice Beatrice. In the 1960s, the Sweet-Escotts inherited The Labrador Companion. In the intervening years, the document has been kept safe, first in homes in Gloucestershire and then in Yorkshire. For a two-hundred-year-old document, it remains in fine condition. Recently, the family began a study of their Cartwright ancestry, which led to their reading The New Labrador Papers of Captain George Cartwright (Stopp 2008) and suspecting that the “missing” Labrador Companion might be the manuscript in the proverbial family chest. I am grateful for the Sweet-Escott family’s interest, generosity, and cooperation in allowing me to publish The Labrador Companion. The full text is transcribed here from the original manuscript by permission and with the cooperation of Michael Sweet-Escott. George Cartwright’s descriptions in The Labrador Companion of the many ways to capture animals belong to another time. They are of historical relevance only and are not to be confused with modern-day trapping practices and technologies in Canada. The latter are governed by provincial/territorial and municipal regulations that recognize humane and safe practices, and permissible species.

no t e s 1 This collection, including the oil portrait of George Cartwright painted by W. Hilton ca. 1791, was discovered in South Africa by Dr Ingeborg Marshall. The collection features in The New Labrador Papers of Captain George Cartwright (Stopp 2008) and is now in the possession of Library and Archives Canada.

Introduction The whim has seiz’d me: now you know my scheme; And my lov’d LABRADOR shall be my theme. “Labrador: A Poetical Epistle” – autumn (Cartwright 1792, end of Volume 3)

How to set a curlew net on an open shore and how to snare caribou on the winter barrens are not the usual subjects of sober historical documentation. But directions such as these fill George Cartwright’s The Labrador Companion or Sealer, Salmoneer, Furrier and Sportsman’s Instructor. The Labrador that Cartwright knew called for self-sufficiency, skilled hands, and constant labour. These capabilities were in turn necessarily tied to close knowledge of the land and of the sea. Perhaps more than any other manuscript of the late-eighteenth-century fur trade era in Canada, The Labrador Companion describes everyday work and is a trove of historical information on early technology, on methods and materials, and on the region’s natural history, as well as containing nuggets on Labrador’s Innu and Inuit. Captain George Cartwright (1739–1819) was one of the first English merchant-adventurers to settle in southern Labrador following the transfer of that coast from France to Britain after the Seven Years’ War. Born at Marnham Hall, Nottinghamshire, Cartwright was the second son in a well-connected family. Retiring as a captain after fifteen years of service in the British army, he first travelled to Newfoundland in 1766 aboard the Guernsey with his brother Lieutenant John Cartwright and Newfoundland Governor Hugh Palliser. The brothers returned to northwestern Newfoundland in 1768, where John was charged with exploring the Exploits River in an attempt to establish relations with the Beothuk, the island’s nearly extinct Indigenous inhabitants. Although no Beothuk were met, the journey into the island’s interior resulted in descriptions of many Beothuk camps and a remarkable ethnohistorical map of the river (Marshall 1996, 84). Two years later, George Cartwright crossed the Atlantic again, this time en route to southern Labrador. Between 1770 and 1786, he used his future patrimony (Cartwright 1792, vol. 3, 2) and the investment of various business partners to bankroll a series of trapping, sealing,

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and salmon- and cod-fishing stations between Cape Charles and Sandwich Bay in southern Labrador (Figure 1). Cartwright’s Labrador years were far from uneventful and are described in A Journal of Transactions and Events during a Residence of Nearly Sixteen Years on the Coast of Labrador (1792). The Journal is a three-volume masterwork that presents the rigours of an eighteenth-century colonial enterprise. It is detailed and readable, and brings to life this peripatetic and inquisitive man. Cartwright’s contributions to early colonial history, to anthropology, and to the natural sciences in the Canadian Northeast were first recognized over forty years ago by zoologist Dr Averil Lysaght (1971) and have yet to be fully plumbed. After publishing his Journal, Cartwright went on to write two further manuscripts about Labrador that were never published. In 1810, he wrote The Labrador Companion, presented here. This was immediately followed by related material in a manuscript called Additions to the Labrador Companion, which he finished in 1811. As described in the preface, Additions was found first, and along with other Cartwright papers and correspondence was published as part of The New Labrador Papers of Captain George Cartwright (Stopp 2008). Together, the two manuscripts consist of more than four hundred handwritten pages of Labradoriana and represent a sizeable contribution of historical material about a part of early Canada that makes few appearances in history texts. Cartwright’s output is doubly unique because it conveys history as a personal record and not as a government document, of which there are many for eighteenth-century Labrador. His instructions are in essence autobiographical since they represent his own acquired knowledge and skills. They are also a unique firsthand description of emerging resource industries in the Northeast during the early British era. Although much of what he recorded was of an everyday and seemingly mundane nature, his writing contains history that can never be found in official papers. Taken together it adds a rich micro-historical layer to what is known of the broader political, economic, and social conditions of that time and place. The discovery and publication of Additions before the earlier manuscript has reversed the preferred order of things. Background research suited to this introduction of The Labrador Companion was completed for the 2008 volume. As a result, relevant chapters of introductory material are not repeated here, such as essays on the Indigenous and European

Figure 1 The coast of southern Labrador with placenames found in the text.

settlement of southern Labrador and the historical backdrop of Cartwright’s years there, as well as a wide range of published and unpublished references. Research on sealing, hunting, trapping, fishing, construction techniques, and trade with Innu and Inuit also make up the 2008 introductory material and inform the historical relevance of Additions as much as they do The Labrador Companion.

The Labrador Companion as a Manuscript As its title makes clear, The Labrador Companion belongs to the genre of companion literature, which has a long pedigree in British publishing that dates back to at least the sixteenth century. The earliest companion texts were often on religious subjects, but in time came to include guides to music, mathematics, and literature, and everyday advice to householders

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and gardeners. Companion texts are descriptive and instructive writing for independent learning and the author of a companion text is by implication an authority on the subject. With The Labrador Companion, Cartwright rightly assumes the expert’s mantle, in this case of a lateeighteenth-century New World trapper, hunter, sealer, and merchant, but also of an avocational natural historian. The scope of The Labrador Companion is that of a wide-ranging reference book with descriptions of natural history and of activities related to furring and sealing, as well as of everyday things such as a recipe for pickling eggs. It also reveals skills, knowledge sets, and something of the decision-making related to the various colonial industries of southern Labrador. Entries are evocative of a way of life of nearly continuous physical activity and vigour, instructing how to capture, to shoot, to cut, tie, hammer, build, pull, and push, and always with skilled hands. Emerging from this backdrop of exertion are minutiae of the resource-based industries of southern Labrador, the materials and technological know-how needed for business success, and the habits and ecologies of the animal species upon which much of this activity was focussed. Unlike many early writings about eastern North America written for Europeans, Cartwright avoided romanticizing the way of life, climate, or geography. As an early set of observations of techniques and natural history, his entries are without nostalgia, and with some exceptions are free of exaggeration. His skills in observation and his desire for realism show him to be a reliable ethnographer and naturalist.

The Manuscript’s Contents Following a brief introduction, The Labrador Companion’s structure is broadly organized into three types of entries. These include a numbered series of 66 entries between pages 6 and 56 (Cartwright’s pagination) that represent the document’s core material. Included here are sealing instructions and descriptions of a broad range of land-based trapping and netting techniques for large and small mammals and birds. There are further entries on clothing for hunting in summer and winter, and on preferred trap baits, dogs, and canoes. Of unique historical interest is Cartwright’s precise description of his sealing post at Cape Charles (found in The Labrador Companion on Cartwright’s page 232). Details extend

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to descriptions of the required net types and other hardwares, instructions for how to identify a good sealing place, the processing apparatus for producing quality seal oil for European markets, and the method of processing seal skins (lc 10, 237). A description of southern Labrador’s fauna is a second component of the manuscript. Beginning on Cartwright’s page 70 and running just over 100 pages, these entries cover birds, fish, and land mammals. Seventytwo pages separate them from a related set of descriptions of sea mammals, crustaceans, and more fish. With this information, Cartwright laid out his acquired knowledge of the natural history of southern Labrador, the earliest such record for the Northeast that was based on firsthand observation. As discussed further below, these natural history entries probably represent Cartwright’s response to descriptions of Labrador’s fauna found in Thomas Pennant’s Arctic Zoology (1784, 1785, 1787), which Pennant collected chiefly from Hudson’s Bay Company employees based in James Bay. A third type of entry found throughout The Labrador Companion is information unrelated to surrounding text that seems to have been written down as it occurred to Cartwright, in a stream-of-consciousness fashion. Thus, directions for a “Kitchen-Range” are followed by “Blue Jay” and “Food for Falcons upon the Passage to England” (lc 208–9). Homesteading and gardening tips form part of this interesting repertoire. They include instructions for building what was known as an American fence (zig-zag style) and a Newfoundland fence (wattle construction) (lc 269– 70). Different house types are described, including those built by French sealers and trappers who overwintered on the southern Labrador coast before 1763 (lc 65). Curing, jerking, smoking, and dehydrating fish and meat are described (lc 56–8), as are tips for fresh-freezing fish and preserving butter and eggs for future consumption (lc 59, 262). The overall scarcity of arable land and the short growing season added to the effort required to provision a merchant station. Gardening tips, such as how to grow potatoes in the short Labrador summer (lc 176) and how to ensure a bumper crop of large cabbages (lc 268), gain relevance when considered against the high cost of bringing foods from England to provision work crews. In this regard Cartwright’s Journal (1792) is also illustrative of the tremendous energy he invested in self-sufficiency. During his years in Labrador, as recounted in the Journal, he experimented

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with seaweed and fish offal fertilizers, with growing cucumbers under glass, building a wattle-type fence to create a microenvironment, with cold frames and tub planting, and mixing sand and ashes into dense peat soil. In April 1776, in Sandwich Bay, for instance, he grew radishes, mustard, onions, carrots, spinach, cresses, and peas, as well as French beans, Indian corn, barley, oats, and a Quebec wheat variety that he sowed in different spots around Muddy Bay and Dykes River. Interspersed throughout are two further themes that include a limited number of Cartwright’s firsthand observations of the Innu and Inuit, as well as a small number of anecdotes that refer to Cartwright’s years in Labrador between 1770 and 1786. The entries of ethnohistorical interest range widely. Cartwright variously met, worked, travelled, lived, and traded with both the Innu (whom he called “Mountaineer Indians,” after the French name “Montagnais”) and the Labrador Inuit (referred to as “Indians” but also “Eskimeaus”). Both were present in southernmost Labrador at this time; the Inuit were chiefly along the outer coast while the Innu lived inland, but their ranges overlapped at the mouths of salmon rivers and in inner bay regions. A sketch of a Labrador Innu tent may be the earliest of its kind (lc 195, 211), as is a description of an Inuit sod house (but with an “improvement” twist, lc 289).1 Information on each culture is also embedded in other entries. That Innu women hunted porcupine, and did so at night, is information given in an entry on the porcupine (lc 124). Described elsewhere in the manuscript are Inuit methods of catching geese and other birds using baleen snares (“split whale-bone”; lc 135, 144), and catching black-backed gulls using European nails beaten to the thickness of wire (lc 150). The description of the Inuit whale hunt of November and December is of particular ethnohistorical interest (lc 247), as are Innu and Inuit methods for preparing caribou skins (lc 279). Lists of items for the Innu and Inuit trade are more detailed than those given in Additions (lc 289, 293). One of Cartwright’s trap house plans, we are told, follows the design of an “Eskimeau Winterhouse” (lc 47). Personal memories directly related to Cartwright’s time in Labrador, but not found in the Journal, are a second vein of information spread throughout The Labrador Companion. We learn, for instance, that two of his crew once became sick from eating polar bear liver (lc 79). He

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reminisces on trapping the now very rare wolverine, and having at different times made pets of a porcupine, a polar bear cub, and a caribou, and training three horned owls (lc 80, 126, 174). The 1771 profits from his sealing operation at Cape Charles are especially interesting for what they add to our understanding of the economics of that industry (lc 296). Certain technologies and practices are not represented in the manuscript despite their importance or centrality to his operations. Cartwright may have lacked expertise in these areas or, as noted below, followed classbased associations. Thus, he wrote nothing about any aspect of the cod fishery, nor coopering or blacksmithing (other than briefly mentioning that men skilled in these trades were necessary for a sealing post), and little about the work of his female housekeepers, such as meal preparation. In order to provide an overview of Cartwright’s material and as a search aid, all entries are presented in two tables, below. Table 1 lists entries in their order of appearance following Cartwright’s pagination. Table 2 rearranges them by subject category listed in alphabetical order and with entries ordered by Cartwright’s pagination.

The Text The Labrador Companion is an original manuscript handwritten into a string-bound notebook with a marbled cover protected by an outer coverguard of hand-folded paper. The front inside cover contains the signature of John Cartwright and a note in the same hand explaining, “This book was written by my great uncle George Cartwright.” The back cover contains no markings. The front cover is no longer attached to the spine and strips of aged masking tape indicate long-ago attempts at repair. The outer edges of the first eighty pages show edge staining, possibly from moisture damage, but overall the two-hundred-year-old manuscript’s condition is fine. The dimensions of the cover are 24.7 x 18.8 cm, the dimensions of the pages are 24.0 x 18.8 cm, and the notebook’s thickness is 11.2 cm. Cartwright’s handwriting appears on both sides of each leaf for 379 pages. Page numbering is inconsistent in three instances: two pages before Cartwright’s page 1 are unnumbered but have text that was probably added after the manuscript’s completion; four unnumbered pages of text are found between pages six and seven; and numbering stops

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after page 343 for an index of twenty-one unnumbered pages that also includes three unnumbered pages of regular text. This is followed by the final pages of the manuscript, which are numbered 344 and 345. Although Cartwright’s text contains many spelling inconsistencies, his handwriting and grammar reveal some years of education. As in the Journal, his writing style is straightforward and his meanings are mostly clear despite frequent lengthy sentences. Relatively complex work-flow processes and arrangements of form, materials, and even colours are described with clarity. His illustrations, while not artistic renderings, are usefully schematic and most are drawn to scale. To emphasize parts of some drawings, Cartwright used a red ink that has since faded, which is noted in footnotes.

The Transcription The transcribed text follows Cartwright’s original pagination, spelling, punctuation, and paragraphing. Any text in square brackets, [i.e.], is not part of the original and has been added, while text in parentheses, (i.e.), is part of the original. Words that could not be transcribed were marked with [?]. There are spelling errors throughout The Labrador Companion. For instance, “perceive,” “receive,” and “seize” are usually, but not always, spelled with the “ei” reversed, as in “recieve.” The word “buoy” is spelled sometimes correctly but also as “bouy”; “height” is often found as “hight,” among other variations. All of these terms are transcribed as written by Cartwright. Occasionally the notation “[sic]” is inserted as a reminder of original spelling, and sometimes where a letter is missing in a word that letter has been added in square brackets, as in “the[n].” Where Cartwright crossed out text, a note to that effect is given in square brackets as in [text crossed out]. Colons and especially semi-colons were used liberally instead of full-stops or commas. Inconsistencies in spelling may appear in the same paragraph, such as “Rendering-Vat” and “Rendering-vat.” Cartwright also used several abbreviations that have not been changed in the transcription, such as do or Do for “ditto.” The scientific names of plant and animal species have been included in only a few instances where they may help with identification. Cartwright did not include Linnean names even though many had already been established and published. Finally, Cartwright’s above-mentioned

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index on twenty-one unnumbered pages, found between numbered pages 343 and 344, has been left out of the transcription because of errors and missing entries.

Humbles, Dumbles, Nombles, and Clicketing-Time Cartwright was one of the earliest recorders of the particular language related to his way of life. His systematic collection of language is represented by the 134-term glossary found in each of the three volumes of the Journal. Some of these terms were learned from Inuit companions, such as “kyack,” but the bulk came from Labrador crews whose origins were mainly in England’s West Country and in Newfoundland. It is, notably, Canada’s earliest glossary of a regional English (Story 1975; Kirwin 1991; Clarke 2010). The Labrador Companion also contains a short glossary of twenty-nine terms (lc 342), fifteen of them duplicated in the Journal’s glossary. Many of these words belong to such linguistically specialized realms as Labrador trapping and sealing. The many terms found throughout The Labrador Companion add to Cartwright’s existing contributions to our knowledge of early technical language. Together, Cartwright’s texts are the richest record we have of eighteenth-century English from Labrador. Readers whose lives were defined by the northeastern fisheries and trapping may recognize some of this language and will readily picture sealing dogs and sealing cats, lennets, and murderers. The strangeness of some terms and instructions, and the familiarity of others, represents cultural change and continuity in Labrador. Several terms used by Cartwright are rarely heard today or have changed meanings. The reference to planting skegs as a Labrador crop (lc 223), for instance, relates to a kind of oat that is no longer grown in that northerly region, while bowsing belongs to a time when things were pulled and hauled by tackle. Humbles are entrails, a dumble is a ravine, nombles are the organs of a deer or caribou, and clicketing-time is the season of oestrus. Wherever possible, I have included definitions of unique terms as footnotes, but the reader may also find it useful to have at hand a relevant dictionary such as The Dictionary of Newfoundland English (Kirwin, Storey, and Widdowsen 1990) or English Etymology (Lemon 1783).

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Eighteenth-Century Labrador – The Setting of The Labrador Companion Cartwright was one of the first British merchants to operate in Labrador after its 1763 annexation from France. Despite his efforts and committed, hands-on participation, the outcome was one of considerable capital losses, occasional gains, but ultimately bankruptcy. Cartwright had little background in Labrador matters when he began in 1770, and had much to learn about sealing, trapping, fishing, and homesteading. He faced cutthroat competition from large merchant houses, and constant difficulties in turning a profit in continually challenging conditions. Well-established West Country merchants were the chief organizers of northern Newfoundland’s economy and began to pay attention to Labrador at the same time as Cartwright. Firms such as Noble and Pinson dogged Cartwright’s heels throughout his sixteen years of operation. They had the necessary ships, salt, investment capital, market connections in the Caribbean and Mediterranean, and experienced crews to allow smooth expansion into Labrador. Any of Cartwright’s initial advantages, such as family wealth and an early business partnership with the West Country firm of Perkins and Coghlan, were compromised by the juggernaut of competing established enterprises that came to southern Labrador within a year or two of his own arrival (Stopp 2008, Table 1). Cartwright was not alone in having difficulties. Broader political events affected all merchants along the coast, such as the annexation of Labrador to Quebec in 1774, which brought a further influx of Quebec-based merchants. The start of the American Revolution in 1775 brought privateers who ranged along the entire southern coast of Labrador, destroying and purloining thousands of pounds worth of assets, and kidnapping employees and Inuit. Viewed in a Canadian historical context, Cartwright’s business reveals what the eighteenth-century fur trade looked like in the Northeast. Labrador’s Atlantic coast is little studied in relation to its role in eighteenthcentury British enterprise and colonial expansion and is generally passed over for the politics of French and British relations, or for the fur trade history of Rupert’s Land and the Northwest. The so-called “fur trade” was in fact not a uniform phenomenon or experience across the Canadian North, but varied from region to region and over time. When the

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Hudson’s Bay Company (hbc) opened shop in Hamilton Inlet in 1836, its participation in “the fur trade” was characterized by the same activities and resources as Cartwright’s had been, namely salmon, seal products, and cod, alongside furs. Three centuries before the hbc’s arrival in southern Labrador, the region held economic importance for a succession of European nations, beginning with the late-fifteenth- and sixteenth-century cod fisheries by Bretons and Spanish and French Basques, and substantive and profitable walrus, seal, and especially whale fisheries in the Gulf of St Lawrence and the Strait of Belle Isle (Barkham 1974, 1977; Turgeon 1994). These expanded to include Dutch whaling throughout the western Atlantic in the seventeenth century, and French, British, and New England fisheries in southern Labrador in the eighteenth century. By the mid-eighteenth century, the waters around Newfoundland and Labrador were Britain’s and France’s main sources of cod, salmon, oil from seals and whales, walrus hides and ivory, and seal skins for footwear and clothing. Oil, in particular, was needed at home for fuel and lighting, and dried cod was central to the Mediterranean trade. Merchants were paid in gold by the Spanish and the Portuguese in return for Newfoundland fish for the Catholic countries, and immense wealth sailed into Georgian England and especially to its West Country merchant houses. The late eighteenth century in western Newfoundland and southern Labrador was, however, a time of cultural and political flux. As already noted, political jurisdictions were redrawn after the Seven Years’ War. The 1763 Treaty of Paris ended 250 years of French fisheries in the Strait of Belle Isle and ceded the Labrador coast and much of Newfoundland to Britain, with France still fishing Newfoundland’s west coast. Britain asserted its sovereignty through naval presence, and became more focussed on Labrador and its resources. For nearly thirty years it supported the annual presence of a naval commander during the fishing season. In 1766, the navy built a small blockhouse with a year-round garrison at Chateau Bay, known as York Fort. Britain also supported merchant set-ups, and, significantly, it undertook to chart that coast, which endeavour began in 1760, was continued by James Cook in 1763–67, and was completed by Michael Lane in 1771 (Whitely 1969, 1972, 1973; Janzen 1993, 2008; Ryan 1994; Hornsby and Hermann 2005; Stopp 2014).

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Sealing In Cartwright’s time, sealing was one of southern Labrador’s most important resource activities (Stopp 2008, 46–53). His entries on sealing are a glimpse into Labrador’s second major oil economy, after the sixteenth-century Basque whale fishery. An early historian of the seal fishery, H.M. Mosdell (1923, 19), observed that sealing was “looked upon as a gentleman’s occupation similar to fox hunting. The Governor … had nothing to do with catching codfish, which was looked upon as a plebeian occupation and altogether beneath that of the fur trader.” This interesting record perhaps reveals something of the social ramifications of highly placed Quebec officials who requested tracts of the Labrador coast to carry out seal fisheries before the 1763 Treaty. Choosing the “gentleman’s occupation” may also lie at the heart of Cartwright’s focus on sealing (and falconry, below) and his expressed disdain of the fishery, which he carried out with some reluctance and, as already noted, left undescribed (Stopp 2008, 61). The early Labrador seal fishery was net-based and carried out using strong and massive shoal nets that either extended out from a shoreline, or stretched across a tickle (a narrow strait) from shore to shore (cf. also Mosdell 1923; Candow 1989). Two-hundred-year-old communities along the southern Labrador coast, such as Cape Charles, Battle Harbour, Square Islands, Venison Harbour, Seal Islands, and others, all began as sealing stations because they were positioned at tickles through which the autumn harp seal migration passed. The harp seal (Phoca groenlandica) was the focus of the hunt during its southward migration from the eastern Arctic to the Gulf of St Lawrence. At this time of year, the herds keep to the Labrador shore. Cartwright tells us, “they trim the shore all the way, and enter every Bay & Harbour. The first appearance of them at Cape Charles and the adjacent places is generally about the 16th of November, and the whole are passed by on or before Christmas day” (lc 61). To be profitable, thousands of seals had to be caught and processed in a short space of time. To catch them, well-made nets were needed, as were buildings to store frozen carcasses over the winter, and industrial infrastructure to render the rand-fat into quality commercial seal oil in the spring. Cartwright’s entries on sealing describe this multi-step process carefully. They also relate to innovations and improvements that he devised in

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order to be efficient and profitable. He may have been the inventor of the blocking net technique, and established new ways of rendering oil to improve its quality (Stopp 2008, 48–50).

Hunting and Trapping Along with sealing methods, The Labrador Companion’s descriptions of hunting and trapping situate this work as an important source of firsthand historical material on these activities. Elsewhere in the British fur trade empire, furs were brought to posts by Indigenous partners and suppliers. In eighteenth-century Labrador (and on the Island of Newfoundland) furring was done by winter crews of European men who worked for a merchant. Cartwright’s specific information on a range of trapping techniques and hardwares are not found in other writings of the time. They reveal the diverse skills and knowledge sets tied to this activity and Cartwright’s own skills. When these are combined with the instructions found in The New Labrador Papers on how to establish trap lines and build trap tilts (Stopp 2008), what emerges is a rich and relatively complete picture of this industry. The Labrador Companion contains information on all manner of animal traps and trapping and netting techniques. These include trap-like snares as well as gravity-based traps, a springing pole design, and metal traps. Proficiency in his craft is demonstrated in the details, such as why one must collect large quantities of leaves for setting traps (lc 181), and the benefits of rotten cheese as trap bait (lc 35, 55, 100, 204, 205, 281, 311). Machine-made, mass-produced steel traps replaced hand-forged ones in the mid-nineteenth century, but in Cartwright’s time these were expensive and less common (Schorger 1951, 186). In his early years and before business losses ate away his start-up capital, Cartwright employed a blacksmith, probably to make and repair metal traps (Stopp 2008, 234– 6). Entries in the Journal, in The Labrador Companion, and in the Additions indicate that he also shipped metal traps from England.2 But on the whole, his trapping advice describes methods that did not involve torsion- or spring-traps. The techniques he lays out were learned from his years among Inuit as well as from experienced trappers in his employ who hailed from Newfoundland. One such man, named Wrixon, was in the employ of the merchant Jeremiah Coghlan (a former partner of

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Cartwright’s). Wrixon came to Cartwright’s Paradise River establishment in Sandwich Bay, “to give me some instructions concerning the art of tailing traps” (Cartwright 1792, 31 Oct. 1777). Notable among the techniques for capturing game are those that describe the use of nets for catching aquatic, terrestrial, and avian species. The cast net, the trammel net, the stopper, and shoal nets all held an integral place in eighteenth-century resource extraction. The descriptions are of historical interest because they reveal a resource-harvesting technique that is rarely referenced in writings of the period. Cartwright describes net-making, different ways of using nets, and related hardwares, and often accompanies these descriptions with an illustration. As with netting technology, the information on capturing bird species for food is relatively unique to The Labrador Companion. Various bird species such as geese and curlews were sought-after dietary items throughout the colonial period. Instruction is given on how to catch birds in different settings such as along a shore, at night when they fly close to land, or on the barrens. Jays, for instance, were pests for trappers and Cartwright left explicit instructions for catching them with bird lime (now illegal in many countries). Curlews were “the best eating of any bird which I have yet tasted,” and he instructed how to shoot and net them. These entries are also of relevance to the ecological history of Labrador, which has seen significant changes in bird diversity and numbers. By 1830, eggers were sailing to Labrador because rookeries from Cape Cod to Newfoundland had been depleted (Bolster 2008). The few references in the manuscript to observed bird numbers give pause: Cartwright refers to seeing five hundred or more owls on a single day in winter (lc 154) as well as flocks of a hundred to a thousand eider ducks (lc 144). His information on bird catching and bird numbers is sobering in light of diminished populations and species diversity along the North Atlantic flyway. In Labrador, the eider duck was nearly hunted to extinction by the mid-twentieth century (but has seen some recovery due to dedicated breeding programs), while the curlew, the Labrador duck, and the great auk are all but gone in the Northeast. In his Journal (5 July 1783) Cartwright warned of the impending extinction of the “penguin” of Funk Island (the great auk) due to over-hunting. He recorded the migration times of the curlew in southern Labrador, noting the first sightings at the beginning of August, followed by his own numerous curlew kills into

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October using a rifle or a curlew net. Each year “numerous flocks” or “large numbers” of curlew were observed both on the coast and in the hinterland, feeding on blackberries and blueberries (i.e., Journal, 29 August 1770; Montevecchi and Tuck 1987; Houston 2015). There is little doubt that large-scale harvesting by egging, netting, liming, and shooting impacted bird populations, especially in the context of ever-growing permanent settlements that depended on bird hunts in southern Labrador and along the entire eastern seaboard flyway. Hunting may not have been directly tied to an export commodity, but fresh meat was cheaper for feeding work crews than salted meats purchased in England, and it was more nutritious (Stopp 2008, 53–60). Of all the land mammals in southern Labrador, caribou provided the most amount of meat for the effort, and during Cartwright’s time were still readily available. Today, caribou are rarely seen along the southern coast and barrens. Their importance as a late-eighteenth-century food staple is reflected in many entries that describe how to capture caribou using slips and complex corral and lead-in constructions. Cartwright also left detailed descriptions for processing hides and how to use them as tilt covers, carpets, and clothing. In the Journal, he alludes to making sewels and building deer fences (Stopp 2008, 54), but it is difficult to assess the extent to which these techniques were applied. His intention in laying out plans for deer fences may have been a theoretical conviction of their usefulness rather than evidence of their overall frequency of use in Labrador. He first saw deer fences in 1768 while on the Exploits River survey on the island of Newfoundland (described in an essay in the Journal, July 1770). These had been built by Beothuk for caribou hunting. His knowledge of how to build them may be based on what he saw in interior Newfoundland, or learned from Innu or Inuit in Labrador, but there is no record of his ever having seen such constructions in Labrador. Entries in the Journal suggest that most caribou were killed in the open using firepower. The manuscript’s entries on slips and different ways to shoot caribou are, however, based on experience and convey yet further details of historical relevance.

The Innu and Inuit The Indigenous peoples of Labrador, the Innu and Inuit, were at the heart of Cartwright’s experiences, both personal and economic. Historical records contain many accounts of Inuit in the region, but fewer of Innu.

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The Innu held stronger ties with French traders and missions along the north shore of the St Lawrence, and by the late 1700s, their journeys to the Labrador coast were less frequent. Cartwright’s Journal nevertheless contains references to Innu based mainly on meetings during his years in Sandwich Bay, where the mouths of the Paradise River, the North River, and the White Bear River were visited annually by Innu travelling overland from their interior camps to catch salmon and exchange goods and visit Cartwright’s establishments. Cartwright’s most persistent ties were with Inuit who came from Hopedale and elsewhere north of Hamilton Inlet with whale and seal products to trade, and some furs. Indeed, this period of southern Labrador’s history was characterized by many annual visits of small and large parties of Inuit who came from northern Labrador to obtain European goods through both trade and pilfering. Archival and recent archaeological work in southern Labrador show that Inuit were present in the Strait of Belle Isle and the Gulf of St Lawrence by the late 1400s, just as Europeans were beginning their fisheries there (Martijn and Clermont 1980; Auger 1994; Stopp 2002, 2008, 2009, 2014). The earliest Inuit in southernmost Labrador were undoubtedly attracted by the walrus and wintering harp seal herds in the Gulf of St Lawrence. Fine salmon rivers were to be found in most bays along the Quebec Lower North Shore and the Strait of Belle Isle, caribou were present, and wood for fuel, tools, and building material was plentiful. Access to growing numbers of European goods by the sixteenth century became an added incentive. Inuit were intent on obtaining small European shallops, which they used to travel the coast, as well as metal tools, scrap metals that they refashioned, ceramic vessels, beads, thimbles, clothing, and sails. By the early 1700s, increasing numbers of French sealers and fishers, including some who remained year-round, were displacing Inuit from their southern resource locales. Historical records suggest increased aggressions by Inuit, which were representative of fighting for lost and contested space. The cultural geography of the region changed substantively as the French, followed by English and then Jerseyian enterprises, moved into traditional Inuit sealing areas along the Quebec Lower North Shore, at Forteau Point, Red Bay, and Chateau Bay, and established themselves at salmon rivers such as at Blanc Sablon, at the mouth of the Pinware

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River, in Temple Bay, and in St Lewis Inlet. Inuit, who had ranged along both sides of the Strait of Belle Isle for at least two hundred years prior to the 1763 Treaty of Paris, were pushed northwards. Inuit winter and summer camps south of the Cape Charles–Chateau Bay area were no longer possible due to greatly expanded European and American ship presence and the growth of permanent fishing communities (Thornton 1990; Rollmann 2013). As the British colonial presence became more consolidated after the 1763 Treaty, Inuit who came south were regarded as putting themselves in danger and as impediments to the project of colonial/fisheries development. Governor Palliser introduced a series of measures to prevent Inuit visits to southern Labrador in order to protect them from racial violence, but also to prevent their trading with the French on Newfoundland’s French Shore. An outspoken humanitarian, Palliser was intent upon protecting the colony’s Indigenous peoples, including Beothuk on the Island of Newfoundland and Inuit in Labrador, and had documented aggressions by whaling and fishing crews from Europe, Newfoundland, and New England (mg23/I13, v. 2: 3–5, 33–60; co 194/27: fl98, 251, 262; co 194/16/225; Lysaght 1971, 193–213; Rollmann n.d., 2015). Merchants, Moravians, and the Admiralty were involved in the balancing act that became the non-violent prevention of Inuit visits to the south of Labrador. Moravian missionaries encouraged Inuit to remain north of Hamilton Inlet by establishing their first mission at Nain in 1772. That same year, Captain Morris of the Otter, stationed at York Fort in Chateau Bay, enlisted the help of George Cartwright in keeping Inuit from venturing beyond “this side of the Camp Islands, or they would be fired at” (Cartwright 1792, 16 July 1772). The containment policy must have had some effect, for altercations and visits declined. Numbers of Inuit continued to appear in southern Labrador and were never stopped altogether, but these came mainly to trade with Cartwright, and some of them even travelled to England with him (Stopp 2009; Stopp and Mitchell 2010; Rollmann, in press). A decade passed before sizeable assemblies of Inuit once again came southwards to trade at Chateau Bay, motivated by a search for better goods than those on offer at the Moravian missions in northern Labrador (Rollmann 2011, 2013). British treaty enforcement also moved Inuit out of northwestern Newfoundland, where they had long traded and pilfered at French and English fishing stations. Inuit were

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at Quirpon in 1764, at Fogo Island in the summers of 1766 and 1771, and at a large encampment in Sacred Bay in 1767 (Crantz 1820, 290; Lysaght 1971, 196; Whiteley 1969, 1972, 1973; Martijn and Dorais 2001; Martijn 2009). Similar restrictions were levied by the British in southern Newfoundland to prevent Mi’kmaq movement from Nova Scotia (Janzen 2008), and by the French to prevent Mi’kmaq from travelling to the island of St Pierre (Martijn 1989, 223). In all cases, such measures had limited success; Inuit continued to venture southwards, albeit in reduced numbers, while Mi’kmaq may have left southern Newfoundland for a time but within decades had once again settled parts of western Newfoundland, the southern shore, and St Pierre.

Why Did Cartwright Write The Labrador Companion? By the time Cartwright began writing The Labrador Companion, nearly twenty-five years had passed since his final departure from Labrador in 1786. He continued to hold business interests there until at least 1795,3 and participated in various British initiatives relating to Newfoundland and Labrador, but his time was chiefly taken up with writing about Labrador. In 1792, he published his three-volume journal, which he once described to the naturalist Joseph Banks as something that might “create a laugh, but instruct, I think, [it] cannot” (Lysaght 1971, 275). Further writing about Labrador was perhaps stimulated by responses to the Journal but also by the fact that he held considerable knowledge about a part of the New World that had become one of Britain’s most important resource areas. With The Labrador Companion and the Additions to the Labrador Companion, Cartwright was wholly intent upon instructing. This he did with a certain level of authority and detail that reveal his broad store of experience. Long after his 1786 departure, Labrador was a place and an experience that evidently remained much in Cartwright’s thoughts. He recognised the worth of what he knew, and he believed that creating a record would be of use to others. Thus, one of his aims was to pass on the bulk of his technical knowledge to another generation of men heading to Labrador. A second reason for writing The Labrador Companion, although unstated, may have been to establish himself as an authority on Labrador, which by the early nineteenth century was one of Britain’s key

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sources of cod, salmon, and seal oil. A third unstated incentive, already mentioned above, was to respond to Thomas Pennant’s Arctic Zoology, which rankled Cartwright in its omissions and errors about Newfoundland and Labrador.

Instructional Intent In his introduction, which is brief and to the point, Cartwright explained that he wrote The Labrador Companion because the sealing and salmon fisheries in southern Labrador, its principal industries, needed to be more streamlined and efficient to realize their profit potential. Elsewhere in the manuscript he advocated diversification, in particular into sealing: “The more that I consider what may be done in that Country, the more am I astonished at the adventure[r]s paying their whole attention to the catching of Cod-fish and Salmon in the Summer” (lc 308). The companion text genre was suited to getting this message across. It allowed for multiple entries on many subjects with a minimum of creative narrative.

Establishing Himself as an Expert In offering his accumulated knowledge in the form of a companion text, Cartwright was confirming himself as an expert on the subject of Labrador. The Journal had already achieved this, proving that Cartwright stood apart from other merchants operating in Labrador who possessed none of his knowledge or skills because their businesses were run at arm’s length through managers. The Labrador Companion, though never published, was both a textual introduction and an attempt to reassert his knowledge of this relatively unknown part of the colonial world. Specialized knowledge and skill were, moreover, tangible assets closely tied to productivity and profit. The people one needed in Labrador had to possess these qualities, a point made in Cartwright’s undated essay Memorandum for W, written as advice for an unidentified individual entering the North American fur trade: “Learn to do everything with your own hands, that you may know when others do their work well. It is a false idea that a Gentleman disgraces himself by making use of his Limbs” (Stopp 2008, 201). His many entries on capturing and killing caribou, as one example, can be understood in this context of both affirming expertise and sharing knowledge in order to improve someone else’s outcome.

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Cartwright’s expertise is not confined to a single resource. He moved easily between Labrador’s main eco-zones, showing that Labrador’s varied natural geography held no impediments for him, whatever the season. From setting traps on interior barrens, to cutting trap-lines through forest, to sealing on the outer coast, he ranged widely and revelled in discussing his “lov’d Labrador.” It may not be a coincidence that The Labrador Companion was written at the same time as merchant activities along the Labrador coast were on the increase and the hbc began to cast its attention eastward of Rupert’s Land. Cartwright would have been well informed of existing fur trade and fishery operations throughout the Labrador-Quebec peninsula. Along Labrador’s Strait of Belle Isle and as far as Hamilton Inlet, British, Quebec, and Jerseyian merchants flourished by the early nineteenth century. Extensive warehouses, wharves, and residences for merchants and crews alike had been built at major salmon rivers, in all harbours, and at all sealing capture zones. L’Anse au Loup was one of southern Labrador’s most prosperous communities, with 140 permanent residents and over 300 men employed by Noble and Pinson with a dozen vessels. By 1810, there were already three Moravian missions north of Hamilton Inlet with competitive trading outlets that had tapped the Inuit fur trade and were expanding into the fishery. All profits at these missions became much-needed operating budgets. In 1811, Moravian missionaries undertook a voyage of exploration of the northernmost Labrador coast and of Ungava Bay in search of another northern mission site. Their eventual request to the British Crown for a grant of land was, however, blocked by hbc Governor George Simpson, responding to perceived Moravian expansionism. Noting the success of enterprises on the Atlantic coast, and to prevent their expansion, the hbc began a slow process of exploration of the Labrador-Quebec peninsula. The hbc had posts in eastern Hudson Bay, the earliest established at the mouth of the Eastmain River in 1723, but none elsewhere in the peninsula. Nothing was known of the geography of the interior or whether it held sufficient furs or the inhabitants to trap them. The hbc’s first attempt to learn more of the interior was in 1819, the year of Cartwright’s death. James Clouston together with Cree guides mapped a section of the western peninsula over two seasons. Several years thereafter, in 1834, Erland Erlandson, aided by Innu, trekked and mapped

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the interior from Fort Chimo on Ungava Bay to North West River in Hamilton Inlet (embarking on the return trip within days of arrival). In 1836, the hbc finally set up its first post on the eastern side of the continent, at North West River, in direct competition with several private traders (Davies and Johnson 1963). A letter in Cartwright’s correspondence points to having made contact with the hbc. In a missive from Hudson’s Bay House, dated 11 June 1818, he is requested “to have the goodness to say upon what terms you will part with your Book of remarks upon Labrador,” and to arrange for a Mr Blagg to act as “Chief of an Expedition whose object will be to establish a trade with the Esquimaux” (Stopp 2008, 221). The book referred to is most likely The Labrador Companion since the three-volume Journal had been available since 1792. Loose papers in the Cartwright collection contain further clues that he was apprised of fur trade activities beyond Labrador. One note lists the numbers and roles of hbc employees, along with their wages and equipment. Another describes the way in which Hudson Bay Cree caught beaver, and a third consists of a short set of notes on North West Company trader Alexander Mackenzie’s explorations (Stopp 2008, 167, 171, 172). Indeed, the Journal’s format would have been familiar to readers of hbc accounts since it resembles a factor’s daily entries on business activities, meteorological conditions, and day-today life. Factor accounts, as with Cartwright’s, were both personal and business records, where a description of berries and fishes answered questions about provisioning and keeping costs as low as possible (Giltrow 2009). Descriptions in journals of trade meetings with Cree in Hudson Bay or Inuit in Sandwich Bay revealed information about fur availability and where resources were being found, and allowed for better business decisions. Today these accounts are read with an historical eye, but in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries they served as useful corporate records needed for informed governance and to connect decisionmakers to their resource areas as well as to the trading needs of the Indigenous peoples who supplied the furs. Cartwright is clear on the point that he was writing to further economic endeavours in Labrador. His descriptions of plants, animals, and people, moreover, suggest that he also hoped to contribute to the widespread scientific trend in natural history research. Natural history specimen

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collecting, illustrating, writing, and Linnean classification (especially of unknown species) were at an all-time high in Britain, in Europe, and throughout European colonies and areas reached by travellers. Beginning in the mid-1700s, the most comprehensive collections and scientific records brought together in Britain came from hbc fur trade posts around Hudson Bay. Linked by Samuel Wegg, who was both a member of the hbc’s London Committee and a fellow and treasurer of the Royal Society, the hbc became central to advancements in natural history, meteorology, astronomy, and a range of experiments requiring cold climates such as the discovery of the freezing temperature of mercury. Wegg also encouraged the Society’s reception of Company field accounts and of observations sent in by keen employees. Among the most notable of these contributors was Andrew Graham, chief factor at Prince of Wales Fort in Churchill, Manitoba, from 1774–75, who had first worked at the fort as a young man in 1749. Graham kept trade lists, exploration records, weather measurements, observations on the Cree and Inuit, and observations of natural history. From 1770 onwards, he sent many natural history specimens to London, which together with his notes became the basis for important publications by others, including Thomas Pennant’s Arctic Zoology, John Latham’s A General Synopsis of Birds, and Johan Reinhold Forster’s Animals of Hudson’s Bay (1882) (Houston, Ball, and Houston 2003; Williams 2003; Binnema 2014). Under Wegg, the hbc’s London Committee came to recognize that the data and the data-gathering approach used by scientists held commercial benefits. By 1800, it was calling for better descriptions of geography, climate, flora, and fauna in each district, assessment of crop potential and cultivation, and descriptions of buildings. The committee also asked for information about the Indigenous populations of each area because they were central to bringing in the furs. Starting in his first year in Labrador, in 1770, Cartwright participated in this wave of observation and collection by keeping his own detailed records and by sending specimens back to England. His chief contact in the world of natural history was Joseph Banks, who received many bird skins (including a pair of the now-extinct Labrador duck), plants, and specimens and detailed descriptions tied to colour change in northern birds and hares (Lysaght 1971). The Labrador Companion was, in part, Cartwright’s contribution to these scientific endeavours.

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Reacting to Thomas Pennant The natural history entries found in The Labrador Companion were very likely inspired by descriptions of Labrador species and peoples presented by Thomas Pennant in his Arctic Zoology, published in three volumes in 1784 (Vol. 1, on mammals), 1785 (Vol. 2, on birds), and 1787 (Supplementary, on miscellaneous entries). Pennant (1726–1798) was a Welsh naturalist, geologist, antiquarian, fellow of the Royal Society, and also Britain’s foremost zoologist. His compendium of northern fauna by geographical region was ambitious and much of his data came from other collectors, not an uncommon practice among natural historians of the time. His information on the fauna of Labrador and the Island of Newfoundland came from field notes and specimens borrowed from the naturalist and fellow Royal Society member Joseph Banks. Banks had made a single field trip to Newfoundland and to Chateau Bay, Labrador, in 1766, and much of his later Labrador material came from Cartwright, who collected for Banks after 1773. Cartwright sent plants and animals back to England, and made observations for Banks, such as those on the phenomenon of colour change in birds and hares. Cartwright was also the first to draw attention to the spring and autumn moult. Pennant’s account of colour change in hares probably derives from information Banks had received from Cartwright, and specimens originally from Cartwright would have been used by Pennant (Lysaght 1971, 36, 41, 79). Not only was Pennant hampered in his attempt to describe northern fauna by lack of firsthand knowledge (Vaughan 2010, 182), but he did not always acknowledge his sources, giving only brief mention to Banks, and certainly none to Cartwright (Lysaght 1971, 95). Cartwright’s disagreements with Pennant were first noted by Lysaght in Joseph Banks in Labrador, 1766 (1971, 443). In the course of her research, Lysaght was shown privately owned copies of Arctic Zoology that bore marginalia that she recognized as Cartwright’s handwriting, written next to many of Pennant’s descriptions of Labrador and Newfoundland species. The notations were Cartwright’s corrections and additional information on animal distributions, their habits, and appearances. Entries by Pennant about the Innu and Inuit of Labrador, and the Beothuk of Newfoundland, were also accompanied by corrections. The volumes

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Lysaght examined belonged to G.M. Gathorne-Hardy, who in 1910 had accompanied H. Hesketh-Pritchard on a trek from Nain to the George River, in northern Labrador, described in Through Trackless Labrador (Hesketh-Pritchard 1911). The Pennant volumes came into GathorneHardy’s possession through his grandfather, who had purchased a house and its contents from a Thomas Hallett Hodges. Hodges, in turn, was George Cartwright’s brother-in-law, married to his sister Dorothy Cartwright (Farrell n.d.). Lysaght learned, probably from Gathorne-Hardy, that Cartwright often stayed with the Hodges when he was in England – and, we must presume, annotated their copies of Arctic Zoology. Lysaght included transcriptions of these marginalia in the Banks volume (1971, Appendix 1). Cartwright came into possession of his own copy of volume 2 of Arctic Zoology in 1787, a gift from his brother-in-law, the above-mentioned Thomas H. Hodges. The other two volumes may have come into his possession in 1807. All three volumes formed part of the Cartwright collection discovered in South Africa in the 1970s by Dr I. Marshall and are now held at Library and Archives Canada.4 All bear margin notes in Cartwright’s handwriting, forming a second set of evidence that Cartwright found Pennant’s information on Labrador lacking. In content, these notes closely resemble those found in the Gathorne-Hardy copies but differ in wording (confirming that the volumes viewed by Lysaght are not the same ones acquired by Library and Archives Canada). Cartwright’s marginalia in his own copies of Pennant are included in the Appendix of this book. It is not out of the question that Cartwright felt that Pennant ought to have consulted him on the matter of species noted to be in Labrador and on the island of Newfoundland. His most frequent notations concern corrections on the geographic distribution of species. Cartwright would add “found in Labrador” or just “Newfoundland” wherever Pennant omitted mention of either place. As an example of a more elaborate correction, alongside the text on the Arctic fox, which Pennant described as found only in the northernmost Arctic regions, Cartwright wrote, “Are in tolerable plenty all along the Eastern Coast of Labrador; some are killed every winter in Newfoundland; the most southern place I ever knew them to be seen in, is the Island of Bacaleau in Lat. 48.13N, which lies on the Eastern Coast of Newfoundland” (Pennant 1784, 43). Cartwright’s ambition was probably not to prove himself a

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scientist – he does not, for instance, use scientific names – but his notes are reminders of the breadth and specificity of his firsthand knowledge. That he would make the effort to enter corrections into two sets of Pennant fits the picture of a man who was indeed the only living expert on Labrador, and passionate on the subject. The wording of these marginalia sometimes resembles that found in The Labrador Companion, suggesting that these notes were an early inspiration for the manuscript.

The Labrador Companion and Additions Considered Together The Labrador Companion and Additions are similarly structured documents. Both are draft manuscripts in need of overall organization, with shared subject matter presented in the form of succinctly written entries that are sometimes accompanied by schematic drawings. The Labrador Companion differs from Additions by having more entries that are entirely descriptive, such as the sections on Labrador’s birds, fish, and terrestrial and aquatic mammals. It gives more information on trapping, and much more on hunting, in particular of caribou. Where the same subject is found in both manuscripts, the version in Additions may repeat details given in the earlier text but may also contain supplementary information. Both manuscripts, for instance, have similar texts on how to catch otters along a pathway that connects two bodies of water, but Additions elaborates on the fencing method and the door release mechanism and also describes how to use a net under such circumstances (Stopp 2008, 88, 155). Distinguishing historical fact from the invented and untried was an issue raised in the introduction to Additions. The Labrador Companion presents us with the same conundrum, namely how to distinguish actual period details from ideas that Cartwright may have devised after leaving Labrador – practices that may be clever or even fit within eighteenthcentury British contexts but were never used in Labrador. One clue to identifying these elements – the things that never saw actual application in Labrador – is when Cartwright describes them as “improvements” or when he is “of the opinion” that something could be bettered. Adding to the challenge of historical interpretation is that these embellishments are often embedded in broader descriptions that are historically relevant. One example is Cartwright’s “improvement” on the design of an Inuit sod

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house (lc 291), in which he suggests changes to this Indigenous structure founded in notions of social and hygienic betterment through European design features. Other entries bear no direct relation to Labrador but appear to have been included to give emphasis to a particular idea – that it might work in Labrador – such as the use of sharp, four-spiked caltrops for catching elephants, tigers, and lions (lc 259), and the description of the fencing of fallow deer in Welbeck Park (lc 260). Entries that are unlikely to represent actual practices belong squarely in the category of musings and improvisations and thread their way through The Labrador Companion and Additions. They give us some insight into Cartwright’s imaginative character and his propensity for the particular. But several of these are altogether unlikely to have taken place, or even to be feasible. These range from a convoluted method of catching basking harbour seals (lc 70), to instructions for training a dog to attack a bear from behind (lc 76), and the fantastical suggestion that a polar bear would be extremely useful to ride upon if well tamed (lc 82).5 Other entries seem too elaborate to be reasonable, such as a scheme for catching otters in a pond that would have required immense time and energy (lc 283). Some entries are not fully explained, such as the plan for killing caribou in the water (lc 89), which is reminiscent of Innu techniques but lacks followthrough in the event that many are killed at the same time. Cartwright at times also makes it clear that he has not tried the thing being described, such as the advice on painting a goose-hunting flat (lc 131), or the netting technique suggested for catching Canada geese (lc 135). His instruction for drying mushrooms is admitted to be superfluous since he “never saw a Mushroom in Labrador” (lc 318). On the other hand, tips that may seem unlikely find some basis in The Journal. Instructions for capturing young caribou and training them to a sled or a plough (lc 201, 222) may, for instance, relate to a time when Cartwright had a tame calf that slept next to his bed and accompanied him on walks (Cartwright 1792, July–August 1779). The description or capture of birds is a subject given much more attention in The Labrador Companion than in Additions. Both, however, share a set of information on falconry that bears little relation to Labrador. Cartwright became an avid falconer after his 1786 return to England. In an 1817 letter to a nephew, at the age of eighty, he wrote that he was hosting a falconer from Norfolk and that he still “attended closely

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to the Hawking” (lac, R13263-13-9-E). A mid-nineteenth-century folk history from the Nottingham area, where he lived until his death in 1819, recalls him on horseback with trained hawks on his wrist: “The captain was the last person, it may be supposed, in this neighbourhood, who followed the amusement of killing game by the ancient practice of ‘hawking.’ Previous to the enclosure of the open lands, in the vicinity of Nottingham, he might be seen wending his way up the Mansfield-road, during a fine autumnal morning, on horseback, with his servant behind him, and the hawks on his wrist, in pursuit of his vocation” (Bailey ca. 1853, 337). There is no clear evidence in the Journal that falconry was a part of Cartwright’s Labrador life, although there is a reference to Inuit bringing him a pair of young eagles (Cartwright 1792, 18 June 1772). Possibly Cartwright was once again responding to Pennant, who gave a history of falconry and its royal associations in Arctic Zoology and described how to capture falcons, information not dissimilar to Cartwright’s (Pennant 1785, 217–20). In both of these texts, the extended entries on falconry stand out as unusual, even out of place, amongst species’ descriptions, and were perhaps intended to signal or legitimize class affiliation through knowledge of this ancient sport.6 As far as is known, nineteenth-century work crews and newcomers to Labrador never benefited from Cartwright’s observations and instructions and we must suppose that they were less prepared for lack of them. Time has transformed this companion text from its original purpose as a practical field guide into an historian’s primer on material culture, technology, and natural history. Cartwright has left us insights into many practical aspects of colonization and of Indigenous peoples that would under normal circumstances not have been recorded. The majority of records from this period were generated by and for governing bodies, and the preoccupations and education of workers or colonists did not leave room for personal record-keeping. Cartwright’s several texts have, in effect, made explicit what has rarely been recorded about eighteenth-century working life in Labrador.

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no t e s 1 Lucien Turner’s (1979, 134) visit to Naskapi/Innu camps in the Ungava Bay area in 1882–84 resulted in the first detailed description of their tents. Louis Jolliet gave the earliest description of a southern Labrador Inuit sod house observed in the area of Cape Charles during a voyage along that coast in 1694 (Delanglez 1948, 217). 2 Some hbc posts in central and western Canada had their own blacksmiths to make traps. 3 Cartwright’s marginalia in his copy of Pennant’s vol. 1 of Arctic Zoology states that he had “people in that Country [Labrador] for twenty five years,” (lc 71; see also Stopp 2008, 32). 4 Volume 2 (but not Volume 1 or the Supplementary) bears Cartwright’s signature (“Geo. Cartwright”) on a blank page inside the cover along with a note, “given him by T.H. Hodges Esq., 1787.” On the title page of Pennant’s vol. 1 is handwritten “George Cartwright 1807” and “Frances Cartwright 1819.” The handwriting does not resemble G.C.’s but may be Frances Cartwright’s, who was his niece and inherited his estate upon his death in 1819. Page vii of the Supplementary bears two names – again in what may be Frances Cartwright’s handwriting – of “Geo. Cartwright 1807” and below it, “Frances Cartwright 1819.” In addition to these signatures, vol. 1 and the copy of Pennant’s Supplement to the Arctic Zoology (1787) at Library and Archives Canada bear the signature “George Cartwright Jun’r. rn, 1834.” George Cartwright Junior was Frances Cartwright’s nephew and may have inherited her estate; he was also the step-father of Alice Beatrice Sweet-Escott (see Preface). Cartwright’s Pennant volumes can be viewed at http://collectionscanada.gc.ca. 5 David Thompson’s journal contains a description of a tame polar bear at Prince of Wales Fort, Churchill River (Moreau 2009, vol. 1, 15). 6 Another early piece of natural history writing about North America that has information on falconry was compiled by Father Louis Nicolas in the late seventeenth century in Natural History of the New World, thought to be part of the Codex Canadensis (Gagnon 2011). Nicolas’s observations on falconry are also found within text on species’ descriptions. Like Cartwright, he set out the language of falconry and compiled a description of birds suitable for this pursuit. It is unlikely that Cartwright knew

Introduction

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of Nicolas’s text, yet both writers share vaguely expressed reasons for including a topic unrelated to their main purpose. Both observe that North American raptors could be brought to Europe for hunting, and were intrigued by “this fine occupation of the nobility” (Senior 2011, 359).

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George Cartwright’s The Labrador Companion

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Table 1 Entries from The Labrador Companion in order of Cartwright’s page numbers

To make a Vessel carry a good Helm1 0/1 To build a temporary Store with Boards 0/1 One Sack of Oats 0/1 To make a permanent bridge across a River, which discharges much Ice in the Spring 0/1 A small Flat for particular uses 0/1 A portable Flat for catching Beaver 0/1 Introduction 1 To Kill a Wolf, Fox or other active Beast 3 To catch all kinds of Quadrupeds upon a flat shore of no great breadth 3 Lobsters to catch in Shoal-water 3 Plan of Lord Middleton’s Deer-paddocks, in Wollaton Park 4 How to convert the Plan on the other side to a very useful purpose in Labrador 5 An Improvement upon the Hawk-fences of Deer Pounds 5 No. 1 - Plan of a Sealing-pound 6 To shoot Geese upon a Shoal, which dries at Low-water [no page number]2 Horses, Cows, etc. to Keep [no page number] To construct a small raft for Pond use [no page number] Improvement in Tailing a Gun for a Bear etc. [no page number] Weight, Extent of Wings and Circumference of certain birds [no page number]

1 The first six entries of the manuscript are on the title page and on the page that follows, all before the Introduction. They appear to have been added after manuscript completion. Since the title page is unpaginated, Cartwright refers to these entries as being on page “0/1.” 2 Four pages between pages 6 and 7 are unnumbered but have entries.

4

Entries by Cartwright’s page numbers

To build a house of round Studs, and covered in with Rinds, which shall be Wind, Water and Frost tight; warm and durable [no page number] Explanation of the Sealing-pound 7 No. 2 - Shoal-nets for catching Seals 8 No. 3 - Directions for making all kinds of nets 8 No. 4 - Rendering Vat 10 No. 5 - Washing-Vat 11 No. 6 - Ran-fat Vat 11 No. 7 - Skimming Vat 13 No. 8 - Oil House 13 No. 9 - Rendering Vat improved 13 No. 10 - Large double-springed Steel-trap 15 No. 11 - Tub-Vat 15 No. 12 - Small Double-springed Steel-trap 16 No. 13 - Beaver-trap 16 No. 14 - Marten-trap 17 No. 15 - Large Pitfal-trap 17 No. 16 - Lesser Pitfal-trap for Foxes & Martens 19 No. 17 - Little Pit-fal trap for Otters 19 No. 18 - Plans & elevations of the Great Pitfal-Trap 20–1 No. 19 - House-trap, for Bears & Wolves 22 Ground-plan of two double houses 22 Longitudinal Section of a double House-trap 23 To Tail a Gun 23 Ground Plan of a Gun-house 25 No. 21 - Deathfal, or Log-trap 25 No. 22 - Ground-plan of a Deer-Pound; the killing-pound, & Venisonhouse 26–7 Explanation of the Hawk-rack 27 No. 23 - Salmon-Pound, or Salmon-Crib 28 No. 24 - Otter-Pound in a Pond 29 Plan of the Pond and Pound etc. 30 No. 25 - Otter-Pound upon a Brook 31 Plan of a Pound upon a Brook 31 No. 26 - Otter-Pound upon a Path 32 No. 27 - Deer-Toils 32

Entries by Cartwright’s page numbers

No. 28 - White-bear Net 33 No. 29 - Black-bear Net 35 No. 30 - Beaver-Net 35 No. 31 - Beaver-trammel 35 No. 32 - Goose-net 35 No. 33 - Duck-net 35 No. 34 - Curliew-net 35 No. 35 - Clap-nets 35 No. 36 - Hare-net 35 No. 37 - Deer-slip 35 No. 38 - Live Baits for Wolves, Wolverines, foxes & Martens 35 No. 39 - Dead-Baits for ditto 35 No. 40 - Scenting for ditto 35 No. 41 - Drags 36 No. 42 - Large-Sled, to go with Sails 36 No. 43 - Travelling-Sled, to go with Sails 37 Elevation of the side of the Travelling-Sled 37 No. 44 - Dog-Sled 37 No. 45 - Furrier’s, or Mountaineer-Sled 38 Plan of the upper side of the Sled, before the head is turned up 38 Elevation of the Sled, when the end is turned up 38 No. 46 - Large Canoe 39 No. 47 - Small Canoe 40 No. 48 - Shooting-Flat, or Fen Shout 40 No. 49 - Staulking-Shade, for Winter use 41 No. 50 - Summer Shooting-dress 41 No. 51 - Winter Shooting-dress 41 No. 52 - Sewels 42 No. 53 - Guns and Ammunition 42 No. 54 - Dogs 43 No. 55 - Deer Flake 43 Plan of a Deer-Flake 44 No. 56 - Articles, which a man should alway[s] have with him 45 For Summer use 45 For Winter use 45 No. 57 - Plan and Longitudinal Section of a Trap-house, for exposed situations which are subject to much Drift 46

5

6

Entries by Cartwright’s page numbers

No. 573 - Trap-House for places exposed to drifting Snow 47 No. 58 - Cage-trap for Wolves, Seals etc. 48 No. 59 - Wolf-traps Housed, for Winter use 49 Ground-Plan of Wolf-traps housed in a Wood 50 No. 60 - Clap-net for Geese, Black ducks & Curliews 50 No. 61 - How to fix Posts or Stakes, where the ground is rocky, or ice is met with so near the surface, that they will not stand firm 51 No. 62 - To tail a Slip for a Deer, or a Bear 52 No. 63 - Spring-snare Marten-trap 54 No. 64 - Cat-House 55 No. 65 - Baits for White-Bears 55 No. 66 - Baits for Black-Bears 55 Various ways of curing Flesh and Fish 56 To jerk Meat 56 To jerk Fish 56 To Pickle Meat 56 To smoke Salmon 57 To smoke Caplin, Herrings, etc. 58 How to dress all the foregoing 58 Memorandum 59 To preserve Eggs 59 To preserve Vegetables 59 Cod-Sounds and Tripe to preserve 60 To keep Salmon fresh all the Winter 60 Seals 61 Houses 65 Cellars 69 Furring Tilts 69 Gardens 69 Bear, Wolf, Fox and Otter-kennels 70 Bay Seals 70 Salmon 73 Pike 73 Trout 73 Eels 73 3 The heading “No. 57” appears on two pages.

Entries by Cartwright’s page numbers

White Bear 73 Black Bears 75 To shoot Bears 76 To intoxicate Bears 77 Bear Caves 79 Bear-Cubs 80 Deer 83 To shoot deer in Summer 86 To shoot Deer in the Winter 89 Memorandum 90 Various ways to catch Deer 92 Wolves 96 Foxes 99 Wolverene, or Glutton 101 Marten 101 Otters 103 Lynx 107 Beaver 107 Porcupine 123 Mink 126 Musquash, or Musk-Beaver, or Lesser Beaver 126 Ermine 126 Squirel [sic] 127 Geese 127 Hare 137 Rabbit 140 Black-ducks 141 Eider Ducks 144 Lords and Ladies 147 Divers 148 Curliews 148 Black-backed Gull, or Saddle-back 150 Grous 151 Ptharmakin 152 Spruce-game, or Wood Grouse 153 Ravens 153 Owls 154

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8

Entries by Cartwright’s page numbers

Falcons 155 Eagles 174 Falcons 175 Geese-nets 176 To grow Potatoes in Labrador 176 Deer-Pound 177 A cheap, neat, warm and durable covering for good Houses 178 Small Boats and Canoes 178 To keep Fish alive 179 To procure Lobsters 179 How to procure a large quantity of Leaves 181 To build partitions between Rooms, and Gable-ends to a House 181 The most advantageous way of Furring large Rivers 183 The qualifications necessary to make a good Furrier 193 Back-tilts and Whigwhams 195 Frost-burns and Sears 198 To train Rein-deer to the Sled 201 To find Wolf-cubs 202 To learn a Dog to draw upon any Scent 203 To find Black-Bears in the Winter 204 Tin-pot trap for Foxes 204 To intoxicate such Fish as will eat Grains 205 To intoxicate such Birds as eat Corn 205 English Deer-Toils 206 To make Shot 206 To temper Wire, for Slips and Traces 208 Kitchen-Range 208 Blue Jay 209 Food for Falcons upon the Passage to England 209 Hawk-doors for a Deer-Pound 210 Ground-plan of the Hawk-Doors 211 Plan of a Hawk-Door 211 Ground-plan of a Back-tilt 211 End elevation of a Back-tilt 211 Plan and elevation of a Mountaineer’s Whigwham 211 Large Pitfal-Trap 212 How to run Hawk-fences … upon a flat shore 214

Entries by Cartwright’s page numbers

9

Bay Seals 214 A Plan of Rocks beset with Shoal-nets 216 Technical Terms, used by Sportsmen 217 Names of Beasts 217 Recipies 219 To cure the Canker in the Ears of Dogs 219 Sore Ears 219 Mange in Dogs 219 Mange in a Dog 220 To kill Fleas on a Dog 220 To free a Dog from Ticks 220 To find the number of Gallons or Bushels which any Square, or oblong square vessel will hold 220 To Gauge Tubs, or Casks 220 Tubs 220 Tubs of unequal diameters at top & bottom 220 Oil-House 221 Casks, whose heads are equal 221 Oil-House 221 Live Stock 222 Nails 224 Windows 225 To make a Trammel 226 To secure the roof of a House from being set on Fire … and to prevent leakage 227 Elevation of the Stove and Funnels, and section of the Roof & Funnels 228 Rendering Vat 229 Owls 231 Black Ducks 231 Sealing Post at Cape Charles 232 Seal Trammel 234 Rendering Vat 235 Kennel-yard Trap 235 Furriers’ Tilts 236 Observations on Wolves & Foxes 237 Houses 238

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Entries by Cartwright’s page numbers

Deathfal, or Cat-path 239 Tools & Furniture requisite for Furring-Tilts 241 Elevation of the end of a Rendering Vat, and an elevated section of the Reciever 242–3 An excellent way of catching all kinds of birds which feed upon such Corn or Seeds, as grow upon a slender stalk 244 Swift rowing or sailing boat 244 To Trap a Wolf, Fox, or other beast of Prey 246 Marine Animals 246 Whales 246 Morse, or Sea-Cow 249 Grampuses 250 White-fish, or White Porpoises 250 Porpoises 250 Herrings 250 Mackarel 251 Caplin 251 Lobsters 251 Holibut 251 Haddock 251 Crabs 251 Other Shell fish 251 An Improvement in Pickling meat 252 Dimensions of a Fen Shout, or Flat 252 A Fence for a Poultry, or Rabbit Yard, and which will catch any Fox who attempts to leap over it 252 To catch Otters upon a Brook 253 To shoot Geese 253 To fix a pole to stand perpendicular in the water, where the bottom is hard 253 To cause Bears to frequent any River 253 To catch all such Birds as fly near the Ground in the Night 254 To catch Geese, to keep alive 255 Travelling House, and Shooting Stand for Winter 257 Bears, Wolves etc to catch 258 To make a Cast-net for Minnows 258 To build a Dairy and Water-house 258

Entries by Cartwright’s page numbers

Remarks on Fences for Deer in England 260 Martens 261 To preserve Butter without Salt 262 To catch any large bird 262 Ground Plan of a Dwelling and Oil House for a Sealing Post for the first Winter 263–5 A Dry boat 265 Deer Slips 267 To preserve Bricks from the Frost 267 To make Grous extremely plentiful 267 Salmon to jerk 268 A Well-boat to make 268 To grow large Cabbages 268 An American Fence, for enclosing grounds 269 Newfoundland Fence, for enclosing Gardens 270 Bears and Wolves to catch, particularly in the Winter 271 Paths of Animals to distinguish 271 Plan of a Sealing Post upon a straight Shore, where there is no Island 272–3 How to form Pounds 274 Buildings, Boats etc necessary for this Post 277 Travelling House & Shooting Stand 278 Deer Skins 279 To catch a Fox in a Steel-trap 280 Otter Pound in a Pond 283 To draw Oil out of the Washing-Vat into the Hogs-heads without wasting any 283 Otter Pound in a Pond 284 [repeating heading?] To secure Houses from being set on fire by a Stove 284 A list of the quantities of Provisions which will be necessary for one Man for a Year 285 Articles necessary to be laid in, to sell to the Servants 285 To catch Bay-Seals in the Summer 286 Shooting Tilts 287 Dimensions of Rendering Vats, with their contents in Ale Gallons, sixty three to the Hogshead 288 Marten Trap 288

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12

Entries by Cartwright’s page numbers

Whales to kill 289 Eskimeau Indians 289 Articles of Trade 291 Ground Plan of an Eskimeau House & Porch 292 Elevation of an Eskimeau House and Porch 292 Mountaineer Indians 293 List of Goods for the Mountaineer Trade 293 A portable Canoe, to carry to a Pond which is at some distance in the Country 293 Seal Island near Cape Charles 295 Figures 295 Carpets 297 To prepare Salted Beef, Pork, or any kind of large Fish for dressing 297 Cages for Birds 298 To kill Seals upon the Ice in the Spring 298 A Coaster 299 Bay Seals to catch 301 To train Hounds, in order to prevent their being lost 301 Smoke House 301 Trot 302 To catch Shell-fish 302 To build a framed House, in such manner as to save time & labor 303 To build a Studded House 304 Oil, Skimming and Net-house 305–6 Bay-Seals to catch in Rivers 307 Pitfal Traps 308 Deer Toils 310 Essence of Valerian 310 Lame Wolf to kill 310 Bait for Wolves and Foxes 311 Cold-Bath and Well 311 To prevent a Ship from carrying away her Bowsprit 312 Shallops Cuddies, to prevent their leaking, or being heated by the Sun in the Summer 313 To make a Newfoundland, or any other Dog drop to the Gun 314 To prevent a Dog from chasing Hares etc 314

Entries by Cartwright’s page numbers

13

Marten Trap 315 Ground Plan of the Trap & bait-Cage 316 Fitchet, Stoat and Wesel Trap 317 Mouse-trap upon the same construction 317 To descend a Cliff 317 To preserve Mushrooms for future use 318 Mushroom spawn 318 Snares 318 Plan of Bird-snares 320 To Roof a House in such manner that Sky-lights may be fixed in it 321 Deer Pound 321 Plan of the two Pounds, Trap, and Venison houses, and the shed 324 To build a Bridge across a broad, fordable River 326 Large Pitfal-trap to Bait 328 To allure Seals 328 Blood-Hound 329 Gun-powder shot the relative weights of 329 Roofs for Houses 330 To dress Boots & Shoes, to make them turn water 330 To preserve a Gun from Rusting, in consequence of using it upon Salt-water 330 To catch Curliews 330 Curliews 330 Tents 331 Sewel of Wood, to turn Deer 331 To permit Kipper Salmon to run down a River into the Sea, but prevent the Spring-fish from running up 332 Cat-house 332 To catch Wolf, or Fox-cubs, found in an Earth 333 Dimensions of a 74 Gun Ship 334 Proportions of a Deer-hunting cruiser 334 To Land a Horse out of the above Cruizer 334 Pitfal Trap 334 Birds to catch 335 Plan of the Trap when set 335 To construct a Bridge across a River, which shall not be injured by Ice 337

14

Entries by Cartwright’s page numbers

Ground Plan of an Eskimeau house, on a new Principle 338–9 Explanation of the Elevation of the Frame 339 Bridge of a Pitfal-trap 340 Raft to make 340 To catch any Bird which feeds upon flesh or eggs 341 To tame wild Deer 341 Deer Pound 341 To prepare Musk for scenting baits with 341 To lock a large Pitfal-Trap, that a man may walk over it safely 341 Glossary 342 What sort of Servants are necessary in Labrador 343 Another way to fix a line to fire a gun [no page number]4 To shoot Geese upon a Shoal, which is out of Shot from the land [no page number] Tip-traps to be fixed in the outer wall of a House, or the fence of a Kennel [no page number] Improved Tip-trap for Wolves and Foxes … This Plan is for a Fox [no page number] To discover the bearing of one place from another, over woods [no page number] To prevent a Bladder or Gut from losing the air that is blown into it [no page number] To prevent Skiffs from upsetting or Sinking [no page number] Dimensions of Houses for Winter Crews [no page number] Rinds requisite for the above [no page number] Memorandums 344 Portable Back Tilt of Canvass, or any other material 344 To build a Vessel which cannot easily sink, although stove 344 Cocculus Indicus 344 Cage Trap 345 To Jerk Salmon 345

4 Between pages 343 and 344 is an index of twenty-one unnumbered pages that includes three unnumbered pages of entries. The index contains errors and missing information and is not included in the transcription.

Table 2 Entries from The Labrador Companion arranged by subject and page numbers

Caribou, capture An Improvement upon the Hawk-fences of Deer Pounds 5 No. 22 - Ground-plan of a Deer-Pound; the killing-pound, & Venisonhouse 26 Explanation of the Ground-plans of the Deer-pound 27 Explanation of the Hawk-rack 27 Plan of the Pond and Pound etc. 30 Plan of a Pound upon a Brook 31 No. 55 - Deer Flake 43 Plan of a Deer-Flake 44 To shoot deer in Summer 86 To shoot Deer in the Winter 89 Various ways to catch Deer 92 Deer-Pound 177 English Deer-Toils 206 Hawk-doors for a Deer-Pound 210 Ground-plan of the Hawk-Doors and the two frames 211 Plan of a Hawk-Door 211 Deer Slips 267 Deer Toils 310 Deer Pound 321 Sewel of Wood, to turn Deer 331 Deer Pound 341 Construction, general To build a temporary Store with Boards 0/15 5 The first six entries of the manuscript are on the title page and on the page that follows, all before the Introduction. They appear to have been added after manuscript completion. Since the title page is unpaginated, Cartwright refers to these entries as being on page “0/1.”

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Entries by subject

To make a permanent bridge across a River, which discharges much Ice in the Spring 0/1 Plan of Lord Middleton’s Deer-paddocks, in Wollaton Park 4 How to convert the Plan on the other side to a very useful purpose in Labrador 5 To build a house of round Studs [between pages 6 & 7]6 Ground Plan of a Gun-house 25 Houses 65 Cellars 69 Furring Tilts 69 Bear, Wolf, Fox and Otter-kennels 70 A cheap, neat, warm and durable covering for good Houses 178 To build partitions between Rooms, and Gable-ends to a House 181 Back-tilts and Whigwhams 195 Ground-plan of a Back-tilt 211 End elevation of a Back-tilt 211 Hawk-fences … upon a flat shore 214 Oil-House 221 Oil-House 221 Windows 225 To make a Trammel 226 To secure the roof of a House from being set on Fire … and to prevent leakage 227 Elevation of the Stove and Funnels, and section of the Roof & Funnels 228 Explanation 228 Furriers’ Tilts 236 Houses 238 Dimensions of a Fen Shout, or Flat 252 A Fence for a Poultry, or Rabbit Yard, and which will catch any Fox who attempts to leap over it 252 To fix a pole to stand perpendicular in the water, where the bottom is hard 253 Travelling House, and Shooting Stand for Winter 257 To build a Dairy and Water-house 258 6 Four pages between pages 6 and 7 are unnumbered but have entries.

Entries by subject

17

Remarks on Fences for Deer in England 260 An American Fence 269 Newfoundland Fence 270 Travelling House & Shooting Stand 278 To build a framed House, in such manner as to save time & labor 303 To build a Studded House 304 Oil, Skimming and Net-house 305–6 Cold-Bath and Well 311 To Roof a House in such manner that Sky-lights may be fixed in it 321 Plan of the two Pounds, Trap, and Venison houses, and the shed 324 To build a Bridge across a broad, fordable River 326 Roofs for Houses 330 Tents 331 To construct a Bridge across a River, which shall not be injured by Ice 337 Dimensions of Houses for Winter Crews [between pages 343 & 344]7 Rinds requisite for the above [between pages 343 & 344] Portable Back Tilt of Canvass, or any other material 344 Fauna (birds), descriptions of Weight, Extent of Wings and Circumference of certain birds [between pages 6 & 7] Geese 127 Black-ducks 141 Eider Ducks 144 Lords and Ladies 147 Divers 148 Curliews 148 Black-backed Gull, or Saddle-back 150 Grous 151 Ptharmakin 152 Spruce-game, or Wood Grouse 153 Ravens 153 Owls 154 7 Between pages 343 and 344 is an index of twenty-one unnumbered pages that includes three unnumbered pages of entries. The index contains errors and missing information and is not included in the transcription.

18

Falcons 155 Eagles 174 Falcons 175 Blue Jay 209 Food for Falcons upon the Passage to England 209 Owls 231 Black Ducks 231 Curliews 330 Fauna (fish), descriptions of Herrings 250 Mackarel 251 Caplin 251 Lobsters 251 Holibut 251 Haddock 251 Crabs 251 Other Shell fish 251 Fauna (mammals), descriptions of Seals 61–2 White Bear 73 Black Bears 75 Bear-Cubs 80 Deer 83 Wolves 96 Foxes 99 Wolverene, or Glutton 101 Marten 101 Otters 103 Lynx 107 Beaver 107 Porcupine 123 Mink 126 Musquash, or Musk-Beaver, or Lesser Beaver 126 Ermine 126 Squirel [sic] 127

Entries by subject

Entries by subject

19

Hare 137 Rabbit 140 Bay Seals 214 Names of Beasts 217 Observations on Wolves & Foxes 237 Marine Animals 246 Whales 246 Morse, or Sea-Cow 249 Grampuses 250 White-fish, or White Porpoises 250 Porpoises 250 Martens 261 Blood-Hound 329 Fishing Lobsters to catch in Shoal-water 3 Salmon 73 Pike 73 Trout 73 Eels 73 To keep Fish alive 179 To procure Lobsters 179 To intoxicate such Fish as will eat Grains 205 A Plan of Rocks beset with Shoal-nets 216 To make a Cast-net for Minnows 258 Trot 302 To catch Shell-fish 302 To permit Kipper Salmon to run down a River into the Sea, but prevent the Spring-fish from running up 332 Food One Sack of Oats 0/1 Various ways of curing Flesh and Fish 56 To jerk Meat 56 To jerk Fish 56 To Pickle Meat 56 To smoke Salmon 57

20

Entries by subject

To smoke Caplin, Herrings, etc. 58 How to dress all the foregoing 58 Memorandum 59 To preserve Eggs 59 To preserve Vegetables 59 Cod-Sounds and Tripe to preserve 60 To keep Salmon fresh all the Winter 60 To grow Potatoes in Labrador 176 Recipies 219 An Improvement in Pickling meat 252 To preserve Butter without Salt 262 Salmon to jerk 268 To grow large Cabbages 268 To prepare Salted Beef, Pork, or any kind of large Fish for dressing 297 Smoke House 301 To preserve Mushrooms 318 Mushroom spawn 318 To Jerk Salmon 345 Hardware/tools No. 3 - Directions for making all kinds of nets 8 No. 4 - Rendering Vat 10 No. 5 - Washing-Vat 11 No. 6 - Ran-fat Vat 11 No. 7 - Skimming Vat 13 No. 8 - Oil House 13 No. 9 - Rendering Vat improved 13 No. 11- Tub-Vat 15 To Gauge Tubs, or Casks 220 Tubs 220 Tubs of unequal diameters at top & bottom 220 Casks, whose heads are equal 221 Nails 224 Rendering Vat 229

Entries by subject

21

Tools & Furniture for Furring-Tilts 241 Dimensions of Rendering Vats 288 Hunting, general A small Flat for particular uses 0/1 A portable Flat for catching Beaver 0/1 To Kill a Wolf, Fox or other Beast 3 To catch all kinds of Quadrupeds upon a flat shore of no great breadth 3 To shoot Geese upon a Shoal [between pages 6 & 7] Improvement in Tailing a Gun for a Bear [between pages 6 & 7] To Tail a Gun 23 No. 48 - Shooting-Flat, or Fen Shout 40 No. 49 - Staulking-Shade, for Winter use 41 No. 50 - Summer Shooting-dress 41 No. 51 - Winter Shooting-dress 41 No. 52 - Sewels 42 No. 53 - Guns and Ammunition 42 No. 54 - Dogs 43 To shoot Bears 76 Bear Caves 79 Memorandum 90 To learn a Dog to draw upon any Scent 203 To find Black-Bears in the Winter 204 To intoxicate such Birds as eat Corn 205 To make Shot 206 Technical Terms, used by Sportsmen 217 An excellent way of catching all kinds of birds which feed upon such Corn or Seeds, as grow upon a slender stalk 244 To shoot Geese 253 To cause Bears to frequent any River 253 To catch all such Birds as fly near the Ground in the Night 254 To catch Geese, to keep alive 255 To catch any large bird 262 To make Grous extremely plentiful 267

22

Entries by subject

Bears and Wolves to catch, particularly in the Winter 271 Paths of Animals to distinguish 271 Otter Pound in a Pond 283 Otter Pound in a Pond 284 Shooting Tilts 287 Whales to kill 289 Essence of Valerian 310 Lame Wolf to kill 310 Bait for Wolves and Foxes 311 To make a Newfoundland, or any other Dog drop to the Gun 314 To prevent a Dog from chasing Hares etc 314 Gun-powder shot, relative weights 329 To catch Wolf, or Fox-cubs in an Earth 333 Proportions of a Deer-hunting cruiser 334 Birds to catch 335 To catch any Bird which feeds upon flesh or eggs 341 To prepare Musk for scenting baits 341 Another way to fix a line to fire a gun with [between pages 343 & 344] To shoot Geese upon a Shoal, which is out of Shot from the land [between pages 343 & 344] Innu and Inuit Eskimeau Indians 289 Articles of Trade 291 Ground Plan of an Eskimeau House & Porch 292 Plan and elevation of a Mountaineer’s Whigwham 211 Elevation of an Eskimeau House and Porch 292 Mountaineer Indians 293 List of Goods for the Mountaineer Trade 293 Ground Plan of an Eskimeau house, on a new Principle 338–9 Miscellaneous Introduction 1 Horses, Cows, etc. to Keep [no page number] No. 56 - Articles, which a man should alway[s] have with him 45 For Summer use 45 For Winter use 45

Entries by subject

23

No. 61 - How to fix Posts or Stakes, where the ground is rocky, or ice is met with so near the surface, that they will not stand firm. 51 Gardens 69 How to procure a large quantity of Leaves 181 The most advantageous way of Furring large Rivers 183 The qualifications necessary to make a good Furrier 193 Frost-burns and Sears 198 To find Wolf-cubs 202 Kitchen-Range 208 To cure the Canker in the Ears of Dogs 219 Sore Ears 219 Mange in Dogs 219 Mange in a Dog 220 To kill Fleas on a Dog 220 To free a Dog from Ticks 220 To find the number of Gallons or Bushels which any Square, or oblong square vessel will hold 220 Live Stock 222 To preserve Bricks from the Frost 267 Buildings, Boats etc necessary for this Post 277 Deer Skins 279 To draw Oil out of the Washing-Vat into the Hogs-heads without wasting any 283 To secure Houses from being set on fire by a Stove 284 A list of the quantities of Provisions which will be necessary for one Man for a Year 285 Articles necessary to be laid in, to sell to the Servants 285 Carpets 297 Cages for Birds 298 To train Hounds, in order to prevent their being lost 301 To descend a Cliff 317 To dress Boots & Shoes, to make them turn water 330 To preserve a Gun from Rusting, in consequence of using it upon Salt-water 330 To Land a Horse 334 To tame wild Deer 341 Glossary 342

24

Entries by subject

What sort of Servants are necessary in Labrador. 343 To discover the bearing of one place from another, over woods [no page number] To prevent a Bladder or Gut from losing the air that is blown into it [no page number] Memorandums 344 Cocculus Indicus 344 Sealing No. 1 - Plan of a Sealing-pound 6 Explanation of the Sealing-pound 7 Remarks 7 No. 2 - Shoal-nets for catching Seals 8 Rendering Vat 35 Seals 61 Bay Seals and in 214 also 70 Bay Seals 214 Sealing Post at Cape Charles 232 Seal Trammel 234 Elevation of the end of a Rendering Vat, and an elevated section of the Reciever 242 Ground Plan of a Dwelling and Oil House for a Sealing Post for the first Winter 263–5 Plan of a Sealing Post upon a straight Shore 272–3 How to form Pounds 274 To catch Bay-Seals in the Summer 286 Seal Island near Cape Charles 295 Figures 295 To kill Seals upon the Ice in the Spring 298 A Coaster 299 Bay Seals to catch 301 Bay-Seals to catch in Rivers 307 To allure Seals 328 Transportation To make a Vessel carry a good Helm 0/1 A small Flat for particular uses 0/1

Entries by subject

25

A portable Flat for catching Beaver with 0/1 To construct a small raft for Pond use [no page number] No. 42 - Large-Sled, to go with Sails 36 No. 43 - Travelling-Sled with Sails 37 Elevation of side of Travelling-Sled 37 No. 44 - Dog-Sled 37 No. 45 - Furrier’s, or Mountaineer-Sled 38 Plan of the upper side of the Sled, before the head is turned up 38 Elevation of the Sled, when the end is turned up 38 No. 46 - Large Canoe 39 No. 47 - Small Canoe 40 Small Boats and Canoes 178 To train Rein-deer to the Sled 201 Swift rowing or sailing boat 244 A Dry boat 265 A Well-boat to make 268 A portable Canoe, to carry to a Pond which is at some distance in the Country 293 To prevent a Ship from carrying away her Bowsprit 312 Shallops Cuddies, to prevent their leaking, or being heated by the Sun in the Summer 313 Dimensions of a 74 Gun Ship 334 Raft to make 340 To prevent Skiffs from upsetting or Sinking [no page number] To build a Vessel which cannot easily sink, although stove 344 Trapping methods No. 10 - Large double-springed Steel-trap 15 No. 12 - Small Double-springed Steel-trap 16 No. 13 - Beaver-trap 16 No. 14 - Marten-trap 17 No. 15 - Large Pitfal-trap 17 No. 16 - Lesser Pitfal-trap for Foxes & Martens 19 No. 17 - Little Pit-fal trap for Otters 19 No. 18 - Plans & elevations of the Great Pitfal-Trap 20–1 No. 19 - House-trap, for Bears & Wolves 22 Ground-plan of two double houses 22

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Entries by subject

Longitudinal Section of a double House-trap 23 No. 21- Deathfal, or Log-trap 25 No. 23 - Salmon-Pound, or Salmon-Crib 28 No. 24 - Otter-Pound in a Pond 29 No. 25 - Otter-Pound upon a Brook 31 No. 26 - Otter-Pound upon a Path 32 No. 27 - Deer-Toils 32 No. 28 - White-bear Net 33 No. 29 - Black-bear Net 35 No. 30 - Beaver-Net 35 No. 31 - Beaver-trammel 35 No. 32 - Goose-net 35 No. 33 - Duck-net 35 No. 34 - Curliew-net 35 No. 35 - Clap-nets 35 No. 36 - Hare-net 35 No. 37 - Deer-slip 35 No. 38 - Live Baits for Wolves, Wolverines, foxes & Martens 35 No. 39 - Dead-Baits for ditto 35 No. 40 - Scenting for ditto 35 No. 41 - Drags 36 No. 578 - Plan and Longitudinal Section of a Trap-house, for exposed situations which are subject to much Drift 46 No. 57 - Trap-House for places exposed to drifting Snow 47 No. 58 - Cage-trap for Wolves, Seals etc. 48 No. 59 - Wolf-traps Housed, for Winter use 49 Ground-Plan of Wolf-traps housed in a Wood 50 No. 60 - Clap-net for Geese, Black ducks & Curliews 50 No. 62 - To tail a Slip for a Deer, or a Bear 52 No. 63 - Spring-snare Marten-trap 54 No. 64 - Cat-House 55 No. 65 - Baits for White-Bears 55 No. 66 - Baits for Black-Bears 55 To intoxicate Bears 77 Geese-nets 176 8 The heading “No. 57” appears on two pages.

Entries by subject

Tin-pot trap for Foxes 204 To temper Wire, for Slips and Traces 208 Large Pitfal-Trap 212 Kennel-yard Trap 235 Deathfal, or Cat-path 239 To Trap a Wolf, Fox, or other beast of Prey 246 To catch Otters upon a Brook 253 Bears, Wolves etc to catch 258 To catch a Fox in a Steel-trap 280 Marten Trap 288 Marten Trap 315 Ground Plan of the Trap & bait-Cage 316 Fitchet, Stoat and Wesel Trap 317 Mouse-trap 317 Snares 318 Plan of Bird-snares 320 Large Pitfal-trap to Bait 328 To catch Curliews 330 Cat-house 332 Pitfal Trap 334 Plan of the Trap when set 335 Bridge of a Pitfal-trap 340 To lock a large Pitfal-Trap, that a man may walk over it safely 341 Tip-traps [no page number] Improved Tip-trap for Wolves and Foxes [no page number] Cage Trap 345

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… a Man of Sense, Looks to his Traps; ’tis they bring in the Pence. “Labrador: A Poetical Epistle – autumn” (Cartwright 1792, end of Journal, Volume 3)

First pages of George Cartwright’s The Labrador Companion

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T HE LA BR A DO R C O M PA NI O N OR SE A LER , SA L MO NE E R , FUR R I E R A ND SPO RT SM AN’S I NST RUC TO R Being the result of observations made during several year’s [sic] residence in that Country, and of Thirty two years [sic] study. In which will be found, a great variety of information necessary for every man to be possessed of, who intends to reside in that Country, be his object Profit, or Pleasure. 1810 ————– To make a Vessel carry a good Helm9 Bringing her more by the Head will generally do it but if the fault is in her being built too full in the Quarter, add to the breadth of the Rudder. To build a temporary Store with Boards Set up a Ridge-pole of such a length as you will have occasion for and at such a height that when one end of a board is laid upon it and the other end upon the ground, it will be elevated to an angle of 45°. File your spare boards at one end. Stud up the other and fix a rail under the centre of them to prevent their bending in the middle. Thus will you have a long store, like the roof of a house, built in one Day. It may be floored with loose boards. One Sack of Oats are usually sown upon an acre and will produce about 3 Tons of Straw, which one Cow will require for her Winter’s Keep in Labrador. [no page number] 9 This entry and the next five appear before Cartwright’s Introduction. They were evidently added after the manuscript was finished and were fit into available space on the title page and the page that follows. Because the title page is unpaginated, Cartwright refers to these entries elsewhere in the manuscript as being on page “0/1.”

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To make a permanent bridge across a River, which discharges much Ice in the Spring Fix two Ropes (2 inch new Hemp) to two trees, on one side of the River, bring them across and reeve them through two Blocks10 fixed to two other trees, and mind that they be parallel to each other and two feet asunder, then set each of them as tight as possible with a Capstan; a windlass, or Tackle. Make either a box, a basket, or some other thing to sit in, and fix it under the two ropes by means of four blocks; one at each corner. Fasten a piece of Ratline11 to the front part of that Box and then carry it across the river, reeve it through a block fastened to one of the same trees which one of the bridge ropes is fastened to; bring it back again; reeve it through another block on that side also, and then fasten the end to the back part of the box. Whoever wants to cross the river may sit down in the box, and hall [sic] himself across by the help of the Ratline. There is no occasion for the Trees to stand parallel to each other nor yet to be at the exact distances for the ropes can be kept at the proper distance from each other by means of a guy. A small Flat for particular uses Cut the Bottom out of an inch board, of the shape and size you wish the sides and ends must be of ¾ inch, and the bottom edges neatly jointed, and nailed upon the top side of the bottom-board, being previously smeared with the thick white Paint and then lay a strip of brown paper over each seam with Pitch and Tar, and a batten of half-inch board over it. Fasten four bladders in bags, on the outsides low enough just to take the Water. Fix a circular thwart across the top about three fifths from the Stem, for the Man’s back who paddles it with a double-headed Paddle. A portable Flat for catching Beaver with Provide three deal boards of 8 feet long; one foot broad, & half an inch thick. Cut two lengths of inch board of 8 feet long & four inches broad for the sides of the bottom frame, and four others of three feet in length 10 Pulleys. 11 Tarred rope, 3-ply, used on ship’s shrouds.

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and two inches broad for the cross-pieces; one at each end & the other two between them. Those cross-pieces must be Shouldered one quarter of an inch and the side-pieces cut away as much where the former are to be placed. Bore holes through the upper sides of both side-pieces at eight inches asunder, and also through each of the outside boards. Four men will carry the whole & when they arrive at the Pond-bank, fix the frame together & tie the boards upon the upper side of it. You must also be provided with Bladders12 or lengths of seals gut made up in bags & fasten them inside the side-pieces, the holes bored through the latter. It may be worked with a double headed paddle,13 or shoved along with a pole. The middle board will want no fastning, as the Men upon it will keep it down. [1/] Introduction On my first going to Labrador, in the year 1770, I took several men with me who had lived some years upon the Island of Newfoundland, and who had learnt Sealing, Salmon-catching and Furring in that Country: but soon having reason to be dissatisfied with their methods, I took much pains to discover better, and have been studying these subjects most attentively for the last [blank space] Years. In the course of that time I have endeavoured to make myself acquainted with the different methods practiced by other nations; have adopted what I thought were the best; invented several new ones, and am now of opinion, that I have brought these arts to much greater perfection than any other man has yet done. The mode of Sealing in Newfoundland, although great numbers of Seals are caught by it, is nevertheless very inferior to that which is practised by the Canadians14 upon the Coast of Labrador; but I discovered great imperfections in that also. I likewise observed that there was a very great loss of oil, by the mode of skinning out the Seals, as practised in both Countries; that much of it was dryed up by melting out the fat upon the fire; that the process by fire discolored the oil so much, that the price of it was six Pounds per Tun less than Virgin Oil, and that the nets were 12 A float, often of inflated animal organs. 13 Idea based on Inuit kayak paddle. 14 The Canadiens, furriers and sealers from Quebec who had fished and sealed along this coast before British annexation in 1763.

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extremely damaged both whilst they were in the water, and also after they were taken up; it being the constant practice to let them ly [sic] upon the ground all the Winter, exposed to all sorts of weather. [2/] The salmon-catching has hitherto been wholly carried on with nets, and that must ever be the case in Newfoundland where property in Salmon fisheries is not allowed, but that is a very disadvantageous way in Labrador, where property is established. By using nets, which are moored in the water and the fish taken by meshing in them, great numbers of fish are spoilt, by dying in the nets and remaining too long in the water afterwards; many drop out, by being but slightly meshed; still more are eaten out by Seals, and the wear and tear of the nets is very great indeed. To remedy those inconveniences, I recommend the use of the Pound, or Crib, in every river that one can be erected in; by which no fish will ever be spoilt, and the Seals will be taken also: and I have seen but few rivers in Labrador in which it was not practicable to erect one. The expence of Provisions being another very heavy article, that may be reduced to a mere nothing by the use of the Deer15-pound, and other contrivances for taking animals proper for food: and the directions for curing both flesh and fish, will make the surplus of one Day supply the deficiency of another. Although the traps made use of in Newfoundland answer well in general, yet they are liable to be rendered useless by the changes of the weather; they kill all they catch, and will catch only one at a time. By some of my ways, no weather can put them out of order; they will catch alive all that will go into them; few will refuse them, and, if they [the caught animals] are not in season then, they may be kept alive until they are. Notwithstanding the following pages are calculated for catching or killing the different animals which are to be met with in Labrador, and many of the contrivances are [3/] adapted to that severe Climate, yet some or other will serve equally well for any other Country and the animals found therein, by making slight alterations, and by omitting the precautions against heavy snows, much drift, and severe frosts. That I may not have occasion to describe the different traps etc. more than once, I have given a description of all, and plans of some of them at

15 Cartwright referred to caribou (Rangifer tarandus) as “deer” or “Rein-deer.”

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the beginning of this work; and have numbered them that I may the more readily direct when each is to be made use of. As some names and words are made use of, which may not be understood by every reader, a Glossary is inserted at the end of this book.16 To Kill a Wolf, Fox or other active Beast Fix a stake firmly in the Ground to stand about six inches higher than the belly of the animal; point it with iron barbed and hang a piece of proper bait so high above it, as to be a foot or more, according to the height of the Animal, than he can reach when standing upon his hind feet, and scatter some small bits all round. When he has picked up those, he will leap at the other and stake himself. A Paye hook driven into a tree rather higher than the animal can reach and a piece of proper bait placed six inches above it will catch them. To catch all kinds of Quadrupeds upon a flat shore of no great breadth Build a studded House the whole breadth of it at seven feet in height and twenty four feet wide. Divide it across into partitions of five feet in width; hang a Door at each end of each apartment & place a Bridge on the centre of it as directed No. 19 Page 22, and run a sheer-fence17 from each corner for a considerable distance both on the Land and the Water sides of the Shore. Scarce any Beast will refuse to go through and all will be caught. To get them out, Bolt the smaller ones into purse-nets or sacks, and the large ones into Toils;18 Large Traps, or a Yard built on one side of the House, with draw-rails on the farther side of it that animals may not be prevented coming that way. Lobsters to catch in Shoal-water Make a ring of strong wire six feet in circumference; fix it perpendicular upon a Pole by means of three elastic sticks being fixed on a mangle upon the ring and their other ends tied to the Pole. Fix a tunnel-net 4 feet long and 16 A short glossary is found on page 342. 17 May refer to series of poles set into ground without horizontal attachments. 18 Large nets.

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six feet in circumference to the ring and keep it open with two hooks; one in the middle and the other at the end. When you see a Lobster, place the ring over him, with the net toward his tail and he will spring back into it. [4/]

Plan of Lord Middleton’s19 Deer-paddocks, in Wallaton Park, with the Pen for Carting the Deer out of. Scale 1/20 of an inch to a foot. Explanation 1 to 2 The Pen to drive the Deer into, that they may be bolted into a Cart through the small door at 3. 4. Waggon Gates, 9 feet wide 5. Small Doors 3 ft wide to separate the Deer when in the Pen. The three large apartements in the pen are for the purpose of separating any particular Deer that is wanted, & the red line20 along them is a rack for Hay. The small one is a place to keep the boards, necessary to put before the faces of the men when they are separating the Deer, that they may not run at them. The Doors in the Pen are left open, that the Deer may go in to feed and, by so doing, not be shy of it. When a Deer is wanted to be put into a Cart, the Cart is backed close to the bolting Door, at 3, but the sliding door of the Cart is not drawn up until the Deer, which is wanted, is separated from the rest, and in one of the apartments next to it; it is then drawn up, and the Deer driven in, when it is immediately let drop. 19 Henry Willoughby, 6th Baron Middleton (1769–1856). Wollaton Park was the estate in Nottinghamshire. Today it is a natural history museum. 20 Red ink no longer visible.

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The outer fences, as well as those of the two Paddocks 6 & 7 are at least ten feet high, but the one between 8 & 9 is only six feet, and such of the Gates in the partition fences of the Paddocks as are necessary to give a range for the Deer, are left constantly open until a Deer is wanted, and if it is necessary, to keep some separate from the rest, they are confined in 8 & 9; the gates between being left open. The three outer Gates are always locked that no improper person may enter. The shed is covered in, but not boarded so close up on the side next to the Paddocks as to exclude the light. The Shed is not laid down in the exact proportions, for it is only sixteen yards long, and three wide, and I think that it extends no farther than the breadth of the narrow Paddock 8, exclusive of the projecting end for Carting. The whole four Paddocks contain about two acres. N.B. The Pen is altered since the foregoing was written, & is now nearly correct. N.B. A quarter of a Peck of Beans, with 9 lb of Hay will be very sufficient for a store, [of?] Red-deer, for a Day. [5/] How to convert the Plan on the other side to a very useful purpose in Labrador There are many places upon the Sea Coast in that Country, which are constantly resorted to by great numbers of Deer in the Winter. In the course of the first Winter it will be observed, what route the Deer generally take, to shift from one feeding-ground to another. In the following Summer erect a Paddock, or Pound, as long as that is, but it need not be more than twenty yards wide. Make the fences with Posts and Rails, that they may not be drifted over, and make an entrance at each end twelve feet wide, which must always be left open, when not used, but there must be a set of draw-rails, to make them up when necessary. The Crib, or Killing Pound had best project from one side near the centre, as in Page 26, and built upon the improved plan, with a Venison house at no great distance from it, raised 4 feet above the ground, that it may not be drifted over. From each corner of the Paddock, or Pound, prick sticks into the ground, to stand four feet high, extending to a considerable distance and very wide asunder at the extremities of each pair.

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When you want to catch Deer and find some feeding to windward of the Pound, put the rails into the entrance at the lee end, then fix a sewel21 at each of the windward corners; run it out along the sticks, and fasten it to each as you go on, at the height of near three feet from the top of the snow. It will take six Men to do that expeditiously, and so soon as the Sewels are fixed, the men must quickly get to windward of the Deer and drive them gently into the Pound, and put in the rails. As a large Pitfall-trap must be built in the Venison house both that and the Killing pound must always be kept open until you are going to catch fresh Deer. An Improvement upon the Hawk-fences of Deer Pounds

Dimensions Scale 1/40 of inch to a foot. 1.2.3. 20 feet each 4. 1 ft 6 in at bottom & 4 ft at top 5.6.7.11. 7 feet each 9. 18 feet 10. 9 feet 12. 9 feet 19. 6 feet 14.15.16.17. 4 – 4 each 21 A strip of twine, feathers, birch bark, or other material that is attached to the fence pole in such a way that it hangs loosely and moves. See Cartwright’s entries for sewels on manuscript pages 42 and 331. A line of sewels guides the caribou into the pound. In this description, Cartwright refers to lengths of line with sewels attached at regular intervals, and the whole attached to the posts. His Journal contains several references to his men preparing sewels (e.g., Cartwright 1792, 29 March 1771).

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18. 13 feet 19. 50 feet 20. 400 or more. N.B. All those parts which are not marked are of the same lengths as the similar ones, on the other side. N.B. All the outer fences must be built with strong Posts & Rails; the Posts 4 feet asunder, & the Rails only six inches, with the lowest one foot above the ground. All the puzzle fences to be built of slight posts & rails and only five feet high, excepting 12 & 12 which must be strong and 7 ft. high. Total length of Puzzle fencing 109 feet. [6/] No. 1 - Plan of a Seeling-pound [sic]

[no page number] To shoot Geese upon a Shoal, which dries at Low-water

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Build a Boat with a flat bottom; square at each end; 4 ft. wide at the bottom; 4 feet 6 inches wide on the top & 8 feet long. Deck it on the top, but leave a scuttle hole of 2 ft. square at one end; cut a hole of 5 inches circumference at each end, to point a gun through, & place a swivelstock under it. Paint the whole white; that it may look like a piece of Ice, and moor it, head and stern, close to the shoal before the Geese get their Wings in the Summer, which will not be before the 1st of September. After having observed, that the Geese take no notice of it, one man or two must be conveyed to it before high-water, whilst the Geese are absent; they must enter at the Scuttle-hole, the top put on, and the boat they went in retire. Having fixed their guns, they must wait for the Geese, and the instant that they fire, the boat must return to bring them and the Geese away. As such a Boat will be very buoyant, a sufficient quantity of Ballast must be put into each end, to sink her to a proper depth in the Water. Two holes may be made through each end, for one man to shoot with a Gun at each shoulder. Horses, Cows, etc. to Keep Clear some Land of the best quality (which is generally found by the sides of Rivers below the head of the Tide at the upper end of deep Estuaries) and sow part with Skegs,22 and other parts with Swedish Turnips, Carrots, etc. The Straw of the Skegs is to be cut and sprinkled with Sugar and water (4 oz. of the former to every Horse or Cow) or with Treacle and Water, and mix a quartern or two of the Skegs, provided they will ripen, otherwise give Maize. Part of the Skegs may be daily cut green, to feed them on during the summer, if you have no land to turn them upon. so soon as vegetation takes place, which is not until the first week in June, and you cannot get the seed into the ground before that time: but it will be fit to cut green by the middle of July at the latest. They must be housed again by the first of October. The Carrots and Turnips will be of great benefit to the milch Cows in the Winter. Clear Land enough to fallow and manure occasionally as requisite. If one piece was well laid down under grass that would serve them in the Spring, until the Skegs were high enough to mow. Maize may be bought cheap in America, and started in Bulk amongst the Ship’s Cargoe. 22 A type of hardy oats. Term may be from Nottinghamshire.

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To construct a small raft for Pond use Hew out two Planks, 14 feet long and 6 x 2 inches. Place them at 3 feet asunder and nail battens across, of 1½ x 1 in at 8 inches asunder and cover with half inch board. Seals gut, or Bladders in bags must be tied all along the bottom frame and it must be worked with Paddles. It will carry an immense weight and cannot upset. Improvement in Tailing a Gun for a Bear etc. Instead of a ring behind the Gun, for the line to draw the trigger, fix a piece of line turned like a Bell-crank & fixed by a smooth stick going through the eye in the centre, & tie the bait to that & also a line from the other end to the Trigger. [no page number] Weight, Extent of Wings and Circumference of certain birds23 Birds

Length Circumf Beak to Tail F I Ft. in Falcon Gentle Tercel Gentle Goshawk Sparhawk Musket Magpie Bean Goose Woodpigeon English Wild-duck Golden Plover Snipe Fieldfare Blackbird 6

Weight lb 2

oz 2to3

2

8 10 5 9¼ 8 6

6 1

-

5 3½

Extent of Wings ft in 3 8

2 7

2

1

2½

23 At first glance, bird weights and measurements appear to have little relevance to the manuscript as a whole. They are in fact part of the natural history component and are meant as additional information to Pennant’s (1785) bird data. This list resembles one written into the margin of Pennant’s volume by Cartwright (on the second blank page).

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Lark Sparrow Male Kestrel Female do. Merlin Banting 7 9/10 Lark Swift 4 3/10 Landrail 9½ 9 (killed 17th Sept.)

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4½ 3¾ 8 4 6/10

8/10

1½ 1 7½ 6½ 1¾

7½

1

2 9½

2 1

2¼ 9/10

1 1

4 1/10 6 5/10

[no page number] To build a house of round Studs, and covered in with Rinds, which shall be Wind, Water and Frost tight; warm and durable If it is not to be elevated above the ground, clear the site of the House, and a foot more each way, from the swarth and all the upper soil, until you come to a good foundation, and cut a trench in the same manner, three feet wide, the way the land falls, and fill the whole with Beach-stones (the rounder the better) to within six or eight inches of the level of the adjoining ground, and fill in the remainder of it with fine Gravel or Sand, or with the best sort of earth that you can meet with provided neither of the former articles are conveniently to be had. Make a lower frame of stout, squared Timber (Larch or Birch, if they are to be had) and lay that down to set the Studs upon. Provide a sufficient number of perfectly straight Studs, and of the same thickness as near as possible. Shoulder them with the saw, at such a length as will give your house the height you intend between the floor and under side of the Beams, and leave the shoulders one inch in length and square at their ends. Set up one stud at each corner, and as many more as requisite, and support them with temporary shores. Nail a false Wall-plate along both sides and ends made of inch board; overlapping their ends by shouldering each halfway through. Shoulder each Beam one inch in Depth on their under ends, that their lower sides may lay even with the lower edge of the false Wall-plate. Lay them across, and fasten them down at each end with a spike nail or a Trunnel. Lay lengths of Wall-plate between each Beam and along each end of a proper thickness to bring all to a level on the top. Lay a second

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Wall-plate along each end, nine inches thick, and fit a Ridge-pole into it, in the centre, then strike lines from the centre of the Ridge-pole to the lower ends of that additional Wall-plate and take the unnecessary part off with a saw, and do the same by both sides of the Ridge-pole (But this work should be done before they are put up). You will then have neat Gable-ends. You are then to cut both ends of all the Rafters, that they may lay firm upon both the Ridge-pole and the Wall-plates (a six inch breadth of plank will make the best) and nail them on at each end; their tops touching each other and their bottom ends even with the outer edge of the side Wall-plates. Nail a half-inch board (or a fine rind, with the ends and sides cut even) and laid on [text crossed out] all along the lower ends of the Rafters, and others upon each pair at the ends of the house, with their outer edges even with the Wall-plate, upon which a sheet of brown paper must be plastered on with pitch & tar, and half of it be turned round upon the Wall-plates, which will sufficiently prevent the entrance of wind. The Rinds24 are then to be laid on in the usual manner [text crossed out]25 and a coat of paper laid over them, which will not only stop all leakage in the Roof [no page number] from cracks or holes in the Rinds, but will also keep out wind, and a coat of six-inch sods must then be laid over the paper after it has been paid with hot Pitch and tar. Were the paper laid upon the Rinds with Pitch and Tar, the heat of the house would cause them to melt and drop down through the cracks and holes, which will be prevented by laying it on atop. After the Door and Window-frames are put in, nail in all the rest of the Studs, both at the top and bottom. They are then to be carefully chinced with short moss on the inside, and a lining of boards or of rinds nailed over them and the chincing. If rinds are axed, nail them in with thin battens down the studs, and their insides outermost. For greater security against the weather, the studs may then be chinced on the out side also, and a course of Rinds nailed over them, with their out sides outermost. If the house is to be warmed by a fireplace, the Chimney must be built of wickerwork well clayed, before the Roof is put on, but if with a Stove a hole may be cut for the funnel afterwards. N.B. The ends of the Rinds must project six inches beyond the Gable 24 Tree rinds. This was common practice in late-eighteenth-century Labrador, with crews of men sent out “rinding,” or cutting lengths of rind from fir or spruce. 25 There are only a few instances of crossed-out text in the manuscript.

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ends, and a batten nailed over them upon the end Rafter. The bottom rinds on the sides must project six inches over the Wall-plates, but need not be nailed on. The Studs must be six inches in diameter, and set up Butt & Top alternately. The Beams should be supported by a stanchion under the centre for the first Year, or they will bend in the middle, & so should the Ridge-pole. If the Studs inside the house are neatly dubbed with an adze, brown paper might be pasted upon them, after they were chinsed [sic], which would make the house much warmer, and save nails & much rinding. Size of a sheet of paper 3 ft. by 1 ft.-10 inches. Would cover 735 square inches. Upon maturely considering all circumstance I am decidedly of opinion that brown paper will be preferable to Rinds. Those sheets intended for the Roof should be payed [sic] with Pitch & Tar on one side only before they are laid on, and that side must be uppermost and the Rafters not more than three inches asunder, but the nearer the better. Those sheets intended for linings will be the better for being painted on their out sides and pasted to the Studs to be painted on both sides to give them more strength. 56 sheets will be sufficient to cover a Tilt 21 feet long & 8 feet wide. They would be no great weight and would be easily carried. Make a board the exact size of a sheet of paper and raise it an inch or more from the table, to pay the paper upon, that the under side of it may be kept clean, and none of the paying wasted. By paying them with Pitch and Tar a Day or more before they are laid on, and keeping them in a cool place, they may be laid on very quick, and that part of the underside of one sheet, which is laid upon another, & overlaps it one inch on its top, or side would stick fast & not require to be either nailed or pasted. In case of not having rinds, lay a covering of half-inch boards upon the rafters (up & down) or two coats of paper that the edges of the boards may meet in the centre. Rafters should be two inches thick, but not less than one inch and a half, & six inches in depth. Make the Wall-plates & Rooftree to project a foot beyond the end of the house, for an additional Rafter. [7/] Explanation of the Sealing-pound [on page 6] Nos. 1.

The Anchors of the Moorings

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2. The Moorings of the nets 3. The Bouys, to prevent the Moorings from sinking the nets 4. The Capsterns, to heave up, or sink the Stopper-nets by. 5. The Sheer-net, to pilot such seals into the Pound as are disposed to pass at the back of it. 6. The Saveal, which will catch such Seals as get through, or under the Barrier. 7. The Barrier-Net 8. The Entry-net These nets only are to be let down 9.10.11.12.13. The Stopper-nets & hove up as occasion may require 14.15.16 The Murderers 17. The inner Tail-net 18. The outer Tail-net 19. The Shore-net, but that is necessary at such places only, where much surf breaks upon the shore. Where there is not much, the other nets are to come close home to the shore. 20. The line of the Shore.

}

Remarks This Pound is calculated for catching Seals at the setting in of the Winter when they are obliged to migrate to the South, to get away from the Ice, and is therefore placed upon the South Shore of a Bay, Cove or Harbour. It is also such an one as must be made where there is no Island, at a proper distance from the Shore, to fix the cross-nets to: but where there is one, the Saveal and Barrier nets will not be necessary. The Sheer-nets also may possibly be saved. The Nets are to be made upon a piece of thin board eight inches broad; which will make each mesh eight inches square. The twine for the Nets must be that sort which is called Stopper-twine, and is made by laying five strands together, instead of three, as used for the Shoal-nets. The nets are to be brought to at the foot upon a length of Ratline, and the heads upon a Bank-line.26 The foot-ropes must be weighted with sheet lead. 26 A heavy line used in deep-sea fishing.

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As the foot-ropes of the nets must lay upon the bottom and the heads of them reach the surface of the water, it will be necessary to make them three feet deeper than the water is at the Spring-tides, to make allowance for what the Seals may tuck up when many are entangled in them. The Moorings must be of two-inch tarred-rope. The Mooring-Bouys must be a six feet length of the trunk of a tree, which is about two feet in circumference and perfectly dry. Pine, or silverfir are the best, and the bark must be taken off. They had best be painted or pitched to keep them from imbibing water. Rope of two inches in circumference must also be used, to seize the head-ropes of all the nets to, and those for the Stopper, and other crossnets must reach home to the Capstirns. Neither the Anchors nor Moorings can appear when the nets are set, but they are laid down in the plan to shew the use of them. See page 272 also. [8/] No. 2 Shoal-nets for catching Seals Shoal-nets for Seals are made of the common Seal-twine of three strands. The length of each is forty fathoms; depth two fathoms, and mesh eight inches square. They are brought to at the foot upon a hawser of four inches and a half circumference, such as are used for cables to fishing Shallops and Half-worn ones are preferrable to new; they not being subject to kink. An eye must be sp[l]iced at each end of the foot rope, to fasten the Moorings to. The head is brought to upon two St. Peter’s lines,27 which must be new, but well stretched, and, a number of long pieces of Corks, pointed at each end, fixed between them. The Moorings are to be of rope of two inches, and they are moored with Killicks. As these nets are moored by the foot-rope, that always lays upon the ground, and the buoyancy of the Corks causes them to stand perpendicular, and the Seals strike into them, in their search for prey near the bottom of the Water. These nets are always moored at right angles with the shore and at no great distance from it. The best depths of water to place them in are from four to ten fathoms. To find them again and hale them up to the boat, to 27 Strong twine or rope.

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clear the seals out, it is necessary to have bouys. That which is fixed to the inner Clew (or corner next to the Shore) is a small log of dry, light wood, about a foot long, pointed at one end and square at the other, and about the thickness of the calf of a man’s leg. A hole is bored through the small end and burnt, through which a piece of bank line is put and tied and the other end of it tied to the Clew of the net, and it is long enough to reach to the surface of the Water: that log is called a Bobber. At the outer Clew of the net is tied another piece of Bank line and to the other end of that a long pole, called a Pryer-pole, about the size of a midling Hop-pole. The Pryer-line must be shortened at low-water, so much as to make the pole cock up a little. No. 3 Directions for making all kinds of nets There is not a Fish, a Beast, or a Bird which may not be taken in a net, provided it is properly made. The first things to be attended to are the size and strength of the animal intended to be taken. Fish, [9/] Amphibious animals and most four-footed beasts are very strong when entangled in a net, but birds have very little strength indeed. Having determined upon what animal you intend to catch, you must proportion the length & breadth of the net, and also the size of the Mesh and strength of the twine to it. The larger the Mesh, provided the animal cannot go through it, and the finer the twine, if it be not too weak, the surer it is to be entangled. For a beast or fish make the mesh large enough for the head to enter easily in, but not so wide that the body will follow, and the twine strong enough to resist its utmost efforts. For a bird, close the wings and measure its thickest circumference, and half of that must be the circumference of the gauge you are to net upon. After the net is made, it must be brought to rope before it can be used, and if it be not brought to perfectly true, it will not stand well. The way to discover the true distance is, to lay a mesh perfectly square and measure the diagonal of it, and that distance is to be marked upon the head & foot ropes. By doing that you will also know how many meshes will be requisite to make a net of any depth required; remembering, that the diagonal of one mesh will be added to the number netted in at first, by bringing it to at head & foot, half a mesh to each. To know what

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length of linnet28 will be sufficient to make a net of any length required you are to remember, that it will be shortened nearly one third in bringing to. That is, sixty yards of linnet, will make a net rather more than forty yards long. Sains,29 and such other nets as are not intended for animals to mesh, or be entangled in, must be made of much finer twine, in proportion to the size & strength of the animal, than the former require, and the smaller the mesh, the finer the twine. Net twine should be of an uniform thickness from end to end and not too hard twisted. [10/] No. 4 Rendering Vat A Rendering Vat is an invention for extracting oil out of fat, by the heat of the Sun. Seal-oil rendered in that manner is called “Virgin Oil” and commonly sells for six Pounds per Tun, more than that which is melted out by fire. Those used by the French, in Newfoundland, for extracting the oil out of the livers of Cod-fish are the best. The French Vats not being more than six or eight feet square, and about ten feet high, are much too small for a Sealing-post, which will require one that will hold several Tuns of fat: and you should have as many as will hold the fat of all the Seals which you expect to kill. The bottom part is called the “Reciever,” [sic] and is made of inch and half plank, in the following manner. Lay a sufficient number of timbers parallel to, and on a level with each other, as will make the vat of what size you please, and which timbers are to be placed crossways of the vat. Those timbers are to be supported upon Posts and Shores, at such a height from the ground, that they shall be above the top of the Washing-Vat, which is to be built near it. Upon those timbers nail the Planks for the floor; caulk the seams well, plaster a strip of strong brown paper, diped [sic] in a composition of two parts of Pitch and one of Tar made boiling hot, and nail a thin batten over the paper; taking care that you do not use nails which are long enough to go through all. The sides and ends must be made of the same kind of Plank, two breadths high and the seams secured in the same manner, and then the whole inside payed with [blank space] Pitch. Upon that floor at about one third 28 Also “lennet.” A section of completed netting without the roping. 29 Seine net.

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of the breadth of it, nail two battens, parallel to the sides (which will divide the floor into three parts) and nail two others at the same distance from each end. Make a strong frame of timber, the same length and breadth as the Reciever, and support it, by posts, ten or twelve feet above it, then nail in a sufficient number of straight, clean holes, an inch asunder, with their tops inside of the battens, and their buts inside of the top frame. You must then support the poles with other frames of plank, three inches broad, and span them together with inch board, from side to side across the vat and between the poles, or the weight of fat will burst them open. You are then to line the whole of the inside with strainer cloth. Close under [11/] the under edge of the top frame, a broad plank must be placed the whole length of that side which is farthest from the Washing Vat. One corner of the Reciever must be placed a small matter lower than the other three; one hole must be bored through near the bottom, to let off the water and another near the top for the oil to keep continually running through it into the Washing vat by means of a spout. Half of the Reciever must be kept constantly full of water for the blood and other impurities to settle into, that nothing but clear oil may run into the Washing-Vat. The Rendering-vat must also be spanned across the top of the upper frame, and great care must be taken to make every part strong enough to resist the pressure of the fat. [text crossed out] N.B. This Vat may be made as long as will be sufficient to hold all the fat which may be killed in a season. No. 5 Washing-Vat The Washing-vat is made exactly in the same manner as the Reciever of the Rendering-Vat, but the sides are higher, and it should hold about five Tuns. The roof should have its ridge elevated above the centre, and its sides resting upon the sides of the vat; a man can then get in at either end, to clean it out. One of its corners must be a little depressed, with one hole near the bottom to let off the Water, and another a foot above it, to draw the oil off into the Casks. It must be placed below the Rendering-Vat, with a spout from the top, to lead under the oil-hole in the latter.

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No. 6 Ran-fat Vat The Ran-fat Vat must be six or seven feet deep in the clear, and must have length and breadth sufficient to contain the whole quantity of fat, which you expect to kill in a Season; a deficiency of Vat-room occasioning a great loss in oil. It is build [sic] in the same manner as the Washing-vat, and must be placed on the back side of [12/] the Rendering-vat; the top of it on a level with the upper frame of the latter, and six feet distance from it. One corner must be depressed, and that corner partitioned off, in the inside, with battens & strainer-cloth, to keep the fat from slipping out of, or plugging up the water and oil-holes. A spout must lead from under the oil hole upon the top of the Reciever of the Rendering-Vat, but that hole must be kept constantly plugged up, excepting at those times that you want to let the oil run off for the heat of the weather will render the fat in this as well as in the Rendering-vat, but not so quick. This vat is necessary, because the Sealers have not time to chop the fat as fast as they take it off the Seals; if they are not skimmed out as fast as possible in the Spring the oil will contract a strong smell from the putrefaction of the carcasses, and if it is thrown immediately into the Rendering-Vat, it cannot all be got out again, to be chopped, and it will not render so quick, or effectually as if it were. Between this and the Rendering-vat, a Platform must be built, the whole length of both, with a gangway up to it at each end. The height of it must be such, that a man, standing upon it, shall have his middle even with the tops of the vats. Those who carry the fat into this will go up at one end, and down at the other, and those who chop the fat, will hook it up out of this vat and lay it upon the chopping-board of the other. A Roof must be thrown over both these vats; the lower sides of which must rest upon Posts placed close to the outer edges of them, and the gable-ends open. It will facilitate the work greatly, if a stream of water can be turned, by spouts, into a large cask placed at the foot of this vat, from whence it may be raised into it by a pump, and the other vats also be supplied by the help of spouts; as all of them will require clean water every day: for the putrid water must be daily let off. N.B. A vat 16 ft. long, 8 wide & 7 deep will hold 36¾ Tuns. Ale – measure of 270 Gallons to the Tun, or above 41 of Wine [13/]

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No. 7 Skimming Vat This vat is made in the same manner as the Reciever; its length should be six feet; breadth three feet; height, one plank, and elevated a foot above the ground. A [blank space], such as used by Butchers for skinning sheep upon, should be placed in it, with [a; paper torn] sloping board at one end, to hale the seals up upon. At every Sealing-post there should be two of them for every skinner, or rather three, for the carcass must not be removed until the fat is taken off, and the skinner should have a second always ready for him, the instant that he had finished the one he was about. One corner of this vat must be depressed, & a plug-hole in it, to draw off the oil. Or cover it, or any other vat with loose boards, in the way that fish-rooms, in Shallops are covered. No. 8 Oil House An Oil House should have length and breadth sufficient to contain the quantity of oil expected to be killed. It should be built near the waterside; have two doors opposite to each other, one in the centre of each side, that the oil may be recieved in from the Washing-vat by the one, and shipped off by the other. It should be considerably longer than is necessary for the oil, that one end may be partitioned off to store the Nets etc. in, and the other used to salt the Seal-skins in, and contain the salt required for that purpose. Each of those ends, must have a separate door on the outside. Those buildings may be detached, and contiguous. No. 9 Rendering Vat improved The Rendering Vat, Page 10, No. 4, is according to the French way, but as the fat in the bottom of that will always be in the water which is in the bottom of the Reciever, that circumstance [14/] appears to me to be a great objection, and therefore recommend the following. Build the Reciever fifteen+30 feet long, eight+ broad, and the breadth of two Planks in 30 N. ++ In the clear, or inside. [Cartwright’s footnote]

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depth, in the same manner as directed in No. 4. Make a frame for the lower end of the Rendering-Vat nine feet+ long, and two feet+ wide, of three inch timber well dovetailed together, and place cross-timbers at one foot asunder. This frame must be properly supported underneeth, and fixed on a level with the upper edges of the Reciever. The floor must be made of strips of inch board, three inches broad, nailed lengthways within a quarter of an inch of each other, and they are to be covered with straining-cloth. The fat will then be kept out of the water, and the warm air pass under the bottom, which will melt the fat the quicker. The top frame must be Fourteen feet+ long, and six feet+ wide, and the lower side bevelled away, to cause the inner edge to be lower than the outer one, to prevent the oil dropping outside of the Reciever. There must be three side-frames, at equal distances from each other, of two inch Plank three inches broad and well dovetailed together; all of which must be spanned across in three places, at equal distances. Those spans must be made of inch board three inches broad; laid flat; let through the frames, and pinned on the outside of them. To do that, it will be necessary to cut such of the upright poles as would be in the way, but they must be nailed both above and below the spans. A washing-vat of two Tuns would, I suppose, be large enough to recieve the oil from this, but the most material question is, How many Seals will produce fat enough to fill this Vat? When that is once known, the number of vats necessary for a Sealing-post might be ascertained; but there ought to be at least two more than the highest calculation, lest an extraordinary good season should happen: for there ought always to be one spare vat, and then the fat might be chopped out of one into another, and save the whole of the Ran-fat vats. This vat must be twelve feet high. See Page 229 also. [15/] No. 10 Large double-springed Steel-trap Many of these are made at, and near Poole, in Dorsetshire for the use of the Furriers in Newfoundland, but all of them are very clumsy, and none open wide enough for a White-bear. This trap should be two feet square, when open; the weight, seventy five pounds; the shanks should be two feet six inches long; the springs so strong as to require a man of seventeen stone weight to bear one of them down, and there should be an instru-

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ment to screw them down with. The bed should not be too heavy, nor yet the jaws, nor should the bridge31 be more than one foot square. The shanks should be very strong where they are welded to the bed, and that should be strong there also. The teeth should be short and strong, and riveted to the jaws underneath, at two inches asunder, and those on one side to stand midway between two on the other. The standing end of each spring should be firmly fastened down to the ends of the shanks; great care should be taken in tempering the springs; the eye at the top end should be wide, and it should not press upon the lose [sic] jaw when set, which would cause that jaw to cock up. The tongue should be made true, or the bridge will not lay level. The bridge should have proper substance, or it will soon be broken, yet care must be taken that it be not too heavy. In short, weight and strength must be properly disposed, or the trap will be of no use. No. 11 Tub-Vat Make a Tub of Pipe-staves, thirty six inches diameter at the bottom, and thirty four at the top. Hoop it well with iron hoops. [16/] No. 12 Small Double-springed Steel-trap The jaws must open ten inches square; the Bed must be the same size; the bridge six inches square, made to turn both ways towards the springs and kept upon a level by two Pivots; which are to stand over [an]other two upon the jaws, and the Springs are to be lo[o]se and shaped like the letter V, and must be a foot long each, and of good strength. I have had several dozens of these traps made at Birmingham; they weighed three pounds and a half; cost four shillings and six pence, and foiled an animal much more than the ten pound Poole-traps. If all the four Pivots (the two upon the bridge and the two upon the jaws) are not in a perfect straight

31 “Bridge” refers to the pan of a trap. Schorger (1951, 176) noted that “There are some differences between present American terminology and that of Cartwright ... He uses bridge for pan and tongue for dog.”

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line, the bridge will never turn well; the two upon the jaws should be flatted a very little underneath and those upon the bridge must be a little flat upon the top, but great care must be taken not to flatten either too much; as the trap will then stand so firm, that the weight of a Marten will not turn the bridge and if the Pivots are made round, it will be a very difficult matter to tail32 the trap, and the least touch will strike it up. The Bridge must lay perfectly level with the jaws. The Bridge must be made of plate-iron, but not too thin, and four holes punched through it, to tye bait upon occasionally; two on each side next to the springs. No. 13 Beaver-trap These have but one Spring; are made at, or near Poole, weigh seven pounds; used to be charged one shilling a pound, and have a chain of six feet fixed to the end of the Shank, with a ring at the outer end of it. [17/] No. 14 Marten-trap – see page 288 also. This trap is exactly upon the plan of the common wooden Mouse-trap, made large enough for Martens, and the following dimentions [sic] will be sufficient. Length of the log eleven inches; height of it seven inches, and thickness of it seven inches. The hole must be an oval; five inches in width, four inches and a half in height, and six inches deep. The hook for the bait must be neatly made, the points sharp, and they must be bent, like fish-hooks down-wards instead of upwards as in mice-traps. The Killers & Staples need not be more than two tenths of an inch thick, and about three broad, and the Spring must be about four inches & a half long, with a sufficient degree of strength. Care must be taken that the staples are made secure in the wood. I suppose that these traps would not cost more than a shilling each; if bought by the gross. A steel rat-trap, five inches square, when open, & bridge 3 ½ inches square, with saw-teeth, will be good for Martens. They weigh & cost [blank space] 32 “Tailing a trap” in Cartwright’s usage means to fix it properly into place.

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No. 15 Large Pitfal-trap. See Page 212 also & Page 308. This trap is upon the same plan as the Warrener’s33 Pit-trap for Rabbits; in which they take great numbers. The usual way of making this trap is, by digging a deep hole in the ground, and laying the doors upon a level with the surface; but that is practicable in so very few places in Labrador, by reason of the obstructions which will be met with either from Rock or frozen earth, that I shall give directions for building it above-ground. Set up a frame, as if for a house, twelve feet [18/] long; seven feet wide, and seven feet high in the clear; nail the studs on the inside and take care that they are well secured both at the bottom & top. Longer the floor if necessary; make a pipe of inch boards eight inches square & eight feet long, to project from one of the end corners; the inner end of which is to be secured with iron hoops nailed upon it, and the outer end to have a piece of plate iron to slide down, through a slit cut through the upper side, six inches within the end & that is to be stopped with moss, to keep the wind from penetrating. The use of that pipe is, for foxes & martens to retire into, out of the reach of bears & wolves, and to bolt them into a sack or net; by taking out the moss, and drawing up the iron plate. Chinse between each stud with moss, and then line the whole of the inside with inch boards with all vacant spaces between them & the studs well chinsed with moss. The top must be made of shallop’s plank (inch & half) with a long hole in the centre of it, for the trap-doors to be fixed in. The hole in the top must be twelve feet long and four feet wide, which will leave the fixed parts one foot broad on each side. Make two trap-doors, each six feet long and four feet broad; taking off a small matter, to let them play freely within the hole. On the undersides of each of those doors and two feet from the back ends, fix a couple of Pivots, direct opposite to each other for the doors to play upon, and drive staples into the under sides of the top to receive those pivots, and take care to prevent the latter from swerving to either side. The inner ends of those doors will then meet in the centre, and the outer ends of them must be weighted so as to 33 Rabbit meat and fur were in demand in England and warreners were those who raised rabbits but were also skilled in trapping or catching their predators.

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keep them upon a level, and that must be so nicely done, that a pound weight will make them fall. Underneath the back ends of the trap-doors, nail battens across, to prevent any animal from jumping out there, when the doors are pressed down, and fix the foremost of those battens34 a small matter forwarder than the Pivots that the doors may strike against them when nearly perpendicular, that they may immediately return back into their places again. Two other frames must then be made, five feet long and two feet wide; one of which must be fixed lengthways; on each side of the trap, and on a level with the top of it, and they must be supported upon posts. Upon those frames, two platforms must be placed, five [19/] feet long and four feet broad, six inches higher than the top of the trap; the inner edges of which must lay direct above the sides of the trap-doors. From the outer sides of the frames which support those platforms, lay the top ends of three stout beams and let the lower ends of them rest upon the ground, at the distance of sixteen feet, supported underneath by a sufficient number of Posts to make them firm, then layer them and cover them with sods. The sides of those slopes must be fenced with tree-tops reared agains[t] them, and hawk-fences must run out from their bottoms, to direct the animals to them: they will then walk up to the top of the platform, on either side, step from thence upon the trap-doors, and immediately fall headlong into the Trap. There are two reasons for elevating the platforms; the one to prevent the animals from trying the trap-doors with their feet, and the other to prevent the drift from lodging upon them. A roof of rinds, sodded, must be built over the Trap, eighteen feet long, sixteen feet wide, and the lower sides of it high enough for a man to walk under without stooping.35 A door, four feet six inches high, and two feet six inches wide may be made at one end of the trap, to bolt the bears etc out at, and a small yard, fenced very strong, made there, to confine them in until they are shot. For the Winter, a net would be better. They must not be shot in the house, un[l]ess with an air-Gun, or Arrow. 34 A sufficient length of Bank-line would be better (fixed to the back) and less apt to strain the Pivots. [Cartwright’s footnote] 35 Make the bolting doors on one side of the Trap two feet wide & nearly the whole height fixed at the bottom with hinges & to let down with a rope. The top end to be secured with a hasp & staple. [Cartwright’s footnote]

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No. 16 Lesser Pitfal-trap for Foxes & Martens Length six feet; breadth four feet six inches, & height five feet, made in the same manner. If it is in a Wood, build it in a house, and leave out one stud at each end and on each side. Hole for the trap-doors, four feet by two feet. Height of Platform 4 inches No. 17 Little Pit-fal trap for Otters Length four feet; breadth four feet, and height two feet six inches. Hole for the trap-doors, two feet by eighteen inches. Height of Platform two inches. N.B. The large Pitfal-trap should be lined with stones, or Wolves and Wolverines will be apt to gnaw through the sides. [20/] No. 18 Plans & elevations of the Great Pitfal-Trap

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[21/]

Explanations Fig. 1. Scale 4/16 to a foot 1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1. The outer frame 2.2.2.2.2.2. The inner frame

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3.3.3.3.3.3. The fixed top 4. The hole for entrance; battened underneath 7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7. 5. The Bolting-pipe for Foxes, Martens etc. 6. So much of the Platforms as project over the sides of the top Fig. 2. Scale the same 1.1.1.1.1.1. The outer frame 2.2. So much of the Platforms as project over the top. 3.3. The trap, or falling doors. 4.4.4.4. The places where the Pivots are to be placed 5.5.5.5.5.5. The fixed top 6. The Bolting Pipe Staples to lock it, that you may walk over Fig. 3. Scale the same 1. Part of the end of the Trap 2. The Bolting-pipe 3. The place where the sliding-door is to be Fig. 4. Scale 2/16 to a foot 1.1.1.1. The sides of the Trap 2.2. The end of the Trap 3.3.3.3. The fixed top & falling doors 4.4. The Platform 5.5.5.5. The slopes or Bridges to ascend by 7.7. The Ground-line 8.8. The Ports to support the Wall-plate of the Roof 9. A Post to support the Ridge-pole 10.10. The two sides of the Roof N.B. The two end Posts for the support of the Ridge-pole must be fixed four feet beyond each end; the four corner-posts for the support of the Wall-plate must be fixed in a line with the former and two others, on each side, close out-side of the Slopes. 11. The Bolting-pipe N.B. Figure 1. is a Ground plan of the Trap before the Trap-doors are fixed on. 2. is a Ground-plan with the Trap-doors in their places.

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3. is an elevation of part of the side, to show the Bolting-pipes 4. is an elevation of that end where the Bolting-pipe is fixed. To lock the Trap, that you may safely walk over it, drive in three pairs of staples, each an inch wide at the figures 7.7.7. [these numbers are in faded red ink in original] Introduce a stick into those at a and 6 [in faded red ink], then return & draw that out of a [faded red ink], and after you have introduced one into the staples at c [faded red ink], draw out that at 6 [faded red ink] & then do the same by the one at c [faded red ink], which sets all at liberty again. [22/] No. 19 House-trap, for Bears & Wolves Build a house of Studs; 10 feet long, 2 feet six inches wide, and five feet high in the clear: Shoulder the studs but a little, and nail them in the inside with a strong Batten across the tops of them. Longer the house upon the floor; and cover the top with longers nailed across it. Nail 1 ½ inch Plank ac[r]oss the lower part of the door, a foot high; make a falling door of the same, to fill the remaining part of the door-sted [sic], and hang it by the top with four staples; two upon the top of the door frame, and other two, linked within them, upon the top of the door. When the Door is raised up, close under the roof of the house, suspend a hooked stick to one of the cross-battens, to keep it there; tye a string to the back of that hook and lead it through a ring fixed at the top of the back-end on the house & down to the Bridge36 direct under it; the front part of which bridge is to be laid upon a log of four inches thick and fix your bait upon hooks driven into some of the studs at the farther end. Those baits should be pieces of flesh or fish, and small bits should be dropped upon the floor and also outside of the house, and a little treacle should be dropped upon the Bridge. When the animal sets his foot upon the bridge, it will pull the hooked stick from under the door, cause that to fall, and secure him. The Door-frame should be made to hang forward at the top, that the door may sit close. Three or four of these may be built abreast of each-other, 36 Instead of a Bridge, drive a staple into that, a foot above the ground; reeve the end of the line through it, and tie a nice piece of Bait to the end of the line. If the bait is heavy, support it upon a tenterhook that it may not pull the hook back. [Cartwright’s footnote]

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and they may also be built double, with the other doors the reverse way. The Bridge to be 10 inches broad. Ground-plan of two double houses

[23/] Longitudinal Section of a double House-trap

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Explanation of the Ground-plan Nos. 1.1.1.1. The out-side Walls 2.2. The Partition Walls, across 3.3.3.3. The Door-places 4.4.4.4. The Bridges 5.5. The Longitudinal Partition Walls Explanation of the Longitudinal Section 1.1 Side of the Top-frame 2.2 The middle Partition 3.3 The fixed Thresholds 4.4 The open part of the Door-ways 5.5 The Doors, hooked up, or properly set 6.6 The Bridges, set for catching 7.7 The Logs, to support the standing ends of the Bridges 8.8. The Hooks, to keep the Doors suspended 9.9 The Lines, which pull away the hooks when the Bridge is trod upon, to Let fall 10.10 Pieces of Bait hung upon the middle partition, above the Doors 11.11 The rings for the Bridge-lines to lead through 12.12 The side of the Ground-frame 13.13 The staples, if there is no Bridge and which is the best way 14.14 The Baits for the animal to sieze and shut the Doors by. In which case there need be none above. A large piece will require to be supported upon a tenter-hook that the weight of it may not pull the hook back & let the Door fall before the animal has seized it. No. 20 To Tail a Gun Having provided five poles, each eight feet long, tie three of them together, six inches below their tops and set them up, by pulling their but[t]s out triangular ways, with one of them to stand direct behind the Gun. Tie the

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other two in the same manner, and place them in front of the others, at the distance of somewhat more than the length of your Gun. Lay a ridge-pole from the top of one to that of the other and tie it fast at both ends. Tie a stout stick on each side, from one pair of the Sheers to the other, at three feet from the ground, and the [24/] ends of them must project a couple of inches beyond both the pairs of Sheers. Tie a stout stick across the front pair of Sheers, and which must rest upon the side sticks, close out-side of the Sheers. Tie another stick above the former one, two or three inches below the lashing of the Sheers, and take the back off it. Tie another stout stick across the two side-sticks, at such a distance from the front crossstick, that the gripe of your gun may lay direct under it, when the muzzle is tied under the cross-stick in the front. Tie another stick across the two side-lets of the back pair of Sheers, and on a level with the trigger of your gun, and take the bark off that also. Lash the muzzle of your gun close under the front cross-stick and the gripe close under the back cross stick, which rests upon the two side sticks. Drive two stakes into the ground close to the front pair of Sheers, at two feet asunder and tie their tops to the legs of the sheers. Force the but ends of other sticks into the ground in front of those stakes, and let their tops rest upon the legs of the Sheers and within the tops of the perpendicular stakes, to oblige the animal to come direct in front of the Gun-house. Tie a piece of Cod-line37 to the trigger of the Gun, lead it under the clean cross-stick, at the back pair of Sheers, then carry it forward and lead it over the other clean stick in front and tie a piece of bait to the end of it, to hang about a foot above the muzzle of the gun. Tie as many other side-sticks, from one pair of Sheers to the other, as you find necessary; bend a broad rind or two over the ridge-pole and above the lock of your gun, to keep it dry, and fix the ends of them under one of the side-sticks, then cover both sides of the Gun-house with the tops of small trees, and make it up behind. All being now finished, you have only to cock the gun. If the Gun is tailed near water, place it at the back part of the Beach, and pointing towards the Water, and remember to drop a few small pieces of bait all the way between it and the water. By so doing, any Bear or Wolf, which chances to go along the Beach, will wind one of those small pieces of bait, and will certainly be brought up to the Gun-house, and when he discovers the main bait, he will place his two 37 Strong twine for deep-sea cod jigging.

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fore-paws upon the cross-stick, his breast will then touch the muzzle of the gun, and [25/] the instant that he siezes the bait, the string will draw the trigger and he will shoot himself. All guns should be placed as near to your house, that the report of them may be distinctly heard, for a Bear will not be eatable unless he be paunched38 before he is cold. Remember to lay the muzzle of the gun rather lower than the Breech, lest rain run along the barrel and wet the powder. In damp weather, the gun should be fresh primed every day, or rather, every mor[n]ing and evening. Ground Plan of a Gun-house

Explanation 1.1. The But[t]-ends of the front pair of Sheers 2.2.2. The But[t]-ends of the back Sheers 3.3. The Front fences, which oblige the animal to present himself 4. The Front of the Gun-house; in the centre of which is the Gun and three feet high, the Muzzle of the Gun is fixed, and points outward. No. 21 Deathfal, or Log-trap This trap is composed of one log of wood laid upon the ground, and which is called the Ground-killer; two stout stakes driven into the ground on each side of it, to keep it firm; another log with a hole bored through one end and burnt smoothe, for a nail to be put through and driven into 38 Removing the entrails in a timely manner prevents meat spoilage. See also “Memorandum,” on Cartwright’s p. 90.

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one of the inner stakes, for it to turn upon, as a hinge & is called the Catkiller; a flat bridge, for the animal to tread upon; a tongue, to support the bridge in a horizontal position; a string tied to the loose end of the upper, or Cat-killer, and to the tongue at the other end to keep the former elevated, until the animal treads upon the bridge, which pulls out the tongue and lets the Cat-killer fall upon its back, and a house of sticks round all but the front, with rinds of trees upon the top to keep off the rain. The bait is placed within the house. This trap is upon the principle of the common wooden mouse-trap, and is so well known in Labrador and Newfoundland as to need no further descriptions. They are generally used for killing Martens, but the largest carnivorous animals may be killed in them, by proportioning all the parts to the size and strength of them, and by driving nails, with out heads, into both [26/] the killers, and pointing them with a file. The loose end of the Cat-killer is generally longer than the front of the house that an additional log may be laid upon it, whose but-end rests upon the ground. No. 22 Ground-plan of a Deer-Pound; the killing-pound, & Venison-house Explanation of the improved Killing-pound 1 to 2 The Pen. 100 yd long and 7 yards wide with a pair of Hawkracks fixed 7 yards within the entrance, and draw rails 5 feet long at 7. to bolt live Deer into & covered shed. 3 to 4 The Killing pound 20 yards long & 24 yd wide with draw-rails at the entrance from the Pen & also at 8 [and 9?] for the admission of Wolves etc. 4 to 5 The Venison-house with a Pitfal-trap at the farthest end [on?] 5, which will be six feet wide. The whole house will be 11 yards long and seven wide with a Door to communicate with the Killing-pound, and which must be left open. A bolting-pipe to be made for Foxes across one end of the Trap & project a foot or two into the house & a Sliding door at the other end, to bolt the Wolves into the house, where they may be killed. By making the Deer-pound 200 yards long; dividing it in the middle & leaving two lengths of rails open, the Deer will be easily forced into the Pen, which joins to the Pound at b.

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N.B. It will be better to build the Venison-house 6 or 8 feet beyond the Killing-Pound and make the end rails of that to draw, as the Wolves etc will more readily enter it. N.B. A double deer pound should be 200 yards long and divided in the middle, but 100 yards in length will be sufficient for a single Pound, although the larger the better. N.B. The side-fences and standing Hawks may be made with Deer-flakes, made of inch board; four inches broad, & only six inches asunder for the lowest five feet. Each flake will want a shore at the back of it. If the fences are made of rails, nailed either to Posts or standing Trees; each rail ten feet long & a nail in each end, the Pounds and Venison house will require near one hundred weight of nails of sixteen to the pound, and they will cost fifty two shillings. If the open end of the Hawk fence is 4 feet wide, that will be sufficient for the largest Stag; and if 7 or 8 poles are [placed?] sloping, at the distance of 9 inches from each other & their ends point inwards & stand 2 ft 6 inches high the Deer will walk between them but cannot return. The[y] must stand about eight feet within the Hawks. [27/] Explanation of the Ground-plans of the Deer-pound Nos 1.1.1.1 The two side-fences; each of them 117 yards long & 20 yards around, which will make the length of the Pound from 2 to 2 100 yards. They are to be made with Posts & rails; ten feet high, and very strong. The rails to be only eight inches asunder for the lowest five feet, but wider above. N.B. The longer & wider the Pound is, so much the better. [#2 missing] 3 The killing-pound, 20 yards long, 5 yards wide; 10 feet high, and the rails only six inches asunder. Must be very strong. 4 The Venison-house; 21 feet long, fifteen feet wide, and a Pitfaltrap built at the farther end of it, as marked 5. 6 Shifting rails; they are to be taken out, to drive the deer into it and put in again afterwards. 7.7 The Hawk-doors, or Racks. They must be made of stout poles or of No. 1 wire; the outer ends of them to stand four yards asunder, but

their points within ten inches of each other. (N.B. See the Note in Page 210). They must stand upon iron pivots fixed in posts, set firm in the ground, and their heads be confined within iron staples driven into the end Posts of the Standing Hawk-fence, that they may open to the width of four feet, whenever a deer presses against them, and shut again of themselves. Their height must be eight feet, and their length twelve. The making and fixing these properly, is the nicest part of the whole work. 8.8 The standing Hawk-fences. They are to be made in the same manner as the side fences.

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9.9 The Sheer-fences, to direct the deer into the Pound. They are to be made by setting up several pairs of Sheers; laying a ridge-pole from the top of one to that of another, and reaving tree-tops against those ridgepoles and on the inside of them. They are to be carried out to any length, as occasion may require but need not be more than four feet high. On a Marsh, make a dead hedge, of Stakes & boughs. N.B. Where the five dots are placed across the points of the Hawks, young trees are to be stuck into the ground, to turn the deer when they run from one end to the other, to prevent their running against the points of the racks. Other trees are to be placed where the other small dots are, to hide the Hawk-fences & racks. Explanation of the Hawk-rack The two black lines represent the two bars through which holes are to be made for staves to be fixed in; the end 1 is to be hollowed, that it may stand and turn upon a Pivot, and the end 2 is to be rounded, to be fixed in a staple. The red-lines represent the staves; they are to be fixed at six inches asunder, and pointed at their outer ends. N.B. It will be better to hang it by hooks & Gimmels, as a common gate is hung. [28/] No. 23 Salmon-Pound, or Salmon-Crib Salmon-pounds must be fixed in a river, or brook immediately above a natural Wear [weir], and higher up than the tide reaches, and where the water is not more than four or five feet deep. Where such a Wear extends across a broad river, there may be two or more breaks in it, through which a strong stream runs; in which case, a Pound must be fixed above each, and the rest of the wear must be raised with large stones, to prevent the Salmon running up the river at any other place than those where the Pounds are fixed. For each Pound, four racks must be made; each of which must be from six, to eight feet long, and about two feet higher than the depth of the water. To make those racks, cut two strips of two-inch Plank, four inches in breadth; bore holes through them, and fix the staves therein at a distance of not more than two inches from each other, and those staves may be made of wood or of wire; if they are made of wood,

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saw them out of inch and half plank, inch & half square, and fix them with their edges to the stream. The front rack must have no staves, or bars, for four feet in the centre, as the Hawk-doors must be fixed there. Those doors are to be made in the same manner as they are in the Deerpound, with their points up the stream, and within five inches of each other. All things being provided, throw a bridge across the river, over the wear, or close above it, of two beams parallel to each other and supported by Posts & Shores; taking care to put none in the Stream, or Streams where a pound is to be fixed. That bridge will serve for the double-purpose of walking dry-foot to the Pound, and also for supporting the front of it. You must then fix a Beam at a sufficient distance above the frontrack to support the uppermost one and the side racks are to be fixed to the ends of those two. The Hawk-doors being then fixed in their places, the Pound is compleated. If the river is much frequented by seals, by making the Hawk-doors to open, as in the Deer-pound, they may be caught also; in which case, the Pound ought to be ten or twelve feet long. If you fix a Pound in a small [29/] Brook, you will not have occasion for any side-racks, but having fixed your Hawk-racks as before directed, observing that your front-rack occupies the whole breadth of the Brook, place another rack across the Brook at what distance you please above. Should you intend to keep salmon alive for the daily supply of your house, give them a good range of the Brook; otherwise, only a short one. There is so much similarity between the Salmon-pound and the Deer-pound, that a plan of it is unnecessary. No. 24 Otter-Pound in a Pond In many places, but more particularly upon Isthmuses, Otters will make a path across the land, and if there chance to be a Pond there, they will certainly cross that. Should that Pond be a small one, it may be converted into a Pound, and every otter caught in it provided there is a sufficient depth of water [text crossed out]. Having sounded the Pond all round, make a sufficient number of Racks to go all round it, excepting about a foot on each side of the path-ends, and place them in the water close within the Banks; their bottom-frames upon the ground, and their topframes a foot above the level of the Water. In the open space at the path-

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ends, make a platform of boards, a sufficient part of which must lay firm upon the ground but three or four inches below the surface, and the other part project a foot at least over the water, and secure the ends of it, where they join to the Racks, very carefully, that no otter can get up there, then cover the Platform with sods, to make it appear like the rest of the ground. If the work is neatly done, any otter which chances to come either way will readily [30/] slip off the Platform into the water, and it will be impossible for him to get out again. As great numbers of otters associate together at the latter end of the Summer, if the first goes in, all the rest will follow. But as they tire and drown in time, it will be necessary to provide a resting-place for them, and that is to be done thus, viz. Build an artificial Beaver-house, either of studs or boards, at the distance of six feet from the side of the Pond. Six feet square and three feet high, will be large enough. The Angle must be made of boards, eight inches square in the clear, in the same manner as the Bolting-pipe in the Trap No. 18, which must reach to the edge of the water, and the rack be cut away there for the otters to go into the house, and at the other end, which must be a Gable, there must be a sliding door; the House & Angle must be covered with sods. The Otters, finding no other place to rest themselves, or take shelter in, will go into the House, and may be bolted out of it into a net or sack, and kept alive until they are in full season. The racks should have a broad top-frame, and as much as possible of it must project over the tops of the staves on the Pond-side, that the Otters may not be able to clime [sic] over it, and the ends of them, where they ajoin to the Platforms must be masked with young trees or boughs. Vide Pg. 283. Plan of the Pond and Pound etc. P.S. Stake it all round, as directed in the additions to this book, Page 90. Explanation 1.1.1.1. 2.2. 3.3.3.3. 4.4. 5

The Bank of the Pond The Otter-path The Racks The two Platforms The House

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6 The Angle; near the outer-end of which there must be a slit, upon the top, to slip a board down, to confine the Otters until the net, or sack is fixed, and to prevent too many Otters bolting in at a time. [31/] No. 25 Otter-Pound upon a Brook Otters cruise up and down every Brook, and the larger ones are the most proper for fixing a Pound upon. A still-deep reach is the proper place for the Pound, and it is to be constructed with Racks, as in No. 24; placing a set along each side, close to the Banks, and others across. Close below the lower-rack, and close above the upper one shelve the Banks away on each side, for the otters to land, and place a Platform immediately within each cross-rack at each end of it, and make a staked hedge round both the Platform and the Landing-place. Build a house on one side, in the same manner as directed in No. 24. Plan of a Pound upon a Brook Explanation 1.1.1. 2.2.2.2. 3.3. 4.4.

The Brook The Banks of the Brook The side-racks The cross-racks

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5.5.5.5. The Platforms 6.6.6.6. The Staked hedges, which surround the landing places & Platforms 7. The House 8. The Angle N.B. Should the Banks not be perpendicular, the hedges must be continued for several yards, both above and below the Pound and turned outwards at their ends, as represented by the dotted lines in red-ink.39 Proper care must be taken, that the Racks both in this Pound and the other, stand close down to the ground, at the bottom of the Water, that the Otters cannot get under them; for they will search every place, that they may make their escape. [32/] No. 26 Otter-Pound upon a Path Where Otters make a frequent practise of crossing a piece of land, from one Pond, Bay or River to another, you will discover a well-beaten Path: and if they do not pass through a small Pond, you may erect a Pound upon the Path. Should the ground be rockey, place the Pound in the deepest hollow, or dip, that you can find upon it; fencing it on both sides at some distance from the path, and fixing a Platform at each end, for them to step down from. You must mind to secure it well everywhere, that they

39 Faint dotted lines are visible but red ink has faded.

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may not get out again, and make a small house, as directed in the two last numbers, for them to hide themselves in, and mask it well with young trees or boughs stuck into the ground. As an otter cannot leap, he cannot get over a fence which is four feet high, unless he can have good hold for his hind feet. The two former plans render one for this unnecessary. No. 27 Deer-Toils Toils for Rein-deer,40 which is the only kind found in Labrador or Newfoundland, must be made of that kind of Seal-twine of which Stoppernets are made, and which has five strands twisted together instead of three. The mesh must be two feet square and brought to upon a single Saint Peter’s line at the head and foot. That they may not be too heavy, make each net fifty yards long, and they must be eighteen feet deep. Six or eight such nets will be sufficient for most places. Provide a sufficient number of stout poles, which will stand ten feet above the ground or ice on which they are fixed; bore a hole with a spike-gimble or small augur near the top of each and drive a peg into it to stand about two inches out and slope upwards. Set up those poles, thirty feet asunder, with the pegs the way that the Deer are to come from, and fix the head of the net upon them, which will cause eight feet of it to lie upon the ground (a small pole with a fork on the top will be requisite to do that with) and fasten the ends of the nets to each other. The nets must be placed either in a semicircular form; in that of the letter n, or of the letter v, with the open part towards [33/] the Deer. Should you find it necessary, you may run out a Sewel from each end of the Toil, to direct the Deer into it, but they are to be set only three feet high, and stretched out perfectly tight, that the feathers may play the better. A small hut must be built about two hundred yards in front of the Toils, for a man and dog to be concealed in; if upon ice, the hut must be built of snow, but sticks, sodded over, will do upon the Land. Toils are to be used in the Winter chiefly and are always to be placed to leeward of the Deer for they will not easily be driven up the Wind, and would scent the Man & Dog in the hut, if they could.

40 Caribou.

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When all is ready, send two or three men, but no dogs, round the Deer, and they will easily drive them down towards the Toils, and when they have entered within their extreme points, the man in the hut must shew himself and slip his Dog at them; they will then rush forward; strike into the nets; pull them down, and be compleatly entangled. The man must then run up and hamstring every Deer as quick as he can, and cut their throats afterwards. Should any be wanted to be kept alive, be provided with Surgical needles and strong thread, and sew up their eyelids before you clear them out of the nets, minding to tie their legs fast, and carry them home upon a sled. Toils may also be made use of at the travelling times, and one man & a dog will be sufficient to watch their company and force them on: for they will not take a net, unless terrified into it. They may also be set upon three poles, tied together near their tops & their bottoms pulled out in a triangle. No. 28 White-bear Net A net for White-bears must be made of St. Peter’s lines and brought to upon Bank-lines. The length from twenty to forty yards, the depth twenty feet, and mesh two feet square. It may either be netted in the usual way, or the lines pegged down upon a piece of level ground, and tied at their intersections with waxed sail-twine. It is to be fixed up in the same manner as Deer-toils, and the same height; that it may fall down and entangle any bear that gets into it. They will take a net without forcing; not being timid. [34/] No. 29 Black-bear Net This may be made of Shore-lines or Stopper-twine, and brought to upon St. Peters-lines. The length twenty yards; depth twelve feet, and mesh one foot square. They are to be set up in the manner directed before, but only eight feet high.

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No. 30 Beaver-Net This net must be made of Trall41 or Shoal-net twine; sixteen yards long; nine feet deep; mesh three inches & ½ square; brought to upon two Shorelines at the head, and one at the foot; the head-lines must be corked, and the foot-line slightly leaded. It is to be placed round a Beaver-house. The house is immediately to be cut open, and the Beaver killed with bludgeons, so soon as they strike in.42 A second net will be useful; 22 yds. by 12 feet. They may be brought to upon two parts of Stopper-twine. No. 31 Beaver-trammel The length twenty yards & depth twelve feet. The lennet43 must be made of strong Salmon twine and the mesh one inch square; the Wall of Tralltwine and mesh sixteen inches square. That net must be only six feet deepCorked and leaded. A Wall will be better than a double one. No. 32 Goose-net Length, what you please; depth twenty feet; mesh four inches square; Twine such as used for Partridge-nets, and brought to upon Salmontwine. Silk is better than Twine. No. 33 Duck-net Length, forty yards; depth, six feet; mesh, three inches square, twine very fine. If this net is to be used upon the land, it may be brought to upon Partridge twine: but if it is intended to catch Eider-ducks when feeding in the

41 Trawl net. 42 Reach the net. 43 Synonymous with “linnet,” being the body of a net without the ropes.

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water, it must be brought to with two lengths of Shoal-net twine at the head and Corked; and upon a single length of Shore-line at the foot; and leaded. It is then to be set as a Shoal-net, where you observe the Ducks to feed often. To be made of Silk or fine twine. N.B. A double trammel44 is a better thing. The mesh of the net to be 2½ inches square, & that of the trammels twelve inches, and only two thirds as deep as the net is; the former to be made of Herring, & the latter Seal twine. It is to be set in the same manner as the above. [35/] No. 34 Curliew-net Length twenty yards; depth fifteen feet; mesh 2½ inches square and the twine extremely fine. It is to be brought to at the head and foot upon Partridge twine. To set it, lay it flat across the Beach, below High-water mark; [?] it down the middle and prick the sides up eighteen inches high. It must be made of fine silk and tanned red. No. 35 Clap-nets These being much in use by the Bird-catchers in and about London, it will be best to buy a pair there, together with the poles etc, and such others may be made by them, as occasion may require to be larger and stronger. No. 36 Hare-net The Warrener’s Rabbit-hay is the proper net for a Hare. Length, what you please; depth, five feet. Mesh 3 inches square.

44 Trammel nets have two types of mesh, a lighter and a heavier mesh.

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No. 37 Deer-slip The Mountaineer Indians make them of narrow thongs of Deer-skin twisted together. The English make them of twelve parts of Shoal-net twine; of Lead-line, or of wire. They must be six yards long, with a stiff eye at one end. Eighteen threads of twine platted together would be excellent: and strong enough to catch a White Bear. Vide 267 No. 38 Live Baits for Wolves, Wolverines, foxes & Martens Hares – Rabbits – Domestic poultry; Moor-game, or any other bird. A sheep or A Goat for Wolves. No. 39 Dead-Baits for ditto Fish, either fresh, or salted and soaked well in water; Flesh of any kind, but that of Otters, Wolves & Foxes are the worst. Old Cheshire Cheese, which is black-rotten; Honey; Treacle; and the Paunch of a Deer. Resty45 Bacon. Oil-bag of a Beaver. Dried Figs and Raisins. No. 40 Scenting for Do Oils of Rhodium, & Aniseed. Beavers oil-bags infused in Brandy. Pride46 of Otters. The dung & urine of each animal which is to be caught. Oils of Cod, Seals & Salmon. Musk for ermines. Vide Page 341. Oil of Caraways. [Marginalia:] 2 drops oil Rhodium, 6 or 7 grams musk, ½ oz. oil Aniseed – mix them together & touch the traps. [36/]

45 Rancid. 46 Male genitals.

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No. 41 Drags The Paunch, Guts, or Foetus of a Deer, Bear, or other large animal. Flesh or Fat of all kinds; but those which have most blood and smell are the best. All large birds; but they should be split down the back, and tied open between two sticks. Fish; either fresh or salted. Rub your feet upon your drag frequently. Sprinkle scentings upon your drags, or Treacle or Honey, particularly for Bears and Foxes. No. 42 Large-Sled, to go with Sails The two sides must be made in the same manner as a Ladder is; the bottoms (on which it is to run) must be four inches broad, and two inches and a half thick, and must be shod with plate-iron turned up at each side, and these nailed on with flat-headed nails. The tops must be three inches broad, and two inches and a half thick. The staves at both ends; the middle, and two between the centre and end staves are to be of inch and a half Plank, two inches broad, and pinned in at their ends. The rest of the staves may be round and cut out of inch and a half Plank. The length of the sides must be thirty feet, and they must be fixed ten feet asunder. The Beams must be laid across the top; made of inch and a half Plank, five inches broad, and secured with knees, but the two for the Masts must be seven inches broad. A piece of whole Plank must be fixed at each end, and sloped away upwards; that it may cause the sled to rise over the ridges of snow. The height of the sides must be eighteen inches, and the top, across the Beams, covered with boards nailed to them; five inches broad [blank space] an inch thick, and four inches asunder. Set up two Masts; Stay them well, and have Schooner sails: If found necessary, add a Boultsprit [bowsprit] and Gib. Sheer it with a long Rudder, fixed to the stern Beam with a hook & ring; the bottom of which [37/] must be sharp, and shod with iron. As this Sled will go with wonderful velocity, and run a long way after the Sails are struck, have a stout stick flattened at the bottom, to press down, into the snow, immediately before the Stern-beam.

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No. 43 Travelling-Sled, to go with Sails Make this twenty five feet long; five feet wide; nine inches high; the sides of whole Planks, two inches thick, and shod with iron, or Whale-rib; the same as used by the Eskimeau Indians. Sail it with two or three Schooner sails, and steer it in the same manner as the other. The top of this is to be made of inch boards nailed across; each of which five inches broad and three inches asunder. Elevation of the side of the Travelling-Sled

No. 44 Dog-Sled A Sled which is to be drawn by Dogs must be twenty one feet long; nine inches high, and two feet broad. The sides are made of inch and half plank, shod with iron or whale rib bone, with a short rope fixed by its ends, into the two head ends of the sides, and the Dogs lines tied to the bight of it. They may be bought from the Eskimeau Indians.47 If a frame is fixed upon the top on one of these (to extend canvass, painted white, or deer-skins, to hide the sitter) and drawn by a Deer instead of Dogs, they would be admirable things for shooting upon: for you might then get close up to deer or any other animals. [38/] 47 The dimension are close to those given for a Labrador Inuit sled in Cartwright’s Journal (1792, 19 December 1770).

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No. 45 Furrier’s, or Mountaineer-Sled48 Make two boards of Birch wood six feet long; six inches broad, and two tenths thick. Make seven Battens of Spruce; ¾ of an inch broad, and four tenths of an inch thick. Near each end of six of those battens, make a semicircular notch but none in the seventh. Lay the two boards parellel [sic] to each other; nail the seventh batten across that end which is to be the head of the Sled, and the others at a foot distance from each other. Bore a hole through each end of the head, near the sides and close behind the batten; through which put a piece of Cod-line and tie it over the batten round the end of the boards. Put that end into a pot of boiling water, until it is well warmed through, then run the lose [sic] ends of the lines through the notches in the ends of the second batten and bend the ends of the boards well backwards. A piece of St. Peter’s line, eight feet in length, must then be fixed to the head of the sled, by putting each end through the two holes which the back-stay is tied in, to draw it by; bringing the bight of it over your head, and let it lay against your breast. If you have a dog, another, short one, may be fixed also, and the dog’s line fastened to that. The Battens are to be nailed with fine nails, or brads, and their points clinched towards the tail of the Sled. Plan of the upper side of the Sled, before the head is turned up & Elevation of the Sled, when the end is turned up [with faint numbered key 1. Dog’s line; 2. Man’s line. The dog’s line is the shorter loop, closest to sled]

48 This is a detailed and early description of a sled type made by the Labrador Innu, the Amerindian peoples of Labrador sometimes referred to in historic accounts as Mountaineers, Montagnais, and Naskapis. This sled type was used by many Amerindian cultures in Canada and is the precursor of today’s toboggan.

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N. The notches in the Battens are to reeve a line through, that another line may be laced across as often as may be necessary, to keep fast whatever is laid upon the sled. [39/] No. 46 Large Canoe This Canoe being intended to carry heavy goods up a River, which has Falls upon it and in which the Water is too shoal for Boats, it must be built as light as possible, that three or four men may be able to launch, or carry it over those Falls.49 The dimensions of the bottom must be twenty five feet in length, and six feet in breadth. Upon the Gunwale it must be twenty seven feet in length and seven feet four inches in breadth. Cut as many boards, three quarters of an inch in thickness, as will be sufficient to make the bottom, and Dovetail them together; cut strips of Light-Light [sic] Canvass, two inches in breadth; dip them in a mixture of two thirds Pitch and one third Tar very hot, and plaster them over the seams. Cut twenty three timbers, out of inch board, three inches broad and nail them across. Make a frame for the Gunwale of inch and quarter board, twenty seven feet long, and seven feet four inches in breadth: which gunwale is to be three inches broad. Support that frame eighteen inches above the bottom, and to project equally over the ends & sides, and fix it there by side-timbers of inch board, two inches broad. Nail canvass, dipped in Pitch & Tar, or well painted, from the Gunwale, to a foot depth downwards, and a board of half an inch thick and eight inches broad upon the edges of the bottom and over the bottom of the canvass. Place a sufficient number of slight thwarts across the Gunwale, and one of them broad enough to step a mast in. The floor must be of three quarters board, and laid on loose. The Sail must be a square one; it must be worked with single-headed Paddles, or oars, and steered with a Belaying oar. The Seams under the bottom must be covered with a strip of Pitched Canvas, and a half inch Batten nailed over them. Use very fine nails. [40/] 49 All of the rivers flowing to the coast of southern Labrador have rapids or falls within the first day’s journey inland. Winter trapping routes followed rivers into the interior, where trappers would remain for weeks at a time. Supplies would be brought to interior tilts before freeze-up, thus these instructions for how to manoeuvre through this type of terrain.

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No. 47 Small Canoe Having determined upon the shape and size of it, examine an Eskimeau Whaling-boat50 and also one of their Kyacks very attentively, and make your frame after the manner of one of them; but you may fasten your Timbers with fine Brads, instead of sewing them together with split Whale-bone51 as they do. Instead of Plank, you may either get an Eskimeau Woman to cover it with Seals skins, or do it yourself with Canvass, or brown paper. In case of using the Canvass, it must be painted, or payed with Pitch & Tar. If you cover with the latter, Pitch & Tar it on both sides, and when you have laid on a compleat coat, sew it round the timbers with tarred sail-twine, and then lay on another covering. Be very careful not to rub the bottom of it upon the ground, nor ever leave it afloat, to be rubbed by the flabber of the water, and remember to wash your feet clean of gravel & sand, or they will work holes through the bottom under the floor timbers. Shot will do the same, if you scatter any in it. Work it with Paddles, either single, or double-headed, as you like best, but a sail will easily upset it. The Bottom-boards must be very thin and laid on loose. It may be made of wickerwork, if covered with two coats of brown paper as above. No. 48 Shooting-Flat, or Fen Shout Those made in the Fens in Lincolnshire are extremely well adapted for this purpose. They are twelve feet long; three wide, and six inches deep. They are to be built in the same manner as the former. They have a pair of shades, made of very thin board, each three feet long, one end of which is fastened with hinges, to a board of the same sort nailed across the bow, to hide the shooter’s hands when paddling up to Fowl, and it must be masked all round with reeds, grass, etc. It is worked with a [41/] double-

50 Also known as an umiak. 51 Refers to baleen. For Inuit, baleen was a multi-purpose material used for lashing sled parts, vessels, and tools together. It grows as bony plates in the mouths of right whales and humpback whales and acts as a feeding filter.

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headed Paddle, but a short pair of single-headed paddles, six inches long exclusive of the handle, must be used to work up to Fowl and the shooter must then lay flat upon his belly. As a Flat of these dimentions is apt to fill or upset, if there be much wind, that may effectually be prevented by fixing a few of those Buoys to the sides, that the Eskimeaux use to their Sealing-darts (either the Paunches or Wombs of Seals) or Bladders in canvass bags; tied at each end. N.B. I had one 12-9, by 3-4 & 10 inches deep & Timbers of 1½ inches broad. A Seals gut, blown up, put into a canvass bag, and fixed round under the gunwale will effectually prevent its upsetting, or sinking. No. 49 Staulking-Shade, for Winter use Make a slight frame, three feet long and eighteen inches high. Cross it both ways, with Herring-twine, several times, and then paste the finest writing-paper on both sides. Should that not be thick enough to prevent the light shining through, put on another covering or two, and cut a hole in front to peep and shoot through. Make two other frames of the same height but only two feet in length. These you may carry upon your sled, and tie them together, in the shape of the letter П whenever they are wanted. Lay flat upon your belly, and advance as slow as possible; shoving it on before you. Or if it be made 7 ft long, 3 ft wide, open behind, with cross bars to keep it firm, it may be made to slide upon its sides & be drawn after you in the manner of a Mountaineer sled. No. 50 Summer Shooting-dress Make your Coat and Waistcoat of Bottle-green Cloth, and have a lo[o]se covering for your hat of the same. The latter together with a pair of Fearnothing52 socks to slip over your shoes, and a pair of Eskimeau bootlegs to slip over your knees, you may carry in your pockets. By crawling upon your belly and advancing very slow, you will not often fail to get a shot. 52 Thick, woolen cloth.

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No. 51 Winter Shooting-dress The whole must be as white as possible, and you must have a smockfrock & covering for your hat of fine, clean linen, to slip on occasionally. Boot-lets as above, will be very useful. [42/] No. 52 Sewels Sewels are used to prevent Deer from passing any place, and are made thus, viz: Provide a number of broad feathers, such as the flag feathers on the wings of Geese; their tail feathers, or any others which have nearly an equal quantity of feather on each side of the shaft. They must be white for Summer use, and dark colored to set upon snow. Take a pair of them, make such a knot in a line as Apothecaries use to tie their labels to thin Phyals, and introduce the two quill ends into it contrary ways; draw the knot tight, and the feathers will stand at right angles with the line. Tie other pairs of feathers at about ½ foot distance from each other, until you have a sufficient length for your purpose, and provide flat reels to wind them upon, that you may keep them from entangling and set them readily. They are to be set upon sticks about three feet high, and drawn tight: they will then play quick with every breath of wind, and no Deer will cross them. No. 53 Guns and Ammunition A Gun which will carry a three ounce ball is proper for a White Bear. One which will carry an ounce ball, or rather more, is fit for Geese and flocks of Ducks; both of them should be well fortified at the Breech, but not more than three feet six inches long. Double-barrelled guns, and single ones of the same bore (5½ tenths of an inch) are best for all other purposes except Deer-shooting, and a German rifle of ¾ of an ounce ball (24 to the Pound) is the only thing for that work A good [43/] Air-gun

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would be useful for some purposes. The Gunpowder should be the best treble-strong, and the Shot Patent, numbers 1.5 & 9. The Balls should be made of a mixture of seven parts of lead to one part of tin. The Flints should be of the very best kind. Mould-shot, no larger than double Bristol, would be useful for Geese. No. 54 Dogs Light, tall Stag-hounds, to draw in a team, upon the slot of Deer etc., and to hunt Deer upon Islands.53 Light Beagles, to hunt hares and foxes upon Islands. Good vermine Terriers. Strong Spaniels. Newfoundland Dogs, from the North part of the Island. Grew [sic] hounds,54 are not of much use, but sometimes kill a Fox in the Winter. No. 55 Deer Flake55 The two Heads of a Deer-flake should be made of two inch Plank. They should be Thirteen feet, four inches long, and five inches broad. The bars must be made of inch board, and four inches broad. Eight bars will be sufficient; they must be mortised into the Heads, and those at the top and bottom shouldered and fastned with pegs driven through outside of each head. The lowest bar must be fixed six inches from the bottom; the four next at eight inches asunder; the sixth, a foot higher, the seventh one foot ten inches above that, and the top one, two feet higher. As the flake heads will then stand three feet above the top bar, a round rail may be nailed upon them. Lest the Deer should rush, or leap at the Flakes with such force as to break them, two perpendicular bars must be nailed from the bottom to the top 53 Cartwright’s Journal contains many references to the various dog breeds that he brought with him to Labrador from England, each for a specific purpose. 54 Probably greyhounds. 55 The function of a deer-flake is unclear. It seems to refer to a section of fencing where several of these would be used to create a pound, but the note below the Plan of a Deer Flake distinguishes it from a deer-fence.

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bars dividing the whole length of them, which is to be twelve feet from Head to Head, into three equal parts. To set them up, Planks, ten feet, 10 inches long, eight inches broad, and four inches thick must be provided. Mortice-holes must be made in them, at four feet from the ends, which will be next to the Deer, and six feet from the other, which holes must be five inches long & four wide. The bottoms of the Flake-heads are to be placed in them, and their tops pinned together, and they must be supported by a shore fixed against the centre of the back side, and against the seventh bar. They may be taken to pieces to render them more portable. [44/] Plan of a Deer-Flake

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N.B. A Deer-fence of Posts & rails must be made in the same manner, except the Strengthening-bars, for strong rails will render them unnecessary. The Posts must be fixed in logs, as directed for the Flakes, and their tops shored. [45/] No. 56 Articles, which a man should alway[s] have with him For Summer use The proper Gun for what he expects to meet with. A cap, to keep the lock of his gun dry; made out of a piece of the skin of a thick-coated, old dog; a wolf; an Otter, a Beaver, or a Wolverin: it must be shaped like the leg of a stocking; one end large enough to slip over the gun lock, but the other less, and long enough to tie both before & behind the lock, with strings sewed near the ends for that purpose, and the hair to be on the inside. A Bandolier or a pair of Slings. A small Hatchet, with a long helve A short pocket spy-glass. A Flint-bag with divisions for the flints and a small pouch to hold a Screw-driver, a small phyal of oil, and a bit of stone-Brimstone. A pair of Fearnothing socks, and a green-cloth covering for his hat. An Eskimeau Jacket of Seals-gut,56 and a covering for his hat of the same, would be useful in case of rain. A flask of Powder; a few balls, and a sufficient quantity of Shot. The latter had best be made up in Cartridges. A Cod-hook; a few yards of Cod-line, and the same of Shoalnet twine. A little dry oakum, or tow. For Winter use All the former things, except the Jacket; the coverings for his hat and the socks. Instead of them he must have a smock-frock and covering for his hat of fine, clean linen. A Mountaineer Sled; a pair of Snow-shoes; a Bag

56 Waterproof clothing made from a range of gut skins of different sea mammals was a marvel of Inuit craftsmanship and design. It required careful preparation of the gut itself, followed by meticulous piecing together of small pieces using the unique waterproof stitch of the Inuit (Issenman 1997).

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of Bait (if he has traps to visit). A larger Hatchet, and a pair of Kneecaps, made like the leg of an Eskimeau boot, but wider, to slip over his knees; when creeping upon them, up to Deer: and they would be very useful in the Summer also. A North-Wester; a pair of warm Cuffs, and a pair of Wrappers. From the beginning of March until the latter part of May, he must not forget his Eye-guards. [46/] No. 57 Plan and Longitudinal Section of a Trap-house, for exposed situations which are subject to much Drift57 Explanations – Ground Plan 1 The back end of the House, and which is also the back-side of the Trap. 2 The front side of the Trap 3 Part of the sides of the House, and which are the two ends of the Trap also 4 The remaining sides of the house, which meet within eighteen inches of each other, to prevent the accumulation of Drifted Snow. 5 The Door-way, which is always to be open. 6 A Cage for Rabbits or Poultry. It is to be a foot in height and have a wire front. It occupies the whole of the fixed part of the back-side of the top of the Trap. 7 A Platform, five feet wide, four feet broad, and elevated six inches above the fixed side of the trap. It must be fenced at each end, to prevent animals from leaping upon the fixed part of the top of the trap. 8 The two sides of the sloping bridge or Gang-way. 9 Bolting pipe, which is here 20 feet long that the outer end of it may not be buried in drift. Longitudinal Section 1 Ground Line 2 Back end 16 feet high 3 Roof of the House 57 Drifting snow in Labrador would impede trapping activities near shore, on hilltops or open barrens, and especially approaching the interior uplands. Constructions such as this were more effective than placing a steel trap at an exposed location.

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4 End for entrance, 5 feet high 5 Top of the Trap, 12 feet wide 6 Front side of the Trap, 9 feet high 7 Cage for Rabbits, Fowls etc, 1 foot high 8 Platform 9 Sloping Bridge, or Gang-way 10 Posts, to support the Bridge, that it may not bend or shake when an animal walks up it. 11 Bolting-pipe projecting to the North West [47/]

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No. 57 Trap-House for places exposed to drifting Snow This House is built very much upon the Plan of an Eskimeau Winterhouse.58 Were it built square, and if an equal height, it would be so compleatly drifted up, with every hard gale of Wind, that no animal could enter it. But by contracting the end for entrance to eighteen inches, and sloping off the roof (which is two feet lower over the front side of the trap, than it is over the extreme end, and only five feet high over the Doorway) no drift will ever obstruct the entrance. As the North-West wind prevails most in the Winter-time and is most subject to drift, the back end must stand that way, which will point the end for entrance towards the South-East. If you take care to make the Walls and Roof so perfectly tight, that no Wind can penetrate, no drift can possibly enter into it, any more than it can blow into a bottle. The Bolting pipe to this trap is made twenty feet long; lest the outer end of it should be buried in drift: but if it was made to project towards the North-West, ten feet long would be sufficient. Before there is Snow enough upon the ground to cause much drift, stop the outer end of it with moss, or any other elastic substance, but afterwards it need only be buried in snow. The trap in this house (the one in the Plan) is made twelve feet wide, and nine feet high, that it may be high enough for a White Bear, and have four feet at the back side for the breadth of the Cage: but, upon farther consideration I find that ten feet in width will do, as a cage two feet broad, fourteen feet long, and one foot high will be very sufficient for the purpose. As White-bears are not very numerous upon the land in the depth of Winter, if you intend to use this house then only for the purpose of catching Wolves and Foxes, six feet will be high enough for the trap. As White-bears are constantly cruising along the water-side until Christmas, if this house is to be built near the shore, it must be two feet higher, and the entrance two feet wide. For the method of constructing this trap, see No. 15, and Plan No. 18. [48/]

58 Cartwright may be referring to an Inuit sod house rather than a snow house. The sod house was the principal dwelling of southern Labrador Inuit during the winter and was built of sod walls, with a sloping roof covered in sods, stone flooring, and sloping entry tunnels built on the cold trap principle.

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No. 58 Cage-trap for Wolves; Scale 2 – 1.0 [?] to a Foot

[Notes surrounding image of cage-trap] N.B. This trap may be built with No. 1 wire, fixed horizontally, with supports of hoop-iron at every foot asunder. Should a trap of this kind be intended for Lions & Tygers only, it will be best to have no bridges, but a piece of flesh tied to the door-trim and hung upon a small nail out of the reach of Jackalls. Drop a bit or two upon the ground also. Vide Page 22 note. N.B. For Wolves this trap had best be built with cast iron bars such as are used for nailing to the fronts of houses and fixed horizontally. If placed at four inches asunder & each bar one inch square, this trap would require 433 provided the traps were no more than 5 feet long: and that would be sufficient. Several Tenter-hooks driven into each post for 2 ft 7 in from the ground would secure them from being [?].

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The Cage-trap, of which the above is a plan, must be built in the same manner as those for keeping Wild Beasts are, and the spaces between the bars must be only two inches. The height of it must be five feet, and the whole of it must be covered over upon the top [text crossed out]. The square in the centre is intended to put a live animal into, such as a Deer, a Sheep, or a Goat; incessant noise all night, on being deprived of her young one: or a young one, which sucks its dam, will do the same. Should a Goose be put in, she will likewise make an incessant noise, by being separated from the flock, and attract the Foxes. The Doors and Bridges are to be fixed in the same manner as directed in No. 19. Both Wolves and Foxes will be attracted from a great distance, and neither can resist the temptation of a live bait. The only fault which this trap has, is the inconvenience of being put out of order by the drifting of the snow, which is very frequent from the twentieth of December to the last day of March. It is, however, the very best that ever was invented for Lions, Tygers and [49/] all the voracious beasts, which are in such plenty, and do so much mischief in most of the hot Climates. If one is erected for those creatures, it cannot have too many traps round it; lest by having but a few, they should be filled with Jeckells [jackals?] and the larger beasts not find one left open for them to get into. The height of that must depend upon the animal intended for the bait, and so must the width of that trap through which the animal is to go to be put into the square, and the bars at the end of that trap must be made to take out for that purpose. The four narrow traps on each side of the square, in this plan, are two feet six inches wide & ten feet long in the clear, and their doors two feet wide. I invented this trap, in consequence of reading Vaillant’s travels into the interior of part of Africa, and observing how frequently he was pestered by Lions etc.59 The proper baits for those beasts are a Cow; a Sheep or a Goat which are giving suck, or their young. If four men on horseback would repair to opposite places, four or five miles from the trap, there let drop a piece of stale flesh, half an hour before sun-set, and drag them up to the trap, whatever carnivorous animals crossed those drags would be brought up to the traps by them. N.B. The Doors may be made to be raised up, and fall down in the same manner as those of the common Box-trap, if 59 François le Vaillaint published Voyage dans l’intérieure de l’Afrique in 1790. Cartwright left Labrador in 1786 and therefore never used a trap such as this one.

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that mode is preferred: and then the traps need not be so long. The Bridges will still remain as they are in this plan. No. 59 Wolf-traps Housed, for Winter use If the situation be exposed to Drift, build the house according to the plan No. 57, but if it is to be in a thick Wood, it may be of an equal width at each end, and the roof of an equal height. Partition off six or seven feet of the back end of it, from side to side, with studs two inches apart. Build as many traps of No. 19 (single ones) in front of that partition, as the breadth of the house will admit of, and make the remainder of the house six feet longer, if in a Wood, but ten feet if in an exposed situation. The studs, at the farther end of one of the traps, must be made to take out; that your live-bait may enter thereat into the place partitioned off for its reception. [Added note:] This is a good way, but No. 57 is a better. N.B. The Traps need not be more than 15 inches wide, and they will catch Foxes, Martens, etc. N.B. All Trap-houses which are baited with live animals, should have plenty of Seals carcasses laid near the Door, and those which are built on exposed situations should have others fixed upon a Gallows: they will attract the Ravens and those will attract the Carnivorous animals. Tame Rabbits are excellent baits. [50/] Ground-Plan of Wolf-traps housed in a Wood N.B. Instead of Bridges, fix a piece of Bait to the end of the line, as directed in Page 22. Note “X”60 Both is still better. [Vertical note within sketch reads: This side must be made of cast iron bars, if you have these; if no, of studs 2 inches asunder.] As there never is much drift in a thick Wood, the outer walls need not be lined with boards but only well chinced with Moss. The partition wall,

60 This refers to Cartwright’s footnote on manuscript page 22.

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between the traps & live bait, must be built with studs placed two inches asunder that the Wolves may see the live animals. The traps are built in the same manner as directed in No. 19, and a Sack, or large Purse-net should be provided to place before the door, to bolt them into; when they may be killed with a bludgeon, or carried home alive: for you must always be careful never to fire a gun in the house, for the smell of the powder will remain in it much longer than you can suppose, and no animal will then enter it. If you build one upon a place exposed to Drift, line the outer walls with boards; chince well with moss and make a long, contracted entrance, as represented in No. 57. As Wolves will be apt to gnaw the studs & escape, they must be well defended with tenter-hooks or hoopiron: but cast iron bars are best. The partitions between the traps had best be made with 1½ inch Plank, and also the Doors. No. 60 Clap-net for Geese, Black ducks & Curliews These nets must be twenty feet long, twenty feet wide and the mesh proportioned to the size of the respective birds. The poles for turning it over must be ten feet long; fixed as Clap-nets always are, and there must be a

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Bank-line, to hale it over with, long enough to reach to a place of good shelter. One line is sufficient for Curliews, [51/] but there should be two for Geese and Black-ducks; that a Man may take his station at that which is most to leeward. The net be so fixed, as to pull over towards the water; the foot of it must be pricked down in a line with the two heads of the poles, and then it will spread twenty feet, when pulled over. Two short stakes must be fixed a small distance nearer to the water than the headrope of the net will reach when pulled over; a notch must be cut in the head of each to recieve a batten of inch-board of eighteen inches in length; that Batten must have a pole burnt through it at six inches from the end next to the net, and there play upon a pin driven through the jaws of the notch in the stakes; the short end will then cock up; the head-rope of the net will strike it down, get under it and be prevented from being raised up by the fluttering of the Geese or Ducks; but there will be no occasion for that for Curliews. The Lines must be stretched out along the shore, and their ends extend to some place of good Shelter, either natural or artificial, and a path must be cut through the woods, where there are any, for a man to get to them unpercieved by the Fowls. Where the Shore is barren, hedges must be made to answer the same purpose. Clap-nets for Geese must be so placed as to pull over to a little below high-water mark; those for Curliews must lay close above high-water mark, when open, and pull over to low-water mark; they always resorting to the shores towards low water, to feed where the tide has flowed over, and must be constantly watched from half ebb, to half flood. Duck nets are to be placed in the same manner; as they feed in the rotten Kelp left by the tide. No. 61 How to fix Posts or Stakes, where the ground is rocky, or ice is met with so near the surface, that they will not stand firm. Large Posts will require two Planks formed into a cross, with a hole in the centre to fix the Posts in and shores nailed to the ends of those planks and to the Posts. Those Planks may be weighted with stones. Stakes must be fixed in planks also and they must be weighted with stones, either laid upon them, or upon logs laid across them. All that part of a hedge which runs below high-water mark must be made thin, that the water may not

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bear too hard upon it. Posts or Poles to stand upon ice, may be fixed in a hole cut [52/] through to the water, and supported with shores tied to them, until they are frozen fast. Such as will require to be moved, must be fixed upon cross-planks and shored. No. 62 To tail a Slip for a Deer, or a Bear If you intend to tail a Slip for a Deer, walk along the Path until you meet with two trees opposite to each other, one on each side the Path, and about four or five feet asunder: but if you cannot do that, one tree will do, by fixing a young one, of six or seven feet in height, firm in the ground to support one side of the Slip. Even if there is no tree growing by the side of the Path you may still tail your slip upon it, by fixing two in the ground and making a hedge with the tops of other trees. The tree to which the Slip is tied, need not be larger than four or five inches in diameter, but nothing more is wanted of the other, than merely to support the opposite side of the Slip. Having fixed upon the place, cut a young tree which is as thick as your wrist; leave the branches upon it, and tie it across from one tree to the other, at the height of five feet seven inches or thereabouts. Having put the standing end of the slip through the eye at the other end (previously rubbing it well with some green boughs broken off another tree of the same sort) tie the standing end to the largest tree, immediately below the place where you tied the cross-stick; then tie the back part of the Slip to the opposite tree, on a level with the [53/] end which is made fast, with a single sewing thread; you are then to stop the bottom of the Slip, at its two sides in the same manner to both the trees, at the height of two feet seven inches from the ground. Mind to introduce the slip among the small branches of the trees, so that as little as possible of it may be seen, but yet not to be prevented by them from running freely, and you must stick small, long branches into the ground to hide the bottom of it and cause the deer to raise their heads in case they should be carrying them low when they enter the slip. A deer having introduced his head into the slip, his breast will take the bottom and break the stops there; the Slip will draw together and, the instant he finds himself fast, he will rush forwards, and jam the slip fast. Should the Path branch off into different ones, those places must be stopped up, by placing trees across

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them. A slip for a Bear is tailed in the same manner, and that for a White one must be the same height and width as for a deer, but the Slip must be much stronger. For a Black-Bear, the same slip will do, but it must not be more than fourteen inches high at the bottom, or two feet four inches at the top, and about the same in width. Should you meet with a stout tree, close to the Bear-path, bore a hole through it, with an augur, at the height of the top of your slip; introduce the standing part through that hole; bend the top of another tree close down to the former; tie the Slip to that and drive a peg into the hole, on the side next to the slip, to confine the bent tree in its place until the Bear pulls out the peg, by strugling [sic], and sets the bent [54/] tree at liberty; when it will spring back, and confine the bear close to the other. In case you tail a slip for a Bear by the side of any water where there are no trees, you must make a hedge across the shore in which a hole must be left for the Slip, and it must be tied to a stout tree struck up for the purpose. He will soon disengage that tree and drag it away, but it will stop him so soon as he enters a wood, or among bushes. I have caught Deer in that manner, where the path led along such open ground as affoarded no natural place for a Slip. Should you observe any shore much frequented by Deer and both kinds of Bears, make three hedges across it, at fifty yards or more distance from each other; nail a small slip in the middle one, for black-Bears, and large ones in the other two, for White ones and Deer. No. 63 Spring-snare Marten-trap Provide a log of light wood, thirteen inches long; seven inches and a half broad, and four inches and a half thick. Bore two holes in one side of it, at equal distances from each other, of three inches and a half in diameter, and six inches deep; then fix two springs of strong wire and two wire loops, exactly in the same manner as those sort of traps are usually made for mice: and which are the best killers I ever saw. Those traps which are not to be carried to any great distance may have four or six holes in them. They should be set in a Cat61-house. A long wire needle must be provided to bait them with, and that must be done with fine twine or coarse thread. 61 Another name for a pine marten.

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N.B. A Furrier, who is to Winter some distance up the Country, may easily carry a number of Springs & snares ready made, and he can cut the logs at his Winter quarters & make the holes with the assistance of a Gouge. [55/] No. 64 Cat-House This is a house to tail a trap in for Martens, which the Newfoundland Furriers commonly call Cats. Cut two stakes, two feet long, with a fork at one end. Point the other ends and thrust them into the ground to the depth of six inches, and at the distance of one foot from each other. Lay a stick from one to the other, in the two forks, for a ridge to the house; lay sticks for rafters, from that ridge-pole to the ground; sloping off far enough to make the house of a proper size in the inside – prick sticks close to each other at both ends, then cover the top with a rind, and lay boughs over that. Should such a house be too wide for the trap which you tail in it, contract the door-way by sticking boughs on each side of it. See Page 332.

No. 65 Baits for White-Bears Any kind of fresh flesh, but the fat is better; Seals, or Cod-oil; Treacle, and fish; either fresh, or salted and well watered. No. 66 Baits for Black-Bears All the above, and also Indian or other meal, mixed up with water & treacle, and all kinds of fruits.

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Red Cheshire cheese pounded with beef or other fat and Honey or Treacle is an excellent bait for a Fox. Dried Figs and Raisins they are very fond of. [56/] Various ways of curing Flesh and Fish To jerk Meat The legs of animals being divided into muscles, divide them, then cut each muscle spirally, so as to make one great steak of it, about the thickness of three quarters of an inch; cut off all the rest of the flesh into steaks, of the same thickness, and as large as you can. Fix up a number of poles in a horizontal position, having first taken off the bark, and hang the meat upon them to dry in the Sun and Wind; house the meat every night and also in wet weather, but expose it during fair days until it is as dry as possible, and it will then keep for years, if kept free from wet or damp. In the Winter time it may be dryed in a Stove, or in the Chimney corner. To jerk Fish Split them down the back (having first broke off the head) and take out the whole of the bone; then cut them cross ways down to the skin the thickest parts; each cut about an inch asunder; lock two by their tails by making a slit just above the forks of the tail & putting one through the other, and dry them as directed above. To Pickle Meat Put twelve pounds of Salt, one pound of brown sugar and half a pound of Salt-petre into eight gallons of Water; boil them and let the pickle stand until it is cold, when it is to be strained and kept for use. Cut the meat up into proper sized pieces, put it into a deep and narrow vessel and pour the pickle over it; taking care that it be covered and slightly weighted down, to keep it from rising above the pickle. When it has remained two or three days take it out; lay it in a fresh vessel (or into a cask and headed up) and cover it with a fresh pickle of the same kind, in which it is to remain. In eight or nine days it will be fit for use, and if it remains [57/] for six Weeks, it may then be taken out, hung up to drain for twenty four hours,

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and then dried either with, or without, smoke, as you like best. So soon as meet [sic] is taken out of the pickle, put the latter into an iron pot, set it upon a slow fire, and when you percieve the blood to coagulate, strain it through a flannel bag; by which you will purify it and make it for use again. Do the same in case you percieve a blue pellicle to arise upon the top of the pickle while the meat is in it; that being a sure sign of the blood beginning to putrify, which will soon spoil both pickle and meat. The first pickle will draw the blood out of the meat, and prevent the second pickle from being spoilt by it: but if the meat is intended to be casked up and kept for a Year or more, it will be safest to let it ly in the first for a Week. Any kind of flesh-meat, whether of beasts, or birds, may be preserved by the above method, and will never grow hard or be too salt. When Venison is intended to be dried, it need not lay in the pickle longer than a Month, as it imbibes the pickle, much quicker than other meats do. Vide Page 252. To smoke Salmon The Salmon must be fresh caught and firm. Lay the head to your right hand and the back towards you; lay your knife upon the upper side of his nose and cut him down to the tail, close above the back-bone. Do the same on the under side of his nose and below the bone and take that out. Take out the Gills and Guts and wash it clean. Provide two clean sticks of equal length and two inches longer than the breadth of the fish when spread open. Lay those sticks across his shoulders, one on each side; tie them together at each end, and also in the middle, through the opening of the Gills. Lay the fish in the pickle made by other Salmon that [58/] has been cured in dry-salt only, or for want of that, in water that has been fully saturated with salt, and let it lay therein for ten minutes, then take it out and hang it up until the next day, when it is to be hung in the chimney corner, or other place where it will get smoke and a moderate degree of heat until it be perfectly dried; after which it may be kept in any dry place, but damp will spoil it. If it gets too much heat, it will grow resty. To smoke Caplin, Herrings, etc. Caplin must have the guts drawn out at the gills, but Herrings must be split and spread like Salmon, but the bone need not be take out. Lay the

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former in pickle for five minutes and the latter for seven, and then proceed as directed for Salmon. How to dress all the foregoing Jerked meat is to be shaved very fine, and stew’d in a sufficient quantity of water; adding Pepper; Salt; sweet hearbs; Mushroom powder and vermicelli or rice. Four ounces of jerked venison and two ounces of rice have often made me a mess sufficient for two meals. If you want soup, put in a sufficient quantity of Meat and Water, with such other ingredients as you like and can get, and you will find it as good as if made from fresh meat. N.B. I always cut off the fat before jerking; that being apt to turn resty. Pickled meat is to be put into cold water and boiled, but does not require to be soaked. The smoked meats are to be boiled or slightly broiled, as you like best. The smoked fish are to be slightly broiled, and a bit of good butter rubbed over them, and may be eaten with or without vinager and Kayenne pepper, as you like best. [59/] The jerked fish are to be steeped in cold water for twelve or twenty four hours, according to the thickness of them, then lay as long to swell (if they are small, lay two with their insides together or, if large, close the sides together) and then boiled, and they will prove nearly as good as fresh fish. Cod and other white-fleshed fish are the best kind to cure this way, but Salmon and such fish as have fat in them are apt to grow resty, if the sun is hot while they are curing by reason of their fat being melted in them. A fresh breeze of wind, off the shore, and cloudy sky is the best weather for jerking either fish or flesh. Memorandum When you stow pickled meat in a cask in order to keep it for a length of time, do not squeeze the pieces close together but drop them in, one after the other, so as to make the cask hold as much as it can without squeezing, then shake it well, to try if the meat will settle so as to hold more; that done, head the cask up and fill it with pickle at the bung, and fill it up every day until it will take no more. I have kept Beef for two years, which was cured that way at Midsummer.

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To preserve Eggs If you put perfectly fresh eggs into strong Lime-water, and keep them constantly covered with it, they will keep for above twelve Months. To preserve Vegetables Salt Spinach, Asparagus & French Beans; keep Turnips, Cabbages & Potatoes in a Cellar, and Kiln-dry various other things. There are few things produced in a Garden, which may not be preserved by one of the above methods. Those cured by Salting or Drying will require to be well watered before they are used. Those which are kept in a Cellar, must be put in before the Frost seizes them. Kiln-dry Potatoes, before they are shipped for Labrador. [60/] Cod-Sounds and Tripe to preserve Sounds are usually salted, but I never knew that Tripe was, but the best way of preserving both is to jerk them. They will make an excellent variety of food in the Winter, at which time fresh fish is not to be had, unless preserved in the following manner. To keep Salmon fresh all the Winter Place a set of Racks across any small River or Brook to stop the Salmon, and let them remain there until the Winter Frost is fairly set in, which generally happens in the early part of October, then catch the fish, split them, and hang them up in your Larder, and they will keep perfectly good so long as the Frost continues. But as they will be frozen so hard as to require a Saw to cut them, it will be best to cut them into such pieces as you intend to use immediately after they are split. Many of those small Streams have a Pond at no great distance from their mouths, and the lower end of such Ponds will be the best places to place your Racks: which must be so high, that no flood shall run over them, and the Beam, which must be fixed across, to support the Racks, must be well shored on the lower side. Take up the Beam and Racks so

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soon as you have taken out the fish or they will be broken by the weight of ice hanging upon them when the water falls in the Winter, which it certainly will do. All kinds of Fish may be preserved in the same manner if you can catch them after the Frost sets in. I have preserved Cod-fish in that manner from October until April, and they were as good as at the first. [61/] Seals A Seal is an amphibious animal, with a hairy skin and a considerable quantity of fat between that and his flesh, but none on his inside. The fat is rendered into oil for the use of Lamps, and the skin is much used for shoes and other purposes. There are a great variety of them, and some are of a very large size, but that kind called Harp are most numerous upon the Coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland, and therefore they are those which the Sealers depend upon, for killing their Voyage, as it is called. They all feed upon fish, but they will also eat the staulks of Kelp. In the summer some few Harps are seen in the Bays and Harbours of Labrador, as far south as the Latitude of 58° but the main body retire into the extreme North. Upon the approach of Winter, they collect in companies of from fifty to two or three hundred, each of which is called a Shoal, and migrate to the Southward to avoid being frozen up, and return to the North again in the Month of June. When upon their migration Southward, they trim the shore all the way, and enter every Bay & Harbour. The first appearance of them at Cape Charles and the adjacent places is generally about the 16th of November, and the whole are passed by on or before Christmas day.62 In what Month they copulate is a circumstance which I am not yet acquainted with, but the females are not only pregnant but the foetuses compleatly formed in November and they pup in March. At certain places upon the Coast of Labrador and within the Gulph of Saint Laurence, near to the borders of Canada, the Seals trim the shore 62 Cartwright’s margin in the note of Pennant (1784, 163) gives the Labrador Inuttitut name as kiolick, and “in the Eastern Coast of [Labrador] they are extremely plentiful from the middle of November until about the 20th of December; the time of their migration to the Southward where they winter and return again in June, but then they keep out in the offing, after they have passed the Straights of Belle Isle.”

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when upon their return in the Month of June, and great numbers are caught then, but they keep so far from the land, after leaving those Bays, that no nets are ever set for them. As no man will ever attempt to engage in a Seal-fishery without providing a sufficient number of experienced men, I shall give no directions relative to their numbers [62/] or qualifications, and as they will tell him if he does not know himself, what articles it will be necessary for him to provide, I shall not mention those which have long been in common use: but as I have known many an experienced Sealer, who had not sufficient judgement to direct him in the choice of a Sealing-Post, I shall be particular upon that head. Every place upon the Coast of Labrador, from the confines of Canada to the Latitude of 53°-00⬙, which is proper for catching Seals being already occupied, a fresh adventurer must go farther to the Northward. Between 53°-00⬙ and 54°-30⬙ there are so many wide, deep Bays, into which several large Rivers empty, that the immense quantity of ice which they discharge into the Sea, in the Months of November and December oblige the Seals to keep a long way out in the offing; therefore a man will oftener ma[k]e a dead, or losing voyage, than a profitable one. The Seals, in their migration to the South, enter every Bay and Harbour, and play backwards & forwards along the south shores of them, in quest of food, provided they are not forced along by the accumulation of ice: it is therefore absolutely necessary, that the Sealing-Post should be established upon that shore. It should also be as near the outward extremity as possible. If a Cove of sufficient magnitude is found there, that must be the place. That Cove must be so well defended from the Sea, as not to admit of a heavy surf upon the shore, and yet so much exposed as not to freeze up too soon. The depth of water should not be less than three fathoms, nor more than six. The fewer large Bays and Rivers there are to the Northward of it, the better it will prove. A Pound, such as is described in Page 6 & No. 1 must be placed there, and you need not fear Success. If upon the outward face of the Coast, you can discover an Island laying parallel to it, at a proper distance [63/] and there is a sufficient depth of water, and the tide does not run too strong through it, that will prove an excellent place, and a Pound may be made by making use of the island instead of a Barrier net: but if the island is at too great a distance, the Barrier net must be used.

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The instant that you perceive the Seals to have disappeared, take up all your Nets and anchors as quickly as possible, or they will be frozen in, and you will suffer great loss. That done, you are next to collect all the Seals, and place them close together upon their heads; that their skins may not be burnt by lying upon the rocks, or any damage done to them by the Bears, Wolves or Foxes. Placed in that position, upon an exposed piece of ground they will soon be sufficiently covered with snow, and take no damage during the Winter. Be sure not to place them near a Cliff, or other place where a deep drift bank will be formed, for then you will not be able to get at them in proper time in the Spring. Be careful also not to leave your Boats where they will be buried in drift, for the weight of snow will crush them flat. So soon as the weather will permit you, in the Month of April following, dig out a number of the Seals, expose them to the air to thaw, and skin them out. The Skins should be immediately thrown into large Casks, and covered with the strongest brine, and the fat put into your Vats. The greatest care must be taken of the Nets and Moorings. The best way will be, to build a large house for the purpose, with a vat in it to soak the salt out of them by steeping them in fresh water for 24 hours, and then dry them by means of a close stove. If you cannot do that, coil each net separately upon a bare rock & let it lay there until the snow dissolves in the Spring, and then dry it well upon Shears and house it. [64/] As a great deal of trouble and expence will be saved by arranging your buildings properly, so soon as you have fixed upon your station, you should determine upon what number of Houses, Vats etc will be requisite; sketch out a Plan of the ground, and then mark their proper situation; by so doing you may make your oil run from one vat to another, and finally into the oil-house, without the trouble of carrying a drop. The water for washing the oil may be raised by a Pump, and conveyed to each Vat by means of spouts. So soon as the skins have been long enough in brine and you have leisure to attend to them, draw all the brine off from one cask, and you will find the skins to have shrunk down very much; fill that cask quite full with some skins from another; [word crossed out] head it up tight, and fill it with brine at the bung. Go on in that manner until you have packed them all. The brine should be made some days before you have occasion to use it, and should be as strong as possible; which you will know, by

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some salt remaining undissolved at the bottom. Salt requires about four times its weight in water to dissolve it, viz. One pound of salt will require half a gallon of water. [65/] Houses As the first thing which every man ought to do, upon his arrival in Labrador, should be to build such houses as he will require, I ought to have mentioned them in the first instance, but I will give directions for them now. In building a house, whether to dwell in, or for a Store, the principle things to be guarded against are Wind; Rain; Fire; Frost; Rats; Mice; being overwhelmed by drifting snow in the Winter, or flooded by the melting of it in the Spring. The usual ways of building in Labrador are three, and every one of them are bad. The neatest looking houses are built, by setting up a frame; nailing boards upon it overlapping each other, on the outside, and lining that frame with boards laid edge to edge, the roofs covered with shingles. The fireplaces & chimneys are made of brick but not thick enough. The floors are generally only one coat of inch board, and raised but a few inches off the ground. The [word crossed out] best houses are built after the Canadian way; the walls consisting of large logs squared, with the floors and roofs of inch board, and warmed by close stoves. The third way is to set up a frame; nail studs (lengths of trees with the bark on them) to the Wall-plates, and whose lower ends stand upon the ground; covered in with the barks of trees & a coat of sods over them, and a floor of boards or longers. The Canadian way is much the warmest, but the other two are intollerably cold. All houses in Labrador, which are intended to be occupied during the Winter, should be raised three or four feet above the level of the ground, in the same manner [66/] as Ricks of Corn are placed in England. The supports may be lengths of trees with the bark taken off, but each must have either a flat stone, or a sheet of Copper upon the top of it, to keep out Rats & Mice. Rats are not natural there, but are very plentiful in most of those Harbours which have been long inhabited, but mice are found every where in the greatest abundance. Having laid a proper number of Sleepers, nail on your first floor, and let that be of Shallops planks, which are an inch and a half thick. Place

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other planks edge ways across them again, of the breadth of six or eight inches, and at proper distances (say two feet) fill the spaces between with dry sand, or with Peat-earth if sand cannot be had, and then lay on an upper floor of inch boards, very nicely jointed. The frost cannot penetrate through a floor of that kind, nor can either a Rat or a mouse enter. If the house is built upon a situation exposed to drift, none will lodge near it, and if it is in a sheltered place, it will not be subject to any inconvenience from the thaw in the Spring. The Walls may be built in the manner of any one of the three ways already mentioned; remembering, in case you build them of squared logs, to cover each with the short, green moss which is found in tall woods, and trunnel them well one upon another. That done, nail battens of inch board perpendicular on the inside, then nail on a lining board along the bottom; chince well in between that board and the logs with moss; nail on another board & chince between that again, and so on in that manner until you have lined compleatly to the Wallplate. If you build with boards only, overlap those on the outside, then proceed with the lining as directed above, and fill the space between the two courses of boards either with Sand, Peat-earth, or Moss. If you build with Studs, chince well between each stud with Moss on both sides; nail a course of boards on the outside, and line with another on the inside; beginning at [67/] the bottom, and chincing with moss as you go on. Those walls will keep out Wind, Wet and Frost. Lay your Roof very flat; giving a descent of not more than two inches to a breadth of fifteen feet. Nail laths across the rafters at an inch or thereabouts asunder. Over the best rooms, nail sheets of Card-board63 upon the laths, and a coat of strong brown paper, Pitched & Tarred over that, and a coat of sods four inches thick upon the Top. Other rooms may be covered with a coat of paper pasted on upon the laths, a second coat with Pitch and Tar over that, and then sods. If you cover with boards, the Roof must be steeper (2 feet to 15 in. breadth) the boards must overlap each other; be covered with a course of paper pitched & tarred, and the top covering of sods. One great inconvenience of a boarded roof is, that the severe frosts cause continual reports, as loud as those of a pistol, all night long. If you have not bricks for the Fireplaces, Chimneys, ovens etc, make use of stone, 63 Or one coat of brown pasteboard, painted white on the underside [Cartwright’s footnote]

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and take care to be provided with iron bars, to lay across, instead of building arches. There should be a fireplace in the Kitchen and Washhouse only, but all the other rooms should be warmed by close stoves. The funnels of those stoves should be of Copper. If they stand near a wall, that should be of brick or stone, and sheets of Copper or Lead should be nailed upon the floors under them. All the Windows should be sashed ones and double glazed, with shutters on the inside. Build your whole house upon one floor, and do not ceil [sic] under the roof: you can then easily extinguish any fire which may happen.64 Before you begin to build, determine upon what number of rooms you will want, and the sizes of them: but remember to have them all of the same size either one way or the other; for instance, suppose that size is sixteen feet, then every room will be either sixteen feet long, sixteen feet wide, and that will be the width of your house, if you build all your rooms in one length: but if you have a double row of rooms, it will be thirty two feet, exclusive of the passage [68/] between. If you build a single house, have a passage to run the whole length of it, and the doors of every room open into it: but a double house must have a passage, from end to end between the two rows of rooms, and a window at each end or sky-lights. You may have two entrances for Summers use, but close one up before Winter sets in, and build a long Porch before the other door; which must be both wider and higher than the door at that end, but only three feet wide and six feet high at the outer end, and there need not be any door there. The same kind of Porch, or Break-weather, should be built before the doors of all your out-houses. Be sure to draw plans of all your houses in the first instance; prick off the sizes of every separate apartment upon paper with a scale & compasses; clip each out, and then lay them together until you have placed them to your mind; lastly, paste them in their proper places. The steeper the roof, the more snow will accumulate upon it; the flatter, the less. Common roofs are made, by laying a coat of rinds upon the rafters, and a coat of sods above them. 64 House fires were common occurrences in Labrador homes. Metal stovepipes and sheathing were expensive and chimneys were generally of wood with a casing of clay. Rind-covered roofs caught fire from sparks, and indoors, unprotected walls around stoves became overheated. Cartwright was writing from experience, having lost his own home, Ranger Lodge, to a fire as described in his Journal for 12 September 1772 (de Boileau 1861, 53, also noted many fires in the mid-1800s in the St Lewis Inlet area).

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No chimneys will be requisite for close stoves; as the funnels of them may be safely carried through the roof, by nailing a sheet of Copper over a large hole cut for that purpose, & fixing a painted-canvas hore[?], in the same manner as to the funnels of Ship-cabbin [sic] stoves. See Page 227. In case of a scarcity of Bricks, sheets of Copper or Tin may be nailed upon the walls of rooms behind the Stoves, to secure them from taking fire. If a Dwelling-house is not built very near to water, it ought to be spouted round, and the water received into large Vessels, in the Summertime, to be ready in case of fire: but those vessels must be emptied before the Winter-frosts set in, or they will be burst, and snow will extinguish fire, as well as water. Fire-places may be covered with a plate of cast-iron, made like the top of a Stove, and a funnel over it, and then neither Bricks nor Mortar will be wanted for a Chimney, and will make the room much warmer. [69/] Cellars All Cellars in Labrador must be built above ground, and they are to be constructed in the same manner as already described for a house with the addition of double-floors; double walls, and a double ceiling under the Roof. Furring Tilts These are to be built in either of the following ways, according to circumstances, viz: If you wish to save roofing, build them in the same manner as directed for a house: but if you would save nails, build them all roof. Those which are built at a considerable distance up the Country, should be all roof: because nails are heavy of carriage, and rinds may be had upon the spot, so long as they can be taken off. Those should have a fireplace in the centre; built of stones and clay, with an iron funnel (if you can get it) for a Chimney. N.B. See Page 236 also.

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Gardens Those made near the Sea-coast and which are exposed to the Winds, never are productive; the whole produce being destroyed by one heavy gale. If you find stout timber at the head of a deep Bay, ten or twelve leagues or more from the line of the Sea-Coast, clear a sufficient spot, and make your Garden there.65 Young Cabbage-plants, drawn immediately before the frost sets in and preserved in a Cellar, will produce large Cabbages the next summer. Trench your Garden well, that it may not be drowned in Spring, by the dissolution of the Snow. As the natural ground will not be fit to receive seed before the first week in June. Glass and artificial heat may be used to great advantage. [70/] Bear, Wolf, Fox and Otter-kennels As it will be of advantage to keep those animals alive, to get their skins into full season, and to fatten the Bears before they are killed, kennels should be built for them. A fence of four feet will be sufficient for an otter, but all the others will require one of ten or twelve. Enclose the kennels with studs, and place either boards or longers66 on the top, to project inwards; which will effectually prevent their getting over the top. Build a shed, for shelter, in the centre, but do not let it touch the sides. Those for Wolves, Foxes and Otters must be longered at the bottom, or they will dig themselves out. If they are all built in a row, adjoining to each other, another may be made across the ends of them, to drive each set of animals into occasionally, that their kennels may be cleaned out, and fresh bedding given to them. Bay Seals and in 214 also These Seals are greatly disposed to bask in the Sun, when the weather is serene, and they generally get upon the heads of such small Rocks as are barely covered, or stand but a few inches above the surface of the water at full tide. They get upon them at high water, and quit them again after 65 Many Labrador gardens are still placed inland and away from the coast. 66 Long poles.

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the tide is half spent. I have known several people attempt to catch them, by means of Shoal-nets, placed outside of such Rocks, but they never had much success, because they swim very leisurely and therefore will seldom strike into them. They may, however, be caught in great numbers by the following method. Having discovered a cluster of those rocks and observed them to be well frequented, remark the Wind, Weather, and time [71/] of highwater on those days that they frequent the rocks most. Sound the depth of water all round them, both at high and low water. If the Rocks are not far from the Shore, place a couple of Killicks off the two outer corners & fix a Bouy to the mooring of each. Run a line from the shore to one of those Killicks; from thence to the other, and then to the Shore again: the Rocks will then be enclosed within that line. But if the Rocks are at a distance from the Shore, place a Killick off each corner and run the line from one to the other. Those lines should be about twenty feet from the Rocks. You are then to provide as many Shoal-nets as will be equal to the length of the line; lead the foot-rope well, and tuck up the lennet so short, that the net shall stand no higher than to reach the surface of the Water at two thirds flood. Having ascertained the length of nets required and depth of the water, take the line away, but leave the Killicks. At low-water preceding the tide when you intend to catch the Seals, surround the Rocks with the nets, and examine well all along the foot-ropes to see that every part lies flat upon the bottom. The head of the net will then be compleatly covered at high water; the Seals will swim over and get upon the Rocks. When the tide is one third spent (or two hours after it begins to fall) the head of the net will float: you must then walk to some station from whence you can watch the Seals, but be careful to keep at such a distance that they can neither see, hear, nor wind you. Do not disturb them until you observe them to quit the Rocks in search of prey, then run close up and fire powder at them. [72/] On the first report of your gun, a boat must go to your assistance, and a few more firing will cause every Seal to mesh in the nets and you are then to clear them out. Be provided with a sufficient number of rocks slung with small cordage; fasten them to the head-rope of the net, and sink it. You may then set it again, the next day, in a very short space of time, by casting those rocks off again. By way of divertion [sic] Bay-seals may be caught with a hook, in the following manner. Provide three or four wooden bowls; bore a hole

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through the centre of the bottom of each, and four others, opposite to each other, through the edges. Run a Bank-line through each Bowl and, fix them at the distance of ten feet from each other, and the lowest at forty yards from the end of the line. All the Bowls must stand the same way and their insides towards the hook. They must be secured from slipping, by a knot tied upon the line on each side of them, and guyed to it by short pieces of St. Peter’s lines tied in the holes on the edges and the ends of them seized to the line before each Bowl. A strong hook (made on purpose and well tempered) must be tied very fast upon a foot of strong trap wire with a swivel at the other end; to which the Bank line must be fastened, and baited with a Herring, or other fish about the same size. Vere67 the Bait and nearly forty yards of the line from the stern of a skiff, and tye the line there with a piece of Trall-twine, and have all the Bowls ready to run out when a seal is hooked; taking care to make fast the other end of the line to the head of the Boat. When a seal is hooked, he will soon snap the trall-twine; the Bowls will then run out and the rest of the line will follow, and the Bowls together with the boat will soon tire him, and when he is so, hale in the line carefully, until the seal is near the boat and shoot him through the head or spear him. [73/] Salmon If you fish for Salmon in any water below the head of the Tide, it must be done with nets, moored in the manner hitherto practised in Labrador and Newfoundland. As the fish in Labrador are of a large size (few of them being under fifteen pounds weight) the nets should be made of Shoal-net, or Trall-twine, and upon a card of three inches in breadth. But in Rivers or Brooks the cheapest way is to make Pounds, as described in Page 28 and No. 23. For diversion, use the rod; a running line, and artificial fly. The proper place to use the fly is, at the tail of a strong stream, above the tide.

67 Veer, as in paying out a line.

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Pike There being very good Pike in many of the Rivers and Lakes in Labrador, they may be caught by the same methods as are practised in England. The bait may be a small Trout, a Caplin, or a slice of lean venison, or of the flesh of a Bear, Wolf or any other animal, cut with the grain. Trout Every River and Brook is full of Trout, and they are to be caught with the rod, either with the fly or bait. The baits are a piece of a Salmon’s heart; a bit of any kind of fresh meat, or maggots. There are no worms in that Country. Eels They may be caught either with nets or hooks, in the same manner as in England. White Bear This is an amphibious animal, and an inhabitant of the extreme North; having been found in the highest Northern Latitudes that have yet been visited by Man. Being an excellent swimmer and diver, and a bad runner, he seeks his food in the Water and upon the ice in general, but he will frequent the land also. As he is obliged to change his haunts as his [74/] prey do theirs. From Christmas until May, he cruises out upon the Ice upon the Sea, in search of Sea-Cows; Seals etc, which he finds upon the outer edges where the ice is loose. When the ice begins to separate and drive to the Southward at the latter end of April and beginning of May, he begins to frequent the land, in search of the sharp streams in rivers, which then get open, and there he catches Slink-Salmon, Trout and other fish, and if he fails to find them, will eat the agaric, which grows upon the Birch trees; although that can affoard him little or no nourishment, but merely serves to fill his paunch. As they commonly keep nearly the same routs from

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one place to another, those are the places where traps must be set for them. They will continue to frequent rivers and the sea-shore until the middle of June, when they visit the small islands upon the Sea-Coast, and those situated in the Bays, to feed upon the Eggs of the Eider ducks, Gulls and other water fowl until about the middle of July. At that season they frequent the rivers again, to kill Salmon and are sure to be met with wherever there is a Cataract, which stop the Salmon from proceeding higher up. As the Cod-fish come in near the shore at that time of the year, they will also frequent the Sea-shore and catch them even in water that is ten or fifteen fathoms deep. In November the Winter Seals begin to migrate to the Southward, at which time they cruise along the shore and kill them. All the Seals having passed by Christmas day, and the Bays and even the whole of the Salt-water being then frozen fast, they go out to the outer edge of the ice and are very seldom seen upon the land again until the end of April. If they do come on shore in the Winter their stay is not long, nor do they hang about the same place, but travel on and soon go out to sea again. As the White Bear is a beast of great strength and courage, he is very easily caught for he will not refuse going upon, or into any trap that is properly baited. Having found a place which they frequent, use the Steel trap Page 15 No. 10. Make a hole in the ground, that the jaws may be on a level with the surface; bed well under the Bridge with short [75/] green moss, and fill in the spaces between the Bridge and jaws with light earth or sand, but you need not cover the Bridge, and drop a few pieces of bait on each side of the trap. At the foot of a Cataract, or by the side of a river which is much frequented by them, build the trap. Page 17, No. 15, or the House-trap Page 22, No. 19. Tail a Gun, Page 23, No. 20, or set the net, Page 33, No. 28. The proper baits for them will be found in Page 55, No. 65. Black Bears This is a land animal, and is much of the nature of a swine, for they will feed upon either flesh, fish, fruit, or herbage. So soon as the thaws set in, which generally happen sooner or later in the month of April, they come out of their Caves and cruise the shores of such Brooks as are then open. So soon as the snow is off the ground, they feed upon the old grass which

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has lain under it, but that scarcely does more than fill their stomachs; I having always observed it to come from them unchanged. Where they find fallen trees in a rotten state, they tear them to pieces, with their paws, and lick up the ants and other insects. So soon as the Alexander68 springs up, which is in the first week in June, they eat that greedily. They cruise the shores of all waters, during the summer, to pick up dead fish, and rake up Clams. Within the tides-way, they always walk the shore from half ebb to half flood. They frequent Cataracts to feed upon the offals left by the White Bears. When the Berries get ripe, which is about the middle of August, they resort to such barren hills as are well stored with them, and feed upon the Partridge, and Heath-berries (Empetrum Nigrum) and continue to feed upon them until the ground is covered with snow, when they retire into their Caves and sleep until April. They are to be killed or caught by all the same methods as directed for White Bears & their baits are to be found in page 55, No. 65. [76/] Both sorts of Bears may also be caught in Slips; that for the White Bear69 being tailed in the same manner as for a Deer, & that for the Black Bear not more than two feet wide, or one foot high. The best place to tail a slip for them is upon the shore of a river. Run a dead hedge across it, leave an opening of sufficient width, and tail the slip in it. To shoot Bears The White Bear, being extremely strong and fierce, is a dangerous animal to shoot unless you have a dog or two who have [sic] been properly entered. If the Dog attacks the Bear forward, it is great odds but he soon kills or maims him, and he will then instantly attack the Men: but if the dog keeps behind and attacks him there, the man may safely go up and shoot him. It is the common practise in Newfoundland to load a gun with a great number of balls, but that is a very bad way, for they overweight the powder so much, that it has not strength to drive the balls home to 68 Scotch lovage, an edible wild green still collected and enjoyed by Labradorians. Cartwright notes in The Journal (14 Aug. 1779), “nor have I yet been able to discover that any beast in this country would eat alexander, except black-bears, which are very fond of it.” 69 Whether Cartwright ever caught a polar bear with a slip is unknown. At least once while in Sandwich Bay he set slips and traps to this end (Journal, 21 Sept. 1785).

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the vitals. Use only a single ball and do not be too eager, but wait until you have a fair shot and be sure to strike him through or near the heart. Never fire when the Bear is at such a distance, or in such a position that you are not sure of hitting him in a proper place. The best defence against the attack of a White Bear is a double-barrelled gun, loaded with small shot; let him come close up to you and then fire; first at one eye, and then at the other. Above all, be perfectly cool. If you observe a Bear coming towards you and down the Wind, sit down; raise your knees; rest your elbows upon them, and fire when he is direct opposite to you. You must not shoot at his face, unless he presents a flat forehead; for the ball will not enter his skull, if his forehead is in a sloping position. The Black Bear not being apt to attack a Man, you may shoot at him without apprehending danger. As all dogs of courage, particularly the Newfoundland dog, are apt to attack a Bear forward, and try to sieze him by the throat, you should teach them to sieze behind, and that is done by observing the following method. viz: Having caught a Black-Bear, of not more than three years old, in a [77/] trap, set your dog upon him, the Bear will soon get him in his paws; hug him severely and then bite: but be ready and instantly shoot the bear through the head; then beat your dog and make him sieze him behind: encourage him so to do for a long time, and give him some severe blows whenever he attacks him forward. If the Bear is only two years old, let him give the dog a bite or two; taking care that he does not kill or severely lame him: but if the Bear is only a Cub, instantly beat him [the dog] off from his head and make him sieze behind; lest he kill him, and be thereby encouraged to sieze forward in future. If you catch a Bear alive, muzzle him and let the dog be severely hugged before you shoot the Bear. To intoxicate Bears Bears may be intoxicated by mixing either Laudanum or Spirits with Treacle & Water. If over-dosed with the Laudanum, they will die: but a sufficient quantity of Spirits will make them so drunk, that they may be muzzled, bound, and brought home in a sack and will become sober again. But, lest they should wander too far from the spot, before the effect comes on, it will be necessary to strew many small pieces of bait all

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round the place, and fix some out of their reach to amuse them for a sufficient length of time. Should they, however, get out of sight, a Hound or Terrier, who will draw upon the Scent, will soon find them. Rules necessary to be observed relative to the situations proper for tailing Steel-traps, or Guns; and building Pit-fal, or House-traps As both the White, and Black-bear is greatly disposed to cruise along the sides of all Waters, they always walk [78/] along the Shores of them, if they are clear of Wood; but if the shore is perpendicular, or wooded, to the water’s edge they make a path a little within the edge of the Wood. Where there is a Beach, their tracks are plainly seen in the Sand or Mud, and you will know by them whether that shore is much used by them. Should the Shore be grassy, they will make a path in that, and if it is rocky, examine all the small Coves, where you will generally find either Sand or Mud. Should a perpendicular point project, they will make a path at the back of it, and that is the best place to fix a trap at; taking care to fence it well on both sides, with trees felled for the purpose. Should no such point be found, you may, nevertheless, erect a Pitfal, or House-trap a little within the Wood, and cut a path to it from each side, but remember to slope the path forward, both ways, and run a dead fence from each end of it, down to the Water. If you erect either of those traps, or tail a steel one upon the open Beach, mind to run dead fences from each end of them both up to the Wood and down to the Water, that the Bears may be compelled to go into, or upon the trap. As Black-Bears feed chiefly upon Berries after they get ripe, you will discover that by their dung upon such hills as plenty of Berries grow upon, and your traps should be placed there. An old clout70 dipped in treacle, makes an excellent drag to draw them up to a trap, and you should have some in a bottle, to refresh the clout with as often as occasion may require. A gun should never be tailed for a Bear at any great distance from a dwelling-house, lest you should not hear the report of it, and the beast should [79/] get quit[e] cold before he is found; in which case he would be spoiled. 70 A rag.

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Remember, never to eat the liver of a White Bear, for it is of a poisonous quality; it will certainly make you extremely sick and cause all your skin to peel off, even if it does not kill you. That happened to two servants of mine; both of whom were very near dying: and I have heard of the same happening to several other men.71 I have never heard of the liver of a Black-Bear having the same effects, but it would be most prudent to let that alone also. When a Black-Bear is caught alive, in a Pitfal, or House-trap, he may be bolted into a Sack or Net and carried home, where he may be fed until he is fat and his skin in full season. White ones being extremely heavy and strong had best be killed upon the spot. Bear Caves Black-Bears always retire into their Caves so soon as the ground is compleatly covered with snow, and they continue there, in a torpid state, until the Month of April following, unless there should chance to be a free thaw in the Winter; at which time they will creep out again, but never go to any great distance. They generally make their Caves near to some small Brook and under the root of a large fallen tree. Should you chance to meet with a Cave, in the Summer time, be sure to mark the place well, by chipping the Bark off the nearest tree, and mark all the Trees from thence to the nearest Water, Marsh, or other remarkable place. Visit the place at, or before Christmas [80/] and your dog will challenge the Bear, if he be in it: for his breath will keep a small hole open through the snow, and your dog will wind him through that hole. Should you be alone, it will be best not to disturb him, but return on the next, or any other day; dig away the snow and shoot him through the head. There is not the least danger in so doing, for he will be as stupid as a drunken Man, who is but half awake. When you are walking through the Woods, in the Winter time, should your dog thrust his nose into the snow; bark, and scratch eagerly, be sure that he has found a bear in his Cave: and if it is not convenient to kill him then, mark the spot and also the trees, as directed before, and return again at a future time. 71 Hypervitaminosis A poisoning.

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Should you observe any Brook well frequented by Black-Bears in the Summer, make a few artificial Caves, in the same manner as the steep roof of a house; take care to support the ridge-pole well that the weight of snow may not break it down; make up one end and leave that next to the Brook open and cover the whole with boughs, and I am decidedly of opinion, that Bears will take possession of them. The width at the bottom should be six feet, and nearly the same in height: but you may contract the entrance to what is no more than sufficient for the animal to enter, and he will do what more is necessary. Cover [text crossed out] with Spruce tops, and bed it with small Spruce boughs. Top bits of bate from the side of the Brook up to the mouth of the Cave, that the Bears may be sure to find it, & place a little Treacle in a Birch-rind dish in the cave. Bear-Cubs At what time of the Year Bears copulate, or how long they go with young are points which I have not yet discovered [81/] but the White one Cubs in March, and the Black one about the same time. I presume; since she does so before she leaves her Cave. The White Bear drops her Cub upon the jam-ice, which covers the whole surface of the Sea, and as her Cubs are not able to follow her for some days, she leaves them whilst she is in search of prey, but I do not beli[e]ve that she will go any great distance from them. I have no reason to believe that the Dog and Bitch (as they are called) pair, for the bitch and her cubs have always been seen by themselves. Should you find a Cub upon the ice and carry it off, the bitch will certainly follow and attack you, nor will the severest wounds cause her to desist: but if you drop the cub and make off, she will be contented. How many cubs they have at a time is more than I know, but they have been seen with three. So soon as the cubs are old enough to follow the bitch, she leads them away in search of prey, and they will frequently jump upon her back, and ride there to rest themselves. Should the bitch be caught in a Pitfal-trap, all the cubs will most certainly be caught also: and the same will happen if she is caught in a House-trap, and there are a sufficient number for the Cubs. If the bitch is caught in a steel-trap, the cubs (if small) will not leave here: but I have known one small Cub, out of three, caught in a fox-trap, and

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the bitch has gone on with the other two. Most probably, that one was some distance behind her, and she did not know of its being caught. As the Cubs of Black-Bears are strong enough to follow the bitch when she first comes out of her Cave [82/] they are always seen with her. I have seen four cubs with their Dam, but do not know whether they ever have more. A Black Bear will not attack a man in defence of her cubs, but she is very loath to leave them. The Cubs of both sorts are very soon made tame, and may be suffered to run about, but they grow savage, when come to their full size, if you beat them. A White Bear, being an animal of great strength, would be extremely useful in Labrador, if well tamed; he would be much better than a horse to ride upon, and draw very heavy loads upon a Sled. One caugh[t], when very young might be compleatly tame & domesticated, by giving him his liberty in the house, and never feeding him upon raw meat; & he should be brought under perfect subjection before he attained strength, but used tenderly afterwards.72 As both White & Black ones cruise the Shores, when you observe one much used by them, provide two nets of No. 28, two of No. 29 & two of Shoal net twine, of five feet in depth & the mesh six inches square, and all of them forty yards long. Set up the first at the distance of six or seven yards from the edge of the Woods, but instead of joining them together, bring those ends down towards the water, then set the second up close to the edge of the Woods, with their ends joined together, and do the same by the third, a little way within the Woods. Take your station in the centre and watch the coming of the Bears; so soon as you see any, repair to the end next them and wait until they have passed you, then run down to the water-side and holler, which will cause the black ones instantly to fly for the Woods and they will certainly be entangled, but if the white ones should run along the shore, which I do not believe they will, they will be caught in that part of the net which is set across the Shore. You must then shoot such as are too strong for you, and secure the young ones; to do which have some muzzles of strong net, to tie over their heads, and sacks to put them into. The reason for using three different sized nets is, the first will take white-bears; black ones will go through that, but be entangled in the second, & the third will catch the small. [83/] 72 Nowhere in the Journal does Cartwright mention taming a polar bear.

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Deer About the twentieth of April the Deer begin to quit the barren grounds, on which they spend the Winter, and return to their Summer quarters, and that time of migration lasts until the end of May. I always observed, that they take their rout[e] in a northern direction, and keep the same course every Spring. All the month of June they are to be found in Dumbles;73 by the sides of Rivers; of Brooks, and Ponds w[h]ere osiers and alders grow; being very fond of the young leaves of those shrubs: and, as they are then very hungry, they will feed by day as well as by night. As the Hinds begin to calve about the fifth of June, they generally swim out upon such islands as lay near the shores of the Salt-water, or in the Lakes, or keep near the shores of Lakes and large Ponds; that they may preserve themselves and calves from the Wolves. In July they frequent the Barrens; in the vallies and Dumbles of which they find abundance of plants, which are then in perfection. The Stags and barren Hinds, having then got fresh and beginning to lay on fat, retire to their Harbours, soon after the Sun rises, and feed chiefly between the evenings and that time, but they may often be found standing upon a large patch of snow about noon. Towards the end of that Month and the whole of August they frequently will stand up to their bellies in water during the heat of the day, but those Hinds which have calves, feed great part of the day; being more hungry by giving suck. The Stags do not shew themselves much in the day-time until the latter end of [84/] September, at which time they begin to draw out of the interior parts of the Country, which are well clothed with tall woods, upon the Barrens. There are many patches of shrubby Spruces and other trees to be met with in the vallies, and by the sides of the hills upon the Barrens, which do not grow thicker than a man’s leg, nor more than five or six feet high, & which form a thick covert like a bed of old Gorse, and those are the places in which the Deer Harbour. The rut begins in the first week in October, and lasts until the twentieth, or later, of November. So soon as the Deer perceive the impulse of Nature, they collect in small companies, from six to twenty, and draw out to the Barrens, and continue upon them until the end of April. Those who never Wintered in 73 A ravine with a watercourse. This description of caribou in southern Labrador is the earliest known. Caribou no longer frequent the region and the southern herd was most likely overhunted.

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Labrador would rather suppose, that they would retire into the Woods in the Winter, to shelter themselves from the severe cold weather, but the Snow is so very deep in the woods, that they could get no other food there than the branches of the trees, and the long, black moss which grows upon their trunks; neither of which they are very fond of: but there is plenty of herbage upon the sides of the barren hills, and the wind does not permit much snow to lay there, and they can easily scrape it away with a fore foot. It is a singular circumstance, that the Rein-deer Stag should mew his head that time of the year which one would suppose he would have most occasion for it, to defend himself against the wolves. In the summer-time, he can save himself by swimming; no Country being better supplied [85/] with water, nor any animal able to swim so fast: for the extreme lightness of his bones and flesh are such, that he sinks no more than half-sides deep, consequently has only half the water to remove that other animals have; his feet are uncommonly large, and expand like those of water-fowl, and his sinews are remarkably strong. I have often chased them in the water and am very certain, that an old Stag will swim above five miles an hour, and a hind not much less. Be the reason what it may, the fact is, that the old Stags begin to mew in December, and there is not a horn left amongst them by the end of that Month. The younger a Stag is, the later before he begins to mew, and I have seen a young Stag with his head on in the early part of May. The Hinds do not begin to mew until about the middle of June. The new head appears upon the old Stags in March, and as the warmth of the weather increases, the faster they grow. When a Stag is attacked by a Wolf he runs for his life, and, if his pursuer comes up with him, kicks with a hind leg, and can do that with such force, as to kill a wolf upon the spot. That is not the case with the Hind: I never saw one kick at my dogs, but have seen some turn about and attack them with their heads; yet that never availed them, for they were always pulled down. As the cold increases, the coats of the Rein-deer grow longer, and are so remarkably warm, that they do not appear to feel the severity of the frost. The color is a rich brown, but it grows lighter as they grow poorer, until it becomes a cream color. [86/]

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To shoot deer in Summer Having provided yourself with a dress (Page 41. No. 50) and the requisite articles mentioned in Page 45 No. 56, not forgetting a Gun, Page 42 No. 53, the first thing to be done is, to make yourself well acquainted with the Country; and that is best done, by ascending all the highest, baretopped hills. From them you will see where Deer are most likely to be found, and you must then walk over all those grounds to observe if they are frequented by them; which you will discover by their Slots and Fewmets.74 You must also take notice of all their paths. I do not mean their little bye-paths, which are used in the Summer only, but those which are called the Main leading-paths; by which they go out from the interiour parts of that Country, to the open feeding-grounds. Having done all that, if you are alone, take your station upon that hill which commands the greatest number of paths, and that ground which you observed them to feed most upon. Sit there patiently for the whole day, and if a deer be stirring, you will certainly get sight of him. Having discovered a deer, do not be in a hurry, but reconnoitre all the ground between yourself and him perfectly well, and observe how you can best approach him without either being seen, or winded by him. Having advanced as near as you can, without danger of discovery, stop and put on your shooting socks or slippers and covering of your hat then creep on so far as you can under the cover of bushes etc. Should it so happen that you cannot get within shot without being exposed to his view, wait patiently in hopes that he will shift his ground: but if you have not time for that, lay yourself flat upon your belly and slide yourself gently forward at such times as you observe him crossing the herbage, but keep perfectly [87/] still whenever his head is up: for he then looks sharp round, to see if any danger be near. If he gets the least intimation of you, or other danger, he will instantly hold his head high up, and erect his horns. If he does neither, do not be eager to fire immediately when you get within shot because you will be out of wind with creeping, and your pulse beat high, and they will cause your hand to shake, but wait quietly until your pulse is reduced to its natural state; if he then stands broad side to you, aim at his heart and you will certainly strike him in a mortal part, if your gun is a good one: but if he 74 Droppings.

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is end on, wait until he turns. Although you should shoot him fair through the ribs, he will not drop instantly, unless you strike the spine. If struck through the heart; great artery; great returning vein, or centre of the lungs, he will run from 100 to 150 yards and then drop; but if shot through any other part, he will go off, but soon lay down, and, if you sink the wind and approach him cautiously, he will let you get close up to him, particularly if he has got into any covert, when you may shoot him through the head. Nine times in ten you will be able to discover where he is hit, and be sure to remember, that if the ball has gone through the cavity of the breast, the longer he lies, the sicker he will be; because he will bleed inwardly, and that will clog his lungs; but if he is shot through the Paunch or small-guts, you must approach him with the greatest care, for, if he gets upon his legs, he will scarce lay down again, but will keep watching of you, and move quickly off as you advance. Deer-shooting is most successful when there are several sportsmen in company, and then the way is thus, viz: Having previously reconnoitred the Country and discovered the feeding-ground; coverts for harbouring, and the principal paths, and the wind being right, [88/] (that is, when it blows from the feeding-ground and coverts, to the interior parts of the Country) go out early in the morning; station one man upon, or near each path, and send the rest round to the windward part of the feeding-ground. One of them should have a hound, led in a liam,75 who will challenge the slot of any deer that has gone along in the course of the preceding night. The hound will draw upon it, until he either discovers the deer at feed, or harbours him. Upon coming near to a bed of bushes, take him off, if he is then drawing down wind, lest the Deer should wind you and make off, and draw round them, and if he does not hit him off again, be sure that he is in his harbour among the bushes. He will, most likely, have a path through them; in which case, place the shooters at the distance of 100 yards from the lee end of the path, and let the harbinger, with his hound, enter at the windward end, and he will run direct down wind to the shooters. In case he is not killed there, draw on after him, and he will take one of the great paths and run foul of one of the shooters originally placed upon it. In case of not meeting with the slot of any deer that has been out upon the 75 Leash.

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feed, the Harbinger (the man with the hound) must draw round every bed of bushes which are upon the barrens, or feeding-ground, and he cannot miss finding a deer, if there is one upon that ground, and it is almost impossible to miss killing him, if the shooters follow the rules here laid down. There are an immense number of islands within the Bays and upon the Coasts of Labrador, and there are very few which have wood and fresh water upon them that are without deer in the Summer. In order to shoot the islands, it will be necessary to be provided with a number of light, small, swift-rowing skiffs; each to carry two [89/] rowers and a steersman, and also with two or three couple of Stag or strong Fox-hounds that have been used to hunt deer. Surround one of those islands with the skiffs, but at a considerable distance from the shore, then land a man or two with hounds; they will soon find a deer and he will immediately take the water, and will be intercepted and killed by one of the boats. Should there be ever so many deer upon the island, the hounds will find them all, and few can escape the people in the boats. See Page 301 also. To shoot Deer in the Winter It is much more difficult to get within shot of Deer in the Winter, after the ground is covered with snow, than in the Summer. You must remember to be provided with the dress Page 41 & No. 51 and also with the Staulking-shade No. 48; by means of which and creeping up wind, you will generally get within a proper distance. In case you break a leg, you may drive the Deer home and kill him near your house. If Deer are in great plenty, you will soon discover the rout[e]s they usually take after they are disturbed, and by the assistance of a pair of Sewels, of 3, or 400 yards long each, placed in an angle of 45° and a man to drive them to you, you may be certain of a good shot by making a stand of snow in the angle & leaving that open for twenty yards in each side. So soon as you have discovered the particular passes which they usually make for, erect a stand at each and prick up a sufficient number of Sewel-sticks, and then you will only have to run out the [90/] Sewels, wherever you intend to take your stand; which must always be to leeward of the Deer. In case several men are in company, each should be provided with a light shovel; walk up wind, and, so soon as you discover any Deer, all the

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men, except two, must form themselves in a line a breast, within shot of each other; each man must then dig a hole in the snow & throw what he digs out, up before him. While they are so employed, the other two must divide, one to the right and the other to the left, and get round to windward of the Deer. The man who gets to his station first must wait until his comrade has got to his, and they are then to advance gently towards the Deer, and drive them down to the shooters. A single man will generally drive Deer very well, but two are better. Should the Deer attempt to turn off to either side, the man who is on that side must not run to head them, but only walk quick an[d] cry Hem occasionally, and that will turn them. Sewels are described in Page 42 No. 52. Memorandum The instant that you have killed either a Deer or a Bear, cut his throat from ear to ear quite down to the bone. You are then to paunch him, for either will be spoilt, if that is left in until the animal is cold. In paunching either of those creatures observe these rules, viz: introduce the point of your knife into the opening in his throat and cut the skin of the neck down to the brisket; sieze the windpipe and gullet & separate them from the neck; then separate the gullet from the windpipe and tie a knot upon it, that the contents of the paunch may not work out through it. [91/] You are then to open the skin down to the pit of his stomach, and there introduce your knife through the rim of his belly, but take particular care not to cut through the paunch. Having made an incision long enough to enable you to get the two fore fingers of your left hand into it, introduce them, and they will guide the point of your knife, so as to prevent your cutting his entrails. It will then be necessary to divide the bones of the breast, and also those of the Pelvis; that you may do with your hatchet, but if you have not one, do it with your knife, and if you cannot get a stick or a stone for a driver, cut off a fore leg (if it be a Deer) at the knee joint, and that will make an excellent driver to force your knife through those bones. Having cut through those bones, you then take hold of the gullet & windpipe, haul them backward until the midriff is to be come at, and when that is cut round, close to the ribs, the whole contents of the inside are easily taken out. That done, turn the beast upon his belly, that all the blood

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may drain out. Then separate the Humbles,76 or Plick; take off the meat, and clear the fat from off the entrails. You may then take off the skin, divide the quarters and hang them upon a tree, or leave them upon the skin if there should be no tree near; in which case, or if you leave the animal in his skin, strew some gun-powder upon the hair and fire it off; the smell of which will keep off Wolves and Foxes, but whether that will keep off a Bear (particularly a White one) is more than I yet know. [92/] Various ways to catch Deer They may be caught in a Slip (Page 35, No. 37) and the best time to tail Slips is from the latter end of September until the latter part of November; but they may be kept out longer, provided the paths are not so much covered with snow as to cause them to deviate therefrom. Before you tail your slips, examine the Country well, to find out all the main leading paths. That done, follow each of those paths until you meet with proper place to tail the Slips in; those places are, where the path goes between two trees, which stand about five or six feet asunder or where it passes close by one tree: for you may fix another young tree opposite to that to fasten one side of the slip to. At those places, tie a young tree across, from one tree to the other, about five feet six inches above the ground; the[n] put the end of the slip through the eye at the other end and tie it fast to the stoutest of the standing trees close under that which you tied across; you are then to lay the upper part of the slip close under the small tree, which you tied across, and between its branches, that it may not be seen, and stop it to the opposite standing tree, either with a bit of worsted yarn or taylor’s thread, and this stop must be stronger than the two following; lest this break too soon, let the Slip fall upon the Deer’s back, and he leap through it: you are next to lay hold of the lower part of the Slip, direct under the eye, bring that down parallel to the standing tree, to which the [93/] Slip is made fast and among its branches, and stop it there with a single piece of worsted or thread, and then do the same by the other lower corner on the opposite side, taking care, that the 76 Heart, liver, kidneys, etc. Presumably “plick” refers to the same but a definition could not be found.

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lower part of the slip be about the height of two feet six inches from the ground. You are then to cut branches of Spruce or Fir; stick the butt ends into the ground, and let their tops stand a little above the lower end of the Slip to hide it: but you must mind, that those branches are not so numerous or thick as to cause the Deer to leap over them, lest he leap clean through the Slip, and place none in the path. Before you tail the Slip, be sure to rub it well with the green boughs of the adjoining trees. Your Slip will then form a parallelogram; about five feet six inches wide, and three feet deep, but four feet six wide will be sufficient, for there are few male deer whose horns stand wider than four feet two inches. The first Deer that comes up to the slip will thrust but it’s [sic] nose in a line with it’s back, lay it’s horns upon it’s back and direct it’s head through the Slip; the upper part of it’s fore legs will take the lower side of the Slip; break both the stops and cause the eye to run in; so soon as it feels the obstruction of the upper stop, it will rush forward, break that and jam the slip close round it’s neck and another plunge or two will strangle it. The rest of the Deer, if there are any more, will instantly turn [94/] back and run away. You must remember, that slips must be looked at every day at the least; lest a Deer get cold before it is paunched, and thereby spoilt. Directions for tailing a Slip will be found Page 52 No. 62. Deer may also be caught in the large trap (Page 15 No. 10) but the consequence will be, that it will bruise and beat itself so much, as to appear, when stripped, as if it had been cudgelled to death, and will scarce be eatable. They may be shot with a taild [sic] Gun, placed by the side of a path, and the trigger-string tied to a tree on the opposite side; taking care that the string is fine, and hangs rather slack, that it may not contract with rain and draw the trigger. The Deer-pound (Page 26 No. 22) and Deer-toils (Page 32 No. 27) are the best ways, as they will catch them alive and in great numbers. A Pound which is intended to catch them whits [sic] the ground is clear from Snow must be built upon a main leading Path, and they will go into it of themselves. But that which is to catch them in the Winter, must be built upon such a place as you have observed, in preceding Winters, they usually pass over when disturbed, or when shifting from one feedingground to another, such as, the Saddle of an Island or ridge of hills; a tickle between two, or one island and the Continent; up & down any nar-

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row Harbour or Cove etc. etc. They had best be built with Deer-flakes, and fixed in pieces of Planks, and supported behind with Shores, that they may be removed occasionally. From the outer points of each Hawk, set up a net of common Seal-twine; six feet in height, one hundred [95/] yards long and netted upon a card of five inches. Those two nets are to stand very wide asunder at their outer ends, and must be set up as firm as possible. From the outer end of each net, fix a Sewel (Page 42-No. 52) in the same directions, and the longer the better, and mind to close up the Hawk at the other end of the Pound. This Pound should be fixed in the beginning of the Winter, and also posts for the nets, and sticks for the Sewels at each end, and remain there; you will then have only to fix the Nets and Sewels whenever they are wanted; and that must be, whenever you discover Deer to windward of the Pound, let that be at which end it may, for they always drive best down the Wind. Having discovered Deer to windward of the Pound and fixed the Nets and Sewels, take as many men with you as you can muster; make a large circuit round the Deer, but a considerable way to windward of them, and divide into a large semicircle; then advance at a moderate pace, and drive them towards the Pound. When you have got them within the outer points of the Sewels, they are pretty safe, unless you frighten them too much; work them down gradually until you get them into the Hawk of the Pound (the entrance into which must stand about five or six feet wide) and if they then offer to turn back, rush forward with loud shouts and they will instantly spring through into the Pound, where they must be secured, by fixing a spare flake across the entrance and you may then kill them at your leasure [sic]. Should you wish to keep them alive, set up Toils across the Pound & drive them in; tie their legs; sew up their eyelids, and carry [96/] them home upon Sledges. If you intend to make use of Toils, see Page 32 No. 27. Where Toils are to be used upon the Pond, the Posts should be fixed in the Summer, that their bottom ends may be frozen fast in during the Winter, but if they are to be used upon the ice, they must be set up so soon as that is frozen firm, and let into the ice that they may be frozen in it. As Toils are very portable, one set will serve for every place that you may want to use them in. Deer-calves, when taken young, soon grow extremely tame and familiar, and are easily domesticated. If you live where there is good feeding-ground all the Year round, you will have no trouble with them, but

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it would be best to be provided with Indian, or Oaten meal, to give them a little occasionally, as that will cause them never to absent themselves for any length of time. When they grow old enough and feel the rack upon them, they will join the wild Deer, but return home again after that season is over. Their use in the Sled, and for the purposes of the Dairy are well known,77 and therefore they are the most useful animals that can be kept in that Country. Wolves Wolves are in tolerable plenty, but would be much more so, did they not often quarrel and kill each other, for I have seen a bitch Wolf with five cubs after her. In the Spring they retire into the woody parts of the Country to breed, which they do in the ground, and therefore generally fix on a sandy soil, in which they can make their earths. They prey chiefly upon Deer, but will devour whatever they can catch. In the Winter they prowl about upon the open barren grounds, where the deer then feed. Although their noses [97/] are good, they chiefly hunt by the eye, and will discern either Man or Beast at a very great distance, which makes them very difficult to be shot; the only chance is, when you observe one coming down the Wind towards you, clap close down until he is within shot. By whatever I saw of them, they are great cowards, and will never attack a Man. They are extremely suspicious and cautious, and therefore more difficult to be caught in traps than a Fox, and are so strong, that they will carry off a ten pound trap upon a fore foot much faster than any Man can follow: but a good dog will then put him to bay until you shoot him. They may be caught in the large double-springed trap Page 15, No. 10; Small ditto Page 16, No. 12, but it should be weighted; Large Pitfaltrap Page 17 No. 15; House-trap Page 22 No. 19; A tailed Gun Page 23 No. 20; Trap-house Page 46 No. 57; Cage-Trap Page 48 No. 58; and in Traps housed Page 49 No. 59. The baits for them will be found in Page 35 Nos. 88 & 39, and the Drags in Page 30 No. 41.

77 Cartwright probably had Saami reindeer domestication in mind. Although he did have a young caribou as a pet for a time, there is no record that he ever kept tamed adult caribou, or trained one to pull a sled.

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When you tail a trap for a Wolf, observe the following rules, viz: Until the Waters are frozen and the ground covered with snow they remain in the Woods, and cruise the shores of Bays & Rivers, and you will see their footing wherever there is sand or mud. Having discovered that, go along the shore until you meet with a proper place to tail your trap, and if you make use of small ones, tie three together by the ends of their Chains, which are six feet long; drive a strong, short stake into the ground; make the chains fast [98/] to that, and tail the traps at the extent of their respective chains, in such manner that they shall be in a triangle, but put no bait to them. If a Wolf gets into one, he will most likely soon get into another and will then be safe. If you make use of the large trap that alone will do, and it must be barred on each side with dead branches of trees; such as you find scattered upon the shore. The Traps must be sunk in the ground; well bedded under the bridge with short green moss, and neatly covered with light earth, or dead leaves. When you tail for a Wolf in the Winter, do it upon the top of a small hill, on which no drifted snow will lodge; drive a spike nail into the ground and make fast the chains of three small traps to it; tail those traps in a triangle at the extent of their Chains, and strew several pieces of bait among them and also all round about, and if you run a bloody drag up to them your chance will be better. Traps tailed upon the snow must be covered lightly with snow, but you must bed well with moss, or the drift will be driven so hard under the bridge that the trap will not strike up. Unless your trap-walks are much infested by Wolves (which generally is the case if any have been lamed) it is not worth while to tail on purpose for them, because foxes will get into those traps, and will tear off their legs by their being made fast. [99/] Foxes So soon as the young Foxes are old enough, they attend their dams, and cruise the shores of both the salt and fresh waters, to feed upon such fish and birds as are driven on shore, and also upon the mice, which abound wherever there is grass. As they follow each other, until the ground is covered with snow, and always keep the same track, they make paths, which are very easy to be discerned. Tail the traps Page 16. Nos. 12, or 13 in those paths, but do not bait them. They are also to be taken in the trap,

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Page 19 No. 16. Do78 Page 46 No. 57. When a steel trap is tailed for them in the Winter, it must always be upon the top of a hillock, where no drift will lodge; it must not be made fast; the bait must be cut small and strewed about. If you have plenty of Seals, it is an excellent way to hang the carcas of one upon a tree near a trap, or to fix a stake, if six feet long, in the ground before the frosts begin, and spit a seal upon it when you begin to tail your traps. As the foxes cannot get at it, it will last for the whole winter and it will be frequented by ravens, which will attract the notice of the foxes, as well as their having a better chance of winding it at a great distance: but in truth, there is very little scent from dead bait, when the frost is severe. Drags are very excellent things, but they should be bloody ones upon snow and in severe frost. When the ground is free from snow and the weather mild, there is no way better than the following, viz: Where you find the earth of a [100/] light kind, such as is proper for covering traps with, stir up the mould on six different places, in a line with each other and about ten yards asunder; tail a trap in the two centre places; place a small bit of old Cheshire cheese, dip[p]ed in honey or treacle, upon them, and a like bit upon each of the other places, and then run a drag from a considerable distance up to the first of the sham trapplaces, from thence to the second and then to the first trap. But it will be best to have an assistant, who shall draw a drag from the reverse way up to the other sham trap-places and then to the other trap, and both of you should drop a few bits of Cheese by the way. Cheese that is black-rotten is the best, and any old Cheese may be made so, by keeping it in a damp cellar. Be sure to remember, that you handle the bedding and covering of traps as little as possible, and always brush them over with a bunch of fine boughs after you have put the covering on. Both Wolves and Foxes are extremely suspicious of dead bait, and always take the first bits with extreme caution, but when they have taken two or three, they then grow bold and will hunt about for more. If a Fox’s brush gets frozen, it will break in stripping off; ’tis therefore best to cut him round the root of the brush whilst warm, and strip it off immediately. Foxes which are taken alive before their skins are in Season, may be kept in a Kennel until they are full-coated, and a bitch, or two should be kept until the Sp[r]ing; to

78 Ditto.

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serve as a Stall to decoy others in clicketing-time,79 which commences in March. Foxes may be caught in wire snares, but those are the [101/] best, which are made to spring up. They may also be caught upon hooks, but that is not a very certain way. The Baits, Scentings & Drags are to be found in Page 40 & 41, Numbers 38, 39, 40. Wolverene, or Glutton These animals frequent the Woods in General, but I have known them go out upon the barrens in the Winter-time. As they are a very strong animal, although no larger than a stout Badger, they are very apt to carry a trap clear off. I once knew an instance of one of them, which was only twenty seven pounds weight, carry a single-springed trap of ten pounds, to the distance of nearly ten miles in twenty four hours. The way that he contrived so to do was, he took up the trap in his mouth, and travelled upon three legs. As the foot, which he was caught by bled a little I observed, that he was followed by a Fox: a clear proof of the utility of a bleeding drag. Had a Wolf chanced to have crossed his track, he would have devoured him. They are to be caught in all the same kind of traps, as those used for Foxes. The Baits, Drags & Scentings are the same. Marten Martens constantly keep in the Woods, and are in the greatest plenty from the latter end of September until Christmas: they then begin to grow scarcer, but I suspect that is occasioned by their keeping up in the trees, by reason of the depth and lightness of the snow. [102/] In March, the snow being then firm, they begin to grow more plentiful. I have reason to believe, that they are fond of fish; having observed them to cruise the small brooks and go into such holes as they find in the ice. In order to catch plenty of Martens, a Furrier should live a considerable distance up a large River, which runs through a Country clothed with tall, old Woods. The North side of the River is the best; for they always appeared to me, to direct their course towards the South, as well as

79 Oestrus.

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Eastward towards the Sea-coast. Having fixed upon his Station, he must cut very long paths through the Woods, on the West side of Brooks which come in from the North or South, and on the North side of the River (for I am supposing that he lives upon the East Coast of Labrador, where all the Rivers come from the Westward). He must be provided with plenty of traps, and fix them by the side of his paths, from six to eight in every Mile. The traps proper for Martens are those numbered 12, 13, 14, 16, 21 and 63, and I think that numbers 14 and 63 are the best, yet all are good. For baits I refer you to No. 38, and those in the first line of No. 39. If you use the House-trap No. 16, mind to have a hole at the bottom, to bolt them into a Purse-net, or they will certainly escape. In very severe weather, their tails should be stripped off so soon as they are killed, or they will be apt to break. Should you find them dead and frozen, hang them in a warm room until they are thoroughly thawed, and then slit the tail down with your knife, before you attempt to skin it. Should a Marten be frost-burnt, which they often will be if caught in a fox-trap and die upon the jaws of it, you must thaw them in cold water, or the skin will be [103/] totally spoilt. A bit of the dried Paunch of a Deer is an excellent bait, & the trap should be rubbed with the oil-bag of a Beaver. They are fond of Honey & Treacle. Otters Otters are very plentiful in Labrador, and their skins so valuable, that I have known them sell from 40/ to 59/6. Their skins are not in Season until near Christmas and continue until the end of June. I never could discover the Month in which they bring forth their young, but they are old enough to follow their parents by the middle of September; about which time I have known as many as nineteen in a company: which must have been two or three families associated together. From the time that they leave their breeding-places, at the end of the Summer, until they return to them again the next year, it is their usual custom, to cruise up one River, or Brook, then cross the land to the next and go down that; or, the contrary, as it may happen. When they cross the land, from one water to another, they follow each other and always keep the same track; by doing which they make a path very easily to be discerned. They also use certain places, by the sides of the waters which they frequent, to rub them-selves

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and dung upon, whenever they have done fishing, or have been long in the Water: and those, as well as the paths, are the places where the traps are to be set. As to shooting them, that is a matter of mere chance. If you see an Otter in the water, observe which way he is going, and then take your station to leeward, but within shot of the next [104/] rubbing-place, but if he does not land there, slip away to the next. In the Winter time, they generally travel under the ice, but will come up through every hole which they find in it. When you see one, wait until he returns into the hole again, and comes up through another, then go a considerable distance ahead of him and walk towards him until you discover another hole; within shot of which you must conceal yourself until he comes up through it. It sometimes happens that they will travel upon the ice for a very considerable distance, and if you meet with one then, you will certainly kill him if you are not a bungler – Clap down until he comes near you, then shoot him, or set your dog upon him; he will attack him, and you must sieze him by the Potter[?] (tail) whirl him round, and dash his head against the ice. To catch otters with traps, use those of Nos. 12 or 13, which must be tailed upon a Rubbing-place very neatly, and brushed over with a bunch of boughs, but put no bait; nor spit, or evacuate near it. Close under the Potter[?] and within the body lies a vessel called the Pride, which contains a soft, foetid cream-colored substance; squeeze a little of that upon the covering of the trap, and every otter that winds it, will be sure to go upon it. They are also to be caught by the inventions described in numbers 17.24.25 and 26, and those are the most profitable, because they will take any number, but a steel-trap can catch only one at a time. In case of catching them alive, before their skins are in season, you may keep them until they are; feeding them with fish or flesh, either fresh, or jerked and soaked. [105/] If an Otter is taken young, he is easily made very tame and loving, and will be of great use in fishing for you. If you find too many Rubbing-places and wish to banish the Otters from some of them, bury a piece of flesh close under the sward and near the shore. There are certain places, in some small brooks, which never freeze over, and you may catch Otters, in steel traps, all the Winter through at them. The Spring-season for Otters, being very short, it is of great consequence to begin with them as early as possible, and that is to be done

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thus, viz: Wherever you know of a Rubbing-place upon a North shore, set a mark upon it before it is covered with snow in the Fall, and be provided with a large quantity of dead leaves, or fine peat soil; throw all the Snow clean off from those Rubbing-places in the last week in March, or very soon after, and the Sun will soon thaw the surface of the ground; then cover the ground with the dead leaves or peat earth, and cut a hole through the ice, direct opposite to the place, and tail a trap in the proper manner; minding that the hole is wide enough for the Otter to carry the trap through it into the water. As fresh snow will fall after that time, and the hole will sometimes be frozen up, you must take care to keep both clear, and you will not fail to kill many Otters before the Rubbing-places would be in proper order by the regular course of the Season. Whenever an Otter travels under the ice, he always does it close to the Shore, because the ice is hollow there, but lies close upon the water at a little distance from it; he will see the hole and come [106/] up through it, and will no sooner espy the artificial covering of the Rubbing-place, than he will run to it, for the gratification of rubbing himself thereon. You will find many Rubbing-places which are well used, but which are not good ones to tail a trap upon, but there are few which may not be made so, and those which cannot, should be destroyed. A good Rubbing-place should be near the water; it should be upon an elevation; there should be a sufficiency of soil to bed the trap; nothing to obstruct the otter carrying the trap into the water (which he will endeavor to do, the instant that he is caught) and the water should be two feet deep at the least. There are no good Rubbing-places upon a flat shore, and such a shore within the tides-way is still worse than by the side of a River or Pond. If the Rubbing-place is upon a Rock, which prevents your sinking your trap to a sufficient depth, so soon as the Season is over in the Spring, cover the rock well with peet earth, beaten small, and with dead leaves, and it will be fit for use in the Fall. If you meet with obstructions from fallen trees, remove them; if from rocks or large stones, do the same; but if the rocks are fast and cannot be removed, fill the spaces between them with gravel or sand. Those Rubbing-places which are upon the south side of the Water should be cleared early in the Spring also, but do not make any hole through the ice, because they will not be worth attending to until May, for want of the warmth of the Sun to thaw the ground, but so soon as you find them in proper order, make a hole through the ice, if that is

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not already broken up. As an Otter always carries a trap into the water, if he can, you must have a sufficient length of Cod-line tied to it, with a bit of Cork [107/] or dryed stick at the other end, by way of a Bouy, to shew where it is. Otters may be caught in a net, made like a Rabbit-Hay and stretched across any dead water; the foot laying upon the bottom and the head fixed a foot above the edge of the water. Common Salmontwine is strong enough and the mesh must be wide enough to admit his head with ease. A trammel is a better net for this work. The Beaver Trammel, Page 34. No. 31 will catch Otters also. Lynx This animal is the Cat-kind and lives in the woods; feeding upon birds, mice etc. I believe they are not very numerous, for I have seldom seen their tracks, nor have I known many of them to be caught. They are caught in steel-traps, which are tailed for Foxes and Martens. Beaver All the accounts which I have read of Beaver are extremely erroneous, and much more sagacity is attributed to them, than I think they possess: but as it is not my intention to write their natural history here, shall refer those who wish to know what I have said upon that subject to my Journal of Transactions and Events in Labrador.80 The Furrier who wishes to catch many of these animals, must go a considerable distance upon some large River and then ascent the highest, bare-top[p]ed hills, to discover what Ponds there are upon the Brooks which empty themselves into that River. He must examine all those Ponds, and he will seldom [108/] fail to see fresh signs of them in every 80 Pennant (1784, 102) is the intended target of this comment, with several margin notes correcting Pennant’s information about beavers. Cartwright’s Journal entry for 14 July 1770 also comments wryly, “I examined [a beaver house] very strictly, to see if I could discover those marks of sagacity and contrivance, which are related by those authors who have entertained the world with the natural history of these curious animals.” Vol. 3 of the Journal, 18–23, presents what is probably the earliest in-depth description of the beaver based on firsthand observation. This is one of Cartwright’s longest species descriptions, undoubtedly because of the animal’s importance to the Hudson’s Bay Company and the North American fur trade.

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one which they inhabit; for he will either find a Stint (or Dam) across the Brook, at the lower end of the Pond; see whittled sticks by the side of the water, or observe where they have cut wood upon its banks. Upon making such discovery he is then to look for the house, and will generally find that upon the North shore of the Pond or any Island which may chance to be in it. But he must not neglect to examine the Brook also, for they often build their house upon the bank of that. It frequently happens, that they will build a Dam across a small dribble of water, which runs down a valley, in which there is no natural Pond, and build their house by the side of their own artificial Pond. When Beaver are found in such a place, the whole family may be caught alive, or killed with the greatest ease; more especially if there be two or more then in company. A Beaver-hunter must always be provided with a dog. The Newfoundland breed is very good, but Terriers are better. The Furriers must repair to the head of the Pond at such an hour in the morning as to be sure to have time enough to finish their work before night. The first thing to be done is, to divide and walk down, on each side to the Stint, and the dogs will hit upon such Beavers as chance then to be in the woods, cutting food, and either catch them or drive them into the water; in which case they will be so much terrified that they will not be disposed to fly into the Woods [109/] afterwards, when they find their Stint cut and all the water running off. Being arrived at the Stint, place a net (Page 34, Numbers 30 or 31) across the Pond some little distance above the Stint, and then cut a wide opening in that, and enlarge it, as you see occasion, until all the water be drawn off. Whilst that is doing, two men should walk backwards and forwards one on each side of the Pond, beating with their dogs, and another attend the Stint. So soon as the angle of the House is laid dry, the Beavers will be observed to run in and out in great consternation. The Furriers should then take up their dogs, lest they follow them into the house and get wounded; an old Beaver having been known to cut the leg of a dog off at one bite: the Beavers must then be driven into the house, and the angle stopped up. The house must then be opened at the top; the Beavers taken out alive; their mouths be sewed up with strong thread, and carried home in a sack, or they may be killed. If a Furrier can find several Beaver houses within the distance of twelve or fourteen miles square, he should build his Tilt in the most centrical [sic] situation and live there all Winter, and must depend upon the

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Beavers, which he may kill for his food. He must also cut Paths through the tall Woods, to catch Martens in, and toil traps upon the Barrens for Foxes: and he should be provided [110/] with Slips to catch Deer in. He should take no other provisions than a bag of Flour; a few cakes of Bread, and a belly-piece of salted Pork: for his own industry must furnish him with the rest. He must not forget a bottle of Spirits, to make the Beaver infusion, in which he is to put the oil bags of the first five or six Beavers which he kills, and which he must slit open. He ought to be at his station as soon after the middle of August as possible; that he may have sufficient time to explore the Country; build his Tilt; cut his Marten paths, and do all other necessary work before he begins to catch the Beavers. When he has fixed upon his station, the first thing generally done is, to put out his slips, to catch a Deer, to feed both himself and dog upon. He then builds his Tilt; cuts his Paths; builds Death-falls in them and carries out all his traps, except those which he will want for Beaver. As those animals do not get fat before the latter end of the month of September, they ought not to be killed sooner, but their skins are not in full season until the middle of November; before which time the Ponds are frozen over. Beavers are to be caught in the nets described in Page 34 & Numbers 30 & 31, and in the traps, Page 16 & Numbers 12 & 13, as well as by the method already related in the preceeding Pages. If you intend to make use of a net, which is the most expeditious and certain way, and the house is upon the bank of a Pond, or upon an island in it, cut a pole, go into the water, and walk all round the house; feeling your way with the Pole, lest it should [111/] prove too deep for you: if it is, build a raft, if you cannot carry a light Flat, or Canoe into it. Having ascertained the depth of the water, and removed such sticks as lay upon the bottom and in the way of your net, be contented for that day, and prepare for catching them on some other. When you intend to catch them, get what assistance you can, but, if none is to be had, you must do all the work yourself. Be at the house after the sun has risen in the morning; make your net up in a coil, that it may run out clear, and if you make use of the Trammel, mind to place the small net next to the house. Sling some stones, of six or seven pounds weight each, to weight the foot of your net with. You should also have a second net, which you are to take upon your back and walk all round the Pond, to try if your dog can discover any Beavers lying out under a hollow bank; if he does, which you will know by his scratching,

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stretch your net along the edge of the bank, toss the foot into the water, and then chop a hole where the dog scratched, through to the hollow place, and the Beaver will bolt into the net. If he should chance to miss the net, you must hunt the Pond round until you are sure that there are none lying out; but take care not to let your dog go nearer than twenty yards on either side of the house. If you can walk round the house, make fast one end of the net to the shore, take the rest upon one arm, and vere it out with the other as you walk round, and your assistant must follow with the [112/] stones, and make as many fast to the foot rope as will be necessary. If the water is too deep or the house is upon an island, a raft, Flat or Canoe will be requisite, and the net must be put out with that. Whilst the net is putting out, your dog must be tied at a distance, and should have a hood over his eyes, to keep him quiet. And I must here observe, that a hood for a dog is a most excellent thing, and which no Furrier or shooter should ever go without. The net being properly placed and the foot of it carefully examined, lest it should ly upon any thing that may keep it off the ground, let your dog loose, and encourage him to scratch upon the house whilst you are cutting it open. So soon as the Beaver find what you are at, they will bolt out and be entangled in the net, and one man should attend that, to give each a severe knock upon the nose, lest he cut himself out with his teeth, and escape. But the more effectually to prevent that, place your second net at the back of the first, before you begin to cut open the house. Having done your work, take up the nets and then beat round the Pond again, to try if any have escaped. So soon as you have got the Beaver on shore, encourage your dog to sieze and shake them, especially those which are not quite dead; then paunch them, that they may be lighter to carry, and give your dog some of the warm guts for his reward. Where you find a house upon the bank of a Brook, or narrow inlet of water, place two [113/] nets across; one on each side of the house, and others at the back of them again, if you have so many: but if the water is narrow, each net may be turned back again, and cross it twice. You are then to cut open the house and proceed as directed in the last Page. They may be caught with nets at any time in the Winter, although the Ponds or Brooks are frozen over. If the house is by the side of a Pond, or upon an Island, cut a large hole through the ice on each side of the house, and others direct opposite to them and beyond the front of the house. As

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the noise which the chopping of the ice makes will, most probably, disturb the Beavers and make them fly out, cover those holes with boughs of trees and then with a considerable quantity of Snow, and then beat round the Pond with your dog; wherever he scratches, chop through the bank until you open the hollow part under it, and where the Beavers conceal themselves; leave the hole open, and the frost will freeze the water and prevent their returning. Go again the next day & try round again, and if your dog does not find them under any hollow bank, you may conclude, that they are in the house. You are then to go as quietly as possible to the holes which you made before, uncover them and set your net, which will be thus done, viz: fasten a pole of suf-[114/]ficient length to reach rather farther than from one hole to the other, to a cord tied to the head-rope of the net; introduce that pole into one of the holes near the shore, and direct it, by the help of a forked stick, to the hole opposite; then draw out the pole, then hale upon the cord until you get hold of the net, and draw as much of that upon the ice as will leave no more behind than enough to reach to the shore, where the other end is to be made fast; then introduce the pole again into the same hole, and pass it on to the other on the opposite side of the front of the house & draw the net tight; fastening a stone to the foot-rope and letting it down through the former hole, and placing a stick under the head-rope and across the hole; you then introduce the pole into the third hole again and draw it out at the other by the side of the shore; securing the foot with a stone and the head with a stick as before. You will now have the house surrounded with the net in the same manner as directed in Page 111 and at the bottom of it, you are then to cut open the house, and so soon as you suppose all the Beavers are entangled, hale your net back again through the respective holes, and take them out. If the Beavers are upon a Brook, cut holes on each side, both above and below the house; proceed as before directed and set [115/] your nets across the Brook and you can scarce fail to catch the whole family. But in either case, mind and make the house securely up again, and cover the holes well with boughs and a large quantity of snow, first toiling a trap in each angle, lest any of them should have escaped: but that you will most p[r]obably know, by finding a large hole cut in the net, or if you perceived any boughs at the bottom of the water, which might prevent the foot-rope laying close down upon the ground. After you have cut the holes through the ice, remember to introduce the pole into one and draw it out of the other, in the same

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manner as if you were setting the nets, to see if they are large enough, before you cover them up, that you may not have occasion to enlarge them when you are setting the net, and then cover them up so securely, that the frost shall not freez[e] them up again, and that will require a considerable thickness of snow over the boughs. If you intend to make use of traps, that described in Page 16 & No. 13 is the sort made on purpose for them, but they would be better if they were not more than half the weight, and they would be lighter for the Furrier to carry. A Beaver-trap must always have a chain of six feet in length, fixed to the Shank; but it [116/] need not be so heavy as those made at Poole, which are strong enough to tether a Bull, if it is the size of those commonly used to Portmanteau’s81 it will be strong enough, and it must have a ring at the end of two inches in diameter to fasten it with, either in the inside of the Beaver-house or upon the shore: but if you toil it by the Pond-bank and where there is not a sufficient depth of water to drown the Beaver, add a line to the chain; to the end of which you may fasten a piece of Cork, or a dry stick for a Bouy, but be sure not to put a green stick to it, lest that sink, or another Beaver carry it away: or you may peg the end of the line down to the Bank. While the Water continues open, do not toil your traps either at the Stint, or in or upon the house, for fear of causing the Beavers to quit the Pond, but search the banks of it well, and you will find the places where they land the paths which they make from thence into the Wood, when they go in to feed, or cut their winter’s provisions; of which they form a Magazine in the Pond at a small distance from the front of their house. Toil your traps in the Water at the end of each of [117/] those Paths, and let them be about seven inches deep (which is about the breadth of your hand and to the top of your thumb, when you hold it erect[)]; you will then catch them by a hind leg and they cannot escape, but they will often pull a fore-foot off, when caught by that. If the Water is too deep, toil upon the bank, in the same manner as for an Otter. Where the banks of the Pond are free from rocks, cut a short ditch, about two feet in length and ten inches in width, and deep enough to admit the Water into it, then dam up the mouth and pour about a tea-spoon full of the Beaver infusion upon the water in the ditch, and the dam will prevent its floating out into 81 Possibly another manufacturer of traps.

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the Pond, and place your trap in the Pond under the dam. Two of these places should be made; one on each side of the house and twenty yards, at the least from it, and whatever Beaver smells that infusion, he will be sure to go to it and will be caught in attempting to get over the dam. The more of those places you make, if you have a sufficiency of traps for them, the sooner you will catch all the Beavers. In many Ponds there are natural breaks in the Banks, and [118/] those will only require to be dam[m]ed up at their mouths. Some Furriers make a breach in the Stint, about a foot wide and six inches deep, and toil a trap before it, at the depth of ten or eleven inches, but that I hold to be a bad way, for it often occasions the Beavers to quit the Pond, which produces much trouble to find them again. As those animals frequently go upon the top of their house, either to work upon it or sun themselves, their landing-places are easy to be perceived, and you may toil traps there; shoving them so far in, as to lay in a proper depth of water: and if you lay a dead, branching stick round every other part, they are obliged to go over the traps. If you cut a strong stake, make a hole through the crown of the house over their lodging, and pour some water down it, they will certainly land that night; in order to stop up the hole: but that is apt to disturb them. When the Pond is fast,82 but still open at the Stint, then is the proper time to toil a trap there. After that is frozen up also, you must open the house upon the forepart of it and over the place where you judge [119/] the angle to be; look in, and see whether there be only one angle or more, and toil a trap in each of them; making the ends of the Chains fast to a strong stick, fixed in the roof, and make the house up again, so compleatly that the frost cannot penetrate: or it will freeze the water in the angle and prevent the return of the Beavers. To do that well, first place sticks over the hole; cover them with flat boughs, and then again with a great quantity of snow, which you must wet with water that it may freeze. Do not meddle with it the next day, but open the house again upon the second day, and you will either have a Beaver, or your trap struck up by their striking the end of a stick upon the bridge, which they were carrying into the house to feed upon. That circumstance has made many ignorant Furriers assert, that they strike the traps up with a stick to prevent being caught themselves: but it is merely an accident, and happens 82 frozen over [Cartwright’s footnote]

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as I have related. One or more Beavers being caught, the rest will quit the house, and secrete themselves in any old house, which may chance to be in the Pond, or under some hollow [120/] bank. If there were any old houses, you ought to have opened them also, and toiled traps in their angles: for, if the Beavers did not go into them, you would stand a good chance of catching an Otter. So soon as you find them layout, you must hunt, with your dog, until you find them, and lay every hollow place open. When they can find no other places to lodge in, they will be forced to go either into their own house or one of the old ones, and you will soon catch the whole family. If there should be so many hollow places that you find it an endless piece of work to open them all; or if the banks should be rocky and hollow underneath, you must then take up your traps; make the house up well, and leave them until the Spring. So soon as the Pond is open at the Stint, or where the Brook runs into it, collect a bunch of willows, or such other tree or plant as you observe beginning to vegetate; stick them down by the side of the water and toil a trap there. When the Pond is clear of ice, proceed as directed in Page 116. As Beaver always pair and are extremely constant, it seldom or never happens that [121/] if either the Male or Female loses it’s [sic] mate, the survivor will pair again. In that case, they separate from all others, and live alone: and, although you may sometimes find the house so large, and so plentiful a Magazine of provisions as to induce you to suppose there is a family of them, you will perceive it to be a Hermit, so soon as you take off the skin: for you will discover a black mark (called a Saddle) upon the inside of the skin and upon the back of the animal; occasioned, I suppose, by the want of a mate, to keep it’s back warm: for I cannot guess what other cause should occasion it. When you are convinced, that you have caught a Hermit, there is no use in keeping your traps out any longer. A Beaver may be caught in a wire snare, set in a path, but it must be very strong, stand two or three inches above the ground, and tied to a spring-stick, strong enough to hang him up out of the way of Wolves. Remember, that a great Beaver, if compleatly fat, will weight fifty or sixty pounds. They may also be caught in an Otter-pound, built upon a Brook: but if it is [122/] built of wood, they can easily cut their way out. A dog is absolutely necessary, to find them when they ly out. Many of the Newfoundland breed are very good, but not all of them, but a stout,

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heavy, true vermin Terrier is the very best. To train your dog to hunt them, encourage him to scratch and tear upon a house, in which you are sure they are; throw down such as you catch, and make him mouth and shake them well; after having done that, cause your companion to hold him, or tie him up if you are alone, and go to a distance off, and bury the Beaver; then hunt with your dog; make him scratch him up, and give him his entrails for his reward. With a few lessons of that kind, you will soon make him very keen and hunt dilligently [sic] for them. [123/] Porcupine Although the skin of this animal is of no value, the goodness of his flesh makes him worth the Furrier’s attention; that being little inferior to Beaver, whilst he is in season. So soon as vegetation begins, the Porcupine feeds upon the young leaves of a variety of plants, and is particularly fond of those of the Larch tree. They do not get fat until August, and begin to grow lean again so soon as the ground is covered with snow; they then being compelled to live upon the inner bark of the Silver Fir, and have no other food throughout the long and severe Winter.83 I once met with one upon the Barrens, near the Sea-shore and at a considerable distance from the Woods, but their usual abode is in the tall, old Woods. In the day-time they generally retire into holes under large rocks, or creep into fissures in Cliffs, and are most plentiful where such retreats are to be found, yet they will often quit them in the day-time, and I have met with several in such places as affoarded no holes [124/] to creep into. The Mountaineer-Indian Women generally hunt these animals in the Night,84 because they are then sure to be out upon their feed, and they find them with their dogs, for there is nothing more required to kill them, than a blow or two with a stick upon the nose, when the Dogs have found them, and the Women discover that by their barking. Terriers and Spaniels are the best Dogs to hunt them with, but they must be under sufficient command to quit the scent of 83 Pennant (1784, 110) wrote that porcupine ate the “bark of juniper.” Cartwright’s note in the margin corrects this to the bark of silver fir as food in winter. Pennant’s frequent use of the name “juniper” also merited a comment from Cartwright (ibid., CLXXXV): “T.P. Larch: the name of Juniper being commonly used by ignorant people.” 84 This is also mentioned in the Journal (Vol. 3, the essay on “Mountaineer Indians,” 230).

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Rabbit, Fox or other vermine, or they will do nothing else but run them. In my opinion it makes but little difference whether you hunt them in the Daytime or by Night, for if they chance to be in their holes in the Day, your Dog will challenge them there, and then you may either place a trap before the hole, or return in the night, and your Dog will be sure to find them not far off, for they are not more swift of foot than a Hedgehog. After all the herbage is covered with Snow, they feed upon the inner bark of the Silver Fir, and their long claws enables [sic] them to climb a tree with as much facility as a Cat, yet not so swift. Having fixed upon a tree, and they generally chose [sic] those of a large size, they go round & round it, to the very top, and gnaw off all the bark; eating the under-part and rejecting the hard, dry, outer rind. When they have compleatly barked one tree, they descend and climb the next; proceeding on in that manner until the Spring. A Dog is of no use in the Winter, nor anything but the hunter’s own eyes. When you observe a tree which has been barked by them, in the course [125/] of that Winter, you will soon perceive which way he has gone, by the appearance of the barked trees, and when you see the marks of his feet, and his chips upon the Snow, it will not be long before you find him: you must then fell the tree, and knock him on the head with the Poll of your hatchet. A Porcupine ought not to be skinned, but his prickles either singed, or scalded off, and that should be done before he is paunched. They breed but once a Year; bring forth early in June, and have only one at a birth. If taken within the first year, they are easily made quite tame, and so may the old ones likewise for any thing that I know to the contrary, but they are very stupid Petts. He who hunts Porcupines should be provided with a pair of flat wireplyers, to pull the quills out of his Dogs mouth, nose etc. They cannot shoot their quills from them, but leave them in whatever they stick them into by a stroke of the tail, or exertion of the back; the points being bearded, and the roots of them but slightly inserted in the skin of the animal. The Wolverene is a great enemy to these creatures, but pay dearly for a meal upon them. I have killed a Wolverene which had scarce a hair upon his head, from the effects of their quills, and his paunch [126/] was stuck full of them in all directions, besides many in his guts etc; yet the beast

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was fat, and appeared to be in perfect health. I have seldom examined the paunch of one, which had not some quills in it. I once had a young one, of about three months old, brough[t] home alive, which was very savage until I immitated [sic] its own voice, and it then became loving and tame instantly; permitting me and every body else to stroke it, and readily coming to us for food, whenever we made that noise, which was very like the ma ma of a Child. Mink This is an amphibious animal which lives upon fish; it is less than a Marten, its fur resembles that of the Otter, but does not appear to be numerous. As I never could discover their haunts, ’tis not in my power to give directions for catching them. What few were caught by myself or my people were, in traps tailed for Otters, upon Rubbing-places. Musquash, or Musk-Beaver, or Lesser Beaver This is an amphibious animal also, but lives upon grass and browse. It is said that they build houses, by the water side, but I never saw one. They do not appear to be numerous, but a few are shot, or caught by accident. Ermine This is the Wesel [sic], is not in great plenty, and are caught in net-traps when they come into the house, but are not worth attending to. Bait with a small bird & touch the feathers with Musk dissolved in Spirits of Wine. Page 341. [127/] Squirel [sic] This animal being small and its skin of no value, is not worth the Furrier’s attention, but he sometimes shoots them, to bait his Marten-traps with. The Mouse and the Mole being of no value, I shall say no more about them, and there is but one other four legged animal in that Country, that

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I ever saw or heard of. One of them was caught in a trap, by one of my servants, and I shot another, but do not know its name. It appeared to be young; its weight was not more than two pounds; its flesh was white, tender and delicate, and its paunch was filled with herbage, but it’s fur did not appear to be of any value. N.B. I forgot the Hare & Rabbit, vide Page 137 & 140. Geese The Goose of Labrador is the same which is known in England by the name of Canada-goose, and of which many Noblemen and Gentlemen have now a very good stock, bred in their Ponds: and I think it a very singular thing, that this bird, naturally wild and subject to migrate from its native Country every Winter, should seldom or never go far from those waters where they are bred in England. Its weight is from twelve to fifteen pounds, according to age, sex & condition, and is an excellent bird upon the table. They return to Labrador in May; begin to lay their eggs in the first week in June; hatch early in July; can fly in September, and migrate to the Southward in November and December, according to the mild[128/]ness or severity of the season. When the young ones begin to put out their feathers, the old ones moult all theirs so quick, that they cannot fly sooner than the young ones. There are various ways of shooting Geese, but some are much more productive than others. The common way is, to walk along the shores which they frequent; take the advantage of what shelter you may meet with; creep up and get as good a shot as you can. If you take proper notice, you will not live long at any place before you discover the most frequented haunts of the Geese, and if you walk along the shore, you will discover them by their dung. At low-water, they resort to such Coves and Shores as are shallow and have a particular kind of grass growing upon the bottom, and on which they feed. When the flood has made so high that they can no longer reach that grass at a distance from the shore, they gradually draw in nearer and will land at, or a little before high-water, and rest themselves there for a considerable time. You will observe, that they always keep under the wind-ward shore; that they do, not only to keep out of the wind, but also to be able to hear or smell either Man or Beast. At low-water, repair to such place as you

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expect they will frequent, and if there be any Geese in the offing, take care that they do not get a sight of you. Place yourself within shot of the spot which you expect them to land upon, but not right to windward of it, keep close concealed, and wait [129/] patiently until they come on Shore. Where the Woods grow so near High-water-mark as to be within shot of it, cut a path parallel to the Shore and about thirty yards within the edge of the Woods, and from that, cut other short paths close up to the edge at certain distances, so that you may get within shot of the Geese wherever they land, and fence up the outer ends of those short paths with green boughs, so effectually, that you cannot be seen. In doing that, you need not be at the trouble of felling large trees, but only cut away all the young ones and branches of the old ones, that you may walk along without touching any of them, and carefully remove all dead sticks, which lay upon the ground; lest you break one of them, by treading upon it, and the noise discover you. In order that you may make that business more profitable, place a number of traps for Martens in that path: but you need not house them, unless you intend to let them remain all winter, but only bar them with boughs as much as is necessary.85 If there is a Fox-path along the Shore, tail traps in that also. You are then to repair to one end of your path at High-water; walk along it to the other end, and return by the Shore, and the odds will be much in your favor, that you do not go home with an empty Bandolier. Where you find a well-frequented shore which has no natural shelter, you must make an artificial one, and that should always be done in the Summer, when the Geese keep at their breedingplaces. That is usually done, by erecting a low Breast-work, with stones picked off the shore [130/] either with a projecting angle; in a semicircle, or with a straight face and two short flanks, according to the builders fancy, who watches behind it until the Geese come within shot. That building is called a Gaze, but I do not think it the best contrivance, although great numbers of Geese and Ducks are killed from them. I advise you to build a hut of seven feet in length, and neither higher nor wider than is necessary to sit at your ease, or to hold two men. The end next to the water must have a hole to shoot through and the other quite open at the bottom, but you should have the upper half covered in, to prevent 85 In the Journal (27 August 1777), as an example, Cartwright recorded having “tailed a trap for Geese” along shore.

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the light appearing through the shooting hole. Cover the Rafters with Rinds, and lay a coat of thick sods over them, and bed the bottom well with fine boughs of Spruce. Such a hut will have the appearance of a hillock (the front end being sloped off also and covered with sods) and will never be taken much notice of. You must repair to those places before the Geese come to feed, and mind to stop up the shooting-hole when you go away, that no light may ever shine through it. The hut has great advantages over the Gaze, in as much as it has a natural appearance; and you may pass a very comfortable night in it. If you have a dog with you who will fetch, which all Newfoundlanders will do, and discover Geese at a distance from the shore and are sure that they have not seen you, creep as close to the water’s edge as you can [131/] to be perfectly well concealed. Toss a bit of stick down to the edge of the water and make your dog fetch it; in a minute or two do the same again, and so soon as they observe the dog, curiosity will induce them to swim in towards you; as they draw nearer, you must throw the stick to a shorter distance, until you do no more than make a motion with your hand, to cause your dog merely to show himself and disappear again instantly, and by that means you will draw the Geese close enough to the shore to strike the bottom with their feet. As those Geese are very fond of a berry which grows upon a moist, Peat soil and is called Baked apple, they often go in search of them, and whenever they go from one place to another, they keep a straight course, and you must remark the places which they fly over, and from thence you may often get a good shot; it being very seldom that they fly so high as to be out of the range of a gun. The Shooting-Flat, Page 40, No. 48, is an excellent thing, not only for Geese, but also for all sorts of Water-fowl. In Lincolnshire they always mark it with reeds, rushes or such weeds as grow near the water, but I am most decidedly of opinion, that one painted white would answer better in Labrador, because there are so many pieces of ice, of all sizes, continually floating about all the summer, that no water-fowl ever take the least notice of them; so [132/] far from it, they frequently rest themselves upon them. Upon those shores which have many small projecting points and little coves between, with the water shore-deep, the Mountaineer Canoe is very useful, but it must be managed dexterously, or it will not answer;

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for it must be kept steadily along, and as close as possible to the Shore. It is paddled by one man in the Stern, and the rest have their guns ready to shoot. When Geese are almost ready to fly, several broods will associate together, and if you are in a boat, you may kill great numbers of them. If you can spare a Man, land him and he must conceal himself near the Shore, then go round the Geese, and drive them up to him; after he has fired and they have turned back, do the same again as often as you can. When the Geese, in spight [sic] of all that you can do, have landed, you may yet get many with a proper trained dog; for you must take him up in a line and draw upon the scent of them, and he will lead you up to the places where they have hid themselves: for they always go on shore and hide in the bushes, or what covert they can find, upon being pursued by a Boat. If you have a net, prick that up above High-water mark, & drive them into it. They may be caught in Nets also, and the Clap-net, No. 60, is the best which can be used; the [133/] only inconvenience attending that net is, that it requires to be attended, to pull it over the fowl when they go within its reach. In order to be certain of success, mind that you keep certain places constantly baited with either Wheat, Barley or Oats, and you should have a set of pegs permanently fixed at each. By trying all the three sorts, you will soon discover which kind of grain they like best, and stick to that. I know that they will eat both Barley and Wheat, for I have seen them feeding upon a Barley-stubble in England, and a servant of mine once shot one at Chateau, which had Wheat in it, and which it must have picked up in Canada, where it was then the seedtime. That is also a proof of the astonishing distance which a Goose can fly; the cultivated parts of Canada being of a great distance from thence, and the bird could not have rested upon its passage, or the Wheat would have been digested. When Geese are caught young, they soon become very tame, and the more so if they are suffered to run about the house, or confined near it, and fed out of the hand: and they will not afterwards desert you, although you permit them to fly about, but, as the Winters are so extremely severe, it will be best to house them [134/] so soon as the wild ones begin to migrate. By keeping tame ones, they will decoy the wild ones, and by con-

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stantly feeding them upon particular places, the wild ones, also, will as constantly resort to them, and there you may catch them in your nets: remembering to keep your tame ones up during that time: but you must put a distinguishing mark round the necks of your own, lest you shoot any of them by mistake. They may be caught in the net No. 32. Bait a place, as before directed, until they feed eagerly upon it, then spread your net, with the head about three feet below high-water mark, and the foot extended as far back as it will reach; fasten the foot to the ends of several pieces of inch boards, a foot long, and support the head of it upon a stick, set up under each corner, at the height of six feet, by cutting a notch upon the head of each stick, and placing the head-line upon that; you must then fix a line to each corner, hale the other end of it out, side ways, and fasten it tight there, and by fixing two other guys forward, the net will stand firm and not be blown down by the wind, nor subject to be much shaken by it. When the Geese go there to feed, they will readily go under it, and be drawn on by the Corn until one of them gets entangled, and so soon as that begins to struggle and cry, the others will fly direct up [135/] lift the net from off the top of the sticks and soon be entangled. The use of the pieces of loose boards fastened to the foot of the net is, to keep it firm when set, but that they shall draw in when the Geese flutter, or they cannot entangle themselves, and if the boards are not heavy enough to keep the net firm in its place, lay the point of a long stone upon the back end of as many of the boards as will answer that purpose; the Geese will soon draw the boards from under those stones, and the net will become slack enough. I never caught Geese in nets this way, but have taken such great numbers of the Razor-bill (called Tinkers in Labrador) that I have no doubt of their proving successful. The Eskimeau Indians catch Geese in snares made of split whale-bone, but as I have kept above three hundred wire snares out, for above a fortnight, and only caught one Goose, although several got into them and yet escaped, that is not a way which I approve of. They appeared to me, not to rush forwards or take wing upon finding the snare round their necks, but to have stood still, and shook their heads until they disengaged themselves. [136/] They are to be caught in Steel-traps, tailed upon the places which they frequent; bedded & covered, as for Otters. The trap No. 13 is too heavy

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for them, unless upon the edge of a steep Shore, which has deep water under it: for if the Goose cannot carry the trap into the Water, it will bruise itself extremely by fluttering, and the leg it is caught by will most certainly not be eatable and the Foxes, Ravens & large Gulls will eat four out of five that are caught. The traps ought not to be above three pounds weight, and be fastned with a string of sufficient length for them to carry it into a sufficient depth of water to be sunk in it. If you provide two Steel-springs, upon the plan of those made use of for green-doors to rooms, with a socket in each, to fix the lower ends of the poles of a Clap-net, or insert them between the cords (vide Page 176), and then twist them round so often as to enable them to throw the net over, in the manner which a Nightingale-trap is made, and then spread open the net and confine it there, by means of a line, with a peg at the other end and inserted in a bridge, in the same manner as Deathfals are tailed, you need not watch it: for the first Goose who treads upon the bridge, under which a hole must be made that it may lay upon a level with the ground & slightly covered, will set the net at liberty and it will instantly fly over and cover all within its reach. Instead of the bits of boards, mentioned in Page 134, prick down the foot of this net three or four feet within the heads of the Poles, and then there will be slack lennet enough to entangle them. Vide Page 253, 255. [137/] Hare This is the Varying, or Alpine Hare.86 It does not inhabit the Woods, but keeps constantly upon the barren Hills, and also upon the barren islands near the Sea-shore: it will sometimes sit amongst the bushes, and at others either among shingle or rocks close above the tide, or scratch a form upon open ground, as the hares in England do. They are such astonishing great breeders, that they would soon overstock the Countries which they inhabit, were their numbers not kept down by the Foxes and other vermine, both four-legged and winged. I never killed one with young, which had less than five in her; and I have killed one with six: in no other

86 Arctic hare, sometimes called Labrador hare (Lepus arcticus labradorius), which remains white all year. Pennant (1784, 94) noted that this animal lived in Newfoundland, omitting Labrador. Noted in Cartwright’s marginalia (Appendix).

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Country did I ever hear of, or see one with more than four, and but few which had so many; two being the most general number. Dogs are very useful to find Hares with, and none so good as Spaniels and Terriers. As the Barrens upon the Continent are so extensive [138/] that the chance is rather against your meeting with any upon them, go upon the barren Islands, which lay at no great distance from the line of the Sea-coast, or within the Bays and Estuaries which indent it, and if you find one, on which a brace or two were left at the breaking up of the ice in the Spring, you will find it well stocked with them in the Fall; provided, no Fox was left there also. If you want to kill only a few, the Dogs and Gun will be sufficient; but if you wish to kill many, be provided with the net No. 36, and with half a dozen, or more of them, you will soon catch the whole. They are to be pricked up across their paths, the Landwash of the shores, and istmuses [sic]: and you are then to drive them in with your Dogs. Beagles are the best for this work, because you ought never to suffer Terriers or Spaniels to chase any animal far by the scent, for it will render them of little use when you use them in the large Woods upon the Continent. Unbroke Spaniels or Terriers kept for that particular purpose will prove as good as Beagles. If you wish to have a constant supply of Hares near you, fix upon the nearest Island that is of a proper size and stock that, so soon as the ice breaks up in the Spring. To do that, take as many men as you can muster; place them, in a line with each other, across the Island, and then another to hunt it well with the Dogs, and if there be a Fox upon it, you will be sure to kill him. Should he get into an Earth, or a hole among the Rocks, place a [139/] couple of traps, one behind the other, before the hole, and bar them up with stones, to oblige him to go upon them, and if he leaps over the first, he will be caught in the second. Begin at Day-light, lest a Fox should be gone to earth and leave no drag behind him. When you are sure that there was no Fox, or that you have killed them all, visit the more distant Islands, and catch all the Hares you can in nets; be provided with sacks, to bring them home in, and turn them out upon your Island. But to prevent your Dogs killing them in the nets, muzzle them. Hares never go into the Woods in the Winter, because the snow is too light and deep for them to run upon; their toes not expanding sufficiently, and they meet with plenty of food upon the Barrens and none in the

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Woods: for they browse upon the tops of the shrubby, alpine plants, which appear above the snow, and which is never very deep where it is exposed to the wind. For these reasons they go out upon the Islands, and cannot get back after the ice is broken up. They are also to be caught in Traps and wire snares, tailed in their paths. I never found the weight of an old one to vary above an ounce from eight pounds; they grow extremely fat, and their flesh is more juicy and [140/] not so dark-colored as the English kind. Although they appear to be perfectly white, when in the house, yet they have a very yellow shade when upon the snow, and that enables you to find them sitting, even at a considerable distance. Rabbit Pennant, in his Arctic Zoology, calls this the American Hare, but it is a Rabbit,87 which never burrows. They frequent the tall Woods, yet I have known a few to pass the Winter among the bushes upon the Barrens. I have accidentally shot a few before the Snow fell, but never saw one alive afterwards: for they sit upon the Snow in the Woods, and make off before you can get near enough to see them. The English in Hudson’s Bay make long hedges across the Woods; leave openings in them, and snare the Rabbits as they attempt to pass through them, fastning the snare to a spring-stick, to preserve them from vermine. That way appears to me to be attended with more labor than profit, unless those hedges were made seven feet high, for low ones would be so soon, and so repeatedly covered with snow, that you would have to make fresh ones several times in the course of a Winter. In the Winter I have caught them in old traps, which were too weak for other creatures, by baiting [141/] them with a bunch of 87 The snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus americanus) has always been commonly known in Labrador as “rabbit.” There are no true rabbits in Labrador. Cartwright was the first to note that this hare changed colour with the seasons: “I find the white coat is an additional one which is got in autumn, and will lose it again in spring” (Journal, 1 March 1766). Pennant (1784, 95) incorrectly noted that the snowshoe hare lived in Newfoundland. It did not, and was only introduced in 1860. In his marginalia alongside Pennant’s entry, Cartwright also made this error (Appendix).

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Birch-boughs, or by tailing them between such trees as I observed them frequently to pass. The best way of catching them is, with the Net, No. 36, pricked up across the Woods; several men must then go to a distance off; divide, and walk on towards the net; making a great noise. You must remember that, whenever you set this net, whether it be for Hares or Rabbits, it is to be pricked up only two thirds of its height, and the rest lay loose upon the ground, or they will not be well entangled. A Fox, or any other beast, will be caught in this net, provided the mesh will admit his head, and is not large enough for the body to follow. Black-ducks These birds feed very much amongst the rotten Kelp, which is driven upon the shores of the salt-water, and they frequent the fresh-water ponds; some of which they are more particularly attached to, than to others. Having discovered the places which they frequent, either conceal yourself and wait their coming, or visit them occasionally and shoot them. If you do the latter and there is not natural shelter for your approach, make it artificially; by erecting blinds, or cutting a path through the bushes. Where they feed upon rotten Kelp, it always is between half ebb, and half flood. From half flood to half ebb is the time to [142/] find them in the Ponds. As these birds moult all their wing-feathers within a few days of each other, they cannot fly until the new ones are sufficiently grown and are then easily caught in Nets, and great numbers will associate together at that time. When you find them in a dead-Pond, the net, No. 33, is the sort to be used. If there is a narrow arm in it, drive the ducks into that, set the net behind them, with the foot sufficiently weighted to keep the bottom and the head fixed a foot above the water, and drive them back into it. If the pond has no such narrow arm and is wider than the length of your net, extend it across one corner & let the head of it sink; place a man at each head-line, and they must raise the net so soon as you have driven the Ducks into that corner. If there is a brook running through the Pond, extend your net across that, draw the head upwards, but not to the full breadth, & ty it fast down, then drive the Ducks under it.

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Where a Pond is situated very near the salt-water, and has no Brook running from it, or the Brook takes a circuit, the Ducks generally make a path from the Pond to the salt-water across the narrower part. Fix a strong [143/] stake at each end of the path, and close to it; fasten a line from the one to the other; lay a small-meshed net across that line and ty the two sides tight down to the ground, and make an entrance, at each end, either with a net, in the manner of a Thief-net, or with wire hawks. If you see Ducks, either in the Pond or the salt-water, during the moulting-time, you may easily drive them into the net, but when it is set after they can fly, they will go into it of themselves. After Ducks can fly and you discover them at too great a distance from the shore, creep down to it undiscovered, then take off your hat and flirt it up and down once very quick; repeat that occasionally, with an interval of half a minute between each time, and curiosity will induce them to swim in close to the shore. I never knew that method fail in the Fall, but it will not do in the Spring. As these birds make their nests in bushes and I never found one of them, do not know number of eggs they lay, but have reason to believe, that they lay nine or ten. Several attempts have been made to rear the young ones, but I never heard of any person succeeding. They are the size of the European Wild-duck. See Page 231. When you find a broad Shore covered with rotten Kelp, provide a long net, the depth of which must be 3 feet; mesh [blank] inches square and brought to upon Herring-twine. Prick that down tight by the head & foot and 18 inches high, at half ebb and parallel to the water. The net should be made of fine silk & dyed black. [144/] Eider Ducks These birds spend the winter to the Southward of Labrador, where the Sea is not frozen; their food being Muscles,88 which they pull off from the rocks at the bottom of the salt-water, and near the shores. So soon as the jam-ice breaks into pans and is driven off from the Shore, which generally is the case sooner or later in the Month of April, they commence their migration to the Northward, in order to obey the first command of God, 88 Mussels.

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Increase and Multiply, and it generally takes six or seven weeks for all of them to return. During that time, they feed in deep water, upon some imperceptible matter, and their trails are then esteemed as good as those of Woodcocks. They fly in flocks, from one hundred to a thousand, and often times, the flocks follow each other so fast, that the shooters cannot load their guns quick enough to shoot at each. So soon as each flock is arrived at its place of destination, they feed close in to the shore, upon the Muscles at the bottom. They breed upon the small islands which either lay near the line of the Coast, or those situated in the mouths of the Estuaries and Bays, and lay six eggs, of four ounces weight each. After they have hatched, a great many broods will associate together, under the [145/] care of the Ducks, but the Drakes then form themselves into separate flocks. In the Month of October, the young ones being then able to fly and provide for themselves, the old ones unite and commence their migration to the South-ward, but the young ones, or very great numbers of them, remain upon the Coast of Labrador all the Winter, in such places as the strength of the Current or Tide keeps free from ice. As they always keep the same course in each of their migrations, although not the same in both, there are certain Tickles which they fly through, or Points which they wheel round, and those are the places which the sportsman must resort to, to shoot them: and they use No. 1 Patent shot, or double Bristol. A boat is requisite to pick up the dead ones, and there should be a long pole in it to kill such as are badly wounded; but few of those which are only winged will be gotten. I have known four men, stationed two on each side of a Tickle, get above four hundred in a Day, and the number of what they winged, was very great. It is a bad policy to shoot them upon, or near the islands which they breed upon, nor should you land upon them oftener than once a Week: nor, in truth, ought you to shoot them at all, after they begin to lay. Before that time and whilst they continue in flocks, the Fen-flat, No. 48, painted white, will be found very useful. When you observe any particular Point of the Shore, which they usually land upon at high-water, [146/] conceal yourself within shot of it, and wait their coming. The Eskimeau make89 snares of split Whale-bone, and catch great numbers of these birds upon the islands which they breed upon. Wire 89 See Page 378 [Cartwright’s footnote]

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snares will do the same, but they are more troublesome to set. The net, No. 33 is better, and is to be pricked up close above high-water mark, or at the edge of any bed of bushes which they breed upon. Wire snares will do the same, but they are more troublesome to set. The net, No. 33 is better, and is to be pricked up close above high-water mark, or at the edge of any bed of bushes which they may make their nests in. In the Fall some thousands of the young ones will associate together, and then are called a Bed of Ducks, because they swim so close together, that no water can be seen between them. The double Trammel, in the NB of No 33, is then an excellent net to set across any Muscle-bed that they frequently use, in the same manner as a shoal-net for Seals is set: and if the head of it reaches up to the surface of the Water, it will do wonderful execution. In that case, should you perceive a Bed of Ducks going towards it, place yourself between them and it, and sixty or eight[y] yards from the net; lay concealed there until the leading Ducks get within a yard or two of the net; then shoot into the middle of them, and your net will be well filled: for those which are not killed, will instantly dive & strike into it. But [147/] as many of those which were in the rear will come up again before they reach the net, have a second gun ready to give them a second fire, or hollow to them. Lords and Ladies90 There are the Male and Female of a species of Water-fowl about the size of a Pocker [?]. They cannot fly in the moulting season, and flock together; at which time, they frequent the shores of rocky islands, and will swim in the very surf. When you meet with a flock, land one man and he must conceal himself until the rest drive them to him with the boat; but he must be sure not to fire at them until they have passed him. If you have a net, of ten yards in length, six feet in depth, of fine twine and a proper sized mesh, set that on & off the shore, in the same way as a Herring net is set; that is, with the head floated upon the surface of the water, and the bottom sunk with its own weight, and mind that the inner end be close in to the shore: and if the shooter fires when they are close up to it, they will drive and strike into the net. 90 Harlequin ducks [Cartwright’s footnote]

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At their first coming, in the Spring, they frequent Cataracts upon Rivers very much, but where they breed, or how many eggs they lay, are circumstances which I am unacquainted with. [148/] Divers There are several kinds of Divers of the Duck Genus, but I do not know their breeding-places, nor did I ever see them close in to any Shore. They always keep in deep water, and frequent spacious Bays, and therefore are difficult to be shot; but as every species of Water-fowl may be approached in the Shooting-flat, No 48, that must be made use of for them. Although the Flat is an excellent contrivance to kill all kinds of Waterfowl in by daylight; yet the night-time is by far the best and the darker the better, provided you can but see the birds. Curliews Pennant calls these, the Eskimeau Curliew; but for what reason, I cannot guess. They are the size of the Grey-plover; their note very similar; they associate in flocks; come from the North on or about the fourth of August; are very plentiful for about six weeks, but some will remain longer. They feed upon berries; grow uncommonly fat, and are the best eating of any bird which I have yet tasted. As they are fondest of a delicious small, blue berry which grows [149/] upon a low shrub,91 and is there called Ground Hurl, (a corruption of Whortle, I suppose), wherever those berries most abound, there will the Curliews also. At half ebb, or rather later, they frequent the flat shores of the salt-water, and quit them again so soon as the tide returns. The net, No. 34, will catch plenty of them.92 By concealing yourself within a proper distance of such a place, you may shoot abundance of them. If there is no natural shelter, build a small hut with the rocks which you find upon the shore: and as they resort to the same spots every day, and every year, it will serve for that purpose so long as you live near it. Shooting at them does not banish them; fire as often as you will, they will still return. 91 Blueberry (Vaccinium augustifolium). 92 In the Journal (19 November 1771), as an example, Cartwright mentions using a curlew net.

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When they are upon the Barrens do not follow them, but take a station, and fire at them as they fly past you. If you are several in company, station yourselves in a line, at sixty yards asunder, and one or other will get a shot at every flock which comes by. A Clap-net (No 35, but larger than those used by bird-catchers) set upon the Barrens, will catch them, but you should peg some live ones down for stalls, and some that have been winged with the gun will serve for that work. A Hut must be built for the man who attends the net, and the top of it covered with sods. The net must pull over with the Wind. They may be caught upon a Beach also with that net. N.B. Likewise with the snares for small birds described in Page 319 & 320. [150/] Black-backed Gull, or Saddle-back This is a large bird; they breed upon Rocky Islands and lay three eggs which weigh rather more than four ounces each; the yolk is of a deep orange color, and they are excellent eating. This bird is the greatest enemy which the Sportsman has, for, upon the first sight of a man, he flies towards him and makes a loud noise, which causes every other bird, and also the Deer, to be upon the watch, and when he arrives near the Man he alters his note to another; upon hearing which, all Water-fowl instantly swim off from the Shore, and Deer run off at full gallop. The Eskimeaux catch numbers of these birds by means of a nail beaten out to the thickness of a strong wire, four inches long and siezed by the middle to a line of split Whale-bone; they bait the nail with a long slice of Seal’s fat, in the manner that pin-lines are baited with worms; tie a stone to the other end of the line & sink that in the water at some short distance from the Shore; the fat swims upon the surface of the Water [151/] and when the Gull has swallowed it, the nail riggs across his throat. As there cannot be a better way of catching them, I shall recommend no other. The young ones being esteemed good food, they are kept tame about the house and fed with pieces of offal fish. To shoot them, conceal yourself near the Shore, either in a natural or artificial place, and throw some pieces of Cod-liver into the water. But

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this way answers best for the young ones, after they can fly; the old ones being extremely wary and shy, but you will kill some of them also. Grous [sic] Grous are plentiful in Labrador, and there would be millions of them, were it not for the Falcons, Owls and other vermine, with which that Country abounds. They quit the interior parts of the Country about the end of March and return to the Barrens to breed; they remain upon them until Christmas and then retire into such parts of the interior as abound with Birch or Alder; the buds of them, being the food which they live upon during the Winter-season. NB. They are pied in the Summer & perfectly white in the Winter, excepting the tail feathers and the shafts of the wing-feathers, which are black. In all other respects, they are the same as the Grous in England. Weight from 22 to 26 ounces. [152/] The young birds are fit for the table by the middle of August, and are full grown in less than a month after. Towards the end of October several broods will pack together, but do not associate long. A Pointer may be used until the end of September, for they will hide themselves until that time, but they are very shy of a Dog afterwards: and as they always shew themselves from that time until the time following, a Dog is of no use. They may be covered with a Net at any time in the Winter, but will not suffer it to be drawn over them. Two men must spread the net and hold the head of it high up, by the lines, and a third drive the Grouse under it. I have caught many that way, when the frost was very severe and the ground covered with snow. They are easily tamed, and will then become very domestic. Ptharmakin These birds differ so little from Grouse, that no more need be said of them than, that they never quit the Barrens, and are to be shot or caught by observing the rules already given. N.B. These are exactly the same as those upon the bare-topped hills in Scotland. Weight, one Pound. [153/]

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Spruce-game, or Wood Grouse This bird is commonly, but erroneously, called Spruce Partridge, for it is a Moor-game. They live in the Woods all the year round; are very fond of the berries of Maidenhair,93 and eat nothing but the leaves of the Silver-fir,94 during the time that the ground is covered with snow. They lay only six eggs. They weigh one pound & do not change color in the Winter, nor do they pair. No bird is more easy to be shot than these are, for they perch upon the next tree, when sprung from the ground, and if there are ever so many of them in the same tree, only mind to shoot the lowermost bird, and you may kill every one in its turn. As they are so tame, it is a waste of ammunition to shoot them, for you may put a noose of wire, horse-hair or twine, fastned to a long, tight pole, over their heads and catch them with that. If you go into the Woods in quest of them, take a Spaniel or wellbroke Terrier, for they will find Porcupines, as well as Spruce-game. Provide a long pole with a very fine point, make a slit in that; fix the end of a birdlimed95 twig in that slit, and lay it upon the bird’s wing. Ravens Although these are birds of prey and carnivorous, yet they will feed upon the berries of the Empetrum Nigrum,96 will then get fat, and the young ones are as good eating as a Pullet. They are shot by mere accident until Christmas, at which time they [154/] revert in great numbers to the different Sealing Posts, to feed upon the half-picked bones of the Seals, which the Dogs carry to some distance from the Dwelling-house. But you may collect a number of them at any other place, by erecting a Gallows 93 Creeping snowberry or capillaire (Gaultheria hispidula (L.) Muhl), a flavourful berry of the northern woods that tastes like wintergreen. 94 Balsam fir (Abies balsamea). 95 Now an illegal practice in many parts of the world, birds were caught with a strong adhesive smeared onto a twig or pole. The glue was prepared from holly bark or other ingredients, depending on region. 96 The Labrador blackberry. Throughout the Journal, Cartwright referred to it by its Linnean name, Empetrum nigrum.

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and placing the carcasses of a few Seals thereon (or any other flesh will do as well) and they should be fixed within shot of your house. Some few are caught in the Fox-traps, which they often visit and rob of the bait. Their Quills are the best, that are used for Harpsichords and other such instruments, and therefore valuable, selling at 14 s/pr hundred. Owls Of these birds there are various kinds, and all of them much larger than any that I ever saw in Europe. The large horned-owl is the biggest; they breed upon a ledge on the face of a Cliff, and I have found three young ones in a Nest: this kind is much used by Falconers. Their chief prey is Rabbits and Grous. The shooting of them is a precarious business, but they may be caught in a net pricked up, six feet high, in a circle or square of ten or twelve feet diameter, and a Rabbit, Grous, or white fowl tethered in the middle; for want of which, place the skin of one stuffed. If the twine is not too coarse, and the mesh six inches square, they will entangle in the net, by striking at the bait. Those birds keep constantly in the tall, [155/] old Woods, and seldom shew themselves in the Day-time but all the other sorts are to be met with upon the Barrens, and are most incredibly plentiful from the latter end of October until about Christmas, and feed upon the Grouse and Ptharmakin. Although you may see five hundred, or more every day, they are very difficult to get a shot at, but may be caught in nets fixed as before directed, with a live or dead Grouse or Ptharmakin for a bait. I do not know where these breed. See Page 231. Falcons The only kind I ever saw in Labrador is the Spotted, which is a beautiful bird, about the size of the Falcon-Gentle, and I judge it to be a bird of great courage, from the circumstance of their striking at my Ducks and Fowls near my house, and not flying off when I went out to shoot them. They Winter in a more Southern climate, and return to breed in the Month of May. They make their Eyeries upon a ledge on the face of a Cliff, and lay four eggs.

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As this is not only a very beautiful species, but must be a valuable acquisition to a Falconer, and may give great divertion and be highly serviceable to any Sportsman who resides in [156/] Labrador, I will give directions for procuring them, and also for such care and management, as will be necessary for those to know, who intend to bring them to England.97 If you do not know where an Eyerie is, you will soon find any that you come near, by seeing the old ones soaring over the Cliff. Having discovered a pair doing that, look well all over the face of the Cliff, and you will plainly discern the Eyerie. It often happens, that they build it upon the uppermost ledge, and very near the top. In such a place, there is neither difficulty nor danger in getting down to it and taking the young ones. Do not attempt to go near it before the middle of July, for the young ones will then be disclosed, but not sufficiently fledged. About that time go upon the top of the Cliff and see in what state of forwardness they are, as well as to discover whether it be practicable to get at them. If it is, take them away, so soon as they are well covered with feathers. But if they are so situated, that you cannot possibly get at them, leave them until they quit the Eyerie. As they [157/] will do that, before they are strong enough to fly to any distance, and will not be much disposed to fly at all, be provided with a net, about two fathoms square, made of Herring-twine and the mesh three inches square. Provide, also, two light poles, and fasten a ring to the small end of each. Having tied a line to each upper corner of your net, long enough to reach from the top of the Cliff to the bottom, put the end of each line through the ring upon the poles. Two men must then take those poles, stand at the length of the net asunder, draw their respective lines through the rings, until the net is close to the ends of them, then bear it clear of the Cliff and lower it down until it is opposite to one of the young Falcons; then, lay it close to her; she will soon be entangled: the net is then either to be lowered down to a man below, or raised up again to the top 97 Pennant’s (1785, 217–20) description of the Iceland falcon, its association with falconry and the Kings of Denmark, and the antiquity of falconry may be the inspiration behind Cartwright’s notes on falconry and how to catch raptors for this ancient sport. Pennant described the Icelandic method of catching falcons using ptarmigan or pigeons as bait. Cartwright’s marginalium reads, “The fowl being tied to a stake, the Falcon, coming down with great rapidity, catches it by the head & the violent jerk pulls the head off. When she has eaten that, she returns & alights upon the body.”

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of the Cliff, as may be most practicable. The greatest care must be used in disentangling the bird, lest its feathers should be damaged and it will be better to cut some of the meshes, than run the risk of injuring the feathers. The bird being taken out, put it into a basket, covered with canvass and some ling98 in the bottom of it. [158/] Proceed in the same manner with the rest until you have taken them all. Should any of them have taken stand upon a place which you cannot get at with the net, throw small pieces of soft earth at them until they shift to another. Should the Cliff be of such a form, that you cannot make use of the net in the manner which I have directed, or the birds so well fledged as not to permit you to cover them with it, you must then catch them in Clap-nets. Fix a pair of Clap-nets upon some level spot of ground, within a proper distance of a bed of thick bushes and not more than a quarter of a mile from the Eyerie: but if you fix it nearer, so much the better. Watch the Falcons daily, from a distance, and when you observe the young ones to soar above the Cliff, it is time to attempt taking them; lest the whole brood should abandon the place. Be at the nets before daylight the next morning; put a brace round the body of a live Fowl, Duck or Grouse; tie a string to a leg of it, and the other end of that string, as well as the line to pull the nets over with, must lead to your hiding place among the bushes. Having tethered the bird, by the trace, to a stake, driven very firm into the ground, [159/] retire to your hiding place, and wait patiently there until the Falcons betake themselves to their wings, which they will do so soon as the Sun rises at the latest. The instant that you discover one, pull the string and make the bird flutter, and keep yourself so close, that you cannot be seen from any other place than the net. The instant that either the old Falcon or Tercel sees the fowl, which they will immediately do, they will come souce down at it; as the fowl will dip down when the Falcon strikes at it, she may make four or five cuts before she siezes it, and will pluck off the head if she siezes it by that: but when she has eaten the head, or given it to one of her young ones, she will return and alight upon the body. Do not then be in a hurry, for she can neither carry it away, nor will she quit it, for so soon as the others see her, they will come to partake, and you may then cover the whole of 98 This is European heather, but Cartwright may be referring to moss or lichen.

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them at once. Even if you were sure that there was not another near, you ought not to pull the net until she has eaten several pieces and is tearing away keenly. Although you have now caught one or more of them, your work is by no means over. You ought to have an assistant with you, and also a small crooked needle, some waxed silk, Brails,99 Jesses100 and Leashes: When you have taken one of them out of the [160/] net,101 sew both the eyes close up, by introducing the needle through both lids and tying a fast knot, and which must be done three times to each eye, but take particular care, that the silk does not press upon the ball. You must then put the Brails upon the wings and tie them fast; then put on the Jesses, and lastly the Leash: then set the bird down upon a rock, or other little elevation, that her trains may not touch the ground, and proceed in the same manner with the rest. Should you not have caught the whole, place those which you have caught, within the bushes and out of sight; peg down a fresh Fowl, and watch as before. But if the others have seen you, it may be a good while before they will come down to your bait, and if they fly away, it is a sign that they will not come at all, but are gone off in quest of prey, and then you had best take up your Fowl and return home. To carry your Falcons home remember that each man can carry three but no more. Take hold of the Leash; draw it over the muscle part of your left arm, near to your elbow; place that part of your arm under her breast, and raise her gently up with that and the Leash, until you place her upon your arm, and then tie her fast with the Leash. Do the same by a second, and place her [161/] nearer to your wrist, then place the end of your fore finger upon the end of your thumb, and set the third upon them; twisting the leash round the rest of your fingers and taking care to have a very stout leather glove on, or she will soon make you feel the strength and sha[r]pness of her Pounces. If you have only one, carry that upon your fist. Your arm must hang straight down, from the shoulder to the elbow, and from the elbow to your fist it must be placed in a horizontal position. 99 A thong to restrain the wing. 100 Short strap to secure the legs of a hawk with a ring for the leash. 101 If you put on a Rufter-hood, it will be better than sewing the eyes up, and you ought to be provided with them and also common hoods, or you will not be able to manage them well. [Cartwright’s footnote]

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The eyes of the Hawks being sieled,102 and their wings brailed, they will not attempt to flutter, but if they do, your right hand is at liberty to replace them. If it should happen, that you cannot find an Eyerie, you may nevertheless catch Falcons in the Months of October and November, before they migrate to the Southward. During those months the young ones generally attend the old ones in quest of prey; not yet being able to maintain themselves. As one place is now as good as another, it will be most convenient to fix your nets in front of your own house, and bring the lines in at one of your windows. Keep all your other domestic poultry housed, and ty one of them down within the net. Upon sight of a Falcon, every body must keep close, and it will not be long before she sieze the Fowl, and [162/] all that are in company will close in to partake of it: and, when you see them tearing away, pull the net over them. Those which are taken out of the Eyrie before they are strong enough to stand upon their legs, must be put into a hamper with Ling in it, or other basket or box, and hung up upon the north side of your house, and be sheltered from rain by a shed built above them. Fix a batten, two inches broad & a foot or two long, close to the front of the basket and even with the edge of it; firmly supported by a stake under each end, and set up the stump of a tree at the distance of a yard or two, which must have a short piece of board nailed upon the top of it, unless it be broad enough for all of them to sit upon. Offer them no meat for the first day, but, about two hours after the Sun is up the next Morning, present small bits of freshkilled meat, hot in the blood, upon the point of a stick to them, and when they take them eagerly from off the stick, feed them afterwards out of your fingers; remembering not to give them many pieces at a time, but often in the day, and always use your voice to them, both immediately before you offer them meat, and also during the time that they are feeding, and they will soon stretch forwards to meet you. You must then begin to stroke them gently with your hand. So soon as they find themselves strong enough, they will jump up, upon the batten at the front of the basket, and return back when they [163/] are tired with standing; in a few days more, they will fly upon the board upon the stump, and when their legs have got 102 “Seel” is to close the eyes of a hawk by drawing threads through the eyelids.

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sufficient strength, they will remain upon the Batten or the Board all night. It is now time to fix Jesses upon their legs, which is done by cutting two slits in a strap of leather, one near the end and the other at such a distance from it, that the intermediate space shall encircle the leg; put that end which has the slit close to it, through the other slit, and then the other end through the other slit and draw both tight, and fix a small ring at the loose end: and your Leash, which is a thong of five or six feet long with a knot at the thickest end, through the rings (called Varvels) upon the Jesses, and tie each to a separate block of Wood, shaped like a Sugar-loaf and the same height, placed upon the ground, but not within reach of each other. Place a broad and shallow tub of water (four or five inches deep) within reach of each bird, for it to bathe in; build a stand of sods, the same height & size as the block, and place both them and the tub in a triangle, that the bird may go from one to the other at pleasure. You must also collect a number of clean pebbles, of the size and shape of Horse-beans, and place some of them upon both the Block & stand of sods; that they may swallow them whenever they find occasion. You must be provided with both Rufter and common hoods, and it is now time to begin to use them: [164/] begin with the Rufter-hood; slipping it on and off frequently as you feed them, which you must now always do upon your fist, but do not leave it on long at a time until they bear it well: you must then keep it on between feeding times, and in a day or two after, put on the common hoods and continue them even after. You must, also, frequently carry them upon your fists, often stroking them, and they will become perfectly tame. In bringing them home, keep them upon Deck as much as you can in the Day-time, where they may sit upon the Gunwale of the Boat, or other convenient place in their hoods, but put them below at night and in blowing weather; lest they get hurt. For food, provide a number of Dogs, Poultry, Cats or any other live animals, which you must kill occasionally, and also a quantity of jerked venison or other meat, which must be soaked in fresh-water until it is perfectly soft. Jerked meat will keep them alive, but must not be given without absolute necessity; should your livestock begin to fail, feed with jerked meat for a day or two, and then with live meat again. As those which can fly are apt to turn sulky at first and refuse their meat, offer them none until the next day, then rub their Beaks and feet with hot meat and offer small bits; having once got a bit or two down

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them, they will take it freely enough afterwards. They must be set upon Blocks and [165/] fastned by the Leash, and their eyes must not be unseiled until they are perfectly tamed and will bear your hand. They must be used to the hoods, in the manner already directed, and they will be tamed the sooner if you frequently stroke them with a long feather until they will bear your hand, and kept awake in the night, as much as possible. When they bear the hood well and stretch towards you, upon hearing your voice, clip the first stitch in their eyes, the second a day or two after, and then the third; drawing the threads carefully out, but they must be held in the hands of an assistant, who must place the breast upon your left knee, legs drawn under your left thigh by the Leash; then sieze the head of the bird in your left hand, and cut the stitch with your right. In all other respects, they must be treated as already directed, excepting, that they must be kept constantly hooded unless when you try if they will bathe, and that must be immediately after they are fed. Feed them only twice a day, nor must the Eyesses103 be fed oftener, after their feathers are full grown. As they will get fat by rest and good food, be very careful not to let them bate104 and flutter, for that will melt their grease, bring on diseases and kill them. As it may possibly happen, that some thing or other may chance to make them flutter much [166/] on board the Ship, upon their passage home, it would be the safest way to give them half a dozen stones every night for a fortnight before they embark, & a casting of feathers also, during the last week; also, stones & castings about three times a week during the passage.105 It is by no means my intention to engage in a compleat treatise upon the Art of Falconry, but as they would be extremely useful in Labrador to shoot Black Ducks with, and it is possible that some sportsman might wish for their assistance in that work, I will give sufficient directions for that purpose: but if the reader wants to know more, I refer him to Latham’s and to Campbell’s publications upon Falconry.106 103 Also “eyas,” being a nestling hawk taken young from the nest. 104 To beat the wings suddenly. 105 Stones and feathers aid digestion, moving food out of the crop and breaking it down in the gizzard. Cartwright’s “rocks” would have been small pebbles that served the same purpose as grit for today’s chickens. 106 Simon Latham, Latham’s Falconry, or the Faulcon’s Lure and Cure, 2 vols., first published either in 1614 or 1615; James Campbell, A Treatise of Modern Falconry, 1733.

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As Eyesses are the easiest to be trained, as well as to be procured, I will confine my directions to them. Put them into a basket with some Ling under them, and hang them upon the North side of your house, the height of your breast, and place a board about half a yard above, to shoot off the rain. The next morning, offer them small bits of meat upon the point of a short stick, and take care that it be fresh killed; give each bird about an ounce weight, and hollow gently to them, in the same manner as you intend afterwards to do, when they shall be flying at a distance from you.107 Feed them again and again in the course of the Day; as often as they take their meat with [167/] a good appetite, and feed them tolerably full about two hours before Sun-set. In the same manner must you go on, until their feathers are compleatly grown. You will soon find, that they will know your voice, and press forward to meet you, and you must then begin to stroke them with your hand between each bit of meat. When they are strong enough to hop upon the edge of the basket, they will do so and return into it again in a short time. In a day or two afterwards, take them upon your fist (one at a time) and feed them there; holding the meat between your three spare fingers and the ball of your hand. You must also set them upon the ground, and learn them to follow you for their meat, which they must now always eat upon your fist. Some times you should cut off the wing of a Duck, close to the Shoulder, and let them tear at that, which will amuse them for a long time. You must then begin to use them to the hood, by putting it on and off very frequently as they are feeding, and you should then fix jesses to their legs to hold them by, lest they flutter and fall off. So soon as their wings are full grown they must be fed only twice a Day moderately. [Text crossed out] [168/] Having provided a Lure and frequently fed them upon it, and your hawks being properly prepared, by having been fed upon washed meat for the last fortnight, and but moderately fed the day before, take them out about nine o’Clock in the morning, fasten a piece of meat on each side of your Lure, and stand about fifty yards from the Man who has one of the Hawks upon his fist: so soon as he pulls off the hood, swing the Lure round your head and hollow to her; she will immediately fly direct for you; and you must throw down the Lure upon the ground. After she has 107 Calling to them in a way that identifies the handler.

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eaten a few bites place other meat properly in your hand, put your fist gently under her breast, that she may see it, and take her up: when you have fed her, immediately hood her up, and proceed in the same manner with the rest. Do the same at four o’Clock in the [169/] evening, but increase the distance every time until they will readily come to you so far as they can hear your voice, whether they see you or not. You must then get a live Duck, fasten that to the Line, and let her kill and feed upon it, but take her off before she has eaten too much. Upon first siezing the Duck she will be very jealous of you and endeavour to hide it with her wings and train, by which she will endanger the breaking of her feathers, but to cure her of doing that or being disposed to carry or drag it away, retire to a distance, but keep using your voice, and do not go near her until she closes her wings and train and begins to eat of it; then advance slowly, and walk round her whilst she is eating. Give her washed meat the next day, and another live duck on the following morning, but you must toss that up to her; taking care to pull some of the feathers out of the wings and sewing up its eyes lest it out fly her, and you must make her fly round you for a little while before you toss it up, but mind to shew it to her and make it flutter, if she flies too far from you. By giving her three or four live Ducks, she will wait upon you wherever you go, if you keep her upon the wing for an hour or more. So soon as she waits on well and readily obeys your voice, she is sufficiently trained [170/] for your purpose. You may then go in quest of the wild Black Ducks, to such Ponds as are free from bushes, and throw off your Falcon before you get near enough to disturb them, and the instant they see her, they will swim close under the bank and you may shoot every one at as many shots: for if any should take wing upon your firing, the Falcon will souce down at them, and they will immediately plunge into the Water again. When you have killed the whole, take out one and toss it upon the ground to take your Falcon down with. But as the Stomach of a Hawk is the only thing that you can command her by, when she is upon the wing, be sure that she is sharp set: you must therefore be careful how you feed her, and not fly her too soon afterwards. If you feed her moderately at three o’Clock in the afternoon and give her a Casting at seven, she will be ready by nine o’clock the next morning; provided she casts regularly, which she ought to do at four in the Morning, and if she does not do that, she is not in perfect health, and

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has most likely been flown before she was got into perfect good condition with the stones and castings and therefore must have more stones and rest until she casts regularly. A Hawk always keeps herself in the best health and condition if she be flown at [171/] Heck,108 and is also much less liable to be lost because she will get a knowledge of the Country and return home again in case she fly her Quarry to a distance, and there kill and feed upon it. The first time you fly your hawk at Heck, feed her moderately about ten in the morning and then again immediately before sun-set in the evening, and after that set her upon the ground, with the stump of a wing in her foot, where you must leave her. When she has finished it, she will naturally be disposed to go to roost, and will not fly far before she fixes upon a tree or a Cliff for that purpose. Be out the next morning soon after the Sun is up & hollow; if she is hungry she will immediately come, but be not afraid if she does not, for she will not go far off, and will readily attend upon you so soon as her appetite is sharp. When she comes, give her but little and let her go again, and call her down once or twice more in the course of the Day: after which you need feed her only once a day, and that about nine in the morning, but be regular to that time, and you will find her waiting for you. If you neglect her, she will be apt to stray away in quest of prey, and when she can provide for herself she will no longer care for you. If you fly her at Heck at such times as you do not want to use her, give her castings [172/] but no stones, for she will take them of herself, and also bathe, whenever she feels occasion. A Hawk that is kept confined to a Block, or a Pearch must be offered the Bath twice a Week at the least. To do that, take her to a River, Brook or freshwater pond, that is shoal at the side and deepens gradually with a clean bottom; feed her there, and then tie her by the water’s side, and she will bathe if she fleels [sic] herself hot within. You may keep your Hawks upon a block in the Garden until Winter commences, but they must be housed afterwards and their Blocks or Perches covered with Fearnothing or Deer-skin. You may have very excellent sport with them, in the Winter with the Grous and Ptharmakins.

108 Hack: exercising the bird and training it to return to a feeding site. Cartwright also uses “heck” as a noun, referring to the feeding site.

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The large Horned Owls may be tamed and trained in the same manner, and I am most decidedly of opinion, that they may be used in the same manner as Goss-hawks, and flown at Spruce-game, Hares and Rabbits. I once took three young ones out of a nest, about a week before they could begin to fly. I kept them in a basket and set it upon the ground [173/] in my Garden. They were very savage for the first twenty four hours, but, after they had eaten a few meals out of my fingers, they began to grow tame and were soon very fond of me. I never confined them and they never flew far from my house; came for their food at the first hollow, and continued so to do until I neglected them, when they were forced to provide for themselves. That shewed, that they may be flown at Heck, but I advise their being taken down every evening, and tied to a block for the night; that being the time that they naturally seek their prey, and the Hares and Rabbits are out, in search of their food. I am also of opinion, that they may be flown at Ducks, Grouse and Ptharmakins; but whether they fly swift enough to catch them, is a point which I cannot determine. To train an Owl to fly at Ducks, feed her two or three times upon a whole Duck in the feathers, then prepare her, on the preceeding [sic] day, with a moderate quantity of washed meat, and after she has cast and been set out for three or four hours to weather, she will be sharp set; then take her upon your fist and go to some piece of bare ground, there toss a Duck, which cannot fly, out before her, and if she sieze it, let her kill and eat of it. You are next to toss up one which can fly, and if she pursues that and kills it she is ready to be tried at wild ones. When you wash meat for a Hawk or [174/] Owl, put it into a towel and squeeze all the water well out. Never give either of them any stale meat, nor liver. Eagles There is only one sort of Eagle in Labrador. They are large; their plumage of a rusty brown until three years old, when the head and tail turns white.109 They build their Eyeries upon trees,110 and I never knew them 109 Bald eagle. 110 Eagle nests along the coast of Labrador are also found on cliff ledges.

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make use of any other than the Larch, Birch and Aspen, which are the only trees in that Country whose branches are fit for their purpose. I never knew them lay more than three eggs; they sit in March, are the first bird that is hatched, but the last which can fly. I do not know what they chiefly prey upon, but have known Trouts found in the Eyerie, which they carried there to feed their young upon. When taken out of the Eyerie they are easily tamed, will grow loving, and may be carried upon the arm without a hood. Being a heavy bird and a slow flyer, I do not know that they can be made useful for the purposes of sport, unless it be to shoot Geese with, by deterring them from taking wing. As Eagles, Falcons and Horned Owls generally breed in the same places year after year, you will seldom be at a loss for young ones, after you have once [175/] found those places. Owls should be taken between the twentieth and last day of May, for they will be flown soon after, but ought not to visit a Falcon’s Eyerie before the end of July, lest you make her forsake it, and she will certainly do so, if you go to it before she has laid her eggs. Should a Falcon or Owl breed upon such part of a Cliff as you cannot get at, but can get within the reach of a long pole, and there is no projecting rocks underneath, to prevent the young birds from falling to the ground, shove them down with the pole, and place men beneath, to catch them in a boat’s-sail, a blanket, or other thing spread in their hands, or they will be killed by the fall. Falcons Since writing the directions already given for the training of Eyess Falcons I have discovered a better way, and which is, take them when their trains are about three inches long; make a perch for them on the north side of your house, with a broad board before it, for them to come out upon; feed them very often every day with fresh-killed meat; so soon as they are able to run out upon the board, provide a large Lure with a pair of straps for each burd [sic]; tie their meat to them, and let them all feed at once. When they get more strength, take each upon your fist in turns, and give them meat there. When they can fly, take them down to the Lure at a little distance from the Heck, let them eat a little upon it, and then take them upon your fist, to finish their meal. Lure them farther off every day, and

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keep them longer upon the wing, until they come to you at any distance and keep sailing round you until you throw down the Lure. Leave them there, and they will return home immediately. Now, put on Jesses & Bells, and begin to use them to the Hood, which you must slip on and off frequently as they are feeding, but do not have it on until they appear not to mind it. By continuing to do so for some time, they will readily obey your voice as far as they can hear it, and wait on close for any length of time, and only want a live bird or two to be given them before they are untied to wild ones, the first of which they must kill at the Lure, and the rest tossed up to them. All long-winged Hawks are to be trained in that manner, but short-winged ones will not wait on the air, but only follow you from place to place and take stand when they come near you. [176/] To discover whether Spirits are of Proof strength, without the help of an instrument. Put a small quantity of gun-powder into a saucer; pour some of the Spirit upon it, and set it on fire. If the whole of the Spirit is consumed and the gun-powder explodes, it is of Proof strength; otherwise it is below proof. Geese-nets Lay two Beams across the Shore, opposite to each other and wider asunder than the ends of your Clap-net; opposite to the foot of the net, fix two Bear-trap springs, and fix a double rope to the rings of those springs; at proper distances in that doubled rope, fix two sockets, to insert the ends of the net-poles in, then twist the ropes so hard (by the help of handspikes) that the Springs shall be drawn close down; then fix in the poles and set the Net. Those springs will give such additional strength to the twisted ropes, that the net will fly over exceedingly quick, so soon as it is set at liberty by a goose treading upon the bridge. Vide Page 136. Those springs should be made in such a manner as to stand perpendicular, when the net is not set, that they may lay flat to the ground when it is. Worm-springs would do as well, & are less expensive.

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To grow Potatoes in Labrador Before you sail from Europe, provide a number of boxes (six inches cube) made of any old thin boards; place them in larger boxes, three a breast, which must be 10 inches deep; fill these small boxes with earth of a proper quality, and nail battens over the top of the large boxes. They may be put down into the Ship’s Hold until the first of May, but must then be brought upon Deck & placed somewhere abaft, where they will be least in the way. If the earth is too dry, sprinkle it with fresh water, and place one good Potatoe in the centre of each small box, & nail the battens firm on again. In gales of wind defend them from the salt water, and on your arrival in Labrador, transplant them into the ground, in the manner that Cucumbers are done, and when you have dug them up, in the Fall, wipe each dry; head them up in Kegs & stow those kegs in a cask, surrounded with Sand. By so doing you will preserve them from the Winter’s frost, and have seed for the next Spring. But as the ground is not fit for use until the first, or second week in June, plant them in small boxes, as before, about the tenth of May, and house them every night. Carry out Potatoe seed also, and try both ways. In a few years you will have seed enough to plant any quantity of Land, exclusive of what you use. [177/] Supplement Deer-Pound As all Pounds, which are intended for Deer to go into of themselves, should be built in a Wood which is between Marshes, or other open ground, and where the trees grow to a tolerable size: The quickest, and I believe cheapest way too, is to make use of small trees for rails, and nail them to standing trees, but be very careful not to put in any which are too weak; to nail them on the inside of the trees, and to take the bark off from the side of the latter. In case you are short of Nails, mark the trees at the places where the rails are to be fixed; cut into them with a handsaw; cut the intermediate space out with a Chizzel; lay on the rails, and nail a Batten over their ends.

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To prevent the Hawk-doors (or Racks) from either being pressed in too close by such Deer as are caught, or from not shutting again after a Deer has passed through, set up a frame, on the out-side of them and close before the foremost batten which the rungs are fixed in, in the shape of a Door-case, and of a proper height and width: lash a tall [178/] pole across the rungs of each rack, a few inches forwarder than that frame, whose upper ends shall stand eight or nine feet high; tie a line from the top of one pole to that of the other, and of such a length as to admit of the racks opening to the extent you wish, and fasten a weight, in the middle of that line, sufficiently heavy to pull the racks to again. A cheap, neat, warm and durable covering for good Houses Lath the Rafters pretty close; pay the upper side of them with hot Glue, laid on with a brush; paste a coat of white paper upon them, and pay the upper side of that with a mixture of two parts Pitch and one part Tar; lay another covering of brown paper upon that whilst the Pitch & Tar are yet hot; pay the upper side of that paper with the same mixture, and then give a covering of sods, of four inches thick. Rinds, with a coat of brown paper, laid on with pitch and tar, and an upper covering of sods, are excellent and remarkably cheap. Small Boats and Canoes They may be made of Wicker-work, and covered on the outside with brown paper, laid on as directed above, but the first coat should be sewed on; lest it become lose [sic]. If you rub a hole through, clap a patch of paper upon it. If a double-headed paddle is intended to be used, lay a light loose hatch across with raised edges. A foot broad will be sufficient. It will be best to cover with painted canvass upon the wicker & paper over. The great difficulty in making Wicker boats in Labrador would be, the want of proper twigs; that, I presume, might be got over, by splitting birch-poles into very thin laths. Six Bladders put into bags, & fastned to the sides, would make it perfectly safe. [179/]

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To keep Fish alive Should you meet with an Arm in a Harbour which has a natural Bar across it, that is dry at low water but covered at high, raise it so much higher as will be sufficient to keep a proper depth of water above111 it, at all times, and then run a row of racks along it; to keep in the Fish and yet admit the Tide. If there is no such place in your neighbourhood, or any narrow Arm which you can Bank off, either convert a Shallop into a Wellboat, or build a large Vat, such as are used for washing salted Cod-fish in. Any of those ways will do for Sea-fish, but you must partition off any length of a Brook, with racks, to keep fresh-water Fish in. Salmon might be tried in both, to prove which they kept best in. To procure Lobsters As Lobsters are extremely delicious and there are but very few in Labrador (for I know of no [180/] more than three having been caught, in the space of twenty five years) it would be well worth some trouble and expence to transplant them from Newfoundland, where they abound in the greatest plenty. To do that, build a Well-boat, or a Trunk of twenty feet in length, six feet in Breadth and two feet in depth; pointed at each end; that it may tow easy, and the bottom, the top, and the after part of the sides only, bored full of small holes, and then it will serve for all kinds of fish as well as Lobsters. Provide some large dip-nets, fixed upon a “D” bow with the flat side downwards, and go to any Harbour in Newfoundland where they are plentiful. At low-water go upon the shoal parts of it in your Skiff, and you will see them laying at the bottom, place the net behind them, then touch them with the end of a pole & they will instantly fly back into the net; having tied or peged [sic] up their large claws, put them into the Trunk and tow them home.112 You must then set their claws at liberty and turn a great number into the Shoal-part of your own Harbour; reserving the rest in the Trunk for present use. They may also be caught in a Seine. [181/] 111 “Above” here must mean between the bar and the mainland. 112 Cartwright’s “home” refers to the Labrador side of the Strait of Belle Isle.

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How to procure a large quantity of Leaves So soon as the Woods are clear of Snow in the Spring, collect the bushy heads and the spare boughs of those trees which were felled for firewood in the preceeding Winter, and lay them upon a heap upon a bare spot of ground, and the heat of the Sun will soon wither them so compleatly as to cause all the leaves to fall off, and which must preserve for the use of traps and Rutting-places. To build partitions between Rooms, and Gable-ends to a House. Wherever a partition is to be, a small Beam must be laid across, from one Wall-plate to the other. A piece of two-inch Plank will do very well, and three inches is broad enough. You must take care that each partition be made direct under a Rafter, and stancheons of two inch Plank, and three inches in breadth are to be set up from the Sleeper under the floor to the Beam which rests upon the Wall-plate, and from that to the rafters above, and let into them that their edges may stand fair with both Beam and Rafters, and at proper distances from each other in proportion to the thickness of the Board which you intend to make your Partitions of. Then nail the Boards fair in upon one side, and as you [182/] nail in those upon the other side, ram the hollow space between with short, dry Moss; beginning at the bottom. For Gable ends, lay a proper substantial Beam across the ends of the House, with the inner edge of it direct under the inner edge of the end Rafter, then fix Stanchions as before directed and of the same breadth, and finish that in the same manner. As the outer edge of these Beams will then project some inches beyond the end Walls, and the Roof a few inches beyond them, the end-walls will be protected from the rain running down them. If the Moss is well rammed down, the severest Frost cannot penetrate, and what will keep that out, will keep in the internal heat, and also keep out the external heat of Summer; but if the work is badly done, there is no other remedy than nailing an inch batten either on the outside, or inside, of the house, and giving it another casing of Boards with Moss between.

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Many people may suppose, that it is not worth while to be at so much trouble and expence, but it amply repays both in the long-run; the House being comfortably warm in the Winter, cool in the Summer, and the consumption of firewood considerably less: and that is an article of great expence and trouble, although you have [183/] wood for felling. The most advantageous way of Furring large Rivers113 The Eastern Coast of Labrador abounds more with animals of the Furrkind than the Southern Coast,114 and all the large Rivers run from the Westward; consequently, the Rivulets and Brooks, which augment their streams, run from the North or the South. Most of the Rivers and Brooks have tall timber growing upon their banks and in the vallies through which they flow, excepting where they have formerly been burnt and the trees are not yet come to their full growth. The inland Furriers’ chief dependance is upon Martens and Otters, unless Beavers are plentiful. Martens abound most in tall, old Woods; Otters frequent all sized streams and the Ponds which lay upon them, and Beavers generally inhabit the Ponds through which streams run, or build their houses upon the backs of the Streams. When you intend to place Furriers upon the banks of a large River, which you are not well acquainted with, nor yet with the surrounding Country, it will be necessary to reconnoitre it well before you fix them. To do that, provide a small, light Canoe, capable of carrying three people and their necessaries. Take two men with you, one of whom must be a good Furrier if you yourself are not, and as much provisions [184/] and other necessaries as will serve you for a fortnight; among which, do not forget to take a Bank, or St. Peter’s line: for that may be necessary, to 113 This short essay is a unique addition to fur trade research for the planning processes related to establishing a productive trap line as well as for logistical decisions involved in trap placement, tilt placement, and trapper scheduling. Cartwright writes from personal experience and intimate knowledge of hinterland trapping in southern Labrador. His description of the many tasks and responsibilities of a trapper reveals something of the technical knowledge and skills required by the eighteenth-century trapper. 114 May refer to the Strait of Belle Isle coast.

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track the Canoes up such shoots of Water as you cannot paddle up. In case the stream is so strong, that you advance but slowly with the Paddles, land your two men and they will easily track the Canoe up, whilst you remain in her to steer. Have a Compass with you, to set the bearings from point to point; take a sketch of the River, and ascertain the distance with all possible correctness, and you will be assisted in that, by observing the space of time which it takes your men to walk from one point to another. Observe all the Rubbing-places; examine and mark them: which you are to do by chipping the bark from off the side of the nearest tree. Examine all the drift wood which you observe upon the shore; by which you will know if there are any Beavers in the Country above. Examine all the sandy beaches and muddy Coves; for there you will see the feeting of Bears, Deer, Wolves etc., and pay strict attention to the Woods, which grow by the river’s side. When you observe a bare-topped hill near the River, go upon it, and you will have a good view of the interior Country. The Ponds, which you discover from thence, must be examined, that you may find what Beaver-houses and Rubbing places there are. When you see a string of Marshes, or barren-ground pointing towards the River, you may naturally conclude, that the Deer will use them in their times of migration, and you will see their paths, if they are well frequented. You must [185/] be provided with a memorandum book, to insert your observations in, and a sheet of paper, ruled in squares, to take your sketch upon. By observing the foregoing rules, you will gain a very sufficient knowledge of the River and the surrounding Country, and which will enable you to fix your people at the most advantageous spots. There are many good reasons which induce me to advise you, not to place your first Crew higher up a River, than they will find water-carriage to, with a small skiff. Where that is the case, build a small Tilt, at the commencement of the tall woods near the mouth of the River; a larger one about eight miles above it, and another small one eight miles higher up. The large one is to be the residence of the Furring-Crew, which may consist of four men, but not more; the small ones, are for one or two men to sleep in occasionally: and they must be furnished with a tin kettle; a large hatchet; a quart tin-pot, and a sufficient number of fur-boards and nails for them. All those Tilts must be built upon the North side of the River and small ones should be built direct opposite to them. In that case, one Canoe, or small Flat, will be requisite: and which must be kept at the

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large Tilt. A trap-path must be cut from one end to the other, a little way within the edge of the Woods, and Marten-traps placed in them, at the distance of two hundred yards asunder; a large Pitfal trap must [186/] be built upon each shore of the River; nor must the Rubbing-places be forgotten, nor yet such points as are likely to catch Foxes upon. The lateralpaths are next to be cut. Those which branch off from the end Tilts, should run by the side of a small Brook, if there is one, or direct into the Country; that from the large Tilt must be cut in such a direction, that the end of it may be equidistant from the ends of the other two, and other paths cut to each. The lateral paths should be eight miles in length, and have a small Tilt built at their extremities. The same must be done on the opposite side of the River, that the Furriers may have as many fresh walks as possible. So far as good woods extend, Marten-traps must be placed, but where Marshes or Barrens intervene, traps must be tailed for Foxes: but the three lateral paths, and the two which connect their ends, need not have more Marten-traps placed in them, than four in each Mile. There will be little or no difficulty in cutting the three lateral paths, but there may be a considerable deal in cutting those which are to run from the end of the centre one, to the extremity of each of the other two; particularly if the Country be flat, or the tops of the hills covered with tall woods. To get over that difficulty, proceed thus, viz.; Trace out the two end ones first, and mark them; which is done by walking with your hatchet in your hand, and chip[p]ing a small slice of bark off every tree which you [187/] pass upon the right side of you (I suppose that you are right-handed; otherwise, you must mark the trees upon your left-hand) walk on at an even pace, and you may assertain [sic] your distance tolerably well by observing your watch. Having traced out eight or nine miles, return again and mark all the trees on the other side of you. The two end paths being marked in this manner, you are to judge whether their outer ends are at a greater or a less distance from each other than those by the river’s side are, that you may mark the centre one in such a direction, that the end of it may be equidistant from them both. That done, all the four men must go out; two of them to the end of the centre path, and one to the end of each of the other two, where they must kindle fires and keep up a very great smoke all Day. One of the two, who went to the end of the centre path must remain there, to attend the fire, but the other must ascend what bare-topped hills he can find, until he has

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discovered the smokes at the ends of the other two paths. If he observes that they are tolerably well situated with respect to distances and all other circumstances, he is to judge their bearings from the centre smoke, and then the paths to each are to be traced out and marked, until they cross upon them. But if either of those paths should have diverged [188/] too far either way, or should not have been extended far enough, the faults must be corrected, by marking them afresh from such part as you judge most proper. Before any of the paths are begun upon, it would be best to take views of the Country from the tops of several hills, that you may be able to keep the paths through the tall woods only. So soon as all of them are marked out to your satisfaction, cut them clear; build the trap-houses (commonly called Cat-houses) place the traps in them, but do not tail them before the middle of September. If there is a convenient place in the River, near the large Tilt, for erecting a Salmon-pound, set one up in it, if not, place one at the mouth of the nearest stout Brook, to supply the Furriers with fresh fish. Erect a Deerpound, if you find a good place and can spare both time and nails, and get on with all other necessary works. On the fifteenth of September, o[r] within a week after at the farthest, you ought to begin furring. Each man being provided with a sufficient bag of bait, one of them walks the path up the river, to the small Tilt at the end of it, where he sleeps that night; having tailed all the traps by the way, and baited those for Foxes and Martens. The next Day he goes along the lateral path and sleeps at the end of it: on the third day he arrives at the end of the centre lateral path, [189/] and comes along it home on the fourth. Another man goes up the centre lateral path the first Day; to the end of the lower-most one the second Day; to the Tilt near the mouth of the river the third, and home the fourth. The other two men cross over the river in the Canoe, hale her up there, and walk the paths on that side, in the same manner as already directed, and will get home again on the fourth night. This business ought to be begun upon on a Monday, and it will be ended on the Thursday night. On Friday and Saturday they may visit Beaver-houses, Ponds for Otters, and do any other things which may be requisite, but they ought to keep at home on Sunday, and spend that day in a proper Christian-like manner. On the Monday following they are to walk the paths again, in the same order as before. So soon as they arrive at their respective Tilts and have made a fire and placed the kettle upon it, they must begin to skin

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out the furs and spread each upon its proper board, and they will have bad luck if they have not a good night’s work. To save much carriage, care should have been taken that a large quantity of bait was previously laid in at each Tilt. When they go the third time, and also every time after, they will have more work to do, for they must scrape off all the skins which they left upon [190/] the boards, before they begin to skin those caught that day. Should it happen, that you catch so many furrs as to make it impossible to scrape, skin and spread all in proper time, or if you find, that those which were spread the last time are not yet dry enough for scraping, for want of a daily fire, you must be content to skin only, and carry the skins along with you home. The Furriers must take care to provide their Rackets (or Snow-shoes) and small sleds, that they may be ready against there is a sufficient quantity of snow upon the ground to make the use of them necessary. Such Rackets as the Mountaineer Indians make, are the proper ones, but an English Pot-lid is no better than a make-shift. The Furriers must learn to make their own Rackets, Sleds etc. Should the Country at a distance from the River be clothed with bad Woods, or any other reason occur to prevent your cutting the lateral, and back paths, and building Tilts at their ends, extend your paths by the river’s side to sixteen miles or more on each side of your house, and on both sides of the river, and build additional Tilts upon them. Short lateral paths may also be cut, not exceeding four miles, that a man may return back again the same Day. [191/] The state of the interior part of the Country may possibly be such, that lateral paths can only be cut along the sides of the Brooks which empty into the principal River; in which case cut quite up to their heads, and build Tilts at every eight miles; that distance being far enough for a Man to go in a Winters Day, and have time at night to do what he will find absolutely necessary, before he goes to sleep. As the Snow, both in the Woods and upon the ice of the Rivers and Ponds, will be in perfect good order for walking upon early in March, that is the best Month for reconnoitreing the Country, and it should not be neglected. Two men must then place what provisions and other things they will want; for two or three weeks, upon their Sleds, and set out. They must mark a path through the Woods and the places where their Tilts are to be built against the next Winter and then return home again. If their

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attention to Otters and Beavers does not require the whole of them to remain at home until those animals go out of season, two of them should go off early in time, to build the Tilts. Immediately upon their arrival at each place, they must take off a sufficient quantity of rinds, and they will build the Tilts whilst they are curing, and the ground will be sufficiently thawed for them to cut sods, to cover the Tilts with by that time. [192/] They must then cut their paths, and do as much work as possible, that they may have the less to do in the Fall; the greatest run of Martens being before Christmas, and every day that is lost at the beginning of the Season, will cause a great deficiency of skins. By going on in that manner, you will, in due time, have a line of Traps from the mouth of the main River quite up to the head of it, and also on each side to a very considerable distance from it, and your catch of Furrs will be very great: for, as one Crew advances higher up, another must be placed where they lived the preceeding Winter. As Black-bears feed much, if not principally upon berries after they get ripe, which is in August, and those berries grow upon the Barrens, which are used by Foxes also, a Pitfal-trap, rather larger than No. 16 should be built upon the most likely places. Eight feet long, six feet wide and six feet high will be large enough. As boards will be wanted, for that and other uses, the Furriers should have a Whip-saw, that they may saw them upon the spot. Until all your Men become experienced Furriers, distribute your Youngsters amongst your best men. Each man must have his separate walk and complement of traps, for two men must never be employed in doing one man’s work. In order to stimulate them to great exertions, it will be good policy to give a premium to that Crew who kill the greatest value in Furrs: and you should give an additional premium to the headman of that crew, over and above his share of what you give to the whole Crew. [193/] Whenever you find any man uncommonly attentive and diligent, be sure to reward him for it, and you will put such money out to usurious interest. Be sure not to contract the vile habit of swearing at, beating, or scolding your servants, for that makes them hate you, and they will exert themself [sic] no more than they are compelled to do: if they do wrong, take them aside and reprove them in a serious but mild manner, and speak in a kind, good humoured manner to them at all other times. You may lead most men, but you can drive few, and those are scarce worth the trouble.

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The qualifications necessary to make a good Furrier, and which will be found requisite in those also, whom you employ in any other capacity. I mean, those only whom you take out as Youngsters115 He should not be under eighteen years of age, nor above thirty; he should be well-made, strong and active, that he may walk well and carry weight; he must have courage and genius, that he may not be intimidated with dangers and difficulties, but strive against and overcome them; he should be extremely fond of sporting, that he may be keen and indefatigable; he ought to be sober and good tempered, or he will neglect your business, and quarrel with his comrades; he ought to be hardy, that he may be able to bear all weathers, and then he will set both the Frost and the Mosquitoes at defiance; and he must not be obstinate, for that is a great bar to [194/] improvement. Some attention should also be paid to the employments which men have been brought up to, for a Carpenter, White-smith, Cooper, Taylor, Boat-builder and several other Mechanics will be useful. There is scarce a Man, who has served either in Newfoundland or Labrador, who has not contracted habits which his Master will find prejudicial to his interest, and therefore, if he himself is capable of instructing his servants in all the different branches of business which he intends to carry on, he had best take out a compleat set of such as never were in either of those Countries, and pick them out of such Countries as are most remote from those from whence the Newfoundland trade is carried on. I should prefer the north of Scotland, where the people are hardy; used to bad diet, and obedient to their superiors. But if the Master has not a compleat knowledge of all the businesses, he must engage some headmen, but their number should be as few as possible; they should be engaged for no longer than two Summers and one Winter, and sent back when that term is expired. If you fix your residence near to any place already occupied by any other Adventurer, his servants will occasionally visit yours and corrupt them; they will interfere with your plans, and learn your secrets: and if you meet with great success, their Master will suppose, that is owing to the natural advantages [195/] of your situation, and not to your superior knowledge and will soon send a Crew into your neighbourhood. For 115 Youngsters were, in effect, trainees.

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those reasons, fix yourself at as great a distance as possible from every other Man, and visit none.116 Back-tilts and Whigwhams As those who live in Labrador are frequently going to a distance from home at all times of the Year, they are obliged to sleep by a fire in the Woods. Upon those occasions, the English generally build what they call a Back-tilt, and the Mountaineer Indians, a Whigwham. As the latter constantly lead an erratic life, they never build a permanent house, but always live in a Whigwham. The shape of a Back-tilt bears an exact resemblance to that of the longitudinal section of the Roof of a Gable-ended House, and is made thus, viz. Having found two trees which stand at a proper distance from each other, trim off all the lateral branches to the height of about eight feet, and if there chance to be one on the same side of each tree, at that height or thereabouts, they will serve to lay the Ridge-pole upon; if not, that must be lashed to those trees. Cut a tall, slender tree; trim off all its branches, and lay it along for a Ridge-pole. Cut a sufficient [196/] number of others, about the size of Hop-poles, stick the Butt-ends of them into the ground, that they may not slip, at the distance of seven or eight feet from the Ridge-pole, and rest their tops upon it. Collect the large, spreading branc[h]es of those Spruce and Fir trees, which you have felled for firewood, and lay them upon the Rafters; begin[n]ing at the bottom and proceeding up to the top, and placing all their Butt-ends upwards. Then collect the smaller branches and do the same with them, until you have thatched it sufficiently, and rear the bushey-tops of trees up against the ends. The fire is made in front of the Centre, & the bottom of the tilt is bedded well with the finest boughs of Spruce, to sleep upon. I have made a Tilt in that manner, which has kept out a long and heavy Shower of rain, but as the wet will get through at last, and the wind

116 Cartwright’s Journal suggests that this advice was acquired early in his Labrador career. He and his crews rarely interacted with other merchant crews after feeling the sting of Noble and Pinson’s takeover of salmon and sealing stations at the start of his second year, in 1771.

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can never be kept out, I advise you to provide the following covering, which will effectually keep out both, and is extremely light and portable. Although there is no deer-skin which makes such beautiful leather for breeches as that of the Rein, yet that animal is so subject to be tormented with very large maggots, produced by the striking of a very large fly, called a Stout, that few skins are met with, which are free from them. That maggot turns to a fly in time, and the hole it made in the skin is healed up by August, but leaves an eschar,117 which [197/] defaces the leather, and renders the skins of so little value as not to be worth importing to England, but is nevertheless perfectly fit for the covering of a Tilt, a Whigwham, and many other purposes in Labrador. So soon as you take the skin off a Deer, rub wood-ashes well into the Pens118 and roll it up; first doubled, with the flesh side inwards: and in two or three days time all the pens will come clean off; or the same will be affected, by putting it into Lime-water: then spread it upon the ground, stretch it out with pegs, until it be dry, and rub it afterwards until it be soft and pliable. You are then to cut the sides and ends straight and sew as many together as will make a covering large enough for your purpose: and which you are to lay upon the Rafters. You are also to provide other pieces for the two ends. In Page 211 you will find a Plan and Elevation of a Back-tilt. The Mountaineer Whigwham is about twelve feet long, seven wide, six high, and rounded at both ends, with an opening on each side in the centre. These openings serve for three purposes, viz: to enter at, to supply the fire with fewel, and to cause a current of air to carry the smoke away, that it may not incommode the inhabitants. It is made in the following manner. Cut a sufficient number of long, small poles and take off all their branches; tie three of them together at their tips, and set them up in a triangle; fix three other poles in the same manner, and at a proper distance from each other, and in such manner, that two legs of each shall stand on the sides [198/] of the Whigwham and the third at the ends. Lay

117 A scab. Labrador Innu hunted caribou in the autumn when the hides were in best condition for clothing. 118 May mean hair shafts; to remove the hair from the skin.

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a Ridge-pole from the one to the other, and then rear up the Rafters; placing those on the sides in a line with the side-poles of the Shears, and forming a semi-circle with the rest at each end. You are then to lay on your covering, which may be either of skins; of the bark of trees, or of boughs, according as you are provided. The two ends are for sleeping in, and must be bedded with fine boughs; the fire is made in the centre, and the Kettle hung over it upon the Ridge-pole. For a plan and elevation see Page 211. Coverings may also be made of Oiled-silk, or Seals-gut dried. Frost-burns and Sears These are only the different degrees of the same thing, and are the effect of severe frost upon the flesh. Severe frost having the same effect upon the flesh of any animal which fire has, by destroying it, is the reason for the term Frost-burn. The feet or toes are most subject to be frost-burnt, and that is occasioned either by their getting wet, or being too much confined in the Shoes: by which means, they are frozen solid, the flesh mortifies as far as the frost penetrated, and must be cut away; taking care not to cut into the sound flesh, and afterwards dressed with yellow Basilicon, in the manner that all wounds are. Prevention being much better than cure, let every man, who has the misfortune to have any part [199/] frozen, or liable to it, observe the only method that can be taken to prevent the serious consequences which will otherwise inevitably follow. He must take particular care, that his stockings are perfectly dry before he puts them on in the Morning; and if he has slept by a fire in the Woods, he should take off his stockings and dry them well before he sets out to walk; otherwise, the insensible perspiration of his feet will occasion them to be damp. He must not wear his stockings too long without washing. In case he should chance to wet his feet and has any distance to walk home, he should go into the next Wood, make a good fire, and dry his stockings etc well. He must mind that his shoes do not pinch him, and that his Rackets or Pot-lids are not tied on too tight; should the latter be the case, so soon as he perceives his toes to grow uncommonly cold, which they will do very soon after he leave home, he must take off his Rackets and walk without them until his toes get warm. The instant that he gets home, he ought to strip his feet and examine them, and he will

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then instantly discover whether his toes are frost burnt or not; if they are, he must immediately place his foot, or feet, in a vessel of cold water, and keep them there until the whole of the frost is extracted; minding to keep a piece of ice or some snow undissolved in the [200/] water during the whole of the time that his feet is in it. If he carefully observes so to do, the frost will be extracted without doing the least injury, but a mortification is sure to follow any other mode of application. Should any part be frozen which it is impossible to immerse in water, it must be kept well covered with snow, in a wet state, until the frost is extracted. A sear being no more than the first effect of the frost; and only skin deep, is to have snow applied to it, and that will recover it again in the space of a minute or two: but if it is suffered to thaw of itself, or by any warm application, a blister ensues, exactly similar to that produced by a scald, and must be treated in the same manner. If the great toe is frozen solid, it generally requires to be kept in water for eight hours, and the whole foot will take a longer time. The frost is not compleatly extracted, until the flesh is perfectly pliable and the skin has assumed its natural color. I have known many instances of Men being Frost-burnt; not one of which was ever attended with bad consequences, which was thawed by cold water; nor one which did not mortify, as deep as the frost had penetrated, which was thawed by any other means. N.B. European shoes are bad things for Winter’s use. Eskimeau Boots or shoes, or Nescaupick Mockissons are far preferable, and they should be large enough to admit of flannel socks.119 A pair of Listings or cloth shoes over them, will prevent a man’s feet from ever being cold. [201/] To train Rein-deer to the Sled Before you put them into a Sled, make them so perfectly tame, that they will follow you every where. Then make a Collar with two ropes to it, the same as a Stable-collar; The man, whom the Deer is most used to, must walk before, and other two hold on upon the ropes. After a day or two, harness the Deer in a light sled; up it on a snaffle bridle in addition to the 119 Cartwright was an early advocate of Inuit and Innu clothing, recognizing its suitability for Labrador conditions over European. This is evident in his portrait but also in references in the Journal.

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Collar; one man must sit upon the Sled and drive, but the other three are to do as before directed. Be extremely gentle, and when the Deer draws tractably, the Men who have hold of the Collar-ropes must slack them, that the Deer may be entirely governed by the reins. When the creature draws steady in that manner, put on a belt, but do not curb it tight. The last thing to be done is, to drive the animal without a man going before it: but do not be in too great a hurry, lest you make it turn restive. Having caught one Deer to draw, proceed in the same manner with another, and when you put it into the Sled, fasten the trained one before it. If you train a Calf, use the Mountaineer sled, and have a man walk before it for the whole of the first Winter; it being the nature of young Deer to follow their dams, and not go before them. Young Deer should not be made to draw heavy weights, nor any to too great a distance. If you train an old Deer, so soon as he draws well, push him on to pass the man who walks before, who must then run by his side, and he will soon learn to go entirely without him. Use your voice sparingly, for he must learn to [202/] draw without it. Lunge them in a Carison[?]; first without, and then in the Sled, with a man sitting upon it. To find Wolf-cubs Having seen an Earth or two, near the heads of Estuaries where the soil was sandy and well clothed with tall trees, which were large enough for Wolves, but much too big for Foxes, I was induced to suppose that they were made by the former for the purpose of breeding in: and from the circumstance of a pair of Wolves frequenting the neighbourhood of some of my Salmon-Posts for the whole of certain Summers, which was known by frequently hearing them howl both by Day and by Night; I strongly suspected, that their Cubs were not far off: and indeed I was once confirmed in that suspicion, by one of my people catching a small Cub in a Fox-trap. Although I believe, that they generally breed in Earths, as Foxes do, yet they may, like them also, occasionally breed above-ground. Be that matter as it may, they may be found, in either case, by the following means. When you have frequently heard the howling of a pair of Wolves near the same place, take a large piece of the carcass of a Seal; a piece of any other flesh, or a whole Salmon split down the back, and drag it to the

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place where you supposed the Wolves [203/] were; lay bare a spot of ground and scratch the earth over that it may shew the impression of the feet of whatever animal treads upon it; and leave the drag in the centre of it: Do that soon after night sets in and visit it at Day-light the next Morning. If you find it eaten, or carried away by Wolves, draw upon the scent of them, with your dog in a Liam, and he will lead you up to the place where their Cubs are deposited: for they will certainly return to them immediately. If an artificial earth was made, perhaps wolves would breed in that, in the course of a few Years. If you see the tracks of the cubs, there will be no use in Drawing on them. To learn a Dog to draw upon any Scent Having taught a Dog to draw upon the Scent of one animal, he will naturally do it upon that of any other which you lay him upon. As all Dogs are fond of Deer, and the Scent of them lays uncommonly well and he is assisted by the sight of the Slot, which both him and yourself can easily percieve, that is the best animal to train your Dog to. The best sort of Dog for this purpose, is a Hound; a Terrier, or a Pointer. He must have a Collar on, and you must be provided with a Liam. Be upon the ground, where Deer usually feed, at Day-break, and so soon as you discover a Slot, which your Dog challenges, take him up in the Liam, and encourage him to draw upon it, and give him both a smart check with the Liam and a cut with your whip every time he opens upon it; for he must always draw mute. In case of wounding a Deer, let him go out of sight, and then draw [204/] up to him; when you have killed him, encourage your Dog to tear at his throat, and reward him with some of the blood and warm guts. A very few lessons will make him perfect in his business, and you will then find him of very great use. To find Black-Bears in the Winter When it happens that so free a thaw sets in as to cause a stream of water to run down the Rivers and Brooks, which sometimes is the case, the Bears will go out of their Caves and walk along the sides of those streams. Should you meet with their tracks soon after the Thaw commences, take it the reverse way and you will find the Cave, which you must mark, and

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you will find the Bear in it after the Frost has set in again. But if the Frost had recommenced and his track was fresh, follow it until you corner him. Tin-pot trap for Foxes A Fox may be caught in a tin-pot made ten inches in circumference at the top, thirteen at the bottom and seven inches deep, without any handle. Melt some suet of any kind, add a little Treacle to it, and pour as much into the pot as will cover the bottom for half an inch; then drop two or three bits of black-rotten Cheshire cheese into it, run a drag up to the place & drop two or three bits of the same cheese upon the ground near the pot. When the Fox discovers the bait, he will ram his head into the pot, and be dead in the space of a minute. [205/] A servant of mine chanced to set a tin pot upon the ground, which he had just eaten a mess out of, and one of my Dogs immediately forced his head into it, for the sake of what was left, and, not being able to get it off again, was dead in one minute or thereabouts. The same thing will happen to a Fox, if he will force his head into the pot, and there is little doubt of that, after he has eaten the bits of Cheese, which were dropped upon the ground, and winds that and the fat in the pot. To intoxicate such Fish as will eat Grains Powder Coculus Indicus120 and boil it in ale, in the proportion of one ounce to a quart; then boil some Malt in that liquor, and throw it into the water. To intoxicate such Birds as eat Corn [Instructions for boiling corn with ale are struck out with added note, “Tried, but the birds would not touch or stray near it”] For such birds as will eat paste, or pounded Potatoes, mix a sufficient quantity of Laudanum.

120 A poisonous berry of a wood vine from the East Indies (Anamirta cocculus) used to stun fish and control vermin.

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A man assured me, that he once caught seventeen wild Geese, in England, by mixing Laudanum with pounded Potatoes. N.B. I do not believe him, for the Laudanum would make the Potatoes bitter, as the Ale & Coculus did the Corn. [206/] English Deer-Toils They are made of twine which is eight-tenths of an inch in circumference; the depth is ten feet, and the mesh rather more than ten inches square. They are made for Fallow-Deer, but will catch Red-Deer also. To make Shot A tub, for water; an iron frame, to fix upon the top of the tub, for the shot-mould to rest upon; a Copper or brass vessel, shaped like a stew-pan but not so deep, punched full of holes with a hollow punch, for a Mould; eleven tin sifters, each punched full of holes to suit the different numbers of Shot; an Iron-pot, to melt the lead in; an iron ladle, to dip it out with, and a small, strong barrel, fixed upon an axletree, to polish the shot in, comprise the whole of the utensils requisite for this business. The iron pot should be fixed in Brick-work, and the tub placed near it; fix the iron frame upon the tub; fill the latter with water so high, that the surface of it shall be only four inches below the upper side of the iron frame; weigh your lead, put it into the iron-pot and melt it, when it [207/] is so hot as to appear of a greenish color, strew in as much Auri-pigmentum121 as will lay upon a shilling, to every ten pounds of Lead, and stir it well with the ladle until it flames; try it then, by dropping a little into a glass of water: If it drops with tails, add more Auri-pigmentum, but if it crackles and drops hollow, tis too hot. Having corrected the fault, put some live coals into the mould; place that upon the iron frame, and then pour the lead through it, with the Ladle, and it will be formed into shot of all sizes. Mind that the tub will contain more water than the lead is able to heat too much. Having run all the lead, take out the shot and dry it; then sift it through the largest sifter first, and so on until you have gone 121 Arsenic sulphide, orpiment.

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through the whole of them; by which process you will separate the different sizes. You must then lay the shot, a little at a time, upon a Table placed upon a recline, that the round grains may run off, and leave the tailed and oval ones behind. Lastly, it is to be put into the barrel, and turned round until it be properly polished. [208/] To temper Wire, for Slips and Traces Unless the Wire is properly tempered, the Slips and Snares will not stand well, and they will easily break if they get kinked. Lay some Straw, or Shavings, upon the ground; open the coils of wire (which must be of brass) and lay them thereon, then cover them with more Straw or Shavings, and set it on fire; the quantity of fewel must be sufficient to heat the wire red, and it must remain, untouched, until it be perfectly cold, when it will be fit for use. Kitchen-Range Bricks and Lime taking up much room in a Ship and being troublesome to lay, Cast-iron would be cheapest and best. It must be made in separate pieces; the seams drawn with mortar, and a funnel fitted upon the top. As it must stand at some distance from the Wall, it would throw a very considerable deal of heat into the Kitchen. I think it very possible to contrive an iron Oven, to be placed at the back of the Range, and to fix a pair of Boilers at the back of that; in which [209/] case they must all stand with their ends to the Wall, and all their funnels may be brought into one. Such a contrivance would not only save much expence and trouble, but secure the House from fire also. Blue Jay This is the bird not much larger than a Fieldfare, although it appears bigger, by the length of its feathers, and is a great nuisance to the Furrier, by following him along his Cat-path, and robbing his Traps and Deathfals of their bait. As they are not worth the expence of ammunition, they may be destroyed in the following manner, and will serve to bait the Traps with. Be provided with a few small fish-hooks, tied on to a piece of strong

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thread; bait one of them with a bit of Seal’s-fat, and fasten it upon the top of a Cat-house, when you observe a Jay to follow you, and he will most probably be caught before you have gone twenty yards from it. For want of such a hook, tie a pin by the middle, and bait that with a small, long bit of Seal’s fat. If you have no Seal’s fat, use that of Salted Pork. Food for Falcons upon the Passage to England Collect a sufficient number of young Saddle-backs; Keep them in Hencoops & feed them with jerked fish well soaked. One will be sufficient for a Cast of Hawks122 for a Day. [210/] Hawk-doors for a Deer-Pound Note. Hawk-doors for a Deer-pound had best be made in two separate pieces each; the lowermost ones two feet high, and the uppermost pieces six feet high. It will be necessary to set up two frames of Wood, in the manner of Door-cases, to support them; the outermost must be six inches, by four, and the inner one, six inches, by two, and both eight feet high. The lower pair of hawks must be nailed firm to the outer-frame, and their points stand only eight inches asunder. The outermost frame must be nine feet wide, and the innermost one five feet in width, and that must be so far advanced within the Hawk, as to support the Racks, and they are to be stapled fast to it, to prevent being forced open. The uppermost Racks are to be hung to the outermost frame by Hooks and Gimmels, in the same manner as a Gate is hung; they are to rest, when shut, against the inner frame, and so contrived, as to open easily when a Deer presses against them, as he goes into the Pound, and shut of themselves: but the outer sides of the inner frame must have some Moss or Swanskin123 fixed upon them, to prevent any noise being made, when the Racks fall to against them. The points of the upper Racks must be set gradually wider than the points of the lower ones, until they stand fourteen inches asunder. By making the Hawk-Doors (or Racks) in this manner, the snow will not prevent their opening and shutting, which otherwise might have been 122 A group of hawks; may mean a pair in this context. 123 Flannel fabric.

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the case, and the Deer will take some other rout[e], before there is two feet of snow upon the ground. The lower ends of both frames should be sunk into the ground, until their upper sides are even with it, and covered with earth.

[211/] Ground-plan of the Hawk-Doors and the two frames: the ends of whose sides are represented in red ink124 Scale, 5 feet to an inch The bottoms of the two frames (which are represented with blackink) must be sunk rather below the level of the ground, and covered with earth, and the Bark should be left upon the inner parts of the tops and sides of both frames.

124 Red ink has faded.

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Plan of a Hawk-Door, made in two separate pieces, of No. 1 iron wire, and fixed in battens of inch board, which are represented by the figures 1, 2 & 3. The figures 4 & 4 point out the places where the Gimmels are to be fixed. [Dotted line is the ground]

Ground-plan of a Back-tilt / End elevation of a Back-tilt / Plan and elevation of a Mountaineer’s Whigwham

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[212/] Large Pitfal-Trap Bears, both the White and Black, are so continually cruising along the shores of all the waters in Labrador, that you will not fail to discover evidence of their doing so, unless the whole of the shore is a bare rock. You will also discover a good path across almost every Isthmus. But you will observe, that Bears are always most plentiful in the neighbourhood of such Rivers as have a Cataract near their mouths; the Salmon being stopped thereby. As black Bears retire into their Caves, so soon as the ground is well covered with snow, and White ones are in quest of Seals, upon the outer edge of the ice upon the Sea, from Christmas until April, a large Pit-fal Trap may be of great use during the Summer, but of very little in the Winter, and therefore one for the Summer only may be built in the following manner. Lay a frame of timber upon the ground, thirty feet long and eighteen feet wide, across the Shore, or any path which crosses an Isthmus and trunnel the corners of it together; set up a Post at each corner, ten feet high and two others on each side at equal distances, and nail a Wallplate upon them; Stud all round, with perfectly straight trees that are at least six inches in diameter at their bottoms; lay another frame upon the ground on the outside of the Studs and fix two others at their tops, one on each side, to secure them there also, but you need not chince between them. Lay a Beam across the top, ten feet from one end; cover over that end and fix the falling doors upon it, as directed in Page 18, but make both the doors nine feet long & six feet broad, and then there will be no occasion for the Platforms, as the outer ends of those doors will be four feet six inches long, and that is sufficient [213/] for the largest bear to place all his feet upon, before he places one of them upon the falling end, and, as the hind part will cock up when the fore-part falls, he cannot recover. You have now the Trap finished and a Yard to it, and the side of the Trap next to the Yard open. You must then make slopes up to the ends of the doors, and run out Hawk fences from the bottoms of them, as before directed in Page 19, but you need not make a Roof over the Trap.

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In case you build this trap upon any shore which is of sufficient breadth, build the whole of it upon the open shore, and the Yard must be next to the Water; but where the shore is too narrow, place the end of the Yard at highwater mark, and clear away the woods for the other end of it. If you build it upon an Isthmus, place the Trap upon the path, at a sufficient distance from one of the shores that there may be a space of at least twenty yards from the foot of the slope to the upper edge of the shore; the Yard must be on one side, and Hawk fences run out to the shore, but not upon it, and also to a considerable distance from the opposite side. A ladder will be necessary, to descend into the Yard by, and it must be drawn up again when you come out. It will be proper to place some long narrow boxes against the sides and end of the Yard, for the foxes and other smaller animals to shelter themselves in lest they be devoured by the larger ones, and they must be open at both ends. The outsides of the Yard should be masked with tree tops, to prevent fresh animals from seeing those which are caught. Have fresh water in the Yard if possible. [214/] How to run Hawk-fences out to what distance you please, upon a flat shore which the tide leaves bare for a considerable distance Run out a set of Beams, to any distance beyond low-water mark, and support them with Posts & Shores, and then stud them close enough, to prevent foxes from passing. Bay Seals125 These animals have been mentioned before, in Page 70, and directions given for catching them: But, upon reconsidering those directions, I find it necessary to make some slight alterations in them. The Rocks, which those animals bask upon, are generally at no great distance from the Shores of Harbours or Coves which are not deep, and many of them are not bare until the tide is half ebbed, or more, and there is often not more than three feet water for several yards beyond them; 125 Harbour seal (Phoca vitulina).

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consequently, if the lennet of a net was tucked up, there would not be a sufficiency left free for a Seal to entangle itself in. At Spring-tides, the water flows only six feet, and five during the neep tides. You should therefore [215/] observe the time of the tide when the heads of those rocks first appear and measure the height of them above water, when it is at the lowest ebb. Having provided two, or four, large stones, securely slung or killicks without claws, fix a mooring, of eight or ten feet in length, to each and a bouy to the end it [sic] it, and lay one of them down off each corner of the rocks, in from eight to ten feet of water, and run a line from one to the other, as directed in Page 70. Spread your nets upon the ground; fasten one end of a piece of Shore line to the foot-rope and the other end to the head-rope, at the distance of about four feet from each other, to prevent the head of the net from rising higher than within one foot of the head of the rocks, and then, as Shoal-nets are twelve feet deep, there will be plenty of lennet to entangle the Seals, and yet the head of it will not appear, upon the surface of the water, until the head of the Rocks are a foot above it and the Seals have taken their stations upon them. So soon as you percieve the head of the net afloat all round, creep down and fire a shot at them, and a boat must be in readiness, to row up immediately. Each Bouy must have a lanyard to it, and you must lay the nets out by the line that goes round them, and stop it, by the head-rope, to that line at each Bouy; that being done, fasten the mooring of a clawed [216/] killick at each corner of the foot-rope; row off, to the extent of the mooring, and there drop the Killick: the stops upon the head-rope are then to be cast off, and the line taken away. When you find the water to be eleven feet six inches deep, at a moderate distance from the Rocks, at the time that they first appear, that is the best depth to set your nets. A Plan of Rocks beset with Shoal-nets

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[217/] Technical Terms, used by Sportsmen Names of Beasts Red, and Rein-Deer Year – Male 1st Hind-Calf 2d Knobler 3d Brocket 4th Staggard 5th Stag 6th Hart

Deer’s Heads Stag and Rein-Deer Burr – The knob at the root of each Horn Pearls – The knobs upon the Burr Beam – The main branch of each Horn Gutters – Streaks in the Beam of a Stag Brow Antler – That immediately above the Burr Royal do – The next above the former Sur-Royals, those above again Crown – The top of a Stag’s Head Forked head – if only two Points Broches of 3, 4 etc If more than two

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Female 1st Calf 2d Hearse 3d Hind

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Buck’s Head Burr. Same as above Beam. Same as above Black Antler, that on the back of a Palm Advancer. That above the Burr Palm & Spellers. The flat top with its points

Fallow-Deer Male 1st Fawn 2d Pricket 3d Sorel 4th Soar 5th Buck, of first Head 6th Buck, or great Buck Female 1st Fawn 2d Teg 3d Doe [218/] Technical Terms used by Sportsmen Lodgings Red-Deer / Rein-Deer – Harbour Fallow-Deer – Lodge, or ly in Layre Roe – Beds Fox – Kennels Badger – Earths Otter – Watches Marten – Trees

Foot-marks of Animals Red-Deer – Slot, if a fair impression / Foiling, where scarce visible

Certain parts of Animals Horns of a Deer – The Head Tail of Do. – Single Do Wolf – Stern Do Fox – Brush Do Otter – Potter Pluck of a Deer – Nombles Noises Hart, Rein & Roe – Belloweth Buck – Groaneth

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Rein-Deer – The same as above Fox – Barketh Buck and other Deer – View, where Wolf – Howleth plain / Foiling, where imperfect Otter – Wineth Fox – Print Otter – Mark Other vermine – Footing Hare – Prick, in hard ground / Trace in snow Numbers of Deer etc Ordure 60 or more – Great Herd All that live on Browse – 40 to 60 – Middle Herd Fewmets, Fewmistings 20 to 40 – Small Herd Fox & Marten – Faunts under 20 – A Company Wolf – Lesses Roes – A Bevy Otter – Sprants Wolves – A Rout Hare, Rabbit – Buttons Deer in Winter, when dry – Crottiles To skin an Animal A deer standing to look at Red or Rein Deer – Flea them anything is said, to look Fallow, or Roe Deer – Take off the Skin at Gaze. Fox & other Vermine – Case them [219/] Recipies To cure the Canker in the Ears of Dogs Soap, Oil of Tartar, Sal Armoniack,126 Brimstone127 and Verdigris128 one ounce of each, and mix them with strong Vinager. Sore Ears Verjuice & Cheveril water.

126 Sal ammoniac or ammonium chloride has many uses from baking to soldering. 127 Sulphur. 128 Copper sulphate; poisonous.

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To keep Bitches from being Proud Give her nine corns of black-pepper in her meat every morning for a fortnight. Mange in Dogs If you suspect the Mange to be coming in, by the Dog’s coat not looking clean and sleek, dress him once in two Months or oftener with the following ointment1 lb native Sulpher 1 quart Train Oil 1 pint oil of Turpentine 2 lb black, or soft soap When the Mange has actually made its appearance, rub the infected parts with one ounce of the following Ointment, for three successive Days, and then wash him clean with soft Soap & fresh water; using a horse-brush. 4 oz Quicksilver 2 oz Venice Turpentine 1 lb Hogs-lard N.B. Kill the Quicksilver with the Turpentine, and then add the Lard. Meynil[?] [220/] Recipies Mange in a Dog Dip him in a Farmer’s lime-pit (i.e. strong Lime-water) taking care not to let it get into his eyes. When dry, wash him well in fair water, with a brush, lest any of the lime should remain on him which is not thoroughly quenched for that will take off his hair if he gets wet with rain or dew. To kill Fleas on a Dog Bathe him in a strong decoction of Wormwood.

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To free a Dog from Ticks Rub him well with Hogs-lard. To find the number of Gallons or Bushels which any Square, or oblong square vessel will hold. Turn the length, breadth and also the height into inches, each separately, then multiply the length by the breadth, and that product by the depth, and divide by 282, which will give the content in Ale-gallons, or by 2150, and that product will be the number of Bushels, or by 231 for Wine. To Gauge Tubs, or Casks Tubs Multiply the Square of the Diameter by the Depth, and divide the Product by 359 for Beer-gallons, 294 for Wine, or 2138 for Bushels. Tubs of unequal diameters at top & bottom [221/] Add both diameters together, and take the half; then proceed as before. Casks, whose heads are equal Square the Bung diameter, then multiply it by 2, to which add the square of the head diameter; then multiply by the length of the Cask, and divide by 1077 for Beer, or by 882 for Wine. Thus you will find a Cask, whose bung diameter is 28 inches, the head 25, and length 36, to contain 70 Ale Gallons, or 89 ½ Wine Gallons. Oil-House An Oil-House will be absolutely necessary, if a good Seal-post is occupied, and it had best be built there. The width of it should be thirty feet, height ten, and of what length you think proper, but take care, that it be not too short. If it be built at a place exposed to drifting snows; upon uneven

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ground, or that which has too much water up on it in the Spring, set it up upon Posts and Shores, at least a foot above the ground. Lay one corner of it about six inches lower than the opposite one; that the leakage of any Cask shall drain down into it. Having placed a sufficient number of Sleepers, lay a floor of inch and a half planks upon them; the edges of which must be jointed with a Plane, that they may fit as close as possible. Cover all the Seams with a strip of brown-paper, inch & half broad, pitched and tarred, and then give [222/] a compleat covering, with whole sheets, in the same manner, and lay a second floor, of inch boards jointed over the paper. Make a Vat of inch board, four feet square and the breadth of two boards in depth, in the manner directed in Page 10 No. 4 for the receiver. Cut a hole through the floor, at the lowest corner, and place the Vat thereon, so that the upper edge of it shall be half an inch below the level of the floor, and secure well all round it, with paper, to prevent the oil from running between them. What oil drains into it, may be dipped out so long as that can be done, and the rest drawn up with a large Syringe. At the same end of the House a Vat is to be built, to recieve the oil from the large washing-vat which stands without and it is to be drawn off into the Casks from that. Under the Plug-hole, which is to let the water out of that Vat, a spout must be fixed, to carry the water out by, through the side of the House. The sides and roof of the House are to be built in the manner directed for the building of Houses. Live Stock129 As the keeping of live-stock is a matter of importance to those who reside in Labrador, by supplying them with Butter, Cheese, Milk, Cream and fresh-meat, I shall give directions relative to them. Cows, Sheep and Pigs should be kept upon an Island during the Summer, lest they stray into the Country and be lost, or get worried by the Wolves. From the second Week in June, until the end of September and sometimes later, they will provide for themselves, but they must be housed, during the rest of the Year, and fed upon dry food. Where the 129 Cartwright kept small numbers of livestock in Labrador at different times, including fowl, goats, sheep, cows, and pigs. He also experimented with gardening year after year, and is the first on record to attempt small-scale farming in southern Labrador. Moravian missionaries at Nain, in northern Labrador, were contemporaries and they, too, began gardening and experimented (unsuccessfully) with raising livestock.

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land is proper for the purpose, [223/] it may be ploughed with a light Plough drawn either by the Cows, tame Deer, or Dogs, and sown with Grass-seeds, Skegs, or the Labrador Vetches. Skegs are the best for the first Crop, as they may be mown at the end of the same Summer, but the land must be laid down with the other seeds, that they may continue to produce annual Crops. In some parts of Labrador I have found great beds of natural vetches, which may be cut and dried, and there are some spots of good grass for Hay to be met with, but the odds are very great against any person meeting with either, near the place where it is convenient for him to live, and there is great inconveniences attending the cruising for, and collecting them from several small spots. In process of time, a sufficiency of the Woods may be cleared away to grow Hay upon near to a Man’s dwelling-house, but many places may be found at a distance, which require the Plough and seeds only: Indian Corn may be imported from America and it is not a dear article. Indian Meal and Milk will be excellent food for Hogs or Black-Bears, or it may be mixed with water and a little Treacle or Molasses. Geese & Ducks may be kept for a trifling expence during the Summer, and what are intended to be eaten in the Winter may be killed so soon as the frost is fairly set in; the rest fed upon Indian Corn & Meal. The same may be done with Turkeys and common Fowls. If you [224/] get plenty of Hay, the wild Deer may be kept about you all the Winter, and will grow tame enough to be easily killed. I am decidedly of opinion, that they would be very fond of Indian Corn. In a course of years, as [sic] Man may get a large herd of tame Deer, and they will not require much fodder, if he lives near to barren, open ground. What with Venison and live-stock, there need be no occasion to purchase either Salt Beef, Pork or Butter, and by Pickling what he cannot eat fresh in the manner directed in Page 56, he will have more to sell, every year, than sufficient to purchase every other kind of Provisions. Nails The consumption of nails being very great in Labrador,130 it is adviseable to purchase a quantity of old ones: for they will be as good for many purposes as new ones, and are to be got from certain Smiths in London, who 130 Quantities of corroded forged iron nails and nail fragments are found on all historical-period archaeological sites in southern Labrador.

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purchase old ones and straighten them. New nails should be made on purpose for that Country; those usually made being thicker than necessary, consequently heavier, because they are made, to be driven into oak. As nails are sold by weight, if they are thicker than necessary, they are also more expensive. The nails most wanted are of four inches and a half, and of three inches long: but it will be requisite to have some of 12, 9, & 7 inches, and also of all lengths under three inches, and also various sizes of Brads. Old nails are sold at half the price of new. [225/] Windows In all severe climates, the frames of the sashes ought to be about three inches thick and glaized both on the out-side and also on the in. The putty must be put on out-side of each, and therefore it will be necessary to take out the opposite square, to fix a fresh one in the inside, in case one should be broken there. The height of the whole window should not be more than two thirds the height of the Room; to admit of two shutters being drawn up, out of a case, fixed close to the wall, below the foot of the Window. For inferior Houses and rooms, oiled paper may be made use of instead of Glass: A light, shifting frame of the same should be made, to fix up before each sash during the Winter, and they may be taken down at the end of it. When rooms are low, the Windows must be wider than their height, or made square, that they may give more light; for which purpose, the squares must be made in that manner. Windows which are double-glaized, will require the inner squares to be somewhat less than those on the outer side of the sashes. All rooms, which are heated by a close stove, should have a square of glass in the top corner of one Window to open with hinges, and where they are double glaized, it will be necessary to make the outer one rather less than the inner square that it may open into it: Or a hole may be made in the outer wall of the room, [226/] and a door, lined with flannel, made to shut close over it. That hole may be cut in one of the Posts, and made larger than wide, and the door of it made to slide. It need not be made higher up the wall than six feet, where it will be within reach.

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Good, strong glass should be used, or paper which is made on purpose for that use. In case of a deficiency of both Glass and Paper, the guts of Seals will make very tolerable Windows. It may be purchased from the Eskimeaux for a mere trifle, or you may procure it in the following manner. Save the guts of what Seals you kill; empty the contents and wash them clean; tie up one end; blow it full of wind and then tie up the other end; that done, extend it from one tree or post to another and let it dry. So soon as it is dry, cut off both ends; slip your hand along it, to press it flat, and then slit it from end to end. Cut off a piece, of three or four feet in length, and cut that into strips of two tenths of an inch in breadth, and use them for thread, to sew the other pieces together with; damping both before you begin to sew, or the one will be apt to tear, and the other to break. In that manner you may make Windows; Jackets, or coverings for Hats etc.131 To make a Trammel The Wall must be begun upon a single mesh and widened every time until it is brought to its full depth; you must then continue to widen upon one side but narrow upon the other until it is the proper length, when you must narrow upon both sides until it is finished. The Lennet must be begun upon as many meshes as will make it considerably deeper than the Wall, and continue on until it is one fifth part longer than the Wall when properly brought to that rope. It is brought to the ropes by running a twine, [227/] of proportionable strength through three, four or more meshes and then knotting upon the rope, at such distances as will be equal to the length of the Wall, which is to be brought to at the same time. Some Trammels have a double Wall. It must be lightly leaded, & the corks nicely adjusted. To secure the roof of a House from being set on Fire, by the heat of a Stove-funnel, and to prevent leakage through the funnel-hole A hole must be cut through the roof of the House for the Funnel, which ought to stand about two feet above the Ridge. That hole must be four 131 Cartwright would have observed Inuit women preparing sealskin both around his households and during his visits to Inuit camps in St Lewis Inlet and in the Sandwich Bay area.

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inches in diameter more than the diameter of the Funnel. Provide one Funnel of strong tin; fifteen inches long; the bottom of which must fit neatly into the hole, and be nailed upon the inside of the roof by cutting it an inch up in five or six places, and then turning the pieces outwards. The top of it must be only so much wider than the funnel, that the latter will slip through it. When the tin Funnel is thrust up through the Roof, and nailed underneath, put the top joint of the Stove-funnel through it. You must then have another Funnel of Copper; the bottom of which must be wide enough to cover the hole in the roof, and have a rim, one inch broad, to nail it upon the Roof. The length of that Funnel must be about an inch longer than the top of the Stove-funnel, and no wider than necessary, and brown paper must be [228/] put over the rim with Pitch and Tar. The tin-funnel will then prevent the roof from taking fire; the paper will prevent either rain or snow from leaking through the hole, and the outside-funnel will prevent any wet from running down the outside of the Stove-funnel. Whatever slope the roof has, the bottoms of both those short-funnels must be cut accordingly that they may stand perpendicular. Elevation of the Stove and Funnels, and section of the Roof & Funnels Explanation 1.1 Legs of the Stove 2.2 Stove 3.3 Copper Funnel of Stove 4.4 Roof of the House132 5.5 Sod covering of the Roof 6.6 The tin, inside Funnl [sic] 7.7 The Copper outside Funnel

132 The sketch shows a slight angle to the roof, which corresponds with Cartwright’s instructions in Additions that the “fall” of the roof was two to four inches (Stopp 2008, 70).

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N.B. There is no occasion for the tin funnel, the outside Copper one will be sufficient, and there must be another joint to fit on upon the top of it. The slope of the roof may be brought to a level by a piece of board properly cut. [229/]

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Roofing for Furring-Tilts and such Houses are [sic] it may be requisite to build so far up the Country, that no boat can go near them. If such Buildings are erected whilst the Trees may be rinded, roofing may always be got upon the spot, but if they are to be built afterwards, the Roofing must be carried up, and rinds are too heavy. Paint sheets of brown paper on both sides, and when they are dry, they are to be rolled up and will be easily carried. For want of any cheap kind of Paint, pounded chalk, mixed up with Lineseed, or Seal’s oil will do; the color being of no consequence. Lay rafters close together, cover with the Paper, and lay sods over all. This covering will be perfectly dry and warm, and will last several Years. Rendering Vat The Rendering Vats described in Pages 10 & 13 are constructed after the French method of rendering the livers of the Cod-fish into oil, but I find, upon reconsidering the matter, that it will be both cheaper and more expeditious to use whole boards. If time will permit, give the boards a slight plaining [sic] & edging, then nail them close to each other, but do not pinch them in, that they may be so tight as to cause any obstruction to the oil running freely. By this method, the whole of the strainer-cloth and many nails will be [230/] saved, and the reflection of the Sun from the boards, as well as their being heated by it, will expedite the rendering of the oil. Although the boards will appear to touch each other at the first, yet the seams will soon become sufficiently open, but not so much as to permit the fat to run between them. After the oil is pretty well rendered out, if the fat is passed between a pair of rollers; recieved into a bag, made of Lance-Bunt,133 and put under a strong Press, every drop of oil might be obtained, and the residue dried to feed Dogs, or bait Traps with. To do that, it would be necessary to place a Hopper over the Rollers, to feed them regularly, and to have a box of two-inch Plank, open at the top only, and holes in the bottom and sides, to put the bag into, that the Press might not burst it open. 133 Net of the smallest mesh used for catching lance, a bait fish in Newfoundland.

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These things are expensive, I must allow, but the superior quality of the oil and the additional quantity which would be procured, would soon repay the cost with very great interest. N.B. Perhaps it might be the best way to place the rollers over the Rendering-Vat, and squeeze the rans134 of fat between them in the first instance. The Hopper should be large enough to contain a Hogshead of fat, and the rollers turned with a fly-wheel. [231/] Owls The following is an excellent way to catch an owl, when the weather is not frosty. Procure a rat or mouse alive, tye a string to the tail of it, and tye the other end of that string to a stick which is sufficiently strong to bear the weight of it; thrust a pointed stick obliquely into the ground, to make an artificial hole for the rat or mouse; at a proper distance from that hole stick the butt-end of the long stick, which the rat or mouse is suspended to, into the ground in an oblique position, in such manner that the animal shall be able to set its fore feet upon the ground close before the hole; then stick a proper sized twig, smeered with bird-lime, or rather two of them, in such manner that an owl cannot rake off the animal without touching a twig. The animal will keep incessantly striving to get into the hole, by which it will attract the attention of the first owl that passes by; she will strike at it, and be certainly caught by the limed twigs. Eagles, Falcons, or any other bird of prey may be caught by pricking birdlimed twigs obliquely into the ground, and tethering a proper live bait in the centre of them. Black Ducks These birds being extremely good, are much coveted; but it is a difficult matter to kill them, because they are remarkably shy: but you may certainly kill every one [232/] which you chance to meet with in any small pond, although there should be nothing to shelter your approach to it, provided you have the assistance of a trained Falcon. When you arrive as near the pond as you can do without being perceived by the Ducks, throw 134 Also “rands” of fat, being pieces of fat sliced off the seal carcass.

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off your Falcon and the instant that the Ducks espy her, they will sculk down & swim close in to one of the shores of it; you may then walk boldly up and fire at them; the report of your gun will cause all, which are not killed, to take wing; your Falcon will instantly stoop at them, and they will as instantly strike down into the water again, and the same will happen every time you fire; which will enable you to kill the whole of them. This method will prove equally successful with all kinds of Ducks, in every part of the World, provided the pond is not too large. N.B. As the Falcon will fly in circles, you are to fire at such times only as she is coming towards the pond, but not when her head is the reverse way. [Sealing Post at Cape Charles] On the other page is a plan of the Sealing-post at Cape Charles, with the manner in which the nets were placed when I occupied it, and where I killed near eight hundred Seals in the year 1770, and nine hundred and seventy two the following year, with only six Men and two boats.135 The Stopper-nets were new the first year, but all the twelve Shoal-nets were old ones. The second year I had ten of the same nets, and two new ones; both of which were carried away by Whales. North East and North of Cabareta Island lay others which are much larger, and the wide Bay of Saint Lewis beyond them; the Seals in the route of their migration to the Southward enter the Harbour and Sound of Cape Charles on both sides of those Islands; trim round Marr’s Cove and run out to Sea again through the Tickle between Cabareta, and Seal-island. Were I to occupy that Post again and the Seals be in as great plenty and stay as long as they did in both those years, which generally has been the case ever since, I would engage to kill six thousand at the least with fifteen men and seven boats, by fishing it according to my improved way, which is represented in red ink 1 to 12 moorings [and] [?] to 24[?] nets. [233/] 135 An interesting and unique historical detail about sealing at a known place and time. The year 1770 was Cartwright’s first in Labrador and it was his first time sealing. The entry is equally interesting because it gives the positions of the sealers’ house and the sealing vat, and describes the direction of movement of harp seals through the Cape Charles island group. Archaeological sites at Cape Charles suggest that Maritime Archaic Indians and Dorset Palaeoeskimo also sealed in this precise spot, as did later Inuit, followed by Europeans. Cartwright’s place names have changed in the intervening 245 years: Marr’s Cove is today’s Antill’s Cove; Cabareta Island is today’s Tilcey Island; Seal Island is today’s Wall Island (E. and A. Luther, St. Lewis, 2014, personal communication; Canadian National Topographic System map 3D/4E, “St. Peter Bay”).

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[234/] Seal Trammel I am greatly of opinion, that a trammel would be an excellent net to catch Seals in: but as it is an expensive one, I would recommend to try one only at the first, and let that have double Walls and be one of the Murderers. The twine should be made of the best Salmon-twine, which is made at Bridport136 for the Newfoundland fishery. The Walls must be made of the finest Cod-lines. The Lennet must be netted in leaves twelve feet in depth and two hundred feet long, upon a card of two inches square. The Walls must be three feet square in the mesh, but the length and depth must be determined by the place where it is to be used. Each leaf of the Lennet must be brought to separately, so as to resemble so many trammels placed one above the other, lest if it were otherwise, the weight of the spare Lennets should be so great as to prevent the Seals from forcing it through the meshes of the Walls near the head. As an old Harp-seal, which is the kind usually caught, is a large and long animal, the Lennet had best [235/] be double the length and depth of the Walls. For this, as well as all kinds of Stopper-nets, it will be best to have a mould to cast perforated leads, of an olive shape, which must be strung upon a SaintPeter’s line and stopped to the foot of each net after it is put out; the nets, themselves, being very heavy. Rendering Vat If a rendering-vat is built four feet wide at the bottom; eight feet wide at the top, and twelve feet high, every ten feet in length (measuring at the bottom) will contain fourteen tuns and a quarter: and a fifth part more must be allowed for the two ends of the top, which over-hang the bottom. Kennel-yard Trap If Foxes are kept in a Kennel with a Yard to it, they will decoy others in the night, and these may easily be taken by cutting a hole in the Yard-wall 136 Bridport and area, in Dorset, southwest England, has a centuries-long history as a centre of cordage-, net-, and canvas-making. Locally grown hemp and flax were processed by families and manufactories and supplied the British empire and beyond (Sims 2009).

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three feet from the ground, large enough for a Fox to enter at, and placing a board in the same manner as one of the doors of a Pitfal-trap; the outer end of which must [236/] lay even with the outside of the wall; the inner end project about a foot within, & the pivots placed in such manner that the back end of the board shall strike against the top of the hole when it is born down. A slope must be made up to the hole on the outside of the wall, with sods, stones or any thing else. This will be a better way than trap-doors placed upon the top, because Wolves cannot enter through these small holes. Furriers’ Tilts Where plenty of Rinds are to be had, which generally will be the case if the Tilt is built in June, July or August, build it twenty one feet by twelve; partition off eight feet at the farther end for the Tilt, and erect one of the lesser Pit-fal traps in the remaining part. A few studs must be left out, at the end of it, for an entrance, which will never be blocked up by snow. Should rinds be scarce, the outer part may be covered with boughs or sods only; they being sufficient to keep off the snow, but it will be best to roof over the trap with rinds, and very few will be sufficient. This Tilt is intended for one which will not be constantly inhabited, by the Furrier having others in which he will sleep in their turns; otherwise the Trap will be of little use. I constantly observed, that all Houses which had been occupied in the Summer, but deserted in [237/] the Winter, were much frequented by Wolverenes; Lynks; Foxes and Martens; particularly Salmon-houses, in which some of the Salmon-pickle had been left in the tubs, and I have found several Martens drowned in it. In order to cause them to frequent the Tilts in greater numbers, they should be kept constantly baited all the Summer, where it is practicable so to do. Observations on Wolves & Foxes When I lived in Charles Harbour, Labrador, I used to go occasionally to the Table-land of Saint Peters in quest of Deer, and at the head of Harbour Pleasure I found the carcass of a Whale, which had been killed by an

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American Whaler three or four years before.137 The flesh of the Whale, being of a very hard and fiberous nature, does not readily corrupt and therefore there was still a considerable quantity left, and I observed, that the whole ground, for a considerable distance round, was compleatly covered with the Lesses of Wolves and the Faunts of Foxes; to whom it had proved a Magazine of Provisions for the whole of that time: for several of them were quite fresh and I saw a Fox going to it. From that discovery I am most thoroughly convinced, that the Carcass of a Whale would prove an article of incalculable value, if a house [238/] were built over it, and a large Pit-fal Trap erected therein. For want of a Whale, an hundred or two of Seals carcasses would answer the same purpose, and those might always be had at a Sealing-Post. A fresh supply should be laid in every Spring, that the House may be kept constantly baited all the Summer; at which Season the smell would attract them from a very great distance all round, according as the various winds blew, and they would frequent it ever after. Those also, which chanced to cross the track of any who had been feeding there, would run heel until they found the place. The trap must be fastened during the Summer, and a quantity of bait laid at the back of it, that they might be used to go freely upon it; Wolves and Foxes being exceedingly suspicious of every thing that is new to them. Such a house, I am sure, would kill two or three hundred Pounds worth of Furs every Winter. Houses A Labrador Winter is so extremely severe, that the utmost care should be taken to make houses perfectly weather-tight. Upon the outward casing of boards, paste brown paper, and Paint it. [239/]

137 This information explains some of the whalebone fragments that can still be seen at Pleasure Harbour. Other whalebone in that harbour dates to the time of a small Basque whale-rendering station of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. A second Basque station was to the south, in Chateau Bay, and a third was not far to the north at Cape Charles.

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Deathfal, or Cat-path It being essentially necessary, that you should fur as great an extent of Country as possible with any certain number of traps, your path should be cut in a perfectly straight line, and that you will find impossible to do, unless you proceed methodically. Having determined upon what point of the Compass you will cut a path, place a Mariner’s Compass at a little distance from the edge of the Woods, and prick down two sticks about ten or a dozen yards asunder and upon the point you intend it shall run; slit the top-ends of them, and fix a bit of white paper therein: then go only so far into the woods as to enable you to see both those bits of paper, bring them both in a line, and cut a path, two or three feet wide, back to them; you are then to go farther in and do the same until you have cut as far as those marks will serve for; and then place two others in a line with them; continuing to do the same all the way to the end of the path. Until the path is four miles long you may return home at night, but it will be necessary to carry out provisions and sleep in the Woods afterwards, or too much time will be lost in going backwards & forwards. In cutting the path, it will not only be necessary to clear away all young trees and low shrubs, but also wind-falls and tall trees [240/] unless the latter should be very stout ones; in which case it will be more expeditious to let those remain until you have more leasure. If the path runs in a West direction, toss all your fellings out on the South side, and if it runs in a North or South direction, toss out on the East side, and your traps must be placed on the opposite sides. If you cut by the side of a River or Brook, explore it first, that you may not be forced to make angles, by either meeting with the water, or going too far from it: but if the Country is hilly and the tall trees grow in the Valley, it will be necessary to follow the windings of the Stream. That your traps may be placed at equal distances, pace off two hundred and twenty yards, and place a trap there, and so on until you have placed them all. Eight miles is a sufficient length for one walk, as the fatigue of walking upon light snow, & the time requisite to clear and fresh bait sixty four traps will be a fair Day’s-work. There should be a Tilt built at every eight Miles, for the Furrier to sleep in, it therefore follows, that it will require twelve Furriers to fur an extent of ninety six Miles; two of whom must live at every other Tilt. The first two

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living at the end of the first eight Miles, one will walk back to be [the] beginning of the path and sleep there, whilst the other goes to the Tilt at the sixteenth mile, where he will meet a man from the twenty fourth mile, and so on: which will cause two to be together every night except [241/] those two who sleep every second night at the two extremities; for each man is to return home again, the next day. Where a Rivulet or small Brook intervenes, a log bridge must be thrown across it, and if a long Pond be in the way, a raft must be made, to cross upon, if a canoe cannot be carried up to it: and it is very common to meet with those obstructions. [Text crossed out] In this manner you may extend a Path to any distance that you have men to occupy, and at the same time be able to recieve intelligence from, or send orders to them all every other day, except Sundays; on which days, they should all remain at home. Tools & Furniture requisite for Furring-Tilts Each resident Tilt must be furnished with two felling-hatchets, one tinkettle; four flat-files; ½ lb stone-brimstone; six dozen of Cat-boards; one dozen of Otter-boards; one dozen of Fox-boards; one hammer; 500 Racket-nails; 50 Shallops-nails; two Mountaineer-sleds; two St. Peter’s lines; three doz. Fox-traps; six Deer-slips; one Table; one Lamp; ½ lb Lamp-wick; two whetstones for knives; one quart-pot; one Platter & one Ladle (wch the Furriers will make of Birch-wood). Their Bedding Blankets & Rugs, Pillow-case filled with Moss, & Deer-skins. The occasional Tilts must have one Felling-hatchet; one File; one tinkettle; one Table; one Lamp; ½ lb Lamp-wick, & one whet-stone. The bedding to be the skins of Deer or Bears, with a pillow-case filled with dried Moss. One Platter & one Ladle, made out of Birch-wood. The Lamps will be supplied with the fat of what animals they kill, instead of oil. [242/]

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Elevation of the end of a Rendering Vat, and an elevated section of the Reciever

[243/] Explanation 1.1.1.1. The ground-line 2.2.2. The Posts, which support the Beams of the Reciever 3.3.3.3. The bottom of the Reciever 4.4.4. The Posts, which support the Beams of the Rendering-Vat 5.5. The sides of the Reciever. 6.6. The top of the Reciever. 7.7. The bottom of the Rendering-Vat. But it would be better to be elevated to a level with the top of the Reciever, that the air might pass underneath, which would accelerate the rendering of the Fat.

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8.8.8.8.8. The Spans of the Rendering-Vat, to prevent the weight of Fat from bursting the sides open. 9.9. Shores, to support the top of the Rendering-Vat. One of which must be fixed along each side, at every tenth foot or thereabouts. 10.10.10 The Beams under the Reciever, and upon which the bottom is placed. 11.11.11 The Beams under the bottom of the Rendering-Vat. 12.12.12 The two corner frame-posts of the Rendering Vat. N.B. The bottom of the Reciever in this Plan is elevated two feet above the level of the ground, but the proper height will depend upon the nature of the ground which it is built upon. If that is level, the bottom of the Reciever must stand so high that the oil may be drawn off into a Washing Vat, by means of a spout. But where it is built upon higher ground than the Washing Vat, little or no elevation may be necessary. The bottom of the Rendering-Vat stands one foot above the bottom of the Reciever, but it had better stand an inch above the top that the air may draw under it. [244/] An excellent way of catching all kinds of birds which feed upon such Corn or Seeds, as grow upon a slender stalk Collect any number of ears of that kind of Corn or Seeds which the bird is fondest of, that you want to catch, and mind that there be a sufficient length of stalks attached to them. Smear the stalks with Birdlime, and lay them where those birds frequent. Swift rowing or sailing boat As the Eskimeau Kyack is the swiftest vessel which I ever yet saw or heard of, a boat constructed as near as possible upon the same model, would, I must suppose, prove a remarkable swift goer. The useful part of this boat must be of the same dimensions as a light, four-oared skiff, but she must be lengthened forward between two thirds, and three quarters of that length, and the remainder added to her stern, and built upon the Eskimeau construction. In order that she may be as light as possible, and at

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the same time not be subject to leak, she must be planked with Cedar, or Weymouth Pine, only a quarter of an inch thick, and the nails not thicker than Brads. The Seams must be very nicely jointed, and the edges of [245/] the boards smeered with thick white-paint, as they are laid on. When compleatly planked, the seams must be covered with a strip of Dowlas, or other strong linen cloth, dipped in a mixture of Pitch & Tar, boiling hot, paid with the same and then a second covering of the same kind of boards. A Rudder must be fitted to her, and steered with two lines; because, the steersman will sit at a considerable distance from the Stern. Her Masts and Sails must be of the same dimensions as those of the Skiff, from which her dimensions were taken, and so must her owers [sic] also. As the construction of her bottom and extreme length will cause her to draw much less water than a skiff, she will have the less to remove, and consequently go much swifter, and the elevation of her stem will prevent her from plunging into the Waves, when going against a head-sea, as her bearings will increase, in proportion as she slips into the Water. If she had a Keel, she would be steered more steadily, but then she would not turn so quick. The broader the Rudder, the more she will be under command. If she is built without a Keel, the floor must be laid first, the Timbers nailed on to it, and then the sides nailed to them. The nails should be long enough to go through and clinch. [246/] To Trap a Wolf, Fox, or other beast of Prey So long as there is no frost any of those beasts may be caught in a trap, by placing it in a small, shallow splash of Water and throwing in some blood, or pieces of bloody flesh. The water must be deep enough to cover the trap one inch or more, but not so deep as to cause the animal to swim. I once caught a Fox, by the nose, in a small splash of water upon a rubbing-place, in which I had previously caught a young Otter, wch was not strong enough to hall [sic] the trap out; in consequence of which, the water was considerably tinged with the blood that had flowed from the wounded leg. The Fox, winding the blood, supposed that there was some flesh in the water, and struck his nose upon the bridge of the trap in searching for it. By throwing some bits of flesh into the Water, the animal will never quit it, until he is either caught or has struck up the Trap.

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Marine Animals The Sea, which washes the Shores of Labrador, abounding with certain Animals, from which great profit may be obtained, or which add to the luxuries of the Table, or serve for bait to catch Cod-fish with, it will be proper to mention them. Whales The large Whale, distinguished by the different names of Black, Greenland, and Bone-whale,138 is plentiful in the Labrador Seas, and they frequently go into the Estuaries, Bays and Harbours in the months of November and December, where they are killed [247/] by the Eskimeau Indians, who are very dexterous at that work.139 As their method is an extreme good one, and their Implements perfectly well adapted to the purposes which they are intended for, I shall endeavour to describe them. The boat which they use upon this business is square at each end; the frame slight and the bottom, sides and ends covered with the skins of the larger kind of Seal, which we call Square-Phripper. As I never measured one, am ignorant of the dimentions, but it is large enough for twelve Women and two Men, who are necessary to attack the Whales with and is furnished with six Thwarts, for the rowers to sit upon. The Harpoon is a triangular piece of flat iron, which appeared to me to have been part

138 In order, these may be right whale, bowhead, and humpback, all large baleen whales. 139 Cartwright’s Journal contains the information that whaling was only carried out by Inuit in northern Labrador. Inuit in southern Labrador, presumably from Hamilton Inlet southwards, “kill plenty of seals, fish, and fowl in their own neighbourhood, and barter with the northern tribes for whalebone” (10 July 1771; also 18 Sept. 1773). It is not clear if the description given here is a first-hand observation. Journal entries for the autumn of 1783, when Cartwright lived in Sandwich Bay, mention that his men were busy cleaning whalebone (probably baleen) and it is possible that a whale hunt had taken place thereabouts, yet it is the type of event that Cartwright would have recorded in his journal. It is well known that Inuit women rowed the larger umiak vessel, but their participation in the whale hunt is not mentioned in any of the (scanty) ethnohistorical information on whaling by Inuit in Labrador (see also Taylor 1974, 31; Hawkes 1916, 82). As a result, even as secondary information, this is a unique ethnohistorical detail for Labrador.

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of a Whip-saw.140 Two holes are made in it, near the centre and about an inch asunder. The line is a single thong cut out of the hide of a Sea-cow, of considerable thickness and length; one end of which is put through one of the holes in the Harpoon, brought back through the other and then tied fast, and at the other end, the skin of a large Seal is fastned; which being taken off whole, and the holes in it carefully sewed up, is blown up, like a bladder, and serves for a Bouy: which not only fatigues the Whale, but also shews the course which he takes. The shaft of the Harpoon is made of Spruce; it is about fourteen feet long, and has the tooth of a [248/] Sea-cow fixed upon the upper end of it, and filed to a point, in which a long slit is made to recieve one side of the Harpoon. They are furnished with only one shaft, but provided with three or four Harpoons, lines and Bouys. The Spear, to kill the Whale with when he is sufficiently fatigued and exhausted, is a piece of iron, about three feet in length, which resembles a two-edged sword, and is fixed fast to the end of a long shaft. When a Whale comes into the Harbour where the Eskimeaux live, twelve Women take their places in the Boat, one at each end of each Thwart, and make use of a single-headed Paddle, with which they force it in with great rapidity, by reason of its extreme lightness and drawing very little water. One Man stands at the head of the Boat, to harpoon the Whale, and another abaft, to steer her with a long oar. As the Water is always perfectly clear, the Harpooneer can see the Whale at a considerable distance under Water, and gives the necessary directions to the Women and Steersman; by which he is sure to have him rise close under the Stem of the boat: he then forces the Harpoon into him as deep as possible, draws out the shaft, and then throws the line and Bouy overboard. It sometimes happens, that the Whale dives in a perpendicular [249/] direction, strikes his head against the bottom with such violence, that he breaks his neck, and immediately comes up dead. When that does not happen, the Harpooneer fixes another Harpoon upon the point of the shaft; pursues him, and fixes that in also. He does the same again and again until the Whale, being exhausted by the loss of blood and fatigue 140 This observation is probably correct. Inuit reshaped European iron into objects that served the purposes of tools formerly made of slate, antler, and bone. Several Inuit archaeological sites in Labrador, for instance, have yielded harpoon endblades made of reshaped iron.

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of the Bouys, can be dispatched by the Spear. So soon as the shaft of the Harpoon is withdrawn and the Bouy is brought to resist the course of the Whale, the Harpoon is turned flat in the wound, and cannot come out again. That side of the Harpoon which is fixed in the slit in the Seacows tooth is flat edged, but the other two sides are made perfectly sharp, that they may cut the skin, to follow the salient angle, which serves for the point. Morse, or Sea-Cow141 These animals resort in very great plenty to the Magdaline Islands, which lie in the Gulph of Saint Laurence, and where a profitable fishery of them has been carried on for many years past. They are of great size; their fat produces a great deal of oil; their skins make thick, strong leather, fit for harness, and their teeth is an inferior kind of Ivory. From the reports of the Eskimeau Indians, they also frequent certain Islands which lie near the northern part of the East Coast of Labrador, and which, I believe, are within, or near the mouth of [250/] Hudson’s Straights. The Eskimeaux kill some of them, because I have seen several articles made out of their teeth, and thongs cut out of their skins. But they either are not in great plenty, or are difficult to be killed; the Indians not being much inclined to part with the teeth or thongs, but keep them for their own uses. Grampuses142 The Grampus is a species of Whale, but neither so large or fat as the proper Whale, nor is the bone so long. That which they produce is called Cow-ear bone; the length seldom exceeding eighteen inches, and the shape of it resembling a Cow’s ear. They are in very great plenty all along the Eastern Coast of Labrador, and round the Island of Newfoundland. The Eskimeaux kill some of them, by the same means as they do Whales.

141 Walrus. 142 Minke whale. This medium-sized baleen (“bone”) whale was hunted by Inuit on at least one occasion in the Cape Charles area (Journal, 16 Aug. 1772).

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White-fish, or White Porpoises143 They are to be found near the northern part of the East Coast of Labrador; but with respect to their numbers, I know nothing. I have been informed that a profitable fishery of them is carried on in the River Saint Laurence, for the sake of their oil. Porpoises They often appear in prodigious Shoals all along the Eastern Coast of Labrador, in quest of the Salmon, Herrings, Caplins, etc. I never knew of any attempt made to kill them; they producing but very little oil; being strong, and their appearance precarious. Herrings They are in tolerable plenty during the Summers; are large; caught in nets, and used for baits to catch Cod-fish with. [251/] Mackarel [sic] I never saw any Mackarel in Labrador excepting a few which were caught with a sein[e] at the head of Temple Bay, in the month of July, but, as they were met with there, they must frequent other places also. Those were large, fine fish. Caplin A Caplin is a small, beautiful fish; smells exactly like a Smelt; resort to the Coast of Labrador in incredible numbers, and are the best bait of any for Cod-fish. They are also a very excellent fish upon the Table.

143 Beluga whale.

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Lobsters They are so scarce in Labrador, that I saw only three during my residence there, but they are incredibly numerous in most of the Harbours in Newfoundland. Holibut [sic] Some few Holibuts are caught, in fishing for Cod. Haddock They are not numerous, but a few are caught, in fishing for Cod. Crabs Crabs are in great plenty, but so small as to be of no use. The Codfish eat them, for they are frequently found in their stomachs. Other Shell fish Muscles, Cocks & Hens, Soldier-fish & a large kind of Cockle are to be met with; also, great plenty of young small Periwincles [sic]. [252/] An Improvement in Pickling meat Since writing the directions for Pickling meat, contained in Page 56 I have found, that the outside turns black, by being put into the Pickle in the first instance, but that if it be laid upon a Table; sprinkled with salt, covered with boards, and a few weights placed thereon, for twenty four hours: the blood will drain off, it will not be discolored, and it must then be put into the first Pickle, and treated as directed before, if it is intended to be kept for a long time, as a Year or more; otherwise, one Pickle will be sufficient for present use, or smoking.144 144 The experimental tone of this instruction suggests that the technique was not used in Labrador.

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Dimensions of a Fen Shout, or Flat

Extreme length Breadth Depth Number of Timbers 8 Length of each Breadth of Timbers (floor) Thickness of ditto Length of bottom inside

F 12 3 3 2

In 9 4 10 5½

2 2 10

1½ 1½ 10

A Fence for a Poultry, or Rabbit Yard, and which will catch any Fox who attempts to leap over it Build it of inch boards six or seven feet high, nailed perpendicular & close to each other and the top ends of them sawed into points, six or seven inches long, and those points edged at their sides. Any Fox or Dog, attempting to leap over, will slip one, or both fore feet between the points and hang there, without a possibility of relieving himself. Should such a Fence be intended for a Wolf, the points must be about four inches asunder.

[253/] To catch Otters upon a Brook Stop the Brook across with Racks, which must stand higher than the Banks, and build the Trap, Page 19, No. 17 on each Bank, opposite to the ends of the Racks. Slope away the bank, both above & below the Rack, on each side, & run a Hawk fence from each of each Trap.

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To shoot Geese Geese often times frequent such places as you cannot build any hut or other shelter, to shoot them from. At such places fix a Gun in the same manner as in a Bear-house; secure it well from rain, and have a long string to the trigger, and which must reach to the place where you can sit concealed. See Page 287 also. Article Shooting-tilt. To fix a pole to stand perpendicular in the water, where the bottom is hard Cut a square hole in the centre of a round piece of Plank or Board, proportioned to the size of the Pole, both with respect to size & thickness, and then furnish it with rods and stones, in the same manner as a Killick is made. If the water is deep and exposed to much wind, nail two battens across the bottom of the Board, that the Pole may not be blown over, or upset by the wash of the water. To cause Bears to frequent any River At any place which is a Mile or more above the head of the Tide, run a set of Racks across the river; they will stop the Salmon, and the Salmon [254/] will attract the Bears. Whenever a set of Racks are to be fixed across a River, a Post & Shore Bridge, of two Beams in breadth, should be made across it in the first instance, and the Racks fixed against the Posts of the upper Beam. The Shores of both Beams must be placed against the lower sides of them. The Racks should be strong, and Shores placed against the upper sides of them, to prevent the Bears from shoving them down. There are three advantages obtained by the Bridge, viz. 1st. To fix the Racks firmly. 2dly. To cross the River upon. 3dly. To prevent the Bears from breaking the Racks either by forcing against them, or climbing over them, in order to pass up or down the River; they being obliged either to climb over the Bridge, or walk round one end of it.

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To catch all such Birds as fly near the Ground in the Night Various Birds feed chiefly by Night, and then they generally fly low. When you have discovered any particular place which they frequently fly over, make a net proper for them with respect to length, depth, & width of mesh. Fix up two Poles of a sufficient height & at such a distance [255/] from each other as the lenth [sic] of the net requires. Set up a guy on each side of each Pole, to keep it steady. Fix a ring upon the top of each; reeve the head-ropes of the net through those rings; hoist the net up, and make fast the ends of the head-ropes to two pegs at a sufficient distance off, as shall support the Poles from falling inwards upon the net. One Man must sit at each of those places, and let the net fall, so soon as the birds strike against it. This way has long been practised to catch Woodcocks, and will catch any bird whatever. If you use a trammel, it will not require watching. To catch Geese, to keep alive During the time that the Goslings are very small and in their down, the old ones are so extremely affectionate that they will not quit them, nor can you make them fly farther off than a few yards, although you should meet with a young brood upon the land and chase the old ones: they will just open their wings and fly a few yards, but will return to their young immediately. In order to collect a flock of Geese, to keep tame about your house, provide a net about twenty feet long, and twelve feet deep, with the mesh five inches square; made and brought to in the same manner as a Partridge sheet net. Provide also hoods for old Geese, and a sack or basket for the young ones, and if two Men [256/] only go out, a pole of six feet, pointed at one end, will also be necessary, but three men will not want it. By the 10th of July the goslings will be hatched, you must then row close along such shores as you expect to find geese upon, and you will generally discover them either upon the land near to the water, or in the water near to the land. Should they be in the water, drive them gently on Shore, where it is free from trees or bushes, then land & open your net, which you must draw forward until it is fairly spread; one man at the extremity of each end of the head-line, which must be about ten or twelve yards longer than the ends of the net. The third man is then to walk round

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the Geese, and gently drive them under it, whilst the other two hold the head of the net about five feet high and drop it over the Geese, so soon as they are under it. If there are only two men, the pole must be stuck up and one end of the net supported upon the top of it, whilst one man holds the other, and the other man drives the Geese. Having caught the brood, put the caps upon the old ones; tye their legs & wings, and lay them in the boat, and put the Goslings into the sack or basket. On your return home, clip the wings of the old ones and then turn them and their Goslings into your Poultry Yard. In a short time the old ones will moult, and you will then find their quills to be in full perfection. They will be got very tame before they are able to fly again, but it will be the safest way, to clip their wings again [257/] before they are able to fly: but I am decidedly of opinion, that they will be so compleatly domesticated before they moult again the next year, that they may then be safely trusted with their wings at full length. Travelling House, and Shooting Stand for Winter Make a slight frame of scantling, 6 ft. 6 long; 6 ft wide x 4 ft high. Nail a double course of half inch boards on the inside of that frame, & line the bottom, sides & ends with Deer-skins with the hair on. Make a loose roof, or lid, in the same manner, and nail a narrow ledge round the edges, to keep out the external air. Make two light stools of sufficient height to see over the sides as you sit upon them, and make three risings eight inches high each to fit on occasionally, to prevent Deer etc. having your head above the Horizon. The out sides of the House must be painted white, and also both sides of the risings, and a Sled must be made, to carry it upon, twenty one feet long by five wide. When that House is to be used as a Shooting-stand, take off the roof, or top; place the Stools in it, & set up the Risings on those three sides on which you do not expect the animals to come, & have a white covering for your hats. When you sleep in it, turn out the Stools; take off the Risings, & place the top on, in such manner that you can get in, and then fix it in properly; and you will find it warm enough to pass a Winter’s night in. When you leave it, put the Stools and Risings into the inside and fix the top properly on. There will be no occasion ever to take it off the Sled. See Page 279 also. [258/]

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Bears, Wolves etc to catch Make a number of Caltrops, or Crow-feet, such as used in War, the claws145 of which must be two inches long; pointed & bearded. Place them in a Path until it is snowed up, and upon bare ground in the Winter; at which time you must strew several small pieces of Bait among them. They will stick into the feet of whatever animal treads upon them, and they will not be able either to travel far with them in, or pull them out. Excellent for Elephants, Lions, Tygers etc, and will catch Deer also. To make a Cast-net for Minnows Set on 48 Meshes of inch and half in length & net a foot down: then widen at every third Mesh and do the same at every third Bout for one foot and a half. You must then alter the pin to one of a less size and widen as many times between the Quarters as there are differences between the diameters of the two Pins, which is to be ascertained by measuring them both; still widening at the Quarters every third Round. The pin must be changed four or five times in the whole, until you come to the Tuck, which should be at the distance of nine feet four inches from the top. The Tuck must be about nineteen inches in length, and made with stronger twine than the rest of the net, or the same twine doubled. A Cast-net for larger fish is made in the same manner, but must be netted upon larger pins, and made longer. To build a Dairy and Water-house If your Dwelling-house is situated near a Brook which lies upon a De[s]cent, the Dairy must be built where is it [sic] [259/] most convenient to lead the Water into it, by damming the Brook above, conducting the water through a common wooden spout into the house, where a large Tub must be set to recieve it and the waste water carried off through a similar spout, with the lower end of it conveyed into the Brook below & there fixed under the surface of the Water. The spout must be carefully covered with earth, three feet thick at the least, and that earth with boughs. The House must be built in the same manner as directed for a 145 Four-clawed object, where one claw always points upward.

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Cellar, and have a long Porch to it, with two sets of double doors. The spout being no more than two sides of a square, will require to be covered on the top, to keep the earth out of it, and that must be done with pieces of loose boards not more than three feet long each, that they may be lifted up in case of the whole of the water freezing in the Winter: but that cannot happen unless the work is carelessly done. In case the Brook runs upon a level, the House must stand with one end over it (unless the ground is free from rock, in which case it may stand wholly on one side, and the water conveyed across one end by means of a cut). The lower side of each wall must be built as close over the surface of the Water as possible and the Brook stopped below the house sufficiently to raise the water a foot above the lower edge of the Walls, and all the waste water must be conveyed round the end of the House, lest it be washed down, or damaged [260/] by floods. The floor of the house must be raised sufficiently to be above all floods; the space under it rammed well with earth; the roof full six feet above the floor under the Beams and made quite flat, with a thick covering of sods & earth upon the top and plenty of boughs over all, to keep the snow from drifting off it and the lower sides of the walls payed with Pitch & Tar, to preserve the wood from rotting so soon as it otherwise would do. A partition may be made (frost proof) between the Dairy and Water house, and the entrance made through the latter into the former. There must be a small window, double-glaized, in each, and also a larger one for the Summer, wch must be on the North side, and made of Straining-cloth, to keep out the flies and admit the air, but that must be carefully made up during the winter. If the work is carefully executed, neither the milk or water will freeze. Remarks on Fences for Deer in England Welbeck Park,146 in which Fallow-deer only are kept, is fenced with Posts, about six feet six inches high with four rails in them; the top, or fourth rail is fixed near the top of the posts, and the other three at equal distances from each other and the ground, and poles three feet long & 4 146 Estate of the Dukes of Portland, in North Nottinghamshire. Lord Edward Bentinck, brother of the 2nd Duke of Portland, purchased a subscription for five copies of Cartwright’s Journal.

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inches broad and squared at each end, are nailed close together upon the two lowermost rails, & which reach almost up to the third rail. Stanford Hill Park147 is fenced with posts, six feet high, and two rails in them (the lowest about a foot above the ground and the highest about a foot below the heads of the Posts) with poles of six feet in length, six inches in [261/] breadth and pointed at their tops, are nailed to the rails at the distance of about four inches asunder. Fallow deer only were kept in that Park. Parks walls are generally ten feet high; that height being recommed [sic] for Red-deer, although they will leap higher, and also thirteen Yards in length at the same time. Martens Build a Pitfal-trap (No. 16, Page 19) in a wood, and carry a fence from each corner to a considerable distance, the farther the better. Wherever any of those fences cross a Brook, lay a board across the water, close to the fence and on each side of it. So long as the fences are not covered with Snow, there need not be any bait laid at the Trap, but that will be necessary afterwards, as also to fix a Roof over it at the height of six or seven feet above it. The fence for Martens need not be more than eighteen inches high, & made by sticking sticks into the ground close to each other. But if the Trap No. 15, Page 17 is built, and the fences made stronger and four feet high, it will catch all sorts of Beasts. [262/] To preserve Butter without Salt Wash the Butter in several waters & press it well: it is then to be put into an earthen vessel, and placed in an oven which is not hot enough to make it boil: after it is melted, a scum will arise, and that must be carefully taken off so long as any will form upon the top. It is then to be taken out of the oven, and it will keep perfectly good without any salt being put to it.148

147 Another Nottinghamshire estate and family known to Cartwright. Today’s estate of Stanford on Soar was owned by the Dashwood family in Cartwright’s time. Charles Dashwood, Esq., of “Stanford Hill” was a subscriber of the Journal. 148 Clarified butter.

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To catch any large bird Having discovered the nest of any large bird, or any particular spot which it usually frequents, make a slip-noose at the end of a line which is long enough to reach some place of concealment. Place the noose round the nest or the frequented spot, and watch at the other end of the line until you perceive the legs of the bird to be within the noose, when a sudden jerk will secure it. In catching Herons upon their nests, the line is always let go, after the Heron is caught by her legs, that she may fly above the trees and drop upon the ground, or it would be apt to get entangled among the branches. This mode is in general use among the German Falconers. [263/] Ground Plan of a Dwelling and Oil House for a Sealing Post for the first Winter

Quantities of Planks and Boards requisite for building this house, upon a supposition that each is fourteen feet long and eight inches broad, and the floors double inch and half below, a inch above. 2 Inch Planks 40 1 ½ inch do 480 inch Boards 1078 half inch do 7920

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[264/] Explanation of the Ground-plan of a Sealing House No. 1. The Porch. 21 ft. long; 21 feet wide at the far end, and 3 feet at the entrance. The billeted firewood will be stowed in it during the Winter, to be ready to supply the Stoves and the Coopers will work in it in the summer-time. It will be 8 feet high at the far end, but no more than 6 feet at the entrance. If the house is built upon the Ground it will be necessary to draw it to a point at the entrance (to prevent the drifted snow from blocking it up) which must be only three feet wide and without a door: but if it is elevated five or six feet above the ground, by the lower frame being placed upon posts, the end may be square. It is much better to elevate it, because the drifted snow will then pass freely under it; the floors will always be dry, and there will be plenty of room underneath to stow Boats, empty Casks and a variety of other things during the Summer when they would take great injury from Sun and Rain, but all must be removed before the Winter sets in, or they will stop the drift, & cause the window to be blocked up. 2. The Dwelling-house for the Sealers. Length 20 feet; width at the far end 40 feet; do next the Porch 21 feet, height there 8 feet and at the other end 10 feet. One Door of 3 feet to enter by from the Porch, and another of the same width to communicate with the Net-house, and a window of 6 feet by 4 in149 in the South side. It will be warmed by a large, close stove, placed in the centre, on which the meat will be boiled in tin kettles placed upon the top of it, and the smoke carried out through the roof by a funnel. 3. The Net house. 40 feet square and 10 feet high. A large, close Stove to be placed in the centre to dry the nets by, which are to be hung up upon poles placed across the Beams. After they are dry and stowed away. In the Oil house, the Coopers will work, & the Seals be skinned in it, during the remainder of the Winter, which will forward the skinning business very much. In case of not having a sufficient quantity of materials or time for building the whole, those three apartments may serve for the first Winter, and the oil-house erected in the course of the following Summer. 149 An unusually large window size for an early Labrador dwelling.

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4. The Oil-house. Length 60 feet; width 40 feet; height 10 feet. Should more room be wanted, an addition may be made at any future time. The Seal-skins to be salted, and the Salt for that purpose stowed in this Room [265/] So soon as there is leasure for the purpose and a sufficient quantity of materials in readiness, it will [be] best to build a detached dwelling house, lest an accident should happen from Fire. When that is done, No. 1 may be appropriated to the constant use of the Coopers; No. 2 converted into the drying and skinning house, and No. 3 be used for a Salt-room and for salting the Seal-skins in. Explanation of the Elevation Nos. 1 to 1 Roof of the Porch & Dwelling-house 2 to 2 Roof of the Net and Oil-house 3 to 3 A Bridge to ascend into the Porch by; supported underneath by Posts 4 to 4 Line of the floor of the Building; supported by Posts five or six feet above the ground 5 to 5 Ground-line The outer walls to be made of inch boards over-lapped on the outside & half inch boards edged & laid even on the inside. The stanchions to be eight inches thick, and the spaces between them filled with Sand, Peatsoil or Moss. The Partitions to be made of half-inch boards; the Stanchions six inches thick & the spaces between them filled up in the same manner. The lower floor to be of 1½ inch Plank; slit 2 inch Planks laid edge-way across it; the space filled with Sand or Peat-soil and the upper floor to be of inch boards. The Roof [of] the Dwelling-house & Porch to be of inch boards, laid up & down. The seams caulked & covered with pitched paper & sods. The Roof of Nos. 3 & 4 to be of inch boards laid from the ridge to the eaves, in the same manner as the other. The ridge to be elevated about two inches above the eaves. All the Windows to be 6 feet by 4.

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A Dry boat A Dryboat will be very useful to secure Bread, Flour and all other articles which will take damage from getting wet; and will be particularly useful to [266/] Furriers, in securing their provisions when carried by Water to their Winters’ quarters, and may be made thus, viz: Build a boat exactly in the same manner, and of the same material as an Eskimeau Kyack, but there must be a considerable difference in the dimensions. It must be twelve feet long, three feet broad and eighteen inches deep, and both ends rounded in like the stem of a Skiff. It must be compleatly covered with parchment Seals-skin, with two holes in the top, as the one in a Kyack, one placed within three feet of each end, and each must have a cap to cover it. Tow-lines must be fixed at the extreme breadth forward, one on each side, and they must be steadied with guyes from the stem. An anchor150 will be necessary, for it must never be suffered to take the ground, when loaded: and must be put into, and taken out of the water with the greatest care. Great care must also be taken, in loading and unloading, that no small hard substances get loose, as they will lodge under the Timbers and soon be rubbed through; particularly Shott, or gravel. A Fenshank may be made use of for the same purpose, with a Tilt over it, made of Tar-pawling, Painted Canvass, Hatcase, Oiled Linen or Silk, or Parchment Sealskin. N.B. The two holes are for the convenience of storing the Bread etc. in every part. If an Eskimeau Woman cannot be procured to put on the Sealskins covering,151 Painted Canvass must be substituted. [267/] Deer Slips Instead of making them in the usual way, by stopping the several parts of Shoal-net-twine with half hitches of Salmon-twine, and whipping the eye with the same, the best way will be, to fix a small wooden dead-eye in the bight of the twine, and then plat the parts together. Twelve parts will be strong enough for Deer, and eighteen for White-Bears. vide 35. 150 A large stone properly slung will answer the same purpose [of an anchor], as it will generally be used in Rivers. [Cartwright’s reference] 151 Cartwright’s kayak was in constant use throughout his time in Labrador. There are hints that it was kept in good repair by Inuit women. Following the autumn seal hunt, “the [Inuit] women began to cover my kyack with new skins” (Journal, 9 Nov. 1775).

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To preserve Bricks from the Frost In severe climates all Brick-work, which is exposed to the weather, appears to stand the Frost perfectly well but falls to powder in the Spring: which is occasioned, by the Bricks imbibing the rain, at the latter end of the Summer, which made them in a wet state at the time the Frost set in. To prevent that, all Brick-work should be painted, or payed with Tar, Pitch & Tar mixed, or the Frankincense from the Larch-tree. To make Grous extremely plentiful upon any ground which is proper for them to breed upon So soon as the Winter sets in, catch as many Grous, as you possibly can, with a net, as directed in Page 152, and keep them in a room until the middle of May, and then turn them out where you wish them to breed. Feed them upon Pease or barley, and give them Birch & Alder as often as you can procure any, as also Ling, and do not forget to lay in a stock [268/] of small stones as are always found in their gizzards. To prevent them from bruising themselves, by flying against the walls, tye the quillfeathers of their wings close together. Salmon to jerk As Salmon is apt to turn resty if jerked as directed in Page 56, the best way will be to erect a roof over the jerking-poles, in the same manner as for a long-house, and as the wind will have a free passage under it, I have no doubt of the Salmon being perfectly dryed, without being exposed to the Sun: and as no wet can get at it, there will be no occasion to remove it at night or when it rains. Venison, Cod-fish etc. may be tried in the same manner, and, if it answers, much trouble will be saved by letting them all hang until completely cured. When you jerk either Flesh or Fish, begin on a Day that is perfectly dry and early in the morning, that the outsides of them may dry quickly, or the flies will be apt to strike them. The proper place to jerk upon is, that which is exposed to every wind, and free from bushes etc.

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A Well-boat to make Partition off the midship-room with the same kind of Plank or Board that her outside is planked with; cover all the seams with brown-paper, pitch & tar, and line with half-inch board. To grow large Cabbages Sow some Seed about the end of July; draw the Plants when the Frost sets in & do not clear the roots of the earth; keep them in a Cellar until the first Week in June, and then plant them out. Try Cauliflowers in the same manner. [269/] An American Fence, for enclosing grounds152 Fell trees, cut them into such lengths as they are capable of and sort them, that you may use the same lenths together: you are then to build your fence in a zig zag, by resting the ends of those which are laid one way, up in the ends of those which are laid the other, as represented underneath. This is a very strong fence and will last for many years, but it will last longer if the lowest tier of logs is supported off the Ground, by short ones (which can be replaced with new ones when they rot) and the bark is taken off them. The height of this fence must depen [sic] upon what animals you want to confine or keep out. Charles Duke of Norfolk told me, that the Rein-deer which the Emperor of Russia gave to him, would not leap a fence of four feet: but those were tame ones from Lapland, and I am of opinion that the wild ones of Labrador will leap higher. Neither White-bear nor Deer can knock this fence down.

152 A fence type not associated with traditional Newfoundland. It may have been used in early Labrador where wood was plentiful within the inlets. Practical for a coast where bedrock is near the surface. Ink from the sketch of the “Newfoundland Fence” has seeped onto this sketch.

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[270/] Newfoundland Fence, for enclosing Gardens153 Fix Posts in the Ground, at about ten feet asunder, of a hight [sic] proportioned to the hight of the fence which you intend to make. Make three mortice-holes in each; and fix three rails in them; one close above the Ground, one as near the top as you can without danger of splitting the heads of the Posts, and the other in the centre. Cut a sufficient number of small poles, of such a length as you intend shall be the height of the Fence. Put the Butt end of one of those poles between the top and middle rail, and bring it back between the middle and bottom rail: shove it close to the Post at the Butt, but only so near at the top as will make it stand perpendicular. The next pole is to be put in the reverse way, with the Butt of that touching the Butt of the

153 Also known as a riddle fence (Mellin 2003, 206–8). This may be among the earliest descriptions of this sturdy, nail-free fence type, once common in Newfoundland for protecting gardens from wandering ruminants.

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first and its top at a sufficient distance from the top of the other, and go on in that manner until you have wattled the whole length of the Fence, as represented underneath: where the fence is drawn as if you stood at the end of it. This is an excellent Fence for such animals as leap high or climb, as Wolves, Dogs, Black-bears, Wolverines and Links do. It is also good against Deer, provided the rails are so strong that they cannot break them if they run with great force against them, and the same may be said of White-bears. The ends of the Rails are represented by red-ink,154 the Post by blacklines only, but the poles are blacked. [271/] Bears and Wolves to catch, particularly in the Winter Bears and Wolves may be caught in the large double-springed trap Page 15 No. 10: but instead of the bridge being fixed as directed for that, it had better turn upon two pivots, with eye-screws fixed in the bed, one on each side, in the manner directed for the small double-springed trap Page 16 No. 12. The Bridge should have four holes in it, to reeve twine through, to tie the bait on: Lay a piece of Seal’s fat, or of any kind of flesh or fish upon the bridge; tie it fast on; set the trap, and rear it up against a tree, or a pair of Shears fixed up for that purpose; letting it rest upon the end of one of the Springs. In case the Springs are made in the same manner as those directed for the small trap, hang it by one of them with a piece of twine no stronger than sufficient to bear the weight of it. Having done that, drop small pieces of bait all the way from the trap to where you expect the animal will pass, which will lead him up to it, and there is no doubt of his siezing the bait, which will turn the bridge and he will be caught by the head & break the line, but cannot go far off. By fixing the trap in that manner in the Winter, no drift can affect it.

154 Red ink is faded but it refers to the three square shapes that mark the top surface of the upper pole, the centre pole, and the lowermost.

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Paths of Animals to distinguish White Bear. Their path is about 18 inches broad, smoothe & herbage often visible. Black Bear about six inches broad, smoothe & herbage seldom destroyed Deer about eight inches broad, cut into the ground & herbage always destroyed Fox. So like that of a Hare as not to be distinguished from it. Otter about six or seven inches broad, smoothe, and always runs from one water to another. Hare. Narrow, and herbage visible. No other animals in Labrador make paths, that I have observed. [272/] Plan of a Sealing Post upon a straight Shore, where there is no Island

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N.B. Where a Sealing-post is established upon a straight shore, it may be extended to any length, so as to require any number of nets and employ any number of Men. If you can employ a great number of Men at one place, it is more advantageous so to do than to divide them into two or more Crews. [273/] Explanation 1.2. The line of the Shore at highwater mark 3.4. The Barrier net 260 yards long; 50 yards of which projects beyond the Entry-net, and is called the Shear-net. The intent of it is, to direct such Seals into the Pounds as attempt to pass round it. 5. The Entry net, which is 79 yards long. 6. First Stopper, 67 yards long. 7. Second Stopper, 54 yards long. 8. Third Stopper, 47 yards long. 9. Fourth Stopper, 43 yards long 10. Fifth Stopper, 36 yards long. 11.12.13.14.15. The Murderers, from 31 to 20 yards long. 16. The Tail net, which, and 15, are never to be lowered. The last is 20 yards. 17.17. etc. Nun-buoys, to support the ends of the nets, that they shall not be sunk by the Moorings. 18.18. etc. The anchors of the Moorings 19.19. etc. The Capstans, to lower & heave up the nets by. The red155 lines represent the head-ropes of the nets, and the small black spots upon them, the small bouys, intended to prevent their being sunk by the weight of the Seals, and that they may be hove tought by the Capstans with greater ease. Every net must be made deeper than the water is at the height of the Spring tides; the Barrier & Stoppers & two Tail nets six feet, and the Murderers four feet. They must all be brought to upon a single Bank line, both at head & fast, and the foot-ropes leaded, that they may lay upon the Ground.

155 Red colour tone has faded and appears black.

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A new Hemp Hawser must be extended from 3 to 4 (4½ inches in circumference) for the head-rope of the Barrier to be stopped to, but twoinch rope, of new hemp, will be sufficient for all the other nets. The Anchor at the outer end of the Barrier net must be 112 lb and both Moorings of 4½ inch Hawser. The Tail mooring will be made fast upon the Shore. The anchors for all the other nets to be 56 lb, & the moorings of new hemp two-inch rope. The Buoys must be properly slung, and an iron thimble [274/] of a sufficient size fixed in the eye of the sling at one end of each, or an oval bit of 2-inch plank, with a hole burned through it, that the mooring may be bowsed156 as tight as possible, but the head-rope of each net is to be spliced into the eye of the sling at the other end. How to form Pounds; ascertain the exact depth of each Net, and put them out properly: for, unless you have a fixed rule to go by, you will find it extremely difficult to form the Pounds and put out the nets a second time. In the first place, take particular care to stretch all the Cordage as well as possible before it is wanted for use, or you will meet with endless plague and trouble, and be continually committing errors. Make one end of a rope fast to a rock, post or any other thing at such a distance from the shore as you judge it necessary to fix the Capsterns at. Carry the other end of the rope along the shore, and parallel to it, farther than you intend the whole of the Pounds shall extend, and bowse it as tight as possible. Then fix up one of the end Capsterns close by the side of that rope; measure the width of the next Pound upon the rope, and fix up the next Capstern, and proceed in that manner until you have fixed all of them. You are then to fix up a board or post behind each of the end Capsterns landwards that a line drawn from each board or post over its corresponding Capstern shall be perpendicular to the rope which is stretched along the Shore. The head-ropes of the Stopper-nets being spliced to their respective Buoys, measure from that for the Entry-net the

156 Hauled.

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length which you intend that net to be, and mark the rope: lay that mark at the edge of the water and bring the spare end of the rope to its Capstern. Bend the Mooring to its anchor, lay that over the Stern of a Skiff, coil the Mooring in her, bend the upper end of it to the Buoy, through the Thimbles, and row out to the entent [sic] of all, and when you have the [275/] Capstern and the board, or Post behind it in one, toss over the Anchor. You are then to come back to the Buoy, untie the end of the Mooring and bowse upon it until the whole of the rope is perfectly tight and lays upon the surface of the Water; those on shore taking care that the mark of the distance is exactly at high-water’s edge. But as it is impossible for the men in the skiff to bowse the Mooring so tight as it can be hove by the Capstern, the Mooring must be so much short[e]ned, that the mark upon the rope will not come close in to the Shore until it is hove in by the Capstern. You are then to run out the Mooring and head-rope of the Tailnet in the same manner. You are then to walk down the Shore until you bring both those Buoys in one, and there fix one end of the Hawser for the mooring of the Barrier net; you then coil the rest of it into the boat and row to the Buoy of the Tail-net, and stop the Buoy of the Barrier net to that, and then row away for the Buoy of the Entry net, and from thence in the same direction, by keeping both Buoys in one, until you get to the extent of the outer mooring, and there let go the anchor. You must then fix small Buoys all along the Hawser, to keep it afloat, and bowse upon the lanyard of the Mooring until the whole is perfectly tight, by which you will see whether the anchor is dropped too near or too far from the Shore. That done, adjust the Buoy of the mooring,157 so that it shall stand fifty yards beyond the Buoy of the Entry-net; and the length of the Hawser, between its two Buoys, will be the length of the Barrier net. You are then to measure carefully all along the Hawser, and also along the head-ropes of all the Stopper-nets and Murderers, and take the soundings at high-water Spring tide, that you may know what dimensions to make the respective nets, and each must have a tally fixed upon [276/] it so soon as made, and each must be a little longer than the exact measure upon the Head-ropes. The Anchors and Head-ropes should then be all

157 Cut the Hawser 270 yards long, & splice each end to its Buoy in the first instance, for its being longer than the net is a matter of no consequence. [Cartwright’s footnote]

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taken up again, dried and stored until it is time to put the nets out. You are then to put them all out in the same manner. You then take the Barrier net into a skiff, make fast the tail clew of it to the Buoy at the Tailnet, hale the skiff along the Hawser, and stop the head-line of the net to it all the way until you arrive at the other Buoy, where the other Clew is also made fast. You then do the same by the other nets; beginning at the Buoy by the Hawser and ending at the Shore. The outer ends of the Entrynet and of the Tail net should be stopped to the ends of the Barrier-net, but the other nets need only be stopped to it by their respective footropes, and that not with very strong twine, lest they should be frozen in at the end of the Sealing season, in order that you may break the stop, by pulling, and thereby get the net clear. Two Posts or Boards should be fixed up, one behind the other and in a line with the Buoys of the Entry, and Tail net, where the tail mooring of the Barrier net is made fast, as a direction in future. Where a Sealing-Post is established in a Tickle, there is no difficulty in making or fixing the nets, as you have only to mark the spot upon the Island where the outer end of each Mooring is to be made fast, bring a rope from thence to the Capstern; heave it tight and measure it, and also take the Soundings. Some Tickles are so wide, that there is a considerable saving of twine by running a Barrier net down the middle of it; the Seals always keeping nearest to the South Shore. I forgot to mention, in its proper place that, after the Hawser for the Barrier net is properly fixed, the head-ropes of all the other nets must be put out in the same manner as the Entry & Tail nets were, with this difference only, viz. Take in the anchor, coil in the mooring & head-rope (the inner end of which must be made fast to the Capstern) then row out to the Hawser, there stop the Buoy to it, and then row in with [277/] the anchor & drop it at the end of the Mooring when you have the Capstern & board behind it in one: then return to the Buoy and bowse in upon the Mooring until it is perfectly tight; heaving upon the Capstern also, as occasion may require.

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Buildings, Boats etc necessary for this Post A dwelling house for the Crew, 30 feet square and eight high under the Beams, with a large Stove in the centre and a Porch 30 by 12. An oil, net and Store-house, divided into four, as in Page 263. A Rendering Vat, Page 235. A Washing vat or two, Page 11. Six skimming vats, Page 13. 8 Skiffs. 400 empty Hogsheads, with a proportion of Hoops, Rush, Rope-yarn etc. 2[?] Melting-pots. 2 Frying-pans. 1 Anchor of 112 lb. 12 do of 56 lb. 3 do of 56 lb to spare. 2 Hawsers of 4½ inch. 2 inch Rope 550 Fathoms. 12 Capsterns. Five-strand Stopper-twine, half a Ton at the least, but the weight cannot be ascertained, as the depth of the nets is not known. The best depth of water for a Sealing Post is, from 2 to 4 Fathoms at highwater, but not more than six fathoms at the outside, & even that will be very expensive. 48 Bank lines. 2 large, and 12 small Nun-Bouys. 1 Coil of Ratline. 5 Tons of Salt. 6 Sealing Dogs. 10 Sealing Cats. 12 Hatchets, 1 Grindstone & winch. 1 Set of Caulking-irons & Mallet. Some Oakum, Chalk. 2 Barrel of Pitch. 1 do Tar. 1 Bear-trap No. 10. 96 Fox-traps No. 12. 48 Beaver do No. 13. 300 Marten-traps No. 14 (provided there are good Woods near the place), 6 Trap-hatchets. 2 large Guns. 6 small Guns. 25 lb Powder. 1½ Cwt Shot, patent No. 1. 1 Cwt Shot, patent No. 4. 100 Flints. 1 inch & half Augar. 1 inch do. 1 Handsaw. 2 Files & 1 Set for do. 1 Shallop’s Gimblet, 1 Skiff’s do. 1 small do. Cwt Shallops nails. 1 Cwt Skiff’s do. ¼ Cwt Racket-do. 2 yds Swanskin. 20 yds Straining Canvass. 1 oil-press. 2 oil Funnels. 1 Large close-stove for Dwelling-house with the Funnel in the centre, and two square block-tin Kettles to fit on upon the top of the Stove & embrace the Funnel. 1 large close-Stove for net-house made in the same manner & Kettles to fit in the same manner. 1 large, round tin-kettle. 1 smaller do. 3 large tin Pudding-pans. 3 smaller do. 1 quart, 1 pint sauce-pan. 12 Splitting-knives. 6 Charnwood Forest stones.158 1 Morticeins Chizzel [mortising chisel]. 100 Spike-nails. 100 half-spikes. 48 Marten-boards [278/] 36 Fox-boards. 24 Otter-boards. 12 St. Peters lines. 1 Crow-bar. 1 Pick-axe. 1 Clawed Maul. 2 large hand-hammers. 1 smaller do. 1, 10 Gallon Iron Pot. 1 large Ladle. 1 Bullet-mould for each sized Guns. 1 small iron Ladle for casting balls. 2 Newfoundland Dogs. 1 Gauging rod. 1 oil tryer. 1 Steel-yard & dia [?]. 1 pr Scales & weights. 158 Whetstones made from the hard granite of the Charnwood Forest, near Leicester.

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1 quart wine measure. Sail needles, Palm & Twine. 1 Set of Whaling instruments, provided Whales frequent the place in the Sealing season. 4 Chopping-knives, for the Seals fat. The Crew is to consist of seventeen men; the headman should be a Boat’s Master & be able to repair a boat also. Six others should have been used to Sealing that each may take the command of a Skiff, four others should be Coopers, and the rest may be youngsters, but healthy and strong. Such a Crew and so provided ought to kill 5000 Seals in a good Season, and those Seals ought to produce about 129 Tons of Oil. The Crew must have a sufficient quantity of Provisions to last them, from the time they are fixed at their Post, until the middle of July following. So soon as time will permit, there should be a small room fitted with shelves and a Counter, in which you must keep an assortment of Slops and all such things as the Crew may want; or a part of the Store-house may be appropriated to that purpose, but the former is much the best way. There should also be a Cook’s Store-room, or Larder, to keep such casks of provisions in, as you are expending out of; that the Head Man may keep the other Store-rooms always locked up. Travelling House & Shooting Stand In Page 257 I gave directions for building this House, but am now of opinion that the following mode will be an improvement. Nail one course of half inch boards on the outside of the frame overlapping each other, and another on the inside, edge to edge, as directed for Dwelling-houses, and fill the space between with dry Moss. Fix a window in each end and also in each side, of one square of Glass; but it must be double glaized, or your breath will freeze upon the Glass. These Windows must be fixed in frames, that they may be taken out to shoot through. Make the top of half-inch board singles and line it with Deer-skins. The Stools must be Camp [279/] ones, to shut to, that they may take up less room. The floor of it must be of halfinch board, laid edge to edge both on the out, and the inside, with Moss between, or the frost will strike through it most severely. The Driver will sit upon the Sled immediately before the house, or upon the top of it, and the whole weight of House and two or three men will not be more than six good Dogs, or a brace of Deer will draw with

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ease. In case it is drawn by Dogs and you see Deer or any other beast coming towards it, the Dogs may either be taken into the House, or made to lie close down; but if Deer are used, they will decoy the animals close to you; be they of what kind they may. Deer Skins The skin of the Rein-Deer makes the finest leather of any, but, as there is not one in a thousand which is not full of Warble-holes, or the eschars left by those which are healed up, they are not worth sending to Market. It is therefore the best way, to use them in the Country, where they will be found of great use for many purposes. They are to be used both with the hair off and on; according to the different purposes you want them for. So soon as you have taken the skin off, or any time before it is dried, draw up all the holes in it (whether from a ball or warbles) with a fine needle and a thread of Deer sinue. Those which are intended for leather must have the hair taken off, by rubbing wood ashes into it, and then doubling the skin up, with the flesh-side inwards and in two or three Days, the hair will come off very readily. It is then to be dressed with Alum; Tanned, or cured in a lather of the brains after the Mountaineer manner: but the last method causes it to grow hard after being wet, as it is in little better than a Parchment state. But for many purposes, nothing more need be done than to stretch it out and dry it. Those which are to be used with the hair on are to be dressed in Alum, or simply dried and well curried after, as the [280/] Eskimeau Indians manage them: but in either case, care must be taken to clear them of all fat etc. whilst they are in a green state, and that is soon done with a Drawing-knife. Those dressed with the hair on are excellent for Carpets, Rugs, Jackets, lining a Room etc. Parchment skins are for Rackets, Deer-slips etc, and those dressed in Alum or Tanned will make Jackets, Breeches, Waistcoats and Mokissons for Furriers. Those which are intended for Jackets, Carpets or Rugs should be such as are killed after the new Coat is grown even and before it is grown too long, which is the case in the Months of July, and August. After Christmas the skins begin to grow very thin, and get worse every Day until they begin to shed their winter-coasts, which they do in June.

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To catch a Fox in a Steel-trap To catch a Fox in England,159 proceed in the following manner. Fix upon a grass close, in which there are several Mole-hills, but whether it Butts on to the Wood or other Fox-covert, or is the breadth of a Close or two distant from it, is a matter of no consequence, but it will be an advantage to have it free from Stock, although that is not absolutely necessary: in fact, Stock being in the close is of no other consequence than the chance of one of them being caught. Having provided yourself with a Trap (G.[?]16 N. 12) a small trap-shovel; a strong, long-bladed, pocket knife, and a stick of a foot long, with a small fork at one end it [sic] it (which you will cut out of any hedge) go into the Close in the morning, and where you find several Mole-hills in a row, near the middle of the Close, flatten five or six of them, by striking your shovel across them, and upon the last, which should be a large one, lay down your Trap. You are then to cut all round both it and the springs, with [281/] your knife to mark the shape; then take up the trap and remove all the earth with your shovel, until you have made a hole deep enough for the trap to lie so much below the level of the ground, that the covering shall bring it upon a level with the remainder of the Hill. You are then to set the Trap, but not too tickle, for that is a great fault, nor yet so rank that the Fox will not strike it up when he treads upon it. You are then to gather as much fine moss as will be sufficient, and bed under the Bridge with that, to prevent the Mould from running under and thereby prevent it from falling or turning, according to the construction of it. Lest you should strike the Trap up and catch your fingers, you are to put the Moss in with the forked end of the small stick. You are then to take up the Mould which you had previously removed, and spread it lightly over the Trap with your shovel, and brush it even with a small bunch of boughs. Be as careful as possible not to touch any of the Mould with your hands, and having now finished, strip the leaves off a spreading Thorn bough and lay it upon the Trap, in case there should be any Stock in the Close, but you need not do that if there be none. A short time before Sun-set that Evening, but it will be better to defer it until the next, provide a dozen or more baits of blackrotten Cheshire Cheese, about the size of a nutmeg, put them into a small 159 A departure from his Labrador theme.

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box, and add as much thin Honey or Treacle as will smeer them all. Provide also the paunch of a Sheep, emptied of its contents, or a Crow split down the back, or any similar thing, and drop a little oil of Aniseed thereon, and a piece of line to draw it after you; go to the side of the Wood or the Covert; drop the Drag, and take a circle round it until you come to the first of those Mole hills which you flattened, and from that, over all the [282/] rest, up to the Trap, and there take the Drag up, and do not let it touch the ground any more. You must also remember to drop one bit of the Cheese at times by the way; to lay one bit upon the centre of each flattened Mole-hill; one upon the centre of the Trap and the rest all round it, at the distance of about a foot. There is no necessity for drawing the Drag close to the side of the Covert, but you may deviate from it at your own discretion, avoiding dry Fallows as much as possible, and when you cross a hedge, do it over a wide smuce [sic]; drawing your Drag close up to it on the one side & dropping it again close on the other. It will be best to drag on Horse-back, as you will then leave no scent of your feet, and when you come to a hedge, go along the side of it until you find a smuce and then take the Drag up until you have gone round & drop it again on the other side. Do not forget to take the bough off the Trap. So soon as a Fox goes out of the Covert, in search of his prey, he will cross the scent of the Drag and run it all the way round to the Trap, in which he will most certainly be caught. If you have two or more Traps and there are plenty of Foxes, another or two may be tailed in the same close: but in that case you must continue the Drag over the first up to the last, or you may tail the other Traps near some other Covert. If you want to kill a Fox which commits depredations near your House, or in any grounds which are at a considerable distance from a strong Covert, drop your Drag a Mile or two from the Trap and draw it across the road which you suppose he will come. The oil of aniseed is not absolutely necessary, more particularly if you drag with a sheep’s paunch or that of any other animal, but it adds very considerably to the scent. Never make a trap fast, for that is the way to lose the Fox and get only his foot. If you tail a trap in Labrador or any other Country where there is much Snow and severe Frost, do it upon to [sic] summit of a small [283/] hillock or a piece of flatground on which the drifted snow will not lodge, but if you do it before there is any snow upon the ground, find a bare spot, where the soil is of a light and dry nature.

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Otter Pound in a Pond If you find a small Pond in a Marsh, with an Otter-path through it, board the sides of it all round, by pointing each board and driving it into the mud at the bottom, deep enough to keep it firm. The tops of those boards must stand even with the Bank, and you must then lay another tier of boards flat upon the Bank, with their ends projecting about eight inches beyond the other boards and nail them to the tops of them, and they must be neatly sodded over. As nothing will then appear, the Otters will readily slide down into the Water, but they cannot possibly get out again. As, in that case, they would tire and drown, you must build an artificial Beaver-house for them to go into, as directed in Page 30. Or you may build a Yard and Kennel near the Pond, and keep them alive there until their skins are in full season, provided the Pond is not at too great a distance from your house. This is an expensive way, but if the Pond lies upon a well-frequented Path, it will soon repay you. As the boards will soon rot, it will be best to give them a coat of Pitch, or rather of the Frankinsence [sic] from the Larch tree, or they may all be scorched in the fire, and that will make them last much longer. Put fish in the Pond, if you can get them. Trout. See Page 29 also, & Page 284. Stake it, if the ground will admit: see P. 90 of additions to this Book.160 To draw Oil out of the Washing-Vat into the Hogs-heads without wasting any The Vat must be so much elevated above the level of the ground, that the Cock, for drawing off the oil, shall be six or eight inches above the level of the bung of the Hogshead into which it is to be drawn. Make a circular spout of tin, of a sufficient length to reach from the Cock to the Bung of the Hogshead, & turn the end down, that it may go into it. The cavity [284/] of the spout must be greater than that of the Cock, lest it should not emit the oil quick enough; the top end of it must be closed up, and it must be open upon the upper side there, to admit the end of the Cock which is fixed in the vat, and that end of the spout must be capacious lest the force with which the oil will run out of the vat cause it to fly over. It is to be hung upon the back part of the Cock by a piece of line and taken 160 Stopp 2008: 173.

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off when not in use. This way will prevent the necessity of using a Funnel, and the Cooper will be able to see so far into the Hogshead as to know when it is time to stop the Cock. Otter Pound in a Pond Where an Otter-path crosses a Marsh in which there either is no Pond, or one which is too large, a small one may be dug out, and which will answer the purpose as well as a natural one. Should you meet with frozen earth before it is dug deep enough, it must be chopped away with a hatchet: for it must be finished as quick as possible, lest it banish the Otters from the path. To secure Houses from being set on fire by a Stove Make a slight frame of wood, larger than the body of the Stove, and nail sheets of Tin upon it. It is to be hung against the Wall or Partition opposite to the Stove. Dutch tiles, of Delft-ware may be fixed upon the Walls or Partitions, in the same manner as they are inside of Fireplaces in England, and a Moulding nailed round them. [285/] A list of the quantities of Provisions which will be necessary for one Man for a Year, upon a supposition that he gets nothing fresh, excepting fish in the Summer 1 Barrel of Pork ½ Barrel of Beef (if no Beef, he must have as much Pork in lieu) 2 ¼ Cwt Bread161 2 ¼ Cwt Flour 2 Cwt dried Cod-fish, or ½ Tierce of Salmon 9 Gallons of Pease 9 Gallons of Treacle (to make Spruce Beer) 6 Gallons of Olive oil 6 Gallons of Vinegar 6 Pounds of Butter N.B. Besides providing all the above articles for each Man kept, there 161 “Cwt.” is an abbreviation for hundredweight, or 100 lbs. Refers to hardtack bread, not fresh.

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ought to be one Month’s provisions for the whole, in addition; lest any accident should happen to delay the arrival of a fresh supply the next Summer. In case many Beasts and Birds are killed, there will be a saving of the first five articles. The Cod-fish and Salmon will be caught and cured in the Country, but all the rest must be imported into it. Articles necessary to be laid in, to sell to the Servants Clothing of all sorts used by them Worsted binding Swanskin Spirits Porter Ale Tobacco Awl-blades Needles Herring-twine Sewing Thread of sorts Sparrow-bills162 Pepper

Sugar Tea Coffee Chocolate Tin Cans Blankets Rugs Bed-ticking Sole leather Snuff Pipes Knives, pocket Do, Furriers

Chest locks Do Hinges Scissors Thimbles

[286/] To catch Bay-Seals in the Summer There are several long, narrow Harbours or Inlets in Labrador, which are not deep and which have several small Island-rocks at the upper end of them. Those places are generally well frequented by Bay-seals, which bask upon those rocks, and there you may make use of some of the Stoppernets, belonging to your Winter Sealing-post, to great advantages, and they will not then be wanted at the latter place. Fix four Capsterns upon either of the Shores, for it is a matter of no consequence on which, and about two Days before the first Spring tide comes on, repair to the place; fix the standing end of each net at such a 162 Small, headless nails for shoe soles. Also “sparable” and “sparbill.”

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height above high-water mark that the Capsterns will heave the headrope clear out of the water about a foot. The first Capstern should be fixed near the mouth of the Harbour; the innermost one fifty or sixty yards within the former, and the other two between both. Having put the nets out, lower them all to the bottom, that the Seals may enter without molestation, and then go away. Repair to the place again soon after highwater on the morning of the first Spring-tide; land one Man near the Mouth of the Harbour where he will not be seen by the Seals, and he must immediately heave up the outer Net; he must then go to the inner Capstern and wait there until the boat has gone to the head of the Harbour and disturbed the Seals, who will naturally endeavor to make their escape out of the harbour, and so soon as they have passed the inner net, that must be hove up and then the other two. The Seals must then be forced into the Nets, by firing powder at them if they will not mesh of themselves, and as soon as they are cleared out of the nets you are to lower them all down and go away. But in case you perceive any still remaining in the Harbour, keep the outer net up, lower the other line only & drive them into the Pound with the Boat. [287/] At high-water in the afternoon you must return again and do the same, and repeat your visit each of the other four Spring tides. Should there be any other similar place in your neighbourhood, visit that at the next Spring tides, and in the morning visit each in turn, and there is no fear of your being well paid for your trouble and the use of the nets if any number of Seals frequent them; as you may depend upon catching the whole of them. When each Spring tide is over, dry the nets and take them home. Shooting Tilts When you observe any particular spot much frequented by Geese, Blackducks or any other bird, and no shelter near it, set up a triangle of sticks, as for a Mountaineer’s Whigwham, two feet high, and at a proper gunshot distance from the place; fix up another triangle seven feet behind the first; lay a ridge-pole from the one to the other, and other sticks, for rafters, from the ground to the ridge-pole; cover the rafters with rinds and lay a coat of sods over the rinds with the grass-side upper-most; bed the bottom of the tilt well with boughs, that you may lay dry, and make

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a small bank of sods, at a proper distance in front, to rest the muzzle of your Gun upon. When you go there, to watch for the fowls, you must do so before they come in sight of the place, creep in feet foremost and lay perfectly quiet until they come. If you build a Tilt of this sort by the side of a Deer-path, it may be high enough to sit up in, for they will not take so much notice of it as Geese will, and it will be best to build one on each side of the Path, that you may sit in the Lee one, or a Deer will certainly wind you. If you build one for Deer in the Winter, cover it with snow. A Tilt 6½ feet high & ten long, all roof & very flat; covered with rinds & sods; the side to the water & an entrance at one end. Three holes to shoot out of, & spare rinds to shut them when the tilt is not used. Such a tilt will do to sleep in, & watch for a day or two. [288/] Dimensions of Rendering Vats, with their contents in Ale Gallons, sixty three to the Hogshead Rendering Vat 8 feet square at the top 4 feet square at the bottom 12 feet high Receiver 9 feet square Will hold 12¾ Hogsheads ———————————— Rendering Vat 8 feet wide at the Top 4 feet wide at the bottom 102 feet long, and 12 feet high Receiver 9 feet wide 103 feet long Will hold 700¼ Hogsheads ————————————

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Rendering Vat 10 feet wide at the top 5 feet wide at the bottom 12 feet high 102½ feet long Receiver 11 feet wide 108½ feet long Will hold 875¼ Hogsheads Marten Trap That described in Page 17 is an excellent one, but, as iron is apt to burn the Martens in severe frost, both the killers may be made of wood, a quarter of an inch thick, & the back of the upper one covered with a strip of block-tin, for the Spring to run upon. It may also be made without a spring, by making the top killer long, & laying the end of a log upon it, like a Deathfal. [289/] Whales to kill As Whales are plentiful in the Labrador Sea, and frequently go into the Harbours and Bays, it would be very imprudent not to be properly provided for them, as the carcass alone would be of incalculable value to attract Bears, Wolves, Foxes, etc. to your traps, exclusive of the value of the oil and bone. At each Sealing-post provide an Eskimeau, or a New-england whaling boat, with harpoons, spears, lines and bouys etc.; and upon the appearance of a Whale, the Sealers must man the boat and attack him, and they must be seconded by a sealing skiff or two, lest the whale-boat should be upset or destroyed. English harpoons may be used, but not fastned to the staff, that they may draw off, when the whale is struck. A Capstern should be fixed at some convenient place, not far distant from the Sealing-post, to heave the Whale on Shore by, and he may be rolled over to get at all the fat, by means of tackles. The Carcass may be removed from thence afterwards, and carried to the place where it will be wanted by the Furrier.

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Eskimeau Indians There being several tribes of these Indians in Labrador and as all of them live in the Harbours and Bays, and not in the interior part of the Country, they kill great numbers of Seals, several Whales, and some animals of the Fur kind; consequently, a very beneficial traffic is to be had with them, and that is carried on by barter. The Moravians established a settlement upon Labrador in the year 1770;163 they keep a stout Brig, and send her home, every year, well filled with oil, whale-bone, seals-skins etc., which they purchase [290/] from the Eskimeaux. I am most decidedly of opinion, that I could cut the Moravians out of the greatest part of their trade with those people, and keep it almost entirely to myself by the following plan. I would ship on board of a Schooner of about fifty Tons burden, a sufficient assortment of all such goods as I know would suit them, together with a quantity of board and plank, and visit all their settlements. At such places as they killed most Whales or Seals, I would establish a crew of four or six hands, and build a large Vat, sufficient to hold all the Ran-fat which they usually kill in a Season. For want of such a convenience, they waste an incredible quantity, for they have no other way of preserving their oil, than by putting it into Seals-skins, skinned out whole and formed into bags, and they never can get enough of them at the places where they kill Whales.164 As their

163 The first Moravian mission was established at Nain in 1771. Moravians were in Nain in 1770 on an exploratory voyage with the help of the famous Inuit woman Mikak, but it was not until the following year that they returned to establish their first permanent mission. The Moravian missions were supplied from England by the mission ship, which criss-crossed the Atlantic each year from 1771 until 1926, when the Moravian trade was turned over to the hbc. The Moravian church at Nain continues today. In 1776, members of this same original group began a second mission at Okak, which operated until the devastation of that community by the Spanish flu in 1918/19 (for more on the rich Moravian history of northern Labrador, see Rollmann n.d.; Rollmann 2002). 164 Baleen was a much-sought-after trade item from the Inuit and came from northern Inuit communities, since whales were not hunted by Inuit in southern Labrador. Cartwright once tried to get his friend “Shuglawina” to travel north on his behalf, “to trade with the whaling tribes of his nation; for I understand that the southern Indians [Inuit] never kill any whales but either purchase whalebone [baleen] from the northern tribes, or cut it out of a dead whale when they chance to meet with one, which often happens” (Cartwright 1792, 18 Sept. 1773).

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houses,165 although warm enough during the frosty weather in the Winter, are not habitable in open weather, they are obliged to live in Tents from the first setting in of the Thaws in the Spring, until the Winter frosts have commenced; in consequence of which, they suffer extremely from the most dreadful colds I ever saw. I am therefore of opinion, that I could gain an immense profit by building good comfortable houses for them. Those houses should be exactly resembling their own, but built upon Posts & shores, to prevent their being incommoded by the Drift. They should have double floors, of inch boards, with Sand or Peat-soil between; double sides; the outer one inch board & the inner, or lining, half-inch, with Moss between. A single roof, sloping backwards, papered & sodded, a sash window in front, double glazed, and a half-door, to hang by the top by hooks and [291/] gimmels. The Porch should be built in the same manner and the entrance to it open, and no wider than sufficient to pass through without difficulty; with a Cast-iron fireplace and an iron funnel to carry off the smoke. The bottom part of the door-way into the house, knee height should be 1½ inch Plank, and stand sloping outwards, that the door might shut close down upon it. The inside of the house should be furnished with a boarded platform, as they make their beds, and there should be two tables, cupboards, shelves and such other conveniences as they wished for. Such a house as that would be a most comfortable residence for the whole year round, as it would be perfectly dry; as warm as their own houses in the Winter; and might be cooled in the Summer, by throwing up the sash, which should have shutters on the inside, to be run up, sash fashion.

165 Cartwright is referring to sod houses of the Inuit, which had entry passages sloping upwards towards the living area, stone floors, and sod walls, and would become dank and muddy during warmer months. The design he suggests is essentially European, being on posts and shores, but follows the form of the sod house with respect to the sloping roof with window set into it in front, the location of the sleeping platform. Note that the intent is to sell this house-type to the Inuit.

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Articles of Trade166 Houses Shallops Sails Cordage Anchors Blocks *Guns, both double & single Case knives, pointed & about 8 inches long *Gun-powder *Shot *Flints *Powder-flasks *Shot-bags Bandoliers large trap pans *do tin kettles *do pudding-pans *Bread *Flour

*Cod-lines *Do Hooks *Rods, lines, Reels, flies etc. for salmon & trout Cedar Plank 5 ft. long *Hatchets small adzes Drills *Beads Brass ornaments for the head Sheep-skins killed soon after clipping time with the wool near an inch long dressed with alum. Skins of very young lambs small steel traps *Clasp knives

Sadlers round knives *Blankets *Swanskin *2 lb milled worsted stockings Caulking-irons & materials to trim their boats with Plank of 1 ½ for Oil Vats Pitch Tar & brown Paper *Turn screws, for guns *Needles. Men’s Thimbles Bird-dart heads Nets of sorts, & twine to mend with Tin Cans, about 3 pints Boxes, with Locks Whaling-spears Do Harpoon heads Smith’s Tongs Do Handhammers Handsaws & other ironmong’y N.B. Those articles marked with red ink would suit the Mountaineer Indians also. [*In the original, these items are preceded by a faded red, L-shaped mark] [292/]

166 An ethnohistorically important list because it reveals something of both the material culture of Inuit and Innu in the late 1700s, but also their incorporation of European activities (i.e., cod fishing, tool usage, cooking techniques). The use of European shallops by Inuit began in the 1600s but their use of guns began in the late 1780s (Rollmann 2013). Brass head decorations were worn by Inuit women of the late eighteenth century (portraits in Taylor 1983, 1984; Stopp 2009).

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Ground Plan of an Eskimeau House & Porch

Elevation of an Eskimeau House and Porch

N.B. The dotted line inside of the House, in the ground plan, is to mark the length of the Platform for the bed, and the figure 1 in the Porch shows the place of the fireplace for cooking in. Having forgot the slopes of the roofs, the dotted line upon the top of the Elevation is to represent the true height and slopes of the Roofs; there being no occasion for the outer end of the Porch to be more than six feet high in the clear, as I never saw one Eskimeau who was so high. The figure 2 upon the roof of the Porch shows the place where the funnel will be. The red lines,167 in both plans, represent the inside of the buildings.

167 Red is faded.

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The Houses168 which the Eskimeaux build, are an exact square or very nearly so. They dig about eighteen inches into the ground, build a Wall about two feet high with the earth which they dig out; set up a gallows in the middle; lay lengths of trees from the Wall upon the Gallows, and cover the whole with sods. Through the front part of the roof they cut a hole for a Window, and lay a sheet of Ice upon it instead of Glass. The consequences are, that whenever a thaw sets in, the ice is melted & breaks; the Roof leaks in every part; the floor of the house is covered with water, and a stream runs out at the Porch door; which is always downhill for that purpose. The height of the Roof, in the above plan, is one foot above the end of the House, but two inches will be sufficient. [293/] Mountaineer Indians There are also a few Mountaineer Indians, which inhabit the interior parts of the Country, lead an erattic [sic] life, and visit the English settlements occasionally, to purchase what they have occasion for, in exchange for their Furs. As they kill a few Bay-seals in the Summer, a small quantity of oil may be procured. All the articles in the list of goods for the Eskimeau trade, which I have marked thus, L,169 will serve for them also, together with those set down underneath. As they are extremely addicted to drinking, they are very troublesome; they are continually wanting, upon credit, more goods than they have furs to pay for, but are never inclined to pay their debts. They require a watchful eye, for they are great thieves and beggars; particularly of spirits. List of Goods for the Mountaineer Trade Spirits. Tobacco. Pipes, & also those marked in the Eskimeau list. Goods procured from them are Seals-oil, Seals-skins, Furs, feathers, Deers-suet, Goose quills, Castorum, and Snow-shoes, but in no great quantities.170

168 Refers to the cold-season sod house. The descriptions of shape, depth, and entry passage correspond with characteristics of Inuit sod houses found throughout coastal Labrador. This is the only known early description of the superstructure. 169 Instead of a red symbol, which appears faintly in the original, the transcribed list was marked with *. 170 Many Innu of interior Labrador had ties with French trade posts and missions along

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A portable Canoe, to carry to a Pond which is at some distance in the Country Make two frames of inch boards, three inches broad, each 12 feet 6 inches long, and 4 feet six inches wide; support them over each other by posts of 1 ½ inch square and eight inches in length, and cover the bottom and sides with Light-Light Canvass double painted. By taking the frames to pieces and rolling up the Canvass, they may be divided so as to make but a light load for a Man, and put together upon your arrival at the Pond. You will find no difficulty in procuring a light pole or two, to shove it along with, or you may carry a pair of light single headed paddles to work it after the Mountaineer way. Such a Canoe will carry three people very safely, and will be of great use to put out nets for Beaver, etc. N.B. Some clean longers must be cut in the adjoining woods, flattened & laid across the bottom. [294/] [Seal Island near Cape Charles] [295/] Seal Island near Cape Charles Latitude 52°-5⬘ N Longitude 55°-15W Upon Page 294 I have sketched out the Sealing-post at Seal-Island, near Cape Charles, and as much of the adjoining land [as] is sufficient for my purpose, but as they are done entirely from memory, the distances are by no means correct, but those errors are matters of no consequence. Mahar’s Cove,171 in particular, is here laid down considerably less than it really is, but I had not room to give its due proportion, and it was necessary to shew the shape of it, because the Seals come from beyond it,

the St Lawrence and these ties were already at least a century old in the 1770s, during Cartwright’s time in Labrador. A general enmity between Innu and Inuit also limited the former’s presence along the eastern coast. 171 Modern place-names are given in fn. 135 on p. 216.

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round Cape Dumpling, and keep the course which is represented by the dotted red line. The red lines represent the nets, when hove up to the surface of the water. The black lines represent the Moorings of the nets. The black spots represent the Bouys of the nets, to keep them afloat The crosses represent the Capsterns, to heave the nets up by. The dots upon Cabareta Island & at the ends of the Moorings represent the places where the moorings are made fast. Figures – present the places where the moorings are made fast. 1 The Sheer-net to direct such Seals into the Pounds as attempt to go round Cabareta Island. Length of it is 50 yards. 2 The outer stopper. Distance between 2 & 3 is 30 yards 3 Second Stopper. Distance between 3 & 4 is 30 yards. 4 3d Stopper. Distance between 4 & 5 is 20 yards. 5 4th Stopper. Distance between 5 & 6 is 15 yards. 6 to 13 The Murderers. Distance betwe[e]n each, & also the tail nets & Saveall is seven yards. 14 The Tail net 15 The Save all 16.16 The Barrier net, which is 153 yards. The outer Stopper is 53 yards, & the Save all 35 yards. That number of Nets would require Sixteen Men and six Boats, but there ought to be a spare boat or two, for fear of accidents. In such a Season as those of 1770, or 1771, that place fished as is here represented would kill from 6 to 10,000 Seals, and I am of opinion, that this would be the most beneficial way of fishing this place. The outer ends of the Tail net & Saveall must be secured on to the Barrier, but the rest need not be done so. They must all be six feet deeper than the water at the highest spring tide, and their foot-ropes well leaded. [296/]

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A comparative statement of Produce, Expences and Profits of the Sealfishery at Seal-Island, near Cape Charles, as it was fished in the Winter of 1771, and of what they would be if fished according to my improved plan, as represented on Page 294. Valuing virgin oil at £51, Brown at £45 & Black at £41 pr Ton, and Sealskins at £35 per hundred of five Score; the prices which they bore at Pool in the year 1805. 1771 972 Seals, which ought to have produced 28 T – 3 qt, but did produce only 25 Tons, & which were [text missing] 2 Tons of virgin oil at £51 102 – 19 Tons of Brown oil, at £45 855 – 4 Tons of Black oil at £41 164 – 972 Skins at £35 per hundred of 5 Score 340 – 4 Total £1461 – 4 – Expences 6 Men at £20 per Man Use of Craft 100 Hogsheads [?] 12/ Hoops etc at 1/? Each Freight at 40 pr Ton Insurance [?] 2 ½ per £ Total Profit

£120 – 20 – 60 – 5– 50 – 36 – 15 – £291 – 15 – 1169 – 9 –

My Way Would kill 6000 Seals, which would produce 177 T 3 qt. virgin oil at £51 – 8805 – 5 – / 6000 Skins at £35 pr C of 5 Score – 2100 – / – / Total £10,905 – 5 – /

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Expences 15 Men at £40 each 711 Hogsheads at 12/ Hoops etc if of each [sic] Use of Craft Freight at 40/ pr Ton Insurance at 2 ½ pr C [Total] Profit Difference

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600 – / – / 421 – 12 – / 35 – 11 – / 101 – / – / 355 – 10 – / 272 – 2 – 6 1774 – 15 – 6 £9130 – 9 – 6 1169 – 9 – / £7961 – / – 6

[297/] Carpets The skins of such Deer as are killed between the first of July and the middle of August, and have had too many Warbles in them to make them worth sending to England, will make most excellent Carpets for the Winter’s use; they will have a rich look, and are very proper for best Rooms. Those which are killed from the middle of August to the first of December will do likewise and are warmer: but they do not look so well, because the pens are grown much larger. They must be dressed in the following manner. Spread the skin upon the ground, by pegging it down, so soon as it is taken off. When dry, scrape all the fat etc clean off, and then rub it well with a rough stone until it is perfectly soft. Each skin must then be cut square and sewed together. Coverlets for Beds may be made in the same manner, and also a Coat for the Winter. To prepare Salted Beef, Pork, or any kind of large Fish for dressing Put them into fresh water in the morning & let them lay until night, when they must be taken out; put them in again the next Morning & let them remain until the evening, & then take them out; put them in again the next morning & lay until it is time to put them into the Pot. Small pieces of meat and small fish will require only one Day’s soaking & the next morning. [298/]

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Cages for Birds Make the frame of wood, in the usual manner, but, for want of wire, make the sides of a small-meshed net. The top may be either of board or a net, as you like best. There are a few birds peculiar to the northern part of America, but none of them have either a sweet, or a long song. To kill Seals upon the Ice in the Spring Seals migrate to the Southward, at the approach of Winter, as has already been stated. In the Month of March they return Northward about as far as Quirpon on Belle-Isle (as it is supposed, for none were ever seen upon the Coast of Labrador) where they meet with flat pans of Ice, which are supposed to have been driven out of the various Bays; they get upon them, and there bring forth their young. That Ice is driven to the Southward by the Current, and if an Easterly Wind prevails, it is driven close to the Shores of Newfoundland, when the Inhabitants go off in their Sealingskiffs and kill great numbers of them. Should the Wind blow off from the Shore, the Ice is driven out to Sea, and very few Seals are killed, as there is too much danger in going any distance from the land in small open boats: I therefore recommend the following way. Build a Brig of about fifty Tons; double plank her, and the outermost planks should be of oak or Larch; fill the space between her Timbers with Cork; her Beams should be strong & not more than eight feet from each other, and there should be a double row of them across the Hold. Such as [sic] vessel may very safely cruise amongst the Ice as she will not sink in case of being so much crushed as to fill with water, and the Beams across her Hold will not prevent the Seals pelts from slipping in amongst them. She ought to have Ballast, le[s]t she upset when filled with water. N.B. Long, narrow, empty Kegs of about 12 Gallons, lashed one upon each end of the uppermost Beams in the Hold, would add very considerably to the buoyancy & enable the vessel to carry more ballast, to prevent her upsetting, if she filled with water. [299/]

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A Coaster As a Coaster would be absolutely necessary, if any person intended to kill Deer and Bay-seals according to the ways which I have recommended; and as such a vessel would require conveniences which others have not, I advise her to be built in the following manner, viz: She should be about fifty Tons burden, but not draw more than nine feet of water, when loaded; to enable her to do that, her length and breadth should be greater than usual, for a vessel of that size. Give her a Dove-tailed Keel; a deep Waist, with Scupper-holes the whole length of it, and the Rudder head must be as high as the Taffarel [taffrail], that there may be room to stow two [s]kiffs under the Tillar. The Stearage should be large enough for six double Births [berths]. Fix a Cast-iron Cabouse in the fore-part of the Stearage, if that be practicable, and have moveable lengths of iron funnelling to fix on when at anchor, to carry the smoke clear of the Quarter Deck. Round the Quarter Deck have fixed Coops for Geese; Beavers; Hares etc to be kept alive in. Fix two necessary tubs over her Stern, in the Dutch way. Schooner rigged will be the most convenient and she may have a flying Top-sail, and a Square-sail. Provide an awning, not only between the Masts, but also over the Quarter Deck, and that must be supported abaft by the Ensign-staff, which may be fixed upon the Rudder-head & made to ship and unship. She must have three anchors; one of which must be of sufficient weight to ride by in general; another much heavier, to let go whenever it blows a remarkable heavy gale, and the third must be a kedge, to moor with. Her Cables & Rigging must be all of new Hemp, and she should have a spare set of sails. Her Bows had best be doubled, lest she strike against Ice. She must have five light, fouroared Skiffs; two of which she must [300/] stow in her Waist; two upon the Quarter Deck, and tow the fifth: and that must be swept round, under her Gunwales, with a piece of Skiff’s Rode to prevent her stem being torn out in towing. She must also have two light Shooting-Flats, which she will stow in the two Skiffs in her Waist. If the Cabouse cannot be fixed in the Stearage, it must be placed close forward upon the Quarter Deck, and the funnel tall enough to reach over the awning. The Geese-coups must be large enough to serve for Dog-kennels also. The Beaver & Hare-coops must be lined with tin, and fronted with strong wire. Deer-Calves must be kept in the Cabbin and Stearage, if there is not

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room for a pen upon the Quarter Deck. Her Windows must be glaized with the thick glass, such as is used in the Gun-Room Windows of Men of War, & Dead-lights fitted to them. A strong rail should be fixed abaft the Taffarel, to hang Venison upon. Partition off her after Hold, for Provisions etc, and leave the rest in one. She had best have a spare Bower anchor, as it may, some time or other, be necessary to cut and run. Although such a vessel may be left afloat during the Winter, yet it would be better to heave her up dry, and that may be done in the following manner, viz: Upon a Beach, convenient for the purpose, lay two rows of stout Beams parallel to each other and a thwart the Shore, at the distance of six feet asunder; Fix stout rollers, six feet asunder, to turn upon Gudgeons, fixed in eye-bolts upon the Beams and about two inches above the Beach. Sweep the vessel round with a strong Hawser, and heave her up with another; supporting her upon an even Keel, by Men placed on each side, or by rails fixed at a proper height, and then shore her up for the Winter. A stout Capstern must be firmly fixed at a sufficient distance beyond the Beach, to heave her up by. [301/] Bay Seals to catch Bay Seals may be caught in any narrow Harbour or Inlet, by using a long Stopper-net as a saine, leading the foot-rope lightly, and corking the headrope well. To train Hounds, in order to prevent their being lost As Hounds will be apt to be lost, or at least give you much trouble to recover them again when you have done hunting and wish to return home, unless they are properly trained, the following is a very sure way of causing them to return to you immediately, viz: Provide a good Bugle-horn, and make use of it whenever you feed them. Do not feed them constantly in the Kennel, but often times at a distance from it. So soon as their meat is ready, stand by it and wind the horn, the Kennel-door is then to be opened, and they will readily run to the horn; having been previously used to it at meal-times. When you have done hunting and killed Deer, bring them in with the Bugle, and reward them with the paunches etc, or a Calf, which they must be permitted to tear at whole. Tin Post-horns

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will be of great use, to make signals to each other with, but the Bugle must only be used when you want the hounds to come in. The Post-horns must never be used at feeding-times. Smoke House As it will be requisite to smoke and jerk a large quantity of Flesh and Fish, for Winter provisions a proper House for that purpose will be very convenient. Build the House square; eight feet high, and the Roof nearly flat. The sides may be of what length you think necessary, and made of boards overlapping each other. The floor of Sand or Gravel. Erect handflakes all round, and tiers of them over each other, and one over the whole house. Fix a close Stove in the centre; make the funnel to take off easily, and have a cap for the funnel-hole in the Roof. It will then either smoke or jerk, as you have occasion. [302/] Trot If I mistake not, a Trot is a long line, with a great number of hooks fixed to it, at certain distances, by short pieces of finer line, and is an excellent way of catching fish, and also of discovering what sorts of fish there are to be caught, and I advise its being made and used in the following manner. Splice three Bank-lines together; fix a bit of Whiting-line, eighteen inches long, at the distance of one fathom asunder; gauge a sufficient number of hooks in the usual way; provide two long stones, about 20 lb each and bore a hole in one end of each; Splice three other Bank-lines together for a Bouy-line, a sheet of Cork and a board of the same size; lace the board & cork upon each other by boring holes through both, & fix a stick of two feet in length upon the centre of the board, upon which fix a small flag. When you arrive at the place where you intend to set the Trot lay your boat to and let her drive slowly, then lay the Trot out upon the boat in such manner that it will run freely without entangling, and fix on the hooks as you go on, remembering to lay nine codhooks, and the tenth a whiting hook; bait them all and place each over the gunwhale of the boat. As the boat will forge ahead somewhat, the Bouy-line must be fixed to that end of the Trot which lies foremost & the Bouy at the other

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end of the line. You are then to lower down the Stone which lays next to the Stern of the boat, and when the whole of the Trot is run out, hold fast until it is stretched fairly out and then drop the other stone, and when the Bouy-line is run out, drop the Bouy with the flag upper most, that you may easily find it again. When you think it has lain long enough (suppose six hours or more) hale it in again by the Bouy-line, and take off all the hooks as they come in that they may not get entangled, and also to clean them. If a few strong pins were fixed (as for flounders) and baited with pieces of lance, they would catch soles, if there were any. Muscles should also be tried. To catch Shell-fish Provide either a large, iron hoop with a net upon it, or a wide Basket which is not very deep. Sling them with [303/] two cross lines, and fix a Bouy line to the bights. Put a sufficiency of stones into them, to keep them steady upon the ground, fix several pieces of bait in them, and lower them to the bottom; fixing a Bouy to the top of the line. A Trall-net and an Oyster-dredge may be used upon Sandy bottoms, and they will take all such sorts of fish as cannot be caught with hooks. To build a framed House, in such manner as to save time & labor I will suppose the house to contain several rooms, that the outer Walls are to be eight inches thick in the hollow part, and the partitions six inches; the outer casing made of inch boards, and the linings of half-inch. To the total length of the Rooms add 17 inches for both ends and seven inches for each partition, and the total will give you the extreme length of the House. Do the same by the breadth of it. You are then to make two frames of timber of the same length and breadth as the House is to be, each eight inches broad and not less than six inches thick; one of which is to be the lower frame, and the other the Wall-plate. Having determined upon the height of the rooms, cut a sufficient number of Posts into proper lengths, from shoulder to shoulder, that the rooms may have their clear height when the floors are laid; those for the four corners must be eight inches square but those which are to stand opposite to each partition are to be 8 x 6. Mortice them into both frames. You are then to provide a suf-

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ficient number of other posts to support the Wall-plate and also the Beams over the partitions. Those which are to support the Wall-plate must be eight inches broad, and the others six: and they may be made either of 1½ inch or 2 inch Plank. They must be two inches longer than from shoulder to shoulder of the other posts, and let into the frames by the assistance of a saw, and they cannot slip out of their places after the outer casing and inner linings are nailed on to them. If the house is to be built at a distance from the place where it is made, all the pieces must be marked, and then taken asunder. You will remember, to mark where the doors and windows [304/] are to be, and fix some of those plank posts where they shall support the frames of them, and divide the rest at equal distances between them. To build a Studded House If the House is to be built upon the Ground, level the site of it and clear away the swarth and upper soil. Mark out the size of it and lay down a frame of Larch-logs; the thicker the better, but no broader than you intend the studs to be: nail an inch board on each side of the frame, to stand about four inches above it. Take off both ends of the Studs with a saw, and cut them of the exact length which you intend to be the height of the rooms between the floor and the upper side of the Beams; making the proper allowance for the height of the floor above the level of the lower frame: square all the Studs, that they may be the exact thickness of the space between the two boards, but their breadth may be whatever the timber will admit of. Fix up one squared Stud at each corner of the house, and as many more as will be sufficient to support the ends of a length of board, six inches broad, which must be nailed all round, both on the outside & the in, to keep the heads of the studs in their places. You are then to mark the places for windows and Doors, and fix in the Studs. When you get so near any of the Studs which were fixed to support the casingboards, that you cannot get any more Studs into their places, nail the casing-boards to some few of them, knock away the others, fill up the vacant space and so proceed until you have studded all round. But you will remember, when you come to the place where a Beam is to be laid across, to cut the studs which are to stand under and support it, so much shorter than the rest that the upper side of the Beam shall lay even with the tops

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of all the other Studs, and saw away both of the casing-boards, to let it in. You are now to lay on your Wall-plates, and the [305/] rafters must project a foot beyond them, to keep the Walls dry, by sawing notches in the outer edges of the Wall-plates deep enough for the upper edges of the rafters to be even with the outer edge of them. N.B. Upon reconsidering the above way of building a Studded house, I am of opinion, that instead of nailing a board to support the top-ends of the Studs the better way will be, to make another frame exactly large enough to enclose the lower one, and set it up upon squared Studs fixed one on each side of each corner of the house, and as many more on the sides and ends as will be sufficient to support it: the work can then be carried on without knocking away any of the Studs and that frame need not be cut, to lay on the Beams, but they are to be supported upon Studs cut short enough for the upper side of the Beams to lay level with the upper side of the top frame, and the Wall-plate be made of an inch and half plank; with a bed of fine Moss laid under it, to prevent the Wind drawing through. To make the sides and ends of the House perfectly Wind and Frost-tight, nail two-inch battens, two feet asunder, in a perpendicular direction, and line with half-inch boards; ramming the vacancies well with fine Moss. Oil, Skimming and Net-house Build the oil-house upon the ground, with a Puncheon sunk into the ground at one corner, and pitched well on both sides, to catch all leakage, and from which the oil is to be pumped up and conveyed into the Washing-vat by spouts. Then build the Skimming & Net-house over the oilhouse, and build a bridge from the end of the former to the rendering-vat, to convey the ran-fat into the latter. [306/] Explanation 1.1. 2.2. 3 4.4.

Ground line Floor of the oil-house Puncheon sunk into the ground, to receive the leakage oil. Floor of the Skimming & Net-house.

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5.5. Roof of ditto. 6. Spout to convey the leakage-oil into the Washing-vat. 7 Washing-vat. 8. Bottom of the Receiver. 9.9. Top of the Receiver. 10. Spout, to convey the oil into the Washing-vat. 11.11. Top of the Rendering-vat. 12.12. Ends of ditto. 13.13. Shores, to support ditto. 14. Bridge from the Skimming-house to carry the fat into the Rendering vat. 15.15. Posts to support the Receiver. N.B. By this Plan, the buildings are supposed to be erected upon level ground, but if they were built upon a declivity, they might be erected in such manner that the top of the Washing-vat should stand rather lower than the bottom of the oil-house and of the Receiver, and then the top of the Rendering-vat would be nearly upon a level with the floor of the Skimming-house. The Washing-vat should be built over a brook, if there chanced to be one convenient for the purpose; that water might be pumped into it, and the foul-water carried off without leaving any nuisance behind. [307/] Bay-Seals to catch in Rivers As all the Rivers in Labrador, which I have yet seen or heard of, are well frequented by Salmon, they are frequented by Bay-seals also in proportion to the number of Salmon and other local circumstances. Immediately below the Cataract, which lies twenty miles or more above

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the head of the tide; upon the great River Exploits in Newfoundland172 I saw a great number of them at the end of August; the Salmon being then all run up the River as high as that place and unable to get farther. When I first occupied Paradise,173 Seals were extremely numerous in the Lake, at the end of the Summer, but in a few years after they never went higher than my nets so long as the fish were passing up the River, and did me very great injury, by eating the Salmon out of and tearing the Nets. Should you run a set of Racks across a River, to stop the Salmon that you may be able to catch some every day so long as they are in Season, you may depend upon that River being greatly infested with Seals, but you may catch them by either of the following ways. 1st Set up a Pound, as for Salmon, at the most convenient place below the Racks and I would advise its being made of No. 1 Wire instead of wooden rundles, and wide enough for the Salmon to pass through. The points of the Hawks must stand a foot wide. If you wish to save expense, you may try if rundles will do for the ends. 2nd When you percieve numbers of Seals get up amongst your Salmon, lay down a sufficient number of Shallop’s anchors according to the breadth of the River, and moor the ends of Seal-nets to them with their bights down the Stream; one net between every two anchors compleatly across. The ends of the nets must be well-supported by out-Bouys, and also the centre of their bights; the head-ropes well [308/] corked, and the foot-ropes weighted with stones. So soon as you have fixed all the nets to your satisfaction, row up the River (the more boats the better) and drive the Seals down, by firing powder at them, and you need not fear catching almost the whole of them. In case of having a sufficiency of boats, one might lay upon the centre moorings, to keep the Seals from swimming over the nets in case they were disposed so to do, but that boat would not prevent them from passing, as they would dive before they came near her. The more anchors that you lay down, the more acute the angles of the nets will be, and the more impossible for the Seals to turn and avoid them. 172 Cartwright was on the Exploits River in July 1768, accompanying his brother, Lieutenant John Cartwright, who was tasked by Governor Hugh Palliser with making contact with the Beothuk Indians (Marshall 1996, 84). 173 At the bottom of Sandwich Bay. Cartwright had a salmon station there from 1775 until 1785, when rival firm Noble and Pinson succeeded in taking over all of his Sandwich Bay operations.

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A small Schooner and six Men might be advantageously employed, during the Summer, in cruising the Coast and catching Bay Seals in this way and that recommended in Page 286. The skins should be salted into old Rum and Treacle Puncheons, which should be headed up, when full but they may be stowed in Bulk for a Market, and the Casks kept for the next year. As those Men should also be provided with nets for Beavers and Birds, and also with two large double-springed Traps they would constantly be killing something or other, the fat, skins and feathers of which would produce money, and they would require no salted Provisions for their support, but could cure a considerable quantity. The more that I consider what may be done in that Country, the more am I astonished at the adventure[r]s paying their whole attention to the catching of Cod-fish and Salmon in the Summer. Pitfal Traps The Doors of these traps may be made in the following manner, viz: Hang them at the back ends by two pairs of Staples one within the other, and support the other ends by lines reeved through pullies fixed under a beam placed across the trap (at the height of seven or eight feet, which Beam is to be [309/] supported upon a post placed on each side) and a weight fixed at the end of each line; the two weights for each door being about a pound heavier than the door, and there must be a batten nailed upon each side of the standing part of the top of the trap, to prevent the weights causing the door to lay higher than their proper level. The lines are not to be quite so long as to admit of the weights rising upon the top of the trap, lest they stretch and cause the doors to dip down. In case the weights are moved by the Winds, which may shy an animal, make a square frame of boards upon the top of the trap to receive them, and by part of it projecting over the Doors it will prevent them from being elevated above their level. Wooden pullies will do, but brass ones are better, and the difference of expense should not be attended to. By giving the Standing part of the top of the trap and also the doors a coat of Pitch & Tar (as for papering the roofs of Houses[)], and sanding them well over, the boards would not be seen, and then the large ones would most certainly catch Deer, as well as all other animals, after the

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smell of the Pitch & Tar were gone off, and that would preserve the boards also. Some dry sand should be kept at hand, to refresh that on the top occasionally. No trouble or expense should be spared for these Traps, for no others will repay it better. N.B. As some animals may be shy of going upon bare boards, battens may be nailed all round the standing part of the top of a Pit-fal trap and also the doors, and they may then have a covering of sods, or a coat of fine gravel mixed with fine lime and well wetted, or drawn over with Mortar and fine gravel pressed in whilst wet and no animal would scruple to step upon the doors then. I know that a Fox is not shy of boards, for I once saw the track of one, which had gone all over a Shallop that was blocked up for the Winter, but a Wolf is remarkably suspicious. A Kid Lamb, or any such thing tied in an open basket & suspended from a Gallows placed across the centre of the trap would tempt a Wolf. [310/] Deer Toils Deer-toils should not be more than seven yards long, and set up in the following manner, viz: Let each end of the foot-rope be about five yards larger than the net; dig a hole in the ground or snow four yards from each end of the net; make two small holes, one on each side of the above holes, large enough to admit a stick of three inches in circumference; stretch the net, put the ends of the foot-ropes under the sticks placed across the holes and draw them as tight as possible & fasten them there; fix two poles in the ground or snow to stand perpendicular and nearly one under each end of the head of the net and on the side next to the Deer; make the head-rope of the net so long, that it may reach under the aforesaid pin & draw it as tight as possible. When the Deer strike against the net, it will slip off the top of the pole which supports it and the head will fall nearly upon the foot, which will effectually prevent the escape of the Deer, and if the rest fly to either side, which they are most likely to do, the next net will receive them, for a great number of such nets are to be placed at the end of each other: but if the net is in one piece, the first Deer that strikes in will pull so much down, that the rest will escape.

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Essence of Valerian The Essence of Valerian has a wonderful effect upon all the Cat-kind; insomuch, that they will rub themselves against any thing or place, on which it is poured, for a very long time, and consequently can be entrapped by it to a certainty. Lame Wolf to kill No beast, that I am acquainted with, is so suspicious of a trap as a Wolf, and one who has already been caught in, and lamed by one, is ten times more so; and, consequently, very difficult to catch: but yet he will frequent a trap-walk; eat out every animal which is caught, and [311/] rob the traps of their bait. These things he will do so regularly, because he is unable to procure food any other way, that you must not expect any Furr until you have destroyed him, and which may be done in the following manner, viz. Mix up one jig and half another of Nux Vomica,174 finely rasped, with some Seals fat or other grease, and drop it by the side of your path, and it will certainly kill him, or prick it up upon the point of a stick, that it may not get covered with snow. Bait for Wolves and Foxes Take equal parts of old black-rotten Cheshire Cheese and Seals’ fat, and pound them together in a Mortar; add as much flour as will make a tolerable stiff Paste, and also as much Honey, or Treacke [sic] as will sweeten it well. The mass may be kept in a Keg or Pipkin, and when wanted for use, make some into long rolls, not thicker than the end of your little finger, cut them into small bits and make them into balls, the size of marbles. Cold-Bath and Well Both a Cold-Bath and a Well may be made close to your dwelling House with very little expense, will be very useful and make the scite [sic] of your house perfectly dry. As the dissolution of the Snow, in the Spring, occasions the ground to be extremely wet upon the surface, it will be necessary to cut 174 Strychnine, in the form of the dried seed of the tree.

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a drein [sic] round it, to catch the water as it comes down from the land above, and carry it clear of the House; and in so doing, you have only to begin one drein in front of one end of the House, carry it up near to that end to a short distance beyond the back corner, and from thence along the back until you have passed the [312/] centre. You are then to cut a similar drain from the other end until it over-laps the upper end of the former, which will carry the water off in two streams and you are then to lay down a Bath of Planks at the end of the one, and a lesser one for a Well at the end of the other; taking care that they are placed so low, as to enable you to let the waste-water run off through spouts, which must be well covered with earth for some distance, that the frost may not freeze the water in them during the Winter. The upper part of the dreins must also be covered over for the same reason. You are then to build a room over each, to correspond with the front of the House. To prevent a Ship from carrying away her Bowsprit As a ship is absolutely necessary to all those who make an establishment in Labrador, and the carrying away her Bowsprit is a thing of dangerous consequence, inasmuch as the loss of that is sure to be followed by the loss of the Foremast, and Main-top Mast at least, it will be very proper to guard against so great a misfortune: and as the Bowsprit is always carried away at Sea, by the Ship plunging it considerably under-water, when there is a great head-sea, which always is the case if the wind shifts several points during a heavy gale, the following mode of constructing her will certainly prevent it. Instead of building her bows rounding, in the usual way, give her a very long, projecting stem in the same manner as an Eskimeau Kyack is built, and carry her Planking up in form of a wedge. She will then cut the water with more ease and her bearings will increase so much, ever[y] inch that she plunges into [313/] it, that it will be impossible for her to plunge her Bowspit [sic] under it. Shallops Cuddies, to prevent their leaking, or being heated by the Sun in the Summer Having carefully caulked the Cuddies, lay a strip of brown paper, pitched & tarred, over every seam, then nail inch battens athwart, not more than

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six or eight inches asunder, and lay on a second covering of half-inch board and ram the intermediate space well with moss; give a whole coat of brown paper over that covering, and a second covering of half-inch board over all, and which need not be payed with Pitch or Tar. If the spaces between the Timbers of her sides and stern were rammed with Moss also, as well as those round her fore-cuddie, they would be perfectly warm in cold weather, and cool in hot; taking care that the Bulkheads were double with paper between, and the doors made to shut close. By building her stem in the manner directed in the foregoing page, she [would] sail swifter, and not not [sic] throw the spray over her as they generally do when upon a wind in a fresh gale. The Keels of all sailing vessels should be dove-tailed: to prevent their making so much Lee-way, when laying too, or sailing close to the wind. That is an American improvement upon Keels, and a very excellent one it is. P.S. Having carefully reconsidered the above way of securing the Cuddies of shallops from leakage and heat am of opinion, that it will be a much better way to give a whole covering of brown paper, pitch and tar upon the usual Planking, and a covering of half-inch boards upon that: and then to ceil under the Beams, with half-inch boards, and ram the spaces between with Moss. [314/] To make a Newfoundland, or any other Dog drop to the Gun As a second shot is frequently lost by a Dog running forward when you fire, he should be taught to drop upon his belly, the instant that you shoot, and that is to be done in the following manner: but it will be best to begin with him when young and before he has been shot to, yet he may be taught at any age. Put him on a Check-collar with a line to it; one man must tie the line above his left elbow, hold it in his left hand, at such a length as the Dog shall be within reach of the ship, which he is to have in his right hand (I suppose him to be right-handed) and another must have a Gun; upon firing the Gun & the Dog springing forward, he must be severely checked with the line, recieve a cut or two with the whip, and the words “Ta Ho” or “Down” made use of sharply. In a few lessons, he will drop the instant that the Gun is fired, and then you may take him out shooting. Let him run with the Collar on, and your assistant must take hold of the line before you shoot, and proceed as before in case he rushes forward. After

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he is once made steady he must never afterwards be permitted to go up to the Game until you have loaded again and given him orders to advance, which, if a Pointer, he should only do foot’s pace, accompanying yourself, and he will never lose a winged bird, if there is any scent, as he will then foot it up gently, but will lose many if he be permitted to run up and chase the Game. To prevent a Dog from chasing Hares etc The chasing of Hares being a very great fault in a Dog, he should be broke from it, and that is easily done when young, be [sic] may be accomplished at any age. Put on a Check-collar with a long line to it; tie the end of the line above the left elbow of your assistant [315/] who must take the greater part of it up in coils, in his left hand, leaving only about two yards free; go to a place where hares are very plentiful and walk the ground over irregularly; when a hare starts, all the coils of the line must be let drop, and when he gets to the end of it, he must be pulled over with the utmost force: he is then to be pinned to the ground by the two ears and a few severe cuts of a Huntsman’s whip given him. You are then to go on again, and the same done so often as he attempts to chase, but when he stands his ground, on the starting of the hare, let him run with the line dragging after him, mount your assistant upon your horse and hunt the Dog yourself. If he chases, when another hare starts, your assistant must gallop after him, cracking the whip, and you must call out “Ta Ho.” When he comes back, he must be severely flogged. Most Dogs are to be effectually broke in that manner in the course of one morning, where Hares are plentiful, but ’tis not easy to do it where they are scarce, as he forgets one lesson before he has an opportunity of receiving a second. Marten Trap A Trap constructed in the same manner as the box-trap for Mice, by which they enter at either end, by walking up a board placed sloping in the two holes made for the purpose, and which tips when they have gone past the centre would be an admirable one for them. It would be still better if the centre was partitioned off, with double [316/] rows of wire, to

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keep a live Rabbit, Grous, or other bird in. Both the ends, which the entrance holes are fixed in, must be wired, that the Martens may see through, and not get under the boards in endeavoring to get out, as they would do were the ends boarded up, and thereby prevent another from going in. If made large enough it might catch Foxes also, although a Fox is shy of going into box-traps. A Lynks or Wolverine would most certainly enter readily. Ground Plan of the Trap & bait-Cage

Nos. Explanation 1.1. Boarded sides of the Trap 2.2. Wired Sides of the Trap 3.3. Boarded sides of entrance holes 4.4. Boarded sides of Bait-cage 5.5. Wired sides of do double-wired 6.6. Entrance holes – width

F 6 6 2 2 2

In 10 6 6 10 6 8

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N.B. There must be a door in one of the boarded sides, to bolt the Martens into a net, and another in the centre of the top, to put the baitbird in at and feed it. A hole may be made in the top of the Trap to let the Bait-cage into, and a lid made to fit that hole when the Cage is not put in, but dead bait made use of. Nos. Explanation 1. The top, which is of boards 2. The Bottom, do 3. The Wire end-height 4. The Bridge, as it will stand 5. Ditto, when depressed by a Marten 6. Wired space above the Bridge 7. [Crossed out] 8. Elevation of inner end of Bridge 9. Wired space under Pivots of do

F 6 6 1 2 2 1

In 10 10 6 6 6 10 8 6½

N.B. To save wire, the lower half only of the sides of both Trap and Cage may be wired, and the upper half boarded & then 222 yards, one foot & six inches will be sufficient. N.B. If a Trap is intended to catch larger animals, it must be proportioned accordingly. It should be built in tall woods, and a roof of boughs, ten feet high, built over it, to keep it free from snow. If it is to be carried to a distance, take it to pieces, and set it up again there. As Ermine will go into it, the wires must be 3 to an inch. [317/]

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Fitchet, Stoat and We[a]sel Trap As the above animals are very plentiful in England, and destroy an incredible quantity of Game, a trap upon the same principal [sic] as the foregoing, but only eighteen inches square, and eight inches high; baited with all fish; fresh fish and oils of birds or other flesh, would catch great numbers of them. It should be placed near the middle of a long, old hedge; the boarded side close to the roots of the hedge, and covered with old boughs, to be tied from the sight of idle, mischievous people. Mouse-trap upon the same construction Length 9 in: Breadth 6 in: Depth 2 in: in the clear: Entrance-hole 1 in 3/10. 4 wires to an inch. To descend a Cliff As Falcons and certain Sea-fowls frequently breed upon the ledges of high Cliffs, they may be procured in the following manner. Provide a long Larch plank, of two or more inches thick, or a long length of a Larch tree, but if the latter it must be hewn flat on the under side and a board nailed across the under part of the Butt, to prevent its turning. Saw a notch out of the end, to receive a block-shieve, and smooth the sides of the notch; let it be deep enough for the rope to run clear of a batton nailed across the top of it. Reeve a two inch rope upon the Sheave & sling a stout stick to the end. The Sheave-end of the Plank must be placed projecting over the top of the Cliff; a man must sit upon the stick, and be lashed round his back to the rope above it, and then lowered down the Cliff. To prevent the necessity of hoisting him up again, he may be lowered into a boat, or upon the ground at the foot of the [318/] Cliff, as the case may be. He must be provided with a basket, or some such thing, to put the young birds or eggs into. To preserve Mushrooms for future use Gather them when in perfection; rub off the skin; string them with the assistance of a needle run through the centre, and extend the strings across

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a Kitchen, or other sufficiently warm room, until they are thoroughly dry: when they may be taken down and kept in a tin Canister or bottles. Before using, soak them in water for a proper time, and then let them lay to swell, or they may be powdered, when dry. Mushroom spawn As I never saw a Mushroom in Labrador, they may be grown there by carrying out a quantity of good spawn, packed in a cask. Snares As there are very few birds or beasts which may not be caught in snares, provided they are made in proportion to the size and strength of the animal and properly set, I shall here give such directions for making and setting them, that the reader may adapt the proper sort, to any animal he wishes to catch, and set it in such manner that he will not fail of success. Snares are to be made of the following materials; viz. of Rope; Twine; Thongs of leather; Horse-hair; or split Whale-bone: those of Rope or split Whale-bone must always [319/] be single; those of Twine or Leather always of several lengths laid together, but the other two may be several parts laid together, or single, according as strength is required: and the wire must be of different thicknesses, in proportion to the strength required. Each snare must be made so long as to admit of a bow, large enough to recieve the animal’s head, but not permit the whole body to pass through. Snares for large Beasts must be made of any of the first four articles; those for lesser ones, of wire, but those for Birds must be of Wire; Horse-hair, or Whale-bone: those of wire or hair may be either of a single wire, or a single hair doubled and twisted or of more parts twisted. All wire must be properly tempered before it is used, or it will never stand well, and will easily break. Snares for large Beasts, must be set between two trees, which grow on each side of the path which they use: but where one tree can only be found, another must be fixed in the ground opposite to it, and the snare must be stopped to those trees, above and below, by single pieces of sewing thread. For Foxes and other beasts of that size,

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they must be set upon a path in the same manner as for Hares: but very different methods are required for Birds, and they are the following viz. For such as feed upon the ground, you must discover those places which they usually feed upon, and if their food is of such things as you can procure, bait it well for several Days. You are then to procure some straight sticks; split them; place the standing end of each snare in the split-part so near to each other, that they shall touch and then tie the stick together between each snare. You are then to provide forked sticks, of sufficient length to support the snares at a proper height from the Ground; prick them perpendicularly; lay the long stick upon the forks, and tie it fast. For such small birds as assemble in flocks, provide a long line; fix a snare [320/] of a single Horse-hair doubled in the middle & twisted, at every six or seven inches; peg it at full length upon a piece of bare Ground, or that which is covered with fine, short grass or snow; let the snares lay on each side; strew proper bait along it, and they will be caught by the legs. For such as feed upon such berries as grow upon bushes, provide a stick, the thickness of your thumb and about five feet long; make two holes near the top, about seven inches asunder, to receive the two ends of a lesser stick, which must be about eighteen inches long and bent into an oblong bow; slit the upper part of that bow, in a perpendicular direction; insert the standing ends of two hair snares in that slit & then fix it into its proper hole, and they will nearly fill the bow. You are then to provide a bunch of such berries as they are fondest of and fasten it in such manner as they shall hang close over the lower side of the bow & close to the large stick, and force the lower end of that into the ground near such place as you observe them to frequent. Upon discovering the berries, they will settle upon the lower side of the bow, and when they have done feeding will fly through it, and be caught in one of the snares. N.B. That is an excellent way of catching Fieldfares, Blackbirds & Thrushes in England. In case you cannot get branches of berries, string single ones upon thread, with a needle, and make them into bunches.

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Plan of Bird-snares N.B. The berries of Mountain ash are the best for Fieldfares, etc.

[321/] To Roof a House in such manner that Sky-lights may be fixed in it Make the Rafters of 1 ½ or 2 inch Plank, cut to what breadth you think requisite; place them edge-way, at 8 inches clear of each other. Cover with inch boards, laid up and down, and which meet over the centre or [sic] each Rafter, but leave vacancies where you intend the Sky-lights to be and Caulk the seams between the boards. For the Sky-light, place two inch boards (six inches broad) parellel [sic] to each other and eight inches asunder in the clear, and fasten them by nailing boards across their ends. You are then to fix squares of Glass in that case, both above and below; each square to over-lap the one below it, and putty all neatly. Those cases are to be fixed over the vacant spaces between the rafters, and will stand six inches above the rest of the Roof: but when that is covered with a course of brown paper, pitched and tarred on both sides all [sic] a six inch coat of Sods laid thereon, the top of the lights will be even with the top of the Sods, and very little snow will ever lay upon the Glass; if the Roof is very flat and exposed to all winds. If a Passage is narrow, build a square of 2 feet in height & glaize the sides, but if it is broad an octagon will be better & place a window in each side. It will not accumulate much drift, and that should be cleared away after the gale is over.

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Deer Pound Deer Pounds are already mentioned in Pages 26, 94 & 210, but, upon reconsidering them, am of opinion that, wherever a very good path is found, as to be likely to catch great numbers of those animals, the greatest care should be taken to construct it sufficiently long, that the leading Deer shall not arrive at the farther end, before the last has entered; as they would all turn back, upon the stoppage of the leading beast, and those which were not then within the Pound would not be caught. The Killing-pound should be large also, and I recommend the Venison-House to be partitioned off from the Trap-house. As most of the Paths run out [322/] from the Country towards the Barrens upon the Sea-shore, they consequently run from West to East, and therefore the Killing-pound should be upon the South side of the Pound, that the Deer may not smell the blood; the Wind, at the principal killing-time, generally blowing from the North, or North-West. Erect the Buildings of the following dimensions-

Deer Pound Hawk entrances to do Killing Pound Hawk entrance to do Trap-house Venison House Roof over both Shed over back of Trap-house Pitfal Trap Falling Doors, each

Length Feet 600 80 120 30 30 30 62 30 14 5

Breadth Feet 60 21x1½ 30 10x1 30 30 32 30 7 2½

Hight [sic] Feet 7 7 8 8 13 13 8 21 7 ⬙

As Rein-deer are not disposed to take high leaps, the heights of the Pounds, as here specified, will be sufficient I think, otherwise another rail must be added afterwards. The points of the Hawks should be direct opposite to a standing tree, and if there should not chance to be one at six feet distant from them, one must be planted, or firmly fixed in the ground,

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where the frost will keep it fast for the Winter. There must be Beams across the Trap & Venison-houses to set Posts upon, to support the Ridge-poles, and also to hang venison & offals on. By making the venison-house 30 feet square, there will not only be sufficient room to break the Deer up, but also to Pickle it, or hang the pieces upon the Beams (by introducing a bit of twine into each piece with a needle that it may not freeze to the nail) and then it may be carried home upon Sleds, at any convenient time in the Winter, as there ought to be full employment for every man during the killing Season; that being a busy time with the Traps also. As the Paunches, Guts and Blood are excellent baits for Traps, the Blood ought to be saved in Buckets; the whey poured off, and the pure Blood put into the Paunches and [323/] Guts; the contents of which should be emptied out under the Shed, at the back of the Trap-house: as the smell of it will attract Wolves, Foxes etc. A hole of two feet six inches wide, should be left in the centre of the back part of the Trap-house, from the top of the Trap to the Wall-plate for Bears, Wolves etc. to enter by: and there must be a Platform, six feet square and placed on the outside, six inches higher than the Trap, with part of it projecting through the hole in the Wall as far as over the standing part of the side of the top of the Trap, that the animals may not be able to recover themselves, when they step upon the falling Doors. Sloping Bridges must be made from the Ground to a level with that platform (of Trunks of trees, covered with Sods), for the animals to ascend by, and the Platform must be covered in the same manner. Posts must be set up from the Trap-house ends, to a sufficient distance to prevent snow from falling within seven or eight feet of the bottom of the sloping Bridges; they must stand six feet higher than the Platform; Beams must be laid upon them, and then covered with trunks of trees, and Boughs laid over them that the Snow may lodge upon that flat Roof: but they will require cross-beams and these must be supported by Posts, or the weight of Snow will break them. A Platform must also be made inside of the Trap-house, in the same manner as that on the outside but instead of sloping Bridges, make four stairs, of two feet in breadth each, and place boards along the side of the trap, to prevent any animal from stepping upon any part of the top,

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excepting upon the falling Doors. Battens of 4 inches by 1½ must be nailed under the back part of the falling Doors, to prevent one from jumping out when another falls in, and then there will be light enough to see what is caught. A Bolting-pipe must be made for the [324/] Foxes, but the larger beasts must be bolted into the house through a Door, hung upon hinges and made to draw up by a cord, and you must sit upon a Beam to shoot them: but that should be done with an air-gun or arrow, that there may be no smell of Powder. As the best time for catching Deer is during the Rutting-season, some trees should be left standing in the Pound, lest an old Stag should run at those who are driving them into the Killing-pound, and all the rest should be felled. An oblique, railed fence should be made from one side of the Hawk-fence to the killing-pound to direct the Deer into it. Plan of the two Pounds, Trap, and Venison houses, and the shed Explanation No. 1. Deer Pound 2. Killing Pound 3. Trap-house 4. Large Pitfal Trap 5. Venison-house 6. Shed. 7. A Sheer-fence to conduct the Deer into the Killing-pound. N.B. The black dots in the Deer-pound, represent standing Trees. The red dots round & in the Shed represent the Posts which support the Roof. N.B. It will be a better way to detach the houses from the killing-pound, and make draw-rails in the latter, to communicate with them, and draw the Deer out before their throats are cut.

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N.B. Where shores are necessary to support the sides of the pound, they should have a notch at the upper end, to catch under a rail close to a Post. The lower end must be pressed that it may not give way, and then no nail will be wanted. [325/] In case the interior part of the Country is Woody, with Marshes in it and a Deer-path through each, they may be all brought into one before the Deer arrive at the Pound, by cutting clear paths, of six feet in width, obliquely down to the entrance into the Pound or into the main path, and stopping up all the old paths. If that cannot be done the first year, yet it may be in the following. Even if there are no marshes or apparent paths, as many Deer will make their way through the Woods, two paths should be cut from the main one, pointing outwards, to collect all stray Deer, and they will draw all animals of the Fur kind to the Trap-house, and between the one and the other, amply repay the trouble. If the Country will admit of it, a path may be cut from your house to the Trap-house and cattraps placed in it: but that path must not interfere with the Deer-path. Should you not be furnished with an air-gun, to shoot the large animals in the Trap-house, make a small yard at one end; bolt them into it, and shoot them there, to prevent any smell of powder in the house. Sewels may be used to collect the stray Deer, where Barrens intervene. Some Seals carcasses should be spitted and placed as high as possible wherever a Pitfal-trap is erected: as they will attract the Ravens, and all carnivorous animals are attracted by the sight and noise of the birds, well knowing, that they have met with prey. Permanent stations for traps cannot be baited too well: That beast, who fills his belly and escapes being caught, will certainly return again, but will not always escape: and the

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smell of the bait, which will remain upon his feet, will cause others to run his heel to [326/] find the place where he had been feeding. All such places, should be kept well baited throughout the Summer. To build a Bridge across a broad, fordable River Provide as many Beams as will make two sets to reach across the River, and a sufficient number of cross-beams to support the ends of the former; cut the long Beams in pairs of equal length, and all the cross one[s] into lengths of eight feet; flatten the whole of them on both their upper and under sides; fix two legs near each end of the cross-beams, by means of mortice-holes, and let them stand sufficiently wide below, that they may stand firm, and span them together with battens nailed to them. The height which those cross-beams must stand above the ground will depend upon the depth of the River and the height which it will be raised to by rainy weather. When all are ready, set one of the cross-beams near to the bank of the River and parallel to it; one man must then take the small end of one of the long beams upon his shoulder and walk out with it until the butt-end is rested upon the first cross-beam, and other men must have a second cross-beam ready to place under the small-end of it. You are then to run out the fellow-beam; place them at the distance of the breadth of two boards asunder, and nail a cleat upon the out side of each and [327/] upon the cross-beams, to prevent their being moved to a greater distance. You are then to nail battens under the long-beams, to support the boards, which are to be laid between them to walk upon; those which are under the ends of the boards must be the whole breadth of an inch & half plank, but the rest only two inches broad and three or four feet asunder. Mind that the ends of the long-beams are laid exactly in the centre of the crossbeams. You are then to run out a second pair of long-beams in the same manner; placing the butt-ends of each close to the small ends of the former pair, and nail a batten upon the top-side of both. You are then to proceed in the same manner until you have laid the whole length of the Bridge, and then lay another pair from each shore to the first cross-beam. Lest an unusual rise of water should happen and the bridge be carried away, the whole of the materials may be saved by means of a rope run the whole length of the bridge, and having two half-hitches round each crossbeam, & making the butts of the long-beams fast to that rope by other

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short pieces. But as it is most likely that the bridge would be broken in the middle, it would be best to have a rope from each shore to reach only to the two centre cross-beams, and [328/] then each half would swing to its respective shore, so soon as it was carried away. Such a bridge would carry a horse. Should you want to place a set of Salmon-racks across the River at that place, they would be supported by the Bridge. It should be taken in before the River freezes, or it will certainly be carried away by the ice, and the whole of the materials lost. Large Pitfal-trap to Bait Fix a ring under the Gallows; reeve a line through it; tie a small purse-net to the lower end of that line; put a lump of the bait, mentioned in Page 311, let it rest upon one of the falling-doors, by tying the other end of the line to one of the posts of the Gallows. In case there is no Gallows over the trap, fix a short line to the net, and fasten the end of it upon the Door with a nail, at such a distance from the falling end, that the bait may lay close to it. By so doing, no animal will be able to get the bait, and it will always remain in its proper place when the Doors fall back again. To allure Seals When dark, make a fire and throw into it the shavings of horn, or any thing which smells strong. Pennants Arctic Zoology, Vol. 1. Page L. [329/] Blood-Hound The true Blood-hound is now a very scarce animal, and therefore difficult to be procured. They are large & heavy; with very large, long ears, and the color black & tanned; black upon the head; neck; back; sides, and upper part of the Stern, with the mouth; eye-brow, and under parts, as well as most part of the legs of a tan color. They are too heavy for long chases, but excellent for harbouring a fresh deer; following a wounded one, or finding Woof-cubs [wolf?] in the Summer time. They should always be broke to stop at the word of command; to ly down, and to draw in a Liam: at which times they must never be suffered to open. They are

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very excellent at catching Poachers, for they will take to any scent that you lay them upon and their nose is so fine, that they will carry it on over bare rocks or the driest ground. Those intended to catch thieves or poachers should be trained to run the scent of a man only, and then they will challenge the scent of any man which they cross in the night and infallibly lead you up to him: of course, if your woods, or other grounds are infested by poachers, you have only to lead the hound, in a liam, round them, and he will follow the scent of any man, which you cross: the more particularly if he has killed any game and chances to drop any blood. It is from their strong attachment to a bleeding scent, that they have obtained the name of Blood Hound. Gun-powder shot the relative weights of As it may be of use to know the relative weights of those articles, that the proper quantities may be provided, I find that one pound of treble-strong Powder is sufficient for six pounds and a half of shot. [330/] Roofs for Houses Another, and a very good Roof is, make the Rafters of two inch Planks, laid edge uppermost, and at such a distance from each other that the covering boards, which must be one inch thick, may reach from the centre of one rafter to that of the next, and give no more slope than one inch from the Ridge to the Wall-plate; nail the covering-boards from Ridge to Wallplate; caulk well with Oakum; lay a strip of blawn[?] paper over each seam, pitched and tarred, and cover with sods. The only inconvenience attending this Roof is, that the boards will keep a continual cracking all night, during severe frosts. The whole of the upper boards should have a paying of Pitch & Tar, to prevent them from rotting with the wet from the sods. Should a leak take place, that will soon be stopped, by uncovering the part and caulking it afresh. To dress Boots & Shoes, to make them turn water ½ lb Pound [sic] of Tallow; 40 oz Hogs-lard; Turpentine, Bees-wax and Olive oil 2 oz each: melt all together in a pipkin-pot gradually, and keep

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stirring all the time. Rub on, with the hand, as hot as you can bear it; having previously warmed the Boots or Shoes. Old Merry [sic]. Indian Boots to be dressed when half dry, in case they leak in the seams. To preserve a Gun from Rusting, in consequence of using it upon Saltwater 3 oz Black-lead; ½ lb Hogs-lard, & 4 oz Camphor: boil upon a slow fire: rub the Barrel with the above; let it lay on three Days, and then wip [sic] off with a linen cloth. Two or three dressings in a Season will be sufficient. To catch Curliews Make a net of fine Silk, 20 yds long; 2 feet deep, & mesh 2½ inches square. Set it tightly head & foot, ten inches high, across the shore which you observe them to use, & one end of it near low-water marks. The color of the net must be the same as that of the shore. Curliews May be caught with lark-snares, or Birdlime, upon the shore. Cut the twigs from Larch. [331/] Tents As the Mosquitoes bite most intolerably from the middle of June until the middle of September, tents are better to sleep in than back-tilts, and as few people go far from the water’s side during that part of the Year, they are easily carried. They may be made of what size you please, but one four feet six inches high and the same width will be large enough for two Men. Make it of Russia Duck, or that sort of strong linen which is used for Smock-frocks; sew as many breadths together as will make it the length required; each breadth being nine feet ten inches long: double it and sew a piece of Bank-line in the bight, and back-stitch it together half an inch under the line; fix pieces of shore-lines to tie it to a ridge-pole, one

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at each end and four or five others between them; Sew a piece of strong, broad tape along each side, four inches from the bottom, to fix the cords in, that they may not tear the linen; put in the end and make the Door to over-lap two inches on each side, and sew them across at the top. The width of the end at the bottom must be the same as the height of the tent, which will make the sides slope at an angle of 45°. Sew with a round needle and as much thread as it will carry. If the Tent was oiled, it would be more impervious to both wind and rain. By pricking Tree-tops all round, it would not be noticed by animals. A green Baize covering may be thrown over it occasionally. A piece of painted canvass would be good to lay at the bottom, to keep the damp of the ground from arising, & a hearth-rug laid upon that.175 Sewel of Wood, to turn Deer A bit of board, 10 inches long; 4 inches broad; and 2 tenths of an inch thick, with a hole burnt through the centre of one end, and suspended from the top of a stick, set in a sloping position with [332/] platted sailtwine tarred, will vibrate so quick with the least air of wind, that no Deer will go near it. Those sticks should be placed about five yards asunder, and the sewel hang about three feet above the ground. One mile will take 352. To permit Kipper Salmon to run down a River into the Sea, but prevent the Spring-fish from running up Where you judge it proper to fix a set of Racks across a River, to stop the Spring-fish, place a pair of Hawk-racks in each strong stream, with their points downwards, and fix one common rack direct across the points of those Hawks, and three feet below them. Fix another pair in a still part, on each side. Or fix another entire set of Racks across the next Shoal, above the first set, after the Kipper are assembled, and remove the [?].

175 As described, this tent is an early prototype of the canvas prospector’s tent.

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Cat-house On Page 55 I have given directions for building these houses, in the manner which they are usually done by Furriers, but as those low ones are soon buried in the Snow and are very troublesome to keep clear, I advise the building of them as high, and as deep as a common Back-tilt, but they need not be more than four feet wide. Those will be serviceable all the Winter through, and never want clearing of the snow. They will possess another great advantage also, as you may tail a Steel trap in them, in case Wolves, Wolverings [sic], or Foxes rob your Marten traps; a circumstance which very frequently happens. [333/] To catch Wolf, or Fox-cubs, found in an Earth Those animals frequently make Earths in sandy or dry Peat soils, and deposite their Cubs in them. Having found an Earth and discovered that there are Cubs in it, which is to be done by bareing the ground in front, scratching it up and brushing the surface over, with a bunch of boughs, to shew the feeting, provide a square net of a sufficient size, strength and width of Mesh, and spread it flat upon the ground, at the distance of a foot or two in front of the Earth; drive two pegs into the ground at the back of the earth, opposite to the two corners of the net, and fix a wooden ring to each (which you will soon make of spruce roots rinded) fix a line to each of the corners of the net, which are next to the earth; reeve those lines through the two rings, then tie them together at a proper distance; and fix a single line to the bight, which must lead to the place in the rear where you intend to conceal yourself. Peg some bait fast down, about three or four yards beyond the net, and repair to the place an hour before sun-set and conceal yourself at the end of the line, and when you see all the cubs eagerly feeding upon the bait, pull the net over the earth, and they will be entangled in it, as they attempt to enter. That you may be the surer of success and not have long to wait, peg down bait on the same spot several evenings before you intend to catch them, and do not make the attempt until the wind blows from the earth to your station: for if it is in the reverse quarter, they will wind you, and not come out. If a haynet is set up at a proper distance all round, they cannot escape.

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If artificial earths were made, perhaps Foxes might take to, and breed in them. Prick up a net of a proper mesh all round the earth, and smoke them out with gun-powder, if they are well grown. [334/] Dimensions of a 74 Gun Ship Length of Keel 164-6 Extreme Breadth 47-6 La Thetis french Frigate Length of Keel 162 feet Breadth 41-6 Proportions of a Deer-hunting cruiser Extreme breadth in the clear; two feet more than the breadth of three small ships. Length of Keel, three times that breadth and one sixth and a quarter more. Length of Main-masts the same as vessels of her breadth usually have, or rather shorter. Depth under the Beams, 7 feet. N.B. I am much mistaken if such a vessel will not sail remarkably fast if she is clean tailed. Or Length of Keel 63 feet. Breadth 17 feet. Depth of Waist 3 ft 6 in. Scuppers all the way. To Land a Horse out of the above Cruizer Carry two long, squared spars and a sufficient number of inch boards of 3 ½ feet long; lay the vessel as near the shore as the depth of water will permit; run out the spars from the gunwale to the shore, and tack the boards across them. If the Shore should shoal so much, that the spars will not reach to the dry land, ’tis a matter of no consequence, as the horse will be within his depth when he gets off the Platform. Pitfal Trap Instead of the bridge being made as directed before, one in a whole piece less than the bole on the top, will do, by boring a hole in each corner at one end, and one in the centre at the other, and sling it to the roof: Wolf

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& Fox cubs may be caught by diggin [sic] a hole in the Ground, near the breeding-earth & covering it with a board, well rubbed with earth, which has a hole in the middle about 18 inches square, and putting some bait into the bottom, & which should be alive, if that can be got. [335/] A trap of that sort, with a stake fixed in the centre, whose top shall stand a foot above the level of the top, with a Seals carcass, or some other flesh, run down upon it, will catch either Wolves or Foxes, for they will fix their fore-feet upon the bait, to eat it, and in so doing, their feet will slip and they will fall into the Trap. Both these ways have been met with success. Birds to catch The Nightingale-trap, fixed upon a circular wire which has its two ends inserted in a roller, that is thrown over by a wire worm is an excellent contrivance, and will catch any bird which feeds upon the land, provided you can procure the proper food (which must be of a solid nature). Make all parts in proportion to the size of the bird which you want to catch, and fasten the bait to a string fixed to the cork, or plug, which keeps the trap open. If you set it for such birds as flock together and feed upon Grain or Berries, fasten only two or three grams of Corn or Berries to the string, and strew plenty more within the circumference of the net, that several may be within its reach before one seizes those which spring the trap. For Geese, two light poles, with a line from top to top, to fasten the net upon, may be fixed in the roller instead of the wire, and a few pegs with small hooks fastened into the ground for the net to strike over, which the hooks will prevent being lifted up by the Geese that are covered. Plan of the Trap when set

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Explanation 1. A board to support the roller, which is represented black, and which works by means of a pivot at each and inverted through a hole in a plate of iron fastened upon each end of the flat board. 2. The cross-piece fastened to the other board & which confines one end of the worm-spring; the other end of it being tied to a string which takes half a turn round the roller, & then is fastened to it. 3.3.3. The wire which the net is fastened to. 4.4.4. The position of the net when set. At the outer end of the cross-piece is a staple through which a string is reeved which has one end fastened to the net, to pull it back, and a cork at the other to fix into a bit of wood with a hole in it. 5. through which the string is also reeved & which having a knot upon it holds the trap open until the cork is pulled out. [336/] That the reader may more clearly understand the construction of the foregoing trap, I will give the dimensions for my Nightingale trap: and in order to be better understood, I will call that board which supports the roller, the Bed, and that which extends the spring, the Handle. The Bed and Handle are joined together in the form of a cross. The Bed is 9 in long; 1 6/10 broad, and 3/10 thick. The Handle is 4 6/10 in long; 1 2/10 in broad, and 3/10 thick. At each end of the Bed a bit of plate iron is fixed, which stands perpendicular 1 in high, with a hole in each. The roller is 7 9/10 in long, and 1 ½ in in circumference. The two ends of a piece of wire ½ in round, 21 6/10 inches long are fixed into the two ends of the Bed, and which, being bent forward, resembles, with the Bed, the letter D. Another piece of wire is bent in the same manner and the ends of it inserted into the underside of the roller, near to its ends, and corresponds exactly with the former, when the trap is shut. In each end of the roller a wire pin is fixed, and which being inserted into the holes in the two cheeks (the iron Plates at the ends of the Bed) supports the roller 4/10 in above the centre of the Bed and enables it to turn easily. A hole is made through the roller in an horizontal direction. A knot is made upon one end of a piece of strong twine, the other end put through the hole in the roller, and haled up to the knot, it is then brought under the roller and tied to a hook at the end of a worm-spring made of wire 2/10 in in circumference, and the other end of that spring, which is 3 1/10 long, is hooked into

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a staple fixed into the end of the handle. Upon the front part of the Bed, and near the centre, is fixed a bit of board, 1 3/10 high and ½ in thick, with a round hole 8/10 in diameter. A piece of Twine is tied to a mesh on the upper side of the net, passes through a staple at the end of the handle, along to that which confines the spring, and then through the hole in the bit of wood, and has a cork tied to the end of it. By pulling that string, the net (which is fastned to [337/] the roller and the wire which is fixed to it) is drawn back and lays flat upon the Handle; a knot being tied upon the string a small matter outside of the hole in the bit of wood, and the cork put very slightly into that hole, the net is confined back until the Nightingale picks at the cork, which then drops out, sets the net at liberty and the spring pulls it over upon the other wire bow, which lays flat upon the ground. Circumference of the worm-spring 1½ in. To construct a Bridge across a River, which shall not be injured by Ice Extend two Ropes across the River, parallel to each other and about fourteen inches distant; heave them as tight as possible (with a Capstern, if the River is of considerable breadth, or with Double-blocks if it is but narrow) and mind that they stand at a sufficient height above the water, to be above all drifting Ice. Provide a sufficient number of inch boards (16 inches wide, or two joined together) to reach across the River, and nail a batten close to each edge of that which is to be the under side, and bore three holes through each side a little within those battens; one at each end and the other in the middle. Lay those boards upon the ropes, one after the other, and they will be secured by the battens and also by being tied round the ropes at their ends and middles where the holes were made. A third rope must be fixed also, about four feet above one of the others, to serve in lieu of a hand-rail, but that need not be so thick as the others, which ought to be from two to three inches in circumference, according to the breadth of the River. In case the Banks are not high enough, a Gallows must be fixed on each side of the river, to support the ends of the Bridge at [338/] such an height, than no ice shall touch it on the breaking up of it in the Spring. The Gallowses [sic] and Capstern should be fixed before the Frost sets in, but the best time to fix the Ropes, over a broad river, will be in the Month of April, before the thaws set in; as they

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can then be supported by poles, and thereby hove up much tighter than they could possibly be, if their whole weight was permitted to act upon, and bag them: but it would be necessary to stretch them extremely well first. It would be prudent to nail three or four battens across each board, on their under-sides, to prevent their splitting with the weight of a Man in crossing. N.B. Half-inch board would be sufficiently strong, with battens underneath, and much lighter. Ground Plan of an Eskimeau house, on a new Principle

Elevation of the Frame of the House

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[339/] Explanation of the Ground-plan 1 The Dwelling-house 22 feet long, 16 wide, & 7 high. 2. Platform; for the family to sleep upon, 7 feet wide & 17 inches from the floor. 3. Window; 3 feet wide; 18 inches high in two sashes, and fixed close under the Roof. 4. Door; 2 feet wide, and 3 feet high. 5. Store-room; 16 feet by 9 feet six inches 6 Window; 2 feet by 1½ & fixed close under the Wall-plate. 7 Door; 2 feet six wide, and 5 feet high. 8 Porch; 6 feet wide. 9 Entrance Door; 2 feet square 10 Stove for cooking. 11 Window; 2 feet by 1½ & fixed close under the Wall-plate 12 Step-ladder to ascend the Roof by 13.13 Step-ladder to descend into the Porch by Explanation of the Elevation of the Frame 1 Step-ladder, to ascend the Roof by. 2 Roof of the House, covered with inch boards, papered and sodded. 3 Stove funnel. 4 End-wall, 8 inches thick; inch boards on the outside; lined with half inch and the space within rammed with moss. 5 Partition-wall; 8 inches thick; half inch boards in both sides & filled with moss. 6 End-wall; made in the same manner as the former, as also both the sides and the partition between the store-room and Porch. 7 The floor 8 inches thick; top & bottom boards of inch Deal, & filled between them with Sand, Peat-earth or Moss. 8 Sleeper, to support the floor. 9.9.9.9.9.9. Posts to support the Sleepers, or lower frame, three feet above the ground.

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10.10 Step-ladder, to descend into the Porch by 11 Platform, for sleeping upon. N.B. There is to be a light boarded top of double half inch boards crossing each other to cover the entrance Door at night, and a cap for the top of the Funnel; the Door into the Store is to be hung upon Hooks and Gimmels, & open in the usual way, but that into the Dwelling-house to be hung by the top and lift up: but the bottom of it will be placed a foot above the floor, and the space underneath made up in the same manner as the Partition wall. The Windows to be double glaized and shutters neatly fitted with Pullies to raise them upwards. Such a House will be perfectly warm, and never incommoded with Drift in the Winter, nor will it be too hot in the Summer. [340/] Bridge of a Pitfal-trap It may be made whole, but not quite so large as the hole it is to cover, lest it freeze fast; set up four Posts a little distance from each side of the trap and opposite to the ends of the hole in the top, with cross pieces from one to the other direct over the corners of the Bridge; fix a brass Pully over each corner of the length, & two others near the ends; sling each corner of the Bridge by a piece of strong wire (proportioned in length to the depth of the Trap and height of the animal intended to be caught), tie a line to the upper end of each wire, and reeve it through the Pully that is over it, and then through the other Pully that is near the centre, and fix a weight at the end of the line, which must be long enough to permit the Door to fall low enough. Provide four square Staples, two inches wide and four long; cut one point off in the middle, and drive each into the top of the Trap, within an inch of each corner, and the short point projecting over the Bridge, to stop it upon a level with the top. The Bridge will then instantly fall, upon any animal treading upon it; the weights will bring it up again; the Staples will stop it from rising too high, and the wire cannot be gnawed asunder, as a line might be. A bit of board must be nailed over each Pully, to keep rain from them.

Staple The Staple is not represented as driven down, which it must be until the short end stops the Bridge as it now appears to be. Raft to make Cut two lengths of Trees, the thickness of your thigh, as long as the breadth of the Raft is to be, and two others for the length of it; fasten the two latter across the ends of the former either with nails or by tying them, and fill up the intermediate space with other lengths of trees which are not quite so thick. If you fix a small keg, or a Seal’s Paunch blown up, at each corner, it will be very buoyant. Or bladders in Bags, vide Page 13. [341/] To catch any Bird which feeds upon flesh or eggs Provide a twig of a proper length and substance; smeer it with birdlime; tye a brown or green thread to the middle of it, and to the bait, at a proper distance in proportion to the size of the bird. The bird having discovered the bait, will sieze and attempt to fly away with it, and in so doing will strike its wings against the limed twigg, and be caught. If you bait with an egg, introduce the thread through it, with the help of a long needle, and seal up both holes with wax, pitch, or any other thing which will answer the purpose, that the contents of it may not run out. To tame wild Deer Catch them in the water, by hunting them off Islands, in the Summer. Immediately sew up their eyes & bind them, then take them into the boat & bring them home; saw off their horns & keep them in a small enclo-

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sure. A man must stay constantly with them, to keep them from sleeping: who must be relieved every four hours, both Day & Night until they are perfectly tame. They must be regularly fed & watered at stated times, & brought to eat Maize as soon as possible Deer Pound A Pound for catching Deer may be fenced with strong netting, made of St. Peter’s or Bank line; the mesh six inches square for the lower four feet and a half, and 10 inches square for 5 ½ feet above. The nets must be set up perfectly tought, & the Posts supported behind with a shore nailed five feet above the ground. To make these nets, do not net them, but lay the lines across, & tie them fast with sewing-twine, paired. The top & bottom of the nets should be supported with Ratline, run through each mesh and a turn taken round each Post. To prepare Musk for scenting baits with Put more musk into a Phyal of Spirits of Wine than it will dissolve, & set it where it will get warm; shaking it often. To lock a large Pitfal-Trap, that a man may walk over it safely Fix a pair of staples at each end of each door; one upon the Door & the other upon the frame. Introduce a stick into the one next to you then go on to the other end, and introduce other sticks into those chains at the falling ends. Then return & draw out the line & when you have passed the first door, set that at liberty & peg the farthest until you have set its end at liberty, when you are to draw the back out of that also. [342/] Glossary Angle of a Beaver house. The hole by which they enter. Bandolier. A belt with pairs of strings in it, to carry game etc upon. Bobber. A small bouy, fixed to the inner clew of a Shoal-net for Seals. Clew, of a net, a corner of it. Cuffs, Mittens for the hands, with all the fingers in one.

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Drift. Snow drifted by the wind, or the low flat-ice upon the Sea. Eye-guards. A piece of wood with a slit in it, to fix over the eyes. Hawk-doors. The Doors at the entrance of a Crib, & wch have their points to each other, to permit an animal to enter but not return. Jam-ice. The low, flat ice, which the sea is covered with every winter. Kink, a turn in a rope, line or wire, like half a knot. Killick, a wooden anchor weighted with Stones. Kyack. An Eskimeaux Canoe. It is an Eskimeau word. Liam. A leather strap or length to lead a Hound in. Lennet. The body of a net without the roping. Landwash. That part of a Shore which is occasionally covered with water. Northwester. A hood to cover the head & shoulders. Pans of Ice. Pieces of flat ice. Pryor-pole. A pole which is fastened to the outer clews of a Shoal-net. Ran-fat. The raw fat of Whales, Seals, etc. Sheer-fences. Slight fences run out to direct animals into a Pound etc. Sheers. Two or three poles tied together at their tops, & set up, by drawing their lower ends out to a proper distance. Slip. A snare of rope, twine etc to catch Deer etc in. Stint, Beaver. The Dam which Beavers make across a River or Brook. Tail a trap, Gun etc. To set it properly for catching an animal. Tilt. A small house for a Furrier or Hunter. Tuckamal [sic] Bushes. Low, stunted trees, which never grow to timber. Tickle. The passage between two Islands, or one & the Continent Whittled-sticks. Sticks which Beavers have eaten the bark off from. Wrappers. Pieces of Cloth, Flannel etc made to button round the wrists. [343/] What sort of Servants are necessary in Labrador, where Sealing and Furring only are intended to be attended to: and of what Trades some of them ought to have been brought up to, to enable them to do all the different works which will be found necessary. Boats Masters, who should also be head Sealers Midshipmen, who should also have been used to Sealing Boat Builders

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Joiners. Basket-makers Coopers Sawyers Furriers Bricklayers Taylors Shoemakers Tin Men White-Smiths Leather-dressers Women Servants, who can Cook, Wash, and Milk etc N.B. All the men should be healthy; stout, and good walkers. The Women should be good-tempered, and not too delicate. [Text crossed out] [Location of nineteen pages of Cartwright’s incomplete index on unnumbered pages – not included] [no page number] Another way to fix a line to fire a gun with, and which is easier, cheaper, and more expeditious Make a sufficient number of Bouys in the following manner, viz. Provide two logs of wood of four feet in length; bore holes through both ends of them; lay them parallel to each other, at the distance of six feet, and nail a two inch plank across. Make a square hole in the centre of that plank, & fix a post in it, two feet high, with a staple on one side of it, near the top. Cut two pieces of Ratline ten feet long, & fix the ends of each into the ends of the two logs of wood. Moor the Bouy between two Killicks, by sufficient lengths of Ratline fastned to the bights of the two ropes in the logs and mind that the board is in the underside of the Logs. A sufficient number of these being placed at proper distances from each other, and all in a line, the trigger line is to be reeved through the Staples from the Gun to the shore, but it must not be too tight lest the motion of the Bouys, in blowing weather, fire the Gun. A Large swivel, with a Lock to it, would be a good Gun for this purpose.

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To shoot Geese upon a Shoal, which is out of Shot from the land I have seen a long, narrow ridge of Rocks, at the distance of two or three hundred yards from the nearest land, which dryed at low-water during the Spring tides, and used then to be covered with Geese, and the water between it and the land was about eight feet deep. The only way to shoot them there would be, to tail a gun in a proper box, and have a line to the trigger which should reach to the Shore, and that must be done in the following manner. Cut two logs of wood, 4 feet long; six inches broad, and four thick; cut each half through in the centre, and fix them across each other. You are then to make a square of boards 1½ inches thick (3 feet square) and let it into the bottom of the cross, so as to be upon a level with it, and nail it fast. Cut a square hole in the centre, through all; fix the lower end of a long pole in that hole, and wedge it in at the bottom. Lay about ½ Cwt of flat stones upon the upper part of that frame and fasten them on by nailing battens over them. You are then to fix a piece of rope near the bottom of the pole, and long enough to reach to the top. Carry this machine out in a boat, with the frame placed over the stern to the place where it is to be fixed, anchor the boat, and lower it down by means of the rope. Provide as many more as will be sufficient for supporting the Gun-line all the way to the shore, and fix a staple upon each pole at a proper height above the water. The line being extended from the shore, through all the staples to the trigger of the gun and that properly pointed, wait upon the shore until the Geese are got upon the shoal, and then fire the gun by pulling the line. All these things must be fixed so soon as the Spring tides are gone off, except fixing the Gun in its place and that need not be done, until the day before the return of the Spring tides. [Location of two pages of Cartwright’s incomplete index on unnumbered pages – not included] [no page number] Tip-traps to be fixed in the outer wall of a House, or the fence of a Kennel Make a trunk of boards, of a sufficient width and height for the animal which you intend to catch, and of such a length, that the tip-board shall

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strike its back-end against the upper part of the trunk when it is struck down, and thereby fill up the cavity of the trunk. Place the back end of that trunk even with the outer side of the wall, or fence, and then the inner end will project considerably within it. Place it four feet six inches above the level of the ground, and make a bank on the outside of the wall, or fence, which shall be even with the bottom of it. Fix a tip-board at the inner end of the trunk, full double the length of the animal, with the back end of it rather longer than the other, that the weight of it may keep it upon a level, and that, when it is struck down, it may be stopped by the top of the trunk, and form an angle of 50 degrees. Have sliding doors outside, when necessary, to shut in the Day-time. Dimensions of Trunks For a Wolf 4 feet Long 34 inches high 14 inches wide For a Fox 3 feet long 12 inches high 8 inches wide Tip-board for a Wolf 6-9 long Do for a Fox 5-2 do Elevation section of a Fox-trunk The Tip-board must be fixed by driving two small staples into the inner ends of the side boards, an inch above the bottom-board, & driving a pin of iron into each side of the tip-board. So soon as the animal is precipitated into the House or Kennel, the tip-board will fall back again.

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For winter’s use, it will be necessary to fix a broad roof over the outer end of the trunk and four feet above it, to keep the snow from falling upon the top of the bank and filling up the mouth of the trunk. Drag to it every evening. The foregoing would be an excellent way of catching Wolves; Wolverines; Lynxes; Foxes, and Martens in the Summer by building a House fifteen feet square and partitioning off seven feet for the animals to be precipitated into. That part must be covered all over, at the height of the Trunk, excepting direct under it, and divided into three, with a hole at each corner of the first partition, to admit Foxes into the second apartment, and two other holes in the corners of the second Partition to admit Martens into the third: those holes must be in proportion to the size of their tops to prevent their returning. The Tip-trap must be placed in one of the end apartments, and a window of No. 1 wire fixed in the thwart partition, that the live animals, which are kept in the house may be smelt and seen. There must be a bolting door between each apartment and the house, and a trap-door on the top of each to enter by. The live animals should be a Deer-calf; Rabbits, an old Goose, and Fowls; particularly an old Cock, much given to Crowing. N.B. For Summer use only. The House need not be roofed, nor the Trunk have any top to it, but the sides must be 3 feet six inches high. For either Winter or Summer thick Longers, fixed loose over the three traps will be very sufficient and save the trouble and expense of making the Trap-doors and the Windows. Plan of the House Explanation 1.2.3.4. The four corners of the House 5. Trunk of the Tip-trap 6.7.8. Trap-doors, to enter the apartments by 9. Wire window in the main Partition 10. Bolting hole for Wolves etc. with sliding door 11. Ditto for Foxes

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12. Ditto for Martens 13.14. Holes for the Foxes to pass into the middle apartment 15.16 Holes for the Martens to pass into the end apartment 17. Outer end of the Trunk 18. The apartment for live animals 19. The end of the Tip-board 20. The Door into the House 21. A large Window of Latice-work 22. 23 Beams to support the Roof N.B. The outer walls to be 8 feet from the floor to the upper side of the Beams, and the three small apartments covered over at the height of 4 feet 6 inches. Good iron hoops must be nailed round all the bolting holes. The main Partition must be made with shallops Plank and the other two of inch boards. The Trunk 5 & trap-door 6 had best change places, to give room for the slopes up to the bank under 17, and a roof over it to

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project 12 feet from the wall, if it is to be used in the Winter, or the snow will block up the entrance into the trunks: but they are well placed for summer use only. The Window on South side. N.B. If there is no roof a board must be nailed all round on the outside, projecting outwards, to prevent climbing animals from running up the walls & entering that way. In that case, the Trunk had best be placed lengthway of the small apartments, and the two for Foxes & Martens made less, to give sufficient length for the Trunk, which must be [unfinished sentence] [no page number] Improved Tip-trap for Wolves and Foxes; both of whom are so cautious, that they will put out a foot, to try the board, before they will tread firm upon it. This Plan is for a Fox.

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To discover the bearing of one place from another, over woods Make a smoke in the Day, or throw up Rockets by Night. To prevent a Bladder or Gut from losing the air that is blown into it As the neck of a bladder, or the Guts, Paunch, or Womb of any animal will soon dry, after it is blown full of wind, the wind then escapes, but to prevent that fit a piece of Cork to the cavity of the neck of the bladder, etc; blow in the wind & tie it up fast, then insert the cork and tie it in, and afterwards tie it close round upon the Cork. Tie up the small vessels also. To prevent Skiffs from upsetting or Sinking Cut two pieces of the largest Seal’s gut of a length to reach from the Stem to the Stern; blow them full of wind and tie them up, as directed above; make a canvass hose for each; drive pans of small staples into the outsides of the Skiff, as many as will be sufficient and tie the two lengths of Gut in between them. So soon as they come into the Water, their buoyancy will be so great that it will be difficult to upset the skiff and she cannot sink; if full of water. Bullock bladders, tied up as shot bags will do as well. Dimensions of Houses for Winter Crews Length 4 Men. House-place 12-6 Store room 8-6 8 Men. House-place 16 Store-room 10 12 Men. House Place 10 Store-room 10 16 Men. House Place 27 Store-room 10

Breadth 8.6 5.6 13 10.6 17.6 17.6 26 23.6

Dip of Roof from Ridge to eaves 1 to 2 inches.

Height 8.6 8.6 9 9 9 9 9 9

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The Berths are double; one over the other, & 2 man sleep in each. The Store-room is to be built before the House-Place & partitioned off, which will leave a Passage to the House-Place. A Shed of any size may be built in front of the entrance, to keep the snow from the outer door and put fire-wood in, but it need not have a water-proof roof, unless there are plenty of Rinds, & it must slope forward Rinds requisite for the above Rinds requisite for the above 4 Men

225 [Text crossed out]

Roof Lining of House-place Lining of Store Do of Passage Covering the whole outside walls 8 Men 304 Roof Lining House-place Do store Do passage Covering the outside 12 Men 316 Roof Lining House-place Do store Do passage Covering outer walls 16 Men 520 Roof Lining House-place Do store Do passage Covering

No. [Numbers written over] 30 66 33 24 72 54 82 46 24 96 72 72 56 24 132 136 120 84 24 150

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Lining House-place Do store Do passage Covering Roof & House-place only 4 Men* Do 8 Men Do 12 Men Do 16 Men

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120 84 24 150 520 96-10 133-22 150-13 256-16

* Unclear whether the last four entries are quantities or costs.

[344/] [pagination resumes] Memorandums Dimensions of the Riding School in the Barracks at Nottm176 Length 100 feet; Breadth 40 feet; Height under the Beams [no figure] Do of the Riding School in the Town Length 100 feet; Breadth 44 feet; Height under the Beams [no figure] Do of any Dining-room in Broad Marsh, Nottingham Height under the Beams 9 ft-10 in; Thickness of Beams 8 in: Total 10-6 Length 21 feet; Breadth 10 feet. Thickness of outer Wall 10 inches Do of my Bed-room Length & Breadth 14 feet each; Height same as the Dining-room Do of my Dressing-room Length 12½ feet; breadth 8½ feet; height 8½ feet One Man will dig an acre of Land in six Days, and pare one in [no figure] Days. Portable Back Tilt of Canvass, or any other material Cut the Canvas (or what else you intend to make it of) ten feet six inches long; sew as many breadths together as will make the Tilt of the length you wish it to be. Sew a piece of Bank-line along the head, & splice an eye at each end of it, to serve for a Ridge-pole; within one foot of the 176 Cartwright was barracks master of the Nottingham militia from sometime after 1792 until 1817, two years before his death.

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other end, sew a band across, and work eyelet-holes in it, for foot-lines, the same as Tents have, then sew in the ends. The Tilt will then resemble half a Tent, & will be seven feet high under the Ridge; one foot at the Wall, & seven deep. Two of these Tilts pitched opposite each other, and at a proper distance for the fire to be between them, will serve the purpose of a Mountaineer’s Whigwham, but be much more roomy and convenient. By extending them to two pairs of Trees, they may be brought within a proper distance by the assistance of Guys. Allow 2 feet for each Man, in the length of the Tilt. To build a Vessel which cannot easily sink, although stove Fill her frame as full of Timbers as possible; caulk between each then lay on strips of brown paper with hot pitch & tar, and plank her both on the outside and also on the in. Divide her Hold into five, six, or more parts with stancheons; caulk between them; also cover the seams with paper as before directed and plank on both sides. Give her a flat floor and sliding Keels. Cocculus Indicus177 About 57 Berries weigh one ounce. [345/] Cage Trap The dimensions must be adapted to the size of the animal which it is intended to catch but the length must be sufficient to leave a square in the middle large enough to contain such an animal as you intend to place therein for a bait. The top and bottom must be boards; the sides and ends either Ironbars, thick wire, or wood placed perpendicular into both the top and bottom, and at proper distances asunder. The Door and bridge must be made in the same manner as directed for the House-trap in page 22. Make four of these traps, and place them together in such manner as to form a square, as represented in the plan below, and put either a live bait, or 177 Ground seeds traditionally used as pesticide and to fight lice.

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plenty of fish or flesh-meat into the square in the centre, which must have a cover of boards. Tie the corners of the traps together, lest the live bait should force them open and escape. If the bars at the ends are made to draw up, the animal which is caught, may be bolted into a net or sack, and carried home alive. In fact, these are only four single house-traps formed into square. In Countries which will admit of it, they may be fixed upon four small wheels for the convenience of removing them; otherwise that may be done, by all the bars being made to draw out. N.B. If a very large Cage is built, the Traps had best be divided in the middle, and entrance-doors made in the centre of each side, which will make eight of them, as is represented on one side of this. Or all the entrances may be at the corners as on another side.

This plan is drawn upon a scale of 45 to an inch, which makes the traps six feet long by one wide. This is an excellent way of catching all kinds of Carnivorous beasts, and they may be brought up to it by means of a drag, as well as by the noise made by the live bait. This is calculated for Foxes. To Jerk Salmon Split the back, on both sides, & take out the bone; cut off the Head. Set up two pairs of Shears East & West of each other; lay a long rinded Pole from one to the other, & tack a length of rinds upon the top of it. Drive

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nails all along the South side of the Pole, from one end to the other at little more than the breadth of a Salmon across the shoulder asunder. Top a needle, with twine, through each shoulder of the fish and make a loop with the twine of an inch long, & hang those loops upon the nails, with the skin side of the fish to the south, & score it ac[r]oss on the other side, where too thick. Let them hang there until properly dried.

Appendix George Cartwright’s Marginalia in Thomas Pennant’s Arctic Zoology, Vols. 1 (1784) & 2 (1785), and in Pennant’s Supplement to the Arctic Zoology (1797)

Arctic Zoology, volume 1 (mammals) On a blank page inside the cover and before the title page is a note in George Cartwright’s handwriting giving the length of pike, the weight of a perch, and size and weight measurements of a swift. At the top of the title page are two signatures: George Cartwright 1807 and below it Frances Cartwright 1819. The handwriting is not George Cartwright’s and may be that of his sister, Frances, who inherited his estate upon his death in 1819.

Introduction LXXXVIII – Cartwright corrects Pennant’s note that caribou dig for lichen with their “palmated horns” by adding “hoofs” in the margin. CLV – Pennant described a practice of placing children into the top of high boots among the Inuit of Cape Denbigh. Cartwright’s note reads “never” and “The Eskimaux women have a large hood to their jackets, in which they carry their children.” CLXIII – Pennant described the “Eskimaux” of “Terra de Labrador” as “dwarfish tribes.” Cartwright’s note reads, “Those in Labrador are not of a dwarfish size.” CLXIX – Cartwright adds a note that the wolf is also found in “Newfoundland,” and that the Arctic fox is found in “Labrador and Newfoundland.” CLXX – Cartwright adds that the silver fox is found in “Lab & Newf.” and that the lynx is also found in Labrador, that polar bear is found in Newfoundland, that the black bear is found in Newfoundland, and that the wolverine is found in Labrador. CLXXI – Notes alongside the badger entry read, “None has ever been seen in Labrador since it was annexed to Great Britain”; weasel is

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found in Labrador, and pine marten in both “Lab & Newf’ld,” and otter in Labrador. CLXXII – The hare is noted as found in Labrador & Newfoundland, as are the beaver and porcupine. CLXXIII – The flying squirrel is also found in Labrador, as are shrew and mole. CLXXIV – The bat is found in Labrador. CLXXXV – Cartwright rankles at the use of the term “juniper,” writing, “T.P. Larch; the name of Juniper being commonly used by ignorant people.” CLXXXVI – Pennant weighed in on the discussion of a Northwest Passage and Cartwright’s note reads, “There can be no doubt of that from the facts being established of Eskimeaux being seen in Copper River, and also in the Straights between America and Asia.” CXCIV – Pennant relied on Sir Roger Curtis for information on “Terra de Labrador,” repeating that it is a barren land. Cartwright’s note reads, “All that part of the Eastern Coast which is seen from the Sea is exactly as here described, but the land is of a good quality, and produces plenty of large timber a few miles from the line of the Sea. Sir Roger Curtis never was five miles within the outer headlands of the Coast. Almost the whole of what he wrote relative to that Coast was from the reports of the Eskimeaux who know nothing of the inland parts. He was a very self-sufficient gentleman and did not rigidly adhere to facts; by which he advanced his own interest very considerably.” CXCV – Pennant recorded that Cape Charles marked the entry of the Strait of Belle Isle but Cartwright’s note reads, “No. York Point is the extremity of the Straights on the Labrador side.” CXCVI – Pennant recorded that the Island of Newfoundland was occasionally visited by “Savages from the continent.” Cartwright’s note reads, “It was inhabited at its first discovery by a race of Indians called the Red, or Wild Indians, and they still continue to inhabit it chiefly between Cape Frehals to Cape St. John on the East Coast. Several families of Mickmack Indians who came originally from the Cape Breton country, inhabit great part of the West side.” CXCVII – Cartwright corrects Pennant’s description of how cod was split.

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Contents 20 – On moose, Cartwright corrects Pennant, “There is no crust upon the snow until March, when the Sun is strong enough to melt the surface of the snow and the night-frosts form a crust upon it but which is thawed again by ten o’clock in the morning, and the under part becomes rotten and very fatiguing to walk over even with snowshoes.” 21 – Alongside the entry on moose, Cartwright has a note on a set of moose antlers “11 feet from one extremity of the antler to the other” in the possession of Dr Mantel of Brighton. 22 – Alongside the entry on caribou, Cartwright has a note, “I have a pair [of antlers] which are 4 feet & ¾ of an inch in width & 17 lb weight. The Earl of Dartmouth has a larger pair, which I gave to his father. G.C.” Also, “Never, I believe, having killed numbers of hinds in the Spring, & never found more than one foetus in them, nor did I ever see two following a hind. G.C.” 23 – Cartwright corrects Pennant’s statement that caribou dig through snow using antlers: “No, it is with their feet. The old stags shed their horns in December, & therefore can have none to scrape the snow away with. I always saw them do it with their fore-feet. G.C.” On same page is another note, “N.B. The rut is certainly the cause of the male Rein-deer shedding their horns so soon, because the oldest stags begin immediately after the season is over, & they continue to mew in succession, according to age, until spring, for I have seen a young stag with his horns on early in May. Although the oldest stags mew early in December. Their new horns do not appear until late in April & May.” 26 – Cartwright adds on caribou, “They lose all their fat in a few Days after the rut comes on.” 31 – Cartwright doubts Pennant’s observation that Indians in Virginia burned woods to hunt deer: “That must be an error, for if the Woods take fire there is no knowing where it will stop & they themselves would risk being burnt.” 43 – On Arctic fox, which Pennant stated as found only in the northernmost Arctic regions: “Are in tolerable plenty all along the Eastern Coast of Labrador; some are killed every winter in Newfoundland: the most southern place I ever knew them to be seen in, is the Island of

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Bacaleau in Lat. 48.13 N. which lies on the Eastern Coast of Newfoundland. They are also very plentiful on the Isle of Belleisle, w’ch lies off the mouth of the Streights to w’ch it gives name. It is supposed that they come from the North upon the ice, as they are always most plentiful after the middle of Feb’y to the end of May. The greatest part of these which then remain go off to the islands on the Sea-coast. G.C.” 44 – Pennant stated that Arctic foxes always have a black tail tip, to which Cartwright writes, “I never saw one with a black tip in Labrador. I once killed one so small, that it weiged only 5 ¼ lb.” 45 – On the red fox, Pennant stated that in winter they “run about the woods,” but Cartwright notes, “No, they keep more upon the Barrens, where they can easily catch mice, which conceal themselves upon the surface of the Ground under the snow, which is not of great depth there, but is in the woods.” 46 – Cartwright believes that Pennant’s black fox of Kamchatka “is called Silver,” and adds to the description of the cross fox with “The Cross-fox is a mixed breed, between the Silver and the Red.” Pennant, in describing the cross fox in Kamchatka, remarked that it was cunning, and that the Cossacks quartered there were unable to catch one, to which Cartwright adds, “They did not know how to do it,” and gives more information on the fox: “This is not a just remark for this, as well as the preceding three [foxes] are of the same nature and equally cautious, although of very different values. The Arctic fox, ’tis true, is much more easy to be caught; it appearing to be a very artless creature.” 48 – On the silver fox, Cartwright’s note reads, “Labrador & Newfoundland. They are very fine in the former country; being perfectly black with white hairs, but of a browner black in the latter island, where they are worth only 1 ½ Guinea, but from 3 ½ to 5 in Labrador, according as they have more or fewer white hairs.” 50 – On the lynx, Cartwright adds, “It is found in Labrador, but are not plentiful. None were ever seen upon the Island of Newfoundland.” 53 – On the polar bear, Cartwright adds, “The old Dog, or male Bear, is considerably larger than the Bitch, or female. That killed by Lord Mulgrave was a Bitch.”

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55 – Pennant stated that polar bears when on land preyed on deer, hares, young birds, and eggs, but Cartwright’s note states, “I do not believe that they can catch either deer or hares, but have met with them when egging.” 56 – Pennant stated that polar bears spent only a short time under water, to which Cartwright adds, “I have seen them dive eighty yards at the least. G.C.” As well, to Pennant’s remark that cubs remain with the dam for a long time, he adds, “I have reason to believe that the cubs follow their dams until they cub again, & that they breed every second year.” Pennant thought that polar bears hibernated, but Cartwright writes, “So soon as the Sea is frozen I believe that they go out to the edges of the fixed ice to feed upon Seals & do not return to the land again until the ice begins to break up; as they cannot subsist either upon the land or fixed ice. G.C.” 57 – Cartwright adds “In Labrador & Newfoundland” to Pennant’s list of black bear territory. 58 – To Pennant’s description of black bear diet, Cartwright adds, “The black-bears in Labrador & Newfoundland will feed on fish and all sorts of flesh, which they meet with, until the berries grow ripe, they then seek no other sort of food. When they first come out of their Cavern in the Spring, they eat dried grass & tear rotten trees to pieces in search of ants etc,” and “When they have gotten their antagonists in their arms, they bite him severely but not before.” A final note reads, “Those in Labrador & Newfoundland make their Caves under the root of a fallen tree, rearing other smaller wind-falls against the uppermost roots and the snow covers the whole. Their breath always keeps a small hole open at the top; through which dogs wind them, and they are found by that means, or by the Cave being discovered in the Summertime and the trees marked, to find them again in the Winter for they will use the same Caves Year after Year, or fresh bears will occupy them, for a bear has been killed in the same Cave, for several Years successively.” 59 – Pennant remarked on the length of time that a bear can subsist without food, to which Cartwright adds, “For six months in Labrador, unless there comes a great thaw in the winter, when they will walk out

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in quest of food, but retire again so soon as the frost returns. They quit their Caves about the middle of April, or so soon as the Spring thaws set in.” To Pennant’s remark that they left their dens when they were hungry, Cartwright wrote a definitive, “They do not do so in Labrador or Newfoundland.” 60 – Pennant remarked that pregnant bears had never been killed, to which Cartwright notes, “I believe they retire into their caves soon after impregnation, & cub before they come out again.” Pennant further noted that black bear fat could yield much oil, but Cartwright writes, “It is the fat of the Polar-bear that runs to oil; that of the black is of the same nature as the fat of Swine sets when cold.” 62 – Pennant supposed that some bears were carnivorous and others vegetarian. Cartwright’s note on this is, “Like Hogs they will eat either animal or vegetable food, but seem to prefer the latter when ripe; being a more certain supply in Spring. If animal food is scarce they feed on Alexander when they can find it, but that never grows higher up the country than the tide flows, & is most plentiful near salt water.” 63 – Pennant remarked that among Aboriginal hunters “every able hunter … must have killed his dozen great beasts before his character is established,” to which Cartwright adds, “If that is true, were I to go amongst these people, I should be held in great esteem; having killed of White & of black bears.” 68 – Pennant noted that the wolverine caught beavers at “the mouth of their holes” to which Cartwright remarks, “It cannot do that; the entrance to their houses being always under water; but it can easily kill them in the night, when the beavers go on shore to cut their food. It is a great enemy to the Porcupine, but they pay dearly for a meal of that animal. I once killed one which had lost nearly the whole of the hair of its head by the effect of the Porcupine’s quills, and its paunch was full of them, yet it was very fat and apparently in good health. G.C. After I had been plundered by an American Privateer in the Year 1778 I left about 350 Tierces of salmon in a house open at both ends for the winter. The wolverens [sic] gnawed into some of the casks & eat [sic] the salmon. G.C. N.B. The largest weight not more than thirty five pounds.” 71 – Pennant stated that the badger was found in “Terra di Labrador” to which Cartwright notes, “I never saw, or even heard of one in Labra-

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dor, although I had people in that Country for twenty five years. G.C.” 72 – On names of the wolverine, Cartwright writes, “The latter beast is the Carcajou of the Canadians. G.C.” and “Wolveren, Queequehatch, Glutton and Carcajou all mean the same beast.” 77 – Cartwright adds that the pine marten is also found “in Labrador & Newfoundland and likewise in England.” 87 – Cartwright adds that the otter also “Inhabits Labrador, and great numbers of skins are imported from Canada. G.C.” and “It has a strong smell of Musk.” 94 – Pennant did not consider the hare to belong in Labrador, to which Cartwright adds, “This species is found in Labrador also, where it is extremely fat; the Haunches & sides being well covered with it. The weight is eight Pounds. I have killed them there with five & six young ones in them. They always keep upon the barren grounds in that Country, nor did I ever see their traces in the Woods. G.C. / The flesh is much whiter and not so dry as the common Hare.” 95 – Pennant did not consider rabbit to exist in Labrador, to which Cartwright adds, “And, also in Labrador. They always keep in the Woods, & feed upon browse. Their toes are uncommonly long, and expand so wide as to enable them to run over the lightest snow without sinking an inch into it. G.C. / N.B. They feed on browse in the Winter, because they can get nothing else in the woods but eat grass in the summer. The great horned owl kills great numbers of them.” 102 – Pennant recorded that the amount of food stored by beavers foretold the severity of the upcoming winter, but Cartwright’s note counters this: “A surer proof of the number which the family consists of. There is very little difference in the length of the Winters, and the mildness or severity are matters of no consequence to them.” Pennant also surmised that beavers selected their place of habitation based on foreknowledge of a waterway’s stability, to which Cartwright responds with “This is wrong; they have not so much sagacity,” further qualifying Pennant’s comment about dam placement “to support a reservoir” with, “The worst place which they can fix upon. Cut the Dam and you kill every Beaver to a certainty.” Cartwright adds, “They are perfectly fat before the Ponds are frozen, and grow lean again before the ice breaks up,” to Pennant’s remark that they grow fat during the winter. 103 – Pennant noted that beavers that lose their community become

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Terriers, to which Cartwright writes, “In Newfoundland they are called Hermits, in consequence of living alone and the most probable reason is their having lost their mate & will not pair again. They build houses the same as the others.” To Pennant’s note that beavers are easily caught by predators because they “have no security but in flight,” Cartwright adds, “Which flight must be in the water, for they cannot run faster than a Hedge-hog.” 105 – Pennant listed Hudson’s Bay Company skin quantities sold in 1743. Cartwright adds two lists alongside with the same statistics for 1790 and 1791 and their net worth. There is no record of where he obtained this information [the lists are not transcribed here]. 108 – Cartwright adds another list of “Skins imported from Canada in 1792” [not transcribed here], and the note “NB. Whole numbers only were mentioned in the brokers list. I suspect that Wolverins are bad breeders, as so few are imported; I caught very few in Labrador, & seldom saw the tracks of them in the snow.” 109 – Cartwright qualifies Pennant’s observations on the porcupine by adding that its territory included Labrador and “I have never heard of one in Newfoundland, although I have conversed with many furriers who lived far in the woods every winter.” 110 – Pennant remarked that porcupine were “fond of the bark of juniper,” to which Cartwright notes, “They never eat the bark, but will feed on the young leaves in spring. It is the bark of the silver fir which they live upon in Winter.” Pennant also noted that quills stick “slightly in the flesh,” which Cartwright amends to “very firmly.” Pennant stated that they bore young in April, to which Cartwright replies, “I have killed them with young in May. Never saw more than one young one.” 116 – Pennant noted that squirrels “keep in their nests the whole winter,” to which Cartwright notes, “No. They are to be seen all the Winter, in fine days.” 120 – Cartwright qualifies that the flying squirrel is also found in Labrador. 130 – Alongside Pennant’s entry on rats, Cartwright writes, “They are very plentiful in all the inhabited Harbours in Newfoundland & in some in Labrador; having been carried there in Ships. No rat is an original native of those Countries.”

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139 – Alongside Pennant’s entry on shrews, Cartwright writes, “I have found several of them dead upon the snow, in the Winter, in Labrador, but never saw one alive. G.C.” 140 – Alongside Pennant’s entry on moles, Cartwright writes, “In the Winter of 1770 I found a Mole dead upon the snow, which had very remarkable carbuncles about its nose but never saw signs of them in the summer. In all other respects it appeared very like those of England. G.C.” 153 – Cartwright qualifies Pennant’s description of how Greenland Inuit harpoon seal in open water with “The hand board is only used to throw the bird-dart, with which they kill sucking seals also. G.C.” 163 – Pennant noted that in Greenland, harp seals are called Attarsoak. Cartwright’s note reads, “And Kiolick by the Eskimeaux of Labrador. In the Eastern Coast of which Country they are extremely plentiful from the middle of November until about the 20th of December; the time of their migration to the Southward where they winter and return again in June, but then they keep out in the offing, after they have passed the Straights of Belle Isle.”

Arctic Zoology, volume 2 (birds) On blank page inside cover: [In G. Cartwright’s handwriting] Geo. Cartwright given him by F.H. Hodges Esq. 1787 [in different handwriting] George Cartwright Jun’r. RN 1834 On a following blank page, in G.C.’s handwriting, is a list of the weights of birds, chiefly raptors but also plover, snipe, wood pigeon, etc. These are meant as additional information to Pennant’s. At the top of the title page is another set of handwritten signatures, both written by the same hand (not Cartwright’s), which again may be his sister and heir, Frances Cartwright:

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George Cartwright 1807 Frances Cartwright 1819 Throughout, Cartwright corrects Pennant when the latter failed to note that a bird’s distribution included Labrador and/or Newfoundland. I have not transcribed these many notes. 217–20 – Pennant’s description of the Iceland falcon, its association with falconry and the Kings of Denmark, and the antiquity of falconry may be the inspiration behind Cartwright’s many entries on falconry and catching raptors for this ancient sport. Pennant described the Icelandic method of catching falcons using ptarmigan or pigeons as bait. Cartwright’s marginalium reads, “The fowl being tied to a stake, the Falcon, coming down with great rapidity, catches it by the head & the violent jerk pulls the head off. When she has eaten that, she returns & alights upon the body.” 223 – Regarding the falcon hen, Cartwright notes that “weight should always be given.” 224 – Cartwright writes “Kites are very plentiful in the East Indies all the year” alongside Pennant’s entry on them. 227 – Cartwright adds that the hobby also “comes to England in March, stays to breed, which it often does in an old Magpie nest, & migrates in October. The Hobby & Merlin are the best hawks of any for Snipes and Larks.” 308 – Cartwright corrects Pennant’s information that the white grouse inhabits Newfoundland, adding, “The description of this bird corresponds with that found in Labrador excepting its weight, which there is only sixteen ounces.” Cartwright also corrects Pennant’s observation that they live on “the shoots of the spruce-fir,” crossing it out to read “the [?] of the silver-fir.” “This species lays but five eggs” is corrected to “six” eggs. On Pennant’s “white Grous” [sic], Cartwright adds the following note, “They lay six eggs. G.C. / It is a wonderful thing that almost all naturalists should have made that observation on the white Grous, when the warm, downy feather is common to most land-birds.” 309 – On Pennant’s given weight of 24 oz. for the “white grous,” Cartwright adds, “I have seen an old cock weight twenty six ounces.” Other notes on this page read, “The Ptarmigan weighs only one pound

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& lays only six or seven eggs”; Pennant remarked that grouse “all burrow under the snow, and form extensive walks beneath,” to which Cartwright writes, “They never do so in Labrador. The Grous breed upon the barren hills & stay there until about Christmas; from w’ch time until March they retire into the Woods where they can find groves of Birch, or beds of alder (by the sides of rivers) that they may feed upon the buds, which grow upon the extremities of the branches. NB. Grous, both red and white, lay thirteen or fourteen eggs.” 310 – On Pennant’s remark that grouse are not easily spotted on the snow, “They are very easily distinguished, for they appear quite yellow upon snow.” Next to Pennant’s remark that they assemble in flocks of 200 in October, Cartwright writes, “but soon divide into brood again.” 311 – Pennant remarked that “when the female is killed, the male can scarcely be forced from the body of its mate,” to which Cartwright writes, “There is no truth in that.” 312 – Pennant’s “Rock Grous” is noted by Cartwright as “Ptharmakin common in Labrador.” 315 – Cartwright corrects Pennant’s description of the ptarmigan, noting that it has a black line (not a spot) between the bill and eye, and that Pennant’s text description is of the summer coat while his image No. 184 is of the winter coat. 322 – On the pigeon, Cartwright’s marginalium reads, “On the 22 August 1775 I saw a pair of Doves, which I supposed were Passenger pigeons in the N.W. corner of Sandwich Bay & killed one of them with my rifle. They were feeding upon the Empetrum nigrum, & few upon the trees. It proved an excellent bird, & the flesh was very white. On the same day one of my men saw another by the side of Cartwright Harbuor. I never heard of any others having been seen in Labrador. G.C.” 347 – On the pine grosbeak, Cartwright writes, “I have seen several in Labrador in the Winter.” 349 – On the rose-breasted grosbeak, Cartwright writes, “I have seen a few in Labrador in the Summer & killed a Cock and Hen one Day.” 356 – On the snow bunting, Cartwright adds, “They appear in considerable numbers, in Labrador, both in the Spring & Fall.” 430 – On a bird that Pennant calls the martin, Cartwright adds, “Either this or a similar kind breed in Labrador but I never saw them in great plenty. I saw several nests built against a Cliff, and a few built under

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the upper frame of my windows about six feet from the ground, and in the same manner as in England.” 452 – On the bittern, Cartwright adds, “I once saw a Bittern in Newfoundland, which appeared to be exactly like those which are in England.” 461 – Cartwright makes notes on Pennant’s section on the “Eskimaux curlew.” He inserts the term “incurvated” in the description of the bill. Pennant’s description of the curlew is information from Chateaux Bay, collected by Joseph Banks in 1766. Cartwright adds to this, “They commonly make their first appearance on the 4th of August. In 1772 I killed one so late as the 24 of October but never saw one in that Month either before or since. They soon get extremely fat, and are the most delicious bird I ever eat [sic]. The black-throated Grey Plover will associate with them. There are a few Curlews of a larger sort which weigh 15 oz; they are darker upon the back & have white bellies; but flock with the common kind, which weigh only 9 ½ ounces.” 464 – On the snipe, Cartwright writes, “I saw only three in Labrador, but one of my men once saw several on a bog. They are found in great plenty in some few places in Newfoundland.” 465 – On the nodding snipe (also information obtained by Pennant from Banks, with reference to Chateau Bay), Cartwright writes, “This bird appears to me to be that which is called Antsary; it is more of the Redshank than of the Snipe. It feeds on the salt-water shores below highwater-mark.” 483 – Cartwright tries to make sense of the several plover descriptions (as he did with the snipe descriptions): “This appears to me to be more like what I have seen in Labrador than the next species” (spotted plover versus golden plover). 509 – On the great auk, Cartwright’s note reads, “Near the end of the Year 1768 I saw one which was shot near the Needles upon the Isle of Wight. G.C.” On the razorbill, “Is extremely plentifull upon the East Coast of Labrador, where as well as in Newfoundland, the fishermen name it a Tinker. It breeds in holes in the Rocks, or under large stones which lay hollow, makes no nest, & lays only one Egg. G.C.” 516 – On the black guillemot, Cartwright’s note reads, “Are found in Newfoundland, and Labrador; breed under hollow rocks close to the

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shore & are there called Sea-pigeons. The young ones get very fat before they quit the rocks, and are then very good eating.” 527 – On the black-backed gull, Cartwright’s note reads, “Numbers of them come to England every winter. They frequent the Meadows by the river Trent, and feed upon worms and the carcasses of dead sheep. In the breeding season they are intolerable nuisances to Sportsmen, for they are constantly either cruising along shore, or perched on an eminence near it; and they no sooner see a man than they fly towards him, incessantly crying Cawke, Cawke, Cawke, which being known to all the other animals in the Country for a signal of approaching danger, they look sharp about them. When arrived near the man, they sail aloft round him, and make a continual cry of Cow-wow-wow, upon w’ch the water fowl swim to a distance from the shore, and the beasts run into the country.” 541 – On the swan, Cartwright writes, “I never saw a Swan in Labrador, but some fishermen who went into a very deep estuary about twelve leagues north of any settlement told me, that they saw some large, white Geese there; those, I suppose, were swans.” 544 – On the Canada goose, Cartwright writes, “One Spring as some people were shooting Ducks in the passage between the Henley Islands, during the flight time, a man of mine killed a goose, which he assured me had some Wheat in its crop. If that was true, it was a clear proof of the velocity of its flight and also the prodigious distances w’ch a goose can fly without eating. It could have met with that wheat no nearer than the cultivated part of Canada; the mouth of the river St. Lawrence is not less than eighty leagues from Henly islands, but I much doubt whether any land is cultivated so low down that river. The Goose must have eaten it that morning, upon a new-sown field; it then being the seed-time. Birds will fly an incredible distance, for I once saw an Owl five hundred miles from the nearest land and it was not tired, as it turned off from the ship & we saw it no more.” 545 – On the Canada goose, Cartwright writes “I doubt that” in response to Pennant’s observation that “a single Indian will kill two hundred” in a day. He further notes, “They arrive in Labrador about the same time and are then very fat. I once saw a few so late as the 21st of November, but that was a remarkable mild Fall, and proved a very bad Sealing season.”

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554–5 – On the eider duck, Cartwright qualifies Pennant’s observation that they eat “shells of all kinds,” correcting it to “small shell fish of all kinds,” and adding margin note “particularly Muscles. Immense numbers breed upon the small islands situated within the wide Estuaries on the East Coast of Labrador.” And on the “grey-headed duck” Cartwright writes, “When the vernal migration takes place these preceed the Eider. From the end of December to the end of March, the shole ocean is covered with flat, immoveable ice of great thickness, which generally parts from the shore and drive[s] a few leagues off about the beginning of April & then the Ducks begin to migrate to the northward. They all appear to come down the Straights of Belisle, which makes me suspect that those which winter along the shores in Newfoundland coast that island, on both sides, until they arrive at the narrowest part of the Straights, then cross over & fall into the track of those w’ch come along the south shore of Labrador; they wheel round York Point & generally fly between the two Henly Islands, which lay off the mouth of the Harbour of Chatteaux; where great numbers of them are annually shot. In the course of their flight, should they meet with the jam-ice close to the shore, they stop until it drives out into the Offing, and during the flight time they feed in deep water on some gelatinous matter w’ch they find in it, & then their [?] are eaten, & [?] as good as those of Woodcocks.”

Supplement to the Arctic Zoology Handwritten marginalia by Captain George Cartwright are as follows: 45 – He corrects Pennant’s use of the term “Juniper” to “Larch.” 46 – He corrects Pennant’s use of the word “heap” to describe a “pile” of dried fish. 50 – He disagrees with Pennant’s observation that horses are frightened by cervids. 54 – He corrects Pennant’s note that porcupine feed on “juniper” – they do not, and it should be “larch.” 55 – He corrects Pennant’s note that seals create holes in the ice by blowing on it – Cartwright writes “by gnawing through it.” 66 – Cartwright notes that in England he shot and ate a spoonbill: “good eating.”

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68 – He adds a comment on birds’ feathers. 96 – In the section on snakes, Cartwright writes, “I never saw, or heard of a snake in Labrador.” 133 – In the section on mackerel, Cartwright writes, “In the year 1772 I saw some Mackrel which were caught in a net in Temple Bay, Labrador, but never heard of any others, either before or since. They appeared to me to be exactly the same as those in the British seas.” 141 – In the section on caplin, Cartwright writes, “Labrador. The smell and taste of them are exactly like those of the Smelt. They are greedily devoured by most kind of fish and sea-fowls. They are the best of all baits for Cod.” 142 – In the section on pike, Cartwright writes, “Labrador I have seen three; each of which weighed 6 Pounds. They did not eat well, being soft. That might possibly be owing to their being caught when out of season all of them having been taken in July. All were caught below the head of the Tide, in brackish water.”

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Index

Note: This index is for the Introductory sections of this volume. Tables 1 and 2, which appear before the transcription, index the contents of The Labrador Companion. Additions to the Labrador Companion: discovery of, ix; relationship to The Labrador Companion, xxxv–xxxvi animals. See fauna Banks, Joseph, xxxii–xxxiii; specimens from Cartwright to, xxxiii Beothuk, xi, xxv, xxxiii birds: falconry, xxxvi–xxxvii, xxxviiin6; netting, xxiv; population depletion, xxiv–xxv caribou, xxv Cartwright, Frances, ix, xxxviiin4 Cartwright, George (1739–1819): biographical overview, xi–xii; Cartwright’s copies of Pennant, xxxiv; Cartwright’s signature in Pennant, xxxviiin4; descendants and family, ix–x; as early natural history compiler, xv, xxxi–xxxii; estate, ix; marginalia in Pennant, xxxiii–xxxv, xxxviiin3; motivation for writing The Labrador Companion, xxviii–xxix; oil portrait, x; publications, xii; relevance of writ-

ings, xii; reliability of observations, xiv Cartwright, George, Jr, ix, xxxviiin4 Cartwright, John, xi Cape Charles, xiv; Inuit at, xxvii, xxxviiin1; location of, xiii (Figure 1); sealing at, frontispiece, xii, xvii, xxii companion texts, xiii–xiv English language: Cartwright as early recorder of, xix fauna, Labrador: descriptions of, xv, xxxii–xxxiii fences: American, xv; deer, xxv; Newfoundland, xv flora, Labrador: xxxi–xxxiii food: growing and catching, xv–xvi; preparation of, xv. See also gardening; netting; trapping furring. See trapping fur trade, xxiii gardening, xv–xvi Gathorne-Hardy, Geoffrey Malcolm, xxxiv Graham, Andrew, xxxii Hodges, Thomas Hallett, xxxiv, xxxviiin4 house types, xv. See also Innu; Inuit Hudson’s Bay Company (hbc): xv,

350

xxx–xxxi, xxxviiin2; Cartwright and, xxxi Innu, xiii, xvi; hunting techniques of, xvi, xxxvi; ties to Cartwright, xxv–xxvi; tent, early description of, xvi, xxxviiin1; trade with, xvi Inuit, xiii, xvi; hunting techniques of, xvi; in Newfoundland, xxvii– xxviii; Palliser and historical context of, xxvi–xxviii; sod house, early description of, xvi; ties to Cartwright, xxv–xxviii; trade with, xvi; whale hunt description, xvi Journal, the, xii, xv, xxxvi; full title of, xii Labrador: historical context of The Labrador Companion, xx–xxv; map of southern Labrador, xiii (Figure 1); resource-based industries of eighteenth century, xiv Labrador Companion, The: association with Additions to the Labrador Companion, xxxv– xxxvii; Cartwright’s intent, xxviii– xxxv; contents of, xi–xvii; date written, ix, xii; description of text, xvii–xviii; discovery of, ix–x; full title of, xi; historical context of, xx–xxviii; language of, xix; main themes of, xx–xxxviii; organization of contents, xiv–xvii; ownership of, ix–x; scope of, xii; transcription of, xviii–xix Lysaght, Averil, xii, xxxiii–xxxiv; Cartwright-Pennant association, xxxiii–xxxv Mosdell, H.M., xxii

Index

netting, xiv; in eighteenth-century Labrador, xxiv–xxv. See also birds Nicolas, Father Louis: Codex Canadensis, xxxviiin6 Palliser, Hugh: humanitarian, xxvii; Newfoundland and Beothuk, xi, xxvii; prevention of Inuit travel to southern Labrador, xxvii–xxviii Pennant, Thomas, xv, xxix, xxxii; association with The Labrador Companion, xxxiii; Cartwright’s signature in Pennant volumes, xxxviiin4 plants. See flora polar bear: cub, xvii; liver, xvi; tame, xxxvi, xxxviiin5 resource-based industries: Cartwright’s contribution to knowledge, xiv; descriptions of, xxii–xxv Royal Society, xxxii–xxxiii sealing, xi, xiii, xiv, xv; Cape Charles, xiv; description of harp seal migration, xxii; in eighteenthcentury Labrador, xxii; in glossary, xix trapping, xiii–xvii, xxxviiin2; in eighteenth-century Labrador, xxiii–xxiv; in glossary, xix; trap types, xxiii traps. See trapping Wegg, Samuel, xxxii