The marine mammals alone appear to be well known, but the number of
cetaceans can certainly be increased above the number usually reported
inhabiting the waters immediately bordering upon the region.
The phocids are best known for the reason that off the shores of
southeast Labrador the pursuit of species of this family is carried on
each spring to an extent probably surpassing that anywhere else on the
face of the globe.
At the mouth of Little Whale river, the white whale is taken to the
number of 500 each year, although the capture is steadily decreasing.
The Indians here do the greater part of the labor of driving, killing,
flaying, and preserving them. At Fort Chimo another station for the
pursuit of white whales is carried on. Here the Eskimo do the driving
and killing, while the Indians perform the labor of removing the blubber
and rendering it fit for the oil tanks into which it is placed to put it
beyond the action of the weather. The skin of the white whale is tanned
and converted into a leather of remarkably good quality, especially
noted for being nearly waterproof.
Of the land mammals, the reindeer is probably the most abundant of all.
It is found in immense numbers in certain localities, and forms for many
of the inhabitants the principal source of subsistence, while to nearly
all the residents its skins are absolutely necessary to protect them
from the severity of the winter.
The black, white and brown bears are common enough in their respective
areas. The former rarely ranges beyond the woodlands, never being found
so far north as Fort Chimo. The white bear is common in the northern
portions bordering the sea and is occasionally found as far south as the
strait of Belleisle, to which it has been carried on icebergs or fields
of ice. Akpatok island and the vicinity of Cape Chidley are reported to
be localities infested with these brutes. The brown or barren-ground
bear appears to be restricted to a narrow area and is not plentiful,
yet is common enough to keep the Indian in wholsome dread of its vicious
disposition when enraged.
The smaller mammals occur in greater or less abundance according to the
quality and quantity of food to be obtained. The wolves, foxes, and
wolverines are pretty evenly distributed throughout the region. The
hares are found in the wooded tracts for the smaller species and on the
barren regions for the larger species.