Some Of The Cuts In The Trees
With The Axe Were Evidently Made The Preceding Year.
Besides these, we
were elated by other encouraging signs.
The traces left by the Red
Indians are so peculiar, that we were confident those we saw here were
made by them.
This spot has been a favourite place of settlement with these people.
It is situated at the commencement of a portage, which forms a
communication by a path between the sea-coast at Badger Bay, about
eight miles to the north-east, and a chain of lakes extending westerly
and southerly from hence, and discharging themselves by a rivulet into
the River Exploits, about thirty miles from its mouth. A path also
leads from this place to the lakes, near New Bay, to the eastward.
Here are the remains of one of their villages, where the vestiges of
eight or ten winter mamateeks or wigwams, each intended to contain
from six to eighteen or twenty people, are distinctly seen close
together. Besides these, there are the remains of a number of summer
wigwams. Every winter wigwam has close by it a small square-mouthed or
oblong pit, dug into the earth, about four feet deep, to preserve
their stores, &c. in. Some of these pits were lined with birch-rind.
We discovered also in this village the remains of a vapour-bath. The
method used by the Boeothicks to raise the steam, was by pouring water
on large stones, made very hot for the purpose, in the open air, by
burning a quantity of wood around them; after this process, the ashes
were removed, and a hemispherical frame-work, closely covered with
skins, to exclude the external air, was fixed over the stones.
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