The Story of Grenfell of the Labrador eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 194 pages of information about The Story of Grenfell of the Labrador.

The Story of Grenfell of the Labrador eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 194 pages of information about The Story of Grenfell of the Labrador.

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

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

The domestic reindeer is a species of caribou.  In other words, the caribou is the wild reindeer.  The domestic and the wild animals eat the same food, the gray caribou moss, which carpets northern Newfoundland and the whole of Labrador, furnishing an inexhaustible supply of forage everywhere in forest and in barrens.  The Lapland reindeer had been introduced into Alaska and northwestern Canada with great success.  They would thrive equally well in Labrador and Newfoundland.

With this in mind Doctor Grenfell learned all he could about reindeer and reindeer raising.  The more he studied the subject the better convinced he was that domesticated reindeer introduced into Labrador would prove a boon to the people.  He appealed to some of his generous friends and they subscribed sufficient money to undertake the experiment.

In 1907 three hundred reindeer were purchased and landed safely at St. Anthony, Newfoundland.  With experienced Lapland herders to care for them they were turned loose in the open country.  For a time the herd grew and thrived and the prospects for complete success of the experiment were bright.

It was Doctor Grenfell’s policy to first demonstrate the usefulness of reindeer in Newfoundland, and finally transfer a part of the herd to Labrador.  The great difficulty that stood in the way of rearing the animals in eastern Labrador was the vicious wolf dogs.  It was obvious that dogs and reindeer could not live together, for the dogs would hunt and kill the inoffensive reindeer just as their primitive progenitors, the wolves, hunt and kill the wild caribou.

Because of the dogs, no domestic animals can be kept in eastern Labrador.  Once Malcolm MacLean, a Scotch settler at Carter’s Basin, in Hamilton Inlet, imported a cow.  He built a strong stable for it adjoining his cabin.  Twelve miles away, at Northwest River, the dogs one winter night when the Inlet had frozen sniffed the air blowing across the ice.  They smelled the cow.  Like a pack of wolves they were off.  They trailed the scent those twelve miles over the ice to the door of the stable where Malcolm’s cow was munching wild hay.  They broke down the stable door, and before Malcolm was aware of what was taking place the cow was killed and partly devoured.

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The Story of Grenfell of the Labrador from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.