There is always something interesting in an account of the early inhabitants of a country; but, unfortunately, it is not possible to trace the first dwellers upon the soil of Britain’s ancient Colony of Newfoundland. There is much tradition associated with the researches of historians, and very few descriptions of the races inhabiting this large island in the early ages can be considered at all authentic. The Red Indians can be traced with accuracy so long ago as 1497, when Cabot, the celebrated navigator and explorer, found his way to the great stretches of fertile lands on the north-west of the Atlantic Ocean.

This race of Red Indians were known as the Beothiks. Doubtless they were a warlike people, and had their tribal battles, just as did the various tribes once so numerous in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and other parts of Canada. Their chief occupations would be hunting and fishing, for the island abounded in geese, wild-duck, ptarmigan, bears, foxes, and deer, whilst the rivers were abundantly stocked with beaver, as well as salmon, trout, and numerous other kinds of fishes. The weapons with which they captured their prey would be clubs, bows and arrows, spears, and slings, so that they would never be in need of food, and the furs of the wild animals would furnish them with all necessary clothing to keep them warm in the long, cold days of winter.

John Guy, who is supposed to be the first Englishman to successfully found a settlement in Newfoundland, describes the Beothiks as he found them in 1612: “They are of a reasonable stature, of an ordinary middle size. They goe bare-headed, wearing their hair somewhat long, but round; they haue no Beards; behind they have a great locke of haire platted with feathers, like a Hawkes Lure, with a feather standing in it vpright by the crowne of the head, and a small locke platted before; a short gown made of stags skins, the Furre innermost, that ranne down to the middle of their arme, and a Beauer skinne about their necke was all their apparell, saue that one of them had shooes and mittens, so that all went bare-legged and most bare-foote. They are full-eyed, of a blacke colour; the colour of their haire was diuers, some blacke, some browne and some yellow, and their faces something flat and broad, red with Oker, as all their apparell is, and the rest of their body; they are broad-brested, and bould, and stand very vpright.”

The Beothiks, however, were so cruelly treated by another tribe called Micmacs, and more particularly by French and English settlers, that by 1829 the last of this interesting race passed away in the person of Shawnandithit.

The present inhabitants are mostly of English, Irish, and Scotch descent, and number about 227,000. When it is borne in mind that the area of the island is 42,000 square miles, it will be seen how small the population is. St. John’s, the capital of Newfoundland, has a population of about 30,000. The rest of the inhabitants are scattered along the coasts. Comparatively few people dwell in the interior. Probably one-fourth of the people are engaged in the fishery, as this is the leading industry of the Colony. The fisher-folk live very simple and, on the whole, honest lives. They live chiefly on fish, tea, pork, and bread. Their houses are built of wood, and are usually erected by the tenants themselves. One could not call the fisher-folk educated, and it would be unjust to call them illiterate. To-day the Government are devoting more attention to education, and in a few years’ time the fisherman who cannot read or write will be looked upon as a curiosity. The children in the out-ports are receiving an education to-day in their own districts that their fathers could have obtained only by attending the schools of the larger towns. Even so recently as twenty years ago the fishermen in some of the settlements exchanged their fish for food and clothing, money not being in general circulation. The rate of mortality in some of the settlements is very high, which is due to the hardships of their calling, poor food, and small and ill-ventilated houses. In many of these small houses an ordinary fire-grate is sufficient for heating purposes, but the majority of them have a large stove standing in the middle of the kitchen, as this not only emits more heat, but it also performs the duties of a cooking-range.

When we consider how meagre have been the facilities for education in the past, we are astonished that there is so much morality in these small fishing settlements. Crimes of a serious nature are seldom heard of, and murder startles the whole population, so peace-loving are the people on the whole. They are men and women of religious faith, and always attend Divine service at the church of their creed at least once on Sunday. Nor is their religion confined solely to church-going: they are most practical in its exercise. If one settlement is in distress through the failure of the fisheries, the other settlements will always assist them so far as they are able. If an ill-fated schooner goes to the bottom with all hands, a subscription for the relief of the widows and orphans is opened immediately, and every man considers it a duty to contribute to the full extent of his means. Moreover, a mother with six children of her own will often take charge of three or four children of the settlement who have been unfortunate enough to lose their father at sea.

The fisher-folk have not always taken kindly to the advance of civilization. When the locomotive was introduced, in 1881, the engineers were at their wits’ ends to know how to overcome the opposition of these people, who refused to allow them to cut the track through their settlements.

There is a good story told of what is known as the “Battle of Fox-trap.” Morning after morning, when the fishermen had gone out in their boats to the fishing-grounds, their wives would congregate in the vicinity of the projected railway, and, with all kinds of weapons, impede the work of the surveyors and engineers; and at night the places of the women would be taken by the men after their return from the fishing-grounds. Every effort was made to demonstrate to them the utility of the railway—how much they would benefit by increased trade and quicker locomotion; but they would not lay down their weapons. The pioneers of the railway saw no way out of the difficulty, as these obstructors were careful not to break the law. One day, however, two of the marauders damaged a theodolite, and this enabled the railway-builders to bring the perpetrators of the act into court. The two guilty men were sentenced to six months’ hard labour, but the sentence was repealed after a promise made by the fishing-hamlet that they would interrupt the engineers no more. The judge was a resident of St. John’s, and many of the inhabitants of the scene of the “Battle of Fox-trap” kill sheep and oxen, which they bring to the capital for sale. And the most amusing part of the story is in connection with the judge, for the moment the trial was ended and the sentence repealed, one of the acquitted prisoners turned to him and asked: “Please, sir, would yer buy a quarter of lamb?”

In bygone days no difference of station existed among the inhabitants such as exists in English social life, but during the last twenty-five years distinction of rank has become more apparent. Although there are practically no retired classes, there are the inevitable distinctions of wealth, education, and profession. The merchants, members of the Legislature, judges, lawyers, clergy, etc., are among the wealthy and educated classes; the tradesmen, clerks, farmers, and others constitute the middle class; while the working classes are composed of those engaged in the fishing, timber, and other home industries.

In the capital, St. John’s, life is more on modern lines than in any of the smaller towns. There are a Roman Catholic cathedral, an Anglican cathedral, several Wesleyan Methodist churches, the Salvation Army hall, and other denominational churches. There are four or five colleges, belonging to the various denominations, and there is also a London University centre, where pupils may take the matriculation courses. A small theatre exists, but most of the performances are by amateur companies. One of the most surprising things is, however, that no public reading library is in existence. A new museum has just been erected, and, although not large, it contains many interesting relics, together with samples of the natural products of the soil and waters of the island.

Most of the houses are built of wood, as are also many of the hotels and commercial houses. In 1892 St. John’s was visited by a terrible fire that laid nearly the whole of the city in ruins. Thousands of people were homeless and hundreds were financially ruined. Since the great fire many of the wooden buildings have been replaced by magnificent brick and stone structures, so that a more modern and more beautiful city has sprung from the ruins of that disaster.

One of the most striking characteristics of the people of St. John’s—and, indeed, of the whole island—is the hospitality extended to strangers. A visitor is always sure of a hearty welcome. Their table is prepared for him, and they would consider it almost an insult if he declined to accept of their generosity on the ground that he did not wish to impose on them. Every stranger would be prepared to endorse the opinion of Sir Richard Bonnycastle, who wrote of the people of Newfoundland: “I declare, and I am sure I shall be borne out by every class of people in this country, and by all those whose domicile is a transient one, that a more peaceable, respectable, loyal, or kinder-hearted race than the Newfoundland English and Irish, whether emigrant or native-born, I never met with.” While loving their own island and independence, they are proud to belong to the great Empire over which King George V. reigns.