Tidbits of info. part two{2} about the "Central Region", Island portion of our Province, Newfoundland & Labrador. {sorry it should have read 4 part format} CHEERS TO OUR ANCESTORS!! ENJOY! Exploits Valley The Beothuk Indians were called "red Indians" by early European explorers because they painted their bodies with ochre for ceremonies. The coming of Europeans to Newfoundland disrupted the Beothuks' traditional way of life. Gradually, they were squeezed out of their summer coastal villages by newcomers with superior military technology. There were clashes with settlers, many based on mutual misunderstanding of each other's cultures. By the early 19th century, the Beothuk were teetering on the brink of extinction, cut off from the coast, and wracked by European diseases against which they had no immunity and starvation. In 1819, one of the last known Beothuks, Demasduit (Mary March), was captured near Red Indian Lake. The following year, ill with tuberculosis, government officials tried to reunite her with her tribe. They were too late. She died in what is now Botwood, and her body was transported to Red Indian Lake. The last known Beothuk, Shanawdithit, died at St. John's in 1829. She had been captured with her mother and sister in 1823. The Exploits Valley Tour follows the tradional Beothuk seasonal route between the interior and the coast, and includes major Beothuk attractions. This area is filled with lakes and rivers, making it ideal for canoeing. There is a two-to-four-day canoe route to Grand Falls-Windsor, guiding services are available in the area, the fishing is excellent, and there is a Canada Goose nesting sanctuary near Buchans. An unpaved woods road runs south from Route 370 into the heart of Newfoundland and connects eventually with Route 480, which runs from the St. George's River area to Burgeo. If you take this route, be careful: it's a logging road. It is usually open in summer, but is prone to washouts. Ask about the condition of this road before venturing over it. This tour starts on the shores of Red Indian Lake in the town of Buchans. The town was established in the 1920s to mine copper, lead, and zinc. Those mining operations have now ceased. The town has the distinction of being located virtually in t he heart of the geographical land mass of the island of Newfoundland, and is farther from the sea than any other community. There is a miner's museum here, and a rock tile plant that produces beautiful finished stone products from a variety of materials quarried around the province. Near Buchans Junction, about 31 km from Buchans, is a stone corral built in an area residents call the Laplanders' Bog. It was built by Lapps, who along with their reindeer, were brought to Newfoundland by Sir Wilfred Grenfell around 1908 in an attempt to introduce the deer, which are easily domesticated. Some of the reindeer were purchased to haul wood in winter. That experiment failed, and all that remains is the corral where the Lapps kept their herd. >From Buchans Junction, a few kilometres drive will take you to Millertown which was named for lumber entrepreneur Lewis Miller. There is a Wildlife Exhibit Centre here with exhibits on all the animals found in this area. The centre helps educate travellers about proper wildlife management. Heading east again you will travel through a scenic river valley and on to Beothuk Park, where a fascinating exhibit recreates the history of early logging in Newfoundland. Visitors can walk through a logging camp and see exhibits that date back to the 1700s. The park is named for the Beothuks, but there are no Beothuk sites here. Loggers had a hard life, and they had a lingo all their own. A bang belly was a pork and molasses cake made with soda that could be baked, fried, or boiled in a stew like dumplings. A peavie was a cart hook for rolling heavy timber. The exhibit includes a barn, a forge, a saw filing shack, a saw pit, and a go-devil - a sled with heavy runners used to haul logs over bare ground. The highway though this beautiful valley follows the Exploits River, which was the main access to the sea for Beothuk bands who travelled far into Notre Dame Bay by canoe to hunt seabirds and fish. The largest town in the area is Grand Falls-Windsor. Located 456 km west of St. John's and 272 km east of Corner Brook, Grand Falls is one of the major suppliers of newsprint to world centres. It is the site of Newfoundland's first pulp and paper mill. Established by Lord Northcliffe and Lord Rothermere, it was intended as source of newsprint for their international newspaper interests. The paper mill is now owned and operated by Abitibi-Price. In Grand Falls-Windsor is Mary March Regional Museum, located on St. Catherine Street in Grand Falls. The museum is named in honour of one of the last of the Beothuks and traces the 5,000-year human history of central Newfoundland through a range of exhibits. There are also exhibits on the complex history and traditions of the other native peoples who lived in the region and traces the development of the later European settlement. Just behind the museum is a recreation of a Beothuk Village with winter and summer mamateeks, a sweat lodge, and other exhibits. The Exploits Valley Salmon Festival is held here every July and features great entertainment in addition to the food. The town has one of the most impressive salmon enhancement projects in North America. To visit the Salmonid Interpretation Centre, which is behind the paper mill off Scott Avenue, obtain a map from the Visitor Information Centre. Once there, you'll see an impressive salmon ladder which allows migrating salmon to bypass the Grand Falls on their way up the Exploits River to spawn. The centre is open from mid-June to September and has exhibits on the habitat, history, biology, and ecology of the Atlantic salmon. Guided tours are available, and be sure to visit the glass-walled viewing tank in the visitor centre to see the salmon close up. And if you want to go salmon fishing, the Exploits River is a dandy place to wet a line. Part 3 to follow: