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experiences about which few participants. even lrained researchers, have spoken or
written. Even my mother and my aunt. her sister. ell, brieny referred 10 but would not
expand upon their sister. Angela being "chased after" by a man on the Labrador whom
she was not interesled in as she favoured another man. 'had )cars ofbeing a trained
observer before I venlured into folklore but.. \\;Ihin my shon lime on the Labrador.lhe
dark side of fieldwork was \'cry much in e\·idencc. I was ridiculed. Ihreatened wilh
seduction and loss of life. hampered in my research because ofmy pcrcei\"oo role as a spy
for Canadian ational Marine (eN) and rejected morc lhan oncc because ofmy
uni\ersily education. I was warned in advance thai the \\TOng luggage would turn people
against me and that nics could kill mc. But more damaging was \\-hal years of uni\'ersity
had done 10 my native dialect. While some eN slaffsaw me as a tcacher following in the
footsteps ofmy peoplc who had fished on the Labrador. as indeed I was. other eN staff
thought ofme as a spy because .., did not have my native Colliers dialect, I asked too
many qucstions and I watched everything."
Idenlly, the trip on the Labrador should have been taken with my father and
recorded on videotape. The project was put together too quickly and with too small a
budget to allow me 10 have him as my travelling companion and protector. Still, his
presence during fieldwork in Conception Ilarbour did not prevent the ullwelcome
advances of the infonnalll who. as he said, ··was madly in love with my face and,
especially. my white leeth:' He asked me to be "his housekecper with bedroom
privileges:· While he was. perhaps. not polentiall)' hannful. he was very persistent and he
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