 While the large populations of moose and caribou provided sustenance to the early settlers of the remote area, a growing portion of the meat and skins began to be transported to Sydney and Newfoundland by ship for sale.Hunters began arriving in the area from Newfoundland and in the winter of 1789 alone, approximately 9,000 moose were killed in this area for their meat and skins.So barbaric was the slaughter that crews of vessels passing along the coast reported smelling the rotting carcasses miles away.