beyond question. Martin thinks the various data furnished by Sagard
and Brébeuf 'seem to indicate the west entrance of what is now called
Penetanguishene Bay' (_Life of Jogues_, appendix A.). But Taché thinks
the borders of the small inlet called Thunder Bay, fully six miles
farther west, the more probable location. This bay is a small natural
harbor, where landing is easy. At the time of Taché's researches
(1865), it was the nearest point to any village site then discovered,
the remains of one having been traced at a place distant about a mile
from its shore. Parkman and Laverdière adopted Taché's opinion,--the
latter assuming that Toanché was identical with Otoüacha, where
Champlain had landed. The evidence in favor of Thunder Bay as the
landing place of Brébeuf, although scanty, is superior to that produced
for any other locality. The exact site of Toanché, however, can not yet
be determined, because, except in a few places, the original forest
still covers the shores of the inlet, with those of Matchedash Bay
adjoining it, and to some distance inland. Farther back in the country,
the farms of the settlers are mostly cleared, and village sites have
been exposed by plowing; but these are too far distant from the Bay to
correspond with either of the villages in question. A large ossuary in
this vicinity, discovered in 1846, at the distance of about two miles
from Thunder Bay, is described by Martin in his edition of Bressani's
_Relation_, p. 101; also more fully by Edward W. Bawtree (_Edinburgh
New Philosophical Journal_, July, 1848), whose account is reprinted
in Squier's _Antiquities of the State of New York_ (Buffalo, 1851),
pp. 100-107. Bawtree there describes another bone-pit, found two miles
farther west, and at about the same distance from the inlet. The
present writer also examined, in July, 1887, another large ossuary,
and a small one beside it, then in the woods, and distant about a mile
from the southwest angle of Thunder Bay. Martin and Taché apparently
agree in placing Ihonatiria west of Penetanguishene Bay; but no site
has yet been found there which will entirely correspond with the
statements made by early writers. As in the case of Toanché, Du Creux's
map is silent as to its position. Rough estimates of its distances from
other villages sometimes appear in the _Relations_; as, that it was two
leagues from Aronté, or four leagues from Ossossané (La Conception).
But, even when the positions of these others are known, such data,
without the direction of the compass being given, are insufficient to
determine its position, or distinguish it among the sites of any given
neighborhood. It was the seat of the mission of St. Joseph, and for
nearly four years (1634-38) the headquarters of the Huron missions,
until the destruction and dispersion of the village by a pestilence."
[Illustration: MEMORIAL CHURCH AT PENETANGUISHENE, ONT.]
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN THE HURON COUNTRY.
BY ANDREW FREDERICK HUNTER, A.M.
Father Brébeuf and his associates planted the missions to the Hurons
in what is now the extreme northern part of Simcoe County. Or, more
exactly defined, they were included within the boundaries of the
present townships of Medonte, Tay, and Tiny, which the Canadian
Government surveyed and opened for settlement in the period between
the years 1820 and 1828. An influx of European settlers began soon
after the latter date, and, in the course of clearing the forest and
cultivating the soil, they found numerous remains of the Hurons, with
here and there traces of the Jesuits. Brief notices here follow of
those students of history and archæology who have labored to identify
the sites of the Huron missions, or to throw light upon the subject.
Other references to their work will be made in the notes on the
respective mission sites.
In 1835, Father Jean Baptiste Proulx came to St. Anne's church,
Penetanguishene, as its first resident pastor. His attention was soon
drawn to the Jesuit remains in that vicinity; and in June, 1845, he
purchased, for the sum of £43. 15s., (old Canadian currency), the east
half of lot no. 16 in the third concession of the Township of Tay (100
acres), on which are situated the ruins of Fort Ste. Marie-on-the-Wye.
On account of its associations with the pioneers of their church in
Canada, this property is still owned by the Jesuit Society.
Father Felix Martin, S. J., visited, in 1845, the ruins of Fort Ste.
Marie-on-the-Wye, and the mission sites whose exact positions were then
known with certainty. His descriptions of these appear in his edition
of Bressani's _Relation_, and in his _Life of Jogues_. The former work
contains a reproduction of Creuxius's map (1660), which includes his
"Chorographia Regionis Huronum."
Rev. Geo. Hallen, an Episcopal clergyman resident at Penetanguishene
after 1840, contributed tracings of the two mission forts (one on the
Wye, the other on Christian Island), to Father Martin's _Bressani_.
During two years of service as staff assistant-surgeon at
Penetanguishene (1846-48), Dr. Edward W. Bawtree examined six large
Huron ossuaries, the first found in the district. He described these
at some length in an article, "Indian Sepulchral Pits in Canada" (see
reference to this article in _note_ 61, _ante_). Bawtree's collection
of Huron relics is in the Museum of the Army Medical Department at
Netley, Eng.
Within the first six years after his appointment to the chair of
history, in Toronto University (1854-60), Sir Daniel Wilson made
several visits to the Huron country, to examine village sites and
ossuaries, and his publications concerning the Hurons were numerous,
not only during this period but throughout the rest of his lifetime.
His visits after 1860 appear to have been less frequent, probably
because Taché's survey had covered the ground. Wilson made a special
study of crania; and of his archæological memoirs his best known is
"The Huron Race and its Head-form," in _Canadian Journal_, 2nd series,
vol. xiii. (1871-73), pp. 113-134, in which he compares the Huron skull
with that of the mound-builder.
While Dr. J. C. Taché held the chair of physiology in Laval University,
Quebec (1860-64), he devoted his summer vacations to explorations in
the Huron country, and attempted, by examination of the published
records and maps, to identify the sites of the missions. In this
period he carefully examined some fourteen village sites and sixteen
ossuaries, his identifications of which are adopted by Parkman
and Laverdière. Taché drafted a map of the Huron country, which,
together with the records of his explorations, is in the Museum of
Laval University, besides many Huron relics secured by him. With the
exception of some extracts from letters to the historians just named,
and to a few others, scarcely anything appeared from his pen on the
subject.--See Hamel's sketch of Taché in _Annuaire de l'Université
Laval_ (Quebec, 1894), pp. 98-103.
Prof. Henry Montgomery, of Trinity University, Toronto, visited, during
1876-78, twelve Huron ossuaries. He minutely examined one of these,
as well as several village sites and earthworks, in the immediate
neighborhood of St. Louis, at which town Brébeuf and Lalemant were
captured in 1649. He gave a short account of his investigations in an
article, "Indian Remains in Simcoe and Muskoka," (Toronto _Globe_,
August 3, 1878); and he donated the principal part of his collection of
Huron relics to the Toronto University museum, since destroyed by fire.
Charles A. Hirschfelder, Toronto, in a paper, "Anthropological
Discoveries in Canada" (Toronto _Mail_, Dec. 2, 1882; also,
_Proceedings_ of Brit. Assoc. for Adv. of Science, Montreal, 1884,
pp. 915, 916), described the Huron ossuaries and other remains which
he had examined. He made, in the Huron country and in other parts of
Ontario, a collection of four thousand specimens, which are preserved
in the museum of the Dominion Government at Ottawa. In the course of
his work, he investigated the sites of the missions of St. Joseph, St.
Ignace, and Ste. Marie, on Christian Island.
Rev. J. W. Annis, M. A., of the Methodist Episcopal church, while
residing in the district (1884-87), made a collection of Huron relics,
many of them from the sites of the mission towns. Since his death,
this collection (400 specimens) has been placed in the Provincial
Archæological Museum at Toronto. His investigations extended to the
sites of St. Ignace, St. Louis, Ste. Marie-on-the-Wye, and Wenrio.
James Bain, Jr., librarian of the Toronto Public Library, has thrown
some light on the subject of the Huron missions. A paper read by him
before the Canadian Institute in April, 1885, on "The Present Condition
of the old French Fort at St. Marie," of which an abstract appears
in the _Proceedings_, 3rd series, vol. iii. (1886), pp. 278, 279,
describes, from personal inspection at different times, the razing of
these ruins during the previous thirty years.
Since Father Th. F. Laboreau became (1873) pastor of St. Anne's,
Penetanguishene, he has devoted much time to the examination of
mission sites. A paper, "Reminiscences of the Huron Missions," read
before the Canadian Institute, Toronto, March 19, 1887, describes
some of his investigations. Another paper read before the same body,
Sept. 25, 1891, on "The Early History of the Mission of St. Anne's,
Penetanguishene," reviews its history from the year of its foundation
(1835) until the commencement of the memorial church in memory of the
martyred Jesuits, Brébeuf and his companions, in the erection of which
Father Laboreau himself has shown so much zeal. The corner stone of
this edifice was laid Sept. 5, 1886; and by 1890 the work had advanced
so far that the basement could be used for regular services.
David Boyle, curator of the Ontario Archæological Museum, Toronto, in
the course of his scientific work has made numerous visits to the Huron
country. More than a thousand relics in the museum have been taken from
village sites of the Hurons and Tobacco Nation, including the mission
towns in both. His nine _Annual Reports_, and a small work, _Primitive
Man in Ontario_, which are the most valuable contributions to the
archæology of Ontario yet published, abound in many references to the
relics of these localities.
A. C. Osborne, a journalist, formerly of Penetanguishene, has written
various articles on the Huron missions--"The Land of the Wyandots,"
"The Flight of the Hurons from Ste. Marie to Christian Island," etc.
An article by Joseph Wallace, Sr., Orillia, Ont, in _The Canadian
Indian_ (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.), Feb. 1891, p. 134, entitled "A
Fishing Station of the Ancient Hurons Identified," describes the
channel between Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching, staked across by the
Hurons for catching fish, the stakes having been preserved under water
to the present day. A series of eleven articles, "Scenes from the
Past," in the Orillia _Packet_ (Feb.-June, 1896), relates the story of
the Huron missions in a concise form.
Space is lacking to enumerate all those who have devoted their energies
to this work, though in less degree than the foregoing. Notwithstanding
all their efforts, however, the work cannot be regarded as complete.
Transcriber's Note.
Variable spelling and hyphenation have been retained. Minor punctuation
inconsistencies have been silently repaired.
Corrections.
The first line indicates the original, the second the correction.
p. 129:
At the time of this occurence
At the time of this occurrence
Errata.
The first line indicates the original, the second how it should read.
p. 10:
à la charité de de monsieur le Curé du Haure
à la charité de monsieur le Curé du Haure