1687-1712.
Hudson's Bay Tribes Peaceful -- Effect of the Traders' Presence
-- Depletion of Population -- The Crees and Assiniboines --
Their Habits and Customs -- Their Numbers -- No Subordination
Amongst Them -- Spirituous Liquors -- Effect of Intemperance
upon the Indian.
Let us imagine for a moment that the Hudson's Bay Company had held
traffic with the fierce and implacable Iroquois, the Mohawks or the
courageous and blood-thirsty tribes of the Mississippi, instead of
with the Crees and Assiniboines. How different would have been its
early history! What frail protection would have been afforded by the
forts and wooden palisades, often not stronger than that last fort of
the Jesuits in the Huron country, the inmates of which were
slaughtered so ruthlessly, or that other at Niagara, where the
Chevalier de Troyes and ninety of his companions perished to a man.
But the Red men of the Company's territories, compared to these, were
pacific. Occasionally want or deep injustice drove them to acts of
barbarism, as we have seen in the case of the massacre at York Factory
under Jérémie's _régime_; but on the whole they had no marked enmity
to the white men, and long displayed a remarkable and extremely
welcome docility.
[Sidenote: Character of the Assiniboines.]
"The Assinibouels," remarked Jérémie, "are humane and affable; and so
are also all those Indians with whom we have commerce in the Bay,
never trading with the French but as their fathers and patrons.
Although savages, they are foes to lying, which is extraordinary in
nations which live without subordination or discipline. One cannot
impute to them any vice, unless they are a little too slanderous. They
never blaspheme and have not even a term in their language which
defines an oath."
If we are to believe the early traders and explorers, the Red man of
Rupert's Land spoke a tongue by no means difficult for an Englishman
to master. Yet if these same traders really took the trouble to master
it, as they alleged, their knowledge certainly brought little order
into the chaos of tribal nomenclature.
[Illustration: INDIAN TEPEE.]
The custom of fantastic names for the Indians was long continued. More
than one instance occur of the impropriety with which the
French-Canadians named the Indians. They called one tribe Gros
Ventres, or Big Bellies, and that without any known reason; they being
as comely and well-made as any other tribe. "They are very far," says
one trader, "from being remarkable for their corpulency." This tribe
also came to be known as the Fall Indians.
[Sidenote: Indian country.]
Jérémie observed that the Ouinebigonnolinis inhabited the sea-coast.
The Poaourinagou country was inhabited by the Miskogonhirines or
Savannah, who made war with the Hakouchirmions. Twelve leagues above
York Factory was situated the River Oujuragatchousibi, while far
beyond dwelt the Nakonkirhirinons.
One might readily suspect one commandant of drawing upon his
imagination when he speaks of such nations as the Unighkillyiakow,
Ishisageck Roanu, the Twightwis Roanu, the Oskiakikis, Oyachtownuck
Roanu, Kighetawkigh Roanu, and the Kirhawguagh Roanu.
[Illustration: AN ASSINIBOINE INDIAN.]
In the seventeenth century, the districts about the Great Lakes were
rather thickly populated. Certain regions which at the opening of the
eighteenth century were but thinly sprinkled by inhabitants, once had
boasted numerous tribes. For when the first missionaries visited the
south of Lake Superior in 1668, they found the country full of
inhabitants. They relate that, about this time, a band of Nepisingues,
converts to the Jesuitical teaching, emigrated to the Nepigon country.
By 1785 few of their descendants were said to exist, and not a trace
amongst them of the religion espoused by their ancestors.
As to the Lake of the Woods district, before the smallpox, in 1781,
ravaged this country and completed what the Nodwayes by their warfare
had gone far to accomplish, this part of the country was very densely
inhabited.
One of the Company's factors reported, in 1736, that a tribe lived
beyond the range of mountains, who had never known the use of
fire-arms, for which reason they were made slaves of by the
Assiniboines and Crees. He declared he had beheld several of this
tribe "who all wanted a joynt of their little finger, which was cut
off soon after birth."
"The Migichihilinons, that is the Eagle Ey'd Indians," reported
Middleton, one of the Company's captains, "are at two hundred Leagues
Distance; the Assinibouels inhabit the West and North; they are
reputed to be the same Nation because of the great affinity of their
language. The name signifies Men of the Rock. They use the Calumet and
live at two hundred and fifty Leagues Distance. They paint their
Bodies, are grave and have much Phlegm, like _Flemings_." He also
enumerates the Michinipic Poets, or Men of Stone, of the Great Lake;
but I am inclined to think these two are of the same tribe.
[Illustration: INDIAN WITH TOMAHAWK.]
[Sidenote: The Crees.]
The Crees, or Christineaux, were the earliest as well as the most
numerous tribe which had dealings with the Company. They sprang from
the same stock as the Ojibways, Chippewas or Saulteurs, who with the
Assiniboines inhabited the vast interior of the country to the west of
the Bay. Their language, according to one of the early traders, was
less copious and expressive than their mother tongue. They were
deficient in many direct terms for things, often expressing themselves
in approximate phrases, whereas the Ojibways would have an exactly
corresponding term ready at command. The Crees appear not to have
possessed the custom of totems, so that it was often difficult for
members of the tribe to trace their ancestry back for more than two
or three generations.
[Sidenote: Their mode of living.]
In their ideas of creation the Crees and the Saulteurs resembled, and
the early traders and bushrangers learnt gradually that both nations
owned a mythology of no mean proportions. Nain au Bouchaw, the God of
the Saulteurs, was known as "Wee-sue-ha-jouch," amongst the Crees; but
the tales they told concerning him were by no means clear and
distinct, nor in such general currency. The Crees were divided into
two groups: those inhabiting the plains, and the denizens of the
woods; the latter being far the most enterprising and useful to the
trade of the Company. The tents of the Crees, like those of the other
tribes in Rupert's Land, were of dressed leather, erected by means of
poles, seventeen of which latter were required for the purpose, two
being tied together about three feet from the top. The whole formed
nearly a circle which was then covered with buffalo, moose, or red
deer skins, well sewn together, nicely cut to fit the conical figure
of the poles. An opening was then arranged above to let out the smoke,
and admit the light. Such tents were of good size, commonly measuring
twenty feet in diameter. A fire was kindled in the centre, around
which a range of stones was placed to keep the fire compact. The Crees
were fond of self-adornment, and were much addicted to false hair.
Their morals at first greatly shocked the servants of the Company, and
in the early reports sent home from York Factory much stress was laid
upon the need for enlightenment in this regard amongst the savages.
Polygamy was common, but not universal. The first wife was considered
as mistress of the tent, ruling all the others, often with a rod of
iron, and obliging them to perform all the drudgery.
The names of the children were always given to them by their parents,
or some near relative. Those of the boys were various, and generally
derived from some place, season or animal. The names of the female
children, amongst the northern Indians, were chiefly taken from some
part or property of a marten, such as the White Marten, the Black
Marten, the Summer Marten, the Marten's Head, the Marten's Foot, the
Marten's Heart, the Marten's Tail, etc.[53]
The exact number of Crees at the time of the Company's advent, is
difficult to compute. Even at that time they were dispersed over a
vast extent of country, mixing with the Assiniboines and other nations
with whom they were on terms of peace. In 1709 appeared an estimate
that there were not less than a million members of the Cree Nation.
From what source was derived this striking conclusion is not given.
It may be laid down as a general rule that all contemporary estimates
as to the population of the Indian tribes which were necessarily
founded upon hearsay prior to actual penetration into their country
are fanciful and totally unreliable. Perhaps the most significant fact
which Parkman brought home to the masses of his readers, was the
astounding discrepancy between current conception of the numbers of
the various tribes, particularly the Iroquois, and that attested and
corroborated by the acute research of scholars, and by the testimony
of contemporaries. In 1749 the Company thought the number of the Crees
to be about 100,000, men, women and children. A half century later
they had diminished to about 14,000, although, in 1810, Henry can find
only about 300 tents full of Crees capable of furnishing less than
1,000 men. In this calculation, however, he did not include the Crees
who lived north of Beaver River. The Crees were, for the most part,
quiet and inoffensive, and their personal appearance not entirely
prepossessing; and although compared with the wilder and more valiant
tribes to the south and east, their carriage and deportment was
inferior, still they were gifted with activity, and prominent, wiry
figures and intelligent countenances.
[Sidenote: The Assiniboines.]
The next numerous tribe was the Assiniboine, or Stone Indians, who it
is believed originated with the Sioux or Nodwayes. But owing to some
misunderstanding between the bands they separated, and some half
century before the first fort was built by the Company they were in
possession of a vast extent of prairie country near the Red River, and
thence running westward. The region they inhabited may be said to
commence at the Hare Hills, near Red River, and running along the
Assiniboine to the junction of the north and south branches of the
Saskatchewan. They were generally of a moderate stature, slender and
active. In complexion they were of a lighter copper colour than the
Crees, with more regular features. Moreover they were readily
distinguished from the latter by a different head-dress.
[Illustration: ESQUIMAU WITH DOGS.]
Other tribes trading with the Company were the Sioux, Blackfeet,
Blood, Slave and Crow Indians. There were also the Esquimaux, with
whom a traffic in the north was carried on chiefly for whalebone,
ivory and oil.
"I have often," wrote Captain Coats, "thought this people of the
lineage of the Chinese, in the many features I see in them, their
bloated flatt faces, little eyes, black hair, little hands and feet,
and their listlessness in travelling. They are very fair, when free
from grease, very submissive to their men, very tender to their
children, and indefatigable in the geegaws to please their men and
children."
They owned no manner of government or subordination. The father or
head of the family obeyed no superior nor any command, and he himself
only gave his advice or opinions. Consequently it was rarely that any
great chief ever existed, and then only in time of war. It is true
that when several families went to war, or to the factories to trade,
they chose a leader, but to such a one obedience was only voluntary;
everyone was at liberty to leave when he pleased, and the notion of a
commander was soon obliterated.
Merit alone gave title to distinction; such merit as an experienced
hunter could boast, or one who possessed knowledge of communication
between lakes and rivers, who could make long harangues, was a
conjurer, or had a large family. Such a man was sure to be followed by
several Indians when they happened to be out in large parties. They
likewise followed him down to trade at the settlements, although upon
such occasions he was forced to secure their attendance by promises
and rewards, as the regard paid to his ability was of too weak a
nature to command subjection. In war a mutual resentment forced their
union for perpetrating vengeance.
The Hudson's Bay Indian's method of dividing time was by numbering the
nights elapsed or to come. Thus, if he were asked how long he had been
on his journey, he would answer, "so many nights." From the nocturnal
division he proceeded to lunar or monthly reckoning, twelve to a year,
all of these moons being symbolical of some remarkable event or
appearance.
Their method of computing numbers was abstruse, they reckoning chiefly
by decades: two-tens, three-tens, ten-tens. A few units over or under
were added or subtracted, thirty-two being three-tens and two over. If
they reckoned any large number a skin or stick was laid down for
every ten, and afterwards tied in a bundle for the aggregate.
[Sidenote: Intelligence of the Indians.]
The servants of the Company were not a little astonished at the
wonderful intuition of the Indian, which enabled him to forego the
advantage to be derived from a compass, and yet to rarely miss his
way. The trees, he knew, were all bent to the south, and the branches
on that side were larger and stronger than on the north, as was also
the moss. To apprise his women of the spot where the game was killed,
he broke off branches here and there, laying them in the path with
their ends pointed in the requisite direction.
In winter, when the braves went abroad they rubbed themselves all over
with bear's grease or beaver oil, treating in this fashion, too, the
furs they wore.
"They use," says one trader, "no milk from the time they are weaned,
and they all hate to taste Cheese, having taken up an opinion that it
was made of Dead Men's Fat." They were fond of prunes and raisins, and
would give a beaver skin for twelve of them to carry to their
children, and also for a Jew's-harp or a tin trumpet. They were great
admirers of pictures or prints, giving a beaver for bad prints, and
"all toys were jewels to them."
A trader at a little later period writes: "Having been fortunate
enough to administer medical relief to one of these Indians during
their stay, I came to be considered as a physician, and found that was
a character held in high veneration," and goes on to add that their
solicitude and credulity as to drugs and nostrums had exposed them to
gross deceptions on the part of the agents of the Hudson's Bay
Company. One of the chiefs informed him that he had been at the Bay
the year before and there purchased a quantity of medicines which he
would allow his visitor to inspect. Accordingly, he fetched a bag
containing numerous small papers, in which he found lumps of white
sugar, grains of coffee, pepper, allspice, cloves, tea, nutmegs,
ginger, and other things of the kind, sold as specifics against evil
spirits and against the dangers of battle. These compounds were said
to give power over enemies, particularly the white bear, of which the
Indians in those latitudes were much afraid; others were infallible
against barrenness in women, against difficult labour, and against a
variety of other afflictions.
[Sidenote: Superstition of the Indians.]
It is related that some Indians, who were employed in the vicinity of
York Factory in a goose hunt, were so influenced by superstition that
they firmly believed the devil, with hideous howlings, frequented
their tent every night. They came in a most dejected state to the
factory and related a lamentable tale to the Governor, setting forth
with much pathos, the distress they were being subjected to by his
Satanic majesty. So overcome were they that they kept large fires
burning all night, sleeping only in the day time. One of the Red men
declared that he had discharged his gun at the monster, but unluckily
missed. The devil was described as of human shape, with a capacity for
enormous strides. The governor treated the victims to a little brandy,
and as if by magic their courage rose. Investigation that same night
disclosed that the Satan was neither more nor less than a huge
night-owl.
The same trader also declares he found a number of small prints, such
as in England were commonly sold to children, but which amongst the
Indians were each transformed into a talisman for the cure of some
evil or for procuring some delight. He even gives the mottoes on some
of these, and their specific uses: No. 1--"A sailor kissing his
mistress on his return from sea." This worn about the person of a
gallant attracted, though concealed, the affections of the sex! No.
2--"A soldier in arms." Such a talisman poured a sentiment of valour
into its possessor and gave him the strength of a giant!
It was alleged that by means of such commodities many customers were
secured to the Company, nor is there reason to doubt it. "Even those
Indians who shortened their voyage by dealing with us, sent forward
one canoe laden with beaver-skins to purchase articles of this kind at
Cumberland House." Henry adds that he was wise enough not to dispute
their value.
As time went on the Indians began to relinquish many of the habits and
customs, and even the appearance they presented, before the advent of
the white traders. Being in constant communication with the factories,
they became semi-civilized, and took on many of the outer
characteristics of the European. They brought in year after year the
spoils of the chase in strict confidence, and there exchanged them for
the necessaries of life, which they no longer provided for themselves.
To all intents and purposes the tribes were in the pay of the Company,
or lived upon their bounty. It was, therefore, to be expected that all
originality would be lost amongst them.
The principal things necessary for the support and satisfaction of the
Indian and his family in the middle of the eighteenth century were: a
gun, hatchet, ice chisel, brazil fob, knives, files, flints, powder
and shot, a powder horn, a bayonet, a kettle, cloth, beads, etc.
It was early found that alcohol was a very dangerous element to
introduce amongst the savages. Talon had presented the unhappy colony
of New France with a statute removing all the penalties and ordinances
of which justice and the authorities had made use to repress the
disorders caused by the too great quantity of liquor given to the
Indians.
[Sidenote: Liking of the Indians for liquor.]
The inclination of the Indians for intoxication, it was pointed out to
Colbert by an ecclesiastic who sought to alter the condition of
affairs, is much stronger than that of the people of Europe. They
have, urged he, greater weakness in resisting it. "If in a bourgade
there be liquor freely accessible to the Indians, they usually all
become intoxicated--old, young, great and small, women and children,
so that there is hardly one left sober. If there were liquor
sufficient to last two days, drunkenness invariably continued two
days. If enough for a week, it would last a week; if for a month, it
would last a month. This," said the good priest, "is what we do not
see in Europe--a whole city get drunk, nor see it continue in that
state for weeks and months." It may readily be perceived that those
who wish to strike a bargain favourable to themselves with the
Indians, had only to resort to liquor, and by that means, without
regard to their own salvation or that of the savages, could generally
procure what they desired at a small expenditure.
An Indian, it was said early in the next century, would barter away
all his furs, nay even leave himself without a rag to cover his
nakedness, in exchange for that vile, unwholesome stuff called English
brandy.
The Company in England having decided not to employ liquor in its
traffic with the Indians, the temptation was strong upon Colbert and
the French to resort to it. At one of its meetings, in 1685, the
Company listened to a paper describing the methods in vogue by the
French traders at the important post of Tadoussac. At this fort or
factory, for more than twenty years previously, it was the custom to
allow an Indian a quart of wine; this fluid, although it boasted such
a title, hardly merited it. It was composed of one part of brandy to
five parts of water; a proportion which fluctuated, it is true, but
chiefly in respect of more water. To this more or less fiery liquid
was given at a little later date the name high wine; and high wine
figured largely in the dealings of both French and English with the
Indians for more than two centuries. If an Indian desired more than
the regulation quart, he was put off until another time. The necessary
moderation was thus secured, and the trade suffered no injury. Colbert
expressed himself as afraid that if the Quebec Company did not employ
liquor the Indians would carry their beavers to the Dutch. He need
not, however, have troubled himself with this apprehension, as it was
the Iroquois alone who could go there, and the French of Quebec did
small trade with this hostile nation. It was asserted that the French
would not lose five hundred skins a year by preserving the moderation
necessary for Christianity, and the good morality of the colony.
[Sidenote: Effect of intoxication on the Indians.]
Excess of liquor frequently made Europeans merry and gay; on the
Indian, however, it had a contrary effect. Under its influence he
recalled his departed friends and relations, lamenting their death
with abundance of tears. Should he be near their graves he would often
resort thither and weep there. Others would join the chorus in a song,
even though quite unable to hold up their heads. It was not uncommon
for them to roll about their tents in a fit of frenzy, frequently
falling into the blazing fire. Quarrelling then was common: an ancient
disagreement, long forgotten, being revived. The chiefs had often the
prudence, when matters were going this way, to order the women to
remove all offensive weapons out of the tent. But one weapon, very
effective, the teeth, still remained; and it was not unusual to see
several braves the next morning without a nose, an ear, or a finger.
In affrays such as these, no respect whatever was paid to the ties of
blood, brothers and sisters often fighting with great spirit and
animosity. At the conclusion of one of these encounters early in the
eighteenth century, an Indian entered York Factory one morning and
desired to be admitted to the surgeon. He was conducted to the
surgeon's room; he saluted its inmate in broken English, with "Look
here, man; here my nose," at the same time holding out his palm, which
contained half that desirable facial adjunct. This he desired the
surgeon, having a mighty opinion of the faculty, to restore. The man's
nephew had, it seems, bit it off; he declared he felt no pain, nor was
he sensible of his loss till awaking the next morning he found the
piece lying by his side.
FOOTNOTE:
[53] "Matonabbee," says Hearne, "had eight wives, and they were all
called Martens."