drift-snow lies deep, by a trap-door in the roof. The floor is laid with timber, and they have no fire-places; but a stone placed in the centre serves for a support to the lamp, by which the little cooking that is required is performed. For the site of a village, a bold point of the coast is generally chosen where the water is deep enough to float a whale; and to the eastward of Cape Parry, where we saw no whales, we met with no villages, although solitary winter-houses occur here and there on that coast. The association of a number of families is necessary for the successful pursuit of the whale. When the villagers of the estuary of the Mackenzie, or of Cape Bathurst, are fortunate enough to kill one or more of these marine beasts, they revel in greasy abundance during the dark months, and the ponds and the soil around are saturated with the oil that escapes.

66 "In March the seals have their young, and soon afterwards they become the principal objects of chase to the Esquimaux, who greatly esteem their dark and unsightly flesh, reckoning it as choice food. The seal, being a warmblooded animal, respiring air, requires a breathing-hole in the ice, which it has the power of keeping open in the severest frosts by constant gnawing. It is a watchful creature, with acute senses of sight and hearing; but it is no match for the Esquimaux hunter, who has carefully studied all its habits from his infancy. As the days lengthen the villages are emptied of their inhabitants, who move seaward on the ice to the seal hunt. Then comes into use a marvellous system of architecture, unknown among the rest of the American nations. The fine, pure snow has by that time acquired, under the action of strong winds and hard frosts, sufficient coherence to form an admirable light building material, with which the Esquimaux master-mason erects most comfortable dome-shaped houses. A circle is first traced on the smooth surface of the snow, and the slabs for raising the walls are cut from within so as to clear a space

down to the ice, which is to form the floor of the dwelling, and whose evenness was previously ascertained by probing. The slabs requisite to complete the dome, after the interior of the circle is exhausted, are cut from some neighboring spot. Each slab is neatly fitted to its place by running a flinching-knife along the joint, when it instantly freezes to the wall, the cold atmosphere forming a most excellent cement. Crevices are plugged up and seams accurately closed by throwing a few shovelfulls of loose snow over the fabric. Two men generally work together in raising a house, and the one who is stationed within cuts a low door and creeps out when his task is over. The walls being only three or four inches thick are sufficiently translucent to admit a very agreeable light, which serves for ordinary domestic purposes; but if more be required a window is cut, and the aperture fitted with a piece of transparent ice. The proper thickness of the walls is of some importance. A few inches excludes the wind yet keeps down the temperature so as to prevent dripping from the interior. The furniture, such as seats, tables, and sleeping-places is also formed of snow, and a covering of folded reindeer skin or seal skin renders them comfortable to the inmates. By means of antechambers and porches in forms of long, low galleries, with their openings turned to leeward, warmth is insured in the interior; and social intercourse is promoted by building the houses contiguously, and cutting doors of communication between them or by erecting covered passages. Storehouses, kitchens, and other accessory buildings may be constructed in the same manner, and a degree of convenience gained which would be attempted in vain with a less plastic material. These houses are durable, the wind has little effect on them, and they resist the thaw until the sun acquires very considerable power.

"The success of the seal-hunt depends much on the state of the ice, and should it fail, great misery results; the

spring being, in fact, the time of the year in which the Central Esquimaux incur the greatest risk of famine. When the thaw lays the ground in the valleys bare, rein-deer and wild-fowl return to the sea-coast, and plenty follows in their train."

CHAPTER XXX.

The Western Indians and the North-West Mounted Police.

[THIS CHAPTER IS WRITTEN BY ALEXANDER BEGG, Esq.]

Indians Previous to 1874-The Blackfeet-Their Number-Report of Rev. C. Scollen in 1876—Whiskey Traffic Destroys Many-Small-Pox-Results of Illicit Liquor Business-Mounted Police to the Rescue-Treaty in 1877-Location of the TribesInstructors in Agriculture and Stock-Raising-Text of Treaty-Yearly SubsidiesAmmunition-Salary of Teachers Paid-Supply of Tools, Stock, and Agricultural Implements-Agreement on Part of Indians-Success of this Policy-Opinion of Lord Lorne-Conduct of Hudson Bay Company Eulogized—Also that of Mounted PoliceIncrease of Latter to Five Hundred-Cost of Indians and of Police-Officers of the Force-New Headquarters-Indian Question still a Delicate one- -Extract from Toronto Mail-Account of Distribution of Food-Contractors for Food Supply.

Up to the year 1874 the whole country adjacent to the Rocky Mountains, or the eastern slope, was occupied by Indian tribes. Buffalo and other large game had made those beautiful plains and fertile slopes their chosen home for unnumbered years, and had fattened and multiplied on the succulent and nutritious grasses which grow there in such luxuriance. Food was abundant; buffalo robes and skins for clothing, tents and lodges were plentiful. The aborigines were rich and happy after their own fashion, until the introduction of the whiskey traffic from the United States' territories bordering on the south.

The Indian tribes in this section of the Canadian NorthWest are the Blackfeet, Bloods, and Piegans, all branches of the same tribe; the Stony Indians and the Sarcees, a branch of the Peace River Indians, called Beavers.

In 1861 the Blackfeet, north of the international boundary line, numbered about ten thousand. They are represented as being "then a proud, haughty people, having a regular politico-religious organization, by which their thirst for blood and their other barbarous passions were constantly

fired to the highest pitch of frenzy. Since then their systematic organizations have fallen into decay, and they have been utterly demoralized as a people.

Their numbers at the last treaty payment in 1881, stood as follows:

The aggregate number of Blackfeet, Piegans and Bloods it will be observed, was then only 5,660.

This great change and decadence are accounted for by the Rev. C. Scollen, who had for many years labored amongst the Blackfeet Indians as Roman Catholic missionary, and consequently was well acquainted with their habits and character. In a report which he made to Lieut.-Governor Laird, in 1876, he says, it was brought about by two causes: "First, about ten years ago the Americans crossed the line and established themselves on Belly River, where they carried on to an extraordinary extent the illicit traffic in intoxicating liquor to the Blackfeet. The fire-water' flowed as freely, if I may use the metaphor, as the streams running from the Rocky Mountains, and hundreds of the poor Indians fell victims to the white man's craving for money-some poisoned, some frozen to death while in a state of intoxication, and many shot down by United States bullets. Second, then in 1870 came that disease so fatal to Indians, the small-pox, which told upon the Blackfeet with terrible effect, destroying between six and eight hundred of them. Surviving relatives went more for the use of alcohol, they endeavored to drown their grief in the poisonous beverage. They sold their robes and horses by the hundred for it, and then began killing one another, so that in a short time they were divided into small parties, afraid to meet.