64 The Ottawa Naturalist. [July 



site and the position it occupies relative to the main river, 

 whether situated on its margin or at any considerable distance 

 away from its shores; and also, its proximity to smaller streams 

 that might have been navigated by canoes before the deforest- 

 ation of the district. He should first of all examine the surface 

 before disturbing it; after which he may search out the secrets 

 concealed in the ashes of dead camp fires, by passing the ashes 

 through a sieve, so as to retain such works of art as might, other- 

 wise, pass unnoticed. Every work of art, or portion thereof, 

 should be studied with great care, even to apparently insignifi- 

 cant fragments. The composition of pottery should be noted and 

 efforts made to discover if its ingredients are obtainable in the 

 vicinitv. All forms of arrow-heads should be noted, as well 

 as the color and character of the flint, or other material, from 

 which they have been fabricated, and, if possible, the source 

 from which this material has been derived should be ascertained. 

 Arrow-heads, that appear to be of foreign make, as differing from 

 the prevailing forms, should be noted for future reference and 

 comparison. Search should also be made amidst the usual 

 litter of the flint workshops, in the locaHty, for evidences of 

 domestic manufacture, such as pieces of raw material, flakings 

 or heads that have been spoilt in the making and discarded by 

 the ancient workmen. This flint refuse is found in greatest 

 abundance about the bases of large boulders, which appear to 

 have been utilized- by the prehistoric artificers, as convenient 

 work-benches in their primitive industries. Articles of European 

 workmanship, which are too apt to be considered as of little 

 consequence, should be searched for with the greatest diligence, 

 making due allowance of course, for the difference in relative 

 values between such finds as the rude pistol flint of the ancient 

 hunter, and the metal cap or stopper from the pocket pistol of 

 the well equipped modern fisherman. A sharp lookout should 

 also be kept for implements of slate, especially such as are 

 fabricated from the Huronian variety; and, as a last but most 

 important recommendation, the location of the camp site should 

 be kept a secret from relic hunters, until its examination has 

 been completed. 



C. C. James, in his Downfall of the Huron Nation, says that 

 "The history and downfall of the Hurons may be studied in 

 three sources. 1st. The traditions of the Indians themselves. 

 2nd. The letters of the Jesuit Fathers, the written records 

 commonly called The Jesuit Relations. 3rd. Modern archaeo- 

 logical research and ethnological investigation. These three 

 contributers to a common story are widely different in method, 

 and when they verify one another we are bound to accept the 

 conclusions as facts of history." It may be said also that the 



