1909] The Ottawa Naturalist. 93 



near the site of Chelsea, thence by way of Kingsmere to a point 

 on Lake Deschenes, now occupied by the town of Aylmer. 



Reference has already been made to Indian camping 

 grounds, which dot the shores of the Ottawa at frequent intervals. 

 Let us see what can be made out of them, by a close examination 

 of the relics they have yielded. The writer is convinced that 

 these camp sites are of Algonkin origin, and that they bear 

 evidences of casual contact, if not of more prolonged social 

 intercourse with the Hurons. That is to say, that it looks as if 

 the Hurons had been friendly visitors, who had spent much of 

 their time in these Algonkin camps. These camp sites seem to 

 have been selected with a view to observation, defence or escape 

 in cases of sudden attack. The Hurons built their villages at 

 some distance from the water highways, so as to escape obser- 

 vation by inquisitive tourists, who might wish to attack them. 

 They also selected their village sites where the land, within a 

 convenient distance, was suitable for agriculture. The high- 

 ways of communication used by these village communities, were 

 the innumerable forest trails, which traversed the Huron country 

 in all directions. On the other hand, the Algonkins of the 

 Ottawa have left traces of their camps along the edges of the 

 river, on points of land which afford a good view up or down 

 stream. They have been called canoe Indians and were at 

 home on the water. As they were much more expert in the 

 management of their birchen vessels than the Iroquoian races, 

 they were in a position, on the shores of the river, to escape by 

 water from a too powerful enemy approaching by land, or they 

 could retire to the forest if an overwhelming fleet appeared in 

 the offing. 



These camp sites are strewn with fragments of blackish flint, 

 evidently procured from the Trenton limestone at the Chaudifere, 

 where it is found in great abundan:e, especially along Brigham's 

 Creek, the old Indian portage route. Arrow-heads, fabricated 

 from these fragments, are also found on these Algonkin camp 

 sites. Rut there is also found an arrow-head of a different 

 pattern, that is made from flint that has a lighter color and a 

 broader and cleaner conchoidal fracture than the Algonkm 

 forms. These arrow-heads bear a striking resemblance, in every 

 respect, to those from the Huron country in western Ontario, and 

 there are no flakings of this latter flint to show that they were 

 fabricated in these Algonkin workshops. This seems to be 

 negative evidence that they were not made on the Ottawa, but 

 may have been brought there by Huron visitors. It is not. of 

 course, conclusive evidence of Huron occupation, but rather of 

 Huron contact, more or less prolonged. A long knife of Huronian 



