October, 1918] 



The Ottawa Naturalist 



65 



to show that they are as high-toned as other folks. 

 Some things, like tea, and sugar when possible, they 

 like to have, but even when plentifully supplied 

 with "outside" rations, they like to get a chance at a 

 meal of raw fish, muktok (whale "blackskin"), seal- 

 meat, or boiled fish-heads. And I must confess that 

 prepared under the limitations cf the Eskimo house- 

 hold, without good stoves or baking ovens, in com- 

 parison with badly-cooked baking-powder bread, 

 half-baked beans, and salt beef or pork of the usual 

 Arctic Ocean trade quality, that the "aipanni" 

 (old-time) rations and methods were not so bad 

 after all. 



Coming back to our text, we can say that 

 a white person looking over the Eskimo 

 menu, fresh from the infinite variety of civilization 

 with articles of food from all lands, or even from 

 the comparatively slender choice of ship's grub, 

 would probably consider the Eskimo as poverty- 

 stricken and starving on his limited stock of food 

 units. Some might even go so far as to consider 

 his meals repulsive or degrading, our own fathers 

 and grandfathers not being accustomed to eating 

 seal and whale, for geographical reasons, or certain 

 other animals from ancient tradition. The savage, 

 however, not having been informed of his own sad 

 and pitiful state, or not comprehending it, lives on 

 in greasy and happy aLundance for the mcs! part. 



Contentment with our feed and surroundings is 

 largely a matter of temperament and digestion. Thi- 

 unspoiled savage is usually blessed with an equable 

 temper, a contented disposition, and the digestion of 

 an ostrich. It is one of the compensations of life 

 that as conditions become harder end more strenuous, 

 and food scarcer, that the zest in eating increases. 

 "The sleep cf a labouring man is sweet, whether he 

 cat little or much, but the abundance of the rich will 

 not suffer him to sleep." The vacation camper ar.d 

 the soldier in active training come to relish plain 

 food without fancy accessories and refinements, and 

 the sojourner in Eskimo land, having separated him- 

 self from the "flesh-pots of Egypt," or rather the 

 fruits and vegetables of the temperate climes, as a 

 rule comes to enjoy most of the foods of the coun- 

 try. The scarcer they are the more enjoyable 

 they seem at the time. Personally, I have found 

 "living on the country" (where the country was at 

 all kind) was more appetizing and healthful than 

 the monotonous beans, beans, bacon, and more cr 

 less doubtful bread of the old "sour-dough." That 

 applies to the gastronomic standpoint, but from the 

 standpoint of practicality and efficiency, the white 

 man, like the native who lives on the country, finds 

 that accomplishing that feat leaves little time for 

 other work. 



THE LOCATION OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES IN THE OTTAWA VALLEY. 



By J. Keele, Ottawa. 



INTRODUCTION. 

 The location of the towns and villages in the 

 Ottawa valley was not determined by chance or by 

 the whim of individuals, but was generally decided 

 by some prime necessity of the early settlers. The 

 chief necessity after habitations were erected, land 

 cleared and crops grown, was a mill for gristing 

 purposes. The most convenient falls or rapids on 

 the nearest stream was made available for this pur- 

 pose, and a mill was erected there, generally by 

 private enterprise. As everyone came to the mill, 

 it would be good business to place a general store in 

 its vicinity, also a blacksmith shop. Here then was 

 the nucleus of a village, a town, or perhaps a city. 

 The city of Ottawa, as we shall see later, had this 

 origin. Another prime necessity of early settlement 

 was transportation, in which many stretches of navi- 

 gable waterways on the Ottawa and its tributaries 

 were utilized to their fullest extent, so that several 

 villages and towns had their starting point in the 

 wharf, storehouse and stopping place which marked 

 the point of transfer from road to water transport. 



The village of Aylmer, Que., is an example of 

 origin from a transfer point on such a route. 



To a lesser extent convergence of highways have 

 been starting points for towns, but for the most 

 part they have never grown beyond the small 

 groups of dwellings and a single store, with perhaps 

 a church, now known as so and so corners. The 

 village of Shawville, in Pontiac County, Que., may 

 be taken as an example of location at convergence 

 of highways. 



The needs of the surrounding farming community, 

 the character of the land, the lumber industry, fur 

 trading and the railways all contributed to the 

 growth of those early centres of population. These 

 influences will be discussed later. 



The following notes refer more particularly to 

 that portion of the valley between the city of Ottawa 

 and the town of Pembroke, which includes portions 

 of Carleton, Lanark, and Renfrew counties on the 

 Ontario side of the river, and Pontiac and Wright 

 ccvnti-s in the Province of Quebec. 



