Aboriginal Antiquities found at Montreal. 373 



8. Articles of Food. — The bill of fare of old Hoclielaga ap- 

 pears to have included nearly all the wild mammals of the country, 

 and many birds and fishes ; but the beaver largely predominates, 

 and remains of the bear, more especially lower jaws, are quite 

 numerous. Grains of Indian corn were mentioned in my former 

 paper, and in one spot rich in the debris of pottery, and recently 

 excavated, these are very abundant, and apparently of the ordi- 

 nary variety still cultivated in the country. In the same place I 

 found a single bean, apparently the Phaseolus vulgaris^ bearing 

 witness to the cultivation of this plant as well as corn. The 

 gi'ains of corn and beans which have been preserved, are those 

 which have been accidentally charred in the cooking fires. They 

 are perfectly black and very friable. In one spot was found a 

 large quantity of charred acorns, which may have been used as 

 food in times of scarcity. The stones of the wild plum are very 

 common, and Mr. Murphy has found specimens of butternuts. 



Suites of s}5ecimeus of the objects referred to in this paper, 

 will be deposited in the collections of the Natural History Society, 

 and of McGill College, to secure the preservation of these slender 

 memorials of the rude arts and simple lives of our predecessors 

 in the occupancy of the Island of Montreal — so unfortunate in the 

 early extinction of their name and race, but happily preserved from 

 oblivion in the record of their hospitality and kindness to the 

 old French voyager, and by the confirmations of his veracity 

 which have now so unexpectedly occurred. 



In the Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1856, there is 

 a notice by Mr. Guest of the remains of Indian villages near Pres- 

 cott, C. W. ; and it is very interesting to observe the similarity in 

 details between the relics found there and those obtained at 

 Montreal. The dimensions of the trees which are stated to have 

 grown on the sites of these forts or villages at Prescott, would in- 

 dicate a date for their abandonment earlier than the discovery of 

 Canada. They appear to deserve further investigation, more 

 especially with a view to the question whether they belonged to 

 the Hurons or to a preceding population akin to that of Hochelaga. 



J. W. D. 



