PEOCEEDINGS FOE 1888. XXIII 



originally given having siuvivcil. Those engaged in historical or geographical work will know how 

 to value a practical contribution such as this. 



Sir Adams Archibald explains and ilhisti-atcs an episode in coast histoiy that brings ns two 

 centuries nearer to our own time, in his account of the first siege and capture of the great Ficnch 

 fortress of Louisbourg, Cape Breton, in 1745; it contains full and circumstantial details of the many 

 remarkable circumstances connected with that event, and points out its influence in shaping the fortune 

 of North America. 



That there is a charge upon us to give heed to literature and history beyond those pertaining 

 to European settlement and civilization, we are reminded by several papers in this Section. First, 

 we have Mr. John Eoade's paper, entitled "Some Wabanaki Songs." The people called Wabanaki 

 comprise Micmacs of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, the Abenakis of St. 

 Francis, and the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy Indians of Maine. It appears that these songs are no 

 wise connected, either in substance or style, with the traditions of the Northmen, and are equally 

 inde])endent, for their simple and touching beauty, of the influences of French or English settlers. 

 Mr. Eeade follows this paper with one on the general subject of Aboriginal American poetry, 

 treating it in a scientific form, in relation to (1) Mr. Herbert Spencer's " devclopii\g man, ' (2) Signor 

 Vignoli's theory of the stages in man's spiritual development in its bearing on the origin of poetry 

 among rude tribes (Prof. Posnet tracing all literature back to choral songs of war and peace), as well 

 as on its cultivation by more advanced races. 



Dr. Franz Boas, who has already made valuable contributions to our knowledge of the poetry and 

 music of North Amei'ican Indian tribes, from information gained through intimate intercourse with 

 the aboi'igines, contributes a sketch of the mythologj' and traditions of the Central Eskimo, whose 

 legends and myths are numerous, from facts collected during his stay in Baffin Land in the years 

 1883 and 1884. From the facts so far as ascertained, concludes that the more ancient forms of 

 customs and traditions are found west of Baffin Bay, that the Eskimo migrated by way of Baffin Land 

 to Greenland and Labrador, and that the lake region west of Hudson Bay was the early home of the 

 Eskimo; but their ethnology needs further study. 



Mr. Lucien Turner, of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, sends us, through Dr. Eobcrt 

 Bell, a paper on the native inhabitants of the Ungava District, Labrador — composed of Indians and 

 Eskimo — two peoples widely separated in speech and customs. The personal characteristics, food, 

 dwellings, habits, social relations, customs and su2)erstitions are given, with a few examples of folk- 

 lore, interesting stories that form reading quite as entertaining and artistic as much that rivets the 

 attention of railway travellers, and forms a large bulk of popular literature. Information is given 

 respecting the several peoples, and the nature of the respective districts inhabited by them. 



Dr. George Dawson contributes notes and observations on the Kwakiool people, that is, people 

 speaking the Kwakiool language, of the northern part of Vancouver Island and adjacent coasts, made 

 during the summer of 1885; he adds a vocabulary of about seven hundred words. Such contribu- 

 tions are of special value in view of the facts that these west coast tribes, together with their ideas 

 and their lore, are passing away before our eyes ; or, where they still show evidence of continued 

 vitality, they are losing their old beliefs and ways. Whilst engaged in his geological examinations 

 of the northern part of Vancouver Island and its vicinity. Dr. Dawson was in intimate association 

 with the people, and now gives, from his observations and notes, an interestingaccount of their mode 

 uf life and habits of thought, thoii' tei-i'itory and tribal subdivisions, their arts, customs, traditions 

 superstitions, folklore and religion, and of their actual social condition. He also suggests means, 

 that may, with prospect of success, be adopted for the improvement of these people, who do not 

 appreciate moral maxims, and whose mental state does not enable them to rightly understand religious 

 dogma. The problem of their elevation is fundamentally an industrial one ; they are willing to woi-k, 

 and industries established among them, giving employment, would prevent their drifting to the larger 

 settlements and towns. 



