220 KOYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



the life of our liuliuns in prehistoric times. It has been generally sup- 

 posed that these camp sites at the shell-heaps were occupied onl}' in spring 

 atul summer, when the best tisiiing is past and the big game is out of 

 condition, and that they were abandoned in autumn :ind winter for the 

 inland hunting, but Dr. .Matthew has found evidence to show that 

 they may to some extent have been occupied the entire j-ear. Again, on 

 the north shore, the great oyster beds extending from Shediac to Cara- 

 quetto, and formerl}- of greater extension and abundance than now, must 

 Iiave been a great attraction, though the shell-heaps in that region have not 

 been atall studied. Since, however, that entire coast isslowly sinking, many 

 shell-heaps must have been washed away. Probably the shell-tish were used 

 only in spring and summer, and the reliance placed for the winter upon big 

 game. Shell-tish are not a sufficient winter diet. In their hunting trips 

 for big game, only temporary camps were used as centres for the hunt- 

 ing, and these soon abandoned. We obtain a vivid picture of the hard- 

 ships of such a life in the narrative of John Gyles, who describes what 

 was doubtless a typical winter, and in the narratives of several of the 

 Jesuit Fathers who accompanied the Indians in their winter hunts. 

 Second, waterfalls are great fishing-places, for in the basins below them 

 the fish pause to rest before beginning the ascent. Thus, at Aroostook, 

 Grand, Salmon and other falls were important camp siteg. The mouths 

 of small rivers were also, for similar reasons, good camping spots. Again, 

 the head of tide on the rivers Avas a favourite place, probably for the 

 good salmon-fishing likely to be found there. In this situation were 

 Aucpac, Indiantown (Renous), Red Bank and Mission Point, some of the 

 most important of the prehistoric sites. Third, are good sites as a centre 

 for the killing of porpoise. This has determined the sites of the camps at 

 Indian Beach, Grand Manan, and Indian Cove, ju.st west of Point Lepreau. 

 Again, the ends of portages were important places, but less of course for 

 game than for rest before and after the labour of portaging. This, in 

 part, determined the ])Osition of Mediirtic. Again, deep, muddy pools 

 in sluggish rivers, suitable for eels, of which the Indians are very fond, 

 are important places. Thus have been located the important settlements 

 of IJelijround, Miramiehi, and Eel Ricer, Restigouche, and perhaps the 

 eel-pools at Eenton had something to do with the site of Meductic. Some 

 minor settlements near the head of the St. Croix were thus determined. 

 An example of a particularly well-placed village was Burnt Church. Of 

 this Perlej' says in his liejmrt of 1841 (xcix.) :—" The small River fur- 

 nishes Oysters, Lobsters, Sea Trout and Eels in abundance ; in front of the 

 Point large quantities of Salmon and Bass are caught annuallv. and there 

 are jilenty of water-fowl." 



Minor infiuences determining the exact positions of camp sites were 

 as follows : — First, a level place, an intervale or low terrace, near the 

 water, for their wigwams, a good gravel beach for their canoes, and a 



