138 KOYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



III. 



By far the most interesting branch of the Crée stock are the 

 Plain Crées of the English, or " Les Cris de prairies " of the French. 

 The Plain Crées are stalwart, brave, reckless, fond of horse-racing 

 and gambling, but have many noble qualities, being true, and less 

 revengeful and cruel than the Sioux. Finding the necessity of chang- 

 ing their habits to become residents of the prairie, their fathers for- 

 sook the canoe and the bark wigwam, and adapted themselves to trans- 

 port by the horse, and to residence in skin or leather tents. The 

 horse had been brought by the western bands of Indians from Mexico, 

 where it was introduced by the Spaniards, and became invaluable for 

 crossing the wide plains of the west. The Wood Crée or Ojibway 

 had become accustomed to the use of the train-dog, or Huskie (a cor- 

 ruption of Eskie, being a wolfish-looking strong dog used by the Eski- 

 mos), With this the Indian could cross the lakes in winter or follow 

 the river, but the dog cannot compare in efficiency with the horse. 

 That this is the proper genesis of the horse-busing habit of the Plain 

 Crée is shown by the Plain Crée word for horse, viz. : " Mis-ta-tim," 

 or " big dog." The buffalo was the great object of attraction on the 

 prairies. The Indians of the buffalo country were always in plenty. 

 The Indian women, used in tanning the dung of birds and the 

 astringent bark of the willow, and so succeeded in making excellent 

 leather. Thus the skins of buffalo and deer were tanned for making 

 tent leather, a more suitable, and more durable material for the "tee-pee" 

 or tent than birch-bark could have been. The camps of the Plain 

 Crées were large, and the great chiefs were possessed of a great wealth 

 of horses, tents and guns. The chief means of transport on their horses 

 was by means of the " travoie " or crossed poles over the backs of 

 horses, the lower ends trailing on the ground. The squaws, who were 

 expert riders, managed the whole " transportation question." The 

 Athabasca Crées resembled the Plain Crées, though somowhat modified 

 by their northern habitat. 



LINGUISTICS. 



The question of language is too large to be discussed at any length 

 in this paper. The Ojibways, including their sub-family of Saulteaux, 

 and the three subdivisions of Swampy, Wood, and Plain Crées, all 

 speak the same Algonquin tongue. Yet the very considerable differences 

 show the length of time that must have elapsed since the forward wave 

 of the Swampy Crées left the homes of the Algic (adjective for 

 Algonquin) nation on the north shore of the Great Lakes. It is smd 



