iy89-90.] ARCH^OLOGICAL REMAINS. " 71 



the ancient people lived, but of how they thought which is of even greater 

 importance, for if we can ascertain this we are on the highway to an 

 understanding of much that it would be extremely interesting to know 

 relative to aboriginal mental development, and consequently valuable as 

 a contribution to the history of our race in its progress from the rudest 

 to the highest and most refined manifestations of humanity. 



The larger and more varied a collection of such objects is, the better 

 are the opportunities for study and comparison. In aboriginal work- 

 manship no two objects intended to serve the same purpose are identical, 

 and it may be that a slight peculiarity in the form of one in a score or 

 in a hundred will prove suggestive of the application of the whole group. 



The Canadian Institute has succeeded in bringing together what I 

 think it is safe to say is the largest collection in the world, of such 

 objects as are illustrative of pre-historic life in what is now the pro- 

 vince of Ontario. 



Natural, however, as it may be to suppose that in any circumstances 

 this should be the case, I wish to take this opportunity to state, that but 

 for the assistance rendered to the project by a small annual grant from 

 the Provincial Government during the last four years, the Archaeological, 

 Museum of Ontario would scarcely have been worthy of the name, and 

 the six or seven thousand valuable specimens now in its cases would 

 have remained scattered throughout the country either buried in the soil 

 or if in the hands of private collectors, to be of little use scientifically 

 and in not a few cases ultimately lost. Its reputation as an established 

 institution is now so good that during the last half-year, three private 

 collections have been placed in our rooms on permanent exhibition. 

 These collections number respectively, 600, 150, and 450 specimens or a 

 total of 1,200, to which if there are added at least 300 as the result of 

 search on behalf of the Institute, we have increased the number this 

 year by 1,500 



As I have already intimated, the Niagara peninsula is but scantily 

 represented — the northern side of it hardly at all, and I am sure it is 

 perfectly needless for me to say how much pleasure it will afford the 

 Institute to receive from residents in this locality any archaeological 

 information or material connected with the Attiwandarons who were here 

 when Hennepin and La Salle landed, on their way to the upper lakes in 

 1678, and who had probably occupied the same ground for centuries 

 previous to that time. 



