2> PROCEEDINGS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. 



from the last resting places of Indian braves, nor is it the knowledge 

 of where the largest number of specimens may be found. To do and 

 to know these things is little more than stepping upon the verge of 

 the study, and to prosecute w^ork of this kind it is only necessary to 

 possess a mania for bric-a-brac, some persistence, and a little money. 



Persons who so conduct the work ai*e collectors, and collectors only, 

 and it is extremely doubtful whether their services are always ot 

 unmixed good. In so far as they further the preservation of speci- 

 mens which other w-ise might be lost, they answer a useful purpose, 

 but when these people (forgetful of " ne sutor ulti-a crepidam,") 

 undertake to ransack, to spoliate, to desecrate the graves of the 

 Indians, for the purpose of satisfying a craving for cui-iositie.s, then 

 their labors are not to be commended. 



It is true that archaeology includes the collection of illustrative 

 specimens — without these the study would be somewhat devoid of 

 interest, and the Canadian Institute aims at the formation of as large 

 and as choice a collection as it is possible to make. 



But archfeology can only be said to possess any genuine jjublic 

 interest in so far as it is a handmaid to its elder sister, history, and 

 it is the purpose of the Institute so to prosecute its researches in this 

 line that its records and specimens may be mutually instructive. 



If we take the whole Dominion as a field, the magnitude of the 

 undertaking is too great either for our Society or for any similar 

 organization to entertain for a single moment, and when it is clearly 

 understood how much is involved in the prosecution of the task, it 

 may be doubted wl^ether even our own Province is not more than we 

 can hope to work to the best advantage. I have no hesitation in 

 saying, for my own part, that I think it is, and as it is not improbable 

 that every other member of the Institute is of the same opinion, the 

 question naturally arises, Why, then, undertake so much ] The reply 

 is twofold, but brief : First, because hitherto absolutely nothing has 

 been done methodically or scientifically ; and second, because the 

 opportunities for doing anything are rapidly passing away, thousands 

 having ah'eady gone for ever. 



As I have already stated, it is not enough that we collect specimens. 

 It is required in the first place that we make as full and complete 

 a record as possible of every spot in the Province that gives or has 

 given any indication of having been in any way identified with the 

 life-history of our aborigines, and that with these should be collated 



