Description of some Sepulchral Pits of Indian Origin. 9 



and America. Although the custom he describes is only mentioned 

 as in use among certain tribes, there can be little doubt that his in- 

 foi'mation is taken from the Hurons (in fact, he afterwards says as 

 much), as his letters on the subject of this part of Canada are chiefly 

 a history of the French Jesuit mission, among this tribe, the one 

 which chefly formed the object of their Christianizing cares. This 

 history is highly interesting, and, at first sight, might be considered 

 to have more connexion with the general subject than it really has. 

 The dreadful massacres which attended the extermination and ex- 

 pulsion of the Hurons, then chiefly under the guidance of a strong 

 body of Jesuit priests, might at the first glance be thought sufficient 

 to account for these large deposits of human bones, which have been, 

 and probably will still be found chiefly in the neighbourhood of these 

 scenes ; and it is likely that some wei'e the results of these massa- 

 cres, or, at all events, in some way connected with them, though, 

 from the mode of treating their dead aftei' battle, as recorded to have 

 been in general use at the time among Indians, that alone will not 

 fully explain their origin. The following is an abstract of the ac- 

 count given by that author, which is thought to bear sufficiently on 

 the subject to make it worthy of being introduced, more especially 

 as the work may not be easy of access to a great many. The de- 

 tails describe scenes of extreme cruelty and ferocity in the treatment 

 of their captives by the Troquois. Many of the localities have been 

 distinctly recognised, within the last three years, by M. Choisil, a 

 French Jesuit, who visited them by means of a map, procured, it 's 

 said, from the chief Jesuit establishment at Paris. He died unfor- 

 tunately before he had completed his tour. The Canadian voyao-ers 

 who accompanied him were surprised at the facility with which he 

 steered the canoe to each spot, and, in some instances, at once found 

 remains which they had never seen or heard of, and which probably 

 had not been visited by a European since the time that the Fi-ench 

 Jesuit and the Huron dwelt there together : — 



" In the year 1634, three Jesuit priests, Fathers Braheuf, Daniel, and 

 Davort, went as missionaries to the Huron village ' Thouatere,' to which 

 they gave the name of St Joseph, and which corresponded nearly with 

 the village of Cold Water. In the year 1644:, a superior-general of the 

 Jesuit mission among the Hurons is mentioned, who resided at St Marie, 

 the metropolis, as it is called, of the district, and from which missionaries 

 were sent, not only to the neighbouring villages, but even to other tribes 

 of Indians. 



" This St Marie is well known to have been at the River Hye, where 

 the remains of a fortified enclosure, having some pretensions to an en- 

 gineered work, are still to be seen, and the spot of ground since recog- 

 nised Ijy the above person, is held in great veneration by the priesthood, 

 it having been purchased within the last year, and presented to the Je- 

 suits for the purpose of erecting a chapel there. 



" In what is now called Sturgeon Bay was the village and Jesuit set- 

 tlement of St Ignacr, some remains of which are also still to be seen. In 



