154 A SPORTSMAN'S EDEN. 



could do jist what he pleased, and no one ever 

 said nothin' to him.' That was the view possibly 

 of a squatter, who only looked upon Indians as 

 natural encumbrances to the land. In spite of 

 the Roman Catholic priests, who live amongst 

 them and have won their respect, the Indians 

 make but indifferent Christians still. Some of 

 them bury their dead in the graveyards under 

 the cross, others bury them where they can from 

 time to time dig them up to join with the living 

 in a wild and ghostly drinking bout. Very 

 emotional, the half-civilized redskins join heartily 

 in all the services of the church, especially in any 

 Service of Song, and they even have amongst 

 them men who undertake the daily duties of the 

 priest, ring the prayer-bell and have prayers, in 

 the absence of that minister. But the Indian 

 leaves his Christianity behind him in church ; 

 marries as many wives as he chooses, though he 

 is gradually becoming sufficiently civilized to 

 think one enough at a time, ' trades ' them when- 

 ever an opportunity offers for others more attrac- 

 tive, or for more useful possessions, such as 

 horses or saddles, gambles to a very great extent, 

 lies as much as he thinks profitable to him, and 

 gets drunk whenever he gets a chance. Unfor- 

 tunately, in spite of the stringent laws of Canada, 

 I was told over and over again that the Indians 



