CANADA. 



the draught. Th*y are yoked to sledges in winter, 

 proportioned to their size and strength ; and in this 

 way one of an ordinary size will frequently draw 

 more than 200 Ibs. weight, with his driver, in addi- 

 tion, standing behind the sledge. They are thus em- 

 ployed in a variety of domestic services, in dragging 

 children in small carriages, in bringing water from 

 the river, and particularly by the butchers in trans- 

 porting meat to their customers in different parts of 

 the towns. 



Wild aui- Among the wild animals which frequent the im- 

 mense forests of this country, the principal beasts of 

 prey are, a small tygcr or panther, though it is sup- 

 posed by some to be altogether a different species of 

 animal ; bears, wolves, foxes, dogs, cats of the moun- 

 tain, pole-cat, carcajou, lynx, racoon ; but they are 

 all inferior to those in the other quarters of the globe, 

 both in size and ferocity ; and are scarcely daring 

 enough to attack a man, unless when they are wound- 

 ed. The grizzled bear is the only dangerous animal. 

 Those which are chiefly pursued for the sake of 

 their peltry and fur, are, the buffalo, elk, moose deer, 

 or rein-deer, carribou, bear, fox, wolf, cat, beaver, 

 oiler, martin) minks, woolveroon, racoon, ermin, fish- 

 er,, squirrel, hare, rabbit, musk-cat ; of which the 

 beaver, otter, bear, fire martin, cat, elk, and wolf, 

 are by far the most valuable. But, for an account 

 of these animals, our readers are referred to Pennant's 

 Arctic Zoology, and to the articles MAMMALIA, &c. 



Birds. Of the feathered tribe, may be mentioned, the 



eagle, vulture, and owl; the night-hawk, which is 

 seen chiefly at twilight and before thunder-storms ; 

 tliejish-hawk, which skims along the rivers and lakes, 

 and is supposed to attract the fish to the surface by a 

 peculiar oil which he emits, and one drop of which up- 

 on any bait is said to render it irresistible to every 

 kind of fish ; cranes, with bills 12 inches in length ; 

 geese, particularly the outarde or Canada goose ; 

 wild ducks, of more than twenty different kinds, of 

 which the principal is the wood-duck, which perches 

 upon trees, has a brilliant plumage, and flesh of su- 

 perior flavour ; partridges, brown, red, and black, 

 which are all larger than the European, and which, 

 in winter, perch upon such trees as yield them food ; 

 the white or snow bird, a kind of ortolan, which is 

 the principal bird of melody in Canada, and announ- 

 ces the return of spring ; teal of excellent quality ; 

 "wood-pigeons in immense numbers ; wood-peckers, 

 humming-birds, blackbirds, thrushes, larks, gold- 

 Jinches, &c. resembling those of other countries. 



Fi.-l: In the numberless lakes and rivers of Canada are 



various kinds of fish, especially salmon, chub, and 

 carp, like those of England ; cat-fish, the flesh of 

 which is fat and luscious like that of the eel ; black 

 bass, pickcrells, and maskinongs, particularly the 

 sturgeon, of large size and delicate flavour. 



Reptile*. Upper Canada abounds in rattle-snakes, from four 



to six feet in length ; water snakes, resembling the 

 rattle-snake, but not venomous ; long black snakes, 

 about six or eight feet long, but altogether inoffen- 

 sive ; green snakes, exactly coloured like the grass, 

 but also harmless ; a variety of smaller serpents, li- 

 zards, and land .ortoises. 



Insects. Among the insects common in this country, may 



be mentioned, bees, which prepare their honey under 



ground; silkworms, which produce much less silk C.mada, 

 than those of Europe ; fire-fly, or lightning-bug, s ' v~ 

 which has a very effulgent appearance at night, and 

 two or three of which upon the hand will yield a 

 light equal to that of a candle ; horned bug, or stag- 

 beetle, which fly about in the evening, and whose 

 bite is very troublesome ; musquitoes, which abound 

 in the forests and river banks in the more southern 

 districts ; locusts, which are said to visit the more 

 central regions every six or seven years ; and in ma- 

 ny of the islands in the St Lawrence, myriads of 

 ticks, larger than those of Europe, which spread 

 themselves in summer over the surface of the ground, 

 completely cover the herbage and plants, frequently 

 prove fatal to the cattle which graze in these places, 

 and are exceedingly troublesome to human beings, 

 especially if they reach the head, where, without oc- 

 casioning much pain, they gradually insinuate them- 

 selves beneath the skin, and are not easily dislodged. 



Canada, before its discovery by Europeans, was Original 

 inhabited by an immense variety of Indian tribes, ' 

 whose general character and manners have been al- 

 ready described in this work, under the article AME- 

 RICA ; but whose particular designations, history, 

 and territories, it is impossible to delineate. The 

 smaller tribes, if we may judge from the number of 

 names, amount to several hundreds; but, as they are 

 perpetually changing their place of residence as 

 many of them have been exterminated by war or dis- 

 easeas each of them almost is mentioned by differ- 

 ent writers under separate appellations as the French 

 traders were accustomed to distinguish them by va- 

 rious nicknames, partly with the view of preventing 

 them from being known to other adventurers, and 

 partly for the purpose of concealing their subject of 

 conversation, when they spoke of the natives in their 

 own presence it has thus become altogether imprac- 

 ticable to trace their progress, or to arrange their 

 nations with any degree of certainty. The follow- 

 ing sketch, however, formed from a careful compa- 

 rison of different authors, may be sufficient to point 

 put the principal Indian nations, by which the im- 

 mense regions of Canada are still occupied, or at 

 least occasionally visited ; and may also help to guide 

 the reader amidst the perplexities, which he will ex- 

 perience in the perusal of North American histories 

 and travels, from the confusion of Indian names. 



The Hurons, whose proper name is said to be the 

 Tsonnontatex, who are called also Adirondacks, and 

 who seem to be the same people with the Uttawas, 

 dwelt originally on the east confines of Lake Huron, 

 but were driven from their country by the Iroquois. 

 They flt-d towards that quarter, where the French 

 afterwards built Quebec ; and were the first, who 

 formed an alliance with the new settlers. They are 

 more prudent, sober, artful, and able than most of 

 the other natives ; speak the same language and 

 have much the same appearance and manners as their 

 inveterate enemies the Iroquois, by whose ravages 

 they have been almost completely exterminated. 



The Iroquois, a name given by the French to Iroquois. 

 what are generally called the Jive nations, composed 

 of the Mohawks, or Maquas, or Agniers, the Se- 

 nekas, or Tsonnonthuans, the Onnondagues, or 

 Onnontagues the Oneidoes, or Onneyouths, the 



