THE MI CM ACS. 247 



of North America. Thus they believed in a good spirit 

 and an evil spirit beings of supernatural powers, the 

 former of whom made all that is good, such as life, fine 

 weather, corn, moose, salmon, &c. The latter made 

 everything bad, such as death, storms, disease, and hurtful 

 animals (amongst which they probably included the 

 Mohawks). They lived on fish, game, and berries, which 

 latter were dried and eaten as bread. They clothed them- 

 selves with furs and the skins of the moose and the cariboo, 

 which when dressed by the squaws were as pliable and 

 soft as cloth. Before the coming of the white man these 

 people probably led a happy and contented existence. 

 They had food in abundance, and if the winters were cold, 

 the supply of firewood was inexhaustible. 



The largest village of the Micmacs is at Mission Point, an 

 Indian reserve, where there are upwards of two hundred 

 families. They have a chapel, a schoolhouse, and a store. 

 Each man pays $2 per annum to the priest, and this money 

 is, I think, fairly earned, for their priest looks after their in- 

 terests, settles their disputes, and is of much service to them 

 temporally as well as spiritually. Their dwellings vary from 

 the bark wigwam up to the one-and-a-half story shingled 

 house. Some of them are very neat and comfortable, and 

 the crucifix suspended over each bedstead shows that they 

 are good Roman Catholics. There is certainly something 

 in that religion which causes it to be more acceptable to 

 a semi-barbarous people, than the bald worship of many 

 other Christian denominations. The Indians are very par- 

 ticular about keeping all fasts, feasts, and holidays, which 

 they spend in fiddling, dancing, loafing, and drinking rum. 

 St. Anne is their patron saint, and her day is the greatest 



