Atlantic Shore to Watershed 39 



On the arrival of Champlain, the part of Ontario 

 between the Great Lakes was occupied, chiefly, J 

 by tribes of the Iroquois stock. These were: 

 the Hurons or Wyandots, occupying the north 

 shore of Lake Simcoe and the district thence to 

 the Georgian Bay; westward of the Hurons 

 &quot;dwelt the Tionnontates, known to the French as 

 the Petuns or the Tobacco nation, from the large 

 quantities of tobacco raised by them for their 

 own consumption and for trade with neighbour 

 ing tribes ; south of a line drawn from the present 

 City of Toronto to Goderich was the country of 

 the Attiwandarons, known to the French as the 

 Neutral nation, because in the wars between the 

 Iroquois and the Hurons it endeavoured to re 

 main neutral; west of the Neutrals, in the region 

 of Lake St. Clair, were the Mascoutins, known to 

 the French as the Nation of Fire. In addition 

 to these were two nations of Algonquin stock; 

 the Nipissings around the lake of that name, and 

 the Missisauga living along the north shore of 

 the north channel of Lake Huron, and on the 

 adjacent Manitoulin Island.&quot; 



Into the midst of these nations came the The Recoiiet 

 Missionaries of the Roman Catholic Church. MiS8ions 

 The origin of the work is described in these words : 

 &quot;In 1605 some of the French Franciscans, believ 

 ing that relaxation threatened the membership in 

 France, formed within the Order a community 

 known as the Recollets or Fathers of the Strict 

 Observance. When Champlain returned to 

 France from his voyage to Canada in 1608, he 



