MELLICETES IN THE PEOVINCE. 63 



On walking down the village, I met one or two of the 

 Indian men, and on asking them why they were not at 

 prayei-s, they said they did not belong to the priest's 

 people ; but whether they were Protestants or heathens, 

 I did not clearly make out. I then went into several of 

 the cottages, and found in some only women and children, 

 in others brawny men devouring wild-berries, which the 

 women had been collecting in the woods. Some of the 

 cottages were clean, and the inmates comfortably clad. 

 This was especially the case with the house and family 

 of the chief, whom I visited after his return from the 

 chapel, where he had been officiating in the absence of 

 the priest. He was an old man, small in size, but with 

 a very intelligent face. 



These Indians are of the Mellicete tribe, as I beheve 

 are all the Indians of New Brunswick. They are a 

 robust race of men, not half civilised however, and never 

 to be weaned from their love of the woods. At this place 

 they own a reserve of 16,000 acres, a large portion of 

 which is choice land, which they will never cultivate, and 

 which must by-and-by be sold by Government in some 

 way for their benefit. There are altogether in the pro- 

 vince some 1400 Indians, and they hold reserves of about 

 63,000 acres of land. 



I returned to the Aroostook to dinner, and afterwards 

 went on to the Grand Falls. This was a drive of four 

 hours, and, by the aid of the good roads, we reached the 

 Falls — otherwise, the town of Colebrook — about 8 p.m. 

 The roads in New Brunswick are really good, and very 

 creditable to the province. This opinion, which I had 

 already formed, was subsequently everywhere confirmed, 

 after I had travelled nearly 2000 miles upon them in all 

 directions. 



About half way between the Aroostook river and the 

 Grand Falls, we passed a small settlement of Koman 

 Catholic Irish, whose very failings, wherever we met 



