LONG LAKE INDIANS. 259 



old one did service for another winter as lining 

 for mittens, strips for socks, and leggings for 

 the younger branches. 



Steel traps being dear twenty-five years ago, 

 and the long canoe transport being costly so far 

 into the interior, we did not import them very 

 largely. 



Bears, martens, minks and even beaver and 

 otter were killed in deadfalls; and with differ- 

 ent sizes of twine, the Indians snared rabbits, 

 lynx, and, in the spring, even the bear. 



The Indians principal, and I may say, only 

 tools for hunting and for his support were his 

 axe, ice chisel, twine and his gun. I mention 

 the gun last because the hunter only used it for 

 caribou and moose, ducks and geese. Ammuni- 

 tion was too costly to use it for anything that 

 could be trapped or snared. 



A life chief was elected by the Indians them- 

 selves, and he was supported in his management 

 of the tribe by the officer in charge of the post. 

 The chief had precedence in being outfitted, his 

 canoe headed the fleet of canoes on arriving at 

 the post in the spring, and was the one to lead 

 off in the autumn. His was the only pack of 

 furs carried up from the beach, by our men, to 

 the store, and he set the example to his young 

 men by being the first to pay his last year's ad- 

 vances. To him we gave, as a present, a new 



