126 IN THE LAND OF THE GREAT SPIRIT 



the summer, or the nest was really near some small 

 island which in the darkness I could not see. 



But soon it was time to be moving on if we were 



to be ready for the moose. And as we shall now be 



alone with the Indians, it may be worth while to say 



a little about them. The following, as a general 



impression, will not, I fancy, be very far out. 



•^' The principal Indian tribes of Manitoba are 



/v3. - the Crees, Swampy (Cree), and Chippewa. But 



among them, members of many other tribes are found, 



as, for example, Sioux, and Tuskororas. For few if 



any of the tribes really occupy their old territories, 



the system of reservation introduced about twenty 



years ago having changed all that. A distinction is 



\ ' always drawn between plain and forest Indians. It is 



not easy to see much difference between them in the 



I North, though the Indian of the lower plains is no doubt 



' of an inferior type. In the old days there was no doubt 



a difference in habit; the plain Indians living largely on 



the bison, the forest Indians on fish, birds, and rabbits. 



But the disappearance of the bison and the Government 



subsidies have reduced them, on the whole, to a level. 



From the recent report of the Mounted Police, it 



appears that the Indian is showing some signs of 



improvement in agricultural industries and in 



