THE FALL OF NEW FRANCE 93 
also intruders; they belonged to the Sioux or Dakota 
stock, whose home was then, as now, west of the great 
river. 
Between the Algonquins and the Iroquois were 
many important differences. They differed radically, 
as already observed, in their speech. They differed 
also in their modes of building their wigwams and 
fortifying their villages. The mythology of the 
Algonquins, moreover, was distinct from that of the 
Iroquois. There were many degrees of barbarism 
among the Algonquins, from the New England tribes, 
which cultivated the soil, down to the Ojibwas, who 
were very degraded and shiftless savages. But the 
Iroquois were superior to any of the Algonquins. 
They were somewhat finer in physical appearance, 
and they were better fighters. They are said to have 
had somewhat larger brains; they understood more 
about agriculture; they were more capable of acting 
in concert. They were very well aware of their 
superiority, and looked down with ineffable contempt 
upon the Algonquins, by whom they were in turn 
regarded with an almost superstitious hatred and 
fear. 
Of all the Iroquois the most formidable in numbers, 
the bravest in war, and the shrewdest in diplomacy 
were the Five Nations of New York —the Mohawks, 
Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. The 
favourite Iroquois name for this mighty league is 
interesting. It was the custom of all the Iroquois 
tribes to build their wigwams very long and narrow. 
Sometimes an Iroquois house would be two hundred 
and fifty feet in length by thirty in width, with a door 
at each end. A narrow opening along the whole length 
