78 THROUGH CANADA 



the summons to emancipate his tribe from the 

 thraldom of civilization. It was interesting to try 

 and discover what survived of the original qualities 

 of the redskin. The preliminary survey of dress 

 was not encouraging. A pair of heelless boots and 

 patched nether garments, had little suggestive of the 

 buckskin moccasins and buffalo robes garnished with 

 porcupine quills. An old planter's hat was a distant 

 remove from the erstwhile coiffure of golden eagles' 

 feathers. 



But there was reversion to original type despite 

 this sartorial vandalism. The Ojibwa temperament 

 was there, and showed itself on the least provocation. 

 The pensive face, with beady lustreless eyes, became 

 animated under excitement. In motion there was a 

 stealthiness in Ellick's tread, which pointed to an 

 hereditary connexion with the chase, a grace of 

 carriage suggestive of nomadic ancestry. When the 

 canoe silently drifted round a bend in the river and 

 surprised a buck slaking its thirst, the Indian's nostrils 

 would quiver like those of a staghound held in leash, 

 as the quarry dashed into the forest. 



The North American Indians are now confined 

 to Government reserves all over the Dominion, 

 where they follow pastoral pursuits and engage in 

 different forms of labour. They still shoot the deer, 

 trap the beaver, net and spear the salmon, and as 

 these pursuits are regarded as essential for food, and 

 were enjoyed by them in practical monopoly, the 



