ROMANCE AND ADVENTURE 13 



least, not until we return from our voyage of pleasure and 

 investigation; but before we leave Fort Consolation it is well 

 to know that the hunting grounds in possession of the Indian 

 tribes that live in the Great Northern Forest have been for 

 centuries divided and subdivided and allotted, either by bargain 

 or by battle, to the main families of each band. In many cases 

 the same hunting grounds have remained in the undisputed 

 possession of the same families for generations. Family hunt- 

 ing grounds are usually delimited by natural boundaries, such 

 as hills, valleys, rivers, and lakes. The allotments of land 

 generally take the form of wedge-shaped tracts radiating from 

 common centres. From the intersection of these converging 

 boundary lines the common centres become the hubs of the 

 various districts. These district centres mark convenient 

 summer camping grounds for the reunion of families after their 

 arduous labour during the long winter hunting season. The 

 tribal summer camping grounds, therefore, are not only situ- 

 ated on the natural highways of the country — the principal 

 rivers and lakes — but also indicate excellent fishing stations. 

 There, too, the Indians have their burial grounds. 



Often these camping grounds are the summer headquarters 

 for from three to eight main families ; and each main family may 

 contain from five or six to fifty or sixty hunting men. Inter- 

 marriage between families of two districts gives the man the 

 right to hunt on the land of his wife's family as long as he 

 "sits on the brush" with her — is wedded to her — but the 

 children do not inherit that right; it dies with the father. 

 An Indian usually lives upon his own land, but makes frequent 

 excursions to the land of his wife's family. 



In the past, the side boundaries of hunting grounds have 

 been the cause of many family feuds, and the outer bound- 

 aries have furnished the occasion for many tribal wars. The 

 past and the present headquarters camping grounds of the 

 Strong Woods Indians — as the inhabitants of the Great Northern 



