BULL. 30] 



MONSWIDISHIANUN MONTAGNAIS 



933 



Journ. to Poliir Sea, I, 96, 182-1. Moose Indians,— 

 Horden, Bk. of Common Prayer in LaiisuaKe of 

 Moose Indians, title-page. 1859. Moose River In- 

 dians. — Dobbs, Hudson Bay. 13. 1744. Morisons. — 

 Chauvignerie (173(i) quoted by Seliooleraft, Ind. 

 Tribes, in, 5.56, 1853 (misprint). Mousonis.— Me- 

 Kenney and Hall, Ind. Tribes, in, 80, 185S. Na- 

 tion of the Marshes.— Dobbs. Hudson Bay. 24, 1744. 

 Ou-Monssonis.— Tailhan, iif teto Perrot, Mem.. 293, 

 1864. Wamussonewug.— Tanner, Narr., 316, 1830 

 (Ottawa name) . 



Monswidishianun ( Md'>s toVdishVanmn ) . 

 The Moose phratry of the Menominee, 

 also a subphratry or gens thereof. — Hoff- 

 man in 14th Rep. B. A. E., pt. 1, 42, 189(i. 



Montagnais (French 'mountaineers', 

 from the nu)nntainons fharacter of their 

 country). A group of closely related Al- 

 gonqnian tribes in Canada, extending 

 from about St Maurice r. almost to the 

 Atlantic, and from the St Lawrence to the 

 watershed of Hudson bay. The tribes of 

 the group speak several well-marked dia- 

 lects. They are the Astouregamigoukh, 

 Attikiriniouetch, Bersiamite, Chisedec, 

 Escoumains, Espamichkon, Kakouchaki, 

 Mautha'pi, Miskonaha, Mouchaoua- 

 ouastiirinioek, Nascapee, Nekoubaniste, 

 Otaguottouemin, Oukesestigouek, Ou- 

 mamiwek, Papinachois, Tadousac, and 

 Weperigweia. Their linguistic relation 

 appears to he closer with the Cree of 

 Athabasca lake, or Ayaliaskawininiwug, 

 than with any other branch of the Algon- 

 quian family. Champlain met them at 

 the mouth of the Saguenay in 1603, 

 where they and other Indians were cele- 

 brating with bloody rites the capture of 

 Iroquois prisoners. Six years later he 

 united with them the Hurons and Algon- 

 kin in an expedition against the Iroquois. 

 In the first Jesuit Relation, written by 

 Biard (1611-16), they are spoken of as 

 friends of the French. From that time 

 their name has a place in Canadian his- 

 tory, though they exerted no decided in- 

 fluence on the settlement and growth of 

 the colony. The first missionary work 

 among them was begun in 1615, and mis- 

 sions were subsequently established on 

 the upper Saguenay and at L. St John. 

 These were continued, though with occa- 

 sional and long interruptions, until 1776. 

 The Montagnais fought the Micmac, and 

 often the Eskimo, but their chief and 

 inveterate foes were the Iroquois, who 

 drove them for a time from the banks of 

 the St Lawrence and from their strong- 

 holds aljout the upper Saguenay, com- 

 pelling them to seek safety at more 

 distant points. After peace was estab- 

 lished between the French and the Iro- 

 quois they returned to their usual haunts. 

 Lack of proper food, epidemit-s, and con- 

 tact with civilization are reducing their 

 numbers. Turner (11th Rep. B. A. E., 

 1894) says they roam over the areas s. of 

 Hamilton inlet as far as the Gulf of St 

 Lawrence. Their western limits are im- 



perfectly known. They trade at all the 

 stations along the accessible coast, many of 

 them at Rigolet and Northwest r. Sagard, 

 in 1632, described them as Indians of the 

 lowest type in Canada. Though they 

 have occasionally fought with'!! bravery, 

 they are comparatively timid. They have 

 always been more less nomadic and, 

 although accepting the teachings of the 

 missionaries, seem incapable of resigning 

 the freedom of the forest for life in vil- 

 lages, nor can they be induced to cultivate 

 the soil as a means of sup[)ort. Mr 

 Chisholm describes them as honest, hos- 

 pitable, and benevolent, but very super- 

 stitious. Those who were induced to set- 

 tle on the lower St Lawrence appear to 

 be subject to sickness, which is thinning 

 their numbers. All who have not been 

 brought directly under religious influence 

 are licentious. Conjuring was much prac- 

 tised by their medicine-men. Some of 

 the early missionaries speak highly of 

 their religious susceptibility. They bury 

 their dead in the earth, digging a hole 3 

 ft deep and occasionally lining it with 

 woi)d. The corpse is usually laid on its 

 side, though it is sometimes placed in a 

 sitting jiosition. Al)ove the grave is built 

 a little birch-l)ark hut and through a win- 

 dow the relatives thrust bits of tobacco, 

 venison, and other morsels. No reliable 

 estimate can be given of their former num- 

 bers, but it is known that they have 

 greatly decreased from sickness and star- 

 vation consequent on the destruction of 

 game. In 1812 they were supposed to- 

 number about 1,500; in 1857 they were 

 estimated at 1,100, and in 1884 they were 

 ofhcially reported at 1,395, living at 

 Betsiamits, (Bersimis), Escoumains, 

 Godbout, Grand Romaine, Lake St John, 

 and ]Mingan, in QueV)ec. In 1906 they, 

 together with the Nascapee, numbered, 

 according to the Canadian official report, 

 2,183, clistriljuted as follows: Bersimis, 

 499; Escoumains, 43; Natashquan, 76; 

 Godbout, 40; (jrand Romaine, 176; Lake 

 St John, 551; ^lingan, 241; St Augustine, 

 181; Seven Islands and Moisie, 376. 

 Consult Chamberlain in Ann. Archseol. 

 Rep. Ontario 1905, 122, 1906. 



The bands and villages of the Mon- 

 tagnais are: Appeelatat, Assuapmushan, 

 Attikamegue, Bonne Esperance, Chicou- 

 timi, Esquimaux Point, Godbout, He 

 Percee (mission), Itamameou (mission). 

 Islets de Jeremie (mission), Kapimina- 

 kouetiik, Mautluepi, Mingan, Moisie, 

 IMuslikoniatawee, Musquarro, Nal)isippi, 

 Nataslnjuan, Pashasheebo, Romaine, and 

 St Augustine. (j. m. c. t. ) 



Algonkin Inferieures.— Hind, Lab. Benin., II, 10, 

 1SG3. Algonquins Inferieurs. — Jes. Rel., Ill, index. 

 1858. Bergbewohner. — Walch, map of .\m., 1805 

 (German: 'Mountaineers'). Chauhagueronon. — 

 Sagard (1632), Hist. Can., iv, 1866 (Huron name). 

 Chauoironon.- Ibid. Kebiks.— Schoolcraft, Ind. 



