562 REPOM— 19U0. 



concurrently with clan designations, but in the end superseded them. 

 Most of the family names at Lorette are Christian names which have 

 become permanently attached to the various households : Romain, Vincent, 

 Gros-Louis, Bastien (for Sebastien). It was in the early years of the 

 present nineteenth century that family names became permanent at 

 Lorette, and transmissible from father to son. There are to-day 21 

 families of Tsiouis, 13 Picard, 12 Gros Louis, G Vincent, 4 Bastien, 2 

 Romain, besides 3 de Gonzague (of Abenakis extraction), and 1 Paul (of 

 Malecite extraction). 



From the organisation of the family group, if we turn to its internal 

 management, we find, in the first place, that the parents' authority over the 

 children is of limited extent. Very little restraint is put on the children. 

 Constant intercourse between the various households in that crowded 

 village tends to lessen the action of each separate group over its children. 

 These, at an early age, as we have seen, acquire a training in handicraft 

 and become important factors in the welfare of the family, or at any rate 

 independent of it for their livelihood. In that respect the Hurons of 

 Lorette still resemble to a certain extent their primitive ancestors, who 

 allowed their children great freedom, and never chastised them.^ Among 

 the ancient Hurons the laxity of parental rule was the natural result of 

 the development of hunting and of warlike pursuits, in all of which the 

 young men had necessarily a superiority over the older members of the 

 family. With the Hurons of Lorette the same lax family government 

 continued to prevail, owing to the long maintenance of the chase as their 

 principal means of living, only to be displaced in recent times by industries 

 which afford to the young great facilities for the establishment of separate 

 independent homes. 



Nevertheless morals are not bad. They are certainly greatly in 

 advance on what they were in olden times. But the result is due almost 

 wholly to outside influences — religious action and social environment. The 

 morals of the ancient Hurons were of a very low order : debauchery was 

 rampant in their villages.- When, after their overthrow by the Iroquois, 

 they fell under the rule of the Jesuit missionaries, a strict code of monastic 

 morality was enforced upon them.^ The greater number submitted to it, 

 not, however, through any strong personal sense of duty and self-respect, but 

 impelled by fear of exclusion from the reserve or of the infliction of some 

 public penance. Accordingly, under the British regime, as soon as the 

 .strong hand of the Jesuit was withdrawn, the Huron morals relaxed, and, 

 under the influence of the corrupt elements from the near-by city, fell to 

 a very low plane. In the course of the nineteenth century Lorette 

 became ' the constant resort of the dissipated youth of Quebec, and the 

 scene of midnight orgies and profligacy of the worst description, until the 

 extent of the evil attracted the attention of the police authorities, who 

 took measures to repress the mischief.' ' Since, under the combined 

 influence of religious preaching and of better social environment, they 

 have gradually impvoved in self-restraint and self-respect. Illegitimate 

 births are now of rare occurrence. Many, howevei-, are still addicted to 

 liquor. 



_' Champlain, iv. p. 83. " Ibid., iv. pp. 82-5. 



=" Jesuit Relations, passim; Charlevoix, Jb7<ma?, p. 82 ; Documents Nouvelle' France, 

 p. 24 ; Franquet, Journal de Voya/je, p. 14K^ 



■* Journals AssemhUj, 1844-5, Appendix : ihid., 1847, Evidence of Rev. L, Fortier, 



missionary. 



