l899-'oo TRANSACTIONS 77 



Uppers of moccasins ; cow, for snowshoes. Neither is fine birch 

 bark commonly found within reasonable distance, and canoes (of 

 which about 25 are sold yearly) are mostly made of canvas pur- 

 chased at Quebec. Ash wood for basket-making is also obtained 

 from distant points. 



On the other hand, moccasins and snowshoes are sold by the 

 wholesale to dealers in large towns and cities throughout Canada 

 and in the United States. They are shipped as far as the Klon- 

 dike. As for baskets and fancy wares, part of the output is dis- 

 posed of in the same way, the bulk of what remains being taken 

 by the Hurons themselves to summer resorts and centres of 

 population, and there retailed. 



The means of living of our modern Hurons as just described, 

 do not at first sight appear to have an}^ connection either with 

 the previous social status of the race, or with the ph3'sical features 

 of its present habitat. 



With the ancient Hurons, as with the ancient Iroquois, 

 hunting (carried on b}- the men), agriculture (carried on b}^ the 

 women), were the pi'incipal means of subsistence ; to-daj' at 

 lyOrette, both these forms of labour have been almost given up. In 

 their stead manufacturing industries have grown and come into 

 prominence, industries, however, which do not depend for their 

 raw material on the resources of the locality', and which find in 

 the vicinit}' a market for a verj^ small portion onl}^ of their output. 



Two main series of facts brought the Hurons by degrees to 

 give up their old forms of labour and adopt new ones : 



( 1 ) The neighbourhood and competition of settlers from 

 Europe ; 



(2) The commercial and industrial evolution. 



In the first place, the neighbourhood and competition of white 

 .settlers in the vicinity of Quebec had the effect of rendering 

 agriculture more difficult and less remunerative for the Hurons. 



The agriculture of the Hurons, as we are aware, was of a 

 primitive kind. It consisted .solely in the production through 

 female labour of supplies of vegetables and maize for family 

 needs. No live stock, no beasts of burden were kept. So that, 

 being without the means of manuring the land or drawing fuel 



