THOMAS ANDERSON 59 



woman married a Hudson's Bay man named Mac- 

 Donald, and he brought her to Lachine, where she 

 bore him 3 sons; then he died of small-pox, and Sir 

 George Simpson gave orders that she should be sent 

 up to Abitibi and there pensioned for as long as she 

 lived. She was about 75 at the time of the incident. 

 She many times gave evidence of clairvoyant power. 

 The priest said he "knew about it, and that she was 

 helped by the devil." 



A gruesome picture of Indian life is given in the 

 following incident. 



One winter, 40 or 50 years ago, a band of Algonquin 

 Indians at Wayabimika all starved to death except one 

 squaw and her baby; she fled from the camp, carry- 

 ing the child, thinking to find friends and help at 

 Nipigon House. She got as far as a small lake near Deer 

 Lake, and there discovered a cache, probably in a tree. 

 This contained one small bone fish-hook. She rigged 

 up a line, but had no bait. The wailing of the baby 

 spurred her to action. No bait, but she had a knife; 

 a strip of flesh was quickly cut from her own leg, a 

 hole made through the ice, and a fine jack-fish was 

 the food that was sent to this devoted mother. She 

 divided it with the child, saving only enougli for bait. 

 She stayed there living on fish until spring, then safely 

 rejoined her people. 



The boy grew up to be a strong man, but was cruel 

 to his mother, leaving her finally to die of starvation. 

 Anderson knew the woman; she showed him the scar 

 where she cut the bait. 



A piece of yet more ancient history was supplied 

 him in Northern Ontario, and related to me thus: 



