l8 JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS. 



peace was buried, and every brave, with tomahawk and scalping 

 knife in hand, was ready to sell his life for his liberty. 



There were two great nations of Indians originally occupying 

 Canada, the Algonquins and the Hurons. The Algonquins occupied 

 all the land north of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. 

 Shortly before the French came they had been the most powerful of 

 all the tribes and were considered the masters of this part of America. 

 They are described as having the mildest aspect and the most polished 

 manners of all the Indian tribes. The remains of this once powerful 

 nation are now the Ojibways, the Ottawas, the Western Algonquins 

 or Lenape, and the Menomonies. The Hurons occupied a tract of 

 land about 25 miles wide along Lake Huron and were remarkable 

 for their industry. There was also a small tribe called the Neuter 

 Nation, occupying the banks of the Niagara, and the peninsula between 

 Lakes Erie and Ontario, who were called by the Hurons Attiwon- 

 dawonks. Very little is known of them and they have long been 

 extinct. 



The Iroquois or Five Nations, who occupied the country south 

 of the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario, have always been, more or less, 

 connected wdth the history of this country. Their confederacy was 

 composed of the following nations : The Mohawks, Oneidas, Onon- 

 dagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. They were never found waging war 

 against each other, and usually combined when attacked. 



In 1608 the French sent an exploring party up the St. Lawrence, 

 under Samuel Champlain, and passing up the river he fixed upon a 

 high hill, richly clothed with vines and walnut trees, as the place to 

 winter. This hill was called by the Indians, Quebeio or Quebec, 

 and the city since built upon it has retained the name. Here he 

 formed a settlement and built store houses, and next spring he pushed 

 further up the river. When about 25 leagues above Quebec he met 

 the chiefs of the Algonquins, and with them made his first treaty with 

 Canadian Indians, which bound him and them to make war together 

 upon the Five Nations south of the river. Going south with the 

 Algonquins, he twice met the Iroquois in battle on the borders of a 

 large lake, which he named after himself Lake Champlain. The 

 Five Nations were soon put to flight with some loss by the use of 

 fire-arms, something they had never before heard of or seen. 



After this Champlain returned to France, but in 161 5 again 



