8 JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS. 



THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13th, 1894. 



The President, S. Briggs, in the chair. 



The minutes of the last regular meeting were read and confirmed. 



An application for membership was received from Mr. J. M- 

 Dickson, chemist. 



Mrs. Carey and Mrs. Thomas Beasley were elected ordinary 

 members of the Association. 



The President 'then introduced Dr. P. E. 'Jones, Indian Agent, 

 to read a paper on the " Early History of the Indians north of the 

 St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes." 



The doctor began his paper with a short description of the 

 condition of the Indian inhabitants previous to the coming of the 

 French settlers. Passing to the location of the various tribes at this 

 early date, the speaker stated that two great nations of Indians 

 originally occupied Canada, the Algonquins and the Hurons. The 

 Algonquins occupied the land north of the St. Lawrence River and 

 Lake Ontario. Before the French came they had been the most 

 powerful of all the tribes, and were considered the masters of this 

 part of Canada. They were 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 and the Menomonies. The Hurons occupied 

 a tract of land about 2 5 miles wide, along Lake Huron, and were 

 remarkable for their industry. The Neuter nation, occupying the 

 banks of the Niagara and the peninsula between Lake Erie and 

 Ontario, were a small tribe. Very little is known of them, and they 

 have long been extinct. Taking up the subsequent history of these 

 once powerful nations, the speaker went on to show how, after the 

 coming of the white settler, a deadly warfare had broken out between 

 them and the more powerful Iroquois at the south of the St. Lawrence 

 and Lake Ontario. 



At the conclusion of the paper a vote of thanks was tendered 

 to its author, and by a unanimous vote of the members the 

 doctor was enrolled as a corresponding member of the Association. 

 Chief Cheechalk, of the Ojibways, was also present, and gave a 

 short address and a song in his native tongue. A large number 



