THE LA URENTIA N PENEPLA IN 623 



herds of buffalo which roamed the great plains of the West until 

 after the advent of the destructive white man) which at present 

 roam over the barren grounds (see Fig. 8). The character of the 

 country makes the continued existence of the fur-bearing and 

 game animals possible. The widespread distribution of these 

 animals, the chief support of the inhabitants, has led to the 

 scattering of the people over the whole area, and to the devel- 

 opment of more or less nomadic habits and customs. 



The Indian inhabitants of the region, living chiefly on the 

 products of the chase, have here, from time immemorial, found 

 their hunting-grounds. The numerous lakes and streams, then 

 as now, were the only lines of communication in all that vast 

 area. Their distribution through all parts of it, and the com- 

 parative ease with which traverses from one body of water to the 

 next can be made, enabled these people to wander unimpeded 

 over the whole region. The customs of these people, in the sev- 

 eral parts of the area, differ but little; in language there are 

 greater differences, but over very large areas the speech is 

 the same. Probably nowhere else, over so large an area, have 

 scattered communities been found which have retained so well 

 their communal characteristics. In language, customs, and cul- 

 ture they differ greatly from the various tribes found in the moun- 

 tainous districts of British Columbia. In some of the still 

 unexplored parts of the region there are Indians who have never 

 yet seen a white man, unless perhaps some half-breed trader. 



On the other hand, to the average white man, with his differ- 

 ent modes of living, the region with its exceedingly limited 

 agricultural possibilities, has always been inhospitable. He has 

 displaced the Indian in the fertile plain regions which border the 

 peneplain area to the south and west. The last remnants of 

 some of these displaced tribes, still survive upon these uplands, 

 and still eke out a more or less precarious existence on the products 

 of the chase. To the white man, however, the region offers other 

 inducements which lead to the temporary occupation of local 

 areas. The degradation which produced the peneplain has not 

 only made possible the widespread forests, but has also exposed 

 valuable mineral deposits that otherwise would not have been 



