Native Mortality. 23 



ticular among the female sex, and consequently a dogged 

 indifference to benefit in any way by the examples or advice 

 of the pale-faces. Thus, whilst the males are brought in 

 contact with the whites, and in some cases receive the rudi- 

 ments of an English education, the squaws stick to the lodges, 

 and, as a rule, talk only the native language, with all the nar- 

 row-minded prejudices consequent on their exclusive habits. 

 They are in general ugly, and probably from constant indoor 

 life and unsanitary conditions, get soon aged in appearance. 

 Marriage takes place at puberty, so that it is not uncommon 

 to hear of females who have born fourteen to fifteen children, 

 more than half of whom die before or during dentition. I 

 was astonished at observing the absence of parental affection, 

 even among the most respectable members in the villages. 

 Love, as it exists in civilized society, has seemingly no place 

 with them, but after all this is not to be wondered at, seeing 

 they are sprung of the great Algonquin race, whose language 

 does not contain the verb "to love."* Scrofula, consumption, and 

 various other diseases dependent on abnormal modes of living, 

 are prevalent in their camps ; indeed the infantile mortality is 

 appalling, as I have good cause to state from personal in- 

 quiries; indeed, scarcely one-half of the children arrive at the 

 age of puberty, and, with few exceptions, all die by what may 

 be designated " preventible diseases." 



Moreover, it would seem that any admixture with the 

 white race has added neither strength nor stamina to the 

 Indian, nor sharpened his intellectual faculties, and most 

 assuredly not improved his morals ; however, it must be taken 

 into account that there has been a very great change in his 

 habits, and a substitution of unhygienic modes of living for 

 the healthy nomadic existence of former days. We cannot 

 therefore maintain that the mere cross has eventuated in the 

 undoubted failure in strength and stamina which characterize 

 the New Brunswick Indians of the present day as compared 



* See Lubbock, " Origin of Civilization," p. 58. 



