122 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



tion, and more particularly to the Crees of 

 Cumberland House. The moral character 

 of a hunter is acted upon by the nature of 

 the land he inhabits, the abundance or 

 scarcity of food, and we may add, in the 

 present case, his means of access to spiritu- 

 ous liquors. In a country so various in 

 these respects as that inhabited by the 

 Crees, the causes alluded to must operate 

 strongly in producing a considerable differ- 

 ence of character amongst the various 

 hordes. It may be proper to bear in mind, 

 also, that we are about to draw the cha- 

 racter of a people whose only rule of con- 

 duct is public opinion, and to try them by 

 a morality founded on divine revelation, 

 the only standard that can be referred to 

 by those who have been educated in a land 

 to which the blessings of the Gospel have 

 extended. 



Bearing these considerations in mind then, 

 we may state the Crees to be a vain, fickle, 

 improvident, and indolent race, and not very 

 strict in their adherence to truth, being 



