DISTINCTION BETWEEN INDIAN NATIONS. 179 



overlooked in any discussion of the measures which 

 appear to commend themselves for encouragement or 

 adoption, in order to secure the amelioration of the con- 

 dition of this people, whose claims upon the sympathy 

 and protection of the civilized invaders of their hunting- 

 grounds no humane man can dispute. A partial fore- 

 knowledge of their destiny, under providence, may be 

 gleaned from an examination of the condition of Indians 

 living in the midst or on the borders of civilized com- 

 munities, where experiments for their benefit have long 

 been tried, and where the results are perfectly well but 

 not widely known. 



It must be borne in mind that there is as broad a dis- 

 tinction between Indian nations and even the tribal bands 

 of the same nation, as between Europeans or Asiatics of 

 separate origin or nationality. The stately and intelli- 

 gent Ojibways, who formerly occupied the country about 

 Lake Superior and the north shore of Lake Huron, and 

 are now scattered from Lake Ontario to the Grand Forks 

 of the Saskatchewan, ought not to be brought into com- 

 parison and classed with the barbarous Mistassins, who 

 hunt and fish on the lower St. Lawrence, although both 

 nations belong to the same great family, and speak 

 dialects of a common language. 



Even among different tribes of the same nation, great 

 distinctions are found to prevail, which may be generally 

 traced to the physical characters of the country they 

 inhabit. The Swampy Crees of Lake Winnipeg are far 

 inferior to their brethren of the prairies, and the Ojibways 

 of Tecamamionen or Eainy Lake, are superior to other 

 tribes of the same nation who hunt on the north shores of 

 Lakes Huron and Superior. The same remark applies 

 to " Bands" belonging to different tribes. The Berens 

 Eiver Band, and the Bloody Eiver Band on Lake Winni- 



N 2 



