410 



are about £50, descendants of the tribe of the 

 Hurons, once so formidable even to the power- 

 ful Iroquois, until by stratagem, in which con- 

 sists much of the glory and self-applause of the 

 savage, the latter, under the specious pretence 

 of aUiance, obtained the confidence of their op- 

 ponents ; when, by an indiscriminate massacre, 

 their whole race was nearly extirpated. The few 

 who escaped with life fled towards the habita- 

 tions of civilized man, and established themselves 

 among the forests in the rear of Quebec, many 

 hundred miles distance from the land of their 

 ancient tribe on the borders of Lake Huron ; by 

 the efforts of the Jesuits they were gradually 

 drawn nearer to Quebec, and every exertion 

 made to reclaim them from savage life. At pre- 

 sent they nearly resemble the other tribes already 

 mentioned, though perhaps in a small degree 

 superior to them in some of the acquirements 

 of civilized life ; but as a counterbalance of 

 evil, their contiguity to the capital affords them 

 numerous opportunities to indulge in many 

 vicious propensities, that they are eager enough 

 to avail themselves of. The Cur6 of St. Am- 

 broise officiates as missionary among them, and 

 has obtained a considerable influence in reli- 

 gious affairs. In their worldly concerns, as they 

 speak the French language with tolerable flu- 

 ency, they are sufficiently ishrewd, and know 



