RRITISH AMERICA. 



383 



Jumping Mouse 



Silver Fox. 



5. Inhabitants. The inhabitants of the 

 British possessions, like those of our West- 

 ern States, are much diversified by emigra- 

 tion. They are principally composed of 

 Americans, French, English, Scotch, Irish, 

 Germans, and Dutch. The Indians are of 

 various tribes and will be described separate- 

 ly. The French Canadians live chiefly in a 

 line of settlements on the north of the St. 

 Lawrence, between Quebec and Montreal. In complexion they are as swarthy as Portuguese. 



6. Dress. This is generally the same as in the United States, except that in winter furs are 

 more worn. The clothes are impenetrable to cold, and the caps cover tlie face, neck, and 

 ears, leaving exposed only the nose and eyes. A gray cajjot, reaching to the knee and girded 

 by a sash of gay colors, is the characteristic costume of the country. The habitans, or occu- 

 piers of land, wear a straw hat in summer, and in winter a woolen or fur cap ; the moccasins 

 are made of sole leather, and the dress of the females of this class is tliat of a French peasant. 



7. Languages. The languages are chiefly the French and English, and law processes are 

 sometimes served in both. Not a fifth of the inhabitants of liower Canada speak English. 



8. Manner of Building. The houses are generally of one story, small, but comfoi'table, 

 and in the country surrounded with garden plats, which are not, however, kept in the best con- 

 dition. Some of the roofs are covered with tin. In winter the rooms are heated by 

 stoves to a high temperature, and the Canadian will, without suffering, quit a room heated to 

 90° of Fahrenheit for an external cold of 30° below zero. 



9. Food. The people are as bountifully supplied with all the common articles of food as 

 those of the United States, and they are generally the same. At the commencement of win 

 ter the swine and poultry are killed and placed in garrets, &c. where they are frozen, and 

 thus preserved till spring, and in winter the markets are well stocked ; for this is the sea- 

 son when the roads offer the greatest facilities of communication. The usual spirituous li- 

 quors are rum, and the others which are common in the United States, and the consumption 

 is considerable, though there is not much habitual intemperance, unless among the " rafters," 

 &c. 



10. Diseases. The diseases are generally the same with those that prevail in the New 

 England States. 



11. Traveling. The great chain of communication is on the lake=;, and the river St. Law- 



