48 
the caribou, season by season, iinj)oun(ling them in the woods when 
the snow lay dee]) on the ground, and pursuing them out into the 
barren grounds at the approach of spring; while the Hare on the 
lower ^Mackenzie river, whose country contained few caribou, snared 
the Arctic hare during the winter months (whence their name), and 
wandered from one fishing place to another during the summer. 1 he 
Algonkian and Iroquoian tribes of eastern Canada, like the Alicmac, 
had their summer fishing grounds and their winter territories for 
hunting moose. Henry and ThompsoiCs descri])tion of the Piegan 
will serve for all the plains’ tribes; “ The buffalo regulates their move- 
ments over this vast extent of prairie throughout the year, as they 
must keep near these animals to obtain food. In summer they are 
obliged to assemble in large camps of from one hundred to two hun- 
dred tents, the better to defend themselves from enemies. In winter, 
when there is not so much danger, they disperse in sniall camps of 
ten to twenty tents, make pounds for buffalo, and hunt wolves and 
foxes.”^ Vancouver island contained no land animals of economic 
imi)ortance except the elk and the black-tailed deer-, which were not 
])lentiful enough to justify prolonged and systematic hunting on the 
l)art of a whole trilie. Yet even tlie Nootka Indians on the west 
coast of the island migrated seasonably, spending the period from 
March to August on the outer coast gathering shell-fish, hunting 
whales, and fishing for halibut and cod, then paddling back in Sep- 
tember to the heads of the fiords to trap the ascending salmon and 
to ])ass the winter in shelter. - 
Often as they moved their camps, however, very few tribes could 
escape periods of intense privation at times when game was scarce 
and the climatic or weather conditions unfavourable. Ihe Eskimo 
secured very little fresh food in the season from November to 
Christmas, when the caribou had disappearetl inland and the sea ice 
was not firm enough to resist a heavy gale. After tiie new year a 
succession of blizzards that ])revented the hunters from finfling the 
breathing holes of the seals often brought starvation into every home. 
The eastern Algonkians ])rospered when the winter was stormy and 
they could easily run down the moose in the deep snow; but they 
starved when the snowfall was light. A Cree Indian came to I homp- 
son one December after a spell of calm weather and begged him to 
1 Henry nnd Thompson: Op. cif., \'ol. ii. iip. 723-4. 
‘•iJewitt; Op, fit., pp. 116, 14.5. In Harelay .scniml, about 
inovemcnls; they spent the summer inland and tlie winter on 
1860, the Nootka rf*ver.s(>fl these seasonal 
ttie roast (Sproat; Op. fit. p. 38). 
