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Show • TRAVELS T IIROUG Tl UPPER CANADA: common to th m all i• 1 in !led in the mi ldk. In fine wc.:tthc.r thdc huts arc agreeable dw ·Jlings; but in the depth of winter they mufl: b dreadfu lly uncomfortJblc. Oth.rs of their hut<> ar..:: built in a conical {hapc. The Nandowdl]es, Mr. Carver tells us, live entirely in tents formed of fkin ~ . I\ great many of the families that were cncalllpcd 0 11 the ifland of Bois Bl<lllC, I obfcrved, li ved in the catlvas tents whi ch they h .td t.tkcn from t . Cl.1 ir's army. Many of the Indi.m nations have no pcrm:111ent place ,f rclidencc, but move :1bout from one fpot to another, and in the huntin rr fcafo11 thc:y all have mov ';!blc c11 ampmcnts, which bfl ar in general veq ru k, and ini~tflicient to give th em even tolcrabk !helter !rom :1 f.lll of rain or fnow . T he hunting f.._afon commences on the fa ll of the leaf, and ontinues till the fi10w dillolves. In tl1e depth of winte r, when the fnow is frozen on the ground, they form their hun tinrr {} Jed f the fn ow itfclf; a few twigs platted together being :limply pbced ovc1hcad to prevent the fi10w which forms the roof .fi·om :fidlin' dow1. T l1<.:fc fi10wy habitations arc much more comfo1 t:1ble, and warm r in winter rime tlun any others that can be erected, as they effcc.lually fcrccn ym from the keen pi ercing hhHs of the wind, and a bed of fn~w ,''.far fro n~ 'ing uneom~ort,1bk. To accu!l:om the troops to enomp m t1 1s fly~ , 111 cafe of a Winter c.lm f'•tign, a party of them, head I by fame of the yo m rr ollice rs, ulcd regul arly to be fent from ~c bcc 11y the late governor, into th<.: ·.;o:xls, there to fhi ft for thcmfelvcs dming the month of February. C:1re w ,l always taken, however, to fend with them tv.o r tl rcc e:xpericnc ·d 1 cr[ons, to fhew them how to buihl th · hut , othc1 wiG.: <.Lath might have been the confequcncc to many. In thefc ncampml:nt they always ilccp with th eir feet to the fire; and indeed in the ndian encampments in gene ral, tlmi1vr co]J \\'CJ. th r, th ey ne p on the nr und with the ir fe ' l to t ile f" . d . "ld 11 ; urm rr Illl :weather, many of them il 'l'P OJ b nc h~ or b·uk J.l1 til'.- 1 1 c: I . • • ell 1uts, \ 11c 1 an; r.t.&.d fr·v!l t\ ·o to four fl-u !rom th · ground. The utcnli!s in an fndi:1n hut an.: w1y f~w ; Ol'c.; or two br.1(s or iron kc~·l ~. procuJ"ul from th · tradr"~ nr if tl ·v 1· . • . i r.: 1 ' • 1 ; 1\C (('llJO\'C( ifC'l1l t JClll pot' JUJillCd or fl011C, {()"{" ?·ether \ " 1{ 1 a ·/ ~'\V WOOd-'..' Jl j"p oons anol cj "1 n 1c:sI m. l by them[dves, confiHutc in general he Nlwlc of tl1.~m . A flonc 9 of I N D I A N C A N 0 E S. ~[ a very foft texture, c:1.lled the .foap jlonc, is V~' ry commonly found m the hack parts of North America, p. rticularly fnited fur Indian workman n1ip. It re eives its name from appc.tring tu the touch a~ [oft and fmooth as a bit of foap ; and indeed it may be cut with a J~ n if ~ almofi equally caGiy. In Virginia they ufc it powdr n.:d for the huxcs uf th eir wheels in f1:ead of grea(c. Solt, howcvn, a i; thi~ llone, it 'v\ i 11 re _ fifi fire equally with iro n. The foap Hone i ~ of a dove colour; othcrs nearly of the fctme quality, arc fottnd in the country, of a bL1ck and red colour, which arc Hill commonly ufed by the Indi ~1 n s fi)r th <.: bowls · their pipes. The bark ca noes, "'' hich the Indians uf<.: in this part of the ountrv, ar by no means fo neatly formed as thofc made in the ountry upon, a;1d to the north of, the River St. Lawrence: they nrc commonly formed of one entire piece of elm bark, taken from the trunk of the tree, which is bound on ribs formed of ilenclcr rods of tough wood. There arc no ribs, however, at the ends of tb efc canoes, but merely at the middle part, where alone it is that paifcngers ever fit. It is only the center, indeed, which refl:s upon the water; the ends arc generally raifed fomc feet above the furface, the canoes being of a curved form. They bring tl.1em into this {hapc by cutting, nearly midway between the fl:cm and fl:crn, two deep flit , one on each fide, in the back, and by lapping the di sjointed edge. one over the other. No pains arc taken to make the ends of the canoes water tight, finee they never touch the w.ttcr. On firfl: infpecrion you would imagine, fi-om it mifcrablc appearance, that an elm bark canoe, thus confl:rutted, were not calculated to carry even a fingle pcrfon faf"ely acrofs a .Gnooth piece of water; it is nevcrthelef.-; .~ rrmarhl.hly fafe fort of boa t, and the Indians will rdolutely emb~tr k in ne of th em during vuy rough weather. Th 'Y arc (o light that they ride fecurely over every wave, and the only precaution ncecflary in navigating them is to fit fl:cady. I have [<.:en a dozl·n people go il:curdy in one, which might be eafily carriccl by a fin •lc :tble-boclicd man . When an Indian takes his family to a11y difl:ancc in a canoe, the women, the girl , and boys, arc furnif1.1cd each with a pnddle, and are kept bufily 3 I> at 1 |