There was a looser
feeling regarding debts to traders, which we were told were sometimes
ignored, partly, perhaps, owing to the traders' heavy profits, but
mainly through failure in the hunt and a lack of means. But theft
such as white men practice was a puzzle to these people, amongst
whom it was unknown.
The most noticeable feature of the scrip issue was the never-ending
stream of applicants, a surprising evidence of the growth of
population in this remote wilderness. Its most interesting
feature lay in the peculiarities and manners of the people
themselves. They were unquestionably half-breeds, and had
received Christian names, and most of them had houses of their
own, and, though hunters, fishermen and trippers, their families
lived comparatively settled lives. Yet the glorious instinct
of the Indian haunted them. As a rule they had been born on the
"pitching-track," in the forest, or on the prairies--in all
sorts of places, they could not say exactly where--and when
they were born was often a matter of doubt as well. [With reference
to these nondescript birthplaces, the wonderful ease of parturition
among Indian women may be referred to here. This is common, probably,
to all primitive races, but is perhaps more marked amongst Indian
mothers than any other. The event may happen in a canoe, on the
trail, at any place, or at any moment, without hindering the ordinary
progress of a travelling party, which is generally overtaken by the
mother in a few hours.
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