Mr.
Connolly, who was then in charge of the post, received them with the
utmost humanity and instantly placed food before them; but no language
can describe the manner in which the miserable father dashed the morsel
from his lips and deplored the loss of his child. Misery may harden a
disposition naturally bad but it never fails to soften the heart of a
good man.
HIS ACCOUNT OF THE CREE INDIANS.
The origin of the Crees, to which nation the Cumberland House Indians
belong, is, like that of the other aborigines of America, involved in
obscurity; but the researches now making into the nature and affinities
of the languages spoken by the different Indian tribes may eventually
throw some light on the subject. Indeed the American philologists seem to
have succeeded already in classing the known dialects into three
languages:
1. The Floridean, spoken by the Creeks, Chickesaws, Choctaws, Cherokees,
Pascagoulas, and some other tribes who inhabit the southern parts of the
United States.
2. The Iroquois, spoken by the Mengwe, or Six Nations, the Wyandots, the
Nadowessies, and Asseeneepoytuck.
3. The Lenni-lenape, spoken by a great family more widely spread than the
other two and from which, together with a vast number of other tribes,
are sprung our Crees. Mr. Heckewelder, a missionary who resided long
amongst these people and from whose paper (published in the Transactions
of the American Philosophical Society) the above classification is taken,
states that the Lenape have a tradition amongst them of their ancestors
having come from the westward and taken possession of the whole country
from the Missouri to the Atlantic, after driving away or destroying the
original inhabitants of the land whom they termed Alligewi. In this
migration and contest, which endured for a series of years, the Mengwe,
or Iroquois, kept pace with them, moving in a parallel but more northerly
line, and finally settling on the banks of the St. Lawrence and the great
lakes from whence it flows. The Lenape, being more numerous, peopled not
only the greater part of the country at present occupied by the United
States, but also sent detachments to the northward as far as the banks of
the River Mississippi and the shores of Hudson's Bay. The principal of
their northern tribes are now known under the names of Saulteurs or
Chippeways, and Crees; the former inhabiting the country betwixt Lakes
Winnipeg and Superior, the latter frequenting the shores of Hudson's Bay
from Moose to Churchill, and the country from thence as far to the
westward as the plains which lie betwixt the forks of the Saskatchewan.
The Crees, formerly known by the French Canadian traders under the
appellation of Knisteneaux, generally designate themselves as
Eithinyoowuc (men) or, when they wish to discriminate themselves from the
other Indian nations, as Nathehwywithinyoowuc (Southern-men).*
(*Footnote. Much confusion has arisen from the great variety of names
applied without discrimination to the various tribes of Saulteurs and
Crees. Heckewelder considers the Crees of Moose Factory to be a branch of
that tribe of the Lenape which is named Minsi, or Wolf Tribe. He has been
led to form this opinion from the similarity of the name given to these
people by Monsieur Jeremie, namely, Monsonies; but the truth is that
their real name is Mongsoaeythinyoowuc, or Moose-deer Indians; hence the
name of the factory and river on which it is built. The name Knisteneaux,
Kristeneaux, or Killisteneaux, was anciently applied to a tribe of Crees,
now termed Maskegons, who inhabit the river Winnipeg. This small tribe
still retains the peculiarities of customs and dress for which it was
remarkable many years ago, as mentioned by Mr. Henry in the interesting
account of his journeys in these countries. They are said to be great
rascals. The great body of the Crees were at that time named Opimmitish
Ininiwuc, or Men of the Woods. It would however be an endless task to
attempt to determine the precise people designated by the early French
writers. Every small band naming itself from its hunting grounds was
described as a different nation. The Chippeways who frequented the Lake
of the Woods were named from a particular act of pillage Pilliers, or
Robbers: and the name Saulteurs, applied to a principal band that
frequented the Sault St. Marie, has been by degrees extended to the whole
tribe. It is frequently pronounced and written Sotoos.)
The original character of the Crees must have been much modified by their
long intercourse with Europeans; hence it is to be understood that we
confine ourselves in the following sketch to their present condition, and
more particularly to the Crees of Cumberland House. The moral character
of a hunter is acted upon by the nature of the land he inhabits, the
abundance or scarcity of food, and we may add, in the present case, his
means of access to spiritous liquors. In a country so various in these
respects as that inhabited by the Crees the causes alluded to must
operate strongly in producing a considerable difference of character
amongst the various hordes. It may be proper to bear in mind also that we
are about to draw the character of a people whose only rule of conduct is
public opinion and to try them by a morality founded on divine
revelation, the only standard that can be referred to by those who have
been educated in a land to which the blessings of the Gospel have
extended.
Bearing these considerations in mind then we may state the Crees to be a
vain, fickle, improvident, and indolent race, and not very strict in
their adherence to truth, being great boasters; but on the other hand
they strictly regard the rights of property,* are susceptible of the
kinder affections, capable of friendship, very hospitable, tolerably kind
to their women, and withal inclined to peace.
