The Indians, under British protection, are dispersed in small villages and settlements in different parts of Upper and Lower Canada. The charge made by Mr. M^{ c}Gregor, that they have not been kindly treated by our government, seems scarcely well founded, for not only do they remain peaceably under her sway, but they have repeatedly taken up arms in her cause against the “Big Knives,” as they term the Americans. In consideration of their services, and in compensation for the encroachments made on their domain, each individual, on repairing to a fixed station, receives a certain amount of goods as an annual present; and this grant affords the means of estimating the number residing within the provinces. In Lower Canada, in 1828, it amounted to 2,922, exclusive of about 450 Micmacs, or wandering tribes, from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The number in Upper Canada to whom, about the same time, donations were made, was 12,919; making in the two provinces 15,841. The estimate thus obtained, however, is not quite so accurate as could be wished. Several thousands came from beyond the western frontier, a distance in some cases of four or five hundred miles, and even from the territory of the United States; but in consequence of the signal services rendered by them during the last war, pledges had been given, which Britain must now fulfil. On the other hand, in the immense forest territory which the hand of cultivation has not yet approached, there are doubtless very considerable numbers who retain their wild independence, and hold no relation whatever with Europeans. We may notice, in particular, the vast tracts to the east and north of Quebec, whence no mention is made of any resort to the stations of distribution.
The Indians of Lower Canada have been converted to the catholic religion, and their spiritual concerns are superintended by five missionaries, who receive salaries of from 40_l._ to 70_l._ per annum. They appear much attached to these instructors, and show a deep sense of their religious duties; yet they have admitted scarcely any change in their original habits, or made any progress in industry. Their husbandry, as formerly, is on a small scale, of the rudest description, and carried on entirely by women and old men. “The Indian tribes,” said the late Lord Dalhousie, “continue to be warlike in their ideas and recollections. Insignificant as are some of the tribes now in Lower Canada, civilized and accustomed to social life, there is not one of them that does not boast of the warlike days of their chiefs and warriors; even now, the word warrior is assumed by every young man; he is trained up to it, and has a higher idea of the approbation of his chief, or the consideration of white men in that character of an active hunter or warrior, than he has of any other object or use of his existence.” The missionaries, though they execute their spiritual functions with zeal and diligence, not only take no pains to instruct them in reading or writing, but effectually oppose any efforts for that purpose, at least when made by protestant teachers. We even suspect that they indulge rather than check the warlike spirit of their flocks; since it appears, that, on the annual religious festival called the grand _fête de Dieu_, the Indians are in the habit of marching to church in military order, headed by their chiefs, bearing arms, and amid the music of drums and fifes.