Volume 1

THOSE " WELSH " INDIANS : SEE L. AND C, P. I $9- 341
and give quite an appearance of agriculture ; but at this
season they are lumbered up with driftwood, for fuel, thus
giving a very ugly appearance to the village.
This fuel they collect in the spring, when the ice breaks
up, and when great quantities of wood drift down. The
natives being expert swimmers and very active in managing
the large trees, scarcely one escapes them until
they have a
sufificient stock for the year ; although the drifting of the
ice at the same time would make such attempts appear
impracticable to most people. I observed opposite each
village an immense pile of this wood, including some trees
of amazing size. When they collect the drift-wood, great
numbers of drowned buffalo, that have perished in attempting
to cross above when the ice was getting bad, float down ;
those animals the natives are very careful to haul on shore,
as they prefer such flesh to that killed in any other way.
What struck me as extraordinary among these people
was several children about ten years of age, whose hair was
perfectly gray, and who thus resembled aged persons ;
those
I saw were all girls. These people in general have not
such strong coarse hair as other natives of North America ;
they have it much finer, rather inclining to a dark brown,
and I observed some whose hair was almost fair. I saw
one Big Belly with yellow hair ; which I believe could
scarcely proceed from any connection with the whites from
our quarter, as it is not more than 30 years since they first
saw any of us, and this man was at least 40 years old." Their
eyes are not of that jet black which is common to other
Indians, but, like their hair, inclined to a dark brown ;
some
few are dark gray. They are in general tall, stout, wellbuilt
men. The men wear their hair long, twisted into
small quaittes,"* hanging down to the rump ;
some of them
" Henry may be correct in thus stating the time when the Indians first
knew British traders ; but they had been acquainted with the French from the
date of Verendrye's visit, in December, 1738, about 68 years before 1806.
**
The meaning of queues, tresses, or strands is clear, but I am not sure of
the word ;
perhaps it should be quoifes (for coifs or coiffures).