DOCSLIB.ORG

Vanguards of Canada

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Vanguards of Canada CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY WiLLARD FiSKE Endowment """"""" '""'"'^ E 78.C2M162" Vanguards of Canada 3 1924 028 638 488 A Cornell University S Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028638488 VANGUARDS OF CANADA BOOKS The Rev. John Maclean, M.A., Ph.D., B.D. Vanguards of Canada By JOHN MACLEAN, M.A., Ph.D.. D.D. Member of the British Association, The American Society for the Advance- ment of Science, The American Folk-Lore Society, Correspondent of The Bureau of Ethnology, Washington; Chief Archivist of the Methodist Church, Canada. B 13 G TORONTO The Missionary Society of the Methodist Church The Young People's Forward Movement Department F. C. STEPHENSON, Secretary 15. OOPTRIGHT, OanADA, 1918, BT Frboeriok Clareb Stbfhekgon TOROHTO The Missionary Society of the Methodist Church The Young People's Forward Movement F. 0. Stephenson , Secretary. PREFACE In this admirable book the Rev. Dr. Maclean has done a piece of work of far-reaching significance. The Doctor is well fitted by training, experience, knowledge and sym- pathy to do this work and has done it in a manner which fully vindicates his claim to all these qualifications. Our beloved Canada is just emerging into a vigorous consciousness of nationhood and is showing herself worthy of the best ideals in her conception of what the hig'hest nationality really involves. It is therefore of the utmost importance that the young of this young nation thrilled with a new sense of power, and conscious of a new place in the activities of the world, should understand thoroughly those factors and forces which have so strikingly combined to give us our present place of prominence. Our fathers wisely emphasized some important fundamentals and their fidelity to truth and righteousness is largely responsible for that type of Canadian citizenship of which we are today so justly proud. The sacrifice and heroism which have so marked these past four years are not an accident. They are the product of devoted lives and consecrated personalities. Great men, forgetful of glory and asking only that they might serve, have given ungrudgingly all they had of energy, devotion and ability to the young life of Canada. These great souls have piloted Canadian life up through the roughness of the wilderness and the remoteness of the plain into its present place of power and progress. To these men there were two great realities in life, all other things were secondary. The supreme matters were the moral and spiritual verities. If these were true to the highest principles of life and being then all was well. To men of this cast religion was concerned with true spiritual attitudes and proper moral conceptions. Re- ligion was no mere form nor passing ritual but a deep and abiding consciousness of living contact with God and with the spirit world. If men failed to come into touch with God and this spirit world, then all was lost. It became a burning passion with these men to bring the , vi PREFACE. new settlers from other lands and the pagan aborigines of the forest and the plain into a clear and definite consciousness of their communion with God. Such ne^-'^" ness to and contact with God have a wonderfully purify- ing effect upon the fountains and streams of life. As a people, we are just beginning to understand how funda- mental the work done by these noble pioneers was to the splendid fabric of our social and civil life today. Dr. Maclean gives in the following pages a brief his- tory of a few of these noble men. In a concise form he gives us a glimpse of the trials and triumphs of some of the worthy men whose lives were laid upon the altar of the spiritual welfare of our country. The Doctor has not attempted to present a long and critical analysis of the forces which made these men great, but he has so told the story of their deeds that any one can readily understand the secret of their power. While telling each story he has not forgotten to link it with the other great streams of influence which have been forming in the years to make Canada our boast and pride today. This excellent book coming as it does when an awak- ened interest is being felt in the noble red man, ought to be in every home. But the red man is not our only problem. Thousands are coming to our shores. They are breathing the fresh air of a new found liberty. They too must learn the secret of this liberty which we possess. To make them worthy citizens of Canada should be the aim of every true Canadian. They must be educated, enlightened and taught to live and respect the institutions we love so dearly. In their case, as in all others, the finest type of citizenship can be secured only by the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ felt in the heart and known in the life. The supreme lesson of this book is that the law of life is " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and soul and strength and thy neighbor as thyself." ^' ^' ^^™^^^- Wesley College, Dec. 4, 1918. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I Kahkewayquonaby . - . 1 Of the Six Nation Indians. II Shawundais - - - 17 The Ojibway Orator. III James Evans - - - 28 Inventor of the Cree Syllabic. IV Robert Terrill Rundle - - 46 First Protestant Missionary in the North-West. V Thomas Hurlburt - - 66 Linguist and Scholar. VI Thomas Woolsey - 84 A Pioneer of the Buffalo Days. VII Henry B. Steinhauer 101 The Native Founder of Missions. VIII George McDougall - - 119 Traveller and Hero. IX George Young - - - 13» The Early Days at Fort Garry. X Chief Joseph - - 167 And the Oka Indians. XI Thomas Crosby - 180 Up and Down the Pacific Coast. X-II John McDougall 198 Missionary and Empire Builder. XIII James Woodsworth - 212 The Ecclesiastical Statesman. XIV Martyrs of the Cross 229 XV Heroines of Western Canada 252 vii ILLUSTRATIONS The Rev. John Maclean, M.A., Ph.D., D.D. Frontispiece Thayendanegea Facing page 4 Kahkewayquonaby " 14 Shawundais; The Rev. William Case; Sault Ste. Marie in 1845 The Rev. James Evans; A Marriage Certificate in Cree Syllabic Rocky Mountain House, 1845 ; Red River Settlement in 1845 The Rev. Robert Terrill Rundle ; Edmonton in 1840 Mount Rundle, near Banff, in the Canadian Rockies Methodist Missionaries from the North, 1876 A Chief of the Blackfoot Indians ; A Blackfoot Record The Rev. Thomas Woolsey; The Rev. John McDougall; An Indian Buffalo Hunt Native Indian Missionaries—^the Rev. Henry B. Steinhauer and His Sons The Rev. George Millward McDougall; Nor- way House, where George McDougall was Stationed in I860 Chief Berens and His Wife Missionaries of the Red River District, Toronto Conference, 1876 The Beginning of a Great City—Early Days in Winnipeg - The Grandson of an Oka Chief in His Grand- father's Dress; The Congregation Leaving the Indian Church at Oka ix ILLUSTRATIONS. A Flathead Indian Mother and Baby; The page 182 Interior of an Indian Lodge Facing " 196 The Rev. Thomas Crosby Chiefs of North-West Indian Tribes; Winter " Travel by Dog Train - 20a> The McDougall Orphanage, Morley, Alberta; Dr. McDougall, Indian Children, and Orphanage Staff ' 2oe The Rev. George Young; The Rev. James Woodsworth; Wesley College, Winnipeg ' 222 The Rev. James McLachlan; The Rev. Edward Paupanakis; The Rev. Fred. Cory ' 248 Mrs. George McDougall ' 258 Map Showing Journeys of Missionaries Insert CHAPTER I KAHKEWAYQUONABY Of the Six Nation Indians THE race of heroes never dies. In every age and country the hero hves, an immortal among his fellows, careless of life or his place in history, and unconscious of his power or fame. Savage and civilized alike yearn for the great man, whom they delight to honor as a gift from the gods, to lead them toward nohle ideals and the heights of glory, where they may hold fellowship with all that is best in nature and man and God. The Greek Hercules is akin to the British Wellington and Gordon, the Canadian Wolfe and Mont- calm, and the American Washington. Our poetry, fiction and history would be listless without heroes and heroines. The thrill of pleasure, the vivid scene to feed the imagina- tion, and our great works of art would be wanting in the grand element of permanence, without the presence of heroic thoughts and deeds. Beyond the smoke and din and blood of the battlefield, there lie other spheres where men and women fight and die in the cause of freedom. In the field of industry and the realm of literature, and on dark continents and lone islands, there are Careys and Livingstones who lead a mighty host, bearing the banner of truth, that justice and love may prevail and souls be won for God. The world is always in need of dreamers, who stand on the tops of the mountains and look down the centuries, far apart from their fellowmen, and often- times misunderstood and scoffed at; yet their work, un- seen and unrecognized, endures and posterity reaps the reward. The quest of the Holy Grail remains an abiding [1] 3 VANGUARDS OF CANADA with a lesson for all ages, and Sir Launfal is the man street vision, for whom the days of bustle in the crowded of our of the modem city always wait. On the pages solitary, national history, there stands forth one great, figure, in the person of Samuel de Champlain, a man of noble deeds and inspiring vision, who visited Panama more than three hundred years ago, and conceived the idea of a ship canal across the Isthmus, which would lessen a voyage to the South Sea by more than three hundred leagues.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • CANADA's MOUNTAIN Rocky Mountain Goats
    CANADA'S MOUNTAIN Rocky Mountain Goats CANADA'S MOUNTAIN PLAYGROUNDS BANFF • JASPER • WATERTON LAKES • YOHO KOOTENAY ° GLACIER • MOUNT REVELSTOKE The National Parks of Canada ANADA'S NATIONAL PARKS are areas The National Parks of Canada may, for C of outstanding beauty and interest that purposes of description, be grouped in three have been set apart by the Federal Govern­ main divisions—the scenic and recreational ment for public use. They were established parks in the mountains of Western Canada; the to maintain the primitive beauty of the land­ scenic, recreational, wild animals, and historic scape, to conserve the native wildlife of the parks of the Prairie Provinces; and the scenic, country, and to preserve sites of national his­ recreational, and historic parks of Eastern Can­ toric interest. As recreational areas they pro­ ada. In these pages will be found descriptions vide ideal surroundings for the enjoyment of of the national parks in the first group—areas outdoor life, and now rank among Canada's which lie within the great mountain regions outstanding tourist attractions. of Alberta and British Columbia. Canada's National Park system teas estab­ * * * lished in 1SS5, when a small area surrounding mineral hot springs at Banff in the Rocky This publication is compiled in co-operation Mountains was reserved as a public posses­ with the National Parks Branch, Department sion. From this beginning has been developed of Northern Affairs and National Resources. the great chain of national playgrounds note Additional information concerning these parks stretching across Canada from the Selkirk may be obtained from the Park Superintend­ Mountains in British Columbia to the Atlantic ents, or from the Canadian Government Travel Coast of Nova Scotia.
    [Show full text]
  • An Early St'at'imcets-Chinook Jargon Bilingual' Text 1 Introduction 1 2 About the Newspaper
    "Fox and Cayooty": an early St'at'imcets-Chinook Jargon bilingual' text Henry Davis and David Robertson University of British Columbia and CHINOOK List This paper contains a transliteration (from the original Duployan shorthand) and . translation of an early bilingual St'at'imcets-Chinook Jargon text, with accompanying historical, orthographical and grammatical notes. The story was first published in 1892 in the Kamloops Wawa newspaper by the oblate priest J-M.R. Le Jeune; it thus counts as one of the earliest texts in either language. 1 Introduction 1 It is well known to the student of Salishan languages and cultures that before the time of Franz Boas, extremely few coherent texts, as opposed to relatively numerous fragmentary word-lists, of northwest Native American languages were collected and published. The nascent modern disciplines of anthropology and linguistics demanded such documentation. However, another force besides science played a considerable role in the earliest recordings of indigenous languages of this region: The activities of Christian missionaries, which led to work allowing in some cases (viz. Joseph Giorda, S1's 1871 dictionary of Kalispel) an excellent view of historical stages in the lives of these languages otherwise lost to us.2 An example of the same phenomenon is available to us also in the Kamloops Wawa newspaper published by Oblate father J.-M.R. Le Jeune from 1891 to about 19043, primarily in the Chinook Jargon, of which it is an extensive and often overlooked document. In volume 2, Issue 47 of Kamloops Wawa, dated October 16 [sic], 18924, we find under the English heading "Recreative" the following: Kopa Pavilion ilihi nsaika tlap ukuk hloima syisim kopa Lilwat wawa[:] Fox and Cayooty.~.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rossville Scandal, 1846: James Evans, the Cree, and a Mission on Trial by Raymond Moms S Hirri Tt -Beaumont, B.A
    The Rossville Scandal, 1846: James Evans, the Cree, and a Mission on Trial by Raymond Moms S hirri tt -Beaumont, B.A. A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History Joint Master's Programme University of Manitoba and University of Winnipeg January 200 1 National Library Biblioth&que nationale I*i of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellingtm Ottawa ON K1A ON4 -ON KIAM Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une Licence non exclusive licence dowing the exclusive permettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or seii reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/nlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels rnay be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES ****+ COPYRiGET PERMISSION PAGE The Rossville Scandal, 1846: James Evans, the Cree, and r Mission on Trial
    [Show full text]
  • The Selkirk Settlement and the Settlers. a Concise History of The
    nus- C-0-i^JtJL^e^jC THE SELKIRK SETTLEMENT AND THE SETTLERS. ACONCISK HISTORY OF THE RED RIVER COUNTRY FROM ITS DISCOVEEY, Including Information Extracted from Original Documents Lately Discovered and Notes obtained from SELKIRK SETTLEMENT COLONISTS. By CHARLES N, BELL, F.R.G-.S., Honorary Corresponding Member of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, Hamilton Association, Chicago Academy ot Science, Buffalo Historical Society, Historian of Wolseley's Expeditionary Force Association, etc., etc. Author ot "Our Northern Waters," "Navigation of Hudson's Bay and Strait," "Some Historical Names and - Places ot Northwest Canada,' "Red River Settlement History,"" Mound-builders in Manitoba." "Prehistoric Remains in the Canadian Northwest," "With the Half-breed Buffalo Hunters," etc., etc. Winnipeg : PRINTED Vf THE OFFICE 01 "THE COMHERCIA] ," J klftES ST. BAST. issT. The EDITH and LORNE PIERCE COLLECTION of CANADIANA Queen's University at Kingston c (Purchased primj^arm Pkra Qplkctiaru at Quun's unwersii/ oKmc J GfakOurwtt 5^lira cImst- >• T« Selkirk Settlement and the Settlers." By CHARLES X. BELL, F.R.G.S. II [STORY OF II B Ti: IDE. Red River settlement, and stood at the north end of the Slough at what is now About 17.'><i LaN erandyre, a French-Can- Donald adian, established on the Red river a known as Fast Selkirk village. Mr. colonists, in- trading post, which was certainly the first Murray, one of the Selkirk of occasion that white men had a fixed abode forms me that he slept at the ruins in the lower Red River valley. After 1770 such a place in the fall of 1815, when the English merchants and traders of arriving in this country.
    [Show full text]
  • Linguistics 181: SENĆOŦEN Fall 2010 Leonard and Werle 3 Handout 2
    Linguistics 181: SENĆOŦEN Fall 2010 Leonard and Werle Handout 2: Language families of British Columbia Terminology ‣ language : a natural system of human communication that includes sounds, words, and rules for combining these to express a variety of meanings. ‣ native language , first language : a language that one speaks from a very young age. ‣ indigenous , aboriginal : these terms refer to people or languages that live in or are associated with a particular place, are the first or among the first to be associated with that place, and have historical and cultural roots from that place. ‣ dialect : a regional or social variety of a language. Everyone speaks a dialect! ‣ idiolect : the speech variety of a particular person. One’s individual dialect. ‣ jargon : vocabulary associated with a particular activity (example: carvers’ jargon). ‣ pidgin : a simplified language used by speakers of different languages to communicate (example: Chinook Jargon). No one’s native language. ‣ creole : a pidgin that has developed into a full language (example: Hawaiian Creole). ‣ language family : a group of languages whose similarities indicate that they come from a common parent language. Such languages are said to be genetically related (whether or not the speakers of these languages are related by blood). ‣ language area ( Sprachbund ): a group of languages whose similarities result from geographical contact. Such languages may or may not be genetically related. Notes The aboriginal languages of British Columbia form about seven language families (see map). SENĆOŦEN, or Saanich, is a member of the Salish family. language family examples ‣ Algonquian Cree, Ojibway ‣ Haida X̱aad Kil, X̱aaydaa Kil ‣ Kutenai Ktunaxa ‣ Na-Dene Nicola, Tsilhqot’in, Dakelh, Łingít ‣ Salishan SENĆOŦEN, Halq’eméylem, Secwepemctsin, Nuxalk ‣ Tsimshianic S’m̓algya̱x, Nisg ̱a’a ‣ Wakashan Nuu-chah-nulth, Kwak wala,̓ Haisla Salish is one of the largest indigenous language families of North America, in terms of number of languages.
    [Show full text]
  • Lt. Aemilius Simpson's Survey from York Factory to Fort Vancouver, 1826
    The Journal of the Hakluyt Society August 2014 Lt. Aemilius Simpson’s Survey from York Factory to Fort Vancouver, 1826 Edited by William Barr1 and Larry Green CONTENTS PREFACE The journal 2 Editorial practices 3 INTRODUCTION The man, the project, its background and its implementation 4 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE ACROSS THE CONTINENT OF NORTH AMERICA IN 1826 York Factory to Norway House 11 Norway House to Carlton House 19 Carlton House to Fort Edmonton 27 Fort Edmonton to Boat Encampment, Columbia River 42 Boat Encampment to Fort Vancouver 62 AFTERWORD Aemilius Simpson and the Northwest coast 1826–1831 81 APPENDIX I Biographical sketches 90 APPENDIX II Table of distances in statute miles from York Factory 100 BIBLIOGRAPHY 101 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1. George Simpson, 1857 3 Fig. 2. York Factory 1853 4 Fig. 3. Artist’s impression of George Simpson, approaching a post in his personal North canoe 5 Fig. 4. Fort Vancouver ca.1854 78 LIST OF MAPS Map 1. York Factory to the Forks of the Saskatchewan River 7 Map 2. Carlton House to Boat Encampment 27 Map 3. Jasper to Fort Vancouver 65 1 Senior Research Associate, Arctic Institute of North America, University of Calgary, Calgary AB T2N 1N4 Canada. 2 PREFACE The Journal The journal presented here2 is transcribed from the original manuscript written in Aemilius Simpson’s hand. It is fifty folios in length in a bound volume of ninety folios, the final forty folios being blank. Each page measures 12.8 inches by seven inches and is lined with thirty- five faint, horizontal blue-grey lines.
    [Show full text]
  • Post Secondary Education As a Treaty Right Within the Context of Treaty 6
    Post Secondary Education as a Treaty Right Within the Context of Treaty 6 Sheila Carr-Stewart University of Saskatchewan Between 1871 and 1877, the Crown and First Nations1 in western Canada met and negotiated Treaties 1 through 7. Each Treaty included a statement related to education which established both the treaty right to and the policy context for the provision of formal western educational services (Morris 1880/1991). Using historical inquiry, the author gives focus to the understandings of and the purpose for western education at the time of the treaty negotiations in relation to post secondary or tertiary education. The author argues that these understandings included the full scope of educational services for students such as university, professional training, and skills development which would provide First Nations people with the knowledge and skills necessary to participate and prosper in the economy for generations to come. Furthermore, the changing commitment of Canada to programming and or finances to support such First Nations post secondary students is articulated and contrasted with the demands of First Nations people to provide post secondary education as a treaty right. ____________________ The traditional territory of the Cree people, situated within the heart of the present-day North American Western Plains, had been their home for “the millennia” and as a “hunter-gatherer society,” the Cree “enjoyed a di- verse subsistence[,]… knew the land and its ecology intimately and followed a deliberate annual migration pattern” (Waiser, 2005, pp. 22-23). Waiser ar- gued that as demonstrated throughout their history, it was the Cree peoples’ ability to adapt, which enabled them to take advantage of the arrival of the European fur traders and the pursuit of economic opportunities and work- ing relationships with the newcomers.
    [Show full text]
  • The Anglican Clergy 1820-1826
    Program for the Red River Mission : The Anglican Clergy 1820-1826 by John E. FosTER * The arrival of Rev. John West in the Red River Settlement in 1820 marked the initial attempt to carry the message of Evangelical Anglicanism to the peoples of Rupert's Land. During the succeeding seven years West and his successors, Rev. David Jones and Rev. William Cockran, labored to establish a secure foundation for Anglican missionary enterprise among the different communities of the "British" half of the Settlement at the confluence of the Red and Assinihoine Rivers. Products of the British middle class and the Evangelical movement, these men sought to Christian­ ize and civilize the inhabitants - to create a society reflecting as accurately as possible British ideals. In the troubled years before 1827 this objective was expressed in the efforts of the missionaries to develop adequate m eans of persuasion. The inhabitants of the Settlement mirrored the region's history. Cast-offs from the fur trade mingled with the remnants of the Lord Selkirk's colonization efforts. In their individual communities Kildonan Scots, French Canadians and the Swiss and de Meurons farmed the land with varying degrees of success while retired officers and servants of the Hudson's Bay Company, with their mixed-blood families, either followed suit or turned to the buffalo hunt. The various communities were grouped loosely into two divisions by religion and language. To the north of the Assiniboine, down the Red River, lived those who were designated British and Protestant although the Cree language and paganism predominated. 1 To the south there was a similar situation although the designation was French and Catholic.
    [Show full text]
  • S C H O O L Program
    SCHOOL PROGRAM 2020 INTRODUCTION We invite you to learn about Fort Gibraltar’s influence over the cultural development of the Red River settlement. Delve into the lore of the French Canadian voyageurs who paddled across the country, transporting trade-goods and the unique customs of Lower Canada into the West. They married into the First Nations communities and precipitated the birth of the Métis nation, a unique culture that would have a lasting impact on the settlement. Learn how the First Nations helped to ensure the success of these traders by trapping the furs needed for the growing European marketplace. Discover how they shared their knowledge of the land and climate for the survival of their new guests. On the other end of the social scale, meet one of the upper-class managers of the trading post. Here you will get a glimpse of the social conventions of a rapidly changing industrialized Europe. Through hands-on demonstrations and authentic crafts, learn about the formation of this unique community nearly two hundred years ago. Costumed interpreters will guide your class back in time to the year 1815 to a time of immeasurable change in the Red River valley. 2 GENERAL INFORMATION Fort Gibraltar Admission 866, Saint-Joseph St. Guided Tour Managed by: Festival du Voyageur inc. School Groups – $5 per student Phone: 204.237.7692 Max. 80 students, 1.877.889.7692 Free admission for teachers Fax: 204.233.7576 www.fortgibraltar.com www.heho.ca Dates of operation for the School Program Reservations May 11 to June 26, 2019 Guided tours must be booked at least one week before your outing date.
    [Show full text]
  • Evans, James Evans’ Brother, in 1927
    THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO WESTERN ARCHIVES JAMES EVANS FONDS AFC 135 Inventory prepared by Alison Mitchell-Reid, based on student finding aid project(s) undertaken in partial fulfilment of archives course requirements – February 2010 2 WESTERN ARCHIVES AFC 135 JAMES EVANS FONDS TABLE OF CONTENTS FONDS DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................... 4 SERIES DESCRIPTIONS and FILE LISTS Series 1: Pamphlets and clippings about James Evans.............................................. 6 Series 2: Correspondence........................................................................................... 7 Sub-series 2.1: James Evans’ correspondence ................................................. 8 Sub-series 2.2: Letters concerning James Evans.............................................. 10 Series 3: Diaries and journals .................................................................................... 11 Sub-series 3.1: James Evans’ diaries................................................................ 12 Sub-series 3.2: Diary attributed to Thomas Hassall......................................... 13 Series 4: Poems and hymns ....................................................................................... 14 Series 5: Sermons, lectures and theological notes ..................................................... 15 Series 6: Cree language and syllabics documents ..................................................... 17 Series 7: Notes on North American aboriginal
    [Show full text]
  • Native American Languages, Indigenous Languages of the Native Peoples of North, Middle, and South America
    Native American Languages, indigenous languages of the native peoples of North, Middle, and South America. The precise number of languages originally spoken cannot be known, since many disappeared before they were documented. In North America, around 300 distinct, mutually unintelligible languages were spoken when Europeans arrived. Of those, 187 survive today, but few will continue far into the 21st century, since children are no longer learning the vast majority of these. In Middle America (Mexico and Central America) about 300 languages have been identified, of which about 140 are still spoken. South American languages have been the least studied. Around 1500 languages are known to have been spoken, but only about 350 are still in use. These, too are disappearing rapidly. Classification A major task facing scholars of Native American languages is their classification into language families. (A language family consists of all languages that have evolved from a single ancestral language, as English, German, French, Russian, Greek, Armenian, Hindi, and others have all evolved from Proto-Indo-European.) Because of the vast number of languages spoken in the Americas, and the gaps in our information about many of them, the task of classifying these languages is a challenging one. In 1891, Major John Wesley Powell proposed that the languages of North America constituted 58 independent families, mainly on the basis of superficial vocabulary resemblances. At the same time Daniel Brinton posited 80 families for South America. These two schemes form the basis of subsequent classifications. In 1929 Edward Sapir tentatively proposed grouping these families into superstocks, 6 in North America and 15 in Middle America.
    [Show full text]
  • The Canadian Handbook and Tourist's Guide
    3 LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAICN IN MEMORY OF STEWART S. HOWE JOURNALISM CLASS OF 1928 STEWART S. HOWE FOUNDATION 917.1 Smlc 1867 cop. H. T.H>ii Old Trapper, v. Photo, : THE CANADIAN HANDBOOK AND Tourists Guide GIVING A DESCRIPTION OF CANADIAN LAKE AND RIVER SCENERY AND PLACES OF HISTORICAL INTEREST WITH THE BEST SPOTS FOR Fishing and Shooting. MONTREAL Published by M. Longmoore & Co., Printing House, 6y Great St. James Street, - 1867. Entered according to the Act of the Provincial Parliament, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, by John Taylor, in the Office of the Kegistrar of the Province of Canada. 1 /?./ • . / % . THE CANADIAN HANDBOOK AND TOURIST'S GUIDE. INTRODUCTION. The Nooks and Corners of Canada, and. more especially of the Lower Province, in addition to the interest they awaken as important sources of Commercial and Agricultural wealth, are invested with no ordinary attraction for the Naturalist, the Antiquary, the Historian, and the Tourist in quest of pleasure or of health. We have often wondered why more of the venturesome spirits amongst our transatlantic friends do not tear themselves away, even for a few months, from London fogs, to visit our distant but more favoured clime. How is it that so few, comparatively speaking, come to enjoy the bracing air and bright summer skies of Canada ? With what zest could the enterprising or eccentric among them undertake a ramble, with rod and gun in hand, from Niagara to Labrador, over the Laurentian Chain of Moun- tains, choosing as rallying points, whereat to compare notes, the summit of Cape Eternity in the Saguenay district, and 6 Introduction.
    [Show full text]