NORTHWEST TERRITORIES 503 moderate the temperature. Fires are constant- ly devastating the wooded country and adding to the area of the prairies. The best agricul- tural regions are the valley of Peace river, the district along the upper waters of the Atha- basca, and the valley of the Saskatchewan, ex- cept along its lower course. These tracts are capable of producing the root crops, wheat, barley, &c. The region in the vicinity of Rainy river, the lake of the Woods, and Win- nipeg river, and the islands in Lake Winnipeg, are well wooded, the chief trees being red and white pine, cedar, oak, elm, and ash. W. of the 100th meridian the principal trees are the poplar, spruce, gray pine, balsam fir, and birch. The ash-leaved maple, which yields sugar, is found as far N". as the 55th parallel and as far W. as the 107th meridian. Various kinds of berries are common. The fauna of the coun- try includes bears, badgers, raccoons, wolve- renes, weasels, ermines or stoats, minks, mar- tens, pekans or fishers, otters, skunks, Esqui- maux and other dogs, wolves, foxes, lynxes, beavers, muskrats, lemmings, marmots, squir- rels, porcupines, hares, moose, caribou or rein- deer, the wapiti or stag, deer, antelope, musk ox, and bison. The polar bear is found only in the north, the grisly bear in the southwest; the brown bear frequents the barren region of the northeast as far up as the Arctic ocean, while the black bear is widely diffused. There are two species of the caribou, the one fre- quenting the barren region, the other the wooded country. The musk ox is found only in the barren wastes in the north. Vast herds of bisons formerly roamed over the plains W. of Red river, but they are rapidly disappear- ing before the hunters, and are now found chiefly on the N. branch of the Saskatchewan. The seal and walrus are found on the shores of the Arctic ocean. Various species of birds are common, the most useful of which are the grouse, ptarmigan, plover, lapwing, crane, and water fowl, such as ducks, geese, swans, gulls, and pelicans, which breed in the northern re- gions in summer. The principal rivers and larger lakes are well stocked with fish, includ- ing perch, carp, pike, whitefish, sturgeon, &c. The white inhabitants, scattered at the various Hudson Bay company's posts and employed by the company, number about 2,500. The great- er portion are Scotch (chiefly from the Orkney islands), with some French Canadians and other nationalities. The half-breeds, for the most part similarly employed, number about 5,000. Archbishop Tach6 estimates the In- dian population (excluding Labrador) at 60,- 000, viz. : Algonquins, 30,000 ; Assiniboins, 4,000; Blackfeet, 6,000; Chipewyans, 15,000; Esquimaux, 5,000. The Algonquins occupy chiefly the region E. of the Rocky mountains and S. of Churchill river, and in a large part of it are found to the exclusion of other races. This family consists of three tribes : the Saul- teaux or Chippeways, who occupy a belt 3 or 4 wide N". of the 49th parallel, extending as far W. as the 105th meridian ; the Maskegons or Swampies, N. of these as far as Hudson bay ; and the Crees, situated between the other two and extending to the Rocky mountains. The Crees are subdivided into two sections, the plain Crees and the forest Crees. The Assiniboins or Stonies are a branch of the Sioux family, and occupy a narrow strip of country stretching from the upper part of the Athabasca river S. E. to the Mouse, a S. afflu- ent of the Assiniboin. They are subdivided into the Assiniboins of the plains and the Assi- niboins of the forest. The Blackfeet roam over the W. portion of the plains S. of the Saskatch- ewan, and are subdivided into three tribes: the Sixika or Blackfeet proper, the Pieganew or Piegans, and the Bloods or Kena. With these are connected the Sards, who speak a different language. The Chipewyans, divided into several groups, inhabit the valley of the lower Athabasca, the Slave, and the upper Mackenzie rivers, as well as the region watered by the Churchill, except in its lower course. (See TINNE.) The Esquimaux occupy the ex- treme north, along the shore of the Arctic ocean and the coast of Hudson bay as far S. as the 60th parallel. These Indians, except those inhabiting the plains of the southwest, are peaceable. They subsist by hunting, trap- ping, and fishing. The furs, which are the sole export of the country, are purchased by the Hudson Bay company. (See FUE.) There are numerous Roman Catholic, a number of Anglican, and a few Methodist and Presby- terian missions among the Indians, and many of them have embraced the Christian religion. The government of the Northwest territories, by an act of 1875, is vested in a lieutenant gov- ernor and a council of not more than five mem- bers, appointed by the governor general in council. As soon as any district of not more than 1,000 sq. m. contains 1,000 adult inhab- itants, it may elect a member of the council for two years, and a second member when such inhabitants number 2,000. When there are 21 elected members, they will constitute a legis- lative assembly, and the appointed council will cease. In 1670 Charles II. granted to Prince Rupert and 14 others and their successors, under the title of " the governor and company of adventurers of England trading into Hud- son's bay " (commonly called the Hudson Bay company), "the sole trade and commerce of all those seas, straits, bays, rivers, lakes, creeks, and sounds, in whatsoever latitude they shall be, that lie within the entrance of the straits commonly called Hudson's straits, together with all the lands and territories upon the countries, coasts, and confines of the sea, bays, lakes, rivers, creeks, and sounds aforesaid," not previously granted. This region was held by the company to embrace all the territory watered by streams flowing into Hudson or James bay, and was denominated in the char- ter " Rupert's Land." The company was by the charter invested with the ownership of the
