In nearly all other respects
the Indians of Canada had not emerged even from savagery
to that stage half way to civilization which is called
barbarism.
These Canadian aborigines seem to have been few in number.
It is probable that, when the continent was discovered,
Canada, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, contained about
220,000 natives--about half as many people as are now
found in Toronto. They were divided into tribes or clans,
among which we may distinguish certain family groups
spread out over great areas.
Most northerly of all was the great tribe of the Eskimos,
who were found all the way from Greenland to Northern
Siberia. The name Eskimo was not given by these people
to themselves. It was used by the Abnaki Indians in
describing to the whites the dwellers of the far north,
and it means 'the people who eat raw meat.' The Eskimo
called and still call themselves the Innuit, which means
'the people.'
The exact relation of the Eskimo to the other races of
the continent is hard to define. From the fact that the
race was found on both sides of the Bering Sea, and that
its members have dark hair and dark eyes, it was often
argued that they were akin to the Mongolians of China.
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