From the first, they had no
friendly relations with the Europeans who came to their
shores, but lived in a state of perpetual war with them.
The Newfoundland fishermen and settlers hunted down the
Red Indians as if they were wild beasts, and killed them
at sight. Now and again, a few members of this unhappy
race were carried home to England to be exhibited at
country fairs before a crowd of grinning yokels who paid
a penny apiece to look at the 'wild men.'
Living on the mainland, next to the red men of Newfoundland
lay the great race of the Algonquins, spread over a huge
tract of country, from the Atlantic coast to the head of
the Great Lakes, and even farther west. The Algonquins
were divided into a great many tribes, some of whose
names are still familiar among the Indians of to-day.
The Micmacs of Nova Scotia, the Malecite of New Brunswick,
the Naskapi of Quebec, the Chippewa of Ontario, and the
Crees of the prairie, are of this stock. It is even held
that the Algonquins are to be considered typical specimens
of the American race. They were of fine stature, and in
strength and muscular development were quite on a par
with the races of the Old World.
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