Book excerpt:

"As early as the year 1615, a Jesuit missionary, speaking of a trip up the Ottawa, emphasizes the kindly disposition of the Indians whom he met, and speaks of the small fields of corn and squash they cultivated, in imitation of the Hurons, and of their knowledge in the drying of berries, […].

The Indians who roamed the hills of the Gatineau were those whose trails led them north of the Ottawa and south-east of the Temiskaming, Mattawa and Demoine rivers. The social units comprising the bands were the families which consisted of individuals related by descent and blood, together with other women married to the men of the family. The family name provided a surname for the group. With each group there was a family hunting territory in which all the members shared the rights of hunting and fishing. These hunting lots were more or less fixed tracts of land, whose boundaries were determined by certain rivers, ridges, lakes or other natural landmarks, such as swamps and clumps of cedars or pines. […]. There was a comradeship between families; in many instances the more fortunate in territory conceding favours of fishing and hunting to the less favoured, or same privilege being recognized by a gift of meat or furs. The rights in the hunting territories were inherited paternally and were rigid and permanent, very few changes taking place within the range of tradition. They conserved the game of our forests and their wisdom in that line far surpasses ours. Game was kept account of closely, so that it was known how abundant each kind of animal was - and the killing regulated so as not to deplete the stock. Beaver was made the object of most careful farming. The number of occupants, old and young, to each "cabin" was kept count of. In certain districts moose were protected one year - in other districts the next year.

Marriage was determined by the old people of the families. The wife went to her husband's family and lived there, and the children belonged to the father's family and inherited their paternal rights and territory. The Algonquin Indians lived in bark houses, made with poles and formed in tepee fashion, around which long lengths of birch bark would be wound, working upward. These birch bark lengths could easily be taken down and rolled into smaller space for travelling purposes. Among the Algonquins of the Ottawa and Meech Creek Lake district there was little missionary work done until a late date. Anything that was done was in the nature of travelling with different bands and tribes to their hunting grounds and was often accompanied by great danger to the missionary. Later on there was a mission of Oblate Fathers at River Desert. The Ottawas were the first Indians from the Upper Lakes to trade with the French."