Now, it may be that there is no connection whatever between the Indian custom described by Chainplain, as existing at the place described, and the finding of the sculpture and the appearance of a large stone, supported on stone columns, at a place in New Brunswick. The points are certainly far apart, and while in the one case there is clear evidence of the common custom, there is in the other barely sufficient evidence to justify the supposition that there may be a single instance of the adoption of the custom. The Magaguadavic Indians indeed have a tradition that they were driven from some distant part of Canada to the seaboard, but if this were established as a fact, it would scarcely aid in the elucidation of this matter. Two conjectures may be made, however, either of which if correct might account for the supposed existence of an Ottawa custom in New Brunswick. An Indian might have been captured, or might have been expelled by his brethren on the Lower Lake des Allumettes, and been carried, or have found his way, to the maritime province. Or, a young Milicetes might have been carried away by the Ottawas, and have escaped to his old home. In the one case the prisoner would naturally wish to secure for his burial place the monuments which had ornamented the graves of his fathers, and might have succeeded in securing the aid of his captors in the accomplishment of his object. In the other the escaped captive might well desire to adopt the arts of his former masters, and wish to take his last rest beneath a monument with his effigy at its head. The use of a large stone instead of a wooden tablet scarcely deserves comment, for the change of material would in no sense interfere with the object in view, but on the contrary would render the monument more deserving of the name.
I think that a careful or even superficial examination of the carving must impress the observer with the idea that it is intended to represent the face of an Indian, and the head, although viewed only laterally, certainly presents many of the peculiarities of the North American type. Of course the examiner is placed at a great disadvantage in having only a profile, and not a completely developed head, as for ethnological purposes craniology is chiefly available when an opportunity is given to measure the comparative breadth from the petrous portion of the right, to the petrous portion of the left temporal bone, or to measure from and to the parts of a carved head representing these portions. There is a portrait of a Magaguadavic Indian by Mr. O. Ward, of St. George, which is considered to present some points of resemblance to the head in discussion, which may be found in the Illustrated London News of the 5th of September, 1863, No. 1220. The fashion of wearing the hair as represented by the carving is perhaps somewhat calculated to puzzle the investigator, but there is scarcely anything sufficiently definite in the delineation to enable one to trace an analogy to either Indian or European fashions. It may be noticed that some have expressed an opinion that a wig was intended to be represented.
