END OF THE RULE OF FUR-TRADERS—ACQUISITION OF THE NORTHWEST—FORMATION OF MANITOBA—RIEL'S REBELLIONS—THE INDIANS. (1670-1885.) On all sides there were evidences of comfort in this little oasis of civilisation amid the prairies. The descendants of the two nationalities dwelt apart in French and British parishes, each of which had their separate schools and churches. The houses and plantations of the British settlers, and of a few French Canadians, indicated thrift, but the majority of the French half-breeds, or Métis, the descendants of French Canadian fathers and Indian mothers, continued to live almost entirely on the fur trade, as voyageurs, trappers, and hunters. They exhibited all the characteristics of those hardy and adventurous men who were the pioneers of the west. Skilful hunters but poor cultivators of the soil, fond of amusement, rash and passionate, spending their gains as soon as made, too often in dissipation, many of them were true representatives of the coureurs de bois of the days of Frontenac. -- Canada under British Rule 1760-1900, by John G. Bourinot (Primary source documents / Timeline)