PREFACE. "The White Chief of the Ottawa" is not fiction. It is not a tale with a carefully concealed plot, meant to delude the reader at the beginning and to surprise him at the end. It is something stranger than fiction, a sketch of the life experiences of Philemon Wright and his family, the first settlers in the district of Ottawa. With the exception of the love of Abbie and Chrissy, which are based upon fact, the story is mainly a simple recital of actual facts which cannot be controverted.
The writer is indebted to the following for furnishing valuable data:
Diary and letters of Philemon Wright, 1806-1816.
Bouchette's Topographical Report.
"Travels in the North"—Sir Alexander Mackenzie, 1803.
"Three Years in Canada"—McTaggart, 1830.
"Shoe and Canoe"—Dr. Bigsby.
Parkman's History of Canada.
Also to traditions of old settlers collected at various times and places. May some of the pictures set forth in these pages inspire us with an ever-deepening appreciation of the self-sacrifice, the energy, the enterprise, of those whose loyalty to the British Crown led them to penetrate the dark recesses of our Canadian forests and brave the trials and vicissitudes of pioneer life.
To these conquering heroes Canada owes much of her prosperity and greatness.