Mississagua Indians. A tribe of Algonquian stock. They are named on Galinée's map of 1670 as occupying the north shore of Lake Huron, about the mouth of Thessalon River. Some were at the mission of Sault Ste. Marie, 1670-1673. After the great Iroquois raid of 1650, they scattered to the north country. A hundred years later, some of the tribe were found on the borders of Lake Ontario. They had been absorbed by the Iroquois in 1746. About seven hundred are now living on reservations in Ontario. Index: Hd Engage in ginseng trade, 148; lands purchased from, 265. Bib.: Chamberlain, Notes on the History, Customs and Beliefs of the Mississaguas; Pilling, Bibliography of the Algonquian Languages; Jesuit Relations, ed. by Thwaites.
Mississagua Point. Bk At entrance to Niagara River, lighthouse, dockyard, and a fort at, 58.
Mississippi River. Rises in northern Minnesota, its chief source being Itasca Lake, and enters the Gulf of Mexico, after a course of 2550 miles. It was discovered by the Spaniards, early in the sixteenth century. De Soto explored the lower part of the river, and died on its banks in 1541. Radisson was probably the first white man to see its upper waters, in 1659. Jean Nicolet reached Wisconsin River in 1634, but did not descend it to the Mississippi. Jolliet and Marquette in 1673 reached the Mississippi, and descended as far as the mouth of the Arkansas. In 1682 La Salle descended the river from the mouth of the Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico. Its headwaters were discovered by David Thompson, of the North West Company, in 1798. Index: WM Exploration of, 19. L Exploration of, 145; La Salle reaches mouth of, 150; taken possession of, in name of king of France, 151. Hd Proposed canal route to, 77. Bib.: Lippincott's Gazetteer of the World; Parkman, La Salle; Chambers, The Mississippi River and its Wonderful Valley.
Mitchell, Peter (1824-1899). Born in Newcastle, New Brunswick. Educated at the Newcastle Grammar School; called to the bar, 1848. Engaged in the lumbering and shipbuilding trades. Elected to the Assembly, 1856; appointed to the Legislative Council, 1860. Became a member of the government, 1858. A strong advocate of Confederation. Delegate to the Charlottetown, Quebec, and Westminster Conferences. Premier of New Brunswick, 1865. Called to the Senate, 1867. Entered the government of Sir John A. Macdonald as minister of marine and fisheries, 1867. Resigned from the Senate, 1874, and elected to the House of Commons. Defeated, 1878, but again elected, 1882; defeated at general election of 1896. Appointed inspector of fisheries for Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, 1897. For some years after 1885, proprietor and editor of the Montreal Herald. Index: B Forms government in New Brunswick favourable to Confederation, 188. H Accompanies Sir John Macdonald to Halifax in 1868, 210. Md Minister of marine and fisheries in first Dominion Cabinet, 135, 138; supports route along Gulf of St. Lawrence for Intercolonial Railway, 152-153. T Delegate to Quebec in Intercolonial Railway Conference, 56; attends Quebec Conference, 77; forms ministry in New Brunswick, 104-105; delegate to England re Confederation, 140-141; in first Dominion ministry, 128, 129. Bib.: Works: Notes of a Holiday Trip; Review of President Grant's Message Relative to Canadian Fisheries. For biog., see Morgan, Can. Men; Dent, Last Forty Years.
Moberley, Walter. D Associated with Edgar Dewdney in building road from Hope to Similkameen, British Columbia, 252-253.
Moffatt, George (1787-1865). Born in England. Emigrated to Canada; and engaged in business in Montreal. Served during the War of 1812. In 1831 appointed to the Legislative Council of Lower Canada, being leader of the British party in that house and a member of the Constitutional Association. In 1841 elected for Montreal to the House of Assembly, and in 1844 re-elected, retiring 1847. President of the British American League, formed to oppose the annexation movement of 1849. Index: Sy Member of Constitutional Association, 112; delegated to promote union of provinces in Upper Canada, 112. Bib.: Taylor, Brit. Am.; Christie, History of Lower Canada.
Mohawk Indians. A tribe of the Iroquois confederacy. Their villages stood in the valley of the Mohawk River. From their position as the easternmost of the Iroquois tribes, they came first in contact with both the Dutch and English to the south and the French on the north. They took a leading part in most of the wars between the Iroquois and the French, as well as with other tribes. In the Revolutionary War they sided with the British; and afterwards removed to Canada, settling principally on Grand River, in the Niagara peninsula. See also Iroquois. Index: L Tracy marches against, 53. Ch (Agniers), Iroquois tribe or nation, 50. Dr Join British forces, 88; easily depressed by reverses, 99; Caughnawagas desert at St. Johns, 100. Hd Loath at first to fight against the English colonists, 148; lands allotted to, on Grand River, 258; payment made to, for land, 259; education of, 265. F Attack Hurons on Island of Orleans, 41; Courcelles leads expedition against, 52; Tracy leads a second, 53; expedition against, 331. Bib.: Hodge, Handbook of American Indians; Diefendorf, The Historic Mohawk.
Mohier, Gervais. Ch Récollet, returns to France, 208.
Molson, John (1787-1860). Born in Montreal. In 1837 a member of the Special Council of Lower Canada; served during the Rebellion; in 1849 as a protest against the passing of the Rebellion Losses Bill, signed, with others, the Annexation Manifesto, and was in consequence relieved of his commission as colonel of militia and justice of the peace. In partnership with his brother William founded, in 1853, the Molsons Bank. Index: E Signs Annexation Manifesto, 81. Bib.: Morgan, Cel. Can.; Weir, Sixty Years in Canada.
Monck, Sir Charles Stanley, fourth Viscount (1819-1894). Born in Ireland. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin; and called to the Irish bar, 1841. Entered Parliament, 1852; lord of the treasury, 1855-1858. In 1861 appointed governor-general of Canada and British North America; in 1867 governor-general of the Dominion of Canada; in 1868 resigned office, after successfully inaugurating Confederation. In 1869 appointed a member of the Imperial Privy Council. Index: B Attempts to secure a ministry, 149; proposes coalition government, 151; his keen interest in the negotiations prior to Confederation, 157; writes George Brown urging him to join Cabinet, 157-158. C Enlists Taché in task of forming a Cabinet, on advice of Cartier, 68; correspondence in regard to Cartier's refusal of the C. B. decoration, 125-128. Md Governor-general of Canada, 90; induces Brown to enter coalition ministry, 121; calls on Macdonald to form a ministry, 122; impatient at delay in Confederation, 123, 124; charges Macdonald with formation of a government, 131; letter to, from Macdonald, in reference to election of 1872, 197. T Renders valuable assistance in Confederation scheme, 123; entrusts Macdonald with formation of ministry, 128. Bib.: Dict. Nat. Biog.; Dent, Can. Por. and Last Forty Years; Pope, Memoirs of Sir John A. Macdonald.