Bersiamite Indians. One of the small Algonquian tribes composing the eastern group of the Montagnais, inhabiting the banks of Bersimis River , which enters St. Lawrence River near the gulf. These Indians became known to the French at an early date, and being of a peaceable and tractable disposition, were soon brought under the influence of the missionaries. They were accustomed to assemble once a year with cognate tribes at Tadoussac for the purpose of trade, but these have melted away under the influence of civilization. A trading post called Bersimis, at the mouth of Bersimis River, had in 1902 some 405 Indians attached to it, but whether any of them were Bersiamite is not stated.
