Chapter XIII: Part I: The Primary Varieties of the Human Species (10)

The language of Fitz-Hugh Sound, of which we find the numerals in the Mithridates, seems to be Hailtsa. On the other hand, the termination, _-scum_, reappears in the Blackfoot numerals.

ENGLISH. _Two_.
_F. Sound_ malscum.
_Haeltzuk_ malook.

English _three_.
_F. Sound_ utascum.
_Haeltzuk_ yootook.

English _four_.
_F. Sound_ moozcum.
_Haeltzuk_ moak.
_Billechoola_ moash.

English _five_.
_F. Sound_ thekaescum.
_Haeltzuk_ skeowk.
_Billechoola_ tzeiuch.

English _six_.
_F. Sound_ kitliscum.
_Haeltzuk_ katlowk.

English _seven_.
_F. Sound_ atloopooskum.
_Haeltzuk_ malthlowsk.

English _ten_.
_F. Sound_ nighioo.
_Haeltzuk_ aikas.

By Mr. Hales, the Hailtsa, of which he gives a vocabulary, differing in some several points from the Haeltzuk (although the two words are most likely the same), is placed, along with the Chemmesyan and Billechúla in a single section, called the _Nas_ class of languages, and probably this is the right view. The difficulty, however, in these parts is not to connect one tongue with another, but to _dis_connect it from others. The Hailtsa has certainly affinities with the Chemmesyan, &c., but whether these are greater than those with the Atna, Skittegat, or Wakash tongue is doubtful. Probably, however, it is as Mr. Hales' tables make it.

THE NÚTKANS.

_Localities._--_a._ The greater portion of Quadra and
Vancouver's Island; _b._ The parts about Cape Flattery, on the
continent.

_Divisions._--_a._ _Insular._ 1. The Naspatle; 2. Proper
Nutkans; 3. Tlaoquatsh; 4. Nittenat. _b._ _Continental._--1.
Klasset; 2. Klallems. _General name for the language_.--Wakash.

Such is the line of languages from Behring's Straits to the parts opposite Quadra and Vancouver's Island, as they are spoken along the sea-coast as far south as Frazer's River; concerning which it may also be predicated that they are spoken along the sea-coast almost exclusively--_i.e._ that none of them extends far inland.

Of those spoken inland, the distribution is very different. It is, at first, over large areas.

THE ATHABASKANS.

The geographical distribution of the Athabaskans should be studied along with that of the Eskimo; since, like this last, it has an east-and-west, or (if the expression may be allowed) a horizontal extension. It has, however, an extension from north to south, or what may be called a _vertical_ one as well. As a general rule, the southern limit of the Eskimo is the northern limit of the Athabaskan area.

ATHABASKANS.

_Area._--Discontinuous.

_Divisions._--Northern and southern.

NORTHERN ATHABASKANS.

_Conterminous_ with the Algonkins on the south-east, the
Shushwap on the south-west, the Kolúches and Hailtsa west, and
the Eskimos north.

_Area._--From Hudson's Bay to about 100 miles from the Pacific
in 50° 30´ N.L.; on the Misinissi (Churchill) Peace, Fish, and
M'Kenzie's Rivers; on the _Athabaska_, Slave and Bear Lakes; on
the northern portion of the Rocky Mountains, and on each side
of them.

_Political Relations._--Hudson's Bay Company--Russia(?).

_Divisions (according to Mr. Isbister)._--1. The Chippewyans
Proper. 2. The Beaver Indians. 3. The Daho-dinnis. 4. The
Strong Bows. 5. The Hare Indians. 6. The Dog-ribs. 7. The
Yellow Knives. 8. The Carriers.

_The Chippewyans Proper._--From Hudson's Bay to the Lake Athabaska; speaking a harsh and meagre dialect, and calling themselves _See-eessaw-dinneh_=_Rising Sun Men_. These were the first Athabaskans known to Europeans. The name _Chippewyan_ is probably misapplied; at any rate, the _See-eessaw-dinneh_ are a different people from the Chippeways or Ojibbways. In even the early Chippewyan vocabularies of Dobbs and M'Kenzie there is a sufficiency of Eskimo words to throw suspicion over the current doctrine as to the great breadth of the line of demarcation between the Athabaskans and Eskimos.

_The Beaver Indians._--The valley of the Peace River, from the Lake Athabaska to the Rocky Mountains. Their dialect is the softest and most copious of the Athabaskan tongues. It is also most mixed with words from the Cree dialect of the Algonkin.

_The Daho-dinnis._--Called from their warlike disposition the Mauvais Monde, and inhabiting the head-water of the Rivière-aux-liards.

_The Strong Bows._--Mountaineers of their upper part of the Rocky Mountains; slightly differing in dialect from the Daho-dinnis, and still more slightly from the--

_Hare_, or _Slave Indians_.--Occupants of the valley of the River M'Kenzie, from Slave Lake to Great Bear Lake. These extend to the Arctic Circle, and consequently, along with the Dog-ribs, are the most northern of the Athabaskans. "Their condition is the most wretched and deplorable that can be imagined. Cannibalism, almost justified by the extreme necessity of the case, exists to a frightful extent. It is but just, however, to say, that this practice is looked upon with horror by the tribe generally; and many, rather than resort to this dreadful expedient, put an end to their own lives. Instances have been known of parents destroying their own families, and afterwards themselves, to avoid this fatal alternative.

"They are almost entirely clothed in the skins of rabbits, tagged together after the rudest fashion with the ends of sinew; hence the name of _Hare Indians_ applied to the tribe. They have neither tents nor huts of any kind, living all the year round in the open air. As might be expected, they are a puny and stunted race, and are rapidly decreasing in numbers, and must soon disappear altogether."

_The Dog-ribs._--Due-east of the Hare Indians.--"They live upon the rein-deer, which frequent their lands in great numbers, following the migrations of these animals as closely as if they formed part and parcel of the herd. They are almost entirely independent of the whites, and present a marked contrast with their neighbours of the Hare Tribe. They are well-clothed in the skins of the rein-deer, and have all the elements of comfort and Indian prosperity within their reach. They are a healthy, vigorous, but not very active race, of a mild and peaceful disposition, but very low in the mental scale, and apparently of very inferior capacity. There is no reason to think that they are decreasing in numbers. They receive the name of the Dog-ribs, from a tradition that they are descended from the dog."

_The Yellow Knives._--Called also the Copper Indians, from occupying, like the Dog-ribs, a portion of the river so called.

_The Carriers, Tahkali, or Taculli._--These occupy the greater portion of New Caledonia, and, of all the Athabaskans, they are those that are best known. They are divided into "eleven clans, or minor tribes, whose names are, beginning at the south, as follows:--(1) the _Taūtin_, or _Talkótin_; (2) the _Tsilkótin_, or _Chiltokin_; (3) the _Naskótin_; (4) the _Thetliótin_; (5) the _Tsatsnótin_; (6) the _Nulaáutin_; (7) the _Ntshaáutin_; (8) the _Natliáutin_; (9) the _Nikozliáutin_; (10) the _Tatshiáutin_; and (11) the _Babine_ Indians. The number of persons in these clans varies from fifty to three hundred. All speak the same language, with some slight dialectical variations. The _Sikani_ (or _Secunnie_) nation has a language radically the same, but with greater difference of dialect, passing gradually into that of the _Beaver_ and _Chippewyan_ Indians.

"The _Tahkali_, though a branch of the great _Chippewyan_ (or _Athabascan_) stock, have several peculiarities in their customs and character which distinguish them from other members of that family. In personal appearance they resemble the tribes on the Upper Columbia, though, on the whole, a better-looking race. They are rather tall, with a tendency to grossness in their features and figures, particularly among the women. They are somewhat lighter in complexion than the tribes of the south.

"Like all Indians, who live principally upon fish, and who do not acquire the habits of activity proper to the hunting tribes, they are excessively indolent and filthy, and, as a natural concomitant, base and depraved in character. They are fond of unctuous substances, and drink immense quantities of oil, which they obtain from fish and wild animals. They also besmear their bodies with grease and coloured earths. They like their meat putrid, and often leave it until the stench is, to any but themselves, insupportable. Salmon roes are sometimes buried in the earth and left for two or three months to putrefy, in which state they are esteemed a delicacy.

"The natives are prone to sensuality, and chastity among the women is unknown. At the same time, they seem to be almost devoid of natural affection. Children are considered by them a burden, and they often use means to destroy them before birth. Their religious ideas are very gross and confused. It is not known that they have any distinct ideas of a God, or of the existence of the soul. They have priests, or doctors, whose art consists in certain mummeries, intended for incantations. When a corpse is burned, which is the ordinary mode of disposing of the dead, the priest, with many gesticulations and contortions, pretends to receive in his closed hands something, perhaps the life of the deceased, which he communicates to some living person, by throwing his hands towards him, and at the same time blowing upon him. This person then takes the rank of the deceased, and assumes his name in addition to his own. Of course the priest always understands to whom this succession is properly due.

"If the deceased had a wife, she is all but burned alive with the corpse, being compelled to lie upon it while the fire is lighted, and remain thus till the heat becomes beyond endurance. In former times, when she attempted to break away, she was pushed back into the flames by the relations of her husband, and thus often severely injured. When the corpse is consumed, she collects the ashes and deposits them in a little basket, which she always carries about with her. At the same time she becomes the servant and drudge of the relations of her late husband, who exact of her the severest labour, and treat her with every indignity. This lasts for two or three years, at the end of which time a feast is made by all the kindred; and a broad post, fifteen or twenty feet high, is set up, and covered on the sides with rude daubs, representing figures of men and animals of various kinds. On the top is a box in which the ashes of the dead are placed, and allowed to remain until the post decays. After this ceremony the widow is released from her state of servitude, and allowed to marry again. The Carriers are not a warlike people, though they sometimes have quarrels with their neighbours, particularly the tribes of the coast. But these are usually appeased without much difficulty."[107]

_The Tsikanni_, or _Sikani_.--The evidence that these are Athabaskan is taken exclusively from their language. In the United States Exploring Expedition, the same sentence which speaks to the similarity of tongue, speaks also to the difference of manners and customs.--

"The _Sikani_, though speaking a language of the same family, differ widely from the _Tahkali_ in their character and customs. They live a wandering life, and subsist by the chase. They are a brave, hardy, and active people, cleanly in their persons and habits, and in general agreeing nearly with the usual idea of an American Indian. They bury their dead, and have none of the customs of the _Tahkali_ with respect to them."

A tabulated vocabulary of Mr. Howse, publishing by the Philological Society, is further evidence to the Athabaskan character of the Tsikanni language.

_The Sussees_, or _Sarsees_.--On the head-waters of the Saskatchewan.

It is not certain that the previous list is exhaustive of the northern Athabaskans. In Gallatin's enumeration we have, besides those enumerated--

1. The Northern Indians on Hudson's Bay.--As these are mentioned in addition to the Chippewyans Proper, it is fair to suppose that they constitute a variety under that division.

2. The Birch-rind Indians, living near the Slave Lake, and probably most closely akin to the Hare Indians.

3. The Thickwood Hunters.

4. The Sheep Indians.

5. The Brushwood Indians.

6. The Nauscud-dennies of M'Kenzie's River.

7. The Slaoucud-dennies of M'Kenzie's River.

8. The Naotetains to the west of Tacullis.

9. The Nagail, or Chin Indians; are probably Tacullis under another name.

In the Athabaskan language, _dinne_=_man_; so that we now understand the prevalence of that termination.

The _Chippewyans Proper_ are called Saweesaw-_dinneh_.

The _Birch-rind_ Indians are called Tan-_tsawhot-dinneh_.

The _Dog-ribs_ are called Thlingeha-_dinneh_.

On the other hand, the Thickwood, Sheep, and Brushwood Indians are called Edch-_tawoot_, Ambah-_tawoot_, and Tsillaw-_awdoot_, respectively; whilst the Hare Indians are called _Kancho_.

Lastly, it should be added that, although Mr. Isbister makes the Nehannies Kolúch, Gallatin places them amongst the Athabaskans. A vocabulary of their language would probably settle the point. Such, however, is yet wanting.

SOUTHERN ATHABASKANS.

_Area._--A narrow strip at the mouth of the river Columbia, and
along the sea-coast to the river Umkwa.

_Divisions._--1. Kwalioqwa. 2. Tlatskanai. 3. Umkwa.

1. The Kwalioqwa, _north_ of the river Columbia, from which,
and from the Tlatskanai, they are separated by the Tshinúks.
Number, about 100.

2. The Tlatskanai, _south_ of the river Columbia, from which,
and from the Kwalioqwa, they are separated by the Tshinúks.
Number, about 100.

3. The Umkwa, occupying the upper part of the river so-called,
about lat. 43°. Number, about 400.

The first vocabulary of this section (one of the Umkwa language) was collected by Mr. Tolmie. The notice, however, of its affinities with the Tlatskanai and Kwalioqwa, and the more important discovery of its Athabaskan character, is one of many valuable additions made to Ethnographical Philology by Mr. Hales. I consider, for my own part, that the following table[108] justifies his classification.

ENGLISH. CHIPPEWYAN. TLATSKANAI. UMKWA.

_Man_ dinnie khanane titsun.
_Woman_ chequois tse_u_keia ekhe.
_Father_ _yi_tah (_my_) mama stanli.
_Mother_ _yi_nah (_my_) naa _u_nla.
_Son_ _yi_ayay (_my_) sik_u_te-teints_u_ n_u_sla shashai.
_Daughter_ _yi_lengai (_my_) slk_u_-ts_u_kaisla éte.
_Head_ edthie _khu_st_u_ma s_u_gha.
_Hair_ thiegah _kho_ts_u_sea zugha.
_Ear_ " _kho_tskhe tshigha.
_Eye_ nackhay _kho_nakhai naghe.
_Nose_ " _kho_ints_u_s mintshesh.
_Mouth_ " _kho_kwaitshaále ta.
_Tongue_ edthu _kho_tshutkhltshikhltsaha lásom.
_Tooth_ goo (_pl_) _kho_tsiakatatkhltsin uo.
_Hand_ law _kho_láa _sh_láa.
_Fingers_ " _tkh_lakhakhatesa schlatsune.
_Feet_ cuh (_sing._) _kho_akhastls_u_kai shke.
_Blood_ dell tutkhl shtule.
_House_ cooen k_un_t_u_kh ma.
_Axe_ thylne katst_u_n sen_u_tl.
_Knife_ bess tekhe natlmi.
_Shoes_ kinchee ke khe.
_Sky_ " ià ishtshi.
_Sun_ sah ta_u_se sha.
_Moon_ sah ta_u_se ighaltshi.
_Star_ " " khatlatshe.
_Day_ " khautkhlkante shaitltiti.
_Night_ " kleak_u_t kh_u_tli.
_Fire_ counn tkhlkane khong.
_Water_ tone to tkho.
_Rain_ thinnelsee natkakh natkhlhika.
_Snow_ yath yakhs tatkhliyitkhl.
_Earth_ " neé nanee.
_River_ tesse taseke khanee.
_Stone_ thaih tshetse seh.
_Tree_ " t_u_k_u_n sintshunata.
_Meat_ bid ts_u_ts_u_n isung.
_Dog_ sliengh tkhlin tkhli.
_Beaver_ yah " sha.
_Bear_ yass t_u_ls_u_n_u_ shtetkhlshu
(black).
_Bird_ " tsheuse naake.
_Great_ unshaw wane mintshaghe.
_Cold_ edyah kwatsakh_u_towa skais.
_White_ " itesina hal_u_kai.
_Black_ dellzin tkhls_u_ne h_u_ldji.
_Red_ delicouse tkhltsohwe t_u_tkhl.
_I_ ne sik shi.
_Thou_ nee nann_u_k na.
_He_ " ian_u_k hatake.
_One_ slachy tkhlie aitkhla.
_Two_ naghur nat_u_ke nakh_u_k.
_Three_ taghy tage tak.
_Four_ dengky t_u_ntshe t_u_ntshik.
_Five_ sasoulachee ts_u_kwalae shwullak.
_Six_ alkitarhyy kw_u_stanahe w_u_sthane.
_Seven_ " shostshita hoitahi.
_Eight_ olkideinghy tshanivaha nakanti.
_Nine_ cakinahanothna tkhleweet aitkhlanti.
_Ten_ canothna kwunéshin kwuneza.

We now come to a series of languages which, like the Kolúch, and unlike the Athabaskan and Eskimo, have no great extension from west to east, and which are spoken on the _western_ side of Rocky Mountains only. Hence we get a great geographical line of demarcation; whilst the river systems with which we deal are those of Frazer's River and the Columbia, rather than of the Peace, the M'Kenzie, the Saskatchewan, and the Missinissi rivers.

West of the Rocky Mountains, the ethnological affinities run from north to south (or _vertically_) until we reach the area of the great Paduca family; one, in respect to its direction and distribution, of the most remarkable in America.

The ethnology of the parts between the Pacific, the Rocky Mountains, the Northern Athabaskan, and the Paduca area, is very nearly the ethnology of Oregon. Here we find two great families; and by their sides four or five isolated, or nearly isolated, languages, a phenomenon for which we are now prepared.

The first of the great divisions is one that is conveniently called--

THE TSIHAILI.

_Synonym._--Tsihaili-Selish. _Hales._

_Area._--Discontinuous. Chiefly the lower part of Fraser's
River, and the parts between that and the Columbia.

_Divisions._--1. Tribes to the north of the Columbia,
continuous. 2. Tribes to the south of the Columbia, either
wholly or nearly isolated.

_Sub-divisions._--Value of the classification unascertained.
_a._ Continuous Tsihaili. 1. Shushwap. 2. Salish. 3.
Skitsuish. 4. Piskwaus. 5. Kawitchen. 6. Skwali. 7. Checheeli.
8. Kowelits. 9. Noosdalum.

_b._ Isolated, or nearly isolated, Tsihaili.--The Nsietshawus,
or Killamucks(?).

_Conterminous_, with the _a._ Hailtsa, _b._ Nass, _c._
Athabaskan Taculli and Tsikunni on the north; _d._ Kitunaha,
on the east; _e._ Sahaptin; _f._ Tshinúk on the south.
The isolated Tsihaili surrounded by Tshinúks, Tlatskanai
(discontinous Athabaskans) and Jakons.

The _Shushwap_, or _Atnahs_, are the northernmost of the Tsihaili, and are conterminous with the Taculli. Their number, according to Mr. Hales, is about 1200, increased from 400.

_The Salish._--The Salish language falls into three dialects; those of _a_, the Kullelspelm or Ponderays (Pend' oreilles), _b_, the Spokan, improperly called Flat-heads (since they have no such habit as the one suggested by the name), and _c_, the Okanagan.

A fair sample of the Salish traditions is the following. A ceremony called by them (the Salish) _Sumash_, "deserves notice for the strangeness of the idea on which it is founded. They regard the spirit of a man as distinct from the living principle, and hold that it may be separated for a short time from the body without causing death, or without the individual being conscious of the loss. It is necessary, however, in order to prevent fatal consequences, that the lost spirit should be found and restored as quickly as possible. The conjuror, or medicineman, learns, in a dream, the name of the person who has suffered this loss. Generally there are several at the same time in this condition. He then informs the unhappy individuals, who immediately employ him to recover their wandering souls. During the next night they go about the village from one lodge to another singing and dancing. Towards morning they enter a separate lodge, which is closed up, so as to be perfectly dark; a small hole is then made in the roof, through which the conjuror, with a bunch of feathers, brushes in the spirits in the shape of small bits of bone, and similar substances, which he receives on a piece of matting. A fire is then lighted, and the conjuror proceeds to select out from the spirits such as belong to persons already deceased, of which there are usually several; and should one of them be assigned by mistake to a living person he would instantly die. He next selects the particular spirit belonging to each person, and causing all the men to sit down before him, he takes the spirit of one (_i.e._, the splinter of bone, shell, or wood, representing it), and placing it on the owner's head, pats it, with many contortions and invocations, till it descends into the heart and resumes its proper place. When all are thus restored the whole party unite in making a contribution of food, out of which a public feast is given, and the remainder becomes the perquisite of the conjuror.

"Like the _Sahaptin_, the _Salish_ have many childish traditions connected with the most remarkable natural features of the country, in which the prairie-wolf generally bears a conspicuous part. What could have induced them to confer the honours of divinity upon this animal cannot be imagined; they do not, however, regard the wolf as an object of worship, but merely suppose that in former times it was endowed with preternatural powers, which it exerted after a very whimsical and capricious fashion. Thus, on one occasion, being desirous of a wife (a common circumstance with him), the wolf, or the divinity so called, visited a tribe on the Spokan River and demanded a young woman in marriage. His request being granted, he promised that thereafter the salmon should be abundant with them, and he created the rapids which give them facilities for taking the fish. Proceeding further up, he made of each tribe on his way the same request, attended with a like result; at length he arrived at the territory of the Skitsuish (_Cœur d'alène_); they refused to comply with his demand, and he therefore called into existence the great falls of the Spokan, which prevent the fish from ascending to their country."[109]

In the Salish tribes we have the best sample of a true _inland Oregon_ family, a section of the American Indians distinguished by certain negative as well as positive characters which require notice.

_a._ As contrasted with the Indians to the north of them they have a milder climate, are south of the true fur-bearing countries, and below the line of the rein-deer.

_b._ From the islanders and coast tribes of the Pacific they are distinguished by the necessary absence of maritime habits, and a diet consisting to a great extent of sea fish.

_c._ To the families on the east of the Rocky Mountains they stand in the remarkable opposition of being imperfect agriculturists rather than hunters. In other words, in getting beyond the range of the Rocky Mountains we get beyond the country of the prairie and the localities of the buffalo; as a set-off to which, although the botany of the Oregon is at present but imperfectly known, the whole district is described as being preeminently productive of edible _roots_; not, however, in respect to the number of individuals (for the land is poor), but in respect to the variety of their species.

Oregon, then, at least in its central parts, is the area of an undeveloped agriculture; and (probably like other tribes besides) the Salish look to the returning seasons not, as in Siberia, Arctic America, and the parts to the east of the Rocky Mountains, with a view to the migrations of the buffalo and the rein-deer, but with respect to the production of their successive vegetable esculents; added to which their river-system gives them, in its season, a supply of fish.

Upon this point, even if external evidence were wanting, we might find proof in the Salish names of the seasons (with which the Piskwaus agree), a list which gives us in the months of the _camass-root_ and the _exhausted salmon_ the extreme seasons of want and plenty.

MEANING IN
PISKWAUS. SALISH. ENGLISH. ENGLISH MONTH.

Skwusús Siistikwo ---- December and Jan.
Skiniramun Skwusus _cold_ January and Feb.
Skuputskiltin Skiniramun _a certain herb_ February & March.
Skasulku Skaputru _snow gone_ March and April.
Katsosumptun Spatlom _bitter-root_ April and May.
Stsaok Stagamawus _going to root-ground_ May and June.
Kupukkalotltin Ittlwa _camass-root_ June and July.
Silump Saanttllkwo _hot_ July and August.
Tshepomtum Silamp _gathering berries_ August and Sept.
Parpattllitlen Skilues _exhausted salmon_ September and Oct.
Skaai Skaai _dry_ October and Nov.
Siistkwu Keshmakwaln _snow_ November and Dec.

_The Piskwaus._--"On the main Columbia, between the Salish proper, and the Wallawallahs below Fort Okanagan. A miserable, beggarly people, great thieves. Their country very poor in game and roots."--_Transactions of the American Ethnological Society_, p. 13.

_The Skitsuish._--_Cœur d'alène._--"About 400 souls live on the lake of that name above the falls of the Spokan, have no salmon, raise potatoes, and have a tendency to cultivate."--_Transactions of the American Ethnological Society_, p. 13.

_The Kawichen_, _Skwali_, _Checheeli_, _Kowelits_, _Kwaintl_, _Kwenawitl_ and _Núsdalum_.--The exact relations of these tribes to each other, as well as their position in the Tsihaili family, is unascertained.

Geographically they agree in forming the south-western division of the stock, and in occupying the peninsula (or _acté_) between the mouth of the Columbia, Puget's Sound, and Cape Flattery; where, in the latter locality, they are in contact with the Wakash Klassets and Klallems, and, in the former, with the Tshinúks.

Philologically the Atna, as tested by the first known vocabulary of the language, a short one of M'Kenzie's, is closely allied to the Núsdalum. But, then, on the other hand the Núsdalum, Kawichen and Skwali (or Squallyarnish) are by no means so like each other as are the two vocabularies first mentioned.

Again, Dr. Scouler gives reasons against disconnecting this branch of the Tsihaili from the Wakash dialects of Quadra and Vancouver's Island, with which he shows that they have at least the following words in common.

ENGLISH. CHEKEELI. WAKASH.

_Plenty_ haya aya.
_No_ wake wik.
_Water_ chuck tchaak.
_Good_ closh hooleish.
_Bad_ peshak peishakeis.
_Man_ tillicham tchuckoop.
_Woman_ cloochamen tlootsemin.
_Child_ tanass tannassis.
_Now_ clahowiah tlahowieh.
_Come_ sacko tchooqua.
_Slave_ mischemas mischemas.
_What are you doing?_ ekta mammok akoots-ka-mamok.
_What are you saying?_ ekta-wawa au-kaak-wawa. .
_Let me see_ nannanitch nannanitch.
_Sun_ ootlach opeth.
_Sky_ saya sieya.
_Fruit_ camas chamas.
_To sell_ makok makok.
_Understand_ commatax commatax.

For the particular dialect spoken by another Tsihaili tribe, and placed by Dr. Scouler in the present section, we have no vocabulary, viz.: the Commagsheak in the northern part of the Gulf of Georgia.

ISOLATED (_or nearly Isolated_) TSIHAILI.(?)

_The Nsietshawuss._--Occupants of the sea-coasts to the south
of the Columbia. Numbers in 1840 about 700. Conterminous
with the Tshinúks, on the north, the Jakon on the south, and
the Tlatskanai on the east.--_Appearance and manners of the
Tshinúks._

_Synonym._--Killamuk.

The elements of doubt denoted by the note of interrogation(?) consist in the discrepancy between the evidence of the Killamuk language, and the evidence of the Killamuk physiognomy; the former being Tsihaili, the latter Tshinúk. Hence, whilst Mr. Hales makes them the former, Dr. Scouler classes them with the latter.

Now comes a small family, falling into no minor divisions, and spread over an area of but third-rate magnitude.

THE KÚTANIS (KITUNAHA).

_Synonym._--Flat-bows.

_Locality._--Banks of the Kútani River, one of the feeders of
the Columbia.

_Conterminous._--with the Blackfoots, Ponderay, Salish,
Shushwap, and Carrier Athabaskans.

The Kútanis are described by Simpson as undersized, irregularly fed, poor, and squalid; the women being plainer than the men. Irregularly fed upon fish and venison, they dig up the kammas and mash it into a pulp. This, in times of unusual scarcity, they flavour with a sort of moss or lichen collected from the trees. On the other hand they are sharp-sighted in making bargains, prudent enough to be the best economisers in their district of the fur-animals, steady in their fidelity to the whites, and so brave, under attacks, as to hold their own against the powerful Blackfoots of the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains.

According to Mr. Hales their numbers are about 400; they are great hunters, furnishing much peltry, and in appearance and character resembling the Indians east of the Rocky Mountains rather than those of the Oregon.

These accounts agree; whilst the evidence of language as known from the vocabularies of the American Exploring Expedition, and a MS. vocabulary of Mr. Howse's disconnect them from the tribes around them.

In physical appearance they are _contrasted_ by Simpson with the Salish Ponderays. These last struck him with the stateliness of their manners; and so much did they show to advantage, that he considered them as the finest-looking men he had seen, next to the Indians of the plains.

CHINÚKS (TSHINÚK).

_Locality._--Mouth of the Columbia.

_Divisions._--1. Chinúks Proper, on the southern bank of the
Columbia, at its mouth. 2. Klatsops, at Point Adams, south of
the Chinúks. 3. Kathlamut, on the south bank of the Columbia,
above the Chinúks. 4. Wakáikam. 5. Watlala, or Upper Chinúk,
farthest up the river. 6. Nihaloitih.

_Physical Appearance._--"The personal appearances of the
Chinook differs so much from that of the aboriginal tribes of
the United States, that it was difficult at first to recognise
the affinity. Taking them collectively, they are even inferior
in stature to the tribes of Interior Oregon; the general form
is shorter and more squat, and the face is rounder and broader
when viewed in front. Instances occurred of a fairness of
complexion, which I have not seen in other parts of aboriginal
America; and in young children, the colour was often not
strikingly deeper than among Europeans.

"The oblique eye I have scarcely noticed in other parts of
America; nor such frequent difficulty in distinguishing men
from women, whether in youth or age. The arched nose, was,
however, very prevalent among the Chinooks. The beard was
not always absolutely wanting, but it occasionally attained
the length of an inch or more. One man had both beard and
whiskers, quite thin, but full two inches long; and in other
respects he much resembled some representations I have seen
of the Esquimaux." * * * "The head is artificially flattened
in infancy; _but as the children grow up, the cranium tends
to resume its natural shape, so that the majority of grown
persons hardly manifest the existence of the practice._ One
effect, however, seemed to be permanently distinguishable, in
the unusual breadth of the face."--Pickering, p. 27.

We have already, in speaking of the Salish, met with the word _Flat-head_, and, although in that particular case, it was misapplied, it is still an important term in American ethnology, since more than one family of American Indians has the practice of _artificially flattening the head_. This we meet with, for the first time, amongst the Tshinúks, the true _Flat-heads_ of those parts.

The process itself was witnessed by Pickering. In one of the stockaded villages of the Chinúks, where the influence of the missionaries had so far found its way as for some of the houses to stand in a small cultivated enclosure, of about a quarter of an acre in size, an infant was confined to a wooden receptacle, with a pad tightly bandaged over the forehead and eyes, so that it was alike impossible for it to see or move. He also observed that when the child was suspended according to usage, the head was actually lower than the feet.

So much for the children. The adults improve upon Nature by piercing the septum of the nose and putting a ring through it, by earrings, and by painting the face--in default of paint, by smearing it with soot, the marks being after a pattern. A black and dull red paint, with which they ornament their canoes, hats, and masks, are aboriginal, the others procured from traders. A sail, also, seen in one of the larger boats was considered not native, but copied from the Russians. In other respects the management of their canoes, as well as the construction, was skilful; so were some of the contrivances both for fowling and fishing. For the former purpose tall masts were set up to intercept by means of connecting nets(?) the water-fowl at night. Sturgeon were speared or noosed; the darts used for killing fish being double-headed. The capture of whales, an exploit never attempted by even the most enterprising of the Polynesians, is attempted by the Chinúks.

The art, however, of platting, or weaving, seems to be that wherein the Chinúks have the best claim for excellence. Still it is doubtful whether, in this respect, they are above the level of the American tribes in general. The mats are made of the _scirpus lacustris_ placed side by side, and strung at intervals. The wool of the mountain goat is woven into blankets, marked, in the way of pattern, with angular figures, coloured black and red. The former seem to be made by changing the material, and substituting the black hair of the dog for that of the goat.

Carving in claystone is another Chinúk art. So many, however, of the specimens in museums are made in imitation of imported articles that the original patterns, consisting generally in the representation of grotesque imaginary quadrupeds, are nearly extinct.[110]

I shall close the account of the Tshinúks with a notice of the Lingua Franca, taken from Mr. Hales, which is now in the actual process of formation in the parts about the mouth of the Columbia. It first began to be developed in the harbour of Nútka Sound; from the language of which district a few words were adopted by the early English traders. When the intercourse with the inhabitants of the Columbia began, these Nútka words became transferred to the Chinúk country; and the three languages which then contributed elements to the so-called _jargon_, were the Nútka, the Chinúk, and the English. From the second of these tongues were taken, besides certain substantives and adjectives, the first ten numerals, the word for a hundred, twelve pronouns, and about twenty adverbs and prepositions. Additions were also supplied from the French of the Canadian _voyageurs_.

Some of the processes by which this medium of communication has been formed deserve study; and they have been well exhibited in the philological portion of the United States Exploring Expedition, the source of the present information.

1. For a language to be spoken by three different nations it is convenient to admit only such articulations as are common to the three languages. An approach to this occurs here. The harsh Chinúk sounds are modified. The French nasal is dropped. The English _tsh_ becomes _dzh_; perhaps, in the mouth of a Frenchman, _zh_.

2. In names of objects common to both languages, the choice seems to be determined by the hardness or easiness of the pronunciation. For _man_, _sun_, _moon_, _stick_, _snow_, _warm_, &c., the terms are English; although the equivalents were part and parcel of the Chinúk and Nútkan, equally. They were, however, preeminently unpronounceable, being _kottllelikum_, _ottllatl_, &c. On the other hand where the Indian is moderately adapted to European organs terms from _both_ languages become current, _e.g._

ENGLISH. JARGON.

Water _tsok_ and _wātā_
Cold _tsis_ " _kol_
Fire _olapitski_ " _paia_.

3. Grammar is, as we should expect it to be, at its _minimum_ amount.

_a._ _b._ There are no signs of either the possessive case or the plural number. The former is determined by the construction only--_kata nēm maika papa_=_what name thou father_=_wh(-at) is (the) name (of) th(-y) father_. The latter is sometimes denoted by _haiu_=_many_.

_c._ In general the tense of verbs is to be discovered by the context. When it is absolutely necessary to fix the time, certain adverbs are resorted to; as, _now_, _formerly_, _tomorrow_. The future sense is expressed by _tuké_=_wish_.

_d._ The notion of condition is expressed by the Chinúk _klunas_=_perhaps_, or by the English _pos_=_suppose_. The only other conjunction in the language is _pi_ =the French _puis_=_and_, _or_, _then_, &c.

_e._ The substantive verb is generally (as in the normal state of the Semitic languages) omitted--_maika pilton_ = _thou art foolish_.

The changes that European words undergo may be collected from the following vocabulary.

WORDS OF ENGLISH ORIGIN.

Boston, American[111]
Bōt--boat.
Hakatshum--handkerchief.
Haus--house.
Klai--clay.
Klas--glass.
Kintshosh--Englishman.[112]
Kitl--kettle.
Kōl--coal.
Lēk--lake.
Lēsi--lazy.
Lûm--rum.
Oluman[113]--father.
Paia--fire.
Pilton[114]--foolish.
Pēpa--paper.
Pōs--suppose.
Shŭt--shirt.
Stutshin---sturgeon.
Tala--silver, dollar.
Tlai--cry.
Tshaket--jacket.
Tumola--tomorrow.
Wām--warm.
Wata--water.
Win--wind.

WORDS OF FRENCH ORIGIN.

Kapo--capot.
Kasét--casette.
Kuli--courir.
Labúsh--la bouche.
Lahásh--la hache.
Laklés--la graisse.
Lalán--la langue.
Lamestin--la médecine.
Lamontai--le montaigne.
Lasuai--la soie.
Latapl--la table.
Lawie--la vieille.
Lebiskwi--le biscuit.
Liman--la main.
Letan--les dents.
Loup-marin--loup marin[115].
Pasianks--Français.
Putāli--poudre.
Sawash[116]--Indian.
Shante--chanter.
Seápot--chapeau.
Siápul--ditto.

ONOMATOPŒIC WORDS.

Hehe--laugh.
Liplip--boil.
Tiktik--watch.
Ting-ting--bell.
Tum--heavy noise.
Tum-wata--cataract.

The power of combination is greatly developed. Almost every verb and adjective may receive a modification in its meaning by the prefixion of the word _mamúk_=_make_ or _cause_. Thus--

Tsháko[117] = come mamúk tsháko = bring.
Klátawa[117] = go " klátawa = send.
Kikwili[118] = below " kikwili = bury.
Pepa = paper " pepa = write.

That of composition is equally so; _e.g._ _ship-man_=_sailor_, _ship-stik_=_spar_, _stik-skin_=_bark_, _sél-haus_ (sail-house) = _tent_, &c.

"The place at which the _jargon_ is most in use is at Fort _Vancouver_. At this establishment five languages are spoken by about five hundred persons--namely, the _English_, the _Canadian French_, the _Tshinúk_, the _Cree_ or _Knisteneau_, and the _Hawaiian_. The three former are already accounted for; the _Cree_ is the language spoken in the families of many officers and men belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company, who have married half-breed wives at the posts east of the Rocky Mountains. The _Hawaiian_ is in use among about a hundred natives of the Sandwich Islands, who are employed as labourers about the fort. Besides these five languages there are many others--the _Tsihailish_, _Wallawalla_, _Kalapuya_, _Naskwali_, &c., which are daily heard from natives who visit the fort for the purpose of trading. Among all these individuals, there are very few who understand more than two languages, and many who speak only their own. The general communication is, therefore, maintained chiefly by means of the _jargon_, which may be said to be the prevailing idiom. There are Canadians and half-breeds married to Chinook women, who can only converse with their wives in this speech; and it is the fact, strange as it may seem, that many young children are growing up to whom this factitious language is really the mother tongue, and who speak it with more readiness and perfection than any other."

CATHLASCOU.

_Locality._--From the Falls of the Columbia to Wappatoo Island,
falling into a number of small tribes.

The third of the larger divisions of the Oregon Indians is that of the--

SAHAPTIN.

_Area._--The northern bank of the Columbia from the Tshinúk
country, at the mouth, to the junction of the river Lewis. The
valley of the river Lewis (or Snake River). As far east as the
Rocky Mountains.

_Conterminous_ with the Salish Tsihaili to the north, the
Upsaroka (Crows) to the east, the Paducas and Wailatpu to the
south, the Skwali Tsihaili and the Watlala Tshinúks to the west.

_Divisions._--1. Wallawallas, Kliketat. 2. Proper Sahaptin or
Nez-percés. 3. Pelús. 4. Yakemas. 5. Cayús(?).

_Numbers._--About 4000.

_Aliment._--Roots, salmon.

_Extract from Mr. Hales._--"Both the Sahaptin and Wallawallas
compress the head, but less than the tribes on the coast."

_The Kliketat_ are distinguished by having the lower part of the septum of the nose cut away.[119]

The imperfect industry of the Sahaptin tribes is considered to be on a higher level than that of either the Tshinúks or Tsihaili; so that, in this respect, they stand the first of the Oregon aborigines.

The same applies to their susceptibility of religious influences. With no family have the efforts of the missionaries been more successful than with the Nez-percés.

In physical appearance they are more like the Indians to the east of the Rocky Mountains, than any tribes hitherto described.

Lastly, the easternmost Sahaptin are on the limits of the buffalo area; and as such are partially hunters, as well as common to the two sides of the Rocky Mountains.

It is now convenient to return to the Pacific, and to follow from west to east the tribes that lie south of the area already described.

THE YAKON.

_Locality._--A strip of sea-coast between the Nsietshawus
(Tsihaili) the Tlatskanai, the Kalapuya, the Umkwa, and the
Saintskla.

_Numbers._--About 700.

KALAPUYA.

_Locality._--Valley of the Upper Willamet.

_Conterminous_ with the Watlala Tshinúks, the Molele, the
Tlatskanai and Umkwa Athabaskans.

_Numbers._--About 500.

_Dialects._--1. Proper Kalapuya. 2. The Tuhwallatie or
Follatie. 3. Yamkallie of Mr. Tolmie.--How far are these the
same?

MOLELE.

_Locality._--Parts about Mount Hood and Mount Vancouver, south
of the Columbia.

_Conterminous_ with the Watlala Tshinúks, the Kalapuya, the
Cayús, and the Lutuami.

_Numbers._--"Reduced in 1841, by disease, to twenty souls.
Probably now extinct."--_Hales._

_Divisions._--1. Molele. 2. Cayús(?)

CAYÚS.(?)

_Locality._--South bank of the Columbia, between the Molele and
the Paduca Shoshonis.

_Numbers._--About 500 good warriors, with extensive pasturage
and large droves of horses, one chief having 2,000.--_Hales._

The note of interrogation denotes that the ethnological position of the Cayús is ambiguous. Mr. Hales makes them Molele, Dr. Scouler, Sahaptin.

LUTUAMI.

_Synonym._--Tlamatl or Clamet.

_Locality._--Head-waters of the river Clamet, due south of
the Molele, and conterminous with the Umkwa on the west, the
Wihinast Shoshonis on the east, and the Palaiks and Shastis on
the south.

We are now approaching a series of tribes known by little more than their names. Beginning at the sea-coast to the south of the strip occupied by the Yakon, and in the immediate neighbourhood of the Umkwa country, we find in proceeding from west to east--

THE SAINTSKLA.

_Locality._--South of the Yakon, between the Umkwa and the sea.

THE TOTOTUNE.

_Locality._--Sea-coast south of the Saintskla.

THE KILLIWASHAT.

_Locality._--Mouth of the Umkwa.

THE TSALEL.

_Locality._--Middle course of the Umkwa.

THE KAUS.

_Locality._--Between the river Umkwa and the river Clamet, or
(ethnologically) between the Killiwashat and the Lutuami.

SHASTI.

_Locality._--South-west of the Lutuami.

PALAIK.

_Locality._--South-east of the Lutuami, and conterminous with
the Shasti.

The list of the tribes and families of the Oregon territory, is now, with one exception, complete, at least according to the present state of our knowledge; whilst the section that still stands over for notice, extends so far beyond it, and is in other respects so remarkable in its distribution, that it forms an ethnological break.

Hence, although in a purely descriptive ethnography it would be advisable to take the tribes of California in immediate succession to those of Oregon, and those of Mexico next in order to the Californian, the present arrangement will be different, and the transition will be from the Oregon Indians to the Indians on the east of the Rocky Mountains. This departure from the strict line of ethnological continuity, is demanded in the present volume; because the question as to the origin of the American population, being considered of so much more importance than the mere description of different tribes, the arrangement follows the order, in which the reader requires facts as a basis for his reasoning, rather than the absolute sequence of ethnological relationship. This accounts for certain departures, which may possibly have been noticed, from the form and method of description adopted in the ethnology of Asia; it also is a reason for sometimes placing together groups on the score of _difference_ rather than _likeness_. Such is the case here. The classes about to be noticed follow those that have already been considered, not because they are closely related, but because they present marks of disconnection which are necessary to be known and appreciated previous to any argument upon subjects like the unity or _non_-unity of the American population, or its connexion or _non_-connexion with the population of the Old World. In other words, as the nearest affinities of the Oregon tribes are with the Californian, the present order of sequence is artificial rather than natural.

As to the line itself which thus diverts our inquiries from the true ethnological sequence, it is the area of a family already[120] mentioned--the area of the _Paduca_ tribes. Of this the peculiarity is as follows. It begins with the country of the Wihinast, is separated from the Pacific by the comparatively small areas of the Wailatpu, Molele, Kalapuya, and Yakon, and extends in a south-east direction as far as the Gulf of Mexico. Hence, with the exception of a narrow tract on the Lower Columbia, it runs from sea to sea; so separating all the numerous sections of the Indians of the United States and Canada from those of Spanish America, _i.e._ from those of Mexico wholly, and from those of California partially.

This gives us a limit for the parts about to be noticed, which, roughly speaking, constitute--

_Politically._--the United States and Canada--

_Physically._--the river-systems of the St. Lawrence, the Red River, and the Mississippi, and also of those rivers which, like the Potomac, fall into the Atlantic--

_Ethnologically._--the country included between the Eskimo, Athabaskan, Kútani, Salish, Sahaptin, and Paduca areas.

Concerning this it may be said that the ocean on one side is hardly a more definite boundary than the Rocky Mountains on the other, so truly do they, as a physical division, coincide with the ethnological one,--at least for the parts between the Athabaskans and Paducas.

The climate of the area may be measured by the fact of its containing Florida on the South, and Labrador on the North, the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, and the coasts of Hudson's Bay.

The east-and-west conditions are less self-evident; the two most important differences being that between the parts east, and that between the parts west of the Mississippi. Speaking roughly, the former is the country of the forest, the latter of the prairie; the former the seat of an incomplete agriculture, the latter the range of the buffalo.

The divisions of the American population that occupy, or occupied, this area, are of unascertained value; I shall give them, in the first instance, nearly according to the classification and nomenclature of Gallatin's standard dissertation in the Archæologia Americana. Some of these will be large, some small; some like the Turk, some like the Dioscurian; phænomena for which we are now prepared. The first in the list, single handed, takes up more than half the whole area.

ALGONKINS.

_Synonyms._--Lenapian, Wapanachki=_men of the east_. This is
said by Heckewelder to have been their national and collective
name. Probably, however, it was so only for the tribes on the
Atlantic.

_Distribution._--East and west from the Rocky Mountains to
Newfoundland; north and south, from Labrador to the Carolinas.
Breadth greatest in its northern part, decreasing towards the
south.

_Area._--Newfoundland, part of Labrador, Cape Breton, Nova
Scotia, Upper and Lower Canada, New Brunswick, south-eastern
part of the Hudson's Bay territory, the boundary line between
British North America and the United States, the north-western
part of the Missouri territory, part of the Wisconsin
territory, parts of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New
York, &c., the New England States, Virginia, Kentucky(?), North
Carolina.

_Divisions._--_a._ Bethucks. _b._ Central Algonkins. _c._
Shiennes. _d._ Blackfoots. Classification provisional.

_a._ _Bethucks._--Locality Newfoundland. Probably extinct. Not
hitherto recognised as Algonkin.

_b._ _Central Algonkins._--1. _The Crees_, _Knisteneaux_,
_Klisteno_, or _Kilistheno_. Native name, _Nĕhethowuck_=_exact
people_. Situation, the river-system of the rivers Nelson,
Salmon, and Albany, falling into Hudson's Bay.

2. _Ojibways_, on the south and west sides of Lake Superior,
south of the Crees.

3. _Algonkins Proper._

4. _Nipissing._--Closely allied tribes on the sides of the Lake
of the Two Mountains, in the district of Montreal.

5. _Ottawas._--On the river Ottawa, in the islands of Lake
Superior. Northern part of Michigan, Closely allied to the
Proper Algonkins.

6. _Montagnards_, _Mountaineers._--The French name and its
translation, of the name of the tribes between Montreal and the
mouth of the St. Lawrence.

7. _Scoffis_--_Nascopies_.--The Algonkins of Labrador.
Conterminous with the Eskimo.

8. _Sheshatapoosh._--Ditto.

9. _Abenakis._--In the state of Maine, in the valley of the
Kennebec.

10. _Etchemin._---From whom the state of Maine, took its name.
A tribe of these occupy the valley of the St John's River, in
New Brunswick.

11. _Passamaquoddy._--Maine. A branch of the Etchemin.

12. _Micmacs._--New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, parts
of Labrador and Newfoundland.

13. _Penobscot._--Maine.

14. _Messisaugis._--North of Lake Ontario, at its junction with
the St. Lawrence.

15, 16. _Pequod and Mohicans._--Extinct. In 1674, in
Connecticut.

17. _Narraganset._--Extinct. In 1674, in Rhode Island.

18. _Massachusetts._--Extinct. In 1674, in the state so called.

19, 20, 21, 22, 23.--_The Pawkunnawkuts_ (_or Wampanoag_),
_the Pawtucket_, _the Pennakuk_, _the Nipmuk_, _the
Montaug_.--Extinct. In 1674, in Long Island. The language of
these Indians is represented by Jonathan Edwards' Grammar of
the Mohican, and by Eliot's translation of the Bible.

24. _Lenni-Lenapi or Delawares._--Three tribes, _a._ the Unami,
or Turtle. _b._ The Minsi or Wolf. _c._ The Unalachtigo, or
Turkey.

25. _The Monakans_(?)--Extinct. Virginia, one day's journey
beyond the Falls, at Richmond. People of the high country as
opposed to the Powhattans of the low--said to build stone
houses.

The Indians of Virginia, especially the Powhattans, will
be noticed in the sequel as affording a measure of the
civilization of the Algonkins.

26. _The Pamticoes_ (_Pamticoughs_).--South Carolina. This is
the southernmost limit of the Eastern Algonkins.

The list is now continued from the south-eastern boundary of
the Ojibways, and from the parts south of Lake Superior, and
west of Lake Michigan.

27. _The Menomeni._--Due south of Lake Superior, from which
they are separated by the Ojibways.

28, 29. The _Sauks_=_white-clay_ and the _Ottogami_=_foxes_.
These last are also called _Musqkuakuik_=_red-clay_.

30. _The Kickapoos._--Southern part of Illinois. Closely allied
to the Sauks and Foxes.

31. _The Potawotomi._--South of Lake Michigan.

32. _The Shawno._--The most south of the Western Algonkins,
being south of the Ohio, in the state of Kentucky. Now removed
to the west of the Mississippi, to a reserve immediately south
of that of the Delawares.

33, 34, 35, 36, 37.--Illinois Indians=the Miami, Piankeshaws,
Kaskkaias(?)[121], Cabokias, Tamaronas, Peorias, and Mitchigami.

_c._ _Shyennes._--Between the head-waters of the Yellow-stone
River and the River Platte. Conterminous with the Upsaroka,
Pawnees, and probably the northern Shoshonis. As such, isolated
from the other Algonkins.

_d._ _Blackfoot Algonkins._--Head-waters of the south branch
of the Saskatchewan, and extended as far west as the Rocky
Mountains, by which they are divided from the Kútanis. Bounded
on the north by the Athabaskans, the south by the Upsarokas
(Sioux), the east by the Ahnenin and Crees. The Blackfoots have
been but recently recognised as Algonkin.

The numerous details of this great division prevent anything beyond the doubtful points of the classification being noticed. These apply to three members of it, the Bethuck, the Shyennes, and the Blackfoots.

1. _The Bethuck._--The particular division to which the aborigines of Newfoundland belonged, has been a matter of doubt; some writers considering them to have been Eskimo, others to have been akin to the Micmacs, who have now a partial footing in the island.

Reasons against either of these views are supplied by a hitherto unpublished Bethuck vocabulary with which I have been kindly furnished by my friend Dr. King, of the Ethnological Society. This makes them a _separate section of the Algonkins_,[122] and such I believe them to have been.

2. _The Shyennes._--It has been already stated that the present Shyenne area is isolated. This had a tendency to mislead inquirers and to originate the notion that the Shyennes were Sioux.

Again,--in a treaty between the United States and the Shyennes, in 1825, the names of the chiefs who signed are Sioux. This misled also.

Still, on the evidence of Mr. Kennet M'Kenzie, of the St. Louis Fur Company, who informed Mr. Gallatin that "there was not at that time any European interpreter for the Shyenne, that the treaty was carried on through the medium of some Sioux, and that he had reason to believe that the names subscribed to it were Sioux translations of those of the Shyenne chiefs," their position was left as doubtful by that philologist.

However, a vocabulary of Lieutenant Abert has since settled the matter, "in which no affinity whatever is discovered with the Sioux. Although from its nature it contains but a small number of primitive words, or of those for which we have equivalents in other languages, there are enough to establish the fact that the Shyennes are, like the Black-feet, an Algonkin tribe. Out of forty-seven Shyenne words for which we have equivalents in other languages, there are thirteen which are indubitably Algonkin, and twenty-five which have affinities more or less remote with some of the languages of that family. Of these last I would have rejected more than one half had they stood alone, but they corroborate, to some extent, the evidence afforded by the words, the etymology of which is clear. The nine remaining words (out of the forty-seven), which have no apparent affinity with the Algonkin, are _hill_, _mountain_, _stone_, _little_, _white_, and the numerals VI, VII, VIII, IX, on comparing the vocabulary with those of other families, I could discover no other words which had any resemblance but the following:--_little_=_nakee_, Shyenne, _okeye_, Wyandott; _fire_=_sist_, Shyenne; _ojishta_, _ojista_, Seneca, Oneida."[123]

Furthermore, the evidence of Lewis and Clarke, confirmed by that of M'Kenzie and Gallatin, shows that the separation of the Shyennes from the other Algonkins, took place within the historical period. "They were originally settled on a stream called Chayenne, or Cayenne, an upper branch of the Red River of Lake Winnepeg, from which they were driven away by the Sioux; an account which is confirmed by Alexander M'Kenzie. They retreated west of the Missouri, below the river Warreconne, where their ancient fortifications still existed in 1804. Thence they were again compelled to retreat farther west, near the Black Hills, on the head branches of the river which now bears their name."[124]

That the evidence of the Shyenne numerals, the only part of Lieut. Abert's vocabulary then known to him, made the Shyennes Algonkin, was also stated by the present writer at the meeting of the British Association, in 1847, at Oxford.--_Transactions of the Sections_, p. 123.

3. _The Blackfoots._--Until lately all that was known of the Blackfoot language was from two short vocabularies, one of Humphreville's and one of Mr. Catlin's.

The addition of a third in MS. has fixed the language as Algonkin; such being the opinion formed independently by both Mr. Gallatin[125] and the present writer, who was favoured by Dr. Prichard with the MS. It is further confirmed by a tabulated vocabulary of Mr. Howse's, now in the press.[126]

With the exception of the Shyennes, who seem to have moved within the historical period, the Algonkin area is _continuous_; but though _continuous_, it is not _uninterrupted_. The important class of the Mohawk, or Iroquois, tribes, is different from the Algonkin. It lies _within_ the Algonkin area, surrounded by Algonkins, but not itself Algonkin.

THE IROQUOIS.

Measured by the extent of ground that it covers the Iroquois class is of less importance than the Algonkin. Measured by its prominence in history it is equal or greater. The _Five Nations_ were Iroquois. The once formidable _Mohawks_ were Iroquois. Before the arrival of the Europeans the Five Nations were dominant over their Algonkin neighbours; and after the arrival of the Europeans the Iroquois warriors were more feared than those of the Algonkins. At one time the head of the Algonkin confederacy was an Iroquois chieftain.