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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthoda. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ^ III i ^^ ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA. 233 ^.^ % ^ouiih Report of the Committee, const st'tu;/ of Dr. E. B. Tylor, Dr. (r. j\r. D.uvsoN, General Hir J. H. Dekhoy, Dr. Damkl VVii>sox, Mr. K. G. llALinruTON, and Mr. Gkokgk W. Hloxam (Secretary), appointed for the purpose of incesti(jathir/ and pid)lishin(/ reports on the physical characters, lanfjuaf/es, and indiiMrial and social condition of the Nortli-Western Tribes of the Dominiun of Canada. Tin: Coramittoe report tliut, in addition to ^[r. Wilson, of RaultSto. ^farie, who contribntes some valuable remarks upon the Sarceo Indians, they have been enabled to secure the services of Dr. Franz Boas (now of New York, and one of tlie editors of ' Science '), who has been for several years engaged , in ethnological investigations in America, particularly among the Eskimo and in Bi'itish Columbia, and who lias consented to return to that province for the purpose of continuing his researches there on behalf of the Com- mittee, and in accordance with the instructions comprised in their 'Circular of Inquiry.' Only eight or nine weeks — in .\lay, June, and July last — were available for his trip, but, with the advantage of the experience and information obtained in his previous journey, he has been • able to gather a large mass of valuable mjiterial. The results of his ^ inquiries will begiveii in his final report, to be presented next year. For the present occasion he has prepared some ])reliminary notes, with an introductory letter (addressed to Mr. Hale), containing a brief account of his proceedings, and some important suggestions concerning future inquiries and the condition of the Indians of that province. The letter is [as follows : — ' I beg to transmit the following report of my proceedings, with preliminary notes on the results of my researches in J3ritish Columbia. In your instructions dated May 22, 1888, you made it my particnlar [object, on the present trip, to obtain as complete an account as possible of the coast tribes and their languages. As on my previous journey, in the winter of 188G-87, I had collected a considerable amount of material ires])ccting the southern tribes, I turned my attention at once to the Indians inhabiting the noi-thern })arts of the coast, iiicluding the Tlingit. I On June 1 I arrived in Vancouver, and after ascertaining certain doubt- i ful points regarding the Skqomish, who live opjiosite the city, T proceeded [to Victoria on June '.\. Alayor J. Grant, of that city, kindly gave me permission to take anthi'opometric measurements of such Indians as were [in gaol. This proved the more valuable, as the natives were very reluctant jto have any measurements taken. I sought to obtain measurements and [drawings of .skulls in private collections in Victoria, and was fortunate t€nongh to be able to measure eighty-eight skulls from various parts of the jeoast. The results of these measurements must be reserved for the final [report. I will mention only the remarkable fact that skulls of closely related [tribcH show great and constant differences. Comparisons of ten skulls Dach from Victoria, Sanitch, and Comox give the following results : — LeuKth Lenjrtli-lticiidth Length-height Mill Index Index 184-5 777 75-0 Victoria Sanitch Comox v<# 1610 176-6 95-5 77-9 80*8 77*4 234 UEPORT — 1888. Those dilFeroncos arc in part duo to ai'tificial deformation. It seems, however, that this explanation is not sutlicionl. These tribes belong to the Sahsh stock. ' As soon as an opportunity offered to start nortliward, I left Victoria and stayed the p^reater part of June in Port Essington, where \ studied the customs and language of the Tsimsliian, and obtained notes on the Haida. When returning to Victoria a few lleiltsuk from Bella Bella were on board the vessel, and I obtained notes (ni this tribe, which sup- plement to some ext(!nt my former observations. After my return to Victoria I took up the Tlingit and Haida languages, and when several canoes from tlu^ west coast of Vancouver Island ai-ried, that of tht Nutka. In the beginning of July, Father J. Nicolai, who is thoroughly con versant with the Xutka language, .arrived there from Kayokwaht, and in a number of conversations gave me valuable itiformation regarding tin grammar of that language. I obtained information respecting their legends and customs from a few natives, and on July 11 went to the main- land. After staying two days in Lytton I proceeded to Golden and up the Columbia river, in order to devote the rest of the available time to the Kootenay. On July "ICy I returned east. ' The results of my reconnoissance are necessarily fragmentary, as T was not able to devote more than a few days to each tribe. I obtained, how- ever, sufficient material to determine the number of linguistic stocks, and the number of important dialects of those stocks which I visited. The vocabularies which 1 collected during my former and on the present trip contain from 500 to 1,000 words, and embrace the following languages : Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Kwakiutl (Heiltsuk and Lekwiltok dialects), Nutka, Salish (Bil([ula, Pentlatsh, Comox, Nauaimo, Lkungen, SishiatI, Skqomish, Ntlakapamuq dialects), and Kootenay. 1 ol)tained, also, gram- matical notes on all these languages, and texts in some of them. ' I may be allowed to add a few remarks on future researches on the ethnology of British Columbia. Only among the tribes from Bentinck Arm to Johnson Strait the customs of the natives may be studied uninfluenced by the whites. But here, also, their extinction is only a question of a few years. Catholic missionaries are working successfully among the Nutka ; the (ishing and lumbering industries bring the natives of the whole coast into closer contact with the whites. In all other parts of the country, except on the u|)per Skeena, the student is, to a great extent, compelled to collect reports from old people who have witnessed the customs of their fathers, who heai'd the old myths told over and over again. In the interior of the province even these are few, and it is only with great difficulty that individuals well v(>rsed in the history of olden times can be met with. After ten years it will be impossible in this region to obtain any reliable information regarding the customs of the natives in pre-Christian times. Even the languages are decaying since the advent of the whites and on account of the extensive use of Chinook. Young people neither uiulerstand the elaborate s])eeches of old chiefs nor the old songs and legends when pro])eily told. Even the elaborate grammatical rules of these languages are being forgotten. For instance, old Nutka will never form the plural of the verb without reduplication, while young men almost always omit it. Instead of the numerous modi, phrases are used — in short, the languages are decaying ra[)idly. The study of the anthropological features of these races is also becoming more and more difficult on account of their frequent intermarriages with whites ; and the ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA. L^35• [t secrns, Dclong tci ; Victoria I studied js on th( dla Bollu licli sup- return to n several at of till ghly con lit, and in ,rdinr. The reasons for these facts are easily understood : the natives become accustomed to products of our ] manufacture, and in order to purchase them become servants where they have been masters before. At the same time their native industries decay. This process is hastened by the influence of missionaries, who discourage all native arts, as connected with their heathenish customs, without being able to supply anything in their stead. Thus the psychical life of the natives is impoverished, iind this, I think, accounts principally for their rapid degradation after their first contact with the whites. The only way to civilise these tribes is clearly shown by Mr. VV. Duncan's success at Mctlakahtla. He made tlu! Jmliaiis of ^Metlakahtla a self-sustaining, in- dependent community. Similar results are gradually being obtained in other places, and these results show that the establishment of independent industries on co-operative priiiciplcs will educate the Indians and make them capable of becoming useful mi>mbers of the State. The easiest and soundest way to do this is to encourage native industries and arts — fish- ing and working in wood. At the same time the natives ought to be educated to a more .sanitary way of living. This can be attained only by puttmg energetic medical men in charge of Indian districts. There can be no doubt that an intelligent man, caj)able of adjusting h.s argument to the mind of the Indian, would easily induce them to a thorough sani- tation. The Indians do not individually give up their old customs, but invariably do so in council. By gaining their confidence, the council 'i« '■■I 236 REPORT — 1888. could bo oahily induced to listen to sound iidvice. I do not believe that it is too late to save the Indian from utter destrnotion ; and we may still h( )io that the spectacle of an intelli^cnit race becomins^ more and more degraded and vanishin'^ IVom the earth's surface will ceaso to exert its saddcnincf influence npon the traveller who visits the shorts of British Columbia.' To this letter Dr. Boas adds the followin<^ : — Pri;li.minai;y Notks o\ tiii: Tniii.\\s ov British Coldmiua. Although the Indians of the north-west coast of America belonpf to a great number of liuf^nistic stocks, and although their ))hysical peculiaritios suggest that they belong to various races, their customs are so much alike that it is impossible to describe one tribe without having reference to all the others. Foi- this reason it is necesstary in a general survey to treat their languages and their physical and ethn()gra])hical character separately, altliough from the standpoint of the psychologist it would seem more desirable to describe each tribe by itself. The following are the principal races iidiabitingthe province, including the coast strip of Alaska: 1. the Tinne (or Tinneh), who occupy the interior from the extreme north to Quesnelle and Chilcot in the south. 2. The Tlingit, on the coast of Ala.ska ; and the Haida, on Queen Char- lotte Islands and the southern part of Prince of Wales Archipelago. 3. The Tsimshian, on Nass and Skeena Rivers and the adjoining islands. 4. The Kwakiutl, from Douglas Channel to the central part of Vancouver Island, excepting the west coast of that island and Dean Inlet and Ben- tinck Arm. 5. The Nutka, of the west coast of Vancouver Island and Cape Flattery. 6. The Salish, on the south-eastern part of Vancouver Island, on the mainland as far ?.s Quesnelle Lake and Selkirk Range, and on Bentinck Arm. 7. The Kutonaqa, on Kootenay Lake and Rivar, and on the Upper Columbia. [Dr. Boas here gives brief notes on tbe grammatical structure peculiar to each of the six linguistic stocks which he has studied — the Tlingit (and Haida), T.simpshian, Kwakiutl, Nutka, Salish, and Kutonaqa. It has seemed advisable, however, to defer the publication • f these notes until they can appear in fuller foi'm in the final report, where they will bo accompanied by the comparative vocabularies and the ethnographical map, and can have the benefit of the author's revision of the proofs. In the Indian words compri.sed in this report che vowels are to be pronounced as in Italian, and the consonants, for the most part, as in English. The letters k" and g' represent deep gutturals corresponding to the ordinary k g. The h represents the German ch in ich. The q denotes the sound of the Scotch ch in Inch. By // an exploded I is indicated, and by /i-' an exploded /•«, the « pronounced very indistinctly.] SocrAL Organisation. I confine myself, in these preliminary notes, to a brief description of the totomism of these tribes, leaving a more detailed discussion of the pre- rogatives of the chiefs and of certain families to the final report. Among the Tlingit and Haida we find a great number of crests, which, however, arc li !♦'"• '■' I tolfiii IcLumI I iicigli I the n ^ rniiiii a toti'tii % have .i to tlu I villaj. :! tribe. I have J§ speak I from ^ that I Tlint, .| trad it i or aiii I Tling I rcfi'i'o 'i dividi " dcrivi ] the d I i^pi''if- 1 owv^ r I iiitrs I latter i breast I accorc I figurcj I tered I I 1 ON TUK NORTH-WLJilKUN TUlbKS Ub CANADA. 237 holieve tli.it ve may still and more to exert its u of Britisli MT5IA. heloiifr to a pocnliaritios 'c so mucli rf referencf 1 survey fo il character st it would e, including? occupy the the south, iHPen Char- Lrchipelapo. inj^ islands. ' Vancouver t and Ben- Island and Vancouver Range, and Rivar, and ire peculiar he Tlingit :onaqa. It hese notes they will lographical Toofs. are to be part, as in ponding to e q denotes icated, and cription of of the pre- ;. Among however. I 1 aw divided into two groups — the ravi'ii iunl the wolf among the Tlingifc, the niveii and the eagle among the llaidu. The Tsimshiiin have four totc'iiis, tiie raven ((iiiUcd Kanhu'da), the eagle (La(iskryel<), the wolf (l.aiikvcln)'), and the hi'ur ((jyls|tntiu''(ia). The lleiltsuk and theii- northern iicii'lilHiiirs have; three totems; the killer (y>r//y//////(s (uvv/) (lTa'ns ot Kfiwkiutl lineage; no tiittiiiisni, in its strict meaning, is found. The tribes enuraeraled above have the system of relationship in the I'cmale line. The child belongs to the mother's crest, and, although the wifi' follows her husband to his village, the children, when grown up, always return lo their niotlu'r's tribe. I conclude from the fact that the Kwakiutl, south of Rivers Inlet, have the system of relationship in the male line, or, more properly speaking, in both lines; that the Heiltsuic adopted their system of totems from the Tsimshian. I have not heard a single tr.adition to the ell'ect that the gentes consider themselves the descendants of their totem ; the Tlingit and Haida, as well as the Tsimshian and Ileiltsuk, have eei-tain traditions referring to ancestors who had encounters with certain spirits or animals who gave them their crests. It is true that the Haida and Tlingit claim to have been created by the raven, but tlie legend has no reference whatever to the totem. The Kwakiutl and Salish tribes are also divided into gentes, but these are not distinguished by animal totems, l.>ut derive their origin each from a man who was sent down from heaven by the deity, and who, in some way or other, obtained his crest from a spirit. These legends are of the same; character as the corresponding ones of the Tsimshian. The crest of the family is represented on paint- ings on the house fronts, on the 'totem posts,' and on tattooings. The latter are probably not u.sed by the Tlingit, while the Haida tattoo breast, back, arms, and legs. The Tsimshian tattoo only the wrists, acicording to their crest. Tattoo marks are also used by the Nutka. The figures on posts and houses have always a reference to the being encoun- tered by the ancestor but sometimes also figures of the father's crest are used by the owner, tue father having the right to permit his child to use them. The posts do not represent a continuous story, but every figui-e refers to one tradition. Each gens has also names of its own, wiiieh among the Tsimshian must have a reference to the father's gens. Thus, on hearing a name a Tsimshian knows at once to what gens both the bearer and his father belong. Among the Salisli and Kwakiutl the child follows, as a rule, the father's gens, but he may also acquire his mother's gens. By marriage he always acquires the prerogatives of his wife's family. It is only here that such prerogatives are connected with the gentes. They refer generally to the use of masks and certain ceremonies of the winter dance, the most important of which is the Ha'nuits'a, the man-biter. But the accession to these privileges is not only a right of the young man, it is also his duty to accept them. Among the iSalish tribes of the Gulf of Georgia the division into gentes is not as clearly defined as farther nortli. Here a group of gentes forms a tribe, each gens inhabiting one village. In removing the village from one place to the other they retain the same name, which, however, is not the name of the people, properly speaking, but that of their village. Each gens derives its origin from a single man who descended from heaven, and whose sons and grandscms became the ancestors of the gens, the child slways be- longing to his father's gens. While among the northern tribes marriages I I 238 UKi'oiiT- 1H88. ii) tho samo pons, or j)liriitry, are strictly {jroliihited, tliei'o exists no such law nmonp tlie SalJHli. I have not foiinU any trace ot* a division into guntes among the Kutonaqa. ^Ivrnoi-0(iY. It is one of the most interesting problems of ethnology to study tho development of a system of mytlujlogy. On the noith-wtst coast uf America this study is the more interesting, as we can show how legends mipnited from tribe to tribe. The gnut hero of the mythology of the northern tril)es is the raven, who (ireated daylight, mountains, trees, men. These raven legends havc^ spread very far sf)nth, being even known to the Cowitchin of Vancouver Island, and probably still farther south. The hero of the mythology of the southern tribes, on the other hand, is the great wanderer, the son of the deity, who, on his migi'ations all over the world, transformed men into animals, and animals into men. It appears that this legend, which is known from the mouth of the Columbia to Bella Bella, originated with the Sali.sh tribes ; however, we do not know bow far it extends inland. Another k^gend bc^longing to these tribes has spread far north. It refers to a visit to heaven, and the mar- riage of a young Jnan to the sun's daughter. Ti-aces of this tale are found among the Tsimshian. The myths of tlie Kutona'qa and of the Okanagan refer principally to the coyote. I shall proceed to describe briefly the myths of the various tribes, at tlie same time pointing out their connection among each other. The Tlingit say that the world was originally swinging to and fro in space. There was something underneath it that was to serve as a rest for the world ; the latter approached it, but never succeeded in joining it. All animals tri(>d in vain to fasten the world to it. At last a female spirit, Harishane'ko ( = the woman under us), smeared her belly with deer tallow, lay down under the world, and when the latter approached the underworld again the tallow fastened both together. The earth is con. sidered square, the corners pointing north, south, east, and west. In the north there is an enormous hole into which the water of the ocean gushes, and from which it returns, thus causing the tides. There is another idea, to the effect that the world is shai'p like a knife's edge, but this seems to be said more in a moral aspect, the meaning beine: tliat the road of right doing is narrow; whoever does wrong falls from the road and dies. The earth rests on Harishane'ko, and when the latter moves thei-e is an earth- quake. The moon is the sun's husband. There is a chief in heaven called Tahl't, the ruler of those who fall in war. These fighting souls produce the aurora. It is worth remarking that this belief is also found among the Eskimo, On the same level with the earth, but outside its borders, is the country of those who died of sickness. The creation legend of the Tlingit is as follows : — In the beginning there lived a great chief and his sister. The chief killed all his sister's sons as soon as they were born. One day when the woman went to the beach mourning the death of her children, a seagull advised her to swallow three stones. She obeyed, and after a few days gave birth to three boys, the oldest of whom was Yetl, the raven. He wanted to avenge the death of his brothers, and challenged his uncle. The latter tried to drown Yetl by making the waters rise until the whole earth was covered. He kept himself afloat by means of his hat, which grew higher as the waters were ON THE NORTH-WKSTKItN TKinESi OK (ANAPA. 239 sis no such among tlio » study tho it coast of ow legends logy of the trees, men. 1 known to her south, LT hand, is )ns all over ) men. It a Colunabia we do not ig to these d the mar- is tale are and of the to describe Dinting out and fro in ) as a rest joining it. t a female with deer ached the til is con- }t. In the an gushes, other idea, s seems to d of right ies. The an earth- in heaven ^a: souls also found )utside its beginning lis sister's jnt to the o swallow iree boys, the death 'own Yetl He kept iters were risintr. Yrtl, however, flew up to the sky, and at last prcssod down his uncle's hat, thus drowning his enemy. The waters disappeared again, ;iiii| then Yi'tl obtained the sun, wliieh was in jjossession of a chief, and ihc fresh water, which was owned i)y the fahu'' ns K anu'k'. He made trees and mountains next, and (inally tried to crealc irian. First ho > h!i|i('(l human figures out of stone and wood, but did not stiecced. Then lie iiuule man out of grass, and for tiiis reason men an mortal. After this Yetl began to waniler all over tho world, and in all his further ad- VI iitnies lie is deseriheil as extremely voracious and greedy. Tiie mytliology of the Jlaida is sub.stantially the same as that of the Tliiif,'it. The raven is called Yetl by the Kaigani, while on Queen riiiiijotte Island his nanu; is Qoia. His uncle's name is Nenkyilstla's. Tlie Tsimsliian have also traditions referring to the raven, but he is jint considered the creator of men. They consider the Nass Iliver region as their original home, jind the Nass languiige the oldest dialect of the Tsim.shian. The origin ( I" men is thus a(!counted for :— A long time ago a mek and an elder, near the mouth of Nass Itiver, were about to give birth to men. The children of the elder were the first to bo born, there- fore man is mortal. If the (;hildren of the rock had been born first, he would have been immortal. From the rock, however, Ik* received tho .'mils on hands and feet. The Tsimsliian worship the deity in heaven, lie(|a', who lives above the stui. The raven myths were evidently imported from sotne foreign floiirees, and then the raven was made tiie descendant of this deity in order to account for his supernatural pow(>rs. This legend, which is found from Nass j'iver as far scmth as the northei-n portion of Vancouver Island, is snhstantially as follows : A chief's wife, who was with child, died and was buried. In the grave she gave biith to a l)oy, who gre\ > feeding upon his mother's body. Eventually lie was discovered and (! .ed by the chief, who gi-ew to be very fond of him. The boy used to shoot bird,? and to f'kin them. One day he ]iut on a bird's skin and llew up to heaven, where he married tho deity's daughter. 'I'hey had a son, who, when born, dropped from his mother's hand and fell into the ocean. He was found by a chief, and in course of time became Tqcmsem, of whom the same adventures are told which Yetl is said to have accomplished. He appears generally in the shape of the raven. The flood, of which the Tsiinshian also tell, is said to have been sent by heaven as a punishment for tlu! ill-behaviour of man. First, all })cople, with the exception of a few, were destroyed by a flood, and later on by fire. Before the flood the earth was not as it is now, hut there were no monntains and no trees. After the flood Le(|a' created these too. The earth is considered to be round, and resting on a pilhir tliat is held by an old woman. The most important of the Kwakiutl legends is that of the wanderer K a'nikila. He is the .son of the deity, and descended from heaven to earth, where he was born again of a woman. '\V^heu he came to be grown up he wandered all over the world, transfcn'iiiing his enemies into animals and making friends with many a mighty chief. Another im- portant legend is that of the mink, Tlc'selakila (meaning the son of the sun), who made a chain of arrows reaching from tlie sky to the earth, on which he climbed up and visited his father, who let him carry the sun in his stead. When, however, he went too fast, and st^t the earth on fire, his father cast him into the sea. While the northern tribes of this race 'h 240 HErORT — 1888. aro acqnnintctl wiUi the ravoii k'jjforids, tliouc fiii-tlu'r south iiHcrnx' all tlio advontures of the raven to ihv mink. Another cliiss of loj^eiids ol' the Kwakiiitl is of j^fHiiit iiiipoi-taiico as referring,' to the spirits of the ilancc"*. I will mention in this plnct; that these rcMuarkable diinees have evidently originated witli the Kwakiutl, jilthough they aro at present practised by the Tsiinshian and llaida, and by ■iome of the .southern tribes. The Tsimshian |)raeti8o oidy a few of them, the names of the dances being all of Kwakiatl orij^in. According to their own statements tliey were obtained by interniJirri' ge with the Jleiltsnk. The Jlaida iidopted them from the Tsimshian. In all these dunces ornaments of cedar bark, dyed red, are used, and it Mppeiirs that this custom also originated among the Kwakiatl. The most prominent tigure of this winter dance is the nian-eatei', called Ha inats'a (the eater) by the Kwfikiutl, K!iU|o'thi by the liilqula, O'hila by the Jlaida and Tsinisln'an, The latter call his dance also the Wihaiai't (the great dance). The Ha'mats'a is initiated by a spirit, referring to which nnmerous traditions exist. It is a peculiarity of Kwakiutl mythology that it treats of many supernatural beings, while farther north almost exclusively the heaven, the sun, moon, and raven have supernatural power. Among these beings the following are of im- portance: — The Tsono'k'oa (probably a mythical form of the grizzly bear), the Thunderbird, the Si'siutl (the double-headed snake), and a cuttlefish of enormoufi size. The myths of th(' lieiltsuk are inuch iiifluenccd by those of the IJilqula, their eastern neighbours. The legends of the Nutka treat also principally of tlie great wanderer, and embody, so far as I am aware, no element which is not found among the Kwakiutl. The legeiuls of the Salish vary to a great extent ann)ng the various tribes, those of the coast tribes resembling the myths of the Kwakiutl. The wanderer and the sun a^e here the h.eroes of the greater part of the myths. The legend of the .vanderer does not differ from that of the Kwakiutl, except in that he is himself the deity. Each remarkable stone or rock is described as being a man transformed by him. lie made a great fire in order to destroy man, and later on made the ocean ri.se and cover the laud. The ascent to heaven ou a chain of arrows is one of the prin- cipal objects of their legends, the tale treating frequently of a murder of the old sun and the origin of the new one. Besides this, the double-headed snake is of importance, even more so than among the Kwakiutl. The mythology of the Bihiula, whose language is clo.sely related to that of the dialects of the Gulf of Georgia, ditfeis greatly from that of the other Salish tribes, being evidently influenced by their neighboui'S, Their mythology, on the other hand, has influenced that of the lleilt.suk. I do not think that tlie wanderer legend is found among them. They tell of the raven who ci*eated daylight, and of two men, Masmasala'niq and Yula'tituot, who descended from heaven, created man, and gave him his arts. This legend is on-j of the most beautiful of those found on the coast. Its origin is doubtful. It would be necessary to study the mythology of the tribes of the interior more closely in order to arrive at a satisfactory understanding of this myth. The Bilqnla have also the legend of the mink cai'rying the sun. They call him T'otk"oa'ya. I am not well acquainted with the myths of the tribes of the interior, having collected only a limited number among the Ntlakapamnq. They also tell of the wanderiT who transformed men into stones, but it is doubtful whether he is in any way connected with the deity. Their Til i HI I ON THE NORTir-WESTRnN TRIBES OF CANADA, 241 u all tlio » of tlu; ■vidoiitly tisetl l)y L>s. Tho being all ey worn Aid tluMii A-k, (lyiMl .1 aiming CO is the !a by the Ills dance iod by a eculiarity igs, while md raven ro of ini- izly bear), euttlelish lenccd by wanderer, lid among le various Ivwfikiutl. art of tho at of tho e stone or i great and cover the prin- nurder of le-headed :;ed to that lat of the •8. Their nk. 1 do ley tell of a'niq and re him his the coast, [hology of itisfaetory [snd of the interior, ^q. They but it is Their legends referring to tho sun are nuinorons, ono of tho most important being tho visit to tho sun. There are many legendu referring to the raven and to tliomink, and here for the lirst time we lind the coyote playing an iinpiirtant part in tho mythology. The heroes of the myths of tho Kntona(|a are tho sun and the coyote. TlicHo myths are more elo.scly eonnt'ctcd with those of tlunr south-eastern neighbours than with those of tin; north- west coast Indians. It is, how- ever, of interest to notice that the legend of a chain of arrows reaching up to the sky, and a conquest of the sky, which is so Imjiortant in tho Salish tales, occurs here also. One of the most intercstiTig legends is that of t lie origin of tho sun. Tho animals ti-ied by turns to act as the snn, but none succeeded. Tho coyote alnu)st succeeded, but as ho ma are buried among trees which are peeled and painted red. Each shaman has his own genius, generally a bird or another animal, which he acquirer by fasting in the woods or on the mountains. The shamans are able tr speak with the souls of absent or deceased persons, and are skilfii jugglers. I I I tee lleport 011 the Sarcce Indians, hj the licv. E. F. Wilson. The Sarcee Indians belong to the great Athabascan or Tinneh stock to which the Chipewyans, Beavers, Hares, and others in the North-Wc? and, it is said, the Navajoes, in New Mexico, also belong. They Avcr formerly a powerful nation, but are now reduced to a few hundreds Tlieir reserve, which consists of a fine tract of prairie land, about : hundred square miles in extent, adpins that of the Blackfeet, in Alberts a little south of the Canadian Pacific Railway line, and seventy or tight miles east of the llocky Mountains. Although friendly and former!; confederate with the Blackfeet, they bear no affinity to that people ; the belong to a distinct stock and speak an altogether different languaTt They are divided into two bands — the Blood Sarcees and the Ret Sarcees. During my visit, which lasted seven days, I had several interview with their chief, ' Bull's Head,' a tall, powerful man, about sixty years ( age ; and it was from him and one or two of his leading men that ON THE NORTII-WKSTERN TRIBES OF CANADA. 243 ' unexpected 1 adopted by this dance, prerogatives iie Kwakinll or on trees, iced in front ;ir mourning and are not anced. The 5witchin and Lliey believe bad. Tht v\'ho brought edly so tbfin him a smoke their eldest They believe ill return in eat festivaU', have also the irifice to the H and cut ofi )tful whether The dead are 3 positions ot Liture events, Warriov> Kach shamar. h he acquire is are able tc 1 are skilfu son. 'inneh stock North-Wcs They Avcn \v hundred- and, about ; t, in Alberts nty or eight; and formerl; people ; the mt languait nd the Ret al interview sixty years ( : men that I feathered most of my information. I found, however, that the Sarcees Mere not so ready to converse, or to tell either about their Language or their history, as were the Blackfeet, whom I visited last .summer. Tea and tobacco seemed to bo with them the chief desiderata, and except with gifts of this kind it seemed almost impossible to gain anything from them. And after all. even when plied with these commodities, the infor- niiition they gave was very meagre, and often far from satisfactory. From what little I saw of these people I should bo inclined to say that ihey are of a lower oi'der and inferior in mental capacity to the Blackfeet; I judge this cliietly by tho style in which they told their stories and tniditions, such as they were, and by their having no elaborated theories as to certain phenomena in nature, about which many other of the Indian tribes have always so much to say. Chief ' Bull's Head,' in reply to my questions as to their early history, 5iiade a great show of oratory, both by voice and gesture, but much of what he said was very childish and confused, and seemed to be scarcely worth the trouble of putting down. These people call the Blackfeet ' Katee,' the Crecs ' Nishinna,' tho ♦Sioux ' Kaispa,' and themselves ' Sotennu.' The Indians of their own stock, as I understand, they call ' Tinnatte.' These two last names seem certainly to connect them with the great ' Tinneh ' or Athabascan nation. Sarcee (or rather Sarxi) is tho name by which they are called by the Blackfeet. "VVnENCE THi;sE People Came. ' Former!}-,' said ' Bull's Head,' ' the Sarcee territory extended from the liocky Mountains to the Big Iliver (either the Saskatchewan or tho Peace River). Our delight was to make corrals for the buffaloes, and to drive them over the cut bank and let them fall. Those wore glorious days, when we could mount our swift-footed horses, and ride like the wind after the flying herd ; but now the buffalo is gone wo hang our heads, we are poor. And then, too, wo used to fight those liars, the Crces : we engaged in many a bloody battle, and their bullets pierced our teepees. Thirty battles have I seen. AVhen 1 was a child the Sarcees were in number like the grass ; the Blackfeet and Bloods and Peigans were as nothing in comparison. Battles w'ith the Crees and disease brought in among us by the white man have reduced us to our present pitiable state.' Another Indian told us how the Sarcees were at one time one people with the Chipewyansi, and gave us the myth which accounts for their separation. ' Formerly,' he said, ' wo lived in the north countr}-. We were many thousandrf in number. We were travelling south. It was winter, and we had to cross a big lake on the ice. There was an elk's horn sticking out of the ice. A squaw went and struck the horn with an axe. The elk raised himself from the ice and shook his head. The people were all frightened and ran away. Those that ran toward tho north became the Chipewyans, and we who ran toward the south are tho " Sotenna " or " Sarcees." ' ' The Chi^ewjans,' said ' Bull's Head,' 'speak our language. It is twenty years since I saw a Chipewyan. AVe call them " Tcohtin." They livo up north, beyond the Big River' (probably the Peace River). k li rl! 244 REPORT — 1888. Their Traditions, Beliefs, &c. ' There was a time,' said ' Bull's Head,' ' when there were no lalccH. The lakes and rivers were occasioned by the bursting of the belly of tlie buffalo. It was when the belly of the buffalo burst that the people divided ; some went to the north and some to the south. For years anc? years I have been .^Id that the Creator made all people, and I believe ii. I have heard my mother and other old people speak of the days when there were no guns and no horses, when our people had only arrows^ and had to hunt the buffalo on foot ; that must have been a very long time ago.' The Sarcccs have a tradition similar to that of the Blackfeet about men and women being first made sejjarately, and then being brought together through the action of the mythical being ' Napiw.' Th(;y have also a tradition of the flood, which accords in its maia features with that of the Ojibways, Crees, and other Canadian tribes. They say that when the world was flooded there were only one man and one woman left, and these two saved themselves on a raft, on which they also collected animals and birds of all sorts. The man sent a beaver down to dive and it brought up a little mud from the bottom, and this the man moulded in his hands to form a new world. At first the world was so small that a little bird could walk round it, but it kept getting bigger and bigger. ' First,' said the narrator, 'our father took up hi« abode on it, then there were men, then women, then animals, then birds. Our father then created the rivers, the mountains, the trees, and all the things as we now see them.' When the story was finished I told the narrator that the Ojibway tradition was very much the same as theirs, only that they said it was a musli-rat that brought up the earth and not a beaver. Upon this five or six of the men who were squatting around inside the teepee smoking cried, ' Yes, yes ! The man has told you lies ; it was a musk-rat, it wa.4 a musk-rat ! ' It seems dubious whether the Sarcees are sun-worshippers ; but, like the Blackfeet, they call the sun ' our father,' and the earth ' our mother.' They also engage each summer in the ' sun-dance.' They depend also for guidance in their actions on signs in the sky and on dreams. They think they know when there is going to be a fight by the appearance of thc- moon. One of their number, named ' iluny Swans,' says he is going to have a good crop this year, for he dreamed that a white woman came down from above and asked to see his garden, and he showed his garden to the woman, and it was all green. * Bull's Head ' had no theory to give as to the cause of thunder ; he knew that Indians of other tribes said it was a big bird flapping its wings, but his peo])le did not say so ; they did not know what it was ; neither had they anything to say about an eclipse. 'i Manner of Living. The Sarceo Indians are at present all pagans ; they appear to have no liking for the white people, and the white peoplo seem to have little liking tor them, and would gladly deprive them of their lands and drive them away farther into the wilderness were they permitted to do so. But the paternal Government, as represented by the Indian Department, ON THE NORTU-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA. 245 niig to Dr ; lio |iug its was ; lave no little drive Ido so. Itineut, takea care that tboy are not imposed upon. There is an Indian Agent stationed on their reserve, who twice a week doles out to them tho Government rations, consisting of excellent fresh beef and good flour; and there is also a farm instructor, who has charge of the farming stock and implements, and does what he can to induce these warriors and hunters io farm. They have also residing among them a missionary of the Church of England, who visits them in their teepees, and does his best to collect llieir little blanketed children to school, giving two Government biscuits xo each scholar as a reward for attendance. But the people are evidently averse to all these things, which are being done for their good. Their only idea of the white man seems to be tliat of a trespassing individual, who has more in his possession than he knows what to do with, and may therefore fairly be preyed upon. The dress of these people consists, as with other wild Indians, of a breech-clout, a pair of blanket leggings, beaded moccasins, and a blanket thrown loosely, but gracefully, over one or both shoulders. They wear tlieir long black hair in plaits, hanging vertically, one plait on each side of the face, and one or more at the back. Some of them knot their hair on the top of the head ; and some, I noticed, wore a coloured handkerchief folded and tied I'ound the temples. This, I believe, is one distinguishing mark of the Navajo Indians in New Mexico. Very often the leggings and moccasins are dispensed with, and the man appears to have nothing on except his grey, white, or coloured blanket. The women wear an ordinary woman's dress of rough make and material, and short in tho skirt, next to the skin, leggings and moccasins, and a blanket round the *;houlders. Ornaments are worn by both sexes, but chiefly by the men. They consist of brooches and earrings made of steel, necklaces and brace- lots made of bright-coloured beads, bones, claws, teeth, and brass wire, and finger-rings, also of brass wire, coiled ten or twelve times, and cover- ing the lower joint of the finger. Every finger of each hand is sometimes covered with these rings. Both men and women paint tho upper part of tho face with ochre or vermilion. The people live in ' teepees,' conical- shaped lodges, made of poles covered with tent cotton, in the summer, and in low log hats, plastered over with mud, in winter. They » >i tosilma eighteen clashdedjimitair he is dead tn'isits.'l nineteen klikuafimitan this teig6 twenty ak'adde that teteg61a twenty-one akadde egligimitan all kanniltilla twenty-two „ ekiimitan many nikla twenty-three „ ctrankimitaii who is it ? mataganita ? twenty-four „ edijimitan far off k(iss4 thirty trante near wiltoa forty pisde here tiltigd fifty kositat6 there niu^dte sixty kostratfi ON TUB NOUTIMVESTEKN TIIIDES OF CANADA. 251 a ho taWita? tata . . .? ilkhii ri'ikkodikui or ckli'itsi dikiUiiiUi iiu'im'assi-nitHrinA sinni, sinna . . . iiinii'ila, niiina . . . atigan'itta, iu'iila kisalni\tai iiinna nitta iil'itsa laideklishi itcide ikkazah) ,na) mah) la) 1 ii dtaii in 2:imitan nitaii nkimitaia imitan uliat \a that ? yi.stenUiy lo-iuurruw Vfliite man Aiiiciican I thou lie they thou art asleep Is it your knife ? I love him you love liim lie loves him \ love it I do not love it two men two women one dog the boy runs the dog runs the dogs run one dog runs I run thou runnest he runs we I arrive thou he we they he rides I smoke you smoke he smokes the Blackfoot smokes we smoke they smoke I smoked yesterday I shall smoke to-morrow he will smoke to-morrow I will look for them to-morrow I drive them home if he goes he will see you if I go you will see me king, big chief go home come in my house is good my horses are good it is not good give it to me he gave it to me come here be quick do not be afraid I am hungry I am sick I am very sick are you sick ? he is not sick he is tired siventy / . . . , v! . . . , ma . . . ; and when governing a verb (e.(j., to smoke, set' vocal).), ft/" . . . , ni . . . . , /. . . . It ai)pearH, however, from the various verbs given in the vocabulary, that (if correctly obtained) there must bo a great variation in the mode of forming the persons ; and this, I expect, is due to their belonging to distinct paradigms. 2. The negative appears to bo to prefi.xed to the verb. The Blackfeet Indians prefix mat to the verb, and follow it by ids. Ojibway.s prefix Icmvin, and end the verb with si. The Sioux simply use shni after the verb. Crees prefix niima. 3. The interrogative particle appears to be Jcilah, or lah after the verb. Blackfeet express this by ],-dt before the verb and pa after it. Ojibways by vn, Crees by tci, Sioux by he — all after the verb. 4. The numerals in this language are rather puzzling. There appears to be a double set. Kositd was given me as 5 ; yet 15 was iviltaflmitau; and 50 took again the first form, kositafa. So with IG : Iwstrani is G ; ivistaumitan, IG ; Jcostrate, GO. I notice also that the word for 6 seems to be an extension of the word for 3, and the word for 8 an extension of the word for 4. 10 seems to stand alone, the endings for the * teens ' being mitaa, which seems to have nothing to do with Jcunisnun. It seems curious also that the ' teen-ending ' should be continued through the ' ties * ; twenty-one would seem to be expressed in Sarcee as 10-f-ll ; but this is merely a surmise of mine, and if I knew more of the language I could probably explain these seeming irregularities. I may mention here, in connection with this, that the Ojibways count 1 to 5 with distinct words, then seem to begin 1, 2 again with the ending loaswi from G to 10. Ojibways and Crees have almost the same words for the numbers 1 to G, entirely different words for 7, 8, 9, and are nearly the same again for 10 and 20. 6. The plural of the noun appears to be Ufa or a. There does not appear to be any distinction made in the plural endings between animate and inanimate objects. 6. There does not appear co be any distinction made in the first person plural of the verb between ' we exclusive of the party addressed ' and ' we inclusive.' In these two points (5 and G) there is a decided divergence from languages of the Algonkin stock, and a leaning towards the Siouan. 7. ii/ra, »!i;ma, it seems, mean — the first, ' father,' or ' my father,' the second ' mother,' or ' my mother,' the possessive pronoun not being used in the first person for nouns of near relationship. This agrees with the Sioux. fiuly ON THE NORTir-WESTKIlN TRIBES OF fANADA. 253 ff 8. The adjective follows the noun, the same as in the Sioux. 0. In the foregoing 2*50 words and sontonces I do not recognise one word as similar to any word in any otiior Indian language with whicli I am familiar, But I have never before examined any of the 'Tinneh* or Athabascan Btoch. I might, perhaps, except nluna, ni . . . , the second person of the proncun, which is analogous to ?;///(', ni . . . of the Siouau dialects. 10. The sign of the past tense may bo te, and of the future itd (seo smnh; in A'^ocab.), but of this I cannot bo sure. 11. The Sarcees seem to keep their li[)S parted while speaking, and the accent is generally on the lust syllable of the word. The language lias rather a clicking, ' slishing ' sound. 12. lu inflecting some of the verbs I have introduced the personal ])ronouns, but I imagine their presence is not necessary except for emphasis. Notes lij Mr. H. Hale on the forcrjoing Report. Mr. Wilson's report on the Sarcees is specially v.aluable as being the only detailed account we possess of this interesting branch of the great Tinneh or Athabascan family. Some information concerning the tribe has been given incidentally by v.arions writers, including Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Umfreville, and Petitot, but no particular descriptinn of tho ])eople has been heretofore published. It has been known merely that they spoke a dialect of the Tinneh language, and that they lived in close alliance witb the Blackfoot tribes. The Tinneh family, or stock, has attracted much attention from ethnologists, pn"tly from the peculiar character of its members and ])artly from its wide diffusion, in which respect, as Islv. H. H. Bancroft lias observed, it may be compared with the Aryan and Semitic families of the Old World. It occupies the whole northern portion of the American continent, from Hudson Bay to the Bocky Mountains, except the coasts, Avhich belong to the Eskimo. Tinneh tribes also possess the interior of Alaska and British Columbia. Other .scattered bands — Umpquas, Tlatskanais, and Kwalhioquas — arc found in Oregon. The Hoopas ami some smaller tribes live in Northern California. Thence, si)rcading east- ward, Tinneh tribes, under various designations — Navahoes (or Navajos), Apaches, Lipanes, Pelones, Tontos, and others — are widely difl'used over Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and the northern provinces of the Mexican Republic. The best account of the Northern Tinneh, east of the Rocky ^Mountains, is found in the introductory portion of the ' Dictionnaire de la langue Dene-Dindjiu 'of the eminent missionary-philologist, the Abbe Petitot, who resided many years among them, and studied their languages, customs, and traditions with much care. In his list of the tribes belonging to this portion of the stock he makes a division styled mountaineers (Montagnards), possessing the country on both sides of the Rocky Mountains. The southernmost tribe of this division, on tl iast side of the mountains, is the Tsa-ttinne, a name which he renders ' dwellers among the beavers.' The name is derived from tsa, beaver (which has various other dialectical forms, tso, sa, sa, and so), and tinnc (otherwise tonne, tena, atena, tunneli, dene, danneh, dindjie, &c.), the word for 'man* in the different dialects, M. Petitot describes the Tsa-ttinne, or ' Beaver Indians,' as comprising two septs — a northern tribe, who hunt along the ^1 - 254 llEPoiiT — 1888. Poaco Tlivcr, nnil a southern, vvlio dwoll about tlio lioail-watcra of tlio Xorth Saskatcluiwan, towards tlio Itocky Mountains. 'J'lio latter, ho says, are tho Na/r/.f, who have separatoil thcnis'-lvos from tho northern band. Tho tribal iianio of Soti'nnii, which Mv. Wilson obtained from tho Sarcees. is (!vidontly a dialectical variation of M. I'l-titot's Tsa-ttinno. It has been supposed that tho separation of tho Sarcees from their Tinnoh kindred, followed by their union witii tho BlacUfeet, was the result of dissensions ainontj; tho Tinneh tribes. But tho information obtained by Mv. Wilson shows that this idea was not well founded. The separation is now ascribed by tho Sarcees to a superstitious panie, but very probably resulted merely from tho natural dosiro of their forefathers to find a better eoujitry and climate. Their southward advance brought thorn in contact with the JMackfeet, with whom they confedei'ated, not af?ainst their Tinneh kindred, as had been supposed, but against the Crees, who have from timo immemorial been the common enemies of tho Tinneh and Blackfoot tribes. The legend of tho deluge, whicb Mr. Wilson obtained, is given by M. Petitot in a slightly dilfeivnt form, which on some accounts is worthy of notice. In early times, wo aro told, there was a * delugo of snow ' in September. Tiiis was changed to a flood of water by tho act of ' tht; mouse,' an important character in tho mythology of some of the Tinneh tribes, being regarded as ' the symbol or genius of death.' He pierced the skin-bag in which 'the heat ' was contained, and the snow was fortli- Avith melted. Tho flood quickly rose above tho mountains and drowned tho wholo human race except one old man, who had foreseen the catastrophe and had vaiidy warned liis neighbours. Ho luid made for liimself a largo canoe, in which he floated, gathering on it all the animals ho met. After a timo ho ordered several of those animals to dive and seek for earth. These were tiie beaver, the otter, tho musk-rat, and the arctic duck. According to this version of tho story, it was neither the . beaver nor the musk-rat that brought up the earth, but the duck. This morsel of earth was extended by the breath of tho old man, Avho blew upon it until it became an immense island, on which ho placed succes- sively, during six days, all the animals, and finally disembarked himself. This story is evidently made up from various sources. Tho skin-ban; of heat bitten through by the mouse seems to be a genuine Tinneh invention. Tho diving of the a.'imals, with the formation of the new earth, is a well-known creation myth of the Algonkin and Iroquois tribes; and t'co ' six days ' are pi-obably a lato addition derived from the missic ary teachings. An inquirer among tho Indian tribes is constantly comir across such composite myths, which recjiiiro car'jful study and analy :. Ot ^r observers agree with ^Ir. Wilson in regarding the Northern Tinne tribes as inferior in intelligence to tho neighbouring Indians ol other cocks. This is doubtless a just view. Tho inferiority, however, ■woul' seem to be not from any natural deficiency, but rather tho result of tho very Tinfavonrable conditions under which the former are con- demned to live. Not much can be expected from bands of widely scattered nomads, often famine-stricken, wandering over a barren region, Tinder inclement skies. In better surroundings their good natural endowments become apparent. The Hoopas of California display much ^ intelligence and energy. Mr. Stephen Powers, in his account of the * Tribes of California,' published by the American Bureau of Ethnology, ON THE NORTIl-WESTEUN TIUUES OF CANADA. 255 era of tlm ■r, ho says, licni Imiid. .10 Sarcei's, horn their t, waa tlio iformatiou kIc'cI. Tla- panic, but fofcfatli(!rs 3ratod, not ; the Ci'oes, the Tiniioli 1 given by i is wortliy f snow ' ill ict of ' tho the Tinufli tie pierced was foi'tli- (1 drowned rescen tlic I made for ;he animals 1 dive and it, and tlio leithcr thf , uck. This , who blew ;edi succes- d liimseir. le skin-baj:? inc Tinneli 3f the new uois tribes; from the constantly study and i Northein Indians ol' f, however, the result ir are ecu- of widely [•ran regior, od natural splay mncli nnt of the Ethnology, snonkn of the TToopaa with nineli admiration, and stylea thetii 'the i{otn!Uifl of N'ortliern ( 'ulifornia * ; ho states tliat they had reduced most ol" the surrounding tribes to a condition of senii-vassala!X(?. Mr. J. P. Dunn, nn able and cxporienced writer, in his recent work, * Tho Massacres el' the Mountains,' describes tho Navahoes as tho most interesting of all tho western tribes. Tiiey area peaceful, jtiistoral, and ngricultural peo[)lc, remarkable for their industry and for tli<'ir 'ngonuity in various manu- factures. Their women weave excellent blankets, which, he "ays, 'have been tho wonder and admiration of civilised people for many years. They nre very thick, and so closely woven that a tirst-class one is practically water-tight, retiuiring five or six hours to be soaked through.' They make pottery, and ' have numerous silversmiths, who work cunningly in that metal.' Their wonum are well treated, are consulted in all bargains, and hold their own property iiulepondetitly. In 1881- tho tribe nund)ered 17JI"0 souls, cultivated 15,()()0 acres of land, raised '2:20,0() sheep. It has seemed proper to mention these facts as evidence that the Indians who inhabit so largo a portion of British America, and whoso (lesceiulants are probably destined to h(dd much of it ])ermanently, belong to a stock which, under favouring circnmstances, displays a good aptitude for civilisatioTi. M. Petitot, it should bo observed, speaks of tho Sarcee language as I' inning a onnecting link between the languages of the northern and si uthern Tinneh tribes. Mr. Wilson's vocabulary, though taken under many disadvantages, will doubtless be found extensive enough to afford (istfuldata to philologists in classifying the idioms of this important family. The Committee ask for reappointment, with a renewal of tho grant. 'm' 4 i w if! i m