The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft Part 15

_Bodega y Quadra_, _Nav._, MS. p. 48. 'Rudely excavated and reduced to no particular shape, but each end has the resemblance of a butcher's tray.' _Dixon's Voy._, p. 173. 'Their canoes are much inferior to those of the lower coast, while their skin "baidarkes" (kyacks) are not equal to those of Norton Sound and the northern coast.' _Whymper's Alaska_, p.

101. At Cook's Inlet, 'their canoes are sheathed with the bark of trees.' _Lisiansky's Voy._, p. 188. These canoes 'were made from a solid tree, and many of them appeared to be from 50 to 70 feet in length, but very narrow, being no broader than the tree itself.' _Meares' Voy._, p.

x.x.xviii. 'Their boat was the body of a large pine tree, neatly excavated, and tapered away towards the ends, until they came to a point, and the fore-part somewhat higher than the after-part; indeed, the whole was finished in a neat and very exact manner.' _Portlock's Voy._, p. 259.

[164] 'Ont fait beaucoup plus de progres dans les arts que dans la morale.' _La Perouse_, _Voy._, tom. ii., p. 233. Thlinkeet women make baskets of bark of trees, and gra.s.s, that will hold water. _Langsdorff's Voy._, pt. ii., p. 132. They have tolerable ideas of carving, most utensils having sculptures, representing some animal. _Portlock's Voy._, p. 294. 'Ces peintures, ces sculptures, telles qu'elles sont, on en voit sur tous leurs meubles.' _Marchand_, _Voy._, tom. ii., p. 71. 'De la vivacidad de su genio y del afecto al cambio se debe inferir son bastantemente laboriosos.' _Bodega y Quadra_, _Nav._, MS. p. 48. 'Tienen lana blanca cuya especie ignoraron.' _Perez_, _Nav._, MS. p. 16. 'Masks very ingeniously cut in wood, and painted with different colors.' A rattle, 'very well finished, both as to sculpture and painting.' 'One might suppose these productions the work of a people greatly advanced in civilization.' _Lisiansky's Voy._, pp. 150, 241. 'Found some square patches of ground in a state of cultivation, producing a plant that appeared to be a species of tobacco.' _Vancouver's Voy._, vol. iii., p.

256.

[165] 'The skins of the sea-otters form their princ.i.p.al wealth, and are a subst.i.tute for money.' _Kotzebue's New Voy._, vol. ii., p. 54. 'In one place they discovered a considerable h.o.a.rd of woolen cloth, and as much dried fish as would have loaded 150 bidarkas.' _Lisiansky's Voy._, p.

160.

[166] 'Le Gouvernement des Tc.h.i.n.kitaneens paroitroit donc se rapprocher du Gouvernement patriarchal.' _Marchand_, _Voy._, tom. ii., p. 83. 'De su gobierno pensamos cuando mas, oiendo el modo de someterse a algunos viejos, seria oligarhico.' _Bodega y Quadra_, _Nav._, MS. p. 50. 'Though the toyons have power over their subjects, it is a very limited power, unless when an individual of extraordinary abilities starts up, who is sure to rule despotically.' _Lisiansky's Voy._, p. 243. 'Chaque famille semble vivre d'une maniere isolee et avoir un regime particulier.' _La Perouse_, _Voy._, tom. iv., p. 61. 'Ces Conseils composes des vieillards.' _Laplace_, _Circ.u.mnav._, tom. vi., p. 155.

[167] Tribes are distinguished by the color and character of their paint. _Kotzebue's New Voy._, vol. ii., p. 51. They 'are divided into tribes; the princ.i.p.al of which a.s.sume to themselves t.i.tles of distinction, from the names of the animals they prefer; as the tribe of the bear, of the eagle, etc. The tribe of the wolf are called _Coquontans_, and have many privileges over the other tribes.'

_Lisiansky's Voy._, pp. 238, 242.

[168] 'The women possess a predominant influence, and acknowledged superiority over the other s.e.x.' _Meares' Voy._, p. 323. 'Parmi eux les femmes jouissent d'une certaine consideration.' _Laplace_, _Circ.u.mnav._, tom. vi., p. 87. They treat their wives and children with much affection and tenderness, and the women keep the treasures. _Portlock's Voy._, p.

290. The Kalush 'finds his filthy countrywomen, with their lip-troughs, so charming, that they often awaken in him the most vehement pa.s.sion.'

_Kotzebue's New Voy._, vol. ii., p. 56. 'It is certain that industry, reserve, modesty, and conjugal fidelity, are the general characteristics of the female s.e.x among these people.' _Langsdorff's Voy._, pt. ii., p.

133. 'Quoiqu'elles vivent sous la domination d'hommes tres-feroces, je n'ai pas vu qu'elles en fussent traitees d'une maniere aussi barbare que le pretendent la plupart des voyageurs.' _La Perouse_, _Voy._, tom. iv., p. 61.

[169] 'Weddings are celebrated merely by a feast, given to the relatives of the bride.' _Kotzebue's New Voy._, vol. ii., p. 57.

[170] 'Ils ne s'ecartent jamais de deux pas pour aucun besoin; ils ne cherchent dans ces occasions ni l'ombre ni le mystere; ils continuent la conversation qu'ils ont commencee, comme s'ils n'avaient pas un instant a perdre; et lorsque c'est pendant le repas, ils reprennent leur place, dont ils n'ont jamais ete eloignes d'une toise.' _La Perouse_, _Voy._, tom. ii., p. 221.

[171] 'Ont un gout decide pour le chant.' _Marchand_, _Voy._, tom. ii., p. 75. 'The women sit upon the ground at a distance of some paces from the dancers, and sing a not inharmonious melody, which supplies the place of music.' _Langsdorff's Voy._, pt. ii., p. 114. 'They dance and sing continually.' _Lisiansky's Voy._, p. 240. Besides the tambourine, Captain Belcher saw a castanet and 'a new musical instrument, composed of three hoops, with a cross in the centre, the circ.u.mference being closely strung with the beaks of the Alca arctica.' _Voy._, vol. i., p.

103.

[172] They lose at this game all their possessions, and even their wives and children, who then become the property of the winner.' _Kotzebue's New Voy._, vol. ii., p. 62. 'Ce jeu les rend tristes et serieux.' _La Perouse_, _Voy._, tom. ii., p. 235.

[173] Upon one tomb, 'formaba una figura grande y horrorosa que tenia entre sus garras una caxa.' _Sutil y Mexicana_, _Viage_, p. cxviii. 'The box is frequently decorated with two or three rows of small sh.e.l.ls.'

_Dixon's Voy._, p. 176. 'The dead are burned, and their ashes preserved in small wooden boxes, in buildings appropriated to that purpose.'

_Kotzebue's New Voy._, vol. ii., p. 57. 'Nos voyageurs rencontrerent aussi un morai qui leur prouva que ces Indiens etaient dans l'usage de bruler les morts et d'en conserver la tete.' _La Perouse_, _Voy._, tom.

ii., p. 205. 'On the death of a toyon, or other distinguished person, one of his slaves is deprived of life, and burned with him.'

_Lisiansky's Voy._, p. 241.

[174] Called by Gallatin, in _Am. Antiq. Soc. Transact._, vol. ii., p.

17, _Athapasca_, the name 'first given to the central part of the country they inhabit.' Sir John Richardson, _Jour._, vol. ii., p. 1, calls them 'Tinne, or 'Dtinne, Athabascans or Chepewyans.' 'They style themselves generally Dinneh men, or Indians.' _Franklin's Nar._, vol.

i., p. 241.

[175] _Richardson's Jour._, vol. ii., pp. 1-33.

[176] 'Les Indiens de la cote ou de la Nouvelle Caledonie, les Tokalis, les Chargeurs (Carriers) les Schouchouaps, les Atnas, appartiennent tous a la nation des Chipeouaans dont la langue est en usage dans le nord du Continent jusqu'a la baie d'Hudson et a la Mer Polaire.' _Mofras_, _Explor._, tom. ii., p. 337.

[177] Are 'known under the names of _Loucheux_, _Digothi_, and _Kuts.h.i.+n_.' _Latham's Nat. Races_, p. 292. 'They are called Deguthee Dinees, or the _Quarrellers_.' _Mackenzie's Voy._, p. 51. 'On Peel's River they name themselves _Kutchin_, the final _n_ being nasal and faintly p.r.o.nounced.' _Richardson's Jour._, vol. i., p. 378. They are also called _Tykothee-dinneh_, Loucheux or Quarrellers. _Franklin's Nar._, vol. ii., p. 83. 'The Loucheux proper is spoken by the Indians of Peel's River. All the tribes inhabiting the valley of the Youkon understand one another.' _Hardisty_, in _Smithsonian Rept._, 1866, p.

311.

[178] Gallatin, in _Am. Antiq. Soc. Transact._, vol. ii., p. 17, erroneously ruled the Loucheux out of his Athabasca nation. 'Im aussersten Nordosten hat uns Gallatin aufmerksam gemacht auf das Volk der Loucheux, Zanker-Indianer oder Digothi: an der Mundung des Mackenzie-Flusses, nach Einigen zu dessen beiden Seiten (westliche und ostliche): dessen Sprache er nach den Reisenden fur fremd den athapaskischen hielt: woruber sich die neuen Nachrichten noch widersprechen.' _Buschmann_, _Spuren der Aztek. Sprache_, p. 713.

Franklin, _Nar._, vol. ii., p. 83, allies the Loucheux to the Eskimos.

[179] Tnai, 'man;' Tnaina Ttynai, Thnaina, Kinai, Kenai, Kenaize.

[180] See notes on Boundaries at the end of this chapter.

[181] Besides the 'Umkwa,' being outlying members of the Athabaskan stock,' there are the 'Navahoe, the Jecorilla, the Pa.n.a.lero, along with the Apatsh of New Mexico, California, and Sonora. To these add the Hoopah of California, which is also Athabaskan.' _Latham's Comp. Phil._, p. 393.

[182] William W. Turner was the first to a.s.sert positively that the Apaches spoke a language which belongs to the Athabascan family.

_Buschmann_, _Spuren der Aztek. Sprache_, p. 316.

[183] Face 'oval.' _Franklin's Nar._, vol. ii., p. 180. 'Broad faces, projecting cheek-bones, and wide nostrils.' _Id._, vol. i., p. 242.

Foreheads low, chin long. _Martin's Brit. Col._, vol. iii., p. 524. An exact compound between the Usquemows and Western Indians. _Barrow's Geog. Hudson Bay_, p. 33.

[184] Generally more than medium size. _Hearne's Trav._, p. 305. 'Well proportioned, and about the middle size.' _Martin's Brit. Col._, vol.

iii., p. 524. 'Long-bodied, with short, stout limbs.' _Ross_, in _Smithsonian Rept._, 1866, p. 304.

[185] 'Dingy copper.' _Martin's Brit. Col._, vol. iii., p. 526.

'Swarthy.' _Mackenzie's Voy._, p. cxix. Dingy brown, copper cast.

_Hearne's Trav._, p. 305. 'Very fresh and red.' _Franklin's Nar._, vol.

ii., p. 180. 'Dirty yellowish ochre tinge.' _Ross_, in _Smithsonian Rept._, 1866, p. 304.

[186] 'Small, fine eyes and teeth.' _Franklin's Nar._, vol. i., 242.

[187] 'Hair lank, but not always of a dingy black. Men in general extract their beard, though some of them are seen to prefer a bushy, black beard, to a smooth chin.' _Mackenzie's Voy._, p. cxix. Beard in the aged 'between two and three inches long, and perfectly white.'

_Franklin's Nar._, vol. ii., p. 180. 'Black, strait, and coa.r.s.e.'

_Martin's Brit. Col._, vol. iii., p. 524. 'Neither s.e.x have any hair under their armpits, and very little on any other part of the body, particularly the women; but on the place where Nature plants the hair, I never knew them attempt to eradicate it.' _Hearne's Trav._, p. 306.

[188] Tattooing appears to be universal among the Kutchins. _Kirby_, in _Smithsonian Rept._, 1864, p. 419. The Chepewyans tattooed 'by entering an awl or needle under the skin, and, on drawing it out again, immediately rubbing powdered charcoal into the wound.' _Hearne's Trav._, p. 306. 'Both s.e.xes have blue or black bars, or from one to four straight lines on their cheeks or forehead, to distinguish the tribe to which they belong.' _Mackenzie's Voy._, p. cxx.

[189] Women 'dest.i.tute of real beauty.' _Hearne's Trav._, p. 89. 'Very inferior aspect.' _Richardson's Jour._, vol. ii., p. 8. Women nasty.

_Mackenzie's Voy._, p. 126. 'Positively hideous.' _Ross_, in _Smithsonian Rept._, 1866, p. 304.

[190] A Deer-Horn Mountaineer's dress 'consisted of a s.h.i.+rt, or jacket with a hood, wide breeches, reaching only to the knee, and tight leggins sewed to the shoes, all of deer's skins.' _Franklin's Nar._, vol. ii., p. 180. The cap consists of the skin of a deer's head. _Mackenzie's Voy._, p. cxxii.

[191] As witness this speech of a n.o.ble chief: 'Women were made for labor; one of them can carry, or haul, as much as two men can do. They also pitch our tents, make and mend our clothing, keep us warm at night; and, in fact, there is no such thing as traveling any considerable distance, in this country without their a.s.sistance.' _Hearne's Trav._, p. 55.

[192] An Indian desiring another one's wife, fights with her husband, princ.i.p.ally by pulling hair. If victorious, he pays a number of skins to the husband. _Hooper's Tuski_, p. 303.

[193] 'Continence in an unmarried female is scarcely considered a virtue.' 'Their dispositions are not amatory.' 'I have heard among them of two sons keeping their mother as a common wife, of another wedded to his daughter, and of several married to their sisters. _Ross_, in _Smithsonian Rept._, 1866, p. 310. Women carry their children on the back next the skin, and suckle them until another is born. They do not suspend their ordinary occupations for child-birth. _Mackenzie's Voy._, p. cxxii. 'A temporary interchange of wives is not uncommon; and the offer of their persons is considered as a necessary part of the hospitality due to strangers.' _Id._, p. xcvi. Women are 'rather the slaves than the companions of the men.' _Bell's Geog._, vol. v., p. 293.

[194] They are harsh towards their wives, except when enceinte. They are accused of abandoning the aged and sick, but only one case came to his knowledge. _Franklin's Nar._, vol. i., pp. 250, 251.

[195] Beeatee, prepared from deer only, 'is a kind of haggis, made with the blood, a good quant.i.ty of fat shred small, some of the tenderest of the flesh, together with the heart and lungs cut, or more commonly cut into small s.h.i.+vers; all of which is put into the stomach, and roasted.'

_Hearne's Trav._, p. 144. 'Not remarkable for their activity as hunters, owing to the ease with which they snare deer and spear fish.'

_Mackenzie's Voy._, p. cxxiii. The Deer-Horn Mountaineers 'repair to the sea in spring and kill seals; as the season advances, they hunt deer and musk oxen at some distance from the coast. They approach the deer either by crawling, or by leading these animals by ranges of turf towards the spot where the archer can conceal himself.' Do not use nets, but the hook and line. _Franklin's Nar._, vol. ii., p. 181. 'Nets made of lines of twisted willow-bark, or thin strips of deer-hide.' _Richardson's Jour._, vol. ii., p. 25. Curdled blood, a favorite dish. _Simpson's Nar._, p. 324.

[196] The weapons of the Chepewyans are bows and arrows; stone and bone axes and knives. _Harmon's Jour._, p. 183. The bows of the Deer-Horns 'are formed of three pieces of fir, the centre piece alone bent, the other two lying in the same straight line with the bowstring; the pieces are neatly tied together with sinew. _Franklin's Nar._, vol. ii., p.

180. In preparing for an attack, each Coppermine Indian paints his s.h.i.+eld with figures of Sun, Moon, or some animal or imaginary beings, each portraying whatever character he most relies upon. _Hearne's Trav._, p. 148. In some parts hunting grounds descend by inheritance, and the right of property is rigidly enforced. _Simpson's Nar._, p. 75.

[197] 'Their cooking utensils are made of pot-stone, and they form very neat dishes of fir.' _Franklin's Nar._, vol. ii., p. 181. Make fis.h.i.+ng-lines and nets of green deer-thongs. _Mackenzie's Voy._, p.

cxxvi.