﻿394 KUTCHIN. 



strong horizontal bars. The extremity of the 

 avenue is closed by stakes set firmly in the ground, 

 with their sharp points sloping towards the entrance, 

 so that when the deer are urged vehemently for- 

 wards they may impale themselves thereon. The 

 hunters, spreading over the country, drive the 

 deer within the jaws of the pound; and the women 

 and children, ensconced behind the fence, wound 

 all that they can with arrows and spears. These 

 structures are erected with great labour, as the 

 timber has to be brought into the open country 

 from a considerable distance. Some of the pounds 

 visited by Mr. Bell appeared to him, from the con- 

 dition of the wood, to be more than a century old. 

 They are hereditary possessions of the families by 

 whom they were constructed. 



Mr. Murray's letters describe the meetings of 

 several tribes which he witnessed. On one occa- 

 sion two parties who had been at war with each 

 other, and had not yet arranged their differences, 

 met at his encampment. Very long harangues 

 were made by different members of the two bodies 

 before they landed. After this, one party, stepping 

 from their canoes, formed a circle and pranced 

 round, yelling and shouting furiously. The other 

 party landed a little way off, and ranging them- 

 selves in Indian file, the chief in front and the 

 women and children in the rear, danced forward 



