﻿412 KUTCHIN. 



to a small lake, where they are met for the pur- 

 poses of trade by the more distant Koltshanen, 

 who supply them with articles of EngUsh manu- 

 facture. Porcupine quills, coloured by the Atnaer 

 with moose berries, used for embroidering seal- 

 skin shirts, are valued articles of commerce; and 

 in their traffic all parties are wary and skilful. 



The fatigues of this excursion render the Ke- 

 naiyer hunters lean and exhausted; but they kill 

 beavers as they return home, and continue to do 

 so up to the beginning of winter, when they hold 

 the annual festival, announce the produce of the 

 chase, and give themselves up to recreation and 

 pleasure. 



Slavery, to a certain extent, prevails among the 

 coast tribes, and the slaves, who are originally 

 prisoners taken in battle and not redeemed, are 

 transferred from one tribe to another by barter. 

 Captain Cook mentions, that on his first intercourse 

 with them none would come into his ship, until a 

 seaman had gone into one of their boats, when an 

 Indian was sent up into the ship. This was con- 

 sidered by the English officers as an exchange of 

 hostages, but perhaps the Indians reckoned it to 

 be a barter of slaves, as they would not part with 

 the seaman until muskets were presented at them ; 

 and when he returned on board they took their 

 own man and departed. The slaves are named 



