Inhabiting the North-West Coast of America. 175 



tenat. All inhabit the western shores of Van- 

 couver's Island. 



5. Classet. Inhabit Cape Flattery. 



6. Queenioolt. Inhabit Queenhithe South of Cape Flat- 



tery. 



7. Chikeelis. Inhabit Chikeeli Bay and River. 



8. Cowlitch, Inhabit Cowlitch River. 



9. Tilhalumma, Inhabit sources of Chikeeli River. 

 The relations of this important family, as w^ell as its geo- 

 graphical limits, are very difficult to ascertain, especially as 

 there is much confusion in the vocabularies and relations of 

 the tribes inhabiting the Lower Columbia. If all the above 

 mentioned tribes belong to the Nootkan family, it occupies a 

 very extensive region, including the greater part of the west- 

 ern and southern shores of Vancouver's Island. On the 



mainland it extends south to the Columbia River, and occu- 

 pies the greater part of the region between Puget's Sound, 

 the Cowlitch River, and the Pacific. As this extensive range 

 is given to the Nootkan family for the first time, it is neces- 

 sary to distinguish what is ascertained from what amounts 

 only to a considerable degree of probability. We have many 

 vocabularies of the Nootkan language by Cook, Mozino, Dr 

 Tolmie, and Jewitt, who remained a captive at Nootka for 

 several years. A comparison of these vocabularies leaves 

 no doubt that the first four tribes in the prefixed table belong 

 to the Nootkan family. We have, unfortunately, no vocabu- 

 lary of the Classet language ; but I have reason to believe 

 that the Classets and Tlaoquatch can understand each other, 

 and if so, the former belongs to the Nootkan family. The 

 chief difficulty is with the last four tribes mentioned in the 

 list. Dr Tolmie merely says, that they speak the Chikeeli, 

 but gives no further information respecting them. The rea- 

 sons for supposing that the Chikeeli tribes are allied to the 

 Nootkan family are as follows : — At the mouth of the Colum- 

 bia River, especially on tbe south side, we find several tribes, 

 hereafter to be mentioned, who use the Cheenook language. 

 Above these tribes, and ascending to the falls of the Colum- 

 bia, we find theCathlascans also speaking a peculiar language. 

 Of the tribes on the north side of the river, between the Cow- 



