8 MICHIGAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



The puberty rites illustrate the fact that religion aud philosophy may 

 be reconstructed to a certain extent, from survivals in the tales told by 

 people who have long since failed to understand their import. 



To a certain extent the earlier ethnological customs are recorded in 

 these homely tales. In this case we have a clue to the great distance 

 war parties traveled, the method of painting and fasting, a knowledge 

 that the bow and arrow were carried by war parties, the taking of 

 scalps, the social organization under a leader, and the dance. 



The narrator of this slory did not believe it. although he did when 

 young. His son does not know it. his grandchildren probably have 

 never heard it. The two latter generations talk English. This is 

 practically the case with all of the Indians of Michigan, ^yhen these old 

 Indians die this mass of literature and its possibilities become extinct. 

 Bibles and song books have been printed in which Indian words have 

 been substituted for English, but we can hardly say that, of the litera- 

 ture of the several Indian languages of Michigan, any has been recorded 

 in the State for future study. 



The development of the State has been so rapid that these matters 

 have been overlooked. There are yet a few old men living who can 

 relate such material. A record of it by phonetic symbols retaining the 

 original Indian is most desirable for the uses above suggested. The 

 imminent danger of the entire loss of the material, however, pleads that 

 it be recorded in any manner, however imperfect or fragmentary. The 

 Indian who keenly feels that his race is doomed to extinction likes to 

 leave such records behind him and may be easily persuaded in the 

 matter. 



THE PREHISTOKIC ETHNOLOGY OF THE THOMPSON RIVER 



REGION. 



BY HARLAN I. SMITH. 



My arclupological explorations, for the Jesu}) North Pacific Expedi- 

 tion in the Thompson River region, were carried on from Lytton at the 

 junction of the Thomjison with the Frazer River, to Kamloops at the 

 union of the north and south branches of the Thompson as well as in 

 the tributary Nicola Valley as far eastward as the head of Nicola Lake. 

 The work was done in 1807 supplemented by visits in 1898-99. 



The streams of this region have cut small mountains out of the rolling 

 plateau which extends from the Coast Range to the western slope of 

 the Rocky Mountains. The climate is dry and consequently vegetation 

 is scanty except along the streams. Deer and elk in great numbers 

 formerly grazed on the hills among the open timber. Salmon ascend 

 the streams from the Pacific to spawn. There was however insufficient 

 quantities of any few stajile ]iroducts to enal)le a ])eo])le to live without 

 resorting to the many resources of the country. In ihis respect the 

 early people of this region were less fortunate than those of the coast 

 who had such immense quantities of cedar, seals, salmon and shell-fish 

 tlijit they required liltlf of other ]iioducts. 



