PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 311 



also in use with these people ; some of them were chap. 

 inlaid with brass, and undoubtedly came from the 

 Tschutschi. 



The language of the Western Esquimaux so nearly 

 resembles that of the tribes to the eastward, as 

 scarcely to need any further mention, particularly after 

 the fact of Augustus, who was a native of Hudson's 

 Bay, being able to converse with the Esquimaux 

 whom he met at the mouth of the Mackenzie River. 

 It may, however, be useful to show, by means of a 

 vocabulary compiled from the people we visited, how 

 nearly it coincides with that given by Captain Parry; 

 some allowances being made for the errors to w^hich 

 all collectors are liable, who can only make themselves 

 understood by signs, and who collate from small par- 

 ties, residing perhaps at a distance from each other, 

 and who, though they speak the same language, may 

 make use of a different dialect. It does not appear 

 that this language extends much beyond Norton 

 Sound, certainly not down to Oonalashka ; for the 

 natives of that island, who are sometimes employed by 

 the Russians as interpreters, are of no use on the 

 American coast, near Beering's Strait. The language, 

 notwithstanding, has a great affinity, and may be 

 radically the same. 



It is unnecessary to pursue further the peculiarities 

 of these people, which are so similar to those of the 

 eastern tribes, as to leave no doubt of both people 

 being descended from the same stock ; and though 

 the inhabitants of Melville Peninsula declared they 

 knew of no people to the westward of Akoolee, there 

 is much reason to believe, from the articles of Asiatic 

 manufacture found in their possession, that there is 



