FOREST, LJKE, AND RIVER 



have become radically changed, as has occurred in 

 the English language during that long period, es- 

 pecially as the Montagnais language was never 

 written until early in the century just passed. 

 Many of the tribe being ilUterate, they would 

 naturally either mix their dialects or speak incor- 

 rectly, thus using different words to express the 

 same thing. Perhaps the best authority is Mr. 

 Robertson, who has been for many years the inter- 

 preter of the Montagnais at Lake St. John. He 

 is familiar with no less than seven dialects of the 

 language, and states authoritatively that " ouanan " 

 is the true word for salmon, as used by a majority 

 of the tribe, and is as he learned it a generation 

 ago from tribal traditions. 



Thoroughly famihar with the salmon of the sea, 

 as well as with its close relative, the ouananiche, 

 these Indians quickly noted their similarities and 

 named both alike, designating the latter only by 

 the adjective small. Smaller than its progenitor 

 of the sea, it is yet more powerful in size of fins 

 and tail, and, pound for pound, by far the greater 

 fighter. 



The salmon spends much of the year somewhere 

 in the quiet depths of the ocean, and only labors 

 against fall and rapid when ascending the rivers to 

 spawn. With the ouananiche, on the contrary, 



72 



