150 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. ix. 



Indians were obliged to satisfy all their needs for manufactured 

 articles through the intermediation of the coast tribes. This 

 intercourse led to the general diffusion of the remarkable Chinook 

 jargon, which can only be referred to here. In the more remote 

 parts of this northern country, the natives have changed very 

 little since its first discovery. In 1793, Sir Alexander Mackenzie 

 accompanied a party of them, as they travelled toward their 

 fishery on the Dean or Salmon River. In June, 1876, I jour- 

 neyed for a couple of days with a similar party going to the same 

 traditional locality for the same purpose, and, with scarcely a 

 word of alteration, Mackenzie's description might have been ap- 

 plied. Every man, woman and child carried a " pack " of size 

 in proportion to their strength, many of the women being, in 

 addition, encumbered with infants, and even the dogs having 

 strapped to their backs a proportion of the common burden of 

 camp equipage or traps. The larger articles and provisions 

 were usually packed in square boxes made of light wood, skil- 

 fully bent round, and pegged together so neatly that, with the 

 addition of grease and dirt rubbed into the corners, they are 

 water-tight, and can be used for boiling fish, hot stones from the 

 fire beins thrown in till the water is heated. Smaller loads are 

 carried in net-work bags made of raw hide, and slung, together 

 with a blanket, over the shoulders. All were in good humour, 

 and it was with the greatest difficulty I could persuade one to 

 leave his companions to guide me to the southward, where I 

 wished to go. They travelled at leisure, frequently resting for 

 an hour or so, the women attending to their children, the men 

 sleeping in the shade, or gambling with marked sticks, as Mac- 

 kenzie describes. 



In the southern part of the interior, the Indians have come 

 much more freely in contact with the whites, and though many 

 never saw a white face till the gold excitement of 1859 occurred, 

 they have already advanced very materially. In the early days 

 of gold mining, labour was scarce and in great demand, and, 

 consequently, every Indian who could and would work was em- 

 ployed at high wages. From this, many of them became stock- 

 raisers to a small extent, river boatmen, and packers ; while 

 others cultivated the soil, sometimes producing more than they 

 required for their own support. Such is their state at present, 

 and on them most of the white settlers rely for aid in tilling, 

 harvesting, and stock herding. While, however, the younger 



