Indians of McKenzie River District. 191 



The Chipewyans may be considered the purest stock, and call 

 themselves Tonish or Dimish, (the People.) They are scattered 

 over a large and important portion of North America, either 

 themselves or their off-shoots. They are to be found in greater 

 or lesser numbers from about 95° west longitude, to the Rocky 

 Mountains, and from about 55° of lat. to the Arctic circle. By 

 this statement I do not mean to say that they inhabit so extensive 

 a tract of country, but merely that they are to be met with be- 

 tween these extremes. The most eastern of the H.B. posts to which 

 they resort for purposes of trade is Churchill on Hudson's Bay, 

 which they reach by descending the English River. I do not 

 suppose they winter any where in the vicinity of the Great coast 

 line, nor that they have much intercourse with the Esquimaux, 

 what intercourse does exist however, is of a friendly character. 

 On the south they are not met with below Isle-a-la-Crosse. About 

 Lesser Slave Lake, and at St. Johns on the Upper waters of Peace 

 River, Crees are the present inhabitants. The Lesser Slave Lake 

 country, from its source evidently belonged at some former 

 period to the Chipewyans, as the usual name given to numbers of 

 this tribe is slaves, but they not being by any means so warlike 

 as their opponents, have been in all probability beaten back 

 by the superior arms and energy of the Cree nation. I have, 

 heard that one of the plain tribes the Cirsees was a Chipewyan 

 off-shoot, and resemblance of language and general reports render 

 this very propable. To the westward, the Chipewyan is found 

 along Peace River, in the Beaver tribe, at Fort au Levid in the 

 Slave tribe, and along the McKenzie in Slave and Stare tribes as 

 far north as the Arctic circle, and the Bloody Fall on the Copper- 

 mine River. 



The Chipewyan nation is bounded by the Crees to the south- 

 ward, this latter people have penetrated though in small numbers 

 to Athabasca Lake, and hunt in common with the Chipewyans the 

 country along the Athabasca and English Rivers, and that lying 

 between Peace River and Lesser Slave Lake. Although enemies 

 formerly, they are now on intimate and friendly terms. To the 

 eastward the intercourse of the Chipewyan with the Esquimaux 

 is but trifling. A wide and barren tract of country intervenes 

 between their hunting grounds and the coast, while the best 

 means of water communication, the Great Fish River, is very 

 dangerous. The Stare Indians indeed meet with the Esquimaux 

 in an amicable manner on the Anderson river, a stream lately dis- 



