AN ETHNOLOGICAL TRIP TO LAKE ATHABASCA IS" 



June, I landed at Ft. Chipewyan, on 

 the northwestern shore of Lake Atha- 

 basca. Here I found good opportuni- 

 ty for the investigation I had planned, 

 since this settlement is one of the 

 chief rendezvous of the Chipewyan 

 Indians. 



These Indians are a branch of the 

 Athabascan, or Dene stock, the 

 largest linguistic family of North 

 America, embracing the Hupa of 

 California and the Apache and Na- 

 vajo of the Southwest, as well as the 

 aborigines of the Mackenzie River 

 basin. They do not live on reserva- 

 tions, but hunt and fish in primitive 

 fashion around the shores of Lake 

 Athabasca, Lake Claire and the Slave 

 River. Peltries are offered to the 

 Hudson's Bay Company and to rival 

 "free-traders" in exchange for cloth- 

 ing and provisions; but, even with these supplies, considerable hard- 

 ship is often encountered during the long winters. 



TALLEST CHIPEWYAN MEASURED. 

 Height 6 feet 2 inches. 



CHIPEWYAN BOYS. 



