1892-93.] NOTES ON THE WESTERN D]^N]ES. 93 



are deposited in the water on the sandy shore of the lake or stream till 

 they reach an advanced stage of decay. The stench they then exhale 

 is simply asphyxiating. But not so with the natives, it would seem, 

 since they do not recoil from collecting them and, after having slightly 

 exposed them to the action of the sun as a means of evaporating the 

 water they have absorbed, they submit them to a thorough boiling in 

 large bark vessels and gather their oil in bags made of salmon skin. 

 This they greatly relish, and have recourse to whenever they wish to 

 enhance the natural succulency of their service berries and other fruit. 

 To a civilized palate it is simply an abomination. 



LAND ANIMAL TRAPS, 



While the fauna of Northern British Columbia could be more varied, 

 it is nevertheless abundant enough to relieve the more pressing needs of 

 the Indian tribes stationed within its borders. With one single ex- 

 ception all the larger mammals on whose meat the prehistoric Denes 

 subsisted are still to be found there. By this exception I refer to the 

 elk {Cervns canadensis, Erxl.) which the Carriers assert to have been 

 indigenous to their present territory, but which has long disappeared 

 from among them. Philologically speaking its successor is the horse, 

 which both Carriers and TsijKoh'tin call a domestic elk (yczih, elk, ]i dog 

 or domestic animal), while the Ts^'kehne see in the noble animal nothing 

 but a "big dog" ]i-tco. From an economic standpoint however, it is 

 now replaced by the moose (Alee americanus, Jardine) and the cariboo 

 (Rangifer caribou, Linn.)* The deer (Cariacus virginianus leiicurus) 

 which is unknown to the Tse'kehne and rare among the Carriers is 

 exceedingly plentiful among the Tsi[Koh'tin. But Providence has given 

 the former two valuable mammals which are practically wanting among 

 the latter, I mean the mountain sheep (Ovis ntontana, Cuv.) and the 

 mountain goat (Capra aniericana. Rich.) whose native names are t^pe and 

 9spai respectively. Other animals which are sought more for their meat 

 than their fur are the hoary marmot ( Arctojnys caligatiis), the ground-hog 

 (A. monax, Linn.) and last but not least the hare (Lepus americanus). 

 The porcupine (EretJuzon dorsatus epixanthus ) was formerly hunted 

 for the sake of its quills which were greatly prized as an article of 

 ornamentation. t 



Most of the other mammals hunted by our Denes are valued chiefly 

 for their fur, though the meat of almost all is appreciated as an addition 



* The moose is called t^ni, and the caribou, hwoizih, by the Carriers. 



+ The marmot is called t^iin ; the grounp hog, 'kani ; the hare, k>K and the porcupine, 

 tsf(juk. 



