178 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. [VOL. V. 



etc., which he took out of a bag. On being asked why he did so, he 

 repHed, ' My brother, who is christened, was so ill that we expected his 

 death. He called upon Saint Nicholas, but would have no sorcerer. I 

 promised that if Saint Nicholas would let him live, I would give him 

 what I caught in my first chase. My brother recovered, I obtained these 

 skins, and there they are.' He then bowed again and retired." Sauer 

 euphemistically deals with their begging propensities : " They frequently 

 resort to the solitary habitations of the Cossacs appointed to the different 

 stages, as they are there generally supplied with brandy, needles, thread, 

 and such trifles as are requisite among them and their women, who 

 always accompany them in their wanderings." 



Turning now to the Denes, we find Mackenzie saying : " The Chipe- 

 wyans are sober, timorous, and vagrant, with a selfish disposition, which 

 has sometimes created suspicions of their integrity. Their stature has 

 nothing remarkable in it ; but, though they are seldom corpulent, they 

 are sometimes robust. Their complexion is swarthy, their features 

 coarse, and their hair lank, but not always of a dingy black ; nor have 

 they universally the piercing eye which generally animates the Indian 

 countenance. The women have a more agreeable aspect than the men> 

 but their gait is awkward, which proceeds from their being accustomed 

 nine months in the year, to travel on snow shoes and drag sledges of a 

 weight from two to four hundred pounds. They are very submissive to 

 their husbands, who have, however, their fits of jealousy ; and, for very 

 trifling causes, treat them with such cruelty as sometimes to occasion 

 their death. They are frequently objects of traffic, and the father 

 possesses the right of disposing of his daughter. * * * Both sexes 

 have blue or black bars, or from one to four straight lines, on their 

 cheeks, or forehead, to distinguish the tribe to which they belong. These 

 marks are either tattooed, or made by drawing a thread dipped in the 

 necessary color, beneath the skin. * * * Plurality of wives is 

 common among them, and the ceremony of marriage is of a very simple 

 nature. The girls are betrothed at a very early period to those whom the 

 parents think the best able to support them ; nor is the inclination of the 

 woman considered. Whenever a separation takes place, w'hich some- 

 times happens, it depends entirely on the will and pleasure of the 

 husband. * * * They are not remarkable for their activity as 

 hunters, which is owing to the ease with which they snare deer and spear 

 fish ; and these occupations are not beyond the strength of their old 

 men, women and boys ; so that they participate in those laborious 

 occupations, which among their neighbors are confined to the women. 

 They make war on the Esquimaux, who cannot resist their superior 



