1896-97-] THE DEN^S OF AMERICA IDENTIFIED WITH THE TUNGIS OF ASIA. 181 



to the door, telling her to go and find her lover, if she has one, or, in the 

 contrary case, her own family." 



"The most remarkable dish of all the Indian tribes, whether of the 

 north or of the south, is that composed of the blood and the half 

 digested substances contained in the stomach of the cariboo, which they 

 boil with a sufficient quantity of water to give it the consistency of broth. 

 * * * Of all the larger animals, the cariboo is the only one the 

 contents of the stomach of which the Indians who border on Hudson's 

 Bay eat. They are so fond of it in winter, the time when this animal 

 feeds on a tender white moss (lichen, Ceenoniyce rangiferina), that I have 

 seen them stop at the very spot where a deer had just been killed to 

 devour the still palpitating entrails. They care less for this food in 

 summer, if food it can be called, the moss then not possessing the same 

 properties." 



With these extracts from both hemispheres may be compared the 

 more recent observations of one who has exercised keen insight during a 

 period of ample opportunity, into the lives of the Dene tribes. Father 

 Morice, in his papers contributed to the Institute, has the following 

 statements, worthy, in this connection, of special consideration. " The 

 American aboriginal type is too well known on this continent to require 

 a description from me. Our Denes, in spite of the characteristics which 

 particularize them into various tribes, do not materially differ from it. 

 Suffice it to say, that whilst the Chilxotins are generall}^ of low stature, 

 broad shouldered, and not unlike the Chinese in their physical features, 

 the Carriers are, as a rule, rather tall and stout, without being corpulent, 

 while most of them possess a fine physique. On the other hand, the 

 Sekanais and Nah'anes, especially the former, are slender and bony, with 

 hollow cheeks, and almond shaped eyes shining with ophidian brightness. 

 Of course, tattooing prevailed everywhere. The face was particularly 

 the object of would-be ornaments in the shape of incrusted crosses or 

 birds on the cheeks, the forehead or the temples. But more commonly 

 they consisted of parallel stripes, more or less numerous, on the chin or 

 the cheeks, converging to the mouth corners. On exceptional cases^ 

 such as dances or ' potlatches,' the Denes had recourse to charcoal to 

 render themselves apparently more redoubtable. And the young folks 

 had vermilion to enhance their natural beauty, and it may safely be 

 conjectured that they did not use it sparingly." In the matter of painting 

 the Tungus custom was that of the Denes, as will appear under the heads 

 of Dress and Warfare. 



Father Morice continues : " Washing may be said to be a European 



