TKIBES. 3 



easily acquired tongue of the Eythinyuwuk, yet the 

 'Thinyu (man) of the latter may be resolved into 

 the 'Tinne, J Tinge, or 'Dunne, of the former, and the 

 Ting-i of the Kutchin, without much philological 

 artifice.* 



Various tribes have been distinguished by pe- 

 culiar names, but there is little variety in their 

 general appearance, and few discrepancies in their 

 dress, customs, or moral character. The Hare 

 Indians (Kd-cho- cltinne) inhabit the banks of the 

 Mackenzie, from Slave Lake downwards, and the 

 Dog-ribs (Thling-e-ha- dtinne) the inland country 

 on the east, from Martin Lake to the Coppermine. 

 There is no perceptible difference in the aspect of 

 these two tribes. They meet in the same hunting- 

 grounds at the north end of Great Bear Lake, 

 intermarry, and their speech scarcely differs even 

 in accent. The Hare Indians, frequenting a thickly 

 wooded district in which the American hare abounds, 

 feed much on that animal, and clothe themselves 

 with its skins, while the Dog-ribs depend more 

 upon the rein-deer for a supply of winter dresses, 

 but in all essential respects they are the same 



* Mr. Isbister says the Chepewyan tongue is " harsh and 

 guttural, difficult of enunciation, and unpleasant to the ear." 

 " As a language it is exceedingly meagre and imperfect." — Rep . 

 Brit. Ass. for 1847. Mr. M'Pherson pointed out to me, as a 

 curious coincidence, the similarity in sound of the Gaelic word 

 for people, with the ''Dumie of the Dog-rib Indians. 



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