418 EXPLORATIONS. 
River Indians,) Ta-Kiith-Kutchin, (Lapiene’s House Indians,) Kutch-a-Kutchin, 
(Youcan Indians,) Touchon-ta-Kutchin, (Wooded Country Indians,) and many 
others. But the general appearance, dress, customs, and habits of all are pretty 
much the same, and all go under the general names of Kutchin (the people) and 
Loucheux, (squinters.) The former is their own appellation, while the latter was 
given to them by the whites. There is, however, another division among them 
of a more interesting and important character than that of the tribes just men- 
tioned. Irrespective of tribe, they are divided into three classes, termed, respect- 
ively, Chit-sa, Nate-sa, and Tanges-at-sa—faintly representing the aristocracy, 
the middle classes, and the poorer orders of civilized nations, the former being 
the most wealthy and the latter the poorest. In one respect, however, they 
greatly differ, it being the rule for a man not to marry in his own, but to take a’ 
wife from either of the other classes. A Chit-sa gentleman will marry a Tanges- 
at-sa peasant without the least feeling infra dig. 'The offspring in every case 
belong to the class of the mother. ‘This arrangement has had a most beneficial 
effect in allaying the deadly feuds formerly so frequent among them. I wit- 
nessed one this summer, but it was far from being of a disastrous nature. The 
weapons used were neither the native bow nor imported gun, but the unruly 
tongue, and even it was used in the least objectionable way. A chief, whose 
tribe was in disgrace for a murder committed the summer before, met the chief 
of the tribe to which the victim belonged, and in the presence of all commenced 
a brilliant oration in favor of him and his people, while he feelingly deplored 
his own and his people’s inferiority. At once, in the most gallant way, the 
offended chief, in a speech equally warm, refuted the compliments so freely 
offered, and returned them all, with interest, upon his antagonist. This lasted 
for an hour or two, when the offender, by a skilful piece of tactics, confessed 
himself so thoroughly beaten that he should never be able to open his lips again 
in the presence of his generous conqueror. Harmony, of course, was the in- 
evitable result. 
The dress of all is pretty much the same. It consists of a tunic or shirt 
reaching to the knees, and very much ornamented with beads, and Hyaqua 
shells from the Columbia. The trousers and shoes are attached, and orna- 
mented with beads and shells similar to the tunics. The dress of the women is 
the same as that of the men, with the exception of the tunic being round in- 
stead of pointed in front. 
The beads above mentioned constitute the Indian’s wealth. They are strung 
up in lengths, in yards and fathoms, and form a regular currency among 
them, a fathom being the standard, and equivalent to the “made beaver” of 
the company. Some tribes, especially the Kutch-a-Kutchin, are essentially 
traders, and, instead of hunting themselves, they purchase their furs from dis- 
tant tribes, among whom they regularly make excursions. Often the medicine- 
men and chiefs have more beads than they can carry abroad with them, and 
when this happens the company’s stores are converted into banking establish- 
ments, where the deposits are invested for safe keeping. The women are much 
fewer in number and live a much shorter time than the men. The latter arises 
from their early marriages, harsh treatment they receive, and laborious work 
they have daily to perform, while the former is caused, I fear, by the cruel acts 
of infanticide which to female children have been so sadly prevalent among 
them. Praiseworthy efforts have been made by the company’s officers to prevent 
it, but the anguished and hardened mothers have replied that they did it to 
prevent the child from experiencing the hardships they endured. 
The men much reminded me of Plain tribes, with their. ‘birds and feathers, 
nose jewels of tin, and necklaces of brass,” and plentiful supply of paint, which 
was almost the first time I had seen it, used in the district. Instead of the nose 
jewels being of “tin” they were composed of the Hyaqua shells which gave 
the expression of the face a singular appearance. ‘The women did not use 
