28 Inasmuch 



possession of property than on ability in war, so 

 that considerable interchange of goods took place 

 and the people became sharp traders. The 

 morals of the people were, however, very loose.&quot; 

 character of The same authority describes the Sekani, a 

 thesekani ^^ tribe of Athapascan stock, thus: &quot;These 

 people are very barbarous and licentious. Their 

 complete isolation in the Rocky Mountains, and 

 their reputation for merciless and cold-blooded 

 savagery cause them to be dreaded by other 

 tribes. Their manner of life is miserable. They 

 do without tents, sleeping in brush huts open to 

 the weather. Their only clothing consists of 

 coats and breeches of mountain-goat or bighorn 

 skins, the hair turned outside or next to the skin 

 according to the season. They cover themselves 

 at night with goat-skins sewed together, which 

 communicate to them a strong odour, though less 

 pungent than the Chipewyan receive from their 

 smoked elk-skins. Petitot pronounces them the 

 least frank and the most sullen of all the Tinneh. 

 They are entirely nomadic, following the moose, 

 caribou, bear, lynx, rabbits, marmots, and 

 beaver, on which they subsist. They eat no 

 fish and look on fishing as an unmanly occupation. 

 Their society is founded on father-right. They 

 have no chiefs but accept the council of the oldest 

 and most influential in each band as regards 

 hunting, camping, and travelling. When a man 

 dies they pull down his brush hut over the remains 

 and proceed on their journey. If in camp, or in 

 the event of the deceased being a person of con- 



