NORTHWESTERN AMERICA. 219 



Yutas and Sampiches beyond the Salt Lake, the Comanches of Texas, 

 and some other tribes along the northern frontier of Mexico, are said 

 to speak dialects of a common language. It will be seen, also, that 

 the vocabulary of the idiom spoken by the Netela Indians on the coast 

 of California, in latitude 34, shows evident traces of connexion with 

 the Shosh6ni. 



The country of the Shoshonees proper is south of Lewis or Snake 

 River, and east of the Salt Lake. There is, however, one detached 

 band, known as the Wihinasht, or Western Snakes, near Fort Boirie, 

 separated from the main body by the tribe of Bonnaks. The Sho- 

 shonees are generally at war with the Satsikaa, or Blackfoot Indians, 

 and the Upsaroka, or Crows. The usual war-ground of the three 

 nations, is the country around the head waters of the Snake, Green, 

 and Platte Rivers. Some of the Shoshonees have horses and fire- 

 arms, and derive their subsistence from the chase and from fish. 

 Others, to the north, have no horses, are armed only with bows, and 

 live on acorns and roots; these the hunters call Diggers, and consider 

 the most miserable of the Indians. 



13. Z. SATSIKAA, OR BLACKFOOT INDIANS. 



This is a well-known confederacy of five tribes, occupying an 

 extensive territory in and near the Rocky Mountains, between the 

 head-waters of the Missouri, the Saskatchawan, and the Columbia. 

 The names of the tribes are (1) the Satsikda (Sutsikda), or Blackfeet 

 proper; (2) the Kena (in the singular Kenekun), or Blood Indians; 

 (3) the Piekdn (Piekun), or Pagan Indians; (4) the Atsina, or Fall 

 Indians, sometimes called Gros Venires of the Prairie; and (5) the 

 Sarsi (Sursi), or Sussees. The name of the confederacy, as given to 

 me, was Siksktkuanak, but it is doubtful whether this word is not 

 derived from the Cree or Knisteneau language. Of the five tribes, 

 the first three speak one idiom ; the fourth have a language of their 

 own, of which we possess no vocabulary (except the very scanty one 

 given by Umfreville), and the fifth speak a dialect of the Chippe- 

 wyan (Athapascan), allied to the Tahkali. The union of the tribes 

 is a matter of late date, within the memory of persons now living. 

 The Atsina are the same with the Arrapahaes, and formerly lived in 

 the plains, but have been driven into the mountains by their enemies, 

 and forced to ally themselves to the Blackfeet. They must not be 



