OF THE HUMAN FAMILY. 237 



of St. Boniface, at the Red-River settlement. They were educated and intelligent, 

 and spoke English fluently. My interview with them was short, as I was about 

 leaving the place, and I think I fell into the same error as in the previous case, of 

 obtaining those relationships only which pertain to Ego a female, the nomenclature 

 being double. I could not find that the relationships of nephew and niece were 

 recognizer!, although the question was pressed in both forms with Ego a male, and 

 also a female ; and although the relationship of uncle and aunt were both found 

 to exist. If this conjecture should ultimately prove to be correct, it would become 

 necessary so to revise the Table as to restrict most of the relationships given to 

 Ego a female, and to restore the omitted terms. The system agrees so fully with 

 that of the Hares, that it will not be necessary to give the indicative relationships. 

 4. Kutchin, or Louchieux. Richardson's work, before referred to, contains a 

 very full and interesting account of this Arctic people, to whom he devotes a 

 chapter. He acknowledges his indebtedness for a share of his materials to Mr. A. 

 H. Murray, who established the first post of the Hudson's Bay Company among 

 the Kutchin, on the Yukon River, in 1845. In the year 1861 I met Mr. Murray, 

 at Georgetown, on the Red River, and obtained from him some additional informa- 

 tion concerning this people. This gentleman had passed through the central parts 

 of the continent, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Sea, and had seen a large 

 number of the North American Indian nations in their own areas, by reason of 

 which he was well qualified to speak of their personal appearance in comparison 

 with each other. He stated to the writer that the Kutchins were of lighter com- 

 plexion than any other American Indians whom he had seen, although but one or 

 two shades lighter than the Crees. In some instances they are freckled, and 

 occasionally have gray eyes. They are of average size and height, well formed, 

 and with regular and rather handsome features. The women also are fair, and of 

 proportionate size. Some of them have curly hair, which falls in natural ringlets 

 over their shoulders. Their eyes are black, narrow set, and small, and, instead of 

 being round, are slightly elongated horizontally, but without obliquity. Their 

 beards are slight, or wanting altogether. In their costume they were in advance 

 of all other northern Indian nations, the severity of the climate rendering a com- 

 plete dress indispensable. It consisted entirely of dressed skins, chiefly of rein- 

 deer, tanned with the hair on for winter, the hair being worn inside, and without 

 hair for summer. The dress of the males was a full pantaloon secured around the 

 waist and extending to the ankle, to the ends of which the moccasins were perma- 

 nently attached. Over this was worn a coat or rather frock, which extended below 

 the waist, nearly to the knees, and was pointed downwards in the centre, both 

 before and behind. The women wore a similar pantaloon, with moccasins attached, 

 and over it a similar frock, pointed behind, but square in front. Judging from 

 Mr. Murray's description, and from the plates in Richardson's work, which were 

 drawn from Mr. Murray's sketches, the Kutchin costume was the most complete 

 and becoming worn by any portion of the Ganowanian family. They build round- 

 top wigwams for winter use, whilst in summer they sleep in the open air, or under 

 their canoes turned over for this purpose. The principal diseases amongst them 

 are scrofula and consumption. Without the stoicism usually ascribed to the 



