NO. 10 SMITHSONIAN EXTLORATIOXS. I923 99 



ETHNOLOGICAL STUDIES IX MAINE. CANADA, AND LABRADOR 



Dr. Truman [MicheL'^on. ethnologist in the Bureau of American 

 Ethnology, left Washington towards the close of May for a recon- 

 naissance trip among the Algonquian trihes of northeastern United 

 States and the adjacent j^arts of Canada including the Labrador 

 peninsula. The Penobscot Indians of Alaine remember their ethnology' 

 and folk-lore very well ; but their language is dying. Practically none 

 of the younger generation speak it ; so it is only a matter of time before 

 it is extinct. The native arts and industries are still kept up. In sharp 

 contrast with them are the Alalecites of " Indian Village," about 

 14 miles from F"redericton, New Brunswick, Canada. Everyone, even 

 small children, speak the language ; yet English is understood and 

 spoken also. In their own homes, however, the Indian language is 

 practically the only on.e in use. Their native arts and industries are 

 still practiced. It was a rare treat to see them pound ash and then draw 

 out the long splints which are used in basketry. The folk-lore is still 

 remembered, but their ethnology properly speaking is nearlv gone. 

 It should be noted that as Penobscot, Malecite, and ]\Iicmac have a 

 partially developed dual, in contrast to the Central Algonquian lan- 

 guages, it is plausible to consider this grammatical feature as due to 

 Esquimauan influence. 



Dr. Michelson left Sydney, Xova Scotia, June 19, and arrived at 

 Port-aux-Basques, Newfoundland, the next day. From there he went 

 to St. lohns by rail. While in St. Johns he took the cranial ineasure- 

 ments of four Beothuk skulls in the local museum. These, of course, 

 are too few in number to guide us regarding the racial afftnities of 

 the Beothuks, beyond their general American Indian one. Yet it 

 may be worth noting that three of the skulls were mesocephalic (two 

 nearly dolichocephalic) and one (a female) brachycephalic. It may be 

 further noted that one skull (that of a male) had an unusually heavy 

 supra-orbital ridge. Dr. ]\Iichelson left St. Johns on June 25 for 

 Rigolet, Labrador, on the S. S. Sagona. The passage was rather severe 

 for the season of the year, l)Ut this was more than recompensed for by 

 the sight of so many ice-bergs. At Wesleyville the trip was livened by 

 the ship striking rocks, fortunately without damage. It will l)e remem- 

 bered that the Portia earlier in the season was fast on the rocks. And 

 at Lord Arm, Dr. ]\Iichelson's steamer found the Ranger standing by 

 Seal, whose propeller had been broken off by ice. The Sagona arrived 

 at Rigolet, Labrador, July 3. The next day Dr. Michelson left in a 

 motor boat for the Northwest River. The weather was rough and 



