ON THE WORK OF THE ANTHROPOMETRIC LABORATORY. 107 



remainder from various parts of England ; except. 6 per cent, -wlio were 

 from various parts of Europe. Of the females 42-5 per cent, were fi'om 

 Yorkshire. As regards residence 80 per cent, of the males lived in towns 

 and 20 per cent, in the country. Of the females 75 per cent, lived in 

 towns and 25 per cent, in the country the principal part of their lives. 

 In the class of society to which the persons measured belong, the place of 

 residence has perhaps less importance than among working classes living 

 under less favourable conditions. 



Occupation. — A considerable proportion of the males measured were 

 eniyaged in commercial pursuits, the others were chiefly pi'ofessional men. 



Seventh Repoi^t of the Committee, consisting of Dr. E. B. Tylor, 

 Mr. Gr. W. Bloxam, Sir Daniel Wilson, Dr. Gr. M. Dawson, 

 and Mr, R. Gr. Haliburton, appointed to investigate the 

 physical characters, languages, and iiulustrial and social 

 condition of the North-Western Tribes of the Dominion of 

 Canada. 



iNTEODrCTION BY SiK DaNIEL WiLSON. 



The report here presented is again the result of the work of Dr. Franz 

 Boas in the interesting ethnological field of British Columbia. It con- 

 sists of two parts, the first being devoted to the Bilqula, a people inhabit- 

 ing a limited tract in the vicinity of Dean Inlet and Bentinck Arms, the 

 second dealing with the physical characteristics of the tribes of the North- 

 west Coast region. 



In connection with the Bilqula it is important to note that they, by 

 reason of their position, have held the most important natural pass and 

 trade route through the Coast Range, from the ocean to the interior, 

 which exists between the Skeena River and the Eraser, a distance exceed- 

 ing 400 miles. This circumstance has rendered their situation a peculiarly 

 favourable one in some respects. It has induced them to engage in 

 intertribal trade, and evidently also affords a clue to some of the peculiari- 

 ties which Dr. Boas points out. From time immemorial, as the writer ia 

 informed by Dr. Dawson, who has geologically examined that part of the 

 country, a route has been beaten out by way of the Bella Coola River, 

 thence northward to the Salmon River, and then along the north side of 

 the Blackwater River to the Upper Fraser. This is commonly known by 

 the Tinneh of the interior as the ' Grease Trail,' from the fact that the 

 chief article of value received from the coast in early times was the oil of 

 the olachen or candle-fish, though dentalium shells and other things 

 were also brought in. When trading vessels began to visit the coast, 

 besides the natural products of the sea, iron and various kinds of manu- 

 factured goods found their way into the interior by the same route ; 

 while the fine furs of the inland region were carried back to the coast 

 and sold to the vessels. It was by this same route, well known to the 

 natives, that Sir Alexander Mackenzie was enabled to complete the first 

 traverse of the North American continent from sea to sea and to reach 



