ON THE Nora'H-AVESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA. 44.5 



it is of secondary importance. In all these regions Tinneh are the main 

 mass of the population. Thej were present in Washington, and form a 

 considerable element among the Bilqnla. Therefore it must be assumed 

 that this type represents the Tinneh of the Pacific Coast. We do not 

 know much on the physical characteristics of the Tinneh east of the 

 mountains. Bat according to Petitot they are tall (' Dictionnaire de la 

 langue Dene-Dindje,' p. xxi). Quatrefages and Hamy ('Crania Ethnica,' 

 p. 470) mention seven skulls of Tinneh, and find them to be brachy- 

 cephalic. Both these facts tally with what we found on the Pacific 

 Coast. I had occasion to question a number of former officers of the 

 Hudson Bay Company regarding the general appearance of the Tinneh 

 of the interior of British Columbia, and of the Mackenzie Basin. Accord- 

 ing to their descriptions, they resemble the tribes of the North- West 

 Coast much more closely than the Algonquin. The complete absence of 

 dolichocephali — at least according to the pi'esent state of our knowledge 

 — distinguishes the l^inneh most clearly from the eastern groups of 

 Americans, the Algonquin and Iroquois, as well as the eastern and 

 central Eskimo, so that I am inclined to class them as one of the Pacific 

 peoples. This view is supported by linguistic and ethnological evidence, 

 which, however, it is not the place to discuss here (see ' Journal of 

 American Folk-Lore, vol. iv. p. 13, S".). It is worth mentioning that the 

 Tlingit of Alaska, who have intercourse with the Tinneh, appear also 

 to be taller and more brachiocephalic. 



The tribes of the northern parts of the coast of British Columbia 

 appear to be of shorter stature, ranging from 159 to 162 cm., and have 

 much more elongated heads. They are mesocephalic, the index ranging 

 from 11 to 81. We find the same type present, although to a lesser 

 degree, in Washington and on Fraser River, as well as among the 

 Bilqula. It appears to be absent in Oregon, but, remai'kably enough, 

 reappears as we approach California. Still farther south true dolicho- 

 cephali appear. I cannot discover any difference of type between the 

 northern tribes and those of Vancouver Island. This conclusion, drawn 

 from measurements of living subjects, is confirmed by measurements 

 of skulls from this region. 



I published in the 'Verb, der Berliner Ges. f. Ethn.,' 1890, p. 30, 

 measurements of a series cf ten undeformed crania from Vancouver 

 Island. All of them were obtained from a burial ground near Victoria, 

 and belong, therefore, probably to the LkuiigEn tribe. I reproduce the 

 cephalic and facial indices here for comparison. Besides these, No. III. of 

 the Songish crania, described on p. 813 of the Fifth Report of the Com- 

 mittee, may be made use of. To these may be added a skull described by 

 Flower (' Catalogue of the Specimens illustrating the Osteology,' &c., in 

 the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, p. 148), which belongs to 

 the West Coast of Vancouver Island, and another from the head of 

 Alberni Channel, from the Museum of the Geological Survey of Canada. 

 Furthermore, I add a series of measurements of slightly deformed crania 

 from various parts of Vancouver Island from my own collection ; the 

 Tsimshian skulls, described on p. 812 of the Fifth Report; three Tsim- 

 shian skulls described by Barnard Davis, and another, described by the 

 same author as a ' round head,' from Vancouver Island (' Thesaurus 

 Craniorum,' p. 229). Finally, I add a Haida cranium, which I measured 

 in the Piovincial Museum of Victoria. The numbers given here are 

 those of the catalojjrues of the various collections. 



