422 Canadian jRecord of Science. 



his contributions, iDot-li personal and indirect, materi- 

 ally enlarged knowledge of our native tribes. It is 

 well within bounds to sav, that in addition to his other 

 gifts to knowledge, George I\I. Dawson was one of 

 Canada's foremost eontribntors to ethnology, and one 

 of that handfnl of original observers whose work 

 affords the foundation for scientific knowledge of the 

 Xorth American natives." 



Dawson's most notable contribution to ethnology 

 was undoubtedly his memoir on the Haida Indians of 

 the Queen Charlotte islands, but he also published 

 " Xotes on the Indian Tribes of the Yukon District 

 and Adjacent iSTorthern Portion of British Columbia," 

 a valuable memoir entitled " Xotes and Observations 

 of' the Kwakiool People of Vancouver Island," "' Xotes 

 on the Shuswap People of British Columbia,'' and 

 other papers. 



When, in 1884, the British Association appointed a 

 committee to study the physical characters, languages 

 and social conditions of the north-Avestern tribes of 

 Canada, Dr. Dawson was made a member, and it 

 devolved upon him to organize and administer the 

 work of the committee. The work was carried on for 

 years with much success and small money expendi- 

 ture, and when, in 1896, an Ethnological Survey of 

 Canada was instituted, Da;wson was chosen as the 

 head of the survey committee. 



J^ot the least of his services to his country were 

 those in connection with the Behring sea arbitration. 

 He was one of the commissioners and was sent by the 

 British government to the north Pacific ocean to 

 enquire into the conditions of seal life there. Subse- 

 quently, his evidence and forcible arguments undoubt- 

 edly secured for the British side of the case a much 



