THE VVESTEKN DENES. 



113 



Before proceeding further, would it be presuiuptuous ou my part to 

 suggest as a partial corollary of the foregoing the following classifica- 

 tion of all the Dene or Tene^ tribes based on pei-sonal observation and 

 the knowledge of two of tlieir dialects, and, in so far as the Eastern 

 tribes are concerned, on the works of Rev. E. Petitot, a learned ethno- 

 grapher and philologist, who has passed tvventy (1862-1882) years of 

 assiduous study among them "? 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE DENE TRIBES. 



Thei'i Name. 



Chi!h,Yotins (t'eui) 

 Carriers (tcene) . . . 

 Nah-anes (tene) . . . 



Sekanais toen6 



Chipewayans (dt^iie) 

 Cai'iboo-eaters((ien6) 

 Beavers (ilatie) . . . . 

 Yellow kinves(dene) 

 Dog-Ribs (diui(5).. . . 



Slaves (dene) 



Bad People uline). . 

 Hares (d^ue; adene) 



Louclieux (dindjye) 



Their H^^ yxp^vT. 



Welter)! Dcnea, 



Ohilcotin River 



Stuart's Lake, North and South 



Stickeen River and East 



Intermediate Denes, 



Rocky Mountains 



Eastern Denes. 



Lake Athabasca, etc 



East of Lake Athabasca 



Peace River 



Xorth-east of (i reat Slave Lake 



Between Creat Slave and Great Bear Lakes 

 West of Creat Slave Lake & Mackenzie Riv 



Old Fort Hal ketfc 



Mackenzie, Anderson & MacFarlane Rivers 



Northern Denes. 



Mackenzie River, 67° northwards , 



Alaska 



Supposed 

 Population . 



160 



1,600 



700 



500- 



3,000 



1,200 



800 



500 



1,000 



1,000 



200 



600 



400 

 4,000 



^CE ill these and other Done words corresponds to the French e of je, me, te, etc. IT has the 

 sound of the Italian u (oo). 



The words within parentheses are the respective expressions used 

 by the different tribes to say " Men," autl thereby designate them- 

 selves when not referring to the country they inhabit. The remai'k- 

 a,ble hoinophony of these terms (wliich is easily explained by the 

 fact that they are root words) is, however, somewliat misleading, 

 inasmuch as it conveys an idea of philological similarity which is far 

 from existing between the various dialects. Theii' lexical differ- 



iD andt are interconvertible. 



