480 INDIAN TRIBES OF 



to a great depth with snow, and the rivers frozen, the only mode of 

 journeying is on snow-shoes, or in sledges drawn by dogs. These 

 animals draw a weight of two hundred pounds. The snow-shoes 

 require to be six feet long and eighteen inches broad ; and notwith- 

 standing the encumbrance they might be supposed to cause, it is not 

 uncommon for individuals in the Company's service to travel for days 

 together a distance of thirty -five miles a day. 



This part of the country is inhabited by the two great nations of 

 the north, the Takali, and Atnahs or Shouswaps : the former are also 

 known by the name of the Carriers. The limits occupied by these 

 two nations are shown on the map. The language of the Takali is a 

 dialect of the great Chippewayau family, which, Mr. Ogden informs 

 me, is spoken over the whole continent, as far as Hudson's Bay. 

 They do not extend to the coast, but have frequent contests with the 

 coast tribes about Fort Simpson, although they never have actual war. 

 On the east are the Siconi, who are a nation of hunters, living beyond 

 the Rocky Mountains. They speak a dialect of the same language, 

 but are totally diiferent in their customs and character from the 

 Carriers. The latter, indeed, differ from all the tribes around them, 

 and the great family to which their language points them out as 

 belonging. They are described as being of a lighter complexion 

 than the more southern tribes. Their features are larger : this is 

 particularly the case with the females. They somewhat resemble 

 the Indians of the Columbia, but are a taller and better-looking race. 

 The Carriers are excessively filthy in their habits, and they have the 

 character of being equally depraved and prone to sexual indulgences. 

 Among the women, chastity is said to be unknown. They are pro- 

 verbially barren, and almost every individual is infected with that 

 loathsome disease, the venereal. Abortion is constantly practised 

 among them, both before and after marriag^e. 



Formerly they dressed in robes made of marmot-skins, which are 

 taken in great quantities on the Rocky Mountains. They are now 

 clothed in articles of European manufacture, and obtain a plentiful 

 supply of them. 



Their houses are built after the fashion of log cabins, of small pine 

 saplings, which are kept in an upright position by posts. The roof, 

 unlike those of the southern tribes, is of bark. Their summer houses 

 are often as much as seventy feet long, and about fifteen feet high. 

 In winter they occupy dwellings of less size, which are often covered 

 with grass and earth. Some of them live in excavations in the 



