LIARD RIVER INDIANS. 



A. J. STONE. 



From the Kaskas to the vicinity of 

 Hell's Gate we find no Indian tribes near 

 the river. At the latter point are the Et- 

 tcho-tas and Ta-kullas, who hunt the coun- 

 try from Devil's Portage, 40 miles above, 

 to the mouth of the Nelson, 60 miles be- 

 low, from the Beaver on the North to the 

 Nelson on the South. On their annual 

 visit to the trading post no miles above 

 Hell's Gate they hunt the entire distance 

 going and returning. Only 2 or 3 remain 

 permanently near the post. 



Of all the native tribes of Northern 

 America whom I have met these Indians 

 are the worst. I speak advisedly, for I 

 know them well. I was practically a pris- 

 oner among them 30 days, alone except 

 for my faithful dog Zilla. The post trader 

 assured me he would be afraid to be alone 

 when they came in, and the trader is usual- 

 ly a potent personage among Indians. 



I have made every possible effort to 

 trace the origin and history of these 2 

 tribes, and am forced to the conclusion 

 that they are renegades and desperadoes, 

 who, to avoid the punishment due for 

 crimes committed elsewhere, have fled to 

 this distant wilderness for refuge; that 

 they belong to the tribes North and South 

 from their present home, and that these 

 bands were never larger than now. Even 

 now any one of them will murder another 

 with as little compunction and for as little 

 cause as he would kill a wolf. 



With the melting of the snows in spring 

 they leave the main river and ascend the 

 tributaries on either side to their heads, 

 trapping for beaver. Thence working their 

 way overland, they reach the lower post at 

 the mouth of Black river about the first 

 week of July. After a week or 2 spent in 

 trading and feasting they travel down the 

 river as far as Devil's Portage, whence 

 they scatter through the mountains to their 

 respective hunting grounds. During Au- 

 gust, September and October they revel 

 in fatness, for moose, caribou and sheep 

 abound. Men, women, children and dogs 

 grow fat, never giving a thought to the 

 approach of winter, when famine will stare 

 them in the face. Improvidence is an in- 

 eradicable trait of their character. 



Let me illustrate: Enough game has 

 been killed by the hunters to last the camp 

 a year if cared for, but indolence or 

 thoughtlessness waste it. Two or 3 fat 

 sheep have been left 5 or 6 miles up in the 

 mountains, covered only with snow. Cari- 

 bou have been cached on the bald ridges 

 or in the willows, protected only by the 



skins thrown loosely over them. Moose 

 were hung up in the timber below. 



Snow has piled up in the mountains and 

 the last morsel of meat in the camp has 

 been devoured. The men drowse around 

 the fires and the women, bearing their pa- 

 pooses on their backs, are sent to the 

 caches for a new supply of food. They go 

 first to where the sheep were left, but to 

 their great surprise they find that the 

 wolverine has anticipated them. The jour- 

 ney is extended to the knobs for the cari- 

 bou, but wolves have held high carnival 

 there, and the last shred la gone. Long 

 after nightfall the weary squaws, bearing 

 their hungry, half-frozen babies, come into 

 camp empty handed. Next day the women 

 go again on their dreary quest, finding at 

 last a portion of the moose meat. They 

 first satisfy their own hunger, and then 

 bear the remainder to camp, where their 

 lords regale themselves on this supply. 



Meanwhile, during the second day's 

 tramp of the women, the men have visited 

 their traps only to find them empty, of 

 course, for the foxes which they were in- 

 tended to catch have participated in the 

 feasts from the looted caches, and so de- 

 spise the lure. As winter closes in, the 

 means of living are rapidly narrowed 

 down; the caribou crosses the mountains, 

 the moose descends to lower levels, the 

 hibernating animals have retired from 

 business, and only an occasional lynx, rab- 

 bit or bird can be caught. The daylight 

 fades into the long sub-arctic night, the 

 temperature falls lower and lower, and so 

 with Hunger and Cold and Dark for com- 

 panions the miserable savages settle into 

 the long, desperate wait for spring, with 

 Chance as a possible friend and Death a 

 probable visitor. Such attention as their 

 traps receive during this dreadful season 

 the women must bestow, while the men 

 lie by the fire and sleep. 



To illustrate the callousness of Indian 

 selfishness let the following incident serve: 

 A young man took a wife (a "woman" 

 they call her) and wandered off with her 

 30 miles from any camp. When famine 

 overtook them the man, alarmed for his 

 own safety, and finding his wife in no con- 

 dition to bear the fatigue and privation of 

 a journey, coolly shot her and joined his 

 companions at the camp unquestioned. 



During my stay on the Liard last win- 

 ter a starving Indian from one of these 

 bands deserted a sick wife high up in the 

 mountains, leaving her without food or 

 fuel — a dinner for wolves! Nine other 



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