392 
resembled the Chipewyan; for they thought that the souls of the 
dead, aided by otter and loon spirits to which their relatives entrusted 
them, passed through the earth, crossed a large lake, aiul began life 
anew in another world. 
Mooney estimated the pre-European Slave population at about 
1,250; to-day there are not more than 800.^ 
DOGRIB 
At the end of the eighteenth century a western groipi of Dogrib- 
Indians seems to have shared with the Slave the country between lac 
la Martre and the Mackenzie river, and a band that derives its origin 
from both these tribes hunts in this territory to-day. Another band, 
a mixture, apparently, of Dogrib, Slave, and Hare, wanders around 
Great Bear lake, carrying its furs to Xorman; while two small groups 
of families, part Dogrib and part Yellowknife, hunt with the Yellow- 
knife to the northeast of Great Slave lake and trade at Resolution. 
The country between Great Slave and Great Bear lakes seems to 
have been the home of the Dogrib for at least two centuries.'^ In the 
time of Hearne few, if any, of them ranged far to the east of the line 
of lakes between Rae and Great J^ear lake through fear of the Yellow- 
knife,'* Chipewyan, and Cree. When the Cree and Chipewyan with- 
drew after the smallj^ox e])idemic at the end of the eighteenth century 
the Dogrib were still o])pressed by the Yellowknife; but in 1823 they 
massacred many of these enemies and effectively destroyed their 
power. Since that date they have been free to expand, and in 1919 
a party even visit erl the mouth of the Coppermine river. For the 
last hundred years, however, the main body of the tribe has centred 
around Rae, on the north arm of Great Slave lake, and hunted over 
the territory to the nortliward. 
The Dogrib were neither an edge-of-the-woods people entirely, 
like the Chipewyan, nor yet a purely woodland people like the Slave. 
In dialect they more closely resembled the latter, the differences in 
speech following a few regular phonetic laws. They were not very 
1 Moonpy ; Op. cit., p. 26. 
2 They derive their name from a legend i-eeountihg their descent from a tlog. See I’etitot: Autoiir 
du grand lac des Esclaves, ch. xiv, 
3 But See Appendix A. 
4 Petitot .';ay.« that llie lioundar.v' bidween lln* Dogrilv and ftic Yello^vhnife wa.s tlie mountain 
range about 65 degrees noitli and 116 degree.s \ve.si (Aulour du grand lae des Ksela\'es, )>, 2.53). 
