394 
HAKE 
4'hc Hare Indians lived west and northwest of Great Bear 
lake, extending in the east to a little beyond the Anderson I’iver, 
and in the west to the first line of mountains west of the Mackenzie 
river. .Vlthouali they liunted caribou in the vicinity of the Eskimo 
lakes, thev did not descend the ^Mackenzie itself much below the 
Bamparts through fear of the Eskimo, who occasionally visiterl 
that place to obtain flinty slate for arrowheads and knives. Their 
nearest neighbours, the Kutchin, Eskimo, and Yellowknife, rather 
despised them on account of their timidity, for they often concealed 
their camps under fallen trees some distance back from the river 
anrl fled at the slightest indication of strangers. 
Their mode of life did not differ greatly from that of the Dogrib 
and Slave. Woodland caribou, moose, and beaver were scarce in 
their territory, but a few musk-oxen and many herds of barren- 
ground caribou roamed the tundra north of Great Bear lake. The 
Hare hunted these caribou in April, and again in August and the 
early part of September; but they seem to have been less skilful in 
the chase than other Indians, ami throughout the greater part of 
the year relied on fish, supplemented by hares during the winter 
months. In seasons when hares were scarce — every seventh year or 
thereabouts — they suffered great hardships, and generally some of 
them perished of starvation. It was, indeed, to their dependence on 
the hare that they owed their name. It furnished them not only 
food, but clothing, for though they preferred garments of caribou 
fur, not all families could secure enough hides, especially families 
that clung to the banks of the Mackenzie river and rarely wandered 
east into the barren grounds. 
There was no originality in the costume of the Hare, which 
resembled that of tlie Slave and Dogrib except for the extensive 
use of rabbit fur and the rarity of ornamentation. In summer they 
wore a shirt, leggings, and moccasins, possibly also a breech-cloth; 
in winter they added a robe, and in lieu of a cap, attached a hood to 
the shirt after the manner of the Kutchin and Eskimo. 
Neither did tliey display any oi’iginality in their implements 
and weapons. There was a stone-bladed adze, knives, daggers and 
ice-chisels of caribou antler, whittling knives with beaver-tooth 
