8 
DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS 
The impression one formed of the colour of the skin of the face of these 
Indians was, that it did not in general differ from that of other North 
American Indians, which is to say, it was medium or dark brown. In the 
case of the half-breeds, it was lighter, as would be expected. Several of 
the men at Fitzgerald and Fort Smith, who were affirmed to be pure, 
certainly seemed to be a little lacking in colour; and, on the whole, one 
w T ould have expected the women of Fond-clu-lac to have been a little 
darker than they were. No colour scale was employed. 
The hair of the head was straight and black. In a number, especially 
among the Cree, it was slightly wavy over the region of the forehead. It 
varied in texture from coarse to fine, as is shown in the accompanying 
table. In none was it very coarse and bristly and only in one old man 
(Cree 22) was it very fine and silky. It will be observed that the largest 
percentage of coarse hair was found among those whom the interpreter 
considered to be pure Indians; that the Cree and breeds have the least 
coarse hair; that the women have finer hair than the men. 
Table I 
Quality of the Hair of the Head 
Tribe 
Band 
Coarse 
Medium 
Fine 
Number 
examined 
% 
% 
% 
Chipewyan 
Fond-du-lac 
53 
47 
30 
Chipewyan 
43 
36 
21 
14 
Fitzgerald and Fort Smith.. 
45 
55 
20 
0) 
Cree 
Chipewyan 
30 
61 
9 
23 
s 
Assumed pure Chipewyan 
56-5 
38-5 
5 
39 
“ Chipewyan-white breeds 
26 
58 
16 
19 
Chipewyan women 
Fond-du-lac 
9-5 
62 
28-5 
21 
Though no one was bald two men had very little hair on the crown of 
the head. One (Ch. 5) looked like a pure Indian, but as his children are 
said to look like white children and his cephalo-facial index is 92-5 it is 
probable that he has some white blood. The other man (McM. 16) was 
definitely a half-breed with greyish eyes and cephalo-facial index of 90-7. 
Our findings, therefore, both this year and last year, indicate that baldness 
or a tendency to baldness is only found in Indians possessing some European 
blood. 
Notes were made on the quantities of hair on the upper lip, chin, and 
cheek; whether it was totally lacking, or if present, whether in scanty, 
appreciable, marked, or very marked degree. These findings are recorded 
in percentages in the accompanying table. 
