6 THE GREAT DENE RACE.

them assume. A few slightly alter it to suit the requirements of their own
particular dialects, such as, for instance, the Chilcotins who say Taeni', the
Beavers Dané, the Navahoes Dine, and the Dog-Ribs Dune. With only two,
the Loucheux of the extreme north and the Apaches of the farthest south,
is there any important, though by no means essential, modification of the
national name. The former lengthen it to Dindjié, and the latter shorten it
to Nde.

By yielding to that apparent egotism, which would seem to make them
see in their scattered bands the true representatives of the human race, the
Dénés simply follow the example of many aboriginal stocks which can lay
no more plausible claim to that distinction, such as the Eskimos (Innuit),
the Aleuts (Unangan), the Crees (Neyowok), the Saulteux (Anitsinebewok),
the Illinois (//liniwok), the Hurons (Ontwaonwes), the Kolloosh (Ttinget) of
the Pacific coast, the Tungus (Boye) of northern Asia, some Carib tribes, etc.
All of these would fain pass themselves off as the men, almost to the ex-
clusion of the other nations, the members of which are to them nothing but
foreigners, or enemies, unless they be designated by the particular names of
countries they inhabit.

Is not our own race liable to be called to account for a similar breach
of modesty, when it denominates itself Aryan, from a Sanscrit word (Arya)
which means noble, illustrious, or generous? Some of its divisions themselves
are not any more remiss than our Dénes in their claims to national superiority.
Witness, for instance, that people widely known for the simplicity and primiti-
veness of its ways, the Boers. Do they not represent themselves merely as
Menschen, i. e. men?

It should be remarked, however, that the western Denés, especially those
more in contact with alien races, as the Babines, the Carriers and the Chil-
cotins, do not seem quite so exclusive in their vocabularies, or I should
perhaps say that, while the Carriers have ceased to arrogate to themselves
the monopoly of human entity, the first and the last tribes still do so, but
with a qualificative. Ever since they have had intercourse with the white
traders, the Carriers call, not only themselves, but all the other American
aborigines as well, Takhefne, a word which Harmon translates “those who
go on the water’?, but which, as regards etymology and signification, is foreign
to the tribe which uses it, and perfectly unintelligible, except for the desinence

1 The reader must not forget that in the Déné dialects ¢ and d, k and g, p and 6 are
commutable to such an extent that the native ear can perceive absolutely no difference between,
for instance, déné and téné. Moreover, the vowels, especially if not initial, have hardly any
importance at all.

2 “An Account of the Indians living West of the Rocky Mountains”, p. 242. Tha-'ke-
kheine would have that signification. Zakhetne cannot be represented as a contraction of this

compound, since, though tha means water in most of the Déné dialects, ta has reference
to the lips.