ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA. 31

trustworthy, so far as they are founded upon the author’s own observa-
tions; but unfortunately he has not always referred to his informants,
so that it is impossible to distinguish what he has observed himself
from what he has learnt from hearsay. The linguistic part of his
book is taken almost bodily from an anonymous work by a Catholic
missionary, named Knipping, ‘Some Account of the Tahkaht Language
as spoken by several tribes on the Western Coast of Vancouver Island ’
(London, 1868), which latter book has remained almost unknown. ‘The
power of observation exhibited in the descriptions of the author, how-
ever, is not to be depreciated. I confine myself in my description to
recording the new facts that I have observed or learnt by inquiries
among the older Indians.

The Nootka consist of twenty-two tribes, the names of which are
derived from the names of the districts they inhabit. The tribes speak
closely allied dialects of the same language. North of Barclay Sound
the changes of dialect are so gradual that it is impossible to draw any
distinct lines between them. It seems that the dialects of Cape Flattery
and of Nitinat Sound are also very closely affiliated. Thus it appears that
the tribes of the Nootka stock may be divided into three groups speaking
distinct dialects, but all intelligible to each other. The following is a list
of these twenty-two tribes :—

I. 1. Tla/asath=ontside gee . Cape Flattery.

2. Patceina/ath . : . San Juan Harbour
3. Ni‘tinath . i : ; . Nitinat Sound.

II. 4, Ho/aiath .
5. Hauteu’k tlés’ eal
6. Ekt’lath=bushes on hill people
7. Hatca/ath . - Barclay Sound.
8. Ts’éca/ath . :
9, Tok’oa/ath .
10. Hopetcisa’th

Ill. 11. Yutli’lath : : ; . Northern entrance

Barclay Sound.
. Tlad/kwiath ;
. Kreltsma /ath—=rhubarb people
. A’hausath . :
. Ma/noosath —honses on ty
people.
. He’ckwiath ‘ |
]

pt pe
Hq UO DO

- Clayoquaht Sound.

—
Or

pe
o>)

. Mo’ateath .

. Mo’telath

. Nutca’tlath

20. Evhatisath .

. Kayd’kath .

22. To’é’ktlisath=large cut in “bay
people.

(Tlahosath).

—
NI

Nootka Sound.

a
©© CO

bo
ery

North of Nootka Sound.

I have given the last name in parentheses, as even on special inquiry
I did not hear anything about this tribe, an is tne last in Sproat’s

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