FATHER MORICE

etc., as well as Fraser Lake and the moun-
tainous territory of the Sekanais, which
signifies a people living on the rocks; a
tribe whose habitat was originally on both
sides of the Rocky Mountains but who now
roamed only west. These Sekanais are a
perfectly nomadic tribe, without a single
house or village, because they live on venison
and have to follow the herds of caribou or
other game, which are always on the move.

When Father Morice arrived at Stuart
Lake in August, 1885, he had to commence
again his linguistic studies, as the language
of the Indians there was quite different from
that of the Chilcotins, though possessing the
same sounds and roots. It was here at
Stuart Lake that our missionary invented the
Déné syllabary in order to teach reading and
writing to his new Indian charges.

He started his pedagogic efforts by gath-
ering together all the children of one place
and teaching them the new signs. A very
few weeks would generally suffice for this,
when the operation would be repeated in
another locality. Then, with the aid of a
little machine, he printed several books as
well as a monthly periodical, using the newly

17