Page:Archæologia Americana—volume 2, 1836.djvu/54

 18 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD. of the Missinipi or Churchill River. It was under the guid- ance of those Indians, and without a single white attendant, that Hearne reached in July, 1771, the Arctic Ocean, at the mouth of the Coppermine River. Having no other instrument but an old quadrant, and having made but few observations, he placed the mouth of that river in 120° west longitude and almost 72° of north latitude. It has since been found, by the correct observations of Captain Franklin, to lie in 115° 37' west longitude and in latitude 67° 48'. Notwithstanding this enormous difference, full justice has been rendered to the cor- rectness, in other respects, of his relation. All his distances are indeed apparently estimated from the fatigues of the jour- ney and must be reduced. He wintered on his return on the Lake Athapasca, and he describes the country of the Northern Indians, as bounded on the south by Churchill River, on the north by the Coppermine and Dog-rib Indians, on the west by the Athapasca country, and extending five hundred miles from east to west. It is evident that a part of Mackenzie's Cbeppe- yans is included within that description. Hearne regrets (Preface) the loss of a voluminous vocabulary collected by him of the language of the Northern Indians. But, from the words scattered through his relation, it appears clearly to be the same with that of the Cheppeyans ; and he states (June, 1771,) that the Coppermine and the Northern Indians are but one people, and that their language differs less than that of provinces of England adjacent to each other. The Cheppeyans generally trade at and are seen in the vicinity of the Lake Athapasca. According to Mackenzie, they consider the country between the parallels of latitude 60° and 65° and longitude 100° to 110° west, as their lands or home. It consists almost entirely of barrens, destitute of trees; and they are obliged to winter in the adja- cent woods and in the vicinity of lakes. Though the most numerous tribe of that family, the highest estimate of their population is eight hundred men. They call themselves, ac- cording to Captain Franklin, Saw-eessaw-dinneh, " Rising-sun Men " ; and their hunting-grounds extend towards the south to the Lake Athapasca and to the River Churchill. The vo- cabulary of their language by Mackenzie is the only one we have of any of the Indian tribes of that family east of the Rocky Mountains. The geographical situation and the names of the other tribes are given either by Mackenzie or by Captain Franklin, or by both. But they are all expressly