Indian Linguistic Families Of America, North Of Mexico Part 16

On the east coast of Hudson Bay the Eskimo reach at present nearly to James Bay. According to Dobbs[36] in 1744 they extended as far south as east Maine River, or about 52. The name Notaway (Eskimo) River at the southern end of the bay indicates a former Eskimo extension to that point.

[Footnote 36: Dobbs (Arthur). An account of the Countries adjoining to Hudson's Bay. London, 1744.]

According to Boas and Bessels the most northern Eskimo of the middle group north of Hudson Bay reside on the southern extremity of Ellesmere Land around Jones Sound. Evidences of former occupation of Prince Patrick, Melville, and other of the northern Arctic islands are not lacking, but for some unknown cause, probably a failure of food supply, the Eskimo have migrated thence and the islands are no longer inhabited.

In the western part of the central region the coast appears to be uninhabited from the Coppermine River to Cape Bathurst. To the west of the Mackenzie, Herschel Island marks the limit of permanent occupancy by the Mackenzie Eskimo, there being no permanent villages between that island and the settlements at Point Barrow.

The intervening strip of coast is, however, undoubtedly hunted over more or less in summer. The Point Barrow Eskimo do not penetrate far into the interior, but farther to the south the Eskimo reach to the headwaters of the Nunatog and Koyuk Rivers. Only visiting the coast for trading purposes, they occupy an anomalous position among Eskimo.

Eskimo occupancy of the rest of the Alaska coast is practically continuous throughout its whole extent as far to the south and east as the Atna or Copper River, where begin the domains of the Koluschan family. Only in two places do the Indians of the Athapascan family intrude upon Eskimo territory, about Cook's Inlet, and at the mouth of Copper River.

Owing to the labors of Dall, Petroff, Nelson, Turner, Murdoch, and others we are now pretty well informed as to the distribution of the Eskimo in Alaska.

Nothing is said by Gallatin of the Aleutian Islanders and they were probably not considered by him to be Eskimauan. They are now known to belong to this family, though the Aleutian dialects are unintelligible to the Eskimo proper. Their distribution has been entirely changed since the advent of the Russians and the introduction of the fur trade, and at present they occupy only a very small portion of the islands. Formerly they were much more numerous than at present and extended throughout the chain.

The Eskimauan family is represented in northeast Asia by the Yuit of the Chukchi peninsula, who are to be distinguished from the sedentary Chukchi or the Tuski of authors, the latter being of Asiatic origin.

According to Dall the former are comparatively recent arrivals from the American continent, and, like their brethren of America, are confined exclusively to the coast.

PRINc.i.p.aL TRIBES AND VILLAGES.

Greenland group-- Labrador group: Alaska group: East Greenland villages: Itivimiut. Chiglit.

Akorninak. Kiguaqtagmiut. Chugachigmiut.

Aluik. Suqinimiut. Ikogmiut.

Anarnitsok. Taqagmiut. Imahklimiut.

Angmagsalik. Inguhklimiut.

Igdlolnarsuk. Middle Group: Kaialigmiut.

Ivimiut. Aggomiut. Kangmaligmiut.

Kemisak. Ahaknanelet. Kaviagmiut.

Kikkertarsoak. Aivillirmiut. Kittegareut.

Kinarbik. Akudliarmiut. Kopagmiut.

Maneetsuk. Akudnirmiut. Kuagmiut.

Narsuk. Amitormiut. Kuskwogmiut.

Okkiosorbik. Iglulingmiut. Magemiut.

Sermiligak. Kangormiut. Mahlemiut.

Sermilik. Kinnepatu. Nunatogmiut.

Taterat. Kramalit. Nunivagmiut.

Umanak. Nageuktormiut. Nus.h.a.gagmiut.

Umerik. Netchillirmiut. Nuwungmiut.

Nugumiut. Oglemiut.

West coast villages: Okomiut. Selawigmiut.

Akbat. Pilinginiut. s.h.i.+wokugmiut.

Karsuit. Sagdlirmiut. Ukivokgmiut.

Tessuisak. Sikosuilarmiut. Unaligmiut.

Sinimiut.

Ugjulirmiut. Aleutian group: Ukusiksalingmiut. Atka.

Unalashka.

Asiatic group: Yuit.

_Population._--Only a rough approximation of the population of the Eskimo can be given, since of some of the divisions next to nothing is known. Dall compiles the following estimates of the Alaskan Eskimo from the most reliable figures up to 1885: Of the Northwestern Innuit 3,100 (?), including the Kopagmiut, Kangmaligmiut, Nuwukmiut, Nunatogmiut, Kuagmiut, the Inguhklimiut of Little Diomede Island 40 (?), s.h.i.+wokugmiut of St. Lawrence Island 150 (?), the Western Innuit 14,500 (?), the Aleutian Islanders (Unungun) 2,200 (?); total of the Alaskan Innuit, about 20,000.

The Central or Baffin Land Eskimo are estimated by Boas to number about 1,100.[37]

[Footnote 37: Sixth Ann. Rep. Bu. Eth., 426, 1888.]

From figures given by Rink, Packard, and others, the total number of Labrador Eskimo is believed to be about 2,000.

According to Holm (1884-'85) there are about 550 Eskimo on the east coast of Greenland. On the west coast the mission Eskimo numbered 10,122 in 1886, while the northern Greenland Eskimo, the Arctic Highlanders of Ross, number about 200.

Thus throughout the Arctic regions generally there is a total of about 34,000.

ESSELENIAN FAMILY.

< salinas,="" latham="" in="" trans.="" philolog.="" soc.="" lond.,="" 85,="" 1856="" (includes="" gioloco?,="" ruslen,="" soledad,="" eslen,="" carmel,="" san="" antonio,="" and="" san="" miguel,="" cited="" as="" including="" eslen).="" latham,="" opuscula,="" 350,="">

As afterwards mentioned under the Salinan family, the present family was included by Latham in the heterogeneous group called by him Salinas. For reasons there given the term Salinan was restricted to the San Antonio and San Miguel languages, leaving the present family without a name. It is called Esselenian, from the name of the single tribe Esselen, of which it is composed.

Its history is a curious and interesting one. Apparently the first mention of the tribe and language is to be found in the Voyage de la Perouse, Paris, 1797, page 288, where Lamanon (1786) states that the language of the Ecclemachs (Esselen) differs "absolutely from all those of their neighbors." He gives a vocabulary of twenty-two words and by way of comparison a list of the ten numerals of the Achastlians (Costanoan family). It was a study of the former short vocabulary, published by Taylor in the California Farmer, October 24, 1862, that first led to the supposition of the distinctness of this language.

A few years later the Esselen people came under the observation of Galiano,[38] who mentions the Eslen and Runsien as two distinct nations, and notes a variety of differences in usages and customs which are of no great weight. It is of interest to note, however, that this author also appears to have observed essential differences in the languages of the two peoples, concerning which he says: "The same difference as in usage and custom is observed in the languages of the two nations, as will be perceived from the following comparison with which we will conclude this chapter."

[Footnote 38: Relacion del viage hecho por las Goletas Sutil y Mexicana en el ano de 1792. Madrid, 1802, p. 172.]

Galiano supplies Esselen and Runsien vocabularies of thirty-one words, most of which agree with the earlier vocabulary of Lamanon. These were published by Taylor in the California Farmer under date of April 20, 1860.

In the fall of 1888 Mr. H. W. Henshaw visited the vicinity of Monterey with the hope of discovering survivors of these Indians. Two women were found in the Salinas Valley to the south who claimed to be of Esselen blood, but neither of them was able to recall any of the language, both having learned in early life to speak the Runsien language in place of their own. An old woman was found in the Carmelo Valley near Monterey and an old man living near the town of Cayucos, who, though of Runsien birth, remembered considerable of the language of their neighbors with whom they were connected by marriage. From them a vocabulary of one hundred and ten words and sixty-eight phrases and short sentences were obtained. These serve to establish the general correctness of the short lists of words collected so long ago by Lamanon and Galiano, and they also prove beyond reasonable doubt that the Esselen language forms a family by itself and has no connection with any other known.

The tribe or tribes composing this family occupied a narrow strip of the California coast from Monterey Bay south to the vicinity of the Santa Lucia Mountain, a distance of about 50 miles.

IROQUOIAN FAMILY.

> Iroquois, Gallatin in Trans. Am. Antiq. Soc., II, 21, 23, 305, 1836 (excludes Cherokee). Prichard, Phys. Hist. Mankind, V, 381, 1847 (follows Gallatin). Gallatin in Trans. Am. Eth. Soc., II, pt. 1, xcix, 77, 1848 (as in 1836). Gallatin in Schoolcraft, Ind. Tribes, III, 401, 1853. Latham in Trans. Philolog. Soc. Lond., 58, 1856. Latham, Opuscula, 327, 1860. Latham, Elements Comp. Phil., 463, 1862.

> Irokesen, Berghaus (1845), Physik. Atlas, map 17, 1848. Ibid., 1852.

X Irokesen, Berghaus, Physik. Atlas, map 72, 1887 (includes Kataba and said to be derived from Dakota).

> Huron-Iroquois, Bancroft, Hist. U.S., III, 243, 1840.