The Natural History of the Varieties of ManLatham, R. G. (Robert Gordon)
Science
The Natural History of the Varieties of Man
Latham, R. G. (Robert Gordon)
Ethnology
_The Ugalents, or Ugalyakhmutsi._--About thirty-eight families.
Locality, King William's Sound, and the parts around Mount Elias.--The
Ugalyakhmutsi are conterminous with the Tshugatsi Eskimo, and as (on
the sea-coast at least) the Kenays lie to the north of these last,
there is a partial discontinuity of the Eskimo area. The difference
between the Ugalyakhmutsi, and the Eskimo tongues is exhibited in
the Mithridates. The present writer considers that it is exceedingly
over-rated. Indeed, from the first investigations which he made upon
the subject, where he compared the Ugalyakhmutsi of the Mithridates
with the Sitka, Kenay, Kadiak, and Unalashkan of Lisiansky, he was
inclined to place the Ugalents in the Eskimo class at once--_and
that in its more limited extent_. Nevertheless, the tables of Baer's
Beyträge sufficiently show that it has a closer resemblance to the
Atnah and Kolooch. At all events, its transitional character is
undoubted. In manners and appearance the Ugalentses are Kolúch, and in
their manner of life, migratory nomades and fishers.
_The Sitkans._--Of the Sitka dialect we have numerous vocabularies; one
by Cook, under the name of the Norfolk Sound language. The number who
speak this, is put by Mr. Green, an American missionary, at 6500.
_The Tungaas._--Of this we have only a short vocabulary of Mr. Tolmic,
which is stated by Dr. Scouler, to exhibit affinities with the Sitkan.
This is the case. Whether, however, these affinities with the languages
to the north of the Tungaas localities, are so much greater than
those with the tongues spoken southwards, as to justify us in drawing
a line between the true Kolúch dialects and those that will soon be
enumerated, has yet to be ascertained. Assuming, however, that this is
the case, and, again, insisting upon the conventional character of the
present class, and the transitional nature of the Kolúch languages, I
consider that the undoubted Kolúch dialects end in the neighbourhood of
Queen Charlotte's Islands.
Still there are tribes to the back of those on the coast which have yet
to be noticed:--
_The Inkhuluklait._--Dwelling on the river Chulitna, and allied to the--
_Magimut._--who are allied to the--
_Inkalit._--These, in one village alone, are 700 strong; their language
has been said to be a mixture of the Kenay, _Unalashkan_, and Atna. The
Inkalit are neighbours of the Kuskokwim, with whom they are continually
at war.
It is highly probable that the Inkalit language, when better known,
will present the same phenomenon of transition with the Ugalyakhmutsi.
DOUBTFUL KOLÚCHES.
1. THE DÍGOTHI(?)
_Synonym._--Loucheux.
_Locality._--The Peel River, a feeder of the M'Kenzie.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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