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72 T H R O U G H T H E M A C K E N Z I E B A S IN
years ago: Oba baumwawa geezegoquay, " The Sounds which
the stars make rushing through the s k i e s " ; Zaga see
goquay, " Sunbeams breaking through a c l o u d " ; Wah-sagewanoquay,
" W o m a n of the bright foam." The people
so far apart, yet their home names so s i m i l a r l y figurative!
The education of the R e d I n d i a n lies i n his intimate contact
w i t h nature i n a l l her phases— a good education t r u l y , which
serves h i m well. But, awe- struck always by the mysterious
beauty of the w o r l d around h i m , his m i n d reflects i t instinct
i v e l y i n his Nature- worship and his system of names.
I n speaking of the " L a k e r s " I refer, of course, to the
p r i m i t i v e people of the region, and not to half- breed incomers
f r om M a n i t o b a or elsewhere. There were a few p a t r i a r c h al
f a m i l i e s into w h i c h a l l the others seemed to dovetail i n some
shape or form. The Nooskeyah f a m i l y was one of these,
also the Gladu, the C o w i t o r e i l l e , * and the Calahaisen. The
collateral branches of these families constituted the main
p o r t i o n of the native population, and yet inbreeding d i d not
seem to have deteriorated the stock, for a healthier- looking
lot of young men, women and c h i l d r e n i t would be hard to
find, or one more free f r om scrofula. There were instances,
too, among these people, of extreme old age; one i n part
i c u l a r which f r om confirmatory evidence, p a r t i c u l a r l y the
declarations of descendants, seemed quite authentic. This
was a woman called Catherine Bisson— the daughter of
Baptiste B i s s o n and an I n d i a n woman called Iskwao— who
was born on N e w T e a r ' s D a y , 1793, at Lesser Slave Lake,
and had spent a l l her l i f e there since. She had a numerous
progeny which she bore to Kisiskakapo, " The man who
stands s t i l l . " She was now b l i n d , and was p a r t l y led, p a r t ly
c a r r i e d into our tent— a small, thin, wizened woman, with
keen features and a tongue as keen, w h i c h cackled and joked
at a great rate w i t h the crowd around her. It was almost
awesome to look at this w e i r d piece of antiquity, who was
born i n the R e i g n of T e r r o r , and was a young woman before
* A corruption, no doubt, of " Courtoreille."
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| Title | Page 83 |
| OCR | 72 T H R O U G H T H E M A C K E N Z I E B A S IN years ago: Oba baumwawa geezegoquay, " The Sounds which the stars make rushing through the s k i e s " ; Zaga see goquay, " Sunbeams breaking through a c l o u d " ; Wah-sagewanoquay, " W o m a n of the bright foam." The people so far apart, yet their home names so s i m i l a r l y figurative! The education of the R e d I n d i a n lies i n his intimate contact w i t h nature i n a l l her phases— a good education t r u l y , which serves h i m well. But, awe- struck always by the mysterious beauty of the w o r l d around h i m , his m i n d reflects i t instinct i v e l y i n his Nature- worship and his system of names. I n speaking of the " L a k e r s " I refer, of course, to the p r i m i t i v e people of the region, and not to half- breed incomers f r om M a n i t o b a or elsewhere. There were a few p a t r i a r c h al f a m i l i e s into w h i c h a l l the others seemed to dovetail i n some shape or form. The Nooskeyah f a m i l y was one of these, also the Gladu, the C o w i t o r e i l l e , * and the Calahaisen. The collateral branches of these families constituted the main p o r t i o n of the native population, and yet inbreeding d i d not seem to have deteriorated the stock, for a healthier- looking lot of young men, women and c h i l d r e n i t would be hard to find, or one more free f r om scrofula. There were instances, too, among these people, of extreme old age; one i n part i c u l a r which f r om confirmatory evidence, p a r t i c u l a r l y the declarations of descendants, seemed quite authentic. This was a woman called Catherine Bisson— the daughter of Baptiste B i s s o n and an I n d i a n woman called Iskwao— who was born on N e w T e a r ' s D a y , 1793, at Lesser Slave Lake, and had spent a l l her l i f e there since. She had a numerous progeny which she bore to Kisiskakapo, " The man who stands s t i l l . " She was now b l i n d , and was p a r t l y led, p a r t ly c a r r i e d into our tent— a small, thin, wizened woman, with keen features and a tongue as keen, w h i c h cackled and joked at a great rate w i t h the crowd around her. It was almost awesome to look at this w e i r d piece of antiquity, who was born i n the R e i g n of T e r r o r , and was a young woman before * A corruption, no doubt, of " Courtoreille." |
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