the
north-western regions of America, these two tribes of Indians were very
numerous; but the small-pox, introduced among them by the strangers,
proved so fatal, that, at the end of fifteen years, not more than
seventy families were left.

The _Knisteneaux_, though at present few in number, occupy a great
extent of country. They are of moderate stature, well-proportioned, and
extremely active. Their complexion is of a copper-colour, and their hair
black. In some of the tribes, the hair is cut into various forms,
according to their fancy; and, by others, it is left in the long and
lank flow of nature. These Indians, in general, pluck out their beards.
Their eyes are black, keen, and penetrating; and their countenance is
open and agreeable. Fond of decoration, they paint their bodies with
different colours of red, blue, brown, white, and black.

Their dress is, at once, simple and commodious. It consists of tight
leggings or leather-gaiters, which reach nearly to the hip; a strip of
cloth or leather, about a foot wide, and five feet long, the ends of
which are drawn inward, and hang behind and before, over a belt, tied
round the waist for that purpose; a close vest or shirt, reaching down
to the former garment, and bound at the waist by a broad strip of
parchment, fastened with thongs behind; and a cap for the head,
consisting of a piece of fur, or a small skin, with the tail of the
animal, as a suspended ornament. A kind of robe is occasionally thrown
over the whole of this dress, and serves them to wear by day, and to
sleep in at night. These articles, with the addition of shoes and
mittens, constitute their chief apparel. The materials vary, according
to the season, and consist of dressed moose-skin, beaver-skins, prepared
with the fur, or European woollens. The leather is neatly painted, and,
in some parts, is fancifully worked with porcupine-quills and moose-deer
hair. The shirts and leggings are adorned with fringe and tassels; and
the shoes and mittens have somewhat of appropriate decoration, and are
worked with a considerable degree of skill and taste. Their head-dresses
are composed of the feathers of the swan, the eagle, and other birds.
The teeth, horns, and claws of different animals, are also the
occasional ornaments of their head and neck.

The female dress is composed of materials similar to those used by the
men; but it is of a somewhat different form and arrangement. Several of
the women have the skin