The hair of the head was black, strong, and straight.

They were not in general above middle size, though well proportioned.] _West_ of the Rocky Mountains, in British Columbia and Vancouver Island (besides southern Alaska), the Amerindian tribes form the N[-u]tka-Columbian group, which is markedly distinct from the Amerindians _east_ of the Rocky Mountains, from whom they differ _widely_ in language, type, and culture.

They are divided into quite a large number of small separate groups--the Wakashan or _N[-u]tkas_ of Vancouver Island and south-western British Columbia, the Shahaptian or "Nez perces" Indians of the Columbia basin, and the Chin[-u]ks of the lower Columbia River, the _Salishan_ or "Flathead" group (including the Atn[-a]s) of the Fraser and Thompson Rivers and central British Columbia; and the _Haida_ Indians of Queen Charlotte's Islands and the north-west coast of British Columbia.

It must be remembered that these different groups are only based on the relationships of their component tribes in language or dialect, and do not always imply that the tribes belonging to them had the same customs and dispositions; but they were generally able to communicate with one another in speech, whereas if they met the Indians of another group the language might be so totally different that they could only communicate by means of signs.
[Illustration: AN AMERINDIAN TYPE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA] Sign and gesture language[9] was extraordinarily developed amongst all the Amerindian races from the Arctic Ocean to the Antarctic.

Not only that, but they were quick to understand the purpose of pictures.