Chapter II: Part 2

[28] Smith, (d) p. 132 and 135 (c) p. 407.

[29] See Plates XI-XIII.

[30] See Plates XIV-XVI.

Copper was used for beads, pendants and bracelets. While all of this copper may have been obtained by barter from the whites, yet some of it may have been native. Copper, according to Spinden, was probably not known to the Nez Perce before the articles of civilization had reached that region, but he states that large quantities of copper have been taken from graves and that the edges of some of the specimens are uneven, such as would be more likely to result from beating out a nugget than from working a piece of cut sheet copper.[31] The glass beads, iron bracelets,[32] and bangles,[33] the brass rolled beads,[34] brass pendant[35] and the white metal inlay,[36] which we found, all came from trade with the white race during recent times and do not belong to the old culture.

[31] Spinden, p. 190.

[32] See Fig. 96.

[33] See Figs. 85 and 86.

[34] See Fig. 75.

[35] See Fig. 84.

[36] See Fig. 128.

Shells of the fresh water unio, in a bed five or six feet in diameter and two or three inches thick, at the Priest Rapids village site and described on p. 34 indicate that this animal had been used for food. Shells of the little salt water clam (_Pectunculus_ 202-8388, Fig. 88), haliotis (202-8234b, 8252, 8255, 8386, Figs. 89-92), dentalium (202-8178, 8156, 8163, 8173, 8177-9, 8184, 8186-89, 8192-3, 8233, 8241, 8253, 8389, Figs. 74, 117, and 118) olivella (202-8393, Fig. 87), and oyster (202-8170, Fig. 94) which were made into various ornaments must have been obtained from the coast. No shells of _Pecten caurinus_ were found.

Deer bones were seen in great numbers in the earth of a village site at the head of Priest Rapids where they probably are the remains of cooking. Animal bones were made into points for arrows or harpoon barbs, awls and tubes that were probably used in gambling. Fish bones (202-8387) found in the village sites suggest that fish were used for food. No bones of the whale were found.

Antler was used for wedges, combs and as material upon which to carve. Horns of the Rocky Mountain sheep were used for digging-stick handles. Mountain sheep horns were secured by the Nez Perce who lived to the east of the Yakima region, and were traded with Indians westward as far as the Lower Columbia.[37] No objects made of teeth were found although a piece of a beaver tooth (202-8189) was seen in grave No. 21, and Mrs. Lynch reports elk teeth from a grave near Fort Simcoe (p. 119). Pieces of thong, skin, fur, and feathers of the woodpecker, all of which were probably used as articles of wearing apparel, were found in the graves preserved by the action of copper salts or the dryness of the climate.

[37] Spinden, p. 223.

Wood was used as the hearth of a fire drill[38] and for a bow, a fragment of which is shown in Fig. 114. Sticks which had not decayed in this dry climate, marked some of the graves in the rock-slides (p. 140). Charcoal was also found in the graves and village sites. A fragment of birch bark, tightly rolled (202-8392) was found in a grave; roots were woven into baskets;[39] rushes were stitched and woven into mats.[40]

[38] See Fig. 38.

[39] See Fig. 17.

[40] See Fig. 70-72.

THE SECURING OF FOOD.

_Points Chipped out of Stone._ Many implements used in procuring food were found. In general, they are similar in character to those found in the Thompson River Region.[41] The most numerous perhaps, were points of various sizes and shapes, made by chipping and flaking, for arrows, knives and spears. Many of these are small and finely wrought and most of them are of bright colored agates, chalcedonies and similar stones. As before mentioned, several small quarries of such material with adjacent workshops were found. A very few specimens were made of glassy basalt, and it will be remembered (p. 21) that this was the prevailing material for chipped implements in the Thompson River region to the north, where there was perhaps not such a great variety of material used.[42] In the Nez Perce region to the east, according to Spinden, a great variety of forms of arrow points chipped from stone of many kinds is found,[43] and the extreme minuteness of some of them is noteworthy. The war spear sometimes had a point of stone, usually lance-shaped, but sometimes barbed.[44] He further states that iron supplanted flint and obsidian at an early date, for the manufacture of arrow-heads.[45]

[41] Smith, (d) p. 135; and (c) p. 408.

[42] _Ibid._

[43] Cf. Spinden, Figs. 10-22, Plate VII.

[44] Spinden, p. 227.

[45] Spinden, p. 190.

No caches of chipped implements were found in the Yakima region. Judging from the collections which I have seen, I am under the impression that chipped points are not nearly so numerous in this region as they are near The Dalles and in the Columbia Valley immediately south of this area, and perhaps not even as numerous as in the Thompson River country to the north. We found no fantastic forms such as were rather common in the Thompson River country.[46] It will be remembered[47] that the art of chipping stone was not extensively practised on the coast of British Columbia or Washington, no specimens having been found in that area north of Vancouver Island except at Bella Coola, where only two were discovered. They were frequent at Saanich and in the Fraser Delta and became still more common as one approached the mouth of the Columbia on the west coast of Washington where, on the whole, they seem to resemble, especially in the general character of the material, the chipped points of the Columbia River Valley in the general region from Portland to The Dalles.

[46] Smith, (d) p. 136; and (c) p. 409.

[47] Smith, (b) p. 437; (a) p. 190; (e) p. 564; and (f), p. 359.

The range of forms and sizes is well shown in Figs. 1 to 6 and in Plates I and II.[48] The specimen shown in Fig. 1 is very small, apparently made from a thin flake of chalcedony that has not been much chipped. Its edges are slightly serrated and it was found on the surface near the head of Priest Rapids. Deeply serrated points are found in the Nez Perce region to the east, but they are unusual.[49] The one shown in Fig. 2 is also made of chalcedony and is from the same place. It is larger and the barbs are not so deep. The specimen shown in Fig. 3, chipped from white chalcedony was found at the same place and may be considered as a knife point rather than as an arrow point. The one shown in Fig. 4 is made of petrified wood and has serrated edges. It was found at Priest Rapids and is in the collection of Mr. Mires. Fig. 5 illustrates a point with a straight base chipped from obsidian, one of the few made of this material that have been found in the whole region. This is also from Priest Rapids in the collection of Mr. Mires. The straight based arrow-head is very common in the Nez Perce region.[50] The specimen shown in Fig. 6 is leaf shaped, the base being broken off. It is made of chert, was collected at Wallula near the Columbia River in Oregon by Judge James Kennedy in 1882 and is in the James Terry collection of this Museum. Plate I shows a rather large and crudely chipped point made of basalt, from the surface near the head of Priest Rapids on the bank of the Columbia River. The second is made of red jasper and the third of white chert. They were found near the head of Priest Rapids, the latter also on the bank of the river. These three specimens may be considered as finished or unfinished spear or knife points. The specimens shown in Plate II are more nearly of the average size. The first is made of buff jasper and was found on the surface at Kennewick. It is slightly serrated. The second is made of brownish fissile jasper and was found in grave No. 10 (5) in a rock-slide near the mouth of the Naches River. The third, chipped from mottled quartz was found in grave No. 28 (21) near the skull in a rock-slide about three miles west of the mouth of Cowiche Creek. The fourth of white quartzite is also from grave No. 28 (21) near the skull. The breadth of the base of these last two specimens and the notches would facilitate their being fastened very securely in an arrow-shaft, while the basal points would probably project far enough beyond the shaft to make serviceable barbs. The fifth specimen, chipped from brown chert was found among the refuse of a fire in grave No. 1, in a rock-slide of the Yakima Ridge. The sixth is made of glassy basalt and is remarkable for having two sets of notches. It is rather large, which suggests that it may have served as a knife point. It is from the head of Priest Rapids and was collected and presented by Mrs. J. B. Davidson. Double notched arrow points are found in the Nez Perce region.[51] The seventh is chipped from pale fulvous chalcedony and is from the surface at the same place. The eighth is chipped from similar material and was found near by. The ninth is made of opaline whitish chalcedony and is from the same place. The tenth is chipped from yellow agate, and somewhat resembles a drill, while the eleventh is of brown horn stone, both of them being from the surface near the head of Priest Rapids.

[48] Photographs by Mr. Wm. C. Orchard.

[49] Cf. Spinden, Fig. 16, Plate VII.

[50] Cf. Spinden, Fig. 14, Plate VII.

[51] Cf. Spinden, Fig. 15, Plate VII.

The twelfth which is chipped from clove brown jasper was found on the surface of the Cherry Creek camp site near Ellensburg. The thirteenth is made of reddish white chert and was found on the surface near the mouth of Wenas Creek. The fourteenth is of pale yellow chalcedony and comes from the surface near the head of Priest Rapids. Most of these specimens seem to be suitable for arrow points, although some of them probably served for use as knives.

_Points Rubbed out of Stone._ No points rubbed out of stone have been found in this region, although it will be remembered that two such points were found in the Thompson River region[52] and were thought to represent an intrusion from the coast where they were common as in the Fraser Delta[53] at both Port Hammond and Eburne where they are more than one half as numerous as the chipped points, and at Comox[54] where at least seven of this type to three chipped from stone were found. They were also found at Saanich,[55] where they were in proportion of nineteen to twenty-four, near Victoria[56] and on the San Juan Islands.[57]

[52] Smith, (c), p. 409.

[53] Smith, (a), pp. 141 and 143.

[54] Smith, (b), p. 308.

[55] Smith, (b), p. 332.

[56] P. 357 and 358, _ibid._

[57] P. 380, _ibid._

_Points Rubbed out of Bone._ Points rubbed out of bone which were so common on the coast everywhere, but rare in the Thompson River country are still more scarce here. Only ten specimens from the whole region can be identified as clearly intended for the points or barbs of arrows, harpoon heads or spears. The types are shown in Figs. 7 to 12. The first was found in the west, northwest part of grave No. 10 (5) in a rock-slide about a half mile above the mouth of the Naches River. It is nearly circular in cross section, 31 mm. long with a point only 6 mm. in length and was apparently intended for a salmon harpoon head, similar to those used in the Thompson River region[58] both in ancient and modern times but which are much more common on the coast. The specimen shown in Fig. 8 is circular in cross section and was seen in the collection of Mrs. Davidson. It is from Kennewick and is of the shape of one of the most frequent types of bone points found in the Fraser Delta.[59] The specimen shown in Fig. 9 was found with three others in grave No. 1 in a rock-slide of the Yakima Ridge. This and two of the others were scorched. They are circular in cross section and sharp at both ends but the upper end is much the more slender. The point shown in Fig. 10 somewhat resembles these, but it is slightly larger and tends to be rectangular in cross section except at the base. It was found with a similar specimen in a grave on the Snake River, five miles above its mouth, and was collected and presented by Mr. Owen who still has the other specimen. Diagonal striations may still be seen on its much weathered brown surface. These were probably caused by rubbing it on a stone in its manufacture. A slightly different type of bone point is shown in Figs. 11 and 12. These seem to be barbs for fish spears such as were found in the Thompson River region,[60] among both ancient and modern specimens. The one shown in Fig. 11 has traces of the marrow canal on the reverse. It was found in the Yakima Valley below Prosser and is in the collection of Mr. Spalding. While the specimen shown in Fig. 12 is from the surface near the head of Priest Rapids.

[58] Smith, (c), p. 410; Teit, (a), Fig. 231.

[59] Cf. Smith, (a), Fig. _13h_.

[60] Smith, (c), p. 410; Teit, (a), Fig. 232.

Bone points and barbs were used in the Nez Perce region to the east, where three types of spears with bone points were known, two of them at least being similar to those found in the Thompson River region to the north.[61] The war spears sometimes had a point of bone, usually lance-shaped, but sometimes barbed.[62]

[61] Spinden, p. 189 and Fig. 5^s, ^10, ^11.

[62] Spinden, p. 227.

_Bows._ The only information which we have regarding bows is from the specimen shown in Fig. 114. The object seems to be a fragment of a bow which was lenticular in cross section although rather flat. It is slightly bent and the concave side bears transverse incisions. (p. 125.) The specimen was found in grave No. 10 (5) in a rock-slide about one hundred and fifty feet up the slope on the north side of the Naches River, about half a mile above its mouth. The presence of several perishable objects in the grave suggest it to be modern, but no objects of white manufacture were found. This is the only object indicating the sort of bow used in this region and with the exception of the chipped points previously described, some of which were undoubtedly for arrows, is the only archaeological object tending to prove the use of the bow. It will be remembered[63] that fragments of a bow of lenticular cross section ornamented with parallel irregularly arranged cuneiform incisions, were found in a grave near Nicola Lake in the Thompson River region and that pieces of wood, some of which may have been part of a bow, were found in a grave at the mouth of Nicola Lake; also that pieces of wood found at Kamloops resemble a bow of the type shown in Fig. 220 of Mr. Teit's paper on the present Thompson Indians.[64]

In the Nez Perce region to the east, war clubs with heads made of unworked river boulders, according to Spinden,[65] were sometimes used in killing game and such may have been the case in this region.

[63] Smith, (c), p. 411.

[64] Teit, (a), Fig. 216.

[65] Spinden, p. 188 and 227, also Fig. 5^5.

_Snares._ Fragments of thongs, skin, fur and woodpecker feathers merely suggest methods of hunting or trapping which are not proven by any of our finds. It is barely possible although not probable that the bone tubes considered to have been used in gambling and illustrated in Figs. 97 and 98 and also the perforated cylinder of serpentine shown in Fig. 99 may be portions of snares. Traps and snares of various kinds were common among the Indians of the larger plateau area of which this is a part.[66]

[66] Lewis, p. 182.

Mr. J. S. Cotton informs me that in the vicinity of Mr. Turner's home, Section 6, Town north 18, Range 40 east, on Rock Creek, about six miles below Rock Lake, and in the vicinity of the graves described on p. 140 and the so-called fort mentioned on p. 82, there is a long line of stones running from Rock Creek in a southeasterly direction across the coule to a small draw on the other side. This chain of rocks is about five miles long. The stones have evidently sunk into the ground and show signs of having been there a long time. They have been in the same condition since about 1874 when first seen by the whites, even the oldest Indians claiming to know nothing about them. According to Lewis, game was surrounded and driven in by a large number of hunters or was run down by horses, in the great area of which this is part.[67] It seems altogether probable that a line of stone heaps may have been made to serve either as a line of scarecrows, possibly to support flags or similar objects, which would have the effect of a fence to direct the flight of the game or as a guide to enable the hunters to drive the game towards a precipice where it would be killed, or a corral where it would be impounded.

[67] Lewis, p. 182; Ross, (a), p. 316; De Smet III, p. 1026; Lewis
and Clark, IV, p. 371.

_Notched Sinkers._ Sinkers for fish nets or lines were made of disk-shaped river pebbles. A pebble and the different types of sinkers are shown in Fig. 13. These were numerous on the surface of the beach of the Columbia River near the head of Priest Rapids. They have two or four notches chipped from each side in the edges. When there are two, the notches are usually at each end; when there are four, they are at the end and side edges. Sometimes, the notches are so crudely made that the edge of the pebble is simply roughened so that a string tied about it at this place would hold. One of these sinkers from Priest Rapids was seen in Mr. Mires' collection.

_Grooved Sinkers._ Some large thick pebbles have grooves pecked around their shortest circumference. They may have been used as canoe smashers or anchors, but seem more likely to be net sinkers. Two of these are shown in Figs. 14 and 15. They are from Priest Rapids and are in the collection of Mr. Mires. Both are battered along the lower edge, from the groove on the left to within a very short distance of it on the right and over a considerable portion of the edge of the top. In the second specimen, this battering forms a considerable groove on the lower edge, but a groove only the size of those shown in the illustration on the upper edge. This battering suggests that they may have been used as hammers, but the battered ends of hammers are not often grooved. There are certain grooves pecked on one side of each which seem to be of a decorative or ceremonial significance and are consequently discussed on p. 132 under the section devoted to art. The first specimen is made of granite or yellow quartzite with mica, the second is of granite or yellowish gray quartz with augite and feldspar. One specimen similar to these two, but without any decoration or grooving (202-8116) was found by us on the beach at Kennewick as was also a large pebble grooved nearly around the shortest circumference (202-8332) at Priest Rapids. One object of this type made of a boulder but grooved around the longest circumference was seen in Mr. Owen's collection. It was found on the bank of the Columbia River two miles below Pasco. The specimen described on p. 60 which has a notch pecked in each side edge and is battered slightly on one end may have been used as a net sinker, although it has been considered a hammer. This specimen (202-8214) in a way resembles the small flat notched sinkers except that the notch is pecked instead of chipped and that it is larger and thicker in proportion. Other specimens which are considered as net sinkers, anchors or "canoe smashers" instead of being grooved, are perforated by a hole which tapers from each side and has apparently been made by pecking. Sometimes this hole is in the center, while in other cases it passes through one end. Fig. 16 illustrates such a specimen. It was found at Priest Rapids and is in the collection of Mr. Mires. It is made from a river pebble of yellowish-gray volcanic rock. The perforation is in the broadest end. A similar specimen perforated near one end and one pierced near the middle were seen in Mr. Owen's collection. He believes that these were used for killing fish, an Indian having told him that such stones were thrown at the fish and retrieved with a cord which was tied through the hole. Probably all of these were sinkers for nets or at least anchors for the ends of nets, set lines or for small boats.

Fig. 14. Sinker, a Grooved Boulder bearing a Design in Intaglio. From Priest Rapids, 1/2 nat. size. (Drawn from photograph 44536, 9-2. Original in the collection of Mr. Mires.)]

Sinkers were not seen by us among archaeological finds in the Thompson River region but Mr. James Teit has informed the writer of their use there on both nets and lines, particularly on the former. Nets, excepting the bag net, were very little used in the Kamloops-Lytton region along the Thompson River and that may account for a scarcity of sinkers among archaeological finds. Nets were more extensively used on the Fraser River, but were very much used near large lakes and consequently one would expect to find sinkers in the vicinity of such places as Kamloops, Shushwap, Anderson, Seaton, Lillooet, Nicola, Kootenay and Arrow Lakes. Now, as the Shushwap generally made little bags of netting in which they put their sinkers to attach them to nets, this would greatly militate against the finding of grooved, notched or perforated sinkers in the Shushwap part of this region. They probably thought this method was more effective or took up less time than notching, grooving or perforating stones, and attaching lines to them. It is unknown which of these methods is the most primitive. Unworked pebbles, chosen for their special adaptation in shape, and others grooved or perforated were used in some parts of the interior of British Columbia for sinkers which were not enclosed in netting. Unworked pebbles attached to lines have been seen in use among the Thompson River Indians by Mr. Teit who sent a specimen of one to the Museum.[68] These were of various shapes, some of them being egg-shaped. A deeply notched oval pebble was found on the site of an old semi-subterranean winter house on the west side of Fraser River at the month of Churn Creek in the country of the Fraser River division of the Shushwap. The Thompson Indians said it had been intended for a war ax and accordingly one of them mounted it in a handle. It is now cat. No. 16-9073 in this Museum. Mr. Teit believes the stone to be too heavy for a war club of any kind and that possibly it may originally have been a sinker, although it is chipped more than necessary for the latter. In 1908, he saw a perforated sinker found near the outlet of Kootenay Lake, on the borders of the Lake division of the Colville tribe and the Flat-bow or Kootenay Lake branch of the Kootenay tribe. It was made of a smooth flat water-worn beach pebble 132 mm. long by 75 mm. wide and 25 mm. thick. The perforation was drilled from both sides near the slightly narrower end and a groove extended from it over the nearest end where it formed a notch somewhat deeper than the groove. Mr. Teit heard that several such sinkers had been picked up around Kootenay Lake and also along the Arrow Lakes of the Columbia River on the borders of the Shushwap and Lake divisions of the Colville tribe.

[68] Teit, (a), Fig. 234.

In the Nez Perce region[69] to the east, no sinkers were used with fish lines, but roughly grooved river boulders were employed as net sinkers.[70] A grooved sinker has been found at Comox, grooved stones which may have been used as sinkers occur at Saanich, on the west coast of Washington and the lower Columbia. On the coast of Washington some of them have a second groove at right angles to the first which in some cases extends only half way around; that is, from the first groove over one end to meet the groove on the opposite side. One of the specimens found at Saanich was of this general type. Perforated specimens have been found in the Fraser Delta,[71] at Comox,[72] at Saanich,[72] Point Gray,[72] Marietta,[72] at Gray's Harbor and in the Lower Columbia Valley. On the whole, however, sinkers are much more numerous in the Yakima region than on the Coast. The fish bones which were found, as mentioned under resources, tend to corroborate the theory that the notched, grooved and perforated pebbles were net sinkers and that the bone barbs were for harpoons used in fishing.

[69] Spinden, p. 210.

[70] Spinden, pp. 188 and 211.

[71] Smith, (a), Fig. 22.

[72] Smith, (b), p. 311, 338, 362, 369.

_Shell Heaps._ Small heaps of fresh water clam shells, as before mentioned among the resources of the region on p. 22, were seen; but these being only about five feet in diameter and two or three inches thick are hardly comparable to the immense shell heaps of the coast. These fresh water shells were probably secured from the river near by, where such mollusks now live. Shell fish probably formed only a small part of the diet of the people although dried sea clams may have been secured from the coast by bartering. The objects made of sea shell mentioned among the resources of this region as probably secured from the coast through channels of trade, suggest that the same method was employed for obtaining certain food products from a distance. In fact, Lewis and Clark inform us that the tribes of this general region carried on considerable trade with those of the lower Columbia. Shell heaps of this character, however, are found in the Nez Perce region. Spinden[73] states that no shell heaps except of very small size are found, but occasionally those of a cubic foot or more in size are seen in the loamy banks of the rivers, noting a few near the junction of the South and Middle forks of Clearwater River, and also near the confluence of the North fork with the Clearwater. These seem to be the remains of single meals that had been buried or cast into holes.

[73] Spinden, p. 177.

_Digging Sticks._ The gathering of roots is suggested by the presence of digging stick handles. One of these (Fig. 126) is made of the horn of a rocky mountain sheep and was secured from an Indian woman living near Union Gap below Old Yakima. The perforation, near the middle of one side for the reception of the end of the digging stick, is nearly square but has bulging sides and rounded corners. The smaller end of the object is carved, apparently to represent the head of an animal. Similar handles, some of them of wood, others of antler and with perforations of the same shape, were seen in Mr. Janeck's collection. It will be remembered that such digging stick handles made of antler were found in the Thompson River region among both archaeological finds and living natives,[74] the archaeological specimens being of antler, the modern handles of wood or horn.

[74] Smith, (d), p. 137; (c), p. 411; Teit, (a), p. 231.

The digging stick was one of the most necessary and characteristic implements of the Nez Perce region to the east, the handle consisting of a piece of bone or horn perforated in the middle for the reception of the end of the digging stick, or, according to Spinden, an oblong stone with a transverse groove in the middle lashed at right angles to the stick.[75] No archaeological specimens which are certainly digging stick handles were found on the coast.

No sap scrapers such as were collected in the Thompson River region[76] were identified and they have not been recognized among specimens from the coast.

[75] Spinden, p. 200. Fig. 33, Plate VII.

[76] Smith, (c), p. 411.

_Basketry._ The gathering of berries as well as of roots is suggested by fragments of baskets which have been found. One of these is shown in Fig. 17. It was found in grave No. 10 (5) in a rock-slide about a half mile above the mouth of the Naches River. It is coiled with splint foundation and bifurcated stitch. Judging from other baskets of the same kind, it was probably once imbricated. This type of basketry is widely distributed towards the north and with grass foundation is even found in Siberia.[77] Commonly the coiled basketry in the Nez Perce region to the east was made with bifurcated stitch,[78] by means of a sharpened awl which was the only instrument used in weaving it. Some were imbricated, although this style has not been made for many years, and only a few of the older natives remember women who could make them.[79] Some similar basketry of a finer technique was found with this fragment.

[77] Jochelson, p. 632.

[78] Spinden, p. 194.

[79] Spinden, p. 193.

PREPARATION OF FOOD.

_Mortars._ Mortars made of stone for crushing food, such as dried salmon, other meat and berries, were not uncommon in this region and pestles of the same material were numerous. Flat oval pebbles were found scattered on the surface of a village site on the west bank of the Columbia at the head of Priest Rapids, and were probably used as lap stones or as objects upon which to crush food. A somewhat circular one (202-8295) about 230 mm. in diameter has a notch, formed by chipping from one side, opposite one naturally water-worn, which suggests that it may have been used as a sinker; but it seems more likely that it was simply an anvil or lap stone. Similar pebbles were used in the Thompson River region,[80] some of them having indications of pecking or a slight pecked depression in the middle of one or both sides. In the Nez Perce region to the east, basketry funnels were used in connection with flat stones for mortars. These funnels were of rather crude coil technique.[81] Another specimen (202-8292b) found at the same place is merely a water-worn boulder somewhat thinner at one end than at the other, the surface of which apparently has been rubbed from use as a mortar or milling stone. A few large chips have been broken from the thinner edge. Still another specimen (202-8294) from here is a fragment of a pebble only 120 mm. in diameter with a saucer-shaped depression about 10 mm. deep, in the top.

[80] Smith, (d), p. 139.

[81] Cf. Spinden, p. 194.

A somewhat disk-shaped pebble of gray lava 295 mm. in diameter with a saucer-shaped depression in the top and a large pecked pit in the bottom (20.0-3344) was collected at Fort Simcoe by Dr. H. J. Spinden. A fragment of a mortar about 190 mm. in diameter with a nearly flat or slightly convex base and a depression 50 mm. deep in the top (202-8293) was found on the surface near the head of Priest Rapids and another fragment nearly twice as large, the base of which is concave over most of its surface and shows marks of pecking, apparently the result of an attempt to make it either quite flat or concave like many other mortars that have a concavity in each side, is shown in Fig. 18. It was found among the covering boulders of the grave of an adult, No. 42(4), in the sand at the western edge of the Columbia River about twelve miles above the head of Priest Rapids. The mortar shown in Fig. 19, is hollowed in the top of a symmetrical, nearly circular pebble and has a convex base. It was found on the Yakima Reservation near Union Gap and is in the collection of Mr. Janeck.[82] This reminds us of a similar mortar found in the Thompson River region,[83] but such simple mortars made from pebbles are rarely found in the Nez Perce region to the east.[84] The mortar shown in Fig. 20 also from the same place and in the same collection has a nearly flat base and three encircling grooves.[85] These grooves find their counterpart in four encircling incisions on the little mortar found in the Thompson River region.[86]

[82] Museum negative no. 44455. 2-4.

[83] Smith, (c) Fig. 342.

[84] Spinden, Figs. 20 and 22, Plate VI.

[85] Museum negative no. 44455. 4-2.

[86] Smith, (c), Fig. 343.

The specimen shown in Fig. 116, which may be considered as a dish rather than a mortar, was seen in the collection of Mrs. Hinman who obtained it from Priest Rapids. It is apparently of sandstone, 150 mm. in diameter, 50 mm. high, the upper part being 38 mm. high and of disk shape with slightly bulging sides which are decorated with incised lines,[87] the lower part being also roughly disk shaped 64 mm. by 76 mm. in diameter by about 12 mm. high with slightly convex bottom and edges curved out to the base of the upper part. There is a disk shaped dish in the top 100 mm. in diameter by 12 mm. in depth.[88]

[87] See p. 125.

[88] Museum negative no. 44537. 9-3.

The animal form shown in Fig. 125 bears a mortar or dish in its back. The object is 203 mm. in length, 88 mm. high and 113 mm. wide. The length of the bowl is 88 mm., the width 70 mm., and the depth 38 mm. The object is made of porous lava and was secured from an Indian who claimed to have found it in a grave near Fort Simcoe on the Yakima Reservation two miles below Union Gap which is immediately below Old Yakima.[89]

[89] Here reproduced from photographs 44452, 2-1, 44455, 2-4, and
44503, 6-4 and the original which is catalogue no. 36 in the
collection of Mr. Janeck.

It seems strange that so many of the mortars are broken since they would be hard to break. It will be remembered that one of the broken mortars came from a grave and it may be that the others were on or in graves but had been removed in some way. My general impression is that mortars are much more numerous among archaeological finds both in this region and in the interior of British Columbia than on the coast.

_Pestles._ In addition to the probable use of pestles with flat stones or mortars with basket funnels, some of them, especially where nearly flat or concave on the striking head as in the Thompson River region to the north and on the coast may also have been used as hammers for driving wedges, splitting wood and like industries, if indeed they were not made solely for the latter uses. Some of the pestles differ from those found either to the north or on the coast, many of them being much longer, although Mr. James Teit informs me that very long pestles are occasionally found in the Thompson River region. He has seen four, and heard of one or two more. One two feet long was found in the Nicola Valley about 1905. One of the pestles of the Yakima Valley has a top in the form of an animal hoof, as is shown in Fig. 124. Others like animal heads are shown in Figs. 31, 33-35. The range of forms of pestles is shown in Figs. 21 to 35. The specimens shown in Figs. 22 to 28 inclusive are apparently all of the shorter type, while those shown in the remaining figures are variations of the longer type. By far the greater number of pestles, about forty, are of the type shown in Fig. 21, and of these two thirds come from the vicinity of Priest Rapids. They are merely natural pebbles, all more or less of suitable size, shape and material, which have been used as pestles until one end has become flattened. Some of them are also flattened on the top, the battered ends often giving the only indication that they were used. Such as were not of exactly the right form for grasping have had their excrescences or the more projecting surfaces removed by pecking. A few of these objects seem to have been made from small basaltic columns, the corners of which have been pecked into a more suitable shape. Some of them have been pecked so that they taper gradually from the small upper end to the base. The specimen considered as a "slave-killer" and shown in Fig. 69, may have been used as a pestle. Simple short cylindrical or conoid pebbles, only slightly changed from their natural form, are used for pestles in the Nez Perce region to the east.[90]

[90] Cf. Spinden, Figs. 1-4, and 8, Plate VIII.

A pebble 559 mm. long by 152 mm. wide and 114 mm. thick, with rounded corners and ends, found by Mr. John Lacy near the Yakima River in North Yakima, has longitudinal grooves pecked in three sides to where they begin to round over to form the end, and a similar groove, except that it is only about 101 mm. long, in the middle of the fourth side.[91] These grooves were probably made as part of a process of grooving and battering down the intervening ridges in order to bring the specimen into a desired form. Similarly grooved pebbles found on the northern part of Vancouver Island were explained to Professor Franz Boas as having been implements in such process of manufacture. So far as I am aware, Prof. Boas' announcement of this at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science was the first explanation of the sort of grooving or fluting of specimens found in northwestern America. One similar large specimen (20.0-3343) found at Lewiston, Idaho, in the Nez Perce region by Dr. H. J. Spinden, bears two longitudinally pecked grooves in addition to pecking on much of its surface. A yellowish gray boulder about 349 mm. long, nearly circular in sections and with rounded ends, from Priest Rapids, bears a pecked groove 82 mm. long by 31 mm. wide and 6 mm. deep across the middle of one side. This may have been made to cut it into the length desired for a pestle.[92] This specimen is much too large to be considered as the handle of a digging stick, similar to the object from the Nez Perce region considered as such by Spinden.[93]

[91] In the collection of Mr. Janeck and Museum negative nos. 44453,
2-2 and 44501, 6-2.

[92] In the collection of Mr. Mires, and Museum negative no. 44534,
8-12.

[93] Cf. Spinden, Plate VII, Fig. 33.

The object shown in Fig. 22, one of those from the surface near the head of Priest Rapids, judging from the battered end, has apparently been used as a pestle, yet it is still apparently in process of manufacture into a form somewhat like that shown in Fig. 27. The pecking at the top is possibly the result of an attempt to remove that portion of the rock, while the transversely pecked surface seems to be a beginning towards the formation of the shaft of the pestle, whereas the longitudinal groove between these two surfaces was necessary to reduce an excrescence on the rim of what was apparently intended to be the knob at the top of the pestle. If this supposition be true, when finished, this object would have a large striking head resembling more in shape and size those of the pestles of the region near The Dalles than any yet found in this region. The specimen shown in Fig. 23 is much more clearly an unfinished pestle. The ends are pecked flat and the entire middle section has been pecked, apparently to reduce it to the desired size of the shaft. It seems that the striking head of this specimen, when finished, would be rather short. It was found on the surface eight miles above the head of Priest Rapids.

The pestle shown in Fig. 24 has a conoid body with no striking head and in this respect resembles the pestles of the Thompson River country;[94] but the top is roughly disk-shaped, being neither hat-shaped nor in the form of an animal head, as are most pestles of the Thompson region nor is it exactly of the shape of the typical pestles of northern and western Vancouver Island.[95] The material is a soft gray stone which shows the marks of the pecking by means of which it was shaped.

[94] Smith, (c), Fig. 341.

[95] Smith, (b), Fig. _126a_.

Fig. 25 illustrates a pestle, the top of which is broken off. There are two grooves encircling the somewhat cylindrical striking head. The material is a light blue hard porphoritic rock. These two specimens are from Priest Rapids.[96] The pestle shown in Fig. 26 is from the Yakima River, five miles below Old Yakima. It has a hat-shaped top and a cylindrical striking head a little larger at the top than at the bottom, is somewhat like the typical pestles of the Thompson River region,[97] and is in the collection of Mr. York. Another has a slightly wider brim to the hat-shaped top, a body concave in outline and the striking head is larger at the top than at the bottom, while a third has a medium sized brim, a body bulging in the middle and a long cylindrical striking head. The last two specimens are in the collection of Mr. Janeck, and are from the Yakima Valley within eight miles of North Yakima.[98]

[96] In the collection of Mr. Mires, and Museum negative no. 44335,
9-1.

[97] Smith, (d), p. 138.

[98] Museum negative no. 44454, 2-3.

The specimen shown in Fig. 27 was found in a grave with beads and resembles the typical pestles of Lytton except that it has no nipple on the top, which is of the shape of the tops of the typical pestles of northern and western Vancouver Island. Another of nearly the same shape but less regular was found on the surface of the Yakima Valley within eight miles of North Yakima. A third specimen 234 mm. long, also found within the above mentioned limits, is made of a concavely flaring pebble. A groove is pecked part way around near the top as if to carve the knob and begin the reduction of the top of the shaft. There is also a pecked surface on one side near the base, apparently the beginning of an attempt to form a striking head by first removing irregularities. The one shown in Fig. 28 was found within eight miles of North Yakima and is of rather unusual shape, having a short striking head of the shape of the typical pestles of northern and western Vancouver Island. The slightly bulging body and exceedingly small, nearly flat knob at the top are entirely different from those of the pestles usually found in any of this area, or the country adjacent to it on the north and west. These four specimens are in the collection of Mr. Janeck.[99]

[99] Museum negative no. 44454, 2-3.

There are found in the Nez Perce region[100] short pestles with dome-shaped tops, cylindrical bodies and rather long striking heads of the form of triangular or quadrangular prisms with rounded corners slightly larger at the top than at the bottom[101] and such pestles with hat-shaped tops, although one has a flat top, slightly expanding shafts and long striking heads, larger at the top than at the bottom.

[100] Cf. Spinden, Figs. 11, 19, 21, 23, Plate VI; also Plate VIII,
Figs. 10, 11.

[101] Spinden, p. 186, Plate VIII, Fig. 9.

Fig. 29 is the first of those showing the longer type of pestle from the Yakima region. This specimen was found at Satus on the Yakima Reservation near Old Yakima and is in the collection of Mr. York. The top is somewhat spherical and the body elongated. Its conoid shape may class it with the one shown in Fig. 24. It somewhat reminds us of the pestles of the Santa Catalina Islands of California, but until we have a more definite knowledge of the forms in the vast intervening area, this resemblance must be considered as merely a coincidence, especially since long simple conoid pestles are found in the Nez Perce region to the east.[102] A somewhat similar pestle in Mr. York's collection is 408 mm. long, and has a tapering body, circular in sections, a knob at the top about the size of the base and a convex striking face. It was found at Fort Simcoe.

[102] Cf. Spinden, Plate VI, Figs. 8-10, Plate VIII, Fig. 6.

The pestle shown in Fig. 30 is made of sandstone, was found at Priest Rapids and is in the collection of Mrs. Hinman. The shaft is a long cylinder, expanding somewhat towards the base which is only slightly convex. Like the preceding, it has no striking head. It has a hemispherical top, is unusually large and is decorated with an encircling line of circles and dots. There is also a circle and dot in the top. This decoration is again mentioned in the consideration of art on p. 130.[103]

[103] Museum negative no. 44537, 9-3.

The pestle shown in Fig. 31 is 355 mm. long. It has a conoid body perhaps more pronounced than the one shown in Fig. 29 but much less typical than the one shown in Fig. 24. The top is apparently intended to represent an animal head. It is made of very hard breccia and well polished. At each side of the lower part of the body is a design made by four parallel zigzag grooves, further discussed on p. 132. It was found in the Yakima Valley, and is in the collection of Mr. Janeck.[104] A pestle figured by Spinden, as from the Nez Perce Indians,[105] is somewhat similar to this in that it has a knob protruding slightly to one side, but there is a notch or groove made longitudinally in the top of this knob.

[104] Museum negative no. 44502, 6-3.

[105] Spinden, Fig. 7, Plate VIII.

The pestle shown in Fig. 32 might perhaps be considered as a war club. It was found at Priest Rapids and is in the collection of Mr. Mires. The top is somewhat flat and smoothed. There is a groove around the specimen near this end. From here it constricts gradually to the lower end which is broken off. It was made from a triangular piece of gray basalt, probably a column, the natural angles and parts of the faces of which have been reduced by pecking.[106]

[106] Museum negative no. 44534, 8-12.

The specimen shown in Fig. 33 from the Yakima Valley, is in the collection of Mr. Janeck and is 630 mm. long. The top apparently represents an animal head indicated by three nipples the larger of which is interpreted as representing the nose, the others as indicating the ears. The body is of circular cross section and expands evenly to a cylindrical striking head 70 mm. in diameter by 76 mm. long.[107]

[107] Museum negative no. 44502, 6-3.

A long pestle with a knob at the top which is divided into four pyramidal or dome-shaped nipples was found at Five Mile Rapids on Snake River and was seen in Mr. Owen's collection. The next figure represents a stone pestle of somewhat similar shape but more specialized. It was found in the Yakima Valley and is in the collection of Mr. Janeck. It is 590 mm. long. The top is roughly the form of the fustrum of a cone, being circular in cross section and gradually expanding downward, but it is somewhat celt-shaped, the sides for some distance being ground off nearly flat. They approach each other more closely towards the front than they do towards the back. In each of these surfaces there is an incision which represents one side of an animal's mouth and a pecked dot indicating an eye. The tip of the nose is broken off. Across the curved part behind the flat surfaces or on the back of this animal head are four incisions. Below this portion the object is circular in section until near its middle, or 178 mm. from the top, where there is a band roughly sub-pentagonal in section with rounded corners 88 mm. long. Following this band it is nearly cylindrical, being 57 mm. in diameter for 178 mm. until it expands suddenly into the striking head which is unusually bulging, 108 mm. long by 64 mm. in diameter.[108]

[108] Museum negative no. 44502, 6-3.

The object 498 mm. long shown in Fig. 35 is made of steatite, material seemingly unsuited by its softness for a pestle, and may possibly be a war club. Mr. McCandless, in whose collection it is, calls the material a soft sandstone which he says is found at the head of the Wenatchie River. He says the specimen is from Lake Chelan and that he obtained it from a man above Wenatchie on the Columbia River. This man told him that he secured it from Chief Moses' tribe on Lake Chelan, and that the Indians there call it a war club and a family heirloom. The upper end is of the form of a truncated pyramid with two flat sides, two bulging edge's and rounded corners. It shows peck marks and is engraved as described under art, on p. 124, and is said by the Indians to represent the head of a snake. The shaft is circular in cross section and gradually enlarges towards the base where it suddenly constricts. The specimen has been polished by the natural sand blast.[109]

[109] Museum negative no. 44507, 6-8.

The noise of the women at one of the Nez Perce villages, pounding roots, reminded Lewis of a nail factory.[110] Beyond the Nez Perce country which bounds this area on the east, according to Spinden,[111] the use of stone pestles disappears until the region of the Great Lakes is reached, but I have seen pestles in collections in Wyoming which are said to have been found in that state.

[110] Lewis and Clark, V, p. 16.

[111] Spinden, p. 187.

_Rollers._ Another class of specimens considered as pestles or rollers is shown in Figs. 36 and 37. These do not seem to have been used as pestles.

The one shown in Fig. 36 from Priest Rapids is in the collection of Mrs. Hinman. The convex ends of this cylindrical form present the natural surface of a pebble and they are not battered. The material is a yellowish quartzite or closely allied rock. It is 457 mm. long, 75 mm. in diameter and the entire cylindrical surface has been pecked apparently to bring it to form. If it had been used as a pestle the ends would show the signs of battering or grinding. The cylindrical surface does not seem to show any signs of its having been used as a roller or grinder. It may possibly be a pestle in process of manufacture although it seems very strange that so much work should have been expended on the cylindrical surface in a region where natural pebbles very nearly of this shape were common.[112] The specimen shown in Fig. 37 is apparently made of basalt and was found on the surface about a mile east of Fort Simcoe. The ends are considerably chipped and one of them has apparently been somewhat battered since. If the object were used as a pestle the chipping of the ends is unusually great. The cylindrical surface has been formed by pecking except in one place where the natural surface shows. This bit of natural surface is such that it suggests the specimen to have been made of a prismatic basaltic column. While these two specimens may have been intended for pestles, it seems possible that they were made for rollers. Several such objects made of stone were seen in Mr. Owen's collection. He says that they were used like rolling pins for crushing camas and kouse roots in making bread. Both of these roots were extensively used in the Nez Perce region to the east.[113]

[112] Museum negative no. 44537, 9-3.

[113] Spinden, pp. 201-203.