Chapter III: Columbians (10)

[394] Additional notes and references on procuring food. The Okanagans break up winter quarters in February; wander about in small bands till June. Assemble on the river and divide into two parties of men and two of women for fishing and dressing fish, hunting and digging roots, until October; hunt in small parties in the mountains or the interior for four or six weeks; and then go into winter quarters on the small rivers. _Ross' Adven._, pp. 314-16. Further south on the Columbia plains the natives collect and dry roots until May; fish on the north bank of the river till September, burying the fish; dig camas on the plains till snow falls; and retire to the foot of the mountains to hunt deer and elk through the winter. The Nez Percés catch salmon and dig roots in summer; hunt deer on snow-shoes in winter; and cross the mountains for buffalo in spring. Sokulks live on fish, roots, and antelope. Eneeshur, Echeloots, and Chilluckittequaw, on fish, berries, roots and nuts. _Lewis and Clarke's Trav._, pp. 444-5, 340-1, 352, 365, 370. Spokanes live on deer, wild fowl, salmon, trout, carp, pine-moss, roots and wild fruit. They have no repugnance to horse-flesh, but never kill horses for food. The Sinapoils live on salmon, camas, and an occasional small deer. The Chaudiere country well stocked with game, fish and fruit. _Cox's Adven._, vol. i., p. 201, vol. ii., p. 145. The Kayuse live on fish, game, and camass bread. _De Smet_, _Voy._, pp. 30-1. 'Ils cultivent avec succès le blé, les patates, les pois et plusieurs autres légumes et fruits.' _Id._, _Miss. de l'Orégon._, p. 67. Pend d'Oreilles; fish, Kamash, and pine-tree moss. _Id._, _West. Missions_, p. 284. 'Whole time was occupied in providing for their bellies, which were rarely full.' _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1854, p. 211. Yakimas and Kliketats; Unis or fresh-water muscles, little game, sage-fowl and grouse, kamas, berries, salmon. The Okanagans raise some potatoes. _Gibbs_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. i., pp. 404, 408, 413. Kootenais; fish and wild fowl, berries and pounded meat, have cows and oxen. _Palliser's Explor._, pp. 10, 72. Palouse; fish, birds, and small animals. Umatillas; fish, sage-cocks, prairie-hares. _Lord's Nat._, vol. ii., pp. 97, 105-6. Tushepaws would not permit horses or dogs to be eaten. _Irving's Astoria_, p. 316. Nez Percés; beaver, elk, deer, white bear, and mountain sheep, also steamed roots. _Id._, _Bonneville's Adven._, p. 301. Sahaptin; gather cherries and berries on Clarke River. _Gass' Jour._, p. 193; _Nicolay's Ogn. Ter._, p. 151; _Hines' Voy._, p. 167; _Brownell's Ind. Races_, pp. 533-5; _Stanley's Portraits_, pp. 63-71; _Catlin's N. Am. Ind._, vol. ii., p. 108; _Kane's Wand._, pp. 263-4; _Parker's Explor. Tour_, pp. 228-31, 309; _Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. iv., p. 474; _Hale's Ethnog._, _Ib._, vol. vi., p. 206.

[395] _Lewis and Clarke's Trav._, pp. 383, 548; _Parker's Explor. Tour_, pp. 230, 312; _Townsend's Nar._, p. 148; _De Smet_, _Voy._, pp. 46-7, 198; _Cox's Adven._, vol. i., pp. 197-9, 358, vol. ii., pp. 155, 373, 375; _Coke's Rocky Mts._, p. 295; _Palmer's Jour._, pp. 54, 58, 59.

[396] The Okanagan weapon is called a _Spampt_. _Ross' Adven._, pp. 318-19; _Id._, _Fur Hunters_, vol. i., pp. 306-8. 'Ils ... faire leurs arcs d'un bois très-élastique, ou de la corne du cerf.' _De Smet_, _Voy._, p. 48; _Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. iv., p. 488; _Stevens_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. i., p. 405; _Townsend's Nar._, p. 98; _Irving's Astoria_, p. 317; _Lewis and Clarke's Trav._, p. 351; _Parker's Explor. Tour_, pp. 106-7, 233; _Cox's Adven._, vol. i., p. 216.

[397] Torture of Blackfeet prisoners; burning with a red-hot gun-barrel, pulling out the nails, taking off fingers, scooping out the eyes, scalping, revolting cruelties to female captives. The disputed right of the Flatheads to hunt buffalo at the eastern foot of the mountains is the cause of the long-continued hostility. The wisest and bravest is annually elected war chief. The war chief carries a long whip and secures discipline by flagellation. Except a few feathers and pieces of red cloth, both the Flathead and Kootenai enter battle perfectly naked. _Cox's Adven._, vol. i., pp. 232-45, vol. ii., p. 160. The Cayuse and Sahaptin are the most warlike of all the southern tribes. The Nez Percés good warriors, but do not follow war as a profession. _Ross' Fur Hunters_, vol. i., pp. 185-6, 305, 308-12, vol. ii., pp. 93-6, 139. Among the Okanagans 'the hot bath, council, and ceremony of smoking the great pipe before war, is always religiously observed. Their laws, however, admit of no compulsion, nor is the chief's authority implicitly obeyed on these occasions; consequently, every one judges for himself, and either goes or stays as he thinks proper. With a view, however, to obviate this defect in their system, they have instituted the dance, which answers every purpose of a recruiting service.' 'Every man, therefore, who enters within this ring and joins in the dance ... is in honour bound to assist in carrying on the war.' _Id._, _Adven._, pp. 319-20. Mock battles and military display for the entertainment of white visitors. _Hines' Voy._, pp. 173-4. The Chilluckittequaws cut off the forefingers of a slain enemy as trophies. _Lewis and Clarke's Trav._, pp. 375-6. When scouting, 'Flathead chief would ride at full gallop so near the foe as to flap in their faces the eagle's tail streaming behind (from his cap), yet no one dared seize the tail or streamer, it being considered sacrilegious and fraught with misfortune to touch it.' _Tolmie_, in _Lord's Nat._, vol. ii., p. 238. A thousand Walla Wallas came to the Sacramento River in 1846, to avenge the death of a young chief killed by an American about a year before. _Colton's Three Years in Cal._, p. 52. One Flathead is said to be equal to four Blackfeet in battle. _De Smet_, _Voy._, pp. 31, 49; _Dunn's Oregon_, pp. 312-13; _Gray's Hist. Ogn._, pp. 171-4; _Parker's Explor. Tour_, pp. 233-7; _Stanley's Portraits_, pp. 65-71; _Ind. Life_, pp. 23-5; _Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. iv., p. 495.

[398] White marl clay used to cleanse skin robes, by making it into a paste, rubbing it on the hide and leaving it to dry, after which it is rubbed off. Saddles usually sit uneasily on the horse's back. _Parker's Explor. Tour_, pp. 106, 232-4. 'Mallet of stone curiously carved' among the Sokulks. Near the Cascades was seen a ladder resembling those used by the whites. The Pishquitpaws used 'a saddle or pad of dressed skin, stuffed with goats' hair.' _Lewis and Clarke's Trav._, pp. 353, 370, 375, 528. On the Fraser a rough kind of isinglass was at one time prepared and traded to the Hudson Bay Company. _Lord's Nat._, vol. i., p. 177. 'The Sahaptins still make a kind of vase of lava, somewhat in the shape of a crucible, but very wide; they use it as a mortar for pounding the grain, of which they make cakes.' _Domenech's Deserts_, vol. ii., pp. 64, 243. (Undoubtedly an error.) Pend d'Oreilles; 'les femmes ... font des nattes de joncs, des paniers, et des chapeaux sans bords.' _De Smet_, _Voy._, p. 199. 'Nearly all (the Shushwaps) use the Spanish wooden saddle, which they make with much skill.' _Mayne's B. C._, pp. 301-2. 'The saddles for women differ in form, being furnished with the antlers of a deer, so as to resemble the high pommelled saddle of the Mexican ladies.' _Franchère's Nar._, pp. 269-70; _Palmer's Jour._, p. 129; _Irving's Astoria_, p. 317, 365; _Cox's Adven._, vol. i., pp. 148-9.

[399] 'The white-pine bark is a very good substitute for birch, but has the disadvantage of being more brittle in cold weather.' _Suckley_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. i., p. 296. Yakima boats are 'simply logs hollowed out and sloped up at the ends, without form or finish.' _Gibbs_, in _Id._, p. 408. The Flatheads 'have no canoes, but in ferrying streams use their lodge skins, which are drawn up into an oval form by cords, and stretched on a few twigs. These they tow with horses, riding sometimes three abreast.' _Stevens_, in _Id._, p. 415. In the Kootenai canoe 'the upper part is covered, except a space in the middle.' The length is twenty-two feet, the bottom being a dead level from end to end. _Ross' Fur Hunters_, vol. ii., pp. 169-70. 'The length of the bottom of the one I measured was twelve feet, the width between the gunwales only seven and one half feet.' 'When an Indian paddles it, he sits at the extreme end, and thus sinks the conical point, which serves to steady the canoe like a fish's tail.' _Lord's Nat._, vol. ii., pp. 178-9, 255-7. On the Arrow Lakes 'their form is also peculiar and very beautiful. These canoes run the rapids with more safety than those of any other shape.' _Kane's Wand._, p. 328. See _De Smet_, _Voy._, pp. 35, 187; _Irving's Astoria_, p. 319; _Lewis and Clarke's Trav._, p. 375; _Hector_, in _Palliser's Explor._, p. 27; _Stevens_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1854, pp. 208, 214, 223, 238.

[400] 'The tradition is that horses were obtained from the southward,' not many generations back. _Tolmie_, in _Lord's Nat._, vol. ii., pp. 247, 177-8. Individuals of the Walla Wallas have over one thousand horses. _Warre and Vavasour_, in _Martin's Hud. Bay_, p. 83. Kootenais rich in horses and cattle. _Palliser's Explor._, pp. 44, 73. Kliketat and Yakima horses sometimes fine, but injured by early usage; deteriorated from a good stock; vicious and lazy. _Gibbs_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. i., p. 405. 'La richesse principale des sauvages de l'ouest consiste en chevaux.' _De Smet_, _Voy._, pp. 47, 56. At an assemblage of Walla Wallas, Shahaptains and Kyoots, 'the plains were literally covered with horses, of which there could not have been less than four thousand in sight of the camp.' _Ross' Adven._, p. 127. The Kootanies about Arrow Lake, or Sinatcheggs have no horses, as the country is not suitable for them. _Id._, _Fur Hunters_, vol. ii., pp. 171-2. Of the Spokanes the 'chief riches are their horses, which they generally obtain in barter from the Nez Percés.' _Cox's Adven._, vol. i., p. 200. A Skyuse is poor who has but fifteen or twenty horses. The horses are a fine race, 'as large and of better form and more activity than most of the horses of the States.' _Farnham's Trav._, p. 82. The Flatheads 'are the most northern of the equestrian tribes.' _Nicolay's Ogn. Ter._, p. 153. Many Nez Percés 'have from five to fifteen hundred head of horses.' _Palmer's Jour._, pp. 128-9. Indians of the Spokane and Flathead tribes 'own from one thousand to four thousand head of horses and cattle.' _Stevens' Address_, p. 12. The Nez Percé horses 'are principally of the pony breed; but remarkably stout and long-winded.' _Irving's Bonneville's Adven._, p. 301; _Hastings' Em. Guide_, p. 59; _Hines' Voy._, p. 344; _Gass' Jour._, p. 295; _Parker's Explor. Tour_, p. 230.

[401] The Chilluckittequaw intercourse seems to be an intermediate trade with the nations near the mouth of the Columbia. The Chopunnish trade for, as well as hunt, buffalo-robes east of the mountains. Course of trade in the Sahaptin county: The plain Indians during their stay on the river from May to September, before they begin fishing, go down to the falls with skins, mats, silk-grass, rushes and chapelell bread. Here they meet the mountain tribes from the Kooskooskie (Clearwater) and Lewis rivers, who bring bear-grass, horses, quamash and a few skins obtained by hunting or by barter from the Tushepaws. At the falls are the Chilluckittequaws, Eneeshurs, Echeloots and Skilloots, the latter being intermediate traders between the upper and lower tribes. These tribes have pounded fish for sale; and the Chinooks bring wappato, sea-fish, berries, and trinkets obtained from the whites. Then the trade begins; the Chopunnish and mountain tribes buy wappato, pounded fish and beads; and the plain Indians buy wappato, horses, beads, etc. _Lewis and Clarke's Trav._, pp. 341, 382, 444-5. Horse-fairs in which the natives display the qualities of their steeds with a view to sell. _Lord's Nat._, vol. ii., pp. 86-7. The Oakinacks make trips to the Pacific to trade wild hemp for hiaqua shells and trinkets. _Ross' Adven._, pp. 291, 323. Trade conducted in silence between a Flathead and Crow. _De Smet_, _Voy._, p. 56. Kliketats and Yakimas 'have become to the neighboring tribes what the Yankees were to the once Western States, the traveling retailers of notions.' _Gibbs_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. i., pp. 403, 406. Cayuses, Walla Wallas, and Nez Percés meet in Grande Ronde Valley to trade with the Snakes. _Thornton's Ogn. and Cal._, vol. i., p. 270; _Hale's Ethnog._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. vi., p. 208; _Cox's Adven._, vol. ii., pp. 88-9, 156; _Palmer's Jour._, pp. 46, 54; _Dunniway's Capt. Gray's Comp._, p. 160; _Coke's Rocky Mts._, p. 294; _Mayne's B. C._, p. 299; _Gass' Jour._, p. 205.

[402] In calculating time the Okanagans use their fingers, each finger standing for ten; some will reckon to a thousand with tolerable accuracy, but most can scarcely count to twenty. _Ross' Adven._, p. 324. The Flatheads 'font néanmoins avec précision, sur des écorces d'arbres ou sur des peaux le plan, des pays qu'ils ont parcourus, marquant les distances par journées, demi-journées ou quarts de journées.' _De Smet_, _Voy._, p. 205. Count years by snows, months by moons, and days by sleeps. Have names for each number up to ten; then add ten to each; and then add a word to multiply by ten. _Parker's Explor. Tour_, p. 242. Names of the months in the Pisquouse and Salish languages beginning with January;--'cold, a certain herb, snow-gone, bitter-root, going to root-ground, camass-root, hot, gathering berries, exhausted salmon, dry, house-building, snow.' _Hale's Ethnog._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. vi., p. 211. 'Menses computant lunis, ex spkani, _sol_ vel _luna_ et dies per ferias. Hebdomadam unicam per splcháskat, _septem dies_, plures vero hebdomadas per s'chaxèus, id est, _vexillum_ quod a duce maximo qualibet die dominica suspendebatur. Dies antem in novem dividitur partes.' _Mengarini_, _Grammatica Linguae Selicae_, p. 120; _Sproat's Scenes_, p. 270; _Lewis and Clarke's Trav._, p. 374.

[403] The twelve Oakinack tribes 'form, as it were, so many states belonging to the same union, and are governed by petty chiefs.' The chieftainship descends from father to son; and though merely nominal in authority, the chief is rarely disobeyed. Property pays for all crimes. _Ross' Adven._, pp. 289-94, 322-3, 327. The Chualpays are governed by the 'chief of the earth' and 'chief of the waters,' the latter having exclusive authority in the fishing-season. _Kane's Wand._, pp. 309-13. The Nez Percés offered a Flathead the position of head chief, through admiration of his qualities. _De Smet_, _Voy._, pp. 50, 171. Among the Kalispels the chief appoints his successor, or if he fails to do so, one is elected. _De Smet_, _Western Miss._, p. 297. The Flathead war chief carries a long whip, decorated with scalps and feathers to enforce strict discipline. The principal chief is hereditary. _Cox's Adven._, vol. i., pp. 241-2, vol. ii., p. 88. The 'camp chief' of the Flatheads as well as the war chief was chosen for his merits. _Ind. Life_, pp. 28-9. Among the Nez Percés and Wascos 'the form of government is patriarchal. They acknowledge the hereditary principle--blood generally decides who shall be the chief.' _Alvord_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. v., pp. 652-4. No regularly recognized chief among the Spokanes, but an intelligent and rich man often controls the tribe by his influence. _Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. iv., pp. 475-6. 'The Salish can hardly be said to have any regular form of government.' _Hale's Ethnog._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. vi., pp. 207-8. Every winter the Cayuses go down to the Dalles to hold a council over the Chinooks 'to ascertain their misdemeanors and punish them therefor by whipping'! _Farnham's Trav._, p. 81-2. Among the Salish 'criminals are sometimes punished by banishment from their tribe.' 'Fraternal union and the obedience to the chiefs are truly admirable.' _Domenech's Deserts_, vol. ii., pp. 343-4; _Hines' Voy._, p. 157; _Stanley's Portraits_, p. 63; _Dunn's Oregon_, pp. 311-12; _White's Oregon_, p. 189; _Pickering's Races_, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. ix., p. 108; _Joset_, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, tom. cxxiii., 1849, pp. 334-40.

[404] 'Slavery is common with all the tribes.' _Warre and Vavasour_, in _Martin's Hud. B._, p. 83. Sahaptins always make slaves of prisoners of war. The Cayuses have many. _Alvord_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. v., p. 654; _Palmer's Jour._, p. 56. Among the Okanagans 'there are but few slaves ... and these few are adopted as children, and treated in all respects as members of the family.' _Ross' Adven._, p. 320. The inland tribes formerly practiced slavery, but long since abolished it. _Parker's Explor. Tour_, p. 247. 'Not practised in the interior.' _Mayne's B. C._, p. 243. Not practiced by the Shushwaps. _Anderson_, in _Hist. Mag._, vol. vii., p. 78.

[405] Each Okanagan 'family is ruled by the joint will or authority of the husband and wife, but more particularly by the latter.' Wives live at different camps among their relatives; one or two being constantly with the husband. Brawls constantly occur when several wives meet. The women are chaste, and attached to husband and children. At the age of fourteen or fifteen the young man pays his addresses in person to the object of his love, aged eleven or twelve. After the old folks are in bed, he goes to her wigwam, builds a fire, and if welcome the mother permits the girl to come and sit with him for a short time. These visits are several times repeated, and he finally goes in the day-time with friends and his purchase money. _Ross' Adven._, pp. 295-302. The Spokane husband joins his wife's tribe; women are held in great respect; and much affection is shown for children. Among the Nez Percés both men and women have the power of dissolving the marriage tie at pleasure. _Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. iv., pp. 410, 475-6, 486, 495. The Coeurs d'Alêne 'have abandoned polygamy.' _Stevens_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. i., pp. 149, 309; _Gibbs_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. i., p. 406. Pend d'Oreille women less enslaved than in the mountains, but yet have much heavy work, paddle canoes, etc. Generally no marriage among savages. _De Smet_, _Voy._, pp. 198-9, 210. The Nez Percés generally confine themselves to two wives, and rarely marry cousins. No wedding ceremony. _Alvord_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. v., p. 655. Polygamy not general on the Fraser; and unknown to Kootenais. _Cox's Adven._, vol. ii., pp. 155, 379, vol. i., pp. 256-9. Nez Percés have abandoned polygamy. _Palmer's Jour._, pp. 129, 56. Flathead women do everything but hunt and fight. _Ind. Life_, p. 41. Flathead women 'by no means treated as slaves, but, on the contrary, have much consideration and authority.' _Hale's Ethnog._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. vi., p. 207. 'Rarely marry out of their own nation,' and do not like their women to marry whites. _Dunn's Oregon_, pp. 313-14. The Sokulk men 'are said to content themselves with a single wife, with whom ... the husband shares the labours of procuring subsistence much more than is usual among savages.' _Lewis and Clarke's Trav._, p. 351; _Dunniway's Capt. Gray's Comp._, p. 161; _Gray's Hist. Ogn._, p. 171; _Tolmie and Anderson_, in _Lord's Nat._, vol. ii., pp. 231-5; _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1854, p. 208; _De Smet's West. Miss._, p. 289.

[406] The wife of a young Kootenai left him for another, whereupon he shot himself. _Ross' Fur Hunters_, vol. ii., p. 169. Among the Flatheads 'conjugal infidelity is scarcely known.' _Dunn's Oregon_, p. 311. The Sahaptins 'do not exhibit those loose feelings of carnal desire, nor appear addicted to the common customs of prostitution.' _Gass' Jour._, p. 275. Inland tribes have a reputation for chastity, probably due to circumstances rather than to fixed principles. _Mayne's B. C._, p. 300. Spokanes 'free from the vice of incontinence'. Among the Walla Wallas prostitution is unknown, 'and I believe no inducement would tempt them to commit a breach of chastity.' Prostitution common on the Fraser. _Cox's Adven._, vol. i., pp. 145, 199-200. Nez Percé women remarkable for their chastity. _Alvord_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. v., p. 655.

[407] In the Salish family on the birth of a child wealthy relatives make presents of food and clothing. The Nez Percé mother gives presents but receives none on such an occasion. The Flatheads and Pend d'Oreilles bandage the waist and legs of infants with a view to producing broad-shouldered, small-waisted and straight-limbed adults. _Tolmie and Anderson_, in _Lord's Nat._, vol. ii., pp. 231-2. Among the Walla Wallas 'when traveling a hoop, bent over the head of the child, protects it from injury.' The confinement after child-birth continues forty days. At the first menstruation the Spokane woman must conceal herself two days in the forest; for a man to see her would be fatal; she must then be confined for twenty days longer in a separate lodge. _Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. iv., pp. 426-8, 485. The Okanagan mother is not allowed to prepare her unborn infant's swaddling clothes, which consist of a piece of board, a bit of skin, a bunch of moss, and a string. _Ross' Adven._, pp. 324-30. 'Small children, not more than three years old, are mounted alone and generally upon colts.' Younger ones are carried on the mother's back 'or suspended from a high knob upon the forepart of their saddles.' _Parker's Explor. Tour_, p. 98. Houses among the Chopunnish 'appropriated for women who are undergoing the operation of the menses.' 'When anything is to be conveyed to these deserted females, the person throws it to them forty or fifty paces off, and then retires.' _Lewis and Clarke's Trav._, p. 539; _Townsend's Nar._, p. 78; _Alvord_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. v., p. 655.

[408] With the Pend d'Oreilles 'it was not uncommon for them to bury the very old and the very young alive, because, they said, "these cannot take care of themselves, and we cannot take care of them, and they had better die."' _Stevens_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1854, p. 211; _Suckley_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. i., p. 297; _Domenech's Deserts_, vol. ii., p. 328; _White's Ogn._, p. 96; _Cox's Adven._, vol. i., pp. 148-9.

[409] In the Yakima Valley 'we visited every street, alley, hole and corner of the camp.... Here was gambling, there scalp-dancing; laughter in one place, mourning in another. Crowds were passing to and fro, whooping, yelling, dancing, drumming, singing. Men, women, and children were huddled together; flags flying, horses neighing, dogs howling, chained bears, tied wolves, grunting and growling, all pell-mell among the tents.' _Ross' Fur Hunters_, vol. i., p. 28. At Kettle Falls 'whilst awaiting the coming salmon, the scene is one great revel: horse-racing, gambling, love-making, dancing, and diversions of all sorts, occupy the singular assembly; for at these annual gatherings ... feuds and dislikes are for the time laid by.' _Lord's Nat._, vol. i., pp. 72-3.

[410] The principal amusement of the Okanagans is gambling, 'at which they are not so quarrelsome as the Spokans and other tribes,' disputes being settled by arbitration. _Cox's Adven._, vol. ii., p. 88. A young man at Kettle Falls committed suicide, having lost everything at gambling. _Kane's Wand._, pp. 309-10. 'Les Indiens de la Colombie ont porté les jeux de hasard au dernier excès. Après avoir perdu tout ce qu'ils ont, ils se mettent eux-mêmes sur le tapis, d'abord une main, ensuite l'autre; s'ils les perdent, les bras, et ainsi de suite tous les membres du corps; la tête suit, et s'ils la perdent, ils deviennent esclaves pour la vie avec leurs femmes et leurs enfants.' _De Smet_, _Voy._, pp. 49-50. Many Kooteneais have abandoned gambling. _De Smet_, _West. Miss._, p. 300. 'Whatever the poor Indian can call his own, is ruthlessly sacrificed to this Moloch of human weakness.' _Ind. Life_, p. 42; _Irving's Bonneville's Adven._, p. 102-3.

[411] Spokanes; 'one of their great amusements is horse-racing.' _Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. iv., p. 487. Kliketats and Yakimas; 'the racing season is the grand annual occasion of these tribes. A horse of proved reputation is a source of wealth or ruin to his owner. On his speed he stakes his whole stud, his household goods, clothes, and finally his wives; and a single heat doubles his fortune, or sends him forth an impoverished adventurer. The interest, however is not confined to the individual directly concerned; the tribe share it with him, and a common pile of goods, of motley description, apportioned according to their ideas of value, is put up by either party, to be divided among the backers of the winner.' _Stevens_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. i., pp. 404, 412. 'Running horses and foot-races by men, women and children, and they have games of chance played with sticks or bones;' do not drink to excess. _Parker's Explor. Tour_, pp. 237, 406. _Lewis and Clarke's Trav._, pp. 557; _Franchère's Nar._, p. 269.

[412] _Kane's Wand._, pp. 310-11.

[413] The principal Okanagan amusement is a game called by the voyageurs 'jeu de main,' like our odd and even. _Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, p. 463. It sometimes takes a week to decide the game. The loser never repines. _Ross' Adven._, pp. 308-11; _Stuart's Montana_, p. 71.

[414] Among the Wahowpums 'the spectators formed a circle round the dancers, who, with their robes drawn tightly round the shoulders, and divided into parties of five or six men, perform by crossing in a line from one side of the circle to the other. All the parties, performers as well as spectators, sing, and after proceeding in this way for some time, the spectators join, and the whole concludes by a promiscuous dance and song.' The Walla Wallas 'were formed into a solid column, round a kind of hollow square, stood on the same place, and merely jumped up at intervals, to keep time to the music.' _Lewis and Clarke's Trav._, pp. 526, 531. Nez Percés dance round a pole on Sundays, and the chiefs exhort during the pauses. _Irving's Bonneville's Adven._, pp. 101-2, 245. In singing 'they use _hi_, _ah_, in constant repetition, ... and instead of several parts harmonizing, they only take eighths one above another, never exceeding three.' _Parker's Explor. Tour_, pp. 242-3. 'The song was a simple expression of a few sounds, no intelligible words being uttered. It resembled the words _ho-ha-ho-ha-ho-ha-ha-ha_, commencing in a low tone, and gradually swelling to a full, round, and beautifully modulated chorus.' _Townsend's Nar._, p. 106. Chualpay scalp-dance. _Kane's Wand._, p. 315. Religious songs. _Dunn's Oregon_, pp. 338-40; _Palmer's Jour._, p. 124.

[415] De Smet thinks inhaling tobacco smoke may prevent its injurious effects. _Voy._, p. 207. In all religious ceremonies the pipe of peace is smoked. _Ross' Adven._, pp. 288-9. _Parker's Explor. Tour_, p. 286; _Hines' Voy._, p. 184. 'The medicine-pipe is a sacred pledge of friendship among all the north-western tribes.' _Stevens_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1854, p. 220.

[416] In moving, the girls and small boys ride three or four on a horse with their mothers, while the men drive the herds of horses that run loose ahead. _Lord's Nat._, vol. i., pp. 71-3, 306. Horses left for months without a guard, and rarely stray far. They call this 'caging' them. _De Smet_, _Voy._, pp. 187, 47, 56. 'Babies of fifteen months old, packed in a sitting posture, rode along without fear, grasping the reins with their tiny hands.' _Stevens_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. xii., pt. ii., p. 130, with plate; _Gibbs_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. i., pp. 404-5; _Palliser's Rept._, p. 73; _Farnham's Trav._, pp. 81-; _Domenech's Deserts_, vol. ii., p. 64; _Irving's Astoria_, p. 365; _Franchère's Nar._, pp. 269-71; _Cox's Adven._, vol. ii., pp. 110-11.

[417] 'L'aigle ... est le grand oiseau de médecine.' _De Smet_, _Voy._, pp. 46, 205; _Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. iv., pp. 494-5; _Stevens_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1854, p. 212, and in _De Smet's West. Miss._, pp. 285-6; _Suckley_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. i., p. 297; _Hale's Ethnog._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. vi., p. 208-9; _Ross' Fur Hunters_, vol. i., p. 64, vol. ii., p. 19; _Kane's Wand._, pp. 267, 280-1, 318.

[418] _Lewis and Clarke's Trav._, pp. 343-4; _Parker's Explor. Tour_, pp. 241-2; _Ross' Adven._, pp. 311-12.

[419] The Walla Wallas receive bad news with a howl. The Spokanes 'cache' their salmon. They are willing to change names with any one they esteem. 'Suicide prevails more among the Indians of the Columbia River than in any other portion of the continent which I have visited.' _Kane's Wand._, pp. 282-3, 307-10. 'Preserve particular order in their movements. The first chief leads the way, the next chiefs follow, then the common men, and after these the women and children.' They arrange themselves in similar order in coming forward to receive visitors. Do not usually know their own age. _Parker's Explor. Tour_, pp. 87, 133-4, 242. Distance is calculated by time; a day's ride is seventy miles on horseback, thirty-five miles on foot. _Ross' Adven._, p. 329. Natives can tell by examining arrows to what tribe they belong. _Ross' Fur Hunters_, vol. ii., p. 167. Kliketats and Yakimas often unwilling to tell their name. _Gibbs_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. i., p. 405. 'D'après toutes les observations que j'ai faites, leur journée équivaut à peu près à cinquante ou soixante milles anglais lorsqu'ils voyagent seuls, et à quinze ou vingt milles seulement lorsqu'ils lèvent leur camps.' _De Smet_, _Voy._, p. 205. Among the Nez Percés everything was promulgated by criers. 'The office of crier is generally filled by some old man, who is good for little else. A village has generally several.' _Irving's Bonneville's Adven._, p. 286. Habits of worship of the Flatheads in the missions. _Dunn's Oregon_, pp. 315-6. 'A pack of prick-eared curs, simply tamed prairie wolves, always in attendance.' _Lord's Nat._, vol. i., pp. 71-3.

[420] The Nez Percés 'are generally healthy, the only disorders which we have had occasion to remark being of scrophulous kind.' With the Sokulks 'a bad soreness of the eyes is a very common disorder.' 'Bad teeth are very general.' The Chilluckittequaws' diseases are sore eyes, decayed teeth, and tumors. The Walla Wallas have ulcers and eruptions of the skin, and occasionally rheumatism. The Chopunnish had 'scrofula, rheumatism, and sore eyes,' and a few have entirely lost the use of their limbs. _Lewis and Clarke's Trav._, pp. 341, 352, 382, 531, 549. The medicine-man uses a medicine-bag of relics in his incantations. _Parker's Explor. Tour_, pp. 240-1. The Okanagan medicine-men are called _tlaquillaughs_, and 'are men generally past the meridian of life; in their habits grave and sedate.' 'They possess a good knowledge of herbs and roots, and their virtues.' I have often 'seen him throw out whole mouthfuls of blood, and yet not the least mark would appear on the skin.' 'I once saw an Indian who had been nearly devoured by a grizzly bear, and had his skull split open in several places, and several pieces of bone taken out just above the brain, and measuring three-fourths of an inch in length, cured so effectually by one of these jugglers, that in less than two months after he was riding on his horse again at the chase. I have also seen them cut open the belly with a knife, extract a large quantity of fat from the inside, sew up the part again, and the patient soon after perfectly recovered.' The most frequent diseases are 'indigestion, fluxes, asthmas, and consumptions.' Instances of longevity rare. _Ross' Adven._, pp. 302-8. A desperate case of consumption cured by killing a dog each day for thirty-two days, ripping it open and placing the patient's legs in the warm intestines, administering some barks meanwhile. The Flatheads subject to few diseases; splints used for fractures, bleeding with sharp flints for contusions, ice-cold baths for ordinary rheumatism, and vapor bath with cold plunge for chronic rheumatism. _Cox's Adven._, vol. ii., pp. 90-3, vol. i., pp. 248-51. Among the Walla Wallas convalescents are directed to sing some hours each day. The Spokanes require all garments, etc., about the death-bed to be buried with the body, hence few comforts for the sick. _Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. iv., pp. 426-7, 485. The Flatheads say their wounds cure themselves. _De Smet_, _Voy._, pp. 198-200. The Wascos cure rattlesnake bites by salt applied to the wound or by whisky taken internally. _Kane's Wand._, pp. 265, 273, 317-18. A female doctor's throat cut by the father of a patient she had failed to cure. _Hines' Voy._, p. 190. The office of medicine-men among the Sahaptins is generally hereditary. Men often die from fear of a medicine-man's evil glance. Rival doctors work on the fears of patients to get each other killed. Murders of doctors somewhat rare among the Nez Percés. _Alvord_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. v., pp. 652-3, 655. Small-pox seems to have come among the Yakimas and Kliketats before direct intercourse with whites. _Gibbs_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. i., pp. 405, 408. A Nez Percé doctor killed by a brother of a man who had shot himself in mourning for his dead relative; the brother in turn killed, and several other lives lost. _Ross' Fur Hunters_, vol. i., p. 239.

[421] The Sokulks wrap the dead in skins, bury them in graves, cover with earth, and mark the grave by little pickets of wood struck over and about it. On the Columbia below the Snake was a shed-tomb sixty by twelve feet, open at the ends, standing east and west. Recently dead bodies wrapped in leather and arranged on boards at the west end. About the centre a promiscuous heap of partially decayed corpses; and at eastern end a mat with twenty-one skulls arranged in a circle. Articles of property suspended on the inside and skeletons of horses scattered outside. About the Dalles eight vaults of boards eight feet square, and six feet high, and all the walls decorated with pictures and carvings. The bodies were laid east and west. _Lewis and Clarke's Trav._, pp. 344-5, 359-60, 379-80, 557-8. Okanagans observe silence about the death-bed, but the moment the person dies the house is abandoned, and clamorous mourning is joined in by all the camp for some hours; then dead silence while the body is wrapped in a new garment, brought out, and the lodge torn down. Then alternate mourning and silence, and the deceased is buried in a sitting posture in a round hole. Widows must mourn two years, incessantly for some months, then only morning and evening. _Ross' Adven._, pp. 321-2. Frantic mourning, cutting the flesh, etc., by Nez Percés. _Ross' Fur Hunters_, vol. i., pp. 234-5, 238-9, vol. ii., p. 139. Destruction of horses and other property by Spokanes. _Cox's Adven._, vol. i., pp. 200-1. A Shushwap widow instigates the murder of a victim as a sacrifice to her husband. The horses of a Walla Walla chief not used after his death. _Kane's Wand._, pp. 178-9, 264-5, 277, 289. Hundreds of Wasco bodies piled in a small house on an island, just below the Dalles. A Walla Walla chief caused himself to be buried alive in the grave of his last son. _Hines' Voy._, pp. 159, 184-8. Among the Yakimas and Kliketats the women do the mourning, living apart for a few days, and then bathing. Okanagan bodies strapped to a tree. Stone mounds over Spokane graves. _Gibbs and Stevens_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. i., pp. 405, 413, vol. xii., pt. i., p. 150. Pend d'Oreilles buried old and young alive when unable to take care of them. _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1854, pp. 211, 238. 'High conical stacks of drift-wood' over Walla Walla graves. _Townsend's Nar._, p. 157. Shushwaps often deposit dead in trees. If in the ground, always cover grave with stones. _Mayne's B. C._, p. 304. Killing a slave by Wascos. _White's Ogn._, pp. 260-3. Dances and prayers for three days at Nez Percé chief's burial. _Irving's Bonneville's Adven._, p. 283. Burying infant with parents by Flatheads. _De Smet_, _Voy._, p. 173. Light wooden pilings about Shushwap graves. _Milton and Cheadle's Northw. Pass._, p. 242; _Alvord_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. v., p. 655; _Parker's Explor. Tour_, p. 104; _Palmer_, in _B. C. Papers_, pt. iii., p. 85; _Gass' Jour._, p. 219; _Ind. Life_, p. 55; _Tolmie_, in _Lord's Nat._, vol. ii., pp. 237-8, 260-1.

[422] Sokulks 'of a mild and peaceable disposition,' respectful to old age. Chilluckittequaws 'unusually hospitable and good humoured.' Chopunnish 'the most amiable we have seen. Their character is placid and gentle, rarely moved into passion.' 'They are indeed selfish and avaricious.' Will pilfer small articles. _Lewis and Clarke's Trav._, pp. 338, 341, 351, 376, 556-8, 564. The Flatheads 'se distinguent par la civilité, l'honnétété, et la bonté.' _De Smet_, _Voy._, pp. 31-2, 38-40, 47-50, 166-74, 202-4. Flatheads 'the best Indians of the mountains and the plains,--honest, brave, and docile.' Kootenais 'men of great docility and artlessness of character.' _Stevens and Hoecken_, in _De Smet's West. Miss._, pp. 281, 284, 290, 300. Coeurs d'Alène selfish and poor-spirited. _De Smet_, _Miss. de l'Orégon_, p. 329. In the Walla Wallas 'an air of open unsuspecting confidence,' 'natural politeness,' no obtrusive familiarity. Flatheads 'frank and hospitable.' Except cruelty to captives have 'fewer failings than any of the tribes I ever met.' Brave, quiet, and amenable to their chiefs. Spokanes 'quiet, honest, inoffensive,' but rather indolent. 'Thoughtless and improvident.' Okanagans 'Indolent rascals;' 'an honest and quiet tribe.' Sanspoils dirty, slothful, dishonest, quarrelsome, etc. Coeurs d'Alène 'uniformly honest;' 'more savage than their neighbours.' Kootenais honest, brave, jealous, truthful. Kamloops 'thieving and quarrelling.' _Cox's Adven._, vol. i., pp. 145, 148, 192, 199, 239-40, 262-3, 344, vol. ii., pp. 44, 87-8, 109, 145-60. Okanagans active and industrious, revengeful, generous and brave. _Ross' Adven._, pp. 142, 290-5, 327-9. Skeen 'a hardy, brave people.' Cayuses far more vicious and ungovernable than the Walla Wallas. Nez Percés treacherous and villainous. _Kane's Wand._, pp. 263, 280, 290, 307-8, 315. Nez Percés 'a quiet, civil, people, but proud and haughty.' _Palmer's Jour._, pp. 128, 48, 53, 59, 61, 124-7. 'Kind to each other.' 'Cheerful and often gay, sociable, kind and affectionate, and anxious to receive instruction.' 'Lying scarcely known.' _Parker's Explor. Tour_, pp. 97, 105, 232, 239, 303-4, 311-12. Of the Nicutemuchs 'the habitual vindictiveness of their character is fostered by the ceaseless feuds.' 'Nearly every family has a minor vendetta of its own.' 'The races that depend entirely or chiefly on fishing, are immeasurably inferior to those tribes who, with nerves and sinews braced by exercise, and minds comparatively ennobled by frequent excitement, live constantly amid war and the chase.' _Anderson_, in _Hist. Mag._, vol. vii., pp. 77-80. Inland tribes of British Columbia less industrious and less provident than the more sedentary coast Indians. _Mayne's B. C._, pp. 301, 297. Sahaptins 'cold, taciturn, high-tempered, warlike, fond of hunting.' Palouse, Yakimas, Kliketats, etc., of a 'less hardy and active temperament' than the Nez Percés. _Hale's Ethnog._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. vi., pp. 199, 210-13. Cayuses 'dreaded by their neighbors on account of their courage and warlike spirit.' Walla Wallas 'notorious as thieves since their first intercourse with whites.' 'Indolent, superstitious, drunken and debauched.' Character of Flatheads, Pend d'Oreilles, Umatillas. _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1854, pp. 207-9, 211, 218, 223, 282, 1861, pp. 164-5. Yakimas and Kliketats 'much superior to the river Indians.' _Stevens_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. i., pp. 405, 298, 403, 416, vol. xii., pt. i., p. 139. Wascos 'exceedingly vicious.' _Hines' Voy._, pp. 159, 169. The Nez Percés 'are, certainly, more like a nation of saints than a horde of savages.' Skyuses, Walla Wallas. _Irving's Bonneville's Adven._, pp. 101, 287, 289-90, 300. Tushepaws; _Irving's Astoria_, p. 316. Thompson River Indians rather a superior and clever race. _Victoria Colonist_, Oct., 1860. 'Indians from the Rocky mountains to the falls of Columbia, are an honest, ingenuous, and well disposed people,' but rascals below the falls. _Gass' Jour._, p. 304. Flathead 'fierceness and barbarity in war could not be exceeded.' _Nicolay's Ogn. Ter._, p. 153. Flatheads, Walla Wallas and Nez Percés; _Gray's Hist. Ogn._, pp. 171, 219. Kootenais; _Palliser's Explor._, pp. 44, 73. Salish, Walla Wallas; _Domenech's Deserts_, vol. i., p. 88, vol. ii., p. 64. Walla Wallas, Cayuses, and Nez Percés; _White's Oregon_, p. 174. Walla Wallas, Kootenais; _Lord's Nat._, vol. ii., pp. 85, 178. Flatheads, Nez Percés; _Dunn's Oregon_, pp. 311, 315, 326-8. Nez Percés; _Catlin's N. Am. Ind._, vol. ii., p. 109; _Franchère's Nar._, p. 268. Kayuses, Walla Wallas; _Townsend's Nar._, p. 156. Sahaptins; _Wilkes' Hist. Ogn._, p. 106. Nez Percés; _Hastings' Emigrants' Guide_, p. 59. Flatheads; _Ind. Life_, pp. ix., x., 25. At Dalles; _Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. iv., p. 412. Shushwaps; _Grant's Ocean to Ocean_, pp. 288-304, 313. At Dalles; _Hunt_, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1821, tom. x., p. 82; _Stuart_, in _Id._, 1821, tom. xii., p. 43. Pend d'Oreilles; _Joset_, in _Id._, 1849, tom. cxxiii., pp. 334-40.