The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft Part 35

_Irving's Bonneville's Adven._, p. 301, 388. Okanagans live extensively on moss made into bread. The Nez Perces also eat moss. _Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. iv., pp. 462, 494. Pend d'Oreilles at the last extremity live on pine-tree moss; also collect camash, bitter-roots, and sugar pears. _Stevens_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1854, p. 211, 214-15. 'I never saw any berry in the course of my travels which the Indians scruple to eat, nor have I seen any ill effect from their doing so.'

_Kane's Wand._, p. 327. The Kootenai food in September 'appears to be almost entirely berries; namely, the "sasketoom" of the Crees, a delicious fruit, and a small species of cherry, also a sweet root which they obtain to the southward.' _Blakiston_, in _Palliser's Explor._, p.

73. Flatheads dig _konah_, 'bitter root' in May. It is very nutritious and very bitter. _Pahseego_, camas, or 'water seego,' is a sweet, gummy, bulbous root. _Stuart's Montana_, pp. 57-8. Colvilles cut down pines for their moss (alectoria?). Kamas also eaten. _Pickering's Races_, in _U.

S. Ex. Ex._, vol. ix., p. 34. The Shushwaps eat moss and lichens, chiefly the black lichen, or _whyelkine_. _Mayne's B. C._, p. 301; _Parker's Explor. Tour_, p. 127. The Salish in March and April eat _popkah_, an onion-like bulb; in May, _spatlam_, a root like vermicelli; in June and July, _itwha_, like roasted chestnuts; in August, wild fruits; in September, _marani_, a grain. _Domenech's Deserts_, vol. ii., p. 312.

[393] At the Dalles 'during the fis.h.i.+ng season, the Indians live entirely on the heads, hearts and offal of the salmon, which they string on sticks, and roast over a small fire.' Besides pine-moss, the Okanagans use the seed of the balsam oriza pounded into meal, called _mielito_. 'To this is added the _siffleurs_.' Berries made into cakes by the Nez Perces. _Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. iv., pp.

410, 462, 494. Quamash, 'eaten either in its natural state, or boiled into a kind of soup, or made into a cake, which is then called pasheco.'

_Lewis and Clarke's Trav._, pp. 330, 353, 365, 369. Women's head-dress serves the Flatheads for cooking, etc. _De Smet_, _Voy._, pp. 47, 193-9; _Id._, _Missions de l'Oregon_, pp. 75-6. 'The dog's tongue is the only dish-cloth known' to the Okanagans. Pine-moss cooked, or _squill-ape_, will keep for years. 'At their meals they generally eat separately and in succession--man, woman and child.' _Ross' Adven._, pp. 132-3, 295, 317-18. 'Most of their food is roasted, and they excel in roasting fish.' _Parker's Explor. Tour_, pp. 231, 107. 'Pine moss, which they boil till it is reduced to a sort of glue or black paste, of a sufficient consistence to take the form of biscuit.' _Franchere's Nar._, p. 279. Couse tastes like parsnips, is dried and pulverized, and sometimes boiled with meat. _Alvord_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. v., p. 656. Root bread on the Clearwater tastes like that made of pumpkins.

_Ga.s.s' Jour._, pp. 202-3. Kamas after coming from the kiln is 'made into large cakes, by being mashed, and pressed together, and slightly baked in the sun.' White-root, pulverized with stones, moistened and sun-baked, tastes not unlike stale biscuits. _Townsend's Nar._, pp.

126-7. Camas and sun-flower seed mixed with salmon-heads caused in the eater great distension of the stomach. _Remy and Brenchley's Jour._, vol. ii., pp. 509-11. _Sowete_, is the name of the mixture last named, among the Cayuses. _c.o.ke's Rocky Mts._, p. 310; _Ind. Life_, p. 41; _Stuart's Montana_, pp. 57-8; _Pickering's Races_, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. ix., p. 34; _Kane's Wand._, pp. 272-3; _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1854, pp.

214-15.

[394] Additional notes and references on procuring food. The Okanagans break up winter quarters in February; wander about in small bands till June. a.s.semble on the river and divide into two parties of men and two of women for fis.h.i.+ng 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 Perces 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. _c.o.x's Adven._, vol. i., p. 201, vol. ii., p. 145. The Kayuse live on fish, game, and cama.s.s bread. _De Smet_, _Voy._, pp. 30-1. 'Ils cultivent avec succes le ble, les patates, les pois et plusieurs autres legumes et fruits.' _Id._, _Miss. de l'Oregon._, 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-c.o.c.ks, 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 Perces; 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. _Ga.s.s'

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; _c.o.x's Adven._, vol. i., pp. 197-9, 358, vol. ii., pp. 155, 373, 375; _c.o.ke'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 tres-elastique, 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; _c.o.x'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.

_c.o.x'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 Perces 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 inst.i.tuted 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 a.s.sist 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 isingla.s.s 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.' _Franchere's Nar._, pp. 269-70; _Palmer's Jour._, p. 129; _Irving's Astoria_, p. 317, 365; _c.o.x's Adven._, vol.

i., pp. 148-9.

[399] 'The white-pine bark is a very good subst.i.tute 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 s.p.a.ce 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 princ.i.p.ale des sauvages de l'ouest consiste en chevaux.' _De Smet_, _Voy._, pp. 47, 56. At an a.s.semblage 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 Perces.' _c.o.x'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 Perces '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 Perce horses 'are princ.i.p.ally 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; _Ga.s.s' 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 fis.h.i.+ng, go down to the falls with skins, mats, silk-gra.s.s, rushes and chapelell bread. Here they meet the mountain tribes from the Kooskooskie (Clearwater) and Lewis rivers, who bring bear-gra.s.s, 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 sh.e.l.ls 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 Perces 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; _c.o.x's Adven._, vol. ii., pp. 88-9, 156; _Palmer's Jour._, pp. 46, 54; _Dunniway's Capt.

Gray's Comp._, p. 160; _c.o.ke's Rocky Mts._, p. 294; _Mayne's B. C._, p.

299; _Ga.s.s' 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 neanmoins avec precision, sur des ecorces d'arbres ou sur des peaux le plan, des pays qu'ils ont parcourus, marquant les distances par journees, demi-journees ou quarts de journees.' _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, cama.s.s-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 splchaskat, _septem dies_, plures vero hebdomadas per s'chaxeus, 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 chieftains.h.i.+p 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 fis.h.i.+ng-season. _Kane's Wand._, pp. 309-13.

The Nez Perces 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 princ.i.p.al chief is hereditary. _c.o.x'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 Perces 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 Perces 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'Alene '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 Perces 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. _c.o.x's Adven._, vol. ii., pp. 155, 379, vol. i., pp. 256-9. Nez Perces 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 prost.i.tution.' _Ga.s.s' Jour._, p. 275. Inland tribes have a reputation for chast.i.ty, probably due to circ.u.mstances rather than to fixed principles. _Mayne's B. C._, p. 300.

Spokanes 'free from the vice of incontinence'. Among the Walla Wallas prost.i.tution is unknown, 'and I believe no inducement would tempt them to commit a breach of chast.i.ty.' Prost.i.tution common on the Fraser.

_c.o.x's Adven._, vol. i., pp. 145, 199-200. Nez Perce women remarkable for their chast.i.ty. _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 Perce 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 k.n.o.b 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; _c.o.x'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 pa.s.sing 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 a.s.sembly; for at these annual gatherings ... feuds and dislikes are for the time laid by.' _Lord's Nat._, vol. i., pp. 72-3.

[410] The princ.i.p.al amus.e.m.e.nt of the Okanagans is gambling, 'at which they are not so quarrelsome as the Spokans and other tribes,' disputes being settled by arbitration. _c.o.x'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 porte les jeux de hasard au dernier exces. Apres avoir perdu tout ce qu'ils ont, ils se mettent eux-memes 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 tete 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 amus.e.m.e.nts 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.