The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 1, Wild Tribes

323

The Nootsaks, 'like all inland tribes, they subsist principally by the chase.' Coleman, in Harper's Mag., vol. xxxix., pp. 795, 799, 815; Ind. Aff. Rept., 1857, p. 328. Sturgeon abound weighing 400 to 600 pounds, and are taken by the Clallams by means of a spear with a handle seventy to eighty feet long, while lying on the bottom of the river in spawning time. Fish-hooks are made of cedar root with bone barbs. Their only vegetables are the camas, wappatoo, and fern roots. Kane's Wand., pp. 213-14, 230-4, 289. At Puget Sound, 'men, women and children were busily engaged like swine, rooting up this beautiful verdant meadow in quest of a species of wild onion, and two other roots, which in appearance and taste greatly resembled the saranne.' Vancouver's Voy., vol. i., pp. 225, 234, 262. In fishing for salmon at Port Discovery 'they have two nets, the drawing and casting net, made of a silky grass,' 'or of the fibres of the roots of trees, or of the inner bark of the white cedar.' Nicolay's Ogn. Ter., p. 147. 'The line is made either of kelp or the fibre of the cypress, and to it is attached an inflated bladder.' Seemann's Voy. Herald, vol. i., p. 109. At Port Townsend, 'leurs provisions, consistaient en poisson séché au soleil ou boucané; … tout rempli de sable.' Rossi, Souvenirs, pp. 182-3, 299. The Clallams 'live by fishing and hunting around their homes, and never pursue the whale and seal as do the sea-coast tribes.' Scammon, in Overland Monthly, vol. vii., p. 278. The Uthlecan or candle-fish is used on Fuca Strait for food as well as candles. Domenech's Deserts, vol. ii., p. 241. Lamprey eels are dried for food and light by the Nisquallies and Chehalis. 'Cammass root, … stored in baskets. It is a kind of sweet squills, and about the size of a small onion. It is extremely abundant on the open prairies, and particularly on those which are overflowed by the small streams.' Cut of salmon fishery, p. 335. 'Hooks are made in an ingenious manner of the yew tree.' 'They are chiefly employed in trailing for fish.' Cut of hooks, pp. 444-5. The Classets make a cut in the nose when a whale is taken. Each seal-skin float has a different pattern painted on it, p. 517. Wilkes' Nar., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. iv., pp. 318-19, 335, 444-5, 517-18. The Chehalis live chiefly on salmon. Id., vol. v., p. 140. According to Swan the Puget Sound Indians sometimes wander as far as Shoalwater Bay in Chinook territory, in the spring. The Queniult Indians are fond of large barnacles, not eaten by the Chinooks of Shoalwater Bay. Cut of a sea-otter hunt. The Indians never catch salmon with a baited hook, but always use the hook as a gaff. N. W. Coast, pp. 59, 87, 92, 163, 264, 271; Thornton's Ogn. and Cal., vol. i., pp. 293-4, 301, 388-9; Ind. Aff. Rept., 1854, p. 241; Dunn's Oregon, pp. 732-5; Stevens, in Pac. R. R. Rept., vol. i., p. 429. 'They all depend upon fish, berries, and roots for a subsistence, and get their living with great ease.' Starling, in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iv., pp. 600-2. The Makahs live 'by catching cod and halibut on the banks north and east of Cape Flattery.' Ind. Aff. Rept., 1858, p. 231. 'When in a state of semi-starvation the beast shows very plainly in them (Stick Indians): they are generally foul feeders, but at such a time they eat anything, and are disgusting in the extreme.' Id., 1858, p. 225; Id., 1860, p. 195; Cornwallis' New El Dorado, p. 97; Lord's Nat., vol. i., pp. 102-5; Hittell, in Hesperian, vol. iii., p. 408; Winthrop's Canoe and Saddle, pp. 33-7; Maurelle's Jour., p. 28.

324

Vancouver's Voy., vol. i., p. 253. At Gray Harbor the bows were somewhat more circular than elsewhere. Id., vol. ii., p. 84; Wilkes' Nar., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. iv., p. 319; Kane's Wand., pp. 209-10.

325

Wilkes' Nar., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. iv., p. 321; Kane's Wand., pp. 231-2; Vancouver's Voy., vol. i., p. 234. 'They have been nearly annihilated by the hordes of northern savages that have infested, and do now, even at the present day, infest our own shores' for slaves. They had fire-arms before our tribes, thus gaining an advantage.' Ind. Aff. Rept., 1857, p. 327; Clark's Lights and Shadows, p. 224.

326

Vancouver's Voy., vol. i., p. 287.

327

'A single thread is wound over rollers at the top and bottom of a square frame, so as to form a continuous woof through which an alternate thread is carried by the hand, and pressed closely together by a sort of wooden comb; by turning the rollers every part of the woof is brought within reach of the weaver; by this means a bag formed, open at each end, which being cut down makes a square blanket.' Kane's Wand., pp. 210-11. Cuts showing the loom and process of weaving among the Nootsaks, also house, canoes, and willow baskets. Coleman, in Harper's Mag., vol. xxxix., pp. 799-800. The Clallams 'have a kind of cur with soft and long white hair, which they shear and mix with a little wool or the ravelings of old blankets.' Stevens, in Pac. R. R. Rept., vol. i., p. 431. The Makahs have 'blankets and capes made of the inner bark of the cedar, and edged with fur.' Ind. Aff. Rept., 1854, pp. 241-2; Wilkes' Nar., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. iv., p. 32. The candle-fish 'furnishes the natives with their best oil, which is extracted by the very simple process of hanging it up, exposed to the sun, which in a few days seems to melt it away.' Thornton's Ogn. and Cal., vol. i., p. 388. They 'manufacture some of their blankets from the wool of the wild goat.' Dunn's Oregon, p. 231. The Queniults showed 'a blanket manufactured from the wool of mountain sheep, which are to be found on the precipitous slopes of the Olympian Mountains.' Alta California, Feb. 9, 1861, quoted in California Farmer, July 25, 1862; Cornwallis' New El Dorado, p. 97; Pickering's Races, in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. ix., p. 26.

328

'They present a model of which a white mechanic might well be proud.' Description of method of making, and cuts of Queniult, Clallam, and Cowlitz canoes, and a Queniult paddle. Swan's N. W. Coast, pp. 79-82. At Port Orchard they 'exactly corresponded with the canoes of Nootka,' while those of some visitors were 'cut off square at each end,' and like those seen below Cape Orford. At Gray Harbor the war canoes 'had a piece of wood rudely carved, perforated, and placed at each end, three feet above the gunwale; through these holes they are able to discharge their arrows.' Vancouver's Voy., vol. i., p. 264; vol. ii., p. 84. The Clallam boats were 'low and straight, and only adapted to the smoother interior waters.' Scammon, in Overland Monthly, vol. vii., p. 278. Cut showing Nootsak canoes in Harper's Mag., vol. xxxix., p. 799. 'The sides are exceedingly thin, seldom exceeding three-fourths of an inch.' To mend the canoe when cracks occur, 'holes are made in the sides, through which withes are passed, and pegged in such a way that the strain will draw it tighter; the withe is then crossed, and the end secured in the same manner. When the tying is finished, the whole is pitched with the gum of the pine.' Wilkes' Nar., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. iv., pp. 320-1. The Clallams have 'a very large canoe of ruder shape and workmanship, being wide and shovel-nosed,' used for the transportation of baggage. Ind. Aff. Rept., 1854, p. 243; Stevens, in Pac. R. R. Rept., vol. i., pp. 430-1; Seemann's Voy. Herald, vol. i., p. 108; Pickering's Races, in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. ix., pp. 25-6; Winthrop's Canoe and Saddle, p. 20; Clark's Lights and Shadows, pp. 224-6.

329

Kane's Wand., pp. 237-9; Ind. Aff. Rept., 1862, p. 409; Starling, in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iv., p. 601; Pickering's Races, in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. ix., p. 26.

330

'Ils obéissent à un chef, qui n'exerce son pouvoir qu'en temps de guerre.' Rossi, Souvenirs, p. 299. At Gray Harbor 'they appeared to be divided into three different tribes, or parties, each having one or two chiefs.' Vancouver's Voy., vol. ii., p. 84. Wilkes met a squaw chief at Nisqually, who 'seemed to exercise more authority than any that had been met with.' 'Little or no distinction of rank seems to exist among them; the authority of the chiefs is no longer recognized.' Wilkes' Nar., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. iv., p. 444; vol. v., p. 131. Yellow-cum had become chief of the Makahs from his own personal prowess. Kane's Wand., pp. 237-9; Ind. Aff. Rept., 1857, pp. 327-8.

331

Sproat's Scenes, p. 92; Simpson's Overland Journ., vol. i., pp. 242-3; Kane's Wand., pp. 214-15. The Nooksaks 'have no slaves.' Ind. Aff. Rept., 1857, pp. 327-8; Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iv., p. 601. It is said 'that the descendants of slaves obtain freedom at the expiration of three centuries.' Pickering's Races, in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. ix., p. 28.

332

The Makahs have some marriage ceremonies, 'such as going through the performance of taking the whale, manning a canoe, and throwing the harpoon into the bride's house.' Ind. Aff. Rept., p. 242. The Nooksak women 'are very industrious, and do most of the work, and procure the principal part of their sustenance.' Id., 1857, p. 327. 'The women have not the slightest pretension to virtue.' Id., 1858, p. 225; Siwash Nuptials, in Olympia Washington Standard, July 30, 1870. In matters of trade the opinion of the women is always called in, and their decision decides the bargain. Seemann's Voy. Herald, vol. i., p. 108. 'The whole burden of domestic occupation is thrown upon them.' Cut of the native baby-jumper. Wilkes' Nar., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. iv., pp. 319-20, 361. At Gray Harbor they were not jealous. At Port Discovery they offered their children for sale. Vancouver's Voy., vol. i., p. 231; vol. ii., pp. 83-4. 'Rarely having more than three or four' children. Swan's N. W. Coast, p. 266; Clark's Lights and Shadows, pp. 224-6.

333

Wilkes' Nar., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. iv., pp. 320, 444; Rossi, Souvenirs, pp. 298-9; San Francisco Bulletin, May 24, 1859.

334

Vancouver's Voy., vol. i., pp. 263, 270. The Lummi 'are a very superstitious tribe, and pretend to have traditions – legends handed down to them by their ancestors.' 'No persuasion or pay will induce them to kill an owl or eat a pheasant.' Ind. Aff. Rept., 1857, pp. 327-8; Kane's Wand., pp. 216-17, 229. No forms of salutation. Pickering's Races, in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. ix., pp. 23-4; Winthrop's Canoe and Saddle, pp. 21-2.

335

Among the Skagits 'Dr. Holmes saw an old man in the last stage of consumption, shivering from the effects of a cold bath at the temperature of 40° Fahrenheit. A favourite remedy in pulmonary consumption is to tie a rope tightly around the thorax, so as to force the diaphram to perform respiration without the aid of the thoracic muscles.' Wilkes' Nar., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. iv., p. 512. Among the Clallams, to cure a girl of a disease of the side, after stripping the patient naked, the medicine-man, throwing off his blanket, 'commenced singing and gesticulating in the most violent manner, whilst the others kept time by beating with little sticks on hollow wooden bowls and drums, singing continually. After exercising himself in this manner for about half an hour, until the perspiration ran down his body, he darted suddenly upon the young woman, catching hold of her side with his teeth and shaking her for a few minutes, while the patient seemed to suffer great agony. He then relinquished his hold, and cried out that he had got it, at the same time holding his hands to his mouth; after which he plunged them in the water and pretended to hold down with great difficulty the disease which he had extracted.' Kane's Wand., pp. 225-6. Small-pox seemed very prevalent by which many had lost the sight of one eye. Vancouver's Voy., vol. i., p. 242. To cure a cold in the face the Queniults burned certain herbs to a cinder and mixing them with grease, anointed the face. Swan's N. W. Coast, p. 265. Among the Nooksaks mortality has not increased with civilization. 'As yet the only causes of any amount are consumption and the old diseases.' Ind. Aff. Rept., 1857, p. 327. At Neah Bay, 'a scrofulous affection pervades the whole tribe.' The old, sick and maimed are abandoned by their friends to die. Id., 1872, p. 350.

336

Slaves have no right to burial. Kane's Wand., p. 215. At a Queniult burial place 'the different colored blankets and calicoes hung round gave the place an appearance of clothes hung out to dry on a washing day.' Swan's N. W. Coast, p. 267. At Port Orchard bodies were 'wrapped firmly in matting, beneath which was a white blanket, closely fastened round the body, and under this a covering of blue cotton.' At Port Discovery bodies 'are wrapped in mats and placed upon the ground in a sitting posture, and surrounded with stakes and pieces of plank to protect them.' On the Cowlitz the burial canoes are painted with figures, and gifts are not deposited till several months after the funeral. Wilkes' Nar., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. iv., pp. 323, 347-8, 509-10. Among the Nisquallies bodies of relatives are sometimes disinterred at different places, washed, re-wrapped and buried again in one grave. Lord's Nat., vol. ii., pp. 238-9. 'Ornés de rubans de diverses couleurs, de dents de poissons, de chapelets et d'autres brimborions du goût des sauvages.' Rossi, Souvenirs, pp. 74-5. On Penn Cove, in a deserted village, were found 'several sepulchres formed exactly like a centry box. Some of them were open, and contained the skeletons of many young children tied up in baskets.' Vancouver's Voy., vol. i., pp. 254-6, 287; Ind. Aff. Rept., 1854, p. 242; Stevens, in Pac. R. R. Rept., vol. i., p. 429. A correspondent describes a flathead mummy from Puget Sound preserved in San Francisco. 'The eye-balls are still round under the lid; the teeth, the muscles, and tendons perfect, the veins injected with some preserving liquid, the bowels, stomach and liver dried up, but not decayed, all perfectly preserved. The very blanket that entwines him, made of some threads of bark and saturated with a pitchy substance, is entire.' Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. v., p. 693; Pickering's Races, in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. ix., p. 32.

337

'Their native bashfulness renders all squaws peculiarly sensitive to any public notice or ridicule.' Probably the laziest people in the world. The mails are intrusted with safety to Indian carriers, who are perfectly safe from interference on the part of any Indian they may meet. Kane's Wand., p. 209-16, 227-8, 234, 247-8. 'La mémoire locale et personelle du sauvage est admirable; il n'oublie jamais un endroit ni une personne.' Nature seems to have given him memory to supply the want of intelligence. 'Much inclined to vengeance. Those having means may avert vengeance by payments.' Rossi, Souvenirs, pp. 113, 295-9. 'Perfectly indifferent to exposure; decency has no meaning in their language.' Although always begging, they refuse to accept any article not in good condition, calling it Peeshaaak, a term of contempt. Seemann's Voy. Herald, vol. i., pp. 108-9. Murder of a Spanish boat's crew in latitude 47° 20´. Maurelle's Jour., pp. 29, 31. 'Cheerful and well disposed' at Port Orchard. At Strait of Fuca 'little more elevated in their moral qualities than the Fuegians.' At Nisqually, 'addicted to stealing.' 'Vicious and exceedingly lazy, sleeping all day.' The Skagits are catholics, and are more advanced than others in civilization. Wilkes' Nar., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. iv., pp. 317, 444, 510-11, 517. Both at Gray Harbor and Puget Sound they were uniformly civil and friendly, fair and honest in trade. Each tribe claimed that 'the others were bad people and that the party questioned were the only good Indians in the harbor.' Vancouver's Voy., vol. i., p. 256; vol. ii., pp. 83-4. 'The Clallam tribe has always had a bad character, which their intercourse with shipping, and the introduction of whiskey, has by no means improved.' Ind. Aff. Rept., 1854, p. 243. 'The superior courage of the Makahs, as well as their treachery, will make them more difficult of management than most other tribes.' Stevens, in Pac. R. R. Rept., vol. i., p. 429. The Lummis and other tribes at Bellingham Bay have already abandoned their ancient barbarous habits, and have adopted those of civilization. Coleman, in Harper's Mag., vol. xxxix., pp. 795-7; Simpson's Overland Journ., vol. i., pp. 240-2. 'The instincts of these people are of a very degraded character. They are filthy, cowardly, lazy, treacherous, drunken, avaricious, and much given to thieving. The women have not the slightest pretension to virtue.' The Makahs 'are the most independent Indians in my district – they and the Quilleyutes, their near neighbors.' Ind. Aff. Rept., 1858, pp. 225, 231; Id., 1862, p. 390; Id., 1870, p. 20; Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iv., p. 601; Winthrop's Canoe and Saddle, p. 58; Cram's Top. Mem., p. 65.

338

Perhaps the Cascades might more properly be named as the boundary, since the region of the Dalles, from the earliest records, has been the rendezvous for fishing, trading, and gambling purposes, of tribes from every part of the surrounding country, rather than the home of any particular nation.

339

For details see Tribal Boundaries at the end of this chapter. The Chinooks, Clatsops, Wakiakums and Cathlamets, 'resembling each other in person, dress, language, and manners.' The Chinooks and Wakiakums were originally one tribe, and Wakiakum was the name of the chief who seceded with his adherents. Irving's Astoria, pp. 335-6. 'They may be regarded as the distinctive type of the tribes to the north of the Oregon, for it is in them that the peculiarities of the population of these regions are seen in the most striking manner.' Domenech's Deserts, vol. ii., pp. 15-6, 36. All the tribes about the mouth of the Columbia 'appear to be descended from the same stock … and resemble one another in language, dress, and habits.' Ross' Adven., pp. 87-8. The Cathleyacheyachs at the Cascades differ but little from the Chinooks. Id., p. 111. Scouler calls the Columbia tribes Cathlascons, and considers them 'intimately related to the Kalapooiah Family.' Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour., vol. xi., p. 225. The Willamette tribes 'differ very little in their habits and modes of life, from those on the Columbia River.' Hunter's Cap., p. 72. Mofras makes Killimous a general name for all Indians south of the Columbia. Explor., tom. ii., p. 357; Dunn's Oregon, pp. 114-18; Cox's Adven., vol. ii., p. 133. The Nechecolees on the Willamette claimed an affinity with the Eloots at the Narrows of the Columbia. The Killamucks 'resemble in almost every particular the Clatsops and Chinnooks. Lewis and Clarke's Trav., pp. 427, 504. 'Of the Coast Indians that I have seen there seems to be so little difference in their style of living that a description of one family will answer for the whole.' Swan's N. W. Coast, pp. 153-4. 'All the natives inhabiting the southern shore of the Straits, and the deeply indented territory as far and including the tide-waters of the Columbia, may be comprehended under the general term of Chinooks.' Pickering's Races, in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. ix., p. 25.

340

'The race of the Chenooks is nearly run. From a large and powerful tribe … they have dwindled down to about a hundred individuals, … and these are a depraved, licentious, drunken set.' Swan's N. W. Coast, pp. 108-10. The Willopahs 'may be considered as extinct, a few women only remaining.' Stevens, in Pac. R. R. Rept., vol. i., p. 428; Mofras, Explor., tom. ii., p. 351; Ind. Aff. Rept., 1854, pp. 239-40; Lord's Nat., vol. i., p. 354; vol. ii., p. 217; De Smet, Missions de l'Orégon, pp. 163-4; Kane's Wand., pp. 173-6, 196-7; Irving's Astoria, pp. 335-6; Fitzgerald's Hud. B. Co., pp. 170-2; Hines' Oregon, pp. 103-19, 236; Thornton's Ogn. and Cal., vol. ii., pp. 52-3; Domenech's Deserts, vol. ii., p. 36; Palmer's Jour., pp. 84, 87; Parker's Explor. Tour, pp. 191-2. 'In the Wallamette valley, their favorite country, … there are but few remnants left, and they are dispirited and broken-hearted.' Robertson's Oregon, p. 130.

341

'The personal appearance of the Chinooks differs so much from that of the aboriginal tribes of the United States, that it was difficult at first to recognize the affinity.' Pickering's Races, in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. ix., p. 27. 'There are no two nations in Europe so dissimilar as the tribes to the north and those to the south of the Columbia.' Domenech's Deserts, vol. i., p. 88; vol. ii., p. 36. 'Thick set limbs,' north; 'slight,' south. Id., vol. i., p. 88; vol. ii., p. 16. 'Very inferior in muscular power.' Id., vol. ii., pp. 15-16. 'Among the ugliest of their race. They are below the middle size, with squat, clumsy forms.' Hale's Ethnog., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. vi., pp. 198, 216. The men from five feet to five feet six inches high, with well-shaped limbs; the women six to eight inches shorter, with bandy legs, thick ankles, broad, flat feet, loose hanging breasts. Cox's Adven., vol. i., pp. 303-4. 'A diminutive race, generally below five feet five inches, with crooked legs and thick ankles.' 'Broad, flat feet.' Irving's Astoria, pp. 87, 336. 'But not deficient in strength or activity.' Nicolay's Oregon, p. 145. Men 'stout, muscular and strong, but not tall;' women 'of the middle size, but very stout and flabby, with short necks and shapeless limbs.' Ross' Adven., pp. 89-93. At Cape Orford none exceed five feet six inches; 'tolerably well limbed, though slender in their persons.' Vancouver's Voy., vol. i., p. 204. The Willamette tribes were somewhat larger and better shaped than those of the Columbia and the coast. Lewis and Clarke's Trav., pp. 425, 436-7, 504, 508. Hunter's Cap., pp. 70-73; Hines' Voy., pp. 88, 91. 'Persons of the men generally are rather symmetrical; their stature is low, with light sinewy limbs, and remarkably small, delicate hands. The women are usually more rotund, and, in some instances, even approach obesity.' Townsend's Nar., p. 178. 'Many not even five feet.' Franchère's Nar., pp. 240-1. Can endure cold, but not fatigue; sharp sight and hearing, but obtuse smell and taste. 'The women are uncouth, and from a combination of causes appear old at an early age. Parker's Explor. Tour, pp. 244-5. 'The Indians north of the Columbia are, for the most part good-looking, robust men, some of them having fine, symmetrical, forms. They have been represented as diminutive, with crooked legs and uncouth features. This is not correct; but, as a general rule, the direct reverse is the truth.' Swan's N. W. Coast, p. 154; Dunn's Oregon, pp. 122-3.