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

389

The Sokulk houses 'generally of a square or oblong form, varying in length from fifteen to sixty feet, and supported in the inside by poles or forks about six feet high.' The roof is nearly flat. The Echeloot and Chilluckittequaw houses were of the Chinook style, partially sunk in the ground. The Nez Percés live in houses built 'of straw and mats, in the form of the roof of a house.' One of these 'was one hundred and fifty-six feet long, and about fifteen wide, closed at the ends, and having a number of doors on each side.' Lewis and Clarke's Trav., pp. 340, 351, 369-70, 381-2, 540. Nez Percé dwellings twenty to seventy feet long and from ten to fifteen feet wide; free from vermin. Flathead houses conical but spacious, made of buffalo and moose skins over long poles. Spokane lodges oblong or conical, covered with skins or mats. Cox's Adven., vol. i., pp. 148, 192, 200. Nez Percé and Cayuse lodges 'composed of ten long poles, the lower ends of which are pointed and driven into the ground; the upper blunt and drawn together at the top by thongs' covered with skins. 'Universally used by the mountain Indians while travelling.' Umatillas live in 'shantys or wigwams of driftwood, covered with buffalo or deer skins.' Klicatats 'in miserable loose hovels.' Townsend's Nar., pp. 104-5, 156, 174. Okanagan winter lodges are long and narrow, 'chiefly of mats and poles, covered over with grass and earth;' dug one or two feet below the surface; look like the roof of a common house set on the ground. Ross' Adven., pp. 313-4. On the Yakima River 'a small canopy, hardly sufficient to shelter a sheep, was found to contain four generations of human beings.' Pickering's Races, in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. ix., pp. 34, 37. On the Clearwater 'there are not more than four lodges in a place or village, and these small camps or villages are eight or ten miles apart.' 'Summer lodges are made of willows and flags, and their winter lodges of split pine.' Gass' Jour., pp. 212, 221, 223. 'At Kettle Falls, the lodges are of rush mats.' 'A flooring is made of sticks, raised three or four feet from the ground, leaving the space beneath it entirely open, and forming a cool, airy, and shady place, in which to hang their salmon.' Kane's Wand., pp. 309, 272-3. The Pend d'Oreilles roll their tent-mats into cylindrical bundles for convenience in traveling. Stevens, in Ind. Aff. Rept., 1854, pp. 215, 238, 282. Barnhart, in Id., 1862, p. 271. The Shushwap den is warm but 'necessarily unwholesome, and redolent … of anything but roses.' Anderson, in Hist. Mag., vol. vii., p. 77. Yakimas, 'rude huts covered with mats.' Gibbs, in Pac. R. R. Rept., vol. i., p. 407. Shushwaps erect rude slants of bark or matting; have no tents or houses. Milton and Cheadle's N. W. Pass., p. 242. From the swamps south of Flatbow Lake, 'the Kootanie Indians obtain the klusquis or thick reed, which is the only article that serves them in the construction of their lodges,' and is traded with other tribes. Sullivan, in Palliser's Explor., p. 15. In winter the Salish cover their mats with earth. Hale's Ethnog., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. vi., p. 207. Flag huts of the Walla Wallas. Farnham's Trav., p. 85; Mullan's Rept., pp. 49-50; Palmer's Jour., p. 61; Coke's Rocky Mts., p. 295; Irving's Astoria, pp. 315, 319; Id., Bonneville's Adven., p. 301; De Smet, Voy., p. 185; Id., West. Missions, p. 284; Lord's Nat., vol. ii., pp. 105-6. Hunt, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., tom. x., 1821, pp. 74-5, 79.

390

Natives begin to assemble at Kettle Falls about three weeks before the salmon begin to run; feuds are laid by; horse-racing, gambling, love-making, etc., occupy the assembly; and the medicine-men are busy working charms for a successful season. The fish are cut open, dried on poles over a small fire, and packed in bales. On the Fraser each family or village fishes for itself; near the mouth large gaff-hooks are used, higher up a net managed between two canoes. All the principal Indian fishing-stations on the Fraser are below Fort Hope. For sturgeon a spear seventy to eighty feet long is used. Cut of sturgeon-fishing. Lord's Nat., vol. i., pp. 71-6, 181, 184-6. The Pend d'Oreilles 'annually construct a fence which reaches across the stream, and guides the fish into a weir or rack,' on Clarke River, just above the lake. The Walla Walla 'fisheries at the Dalles and the falls, ten miles above, are the finest on the river.' The Yakima weirs constructed 'upon horizontal spars, and supported by tripods of strong poles erected at short distances apart; two of the logs fronting up stream, and one supporting them below;' some fifty or sixty yards long. The salmon of the Okanagan were 'of a small species, which had assumed a uniform red color.' 'The fishery at the Kettle Falls is one of the most important on the river, and the arrangements of the Indians in the shape of drying-scaffolds and store-houses are on a corresponding scale.' Ind. Aff. Rept., 1854, pp. 214, 223, 231, 233; Gibbs, in Pac. R. R. Rept., vol. i., pp. 407-8. The salmon chief at Kettle Falls distributes the fish among the people, every one, even the smallest child, getting an equal share. Kane's Wand., pp. 311-14. On Des Chutes River 'they spear the fish with barbed iron points, fitted loosely by sockets to the ends of poles about eight feet long,' to which they are fastened by a thong about twelve feet long. Abbott, in Pac. R. R. Rept., vol. vi., p. 90. On the upper Columbia an Indian 'cut off a bit of his leathern shirt, about the size of a small bean; then pulling out two or three hairs from his horse's tail for a line, tied the bit of leather to one end of it, in place of a hook or fly.' Ross' Adven., pp. 132-3. At the mouth of Flatbow River 'a dike of round stones, which runs up obliquely against the main stream, on the west side, for more than one hundred yards in length, resembling the foundation of a wall.' Similar range on the east side, supposed to be for taking fish at low water. Ross' Fur Hunters, vol. ii., pp. 165-6. West of the Rocky Mountains they fish 'with great success by means of a kind of large basket suspended from a long cord.' Domenech's Deserts, vol. ii., pp. 240-1. On Powder River they use the hook as a gaff. Coke's Rocky Mts., p. 283. A Wasco spears three or four salmon of twenty to thirty pounds each in ten minutes. Remy and Brenchley's Jour., vol. ii., p. 506. No salmon are taken above the upper falls of the Columbia. Thornton's Ogn. and Cal., vol. i., p. 392. Walla Walla fish-weirs 'formed of two curtains of small willow switches matted together with withes of the same plant, and extending across the river in two parallel lines, six feet asunder. These are supported by several parcels of poles, … and are either rolled up or let down at pleasure for a few feet… A seine of fifteen or eighteen feet in length is then dragged down the river by two persons, and the bottom drawn up against the curtain of willows.' Lewis and Clarke's Trav., p. 532. Make fishing-nets of flax. Parker's Explor. Tour, p. 90. 'The Inland, as well as the Coast, tribes, live to a great extent upon salmon.' Mayne's B. C., p. 242; Nicolay's Ogn. Ter., pp. 152-3. Palouse 'live solely by fishing.' Mullan's Rept., p. 49. Salmon cannot ascend to Coeur d'Alêne Lake. Hale's Ethnog., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. vi., pp. 209-10. Okanagan food 'consists principally of salmon and a small fish which they call carp.' Wilkes' Nar., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. iv., p. 462. The Walla Wallas 'may well be termed the fishermen of the Skyuse camp.' Farnham's Trav., p. 82.

391

The Shushwaps formerly crossed the mountains to the Assinniboine territory. The Okanagans when hunting wear wolf or bear skin caps; there is no bird or beast whose voice they cannot imitate. War and hunting were the Nez Percé occupation; cross the mountains for buffalo. Ross' Fur Hunters, vol. i., pp. 148, 219, 297-8, 305. The chief game of the Nez Percés is the deer, 'and whenever the ground will permit, the favourite hunt is on horseback.' Lewis and Clarke's Trav., p. 555. The Salish live by the chase, on elk, moose, deer, big-horn and bears; make two trips annually, spring to fall, and fall to mid-winter, across the mountains, accompanied by other nations. The Pend d'Oreilles hunt deer in the snow with clubs; have distinct localities for hunting each kind of game. Nez Percés, Flatheads, Coeurs d'Alêne, Spokanes, Pend d'Oreilles, etc., hunt together. Yakimas formerly joined the Flatheads in eastern hunt. Ind. Aff. Rept., 1854, pp. 207-8, 212-15, 218, 225-6. 'Two hunts annually across the mountains – one in April, for the bulls, from which they return in June and July; and another, after about a month's recruit, to kill cows, which have by that time become fat.' Stevens, Gibbs, and Suckley, in Pac. R. R. Rept., vol. i., pp. 415, 408, 296-7, vol. xii., p. 134. Kootenais live by the chase principally. Hutchins, in Ind. Aff. Rept., 1863, p. 455. Spokanes rather indolent in hunting; hunting deer by fire. Cox's Adven., vol. i., pp. 197, vol. ii., pp. 46-7. The Kootenais 'seldom hunt;' there is not much to shoot except wild fowl in fall. Trap beaver and carriboeuf on a tributary of the Kootanie River. Palliser's Explor., pp. 10, 15, 73. Flatheads 'follow the buffalo upon the headwaters of Clarke and Salmon rivers.' Nez Percé women accompany the men to the buffalo-hunt. Parker's Explor. Tour, pp. 107, 311. Kootenais cross the mountains for buffalo. Mayne's B. C., p. 297. Coeurs d'Alêne ditto. Mullan's Rept., p. 49. Half of the Nez Percés 'usually make a trip to the buffalo country for three months.' Wilkes' Nar., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. iv., p. 494. Shushwaps 'live by hunting the bighorns, mountain goats, and marmots.' Milton and Cheadle's N. W. Pass., p. 242. Buffalo never pass to west of the Rocky Mountains. Lord's Nat., vol. ii., p. 179; Kane's Wand., p. 328; De Smet, Voy., pp. 31, 45, 144-5; Ind. Life, pp. 23-4, 34-41; Franchère's Nar., pp. 268-9; Hunt, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., tom. x., 1821, pp. 77-82; Stuart, in Id., tom. xii., pp. 25, 35-6; Joset, in Id., tom. cxxiii., 1849, pp. 334-40.

392

The Kliketats gather and eat peahay, a bitter root boiled into a jelly; n'poolthla, ground into flour; mamum and seekywa, made into bitter white cakes; kamass; calz, a kind of wild sunflower. Tolmie, in Lord's Nat., vol. ii., p. 247. The Flatheads go every spring to Camass Prairie. De Smet, Voy., p. 183. The Kootenais eat kamash and an edible moss. Id., Missions de l'Orégon, pp. 75-6. 'The Cayooses, Nez Percés, and other warlike tribes assemble (in Yakima Valley) every spring to lay in a stock of the favourite kamass and pelua, or sweet potatoes.' Ross' Fur Hunters, vol. i., p. 19. Quamash, round, onion-shaped, and sweet, eaten by the Nez Percés. Lewis and Clarke's Trav., p. 330. Couse root dug in April or May; camas in June and July. Alvord, in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. v., p. 656. The Skyuses 'main subsistence is however upon roots.' The Nez Percés eat kamash, cowish or biscuit root, jackap, aisish, quako, etc. Irving's Bonneville's Adven., p. 301, 388. Okanagans live extensively on moss made into bread. The Nez Percés 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 fishing 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 Percés. 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'Orégon, 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.' Franchère'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. Gass' 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. Coke'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. 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.