The Native Races (Complete 5 Part Edition). Hubert Howe Bancroft
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