Manners, Customs, Occupations, &c., of the Natives on the River
Columbia.
The natives inhabiting on the Columbia, from the mouth of that river to
the falls, that is to say, on a space extending about 250 miles from
east to west, are, generally speaking, of low stature, few of them
passing five feet six inches, and many not even five feet. They pluck
out the beard, in the manner of the other Indians of North America; but
a few of the old men only suffer a tuft to grow upon their chins. On
arriving among them we were exceedingly surprised to see that they had
almost all flattened heads. This configuration is not a natural
deformity, but an effect of art, caused by compression of the skull in
infancy. It shocks strangers extremely, especially at first sight;
nevertheless, among these barbarians it is an indispensable ornament:
and when we signified to them how much this mode of flattening the
forehead appeared to us to violate nature and good taste, they answered
that it was only slaves who had not their heads flattened. The slaves,
in fact, have the usual rounded head, and they are not permitted to
flatten the foreheads of their children, destined to bear the chains of
their sires. The natives of the Columbia procure these slaves from the
neighboring tribes, and from the interior, in exchange for beads and
furs. They treat them with humanity while their services are useful, but
as soon as they become incapable of labor, neglect them and suffer them
to perish of want. When dead, they throw their bodies, without ceremony,
under the stump of an old decayed tree, or drag them to the woods to be
devoured by the wolves and vultures.
The Indians of the Columbia are of a light copper color, active in body,
and, above all, excellent swimmers. They are addicted to theft, or
rather, they make no scruple of laying hands on whatever suits them in
the property of strangers, whenever they can find an opportunity. The
goods and effects of European manufacture are so precious in the eyes of
these barbarians, that they rarely resist the temptation of stealing
them.
These savages are not addicted to intemperance, unlike, in that respect
the other American Indians, if we must not also except the Patagonians,
who, like the Flatheads, regard intoxicating drinks as poisons, and
drunkenness as disgraceful. I will relate a fact in point: one of the
sons of the chief Comcomly being at the establishment one day, some of
the gentlemen amused themselves with making him drink wine, and he was
very soon drunk. He was sick in consequence, and remained in a state of
stupor for two days. The old chief came to reproach us, saying that we
had degraded his son by exposing him to the ridicule of the slaves, and
besought us not to induce him to take strong liquors in future.
The men go entirely naked, not concealing any part of their bodies. Only
in winter they throw over the shoulders a panther's skin, or else a
sort of mantle made of the skins of wood-rats sewed together. In rainy
weather I have seen them wear a mantle of rush mats, like a Roman toga,
or the vestment which a priest wears in celebrating mass; thus equipped,
and furnished with a conical hat made from fibrous roots and
impermeable, they may call themselves rain-proof. The women, in addition
to the mantle of skins, wear a petticoat made of the cedar bark, which
they attach round the girdle, and which reaches to the middle of the
thigh. It is a little longer behind than before, and is fabricated in
the following manner: They strip off the fine bark of the cedar, soak it
as one soaks hemp, and when it is drawn out into fibres, work it into a
fringe; then with a strong cord they bind the fringes together. With so
poor a vestment they contrive to satisfy the requirements of modesty;
when they stand it drapes them fairly enough; and when they squat down
in their manner, it falls between their legs, leaving nothing exposed
but the bare knees and thighs. Some of the younger women twist the
fibres of bark into small cords, knotted at the ends, and so form the
petticoat, disposed in a fringe, like the first, but more easily kept
clean and of better appearance.
Cleanliness is not a virtue among these females, who, in that respect,
resemble the other Indian women of the continent. They anoint the body
and dress the hair with fish oil, which does not diffuse an agreeable
perfume. Their hair (which both sexes wear long) is jet black; it is
badly combed, but parted in the middle, as is the custom of the sex
everywhere, and kept shining by the fish-oil before-mentioned.
Sometimes, in imitation of the men, they paint the whole body with a red
earth mixed with fish-oil. Their ornaments consist of bracelets of
brass, which they wear indifferently on the wrists and ankles; of
strings of beads of different colors (they give a preference to the
blue), and displayed in great profusion around the neck, and on the arms
and legs; and of white shells, called _Haiqua_, which are their ordinary
circulating medium. These shells are found beyond the straits of _Juan
de Fuca_, and are from one to four inches long, and about half an inch
in diameter: they are a little curved and naturally perforated: the
longest are most valued. The price of all commodities is reckoned in
these shells; a fathom string of the largest of them is worth about ten
beaver-skins.
Although a little less slaves than the greater part of the Indian women
elsewhere, the women on the Columbia are, nevertheless, charged with the
most painful labors; they fetch water and wood, and carry the goods in
their frequent changes of residence; they clean the fish and cut it up
for drying; they prepare the food and cook the fruits in their season.
Among their principal occupations is that of making rush mats, baskets
for gathering roots, and hats very ingeniously wrought. As they want
little clothing, they do not sew much, and the men have the needle in
hand oftener than they.
The men are not lazy, especially during the fishing season. Not being
hunters, and eating, consequently, little flesh-meat (although they are
fond of it), fish makes, as I have observed, their principal diet. They
profit, therefore, by the season when it is to be had, by taking as much
as they can; knowing that the intervals will be periods of famine and
abstinence, unless they provide sufficiently beforehand.
Their canoes are all made of cedar, and of a single trunk: we saw some
which were five feet wide at midships, and thirty feet in length; these
are the largest, and will carry from 25 to 30 men; the smallest will
carry but two or three. The bows terminate in a very elongated point,
running out four or five feet from the water line. It constitutes a
separate piece, very ingeniously attached, and serves to break the surf
in landing, or the wave on a rough sea. In landing they put the canoe
round, so as to strike the beach stern on. Their oars or paddles are
made of ash, and are about five feet long, with a broad blade, in the
shape of an inverted crescent, and a cross at the top, like the handle
of a crutch. The object of the crescent shape of the blade is to be able
to draw it, edge-wise, through the water without making any noise, when
they hunt the sea-otter, an animal which can only be caught when it is
lying asleep on the rocks, and which has the sense of hearing very
acute. All their canoes are painted red, and fancifully decorated.
Their houses, constructed of cedar, are remarkable for their form and
size: some of them are one hundred feet in length by thirty or forty
feet in width. They are constructed as follows: An oblong square of the
intended size of the building is dug out to the depth of two or three
feet; a double row of cedar posts is driven into the earth about ten
feet apart; between these the planks are laid, overlapping each other to
the requisite height. The roof is formed by a ridge-pole laid on taller
posts, notched to receive it, and is constructed with rafters and planks
laid clapboard-wise, and secured by cords for want of nails. When the
house is designed for several families, there is a door for each, and a
separate fireplace; the smoke escapes through an aperture formed by
removing one of the boards of the roof. The door is low, of an oval
shape, and is provided with a ladder, cut out of a log, to descend into
the lodge. The entrance is generally effected stern-foremost.
The kitchen utensils consist of plates of ash-wood, bowls of fibrous
roots, and a wooden kettle: with these they succeed in cooking their
fish and meat in less time than we take with the help of pots and
stewpans. See how they do it! Having heated a number of stones red-hot,
they plunge them, one by one, in the vessel which is to contain the food
to be prepared; as soon as the water boils, they put in the fish or
meat, with some more heated stones on top, and cover up the whole with
small rush mats, to retain the steam. In an incredibly short space of
time the article is taken out and placed on a wooden platter, perfectly
done and very palatable. The broth is taken out also, with a ladle of
wood or horn.
It will be asked, no doubt, what instruments these savages use in the
construction of their canoes and their houses. To cause their patience
and industry to be admired as much as they deserve, it will be
sufficient for me to mention that we did not find among them a single
hatchet: their only tools consisted of an inch or half-inch chisel,
usually made of an old file, and of a mallet, which was nothing but an
oblong stone. With these wretched implements, and wedges made of hemlock
knots, steeped in oil and hardened by the fire, they would undertake to
cut down the largest cedars of the forest, to dig them out and fashion
them into canoes, to split them, and get out the boards wherewith to
build their houses. Such achievements with such means, are a marvel of
ingenuity and patience.