SALMON. 71 



pears to have broken its way out through the 

 rocks at the falls, and left this flat dry land. 

 Patches of wheat and barley are grown, but the soil 

 is far too poor to repay the labour of cultivation. 



About three weeks preceding the arrival of 

 the salmon, Indians begin to assemble from all 

 directions. Cavalcades may be seen, day after 

 day, winding their way down the plain ; and as 

 the savage when he travels takes with him all 

 his worldly wealth wives, children, dogs, horses, 

 lodges, weapons, and skins the turn-out is rather 

 novel. The smaller children are packed with the 

 baggage on the backs of horses, which are driven 

 by the squaws, who always ride astride like the 

 men. The elder girls and boys, three or four on 

 a horse, ride with their mothers, whilst the men 

 and stouter youths drive the bands of horses 

 that run loose ahead of the procession. A pack 

 of prick-eared curs, simply tamed prairie-wolves, 

 are always in attendance. 



A level piece of ground overlooking the falls 

 (the descent from which to the rocks is by a zig- 

 zag path, down a nearly vertical cliff) is rapidly 

 covered with lodges of all shapes and sizes. The 

 squaws do the work appertaining to camping, 

 and are literally 'hewers of wood and drawers of 

 water.' The men, who are all, when at the fish- 



