INDIANS OF WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 647 



to the end of tbe opposite hand, arm extended, and (4) the fathom. In 

 travening the standard was the distance which a person coukl travel in 

 one day. 



I do not know that land was measured, but in all square measure the 

 above linear measures were used. 



Quantity. — lu measurinj^ articles in bulk their baskets were used, but 

 I know of no basket of standard size being used. A person making a 

 bargain for a certain number of basketfnls would have to see the bas- 

 ket. 



Currency. — The dentalia shell and the abelone shell, or parts of it, 

 were the nearest thing to money which they had, the former being the 

 most valuable. A species of olivella shell, found in Klallam waters, 

 was sometimes brought to the Twauas, by whom it was used partly for 

 money. Slaves, skins, and blankets were also used for a similar pur- 

 pose, or rather for barter, but I have been unable to learn what value 

 tbey put upon them or on the shells, as their values have changed 

 greatly since the whites came. The value of the dentalia shell de- 

 pended on the size as well as number, a long one being much more 

 valuable than a short one. 



WRITING. 



They had no system of writing previous to the coming of the whites. 

 Since that time a small vocabulary of the Klallam language, by G. Gibbs, 

 has been published as No. il of Shea's Library of American Linguis- 

 tics; another, of the Nisqually language, by the same author, may be 

 found in Major Powell's Contributions to North American Ethnology, 

 vol. I. A number of vocabularies of the Chinook jargon have been pub- 

 lished, a list of which is given in Gibbs's Dictionary of Chinook Jargon, 

 published by the Smithsonian Institution.* A small Chinook hymn 

 book has been published in connection with the mission of the Ameri- 

 can Missionary Association at this reservation, and about two hundred 

 words of the Twana language are published in Eells on the Twana In- 

 dians, p. 93. Otherwise I know of no writings or publications in any 

 of the languages used among these tribes. 



GAMES AND PASTIMES. 



Gambling. — This is very common, there being but few who do not en- 

 gage in it. There are also professional gamblers, who, like tbe whites, 

 generally visit large gatherings, especially potlatches, to ply their trade. 

 Among the women it is not so common. 



There are three native modes : 



(1) With one or two bones. This is played mostly by young men 

 and boys, but sometimes a large game is played by experienced gam- 

 blers. The players sit in two rows about 6 feet apart and facing each 



* Smithsonian Miacellaneous Collections, vol. vii. 



