78 THE OREGON NATURALIST. 
tiary period, known also as the Yorktown and 
Miocene period—the same age as the numerous 
Tertiary formations in the coast range of Ore- 
gon and Califernia, which are often from 1000 
to 5000 feet in thickness, as well as those in 
the region of the upper Missouri where in the 
old lake deposits have been found examples of 
three toed horses, horned tapir-like animals, 
rhinoceros, camel, llama, deer, musk-ox, beaver 
hyena, wolf, panther, and tiger. 
Seattle Telegraph. 
INDIAN IDOL 
BONE IDOL 
This relic of Oregon’s former inhabitants, 
was ploughed up in a field, formerly the site of 
an ancient Indian burial place on Columbia 
slough, opposite the head of Government island 
in the Columbia river. It is made from a 
large bone; perhaps pre-historic: for several 
anatomists to whom it has been shown were 
unable to name the bone, 
The Idol in height is eleven inches. Sixteen 
inches around bust. Fourteen inches around 
_from straw and weeds and flags. 
head, and seven inches around neck, Large 
oval eye sockets have been worked out to a 
depth of one and one-half inches. The cavity 
of mouth is enlarged inside and isone and one- 
quarter inches deep. Bone relics being rarely 
found in Oregon makes this of especial interest. 
A bone knife sixteen and one-half inches long 
by two and one-halfinches wide made from a 
1ib was also found at the same timeand place. 
THE SING GAMBLE OF 1895 
The ‘‘sing gamble” is the great contest be- 
Puget Sound Indians 
for the trophies of the yearand for such blank- 
tween two tribes of the 
ets, wearing apparel, vehicles and horses as can 
be spared to be used for stakes, and sometimes 
more than should be spared. This year the 
*‘not” at the beginning of the gamble consisted 
of twelve Winchester rifles of the latest pattern, 
eleven sound horses, seven buggies, one hun- 
dred blankets, forty-three shawls, an uncounted 
pile of mats, clothing for men and women, some 
badly worn and some in good condition, but 
mostly worn, and $49 in money. 
At the beginning of the‘‘sing gamble” sixty- 
seven old men and women, many of them 
” 
wrinkled, many of them gray-headed, gathered 
at Jake’s big barn, which had been cleared of 
On the ground 
which serves as a floor were laid two mats woven 
Each of these 
mats was three feet wide and six feet long. 
al] hay, grain and other stores. 
Between the mats was the space of about three 
feet. Around these squatted the serious gamb- 
lers of the ancient races, many of them wearing 
the brilliant-colored blankets, others arrayed in 
combination costumes picked up at the reserva- 
tion or in the town. s é 
As a necessary preparation to the game the 
drummers, one for each tribe, took position in 
front of their drum, made of horse-hide drawn 
stout frame two feet 
Beating heavily 
over one end of a 
square and six inches deep. 
on these drums with sticks the sound is similar 
to that from a bass-drum, save that it is more 
~ oe? 
