MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 



497 



when they go eastward to Imnt 

 bufifaloe, and in the occasional 

 visits made by the Flatheads to 

 the watei's of the Cohan bia for 

 the purpose of fishing. Their 

 intercourse with the Spaniards is 

 much more rare, and it furnishes 

 them with a few ai ticlc^, such as 

 mules, a :d some bridles, and 

 other ornaments forhorses, which, 

 as well as some of their kitchen 

 utensils, are also furni^heil by 

 the bands of Snake Indians from 

 the Yellowstone. The pearl or- 

 naments which they esteem so 

 liighly come from other bands, 

 whom they represent as their 

 friends and relations, living to 

 the south-west beyond the barren 

 plains on the other side of the 

 mountains : these relations they say 

 innabit a good country, abound- 

 ing with elk, deer, bear, and an- 

 telope, where horses and mules 

 are much more abundant than 

 they aie here, or to use thtir own 

 expression, as numerous as the 

 grass of the plains. 



The names of the Indians 

 vary in the course of their lite : 

 originally given in childhood, 

 from the mere necessity of dis- 

 tinguishii.g objects, or from some 

 accidental resemblance to ex- 

 ternal objects, the young warrior 

 is impatient to change it by some 

 acliievement of his own. -Any 

 important event, the stealing of 

 horses, the scalping an enemy, or 

 killing a brown bear, entitles him 

 at once to a new name whicli he 

 then selects for himself, and it is 

 confirmed by the nation. Some- 

 ^ *.)raes the two names subsist to- 

 o-^^ 'ther : thus, the chief Cameah- 

 Yva, t, which means, "one who 

 nevei * walks," has the war name 

 of T()Ov°''^''C"nC'Or " black gun," 

 VoL..^VJll. 



which he acquired when he first 

 signalized himself. As each new 

 action gives a warrior a right to 

 change his name, many of them 

 have had sevtral in the course of 

 their lives. To give to a friend 

 his own name is an act of high 

 courtesy, and a pledge, like that 

 of pulling off the moccasin, of 

 sincerity and hospitality. The 

 chief in this way gave his name 

 to captain Clarke \^hen he first 

 arrived, and he was afterwards 

 known among the Shoshonees by 

 the name of Cameahwait. 



The di<;eases incident to this 

 state of life may be supposed to 

 be few, and chiefly the result of 

 accidents. U'e were particularly 

 anxious to ascertain whether they 

 had any knowledge of the venereal 

 disorder. After inquiring by 

 means of the interpieter and his 

 wife, we learnt that they some- 

 times suffered from it, and that 

 they most usually die with it ; 

 nor could we discover what was 

 their remedy. It is possible that 

 this disease may have reachtd 

 them in their circuitous commu- 

 nications with the whites through 

 the intermediate Indians ; but 

 the situation of the Shoshonees 

 is so insulated, that it is not pro- 

 bable that it could have reached 

 them in that way, and the exist- 

 ence of such a disorder among 

 the Rocky mountains seems rather 

 a proof of its being aboriginal. 



NATIONS OF THE COAST. 



TheKillamucks,Clatsops. Chin- 

 nooks, and Cathlamahs, the four 

 neighbouring nations with whom 

 we ha\e had most intercourse, 

 preserve a general resemblance in 

 person, dress, and manners. 

 Thev are commonly of a diminu- 



2K tie 



