500 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



suffered to remain loose and ex- 

 posed, and present, in old women 

 especially, a most disgusting ap- 

 pearance 



Sometimes, though not often, 

 they n)ark their skins by punc- 

 turing and introducing sonie co- 

 lour'ed matter: this ornament is 

 chiefly confined to the women, 

 vvlio imprint on their legs and 

 arms circular or parallel dots. 

 On the arm of one of the si]uaws 

 we read the name of J. Bowman, 

 apparently a trader who visits the 

 mouth of the Columbia. The 

 favourite decoration however of 

 both sexes, are the common coarse 

 blue or white beads, which are 

 folded very tightly round their 

 wrists and ankles, to the width of 

 three or fovu' inches, and worn in 

 large loose rolls round the neck, 

 or in the shape of ear-rings, or 

 hanging from the nose, which 

 litst mode is peculiar to the men. 

 There is also a species of wam- 

 pum very nuich in use, which 

 seems to be worn in its natural 

 form without any preparation. 

 Its shape is a cone somewhat 

 curved, about the size of a raven's 

 quill at the base, and tapering to 

 a point, its whole length being 

 from one to two and a half inches, 

 and white, smooth, hard, and 

 thin. A small thread is passed 

 through it, and the wampum is 

 either suspended from the nose, 

 or passed through the cartilage 

 horizontally, and forms a ring, 

 from whif bother ornaments hang. 

 This wampum is employed in the 

 same way as the beads, but is the 

 favourite decoration for the noses 

 of the men. The men also use 

 collars made of bears' claws, the 

 women and children those of 

 elks' tusks, and both sexes are 



adorned with bracelets of copper, 

 iron, or brass, in various forms. 



Yet all these decorarions are 

 unavailing to conceal the defor- 

 mities of nature and the extrava- 

 gance of fashion ; nor have we 

 seen any more disgusting object 

 than a Cliinu )ok or Clatsop 

 beauty in fidl attire. Their broad 

 flat foreheads, their falling breasts, 

 tlieir ill-shaped limbs, the awk- 

 wardness of their positions, and 

 the filth which intrudes through 

 their finery ; all these render a 

 Chinnook or Clatsop beauty in 

 full attire, one of the most dis- 

 gusting objects in nature. For- 

 tunately this circinnstance con- 

 spired with the low diet and la- 

 borious exercise of our men, to 

 protect them from the persever- 

 ing gallantry of the fair sex, 

 whose kindness always exceeded 

 the ordinary courtesies of hospi- 

 tality. 



KILL.iMUCKS AND OTHER 

 INDIANS. 



CFrom the SameJ 



The Clatsops and other nations 

 at the mouth of the Columbia, 

 have visited us with great free- 

 dom, and we have endeavoured 

 to cultivate their intimacy, as well 

 for the purpose of acquiring in- 

 formation, as to leave behind us 

 impressions favourable to our 

 coimtry. Having acquired much 

 of their language, we are ena- 

 bled, with the assistance of ges- 

 tures, to hold conversations with 

 great ease. We find them inqui- 

 sitive and loquacious, with under- 

 standings by no means deficient in 

 acuteness, and with very reten- 

 tive memories ; and though fond 



of 



