INDIAN TRIBES OF WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 405 



The Indians ride with a hair-rope knotted around the under jaw for a bridle. The men use a 

 stuffed pad, with wooden stirrups. The women sit astride, in a saddle made with a very high 

 pommel and cantle, and in travelling carry their infants either dangling by the cradle-strap to 

 the former, or slung in a blanket over their shoulders ; while children of a little larger growth sit 

 perched upon the pack-animals, and hold on as best they may. 



The horses are trained to stand for hours with merely a lariat thrown loosely around their 

 necks, the end trailing upon the ground. With the whites they are at first as shy as are Ameri 

 can horses or mules with the Indians ; but they suffer handling from the squaws and children 

 with perfect contentment, and hang around the huts like dogs. When camping near them we 

 oi ten found the horses an intolerable nuisance, from their incessant whinnying during the night. 

 Whenever the musquitoes were abundant they posted themselves in the smoke of the fires. It 

 is the business of the squaws in travelling to pack the animals, the men contenting themselves 

 with catching them up; and they pile on the most heterogeneous assortment of luggage with a 

 skill that would immortalize a professional packer.V In breaking horses the Indians usually blind 

 them before mounting, often tying down their ears in addition. A strap or cord is then passed 

 around the body of the animal, loose enough to admit the knees of the rider. Much time is spent 

 in soothing and quieting the beast, as the Indian has plenty of it upon his hands. W 7 hen every 

 thing is ready he vaults to his back, always from the off-side, slips his knees under the girih 

 arid tightens it, withdraws the muffle, and sits prepared for a series of stiff-legged plunges, end 

 ing in a charge. If the horse throws himself for throw his rider he cannot the quick straight 

 ening of the leg releases the knee, and he is prepared for the emergency. 



In describing the household goods of the Indian, his dogs are not to be forgotten. They vary 

 considerably in form with different tribes, but always preserve the same general character. 

 Quarrelsome and cowardly, inveterate thieves, suspicious and inquisitive, they are constantly 

 engaged in fights among themselves, or in prowling around the lodges for food. The approach of 

 a stranger is heralded by short, sharp yelps, succeeded by a general scamper. They all bear the 

 same mysterious resemblance to the cayote the sharp muzzle, erect ears, and stiffly curling 

 tail. Notwithstanding their worthlessness, they seem to have a strong attachment to their owners, 

 and an Indian camp would be a novelty without its pack of curs. Very few characteristic features 

 remain among these people. Their long intercourse with the Hudson s Bay Company, and of late 

 years with the Americans, has obliterated what peculiarities they may have had; nor is there any 

 essential difference in their habits or manners from those of the Indians adjoining them. They use, 

 for the most part, the arms and utensils of the whites, and the gun has superseded the bow. The 

 pails and baskets, constructed from the bark of the cedars, saddles and fishing apparatus, are 

 their principal articles of domestic manufacture ; and even of such things it is almost as common 

 to find the imported substitutes. 



In regard to moral character they are much superior to the river Indians ; not that perfect 

 virtue is by any means to be expected, but they are more strict in respect to their women, particu 

 larly the married ones, and they are far less thievish. 



Their mode of disposing of their dead, like that of their kindred tribes, is in the ground, but 

 without any attempt at coffins, the body being merely wrapped in its clothing.V Just before our 

 arrival at Chequoss a man had died of the smallpox, and those who had buried him were puri 

 fying themselves. During the three days occupied in this, they absented themselves from camp, 

 alternately using the sweat-house and plunging into cold water. 



The house, which was a small oven-shaped affair, was heated with stones. The mourning 

 is performed by the women, who live apart for a few days, and afterwards bathe and purify them 

 selves. They have the common objection to mentioning the names of the dead, as well as their 

 own. The practice of medicine, as elsewhere, consists in incantations, and is attended with the 

 usual hazards; the life of the practitioner answering for the want of success, or a refusal to 

 attend when properly feed. Besides these mummeries, however, they use certain plants as 



