INDIAN TRIBES OF WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 407 



valley the Tahk prairie. This was formerly the bed of a lake, the remains of which now 

 appear in a marshy pond of some extent. The wolf, when the prairie was made, promised that 

 it should be rich in their favorite roots, the kamas and the wapp-a-too; and likewise that the 

 salmon should come there in abundance. But the Indians, forgetful of their obligation to him, 

 showed no gratitude, arid when they came there, spent their time in horse-racing and gambling, 

 instead of fishing and the business of life; wherefore the wolf took away the salmon, and placed 

 two stones upon the prairie, beyond which they should not pass. 



Alas, for the perverseness of man! notwithstanding the punishment, the Klikatats and their 

 friends run horses and gamble there to this day. 



There is also, in contrast with the gigantic race above mentioned, a story of one of diminutive 

 size, but a span high, who lived near the foot of the St. Helens, and whose footprints the Indians 

 have seen where they held their nocturnal dances. Since the eruption of 1S42, it may be men 

 tioned, they have not ventured to ascend Mount St. Helens. They have also tales connected 

 with certain of the constellations, many of which are named. The Great Bear, for instance, is 

 called &quot;spilyeh,&quot; or the wolf. The Yakimas occupy the country drained by the river of that 

 name. ^They are divided into two principal bands, each made up of a number of villages, and 

 very closely connected ; the one owning the country on the Nahchess and lower Yakima, the 

 other upon the Wenass and main branch above the forks. Over the first there are three chiefs 

 Kam-ai-ya-kan and his brothers Skloo and Sha-wa-wai. Over the latter, Te-eh-yas and Ow- 

 hai. Of all these, Kam-ai-ya-kan possesses the greatest influence, none of the others undertaking 

 any matter of importance without consulting him. Skloo is accused of being tyrannical and 

 overbearing with his weaker neighbors, and Sha-wa-wai of being indolent and wanting in force. 



Kam-ai-ya-kan is, in turn, much under the influence of the missionaries, with whom he lives 

 altogether. The others are both intelligent, and bear very good characters. All of them appear 

 to be well disposed and friendly towards the whites, whose superiority they have sense enough to 

 understand. 



Most of what has been said of the Klikatats is applicable also to the Yakimas, though, from 

 the nature of their country, some difference in their modes of life is of course observable. Their 

 name, it may be mentioned, is not an appellation of their own. It is said to be the word signifying 

 a black bear in the Wallah- Wallah dialect. West of the mountains, both at Vancouver and at 

 Puget sound, they also are generally called Klikatats. Like the last, they live in rude huts 

 covered with mats, the distance of their winter habitations from timber rendering the construction 

 of houses inconvenient; a reason, however, which does not exist with the others. They raise 

 potatoes, a few melons and squashes, together with a little barley and Indian corn. The latter 

 is of the eight-rowed variety, and what we saw of it very small and stunted, the ears being not 

 over five inches long. The potatoes were generally very fine, and of several varieties; of which 

 we noticed the lady-finger, mercer, and blue-nose. Their gardens were, for the most part, 

 situated in the little valleys running up towards the mountains, and near enough to the streams 

 to receive moisture during the early summer. They were rudely fenced around to exclude 

 animals. This invaluable addition to their means of subsistence, it should be said, they, in 

 common with many other tribes, owe to the Hudson s Bay Company. The country around the 

 northern or main branch of the Yakima is frequently called by them Pschwan-wapp-am, or the 

 stony ground, and the Indians living there sometimes assume the name to themselves. Besides 

 the fisheries at the Dalles, the Yakimas have others in their river, up which the salmon run 

 without interruption far into the mountains. On the main fork, in particular, they penetrate to 

 Lake Kitchelus, at the very foot of the dividing ridge. In addition to the different kinds of 

 salmon proper, they have also the salmon-trout, two varieties of the speckled trout, the red and 

 black spotted, both of them growing to a large size; and some other species of fresh- water fish. 



The salmon they take in weirs and cast-nets. The weirs are constructed with considerable 

 skill, upon horizontal spars, and supported by tripods of strong poles erected at short distances 



