416 INDIAN TRIBES OF WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 



eionaries unprotected, and proving an obstacle to effectual labor. They have at the station a 

 village of log-houses, but notwithstanding generally prefer their own lodges. Their great chief 

 is Kwi-kwi-kal-sih, or Victor, a man highly spoken of by the whites who have come in contact 

 with him. The tribe, in fact, seem to be an exception among the Indians of Oregon. Their 

 heroism in battle, their good faith towards others, and their generally inoffensive conduct, have 

 been the theme of praise both from priest and layman. They are, however, rapidly disappearing 

 before the murderous warfare of the Blackfeet. Should their country become a thoroughfare of 

 travel, they will, to some degree at least, be protected from their enemies; but, on the other hand, 

 the destruction of the buffalo and other game will render some new mode of subsistence an object 

 of proper care on the part of the government. 



The Kootenaies or Kitunahas, and the Flatbows, who now, according to Father De Smet, form 

 one tribe, called by their neighbors Skalza, or Skolsa, inhabit the country extending along the 

 foot of the Rocky mountains, north of the Flathea ds, for a very considerable distance, and are 

 about equally in American and in British territory. They do not enter into the census of the Oregon 

 superintendent, and they have had no intercourse with the whites except through the Fur Com 

 pany. Captain Wilkes states their number at about 400. Their usual camp is situated in the 

 Tobacco plains, where they were visited in 1845 by Father De Smet, who gives a description of 

 their country. 



The Nez Perces, or Saptin, lie to the south of the Selish, and on both sides of the Kooskooskia 

 and north fork of Snake river. 



Their country, like that of the Wallah-Wallahs, extends into both Oregon and Washington 

 Territories. They are one of the most numerous of all these tribes, amounting, according to the 

 census of 1851, to 1,880; since when there has probably been less decrease than among some of 

 the others. 



They are much intermarried with the Wallah-Wallahs, whose language belongs to the same 

 family, and also with the Cayuses. They have no chief of note at present living ; Towwattu, or 

 the &quot;Young Chief,&quot; having recently died. 



Wailatpu, or Cayuse : The country belonging to this tribe is to the south of and between the Nez 

 Perces and Wallah- Wallahs, extending from the Des Chutes or Wawanui river to the eastern side 

 of the Blue mountains. It is almost entirely in Oregon, a small part only, upon the upper Wal 

 lah-Wallah river, lying within Washington Territory. The tribe, though still dreaded by their 

 neighbors, from their courage and warlike spirit, is but a small one, numbering, according to the 

 same authority, 126. Of these, individuals of the pure blood are very few; the majority being 

 intermixed with the Nez Perces and Wallah-Wallahs particularly with the former to such a 

 degree that their own language has fallen into disuse. 



It was this tribe that destroyed Dr. Whitman s mission in 1847. Their head chief, Pa, or the 

 &quot;Five Crows,&quot; has since then generally absented himself from his people, as, although not con 

 cerned in the murder, he became notorious for the abduction of one of the women. These are all 

 the tribes which enter into the Territory east of the mountains, except that a small remnant of the 

 original tribe belonging at the Cascades of the Columbia river still exist. They are of the Upper 

 Chinook nation. From their geographical situation, they will fall within the eastern district; and 

 as the Klikatats frequent the fishery there, it would be desirable to comprehend them with the 

 latter. 



It would be interesting to give a reliable comparison of the Indian population at the different 

 periods since their intercourse with the whites; but the data from which this could be drawn are 

 too uncertain to furnish satisfactory conclusions. Messrs. Lewis and Clark give the earliest in 

 formation respecting them. 



Their journey, however, permitted only very loose conjectures on the subject, and their division 

 of the tribes is with difficulty to be recognised at present. The following, however, appears to 

 be the arrangement, and it is so far intelligible as to render it certain that their locations have not 

 materially changed within that time. 



