INDIAN TRIBES OF WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 427 



tial benefit to the Indian, and of great convenience to the citizen a well-considered system of 

 apprenticeship. Neither those of the coast nor those of the interior have any objection to service ; 

 on the contrary, they all regard it as an advantage in securing a certainty of food, and the means 

 of purchasing necessaries. Large numbers of Spokanes, Yakimas, &c., come down in the winter 

 to Vancouver, Portland, and the other towns, to seek employment, and their number is yearly 

 increasing. They do small jobs, and work as boatmen, porters, and house-servants, and, besides 

 many presents of clothing, get good wages, averaging thirty dollars a month. They are, however, 

 as might be expected, inconstant, and after a short time return to their homes, or spend their 

 money in gambling before seeking work again. In a country where labor is as much needed as 

 it is here, even this comparatively unprofitable kind is in demand. Were, however, a measure 

 adopted which would give permanency to the relation of master and servant, and at the same 

 time protect the rights of the latter, the value of Indian labor would be greatly raised. As it is, 

 many persons hold slaves, purchased from their Indian masters, who are to a certain extent 

 profitable, though they are generally of the worst class. The Indians show considerable me 

 chanical ingenuity, and would undoubtedly make good blacksmiths, carpenters, and mechanics 

 generally. As household domestics, attendants on the saw-mills, and in many other ways, they 

 can be employed to advantage ; but it is especially as farm servants that the proposed measure 

 would be most useful, as, at the expiration of their term of service, they would carry back with 

 them a sufficient knowledge of agriculture to improve their condition at home. I would therefore 

 recommend that the superintendent of Indian affairs, or any full agent, under such general regula 

 tions as the superintendent may direct, be authorized, with the consent of the parents or next rela 

 tions, to bind any Indian child as an apprentice to a citizen of good character and standing, on 

 such terms and for such time as may be agreed upon, not, however, to extend beyond the period 

 when the apprentice shall reach the age of twenty-one years ; the contract subject to be terminated 

 by the superintendent or agent, should he be satisfied of personal ill-treatment, immoral use, or 

 an intention to leave the Territory. As the practical details of such a system can hardly be per 

 fected in advance, and as abuses might arise which would require an earlier action than could 

 be procured from Congress, it is suggested that the superintendent be vested with entire powers, 

 subject only to the revision of the department. 



These measures, it is believed, are sufficiently comprehensive to cover the whole ground, and 

 at the same time preserve all that is requisite of the system. 



The western division of the Territory remains to be considered. On the Columbia river and 

 at Shoalwater bay are a few remnants of the once numerous Chinooks. Of these there were, 

 properly speaking, two nations the Upper and the Lower Chinooks ; the former extending from 

 the Dalles nearly to the Cowlitz river; the latter from thence to the ocean. As these are better 

 known from previous accounts than any others on the Pacific, it is unnecessary to dwell at length 

 upon them. Besides the small party at the Cascades already referred to, there are of the Upper 

 nation but five bands, living at different points on the Washington side of the river, and one at the 

 mouth of Dog river, in Oregon. In whatever arrangement is made, it would be well to include 

 the whole. They number but about 200. Of the Lower Chinooks there are six or seven settle 

 ments, most of which consist of single families. The one on Chinook beach is the largest, and 

 amounts to 66. Almost all these are, however, intermingled with the Chihalis. One of their 

 grounds is upon the south side of the Columbia, opposite the mouth of the Cowlitz, and therefore 

 in Oregon. The total number of this tribe is reduced to about 120. There are four persons 

 who claim to be chiefs : Ske-ma-que-up at Wabkiakum, To-tili-cum at Woody Island, E-la-wah 

 at Chinook, and Toke at Shoalwater bay. As this last named locality has only recently been 

 much known, a rather more particular notice of it is not out of place. It was really the principal 

 seat of the Chinooks proper, who resorted to the Columbia mostly for their spring salmon, while 

 they dug their clams and procured their winter supplies on the bay. It formed, in fact, a perfect 

 Indian Paradise in its adaptation to canoe travel and the abundance of scale and shell-fish which 



