pip. No!"2lr McNARY RESERVOIR — SHINER 209 



The beads from the burials at Wallula are nearly all of the dougli- 

 nut shape. About 50 percent are white, and the rest nearly equally 

 divided between blacky blue, green, yellow, red, and pink. The best 

 chance of a date comes fi'om Fort Walla TValla which was established 

 in 1818. 



ECONOMY 



The midden at the Wallula site contained more animal and fish 

 bones than any of the sites described so far. Most of the bones were 

 salmon vertebrae, but bones of deer and elk were numerous. Since no 

 complete analysis of the animal bones has been made, nothing more 

 can be said of that phase of the economy. The presence of pestles and 

 stone bowls suggests that vegetable foods such as seeds and berries 

 may have been prepared by grinding. Gathering is known to have 

 been important in historic times, and was probably no less so at 

 Wallula. 



HISTORICAL DATA 



The Wallula site is the first of the series under discussion that can 

 be related to historical events. Therefore an attempt will be made 

 to date the site by use of early journals. 



In October 1805, Lewis and Clark left the mouth of the Snake 

 River, and proceeded down the Columbia by boat. They mentioned 

 Indian camps on the islands and on the mainland, but at the mouth 

 of the Walla Walla River, they noticed only a "small rivulet" 

 (Thwaites, 1904-5, vol. 3, p. 131) . Had lodges been there at the time, 

 Lewis and Clark could have hardly missed seeing them. 



On April 29, 1806, Lewis and Clark landed at the confluence of the 

 Walla Walla and the Columbia, and proceeded about a mile up the 

 north bank of the former. They wrote, "There are twelve other 

 lodges on this river a little distance below our camp" (ibid., p. 337). 



This may have been an occupation of the Wallula site, for in the first 

 mile upstream from the Columbia River only the Wallula site is a 

 suitable camping spot. From these data we can imply that the site 

 was not occupied in October 1805, but that it may have been used the 

 following April. In October 1805, when Lewis and Clark first reached 

 the Columbia River, they remarked that the Indians wore quantities 

 of bright blue and white beads, copper, and brass. From these data, 

 we may speculate that the Wallula site had ceased to be a permanent 

 village by the time Lewis and Clark came by. 



If the Wallula site was a seasonal camp, the vast quantity of fish 

 bones and fishing equipment in the midden would indicate that it was 

 a fishing camp and should have been occupied during the summer and 

 fall. Furthermore, the shortage of European trade goods in the mid- 



