BULL. 30] 



CHINOOK CHINOOKAlSr FAMILY 



273 



and villages have been recorded: 

 Chinook, Gitlapshoi, Neniah, Nisal, Pa- 

 kix, Wharhoots. (l-p-) 



Ala'dshush. — Gatschet, Nestucca MS. vocab., B. 

 A. E. (Nestucca name). Cheenook. — Scouler in 

 Jonr. Ethnol.Soc. Loiid.,1,236, 1848. Cheenooks.— 

 Scouler in Jour. Geog. Soc. Lond., i, 224, 1841. 

 Chenooks. — Parker, Jour.. 142, 1842. Chenoux. — 

 Meek in H. R. Ex. Doc. TO, 30th Cong., 1st .sess., 

 10, 1848. Chenukes.— Hastings, Emigr. Guide to 

 Oregon, 59, 1S4.5. Chimook, — Emmons in School- 

 craft, Ind. Tribes, in, 224, IS.'iS. Chin-hook.— (iass, 

 Jour., 238, 1808. Chin-nooks.— Lewis and Clark, 

 Exped., Coues ed., 75.^. 1893. Chinock. — Fitzpat- 

 rick in Ind. Aff. Rep., app., 24n. 1847. Chin ook. — 

 Gass, Jour., 176, 1807, Chinouks.— Sniet. Oregon 

 Miss., 33, 1847. Chinucs. — Rafinesiiue, introd. 

 Marshall, Ky., l, 32, 1824. Chinuks.— Latham, Nat. 

 Hist. Man., 317, 1850. Chonukes.— Hastings, Emigr. 

 Guide to Oregon. 59, 1845. Flatheads.— Parker, 

 Jour., 142, 1842. Nez Perces. — Ibid. Schinouks. — 

 Smet, Letters, 22U, 1843. Tchinooks.—Smet, Ore- 

 gon Miss., 72, 1847. Tchinouks.— Duflot de Mofras, 

 Explor. de I'Oregon, n, 125, 1S44. Tchinoux. — 

 Smet, Letters, 230, 1843. Tfinuk.— Hale in U. S. 

 Expl. Exped., VI, 562. lS4t>. Tehenooks.— Smet, 

 Letters, 1.52, 1843. Tetes-PIates.— Duflot de Mo- 

 fras, Explor. de I'Oregon, ii, 108. 1844. Thlala'h.— 

 Gatschet, MS., B. A. E. (Clackama name). Tschi- 

 nuk. — Latham in Trans. Philol. Soc. Lond., 73, 

 1856. Tshinuk.— Hale in U.S. Expl. Exped., vi, 

 214,1846. Tsinuk.— Latham in Trans. Philol. Soc. 

 Lond., 57, 18.56. T'sinuk.— Gibbs in Cont. N. A. 

 Ethnol., I, 241, 1877. Tsniuk.— Wickersham in Am. 

 .Aiiiii).. \-xT. :;74. is'.H). 



Mus. NAT. H.ST. ) 



Chinook. The principal village of the 

 Chinook, situated on Baker bay, Pacific 

 CO., Wash., near the mouth of Columbia r. 

 Chinookan Family. An important lin- 

 guistic faniil}', including those tribes for- 

 merly living on Columbia r., from The 

 Dalles to its mouth (except a small strip 

 occupied by the Athapascan Tlatskanai), 

 and on the lower Willamette as far as the 

 present site of Oregon City, Oreg. The 

 IL family also extended a short distance 

 wt- along the coast on each side of the mouth 

 K of the ColumlMa, from Shoalwaterbay on 



K Bull. 80—05 18 



k 



the N. to Tillamook Head on the s. The 

 family is named from the Chinook, the 

 most important tribe. With the excep- 

 tion of a few traders near the mouth of 

 the Columbia, Lewis and Clark were the 

 first wliites to visit these tribes, and their 

 description still constitutes the main au- 

 thority as to their early condition. The 

 Chinookan villages were situated along 

 the banks of the Columbia, near the 

 mouths of its tributaries, and for the 

 greater part on the n. side. , The houses 

 were of wood and very large, being occu- 

 pied on the communal principle by 3 or 

 4 families and often containing 20 or more 

 individuals. Their villages were thus 

 fairly permanent, though there was much 

 moving about in summer, owing to the 

 nature of the food supply, which con- 

 sisted chieflj^ of salmon, with the roots 

 and berries indigenous to the region. 

 The falls and Cascades of the Columbia 

 and the falls of the Willamette were the 

 chief points of gathering in the salmon 

 season. The people were also noted 

 traders, not only among themselves, but 

 with the surrounding tribes of other 

 stocks, and trips from the mouth of the 

 Columl)ia to the Cascades for the purpose 

 I if barter were of frequent occurrence. 

 They were extremely skilful in handling 

 their canoes, which were well made, 

 hollowed out of single logs, and often of 

 great size. In disposition tViey are de- 

 scribed as treacherous and deceitful, es- 

 pecially when their cupidity was aroused, 

 and the making of portages at the Cas- 

 cades and The Dalles by the early traders 

 and settlers was always accompanied with 

 much trouble and danger. Slaves were 

 common among them and were usually 

 obtained by barter from surrounding 

 tribes, though occasionally in successful 

 raids made for that purpose. Little is 

 known of their particular social customs 

 and beliefs, but there was no clan or 

 gentile organization, and the village was 

 the chief social unit. The.se villages 

 varied greatly in size, but often consisted 

 of only a few houses. There was always 

 a headman or chief, who, by reason of 

 personal qualities, might extend his influ- 

 ence over several neighboring villages, 

 but in general each settlement was inde- 

 pendent. Their most noteworthy histor- 

 ical character was Comcomly, q. v. 



Physically the Chinookan people dif- 

 fered somewhat from the other coast 

 tribes. They were taller, their faces 

 wider and characterized by narrow and 

 high noses; in this respect they resembled 

 the Kwakiutl of Vancouver id. The cus- 

 tom of artificially deforming the head by 

 fronto-occipital pressure was universal 

 among them, a skull of natural form being 

 regarded as a disgrace and permitted only 



