PREFACE. 



Of the numerous stocks of Indians fringing the coast of northwest 

 America few have been as thoroughly studied or their languages so 

 well recorded as the Salishan. As early as 1801 Mackenzie published 

 a short vocabulary of each of two dialects of this stock, and a glance 

 at the chronologic index appended to this catalogue will show that ad- 

 ditions or reprints have been made at short intervals ever since. The 

 more modern eiforts of Gibbs, Hale, Eells, Gatschet, Tolmie, Dawson, 

 and Boas, especially those of the last named, have resulted in the col- 

 lection of a body of material wliich has enabled us to diflerentiate the 

 dialects of this family of speech to a degree more minute than usual. 



The knowledge gained from the studies of these gentlemen, and from 

 those of others, also, has greatly extended our information concerning 

 the geographic distribution of these people. Quoting from Major Pow- 

 ell's article on the Linguistic Families of North America in the seventh 

 annual report of the Bureau of Ethnology : 



The extent of the Salish or Flathead family was unknown to Gallatin, as indeed 

 appears to have been the exact locality of the tribe of which he gives an anonymous 

 vocabulary from the Duponceau collection. The tribe is stated to have resided 

 upon one of the branches of the Columbia River, "which must be either the most 

 southern branch of Clarke's River or the most northern T)ranch of Lewis's River." 

 The former supposition was correct. As employed by Gallatin the family embraced 

 only a single tribe, the Flathead tribe proper. The Atnah. a Salishan tribe, Avere 

 considered by Gallatin to be distinct, and the name would be eligible as the fauuly 

 name; preference, however, is given to Salish. * * # 



The most southern outpost of the family, the Tillamook and Xestucca, were estab- 

 lished on the coast of Oregon, about 50 miles to the south of the Columbia, where 

 they were quite separated from their kindred to the north by the Chinoolcan tribes. 

 Beginning on the north side of Shoal water Bay, Salishan triT)cs held the entire north- 

 western part of Washington, including the Avhole of the Puget Sound region, except 

 only the Macaw territory about Cape Flattery, and two insignificant spots, one 

 near Port Townsend, the other on the Pacific coast to the south of Cape Flattery, 

 which were occupied by Chimakuan tribes. Eastei'n Vancouver Island to about 

 midway of its length was also held by Salishan tribes, while the great bulk of their 

 territory lay on the mainland opposite and included much of the upper Columbia 

 On the south they were hemmed in mainly by the Shahaptiau tribes. I'pon the 

 east Salishan tribes dwelt to a little beyond the Arrow lakes and their feeder, one 

 of the extreme north forks of the Columbia. Upon the southeast Salishan tribes 

 extended into Montana, including the upper drainage of the Columbia. They were 

 met here in 1804 by Lewis and Clarke. On the northeast Salish territory extended 

 to about the fifty-third parallel. In the northwest it did not reach the Chilcat 

 River. 



V 



