76 



KISKAP NISSOWAQUET 



[b. a. e. 



valley'), including those below the can- 

 yon, and the Kitanweliks ( 'people of the 

 upper river'), comprising those above 

 this point. 



Tradition tells that long ago when the 

 principal village was across the river 

 to the southward, some little boys were 

 amusing themselves by catching salmon, 

 cutting slits in their backs in which they 

 inserted flat stones, and then letting them 

 go, playing they were whales. This so 

 incensed the guardian spirit that, rising 

 from the mountain to the southward 

 envelo])ed in a wide spreading black 

 cloud that changed day into night, with 

 eyes of flame and voice of thunder, he 

 rolled down the mountain side as a river 

 of fire and swept the village away. The 

 people fled across the river and took 

 refuge on the hills until quiet was re- 

 stored, when they divided, some settling 

 at Kitlakdamix and there retaining the 

 old name of Kitauwiliks, while the others, 

 founding Kitwinshilk on the rocks over- 

 looking the rapids, were ever afterward 

 known by the name of their village as 

 'The people among the lizards.' 



The social organization is founded upon 

 matriarchy, and is dependent' upon the 

 existence of four exogamous parties, dis- 

 tinguished by their crests, who inter- 

 marry and who supplement one another 

 on all occasions of ceremony. These 

 parties are subdivided into families who 

 are represented by minor crests but who 

 still retain the party emblem. These 

 four parties are: (1) Laghkepo, repre- 

 sented by the Wolf and having as its 

 subdivisions the Brown-bear, Crow, 

 Crane, and Red-wing flicker; (2) Lagh- 

 keak, represented by the Eagle and hav- 

 ing as its subdivisions the Beaver, Owl, 

 Dog-fish, and Squirrel; (3) Kanhadda, 

 represented by the Raven and having as 

 its subdivisions the Frog, Sea-lion, Scul- 

 pin, and Star-fish; (4) Kishpootwada, 

 represented by the Killer-whale and hav- 

 ing as its subdivisions the Osprey and 

 the Bear-under-Water. (Boas gives the 

 following sulxiivisions: Gyitkadok, Lak- 

 seel, Laktiaktl, Gyitgyigyenik, Gyitwul- 

 nakyel, Gyiskabenak, Lakloukst, Gy- 

 itsaek, Laktsemelik, and Gyisgahast. 

 He assigns the first two to the Raven 

 phratry, the next three to the Wolf 

 phratry, the four following to the 

 Eagle phratry, and the last to the Bear 

 phratry.) 



The Niska look to the river for their 

 food supply, which consists principally 

 of salmon and eulachon. Indeed it is 

 owing to the enormous number of the 

 latter fish that run in to spawn in the 

 early spring that the name Nass, mean- 

 ing 'the stomach, or food depot', has been 

 given to the river. 



In 1902 the pojMilation of the Niska 

 towns was 842; in 190(3, 814. (c. t. e. ) 



Naas River Indians.— Scott in Ind. Aff. Rep. 1869, 

 563, 1870. Nascah.— Brit. Col. map, Ind. Aflf., Vic- 

 toria, 1872. Nascars.— Horetzky, Canada on Pac, 

 126, 1874. Nasqa.— Dorsev in Am. Antiq., xix, 

 277, 1897. Nass.— Dunn, Hist. Oregon, 279, 1844. 

 Nasxa.— Boas in Zeit. fiir Ethnol., 231, 1888. 

 Nishgar.— Can. Ind. Aff. Rep., 432, 1896. Nishka.— 

 Horetzkv, op. cit., 219. Niska. — Tolmie and Daw- 

 son, Vocabs. Brit. Col., 113b, 1884. Nisk-a'.- 

 Boas in lOtli Rep. N. W. Tribes Can., 48, 189.'5. 

 Nis-kah.— Gibbs in Cont. N. A. Ethnol., i, 143, 1877. 

 Niiss-ka.— Krause, Tlinkit Ind., 318, 1885. Old- 

 nass.— Scott in H. R. Ex. Doc. 65, 36th Cong., 1st 

 sess., 115, 1860 (probably identical). 



Niskap. Mentioned with the Smulka- 

 mish as bands residing on the Muckle- 

 shoot res.. Wash. Perhaps a subdivi- 

 sion of the Puyallup. 



Nooscope.— Gosnell in Ind. Aff. Rep. 1857, 338, 1858. 

 White River Indians. — Gosnell in Ind. AS. Rep. 

 1856, 338, 1857. 



Nisqualli. A Salish tribe on and about 

 the river of the same name flowing into 

 the s. extension of Puget sd., Wash. 

 The Nisqualli res. is on Nisqualli r. be- 

 tween Pierce and Thurston cos. The 

 name has also been extended to apply to 

 those tribes of the e. side of Puget sd. 

 speaking the same dialect as the above. 

 Such are the Puyallup, Skagit, Snoho- 

 mish, Snokwalmu, and Stilakwamish. 

 Mitsukwic was a former Nisqualli village. 

 The Nisqualli made a treaty with the 

 United States at Medicine cr. , Wash., Dec. 

 26, 1854, ceding certain lands and reserv- 

 ing others. The Executive order of Jan. 

 20, 1857, defined the present Nisqualli res. 



Askwalli.— Gatschet, Kalajmya MS., B. A. E., 31 

 (Calapooya name). Itsxeais. — Gibbs, Nestucca 

 vocab., B. A. E. (Nestucca namei. Nasqually. — 

 White in Ind. Aft'. Rep., 460. 1S43. Nesquallis.— 

 Duflotde Mofras, Expl., il, 335, 1S44. Nesqually.— 

 U. S. Stat, at Large, xi, 395, ls67. Nez-quales.— 

 Smet, Letters, 231, 1M3. Nez qually.— Hines, 

 Oregon, 29, 1851. Niskwali.— (iatschct in Proc. 

 A. A. A. S., xxxi.577, ]s,S2. Niskwalli— Gibbs in 

 Coiit.N. A. Ethnol. ,1,178, 1877 (used collectively). 

 Nisqualies. — Domcnech, Deserts N. A., I, 442, 1860. 

 Nisquallis.— Sterrett (18.55) in Sen. Ex. Doc. 26, 

 34th Cong., Istsess., 65, 18,56. Nisqually.— Hale in 

 U. S. Expl. Exped., vi,211, 1846. N'squalli.- Gibbs, 

 MS. no. 248, B. A. E. (name strictly belongs to the 

 village at the first dam on Nisqualli r.). ftual- 

 liamisli.— Schoolcraft, Ind. Tribes, vi, 688, 1857. 

 Quallyamish.— Lane quoted bv Schoolcraft, ibid., 

 I, 521, 1851. Skwale.— Hale in V. S. Expl. Exped., 

 VI, 211, 1846. Sk'wa-le ube.— McCaw, Puyallup 

 MS. vocab., B. A. E., 1885 (Puyallup name). 

 Skwali.— Latham in Trans. Philol. Soc. Lond., 

 71, 1856. Skwalliahmish.— (Mbbs in Cant. N. A. 

 Ethnol., I, 17.S, 1.S77. Skwalz.— Gallatin (1846) in 

 Schoolcraft, Ind. Tribes, in, 402, 1853. Squalli- 

 ah-mish.— Gibbs in Pac. R. R. Rep., I, 435, 1855. 

 Squalli-a-mish.— Tolmie, ibid., 434. Squally-ah- 

 mish.— Starling in Ind. AfT. Rep., 170, 1852. 

 Squallyamish. — Scouler in, Tour. Geog. Soc. Lond., 

 I, 224, I.S41. Squawlees.— Meek in H. R. Ex. Doc. 

 76, 30th Cong., 1st sess., 10, 1S4S. Squiath.— Ind. 

 Aff. Rep. I.s5f;, 265. 18.57. Tse Skualli amim.— Gat- 

 schet, Lakmint MS., B. A. E., 105 (Ldkmint- 

 Kalapuya name). 



Nissowaquet. An Ottawa chief, known 

 to the French as La Fourche, who during 

 most of his life resided at Michilimackinac, 

 Mich. He is said to have been made 

 head chief of his tribe as early as 1721 

 (Grignon in Wis. Hist. Coll., in, 198, 

 1857), at which time Charles De Langlade, 

 his close friend and aid, marricil his sis- 

 ter Domitilde. Nissowaquet allied him- 



