172 



The Upper Tsihal is. who for the present purpose may be mentioned 

 here, are a connecting link between the Kowhtz, tlie Lower Tsihahs, and 

 the NiskwalH. By the Indians on "the sound they are known as Stak-ta- 

 niish, or inland people ; by others, as Nii-so-lupsh, a name apparently 

 referring to the rapids in their stream, as the same is applied to the Upper 

 Kowlitz, and by the "Willopah as Kwu-teh-ni. Their country included 

 generally all that drained by the Tsihalis above the mouth of the Satsop, 

 embracing some of the most fertile land in the Territory. Tliis tril)e also 

 is verging on extinction ; the total number, as near as could be ascertained, 

 being 216. Their principal chief, at the time of the settlement by Ameri- 

 cans, was Tsin-nit-ieh, a man of rather extensive influence. Since his 

 death they can scarcely be said to have had one, though Gowannus is recog- 

 nized by the agency as the nominal head. No treaties have as yet been 

 concluded with any of the preceding. 



Tlie Kwhiaiutlj of which tribe the Kwe'hts-hu form part, Avere present 

 at the council. This tribe speak little more than a dialect of the Lower 

 Tsihalis tongue. They are mostly on or at the mouth of the two streams 

 which bear their respective names. The Kwinaiutl is celebrated for its 

 salmon, which are considered to excel in quality even those of the Columbia. 

 The Kwillehyit were not represented at the council, though two boys 

 belonging to the tribe accompanied the Kwinaiutl, probably sent to ascer- 

 tain its objects. It had been supposed previously that the different branches 

 of the latter extended to the Makah territory, and that all of them were 

 present by their delegation. Under this supposition, they would have been 

 treated with as a single tribe had not the accidental discovery of the essen- 

 tial difference in language led to more particular inquiry. This circum- 

 stance of itself shows the importance of ethnological investigation in the 

 management of Indian affairs. In classifying the languages of the district, 

 I have provisionally placed the Kwille'hiut, as well as the Tsema-kum, of 

 whom mention will be made hereafter, among those of the Selish family, 

 conceiving the analogy to be sufficient to authorize tlie conclusion. The 

 very great dissimilarity between them and the other adjacent tongues is, 

 however, recognized by their neighbors, who say that they "speak like birds," 

 a plu-ase commonly used in regard to language aljsolutely foreign. There 



