278 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL ON THE NORTH-WEST COAST, VANCOUVER'S ISLAND, &c. [1855. 



A oliief dyia", his wlclow considered a sacrifice as indispen- 

 sable but having selected a victim of rather too much impor- 

 tance, she was unable for sometime to accomplish her object; 

 at length the nephew of the chief, uo longer able to bear the 

 contin'ual taunts of cowardice which she unceasingly heaped 

 upon him, seized his gun and started for the Company's Eort 

 on the river, about 20 miles distant. On arriving, he was 

 courteously received by Mr. Black, the gentleman in charge 

 of the Fort, who expressed great regret at the death of his old 

 friend the chief. After presenting the Indian with something to 

 eat and aiving him some tobacco, Mr. Black turned to leave the 

 room, and while opening the door was shot from behind by his 

 treacherous guest and immediately expired. The murderer 

 succeeded in escaping from the Fort, but the tribe, who were 

 warmly attached to Mr. Black, took his revenge upon them- 

 selves and hunted him down. This was done more to evince 

 their high esteem for Mr. Black than from any sense of impro- 

 priety in the customary sacrifice. 



Amongst the Chinooks I have never heard any traditions as 

 to their former origin, although such traditions are common 

 amongst those on the east side of the Rocky Mountains. They 

 do not believe in any future state of punishment, although in 

 this world they suppose themselves exposed to the malicious 

 designs of the Skocoom or evil genius, to whom they attribute 

 all their misfortunes and ill luck. The Good Spirit is called 

 the Bias Soch-a-U Ti-yah, that is the Great High Chief from 

 whom they obtain all that is good in this life, and to whose 

 happy and peaceful hunting grounds they will all eventually 

 go, to reside for ever in comfort and abundance. 



The medicine men of the tribe are supposed to possess a 

 mysterious influence with these two spirits, either for good or 

 evil, and of course possess great power in the tribe. These 

 medicine men form a secret society, the initiation into which 

 is accompanied with great ceremony and much expense. I 

 witnessed, whilst amongst them, the initiation of a candidate, 

 which was as follows : — The candidate has to prepare a feast 

 for his friends and all who choose to partake of it, and make 

 presents to the other medicine men. A lodge is prepared for 

 him, which he enters and remains alone for three days and 

 nights, without food, whilst those already initiated keep dancing 

 and singing round the lodge during the whole time. After 

 this fast, which is supposed to endue him with wonderful skill, 

 he is taken up apparently lifeless and plunged into the nearest 

 cold water, where they rub and wash him until he revives. 

 This they call " washing the dead." As soon as he revives he 

 runs into the woods, and soon returns dressed as a medicine 

 man, which generally consists of the light down of the goose 

 stucis all over their bodies and heads with thick grease, and a 

 mantle of frazed cedar bark ; with the medicine rattle in his 

 hand he now collects all his property, blankets, shells and orna- 

 ments, and distributes the whole amongst his friends, trusting 

 for his future support to the fees of his profession. The 

 dancing and singing are still continued with great vigour dur- 

 ing the division of the property, at the conclusion of which 

 the whole party again sit down to feast, apparently with mira- 

 culous appetites, the quantity of food consumed being perfectly 

 incredible. 



I witnessed one day their mod^ of treatment of the sick 

 whilst passing through a village. Hearing a horrible noise in 

 one of the lodges, I entered it, and found an old woman sup- 

 porting one of the handsomest girls of the tribe I had seen ; 

 cross-legged and naked in the middle of the room sat the 

 medicine man with a wooden dish of water before him, twelve 

 or fifteen other men sitting round the lodge. The object in 



view was to cure the girl of a disease affecting her side. As 

 soon as my presence was noticed a space was cleared for me to 

 sit down. The ofilciating medicine man appeared in a state of 

 profuse perspiration from the exertions he had used, and soon 

 took his seat amongst the rest as if quite exhausted ; a younger 

 medicine man then took his place in fi-ont of the bowl and 

 close beside the patient; throwing off his blanket he com- 

 menced singing and gesticulating in the most violent manner, 

 whilst the others kept time by beating with little sticks on 

 hollow wooden bowls and drums, singing continually. After 

 exercising himself in this manner for about half an hour, until 

 the perspiration ran in streams down his body, he darted sud- 

 denly upon the young woman catching hold of her side with 

 his teeth and shaking her for a few minutes, as one dog does 

 another in fighting, the patient seeming to sufi'er great agony 

 he then relinquished his hold, and cried out he had got it, at 

 the same time holding his hands to his mouth, after which he 

 plunged them in the water and pretended to hold down with 

 great difficulty the disease which he had extracted lest it might 

 spring out and return to its victim. At length having obtained 

 the mastery over it, turning himself round tome in an exulting 

 manner, he held something up between the finger and thumb 

 of each hand, which had the appearance of a piece of cartilage, . 

 whereupon one of the Indians sharpened his knife and 

 divided it in two, leaving one end in each hand. One of the 

 pieces he threw into the water and the other into the fire, 

 accompanying the action with a diabolical noise which none 

 but a medicine man can make ; after which he got up perfectly 

 well satisfied with himself, although the poor patient seemed to 

 me anything but relieved by the violent treatment she had 

 undergone. 



My principal object in travelling among the Indian tribes of 

 the Far West was to obtain accurate sketches of their chiefs, 

 medicine men, &c., and representations of their most charac- 

 teristic manners and customs, but it was only by great persua- 

 sion that I could induce the Indians to allow me to take their 

 portraits. They had some undefined superstitious dread of 

 losing something by the process, as though in taking their 

 likeness something pertaining to themselves was carried ofi'. 

 The women, moreover, had the idea that the possessor of their 

 picture would hold an unlimited infiuence over them. In one 

 case I had taken the likeness of a woman at the Cowlitz river, 

 and on my return about three months afterwards, I called at 

 the lodge of Kisscox, the chief of the tribe, where I had been 

 in the habit of visiting frequently, and had always been received 

 with great kindness, but on this occasion I found him and his 

 family unusually distant in their manner, and the children even 

 running away from me and hiding ; at last he asked me if I 

 had not taken the likeness of a woman when last amongst 

 them, I said I had, and mentioned her name, " Cawitchum," 

 a dead silence ensued, nor could I get the slightest answer to 

 my enquiries. Upon leaving the lodge I met a half-breed, who 

 told me that Cawitchum was dead, and that I was supposed to 

 be the cause of her death. The silence was occasioned by my 

 having mentioned a dead person's name, which is considered 

 disrespectful to the deceased, and unlucky. I immediately left 

 the neighbourhood, well knowing the danger that would result 

 from my meeting with any of her relations. 



Upon trying to persuade another Indian to sit for his like- 

 ness he asked me repeatedly if it would not endanger his life ; 

 being veiy much in want of tobacco he at length appeared 

 convinced by my assurances that it could do him no harm, but 

 when the picture was finished he held up the tobacco and said 

 it was a small piece to risk his life for. I asked another Indian 



