THE MONGOLIAN RACE. 



27 



Specimens of ornamental carving in clay-stone, executed by the 

 Chinooks, have become common in museums. Those now obtained, 

 represent little else than the novel objects introduced through Eu- 

 ropean intercourse; and the original patterns appear to have been 

 abandoned. Specimens of anterior date are therefore more inte- 

 resting, and they usually consist of figures of grotesque imaginary 

 quadrupeds, strangely grouped together; to which, it has been sup- 

 posed " that some meaning now lost, was formerly attached." Some 

 stone saucers, obtained by the Expedition, although not free from the 

 suspicion of borrowed ideas, serve to remind us that genius is not the 

 exclusive offspring of civilization. 



Chinook skulls are well known in museums, from the remarkable 

 peculiarity of being artificially flattened. This is accomplished du- 

 ring infancy, by the strange treatment already noticed. Children, in 

 consequence, sometimes presented a very remarkable appearance;* 

 but as they grow up, the cranium tends to resume its natural shape, 

 so that the majority of grown persons hardly manifest the existence of 

 the practice. One eflect, however, seemed to be permanently distin- 

 guishable, in the unusual breadth of face. 



The personal appearance of the Chinooks differs so mucli from that 

 of the aboriginal tribes of the United States, that it was difficult at 

 first to recognise the affinity. Taking them collectively, they are even 

 inferior in stature to the tribes of Interior Oregon ; the oeneral form is 

 shorter and more squat, and the face is rounder and broader when 

 viewed in front. Instances occurred of a fairness of complexion, 

 which I have not seen in other parts of aboriginal America ; and 

 in young children, the colour was often not strikingly deeper than 

 among Europeans. The oblique eye I have scarcely noticed in other 

 parts of America; nor such frequent difficulty in distinguishing men 

 from women, whether in youth or age. The arched nose was, how- 

 ever, very prevalent among the Chinooks. The beard was not always 

 absolutely wanting, but it occasionally attained the length of an inch 

 or more. One man had both beard and whiskers, quite thin, but full 

 two inches long ; and in other respects he much resembled some repre- 

 sentations I have seen of the Esquimaux. The portraits in the fourth 

 and fifth volumes of the Narrative (the Tatouche chief, Ramsey, and 

 George), give a very good idea of the usual appearance of the Chi- 

 nooks. 



* Sec the jidi-trail in the Narrative of the Expedition, vol. iv. p. 388. 



