INDIAN TRIBES OF WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 
405 
The Indians ride with a hair-rope knotted around the under jaw for a bridle. The men use a 
stuffed pad, with wooden stirrups. The women sit astride, in a saddle made with a very high 
pommel and cantle, and in travelling carry their infants either dangling by the cradle-strap to 
the former, or slung in a blanket over their shoulders ; while children of a little larger growth sit 
perched upon the pack-animals, and hold on as best they may. 
The horses are trained to stand for hours with merely a lariat thrown loosely around their 
necks, the end trailing upon the ground. With the whites they are at first as shy as are Ameri¬ 
can horses or mules with the Indians; but they suffer handling from the squaws and children 
with perfect contentment, and bang around the huts like dogs. When camping near them we 
often found the horses an intolerable nuisance, from their incessant whinnying during the night. 
Whenever the musquitoes were abundant they posted themselves in the smoke of the fires. It 
is the business of the squaws in travelling to pack the animals, the men contenting themselves 
with catching them up; and they pile on the most heterogeneous assortment of luggage with a 
skill that would immortalize a professional packer. In breaking horses the Indians usually blind 
them before mounting, often tying down their ears in addition. A strap or cord is then passed 
around the body of the animal, loose enough to admit the knees of the rider. Much time is spent 
in soothing and quieting the beast, as the Indian has plenty of it upon his hands. When every¬ 
thing is ready he vaults to his back, always from the off-side, slips his knees under the girth 
and tightens it, withdraws the muffle, and sits prepared for a series of stiff-legged plunges, end¬ 
ing in a charge. If the horse throws himself—for throw his rider he cannot—the quick straight¬ 
ening of the leg releases the knee, and he is prepared for the emergency. 
In describing the household goods of the Indian, his dogs are not to be forgotten. They vary 
considerably in form with different tribes, but always preserve the same general character. 
Quarrelsome and cowardly, inveterate thieves, suspicious and inquisitive, they are constantly 
engaged in fights among themselves, or in prowling around the lodges for food. The approach of 
a stranger is heralded by short, sharp yelps, succeeded by a general scamper. They all bear ihe 
same mysterious resemblance to the cayote—the sharp muzzle, erect ears, and stiffly curling 
tail. Notwithstanding their worthlessness, they seem to have a strong attachment to their owners, 
and an Indian camp would be a novelty without its pack of curs. Very few characteristic features 
remain among these people. Their long intercourse with the Hudson’s Bay Company, and oflate 
years with the Americans, has obliterated what peculiarities they may have had; nor is there any 
essential difference in their habits or manners from those of the Indians adjoining them. They use, 
for the most part, the arms and utensils of the whites, and the gun has superseded the bow. The 
pails and baskets, constructed from the bark of the cedars, saddles and fishing apparatus, are 
their principal articles of domestic manufacture; and even of such things it is almost as common 
to find the imported substitutes. 
In regard to moral character they are much superior to the river Indians ; not that perfect 
virtue is by any means to be expected, but they are more strict in respect to their women, particu¬ 
larly the married ones, and they are far less thievish. 
Their mode of disposing of their dead, like that of their kindred tribes, is in the ground, but 
without any attempt at coffins, the body being merely wrapped in its clothing. Just before our 
arrival at Chequoss a man had died of the smallpox, and those who had buried him were puri¬ 
fying themselves. During the three days occupied in this, they absented themselves from camp, 
alternately using the sweat-house and plunging into cold water. 
The house, which was a small oven-shaped affair, was heated with stones. The mourning 
is performed by the women, who live apart for a few days, and afterwards bathe and purify them¬ 
selves. They have the common objection to mentioning the names of the dead, as well as their 
own. The practice of medicine, as elsewhere, consists in incantations, and is attended with the 
usual hazards; the life of the practitioner answering for the want of success, or a refusal to 
attend when properly feed. Besides these mummeries, however, they use certain plants as 
