INDIAN TRIBES OF WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 
427 
tial benefit to the Indian, and of great convenience to the citizen—a well-considered system of 
apprenticeship. Neither those of the coast nor those of the interior have any objection to service ; 
on the contrary, they all regard it as an advantage in securing a certainty of food, and the means 
of purchasing necessaries. Large numbers of Spokanes, Yakimas, &c., come down in the winter 
to Vancouver, Portland, and the other towns, to seek employment, and their number is yearly 
increasing. They do small jobs, and work as boatmen, porters, and house-servants, and, besides 
many presents of clothing, get good wages, averaging thirty dollars a month. They are, however, 
as might be expected, inconstant, and after a short time return to their homes, or spend their 
money in gambling before seeking work again. In a country where labor is as much needed as 
it is here, even this comparatively unprofitable kind is in demand. Were, however, a measure 
adopted which would give permanency to the relation of master and servant, and at the same 
time protect the rights of the latter, the value of Indian labor would be greatly raised. As it is, 
many persons hold slaves, purchased from their Indian masters, who are to a certain extent 
profitable, though they are generally of the worst class. The Indians show considerable me¬ 
chanical ingenuity, and would undoubtedly make good blacksmiths, carpenters, and mechanics 
generally. As household domestics, attendants on the saw-mills, and in many other ways, they 
can be employed to advantage; but it is especially as farm servants that the proposed measure 
would be most useful, as, at the expiration of their term of service, they would cany back with 
them a sufficient knowledge of agriculture to improve their condition at home. I would therefore 
recommend that the superintendent of Indian affairs, or any full agent, under such general regula¬ 
tions as the superintendent may direct, be authorized, with the consent of the parents or next rela¬ 
tions, to bind any Indian child as an apprentice to a citizen of good character and standing, on 
such terms and for such time as may be agreed upon, not, however, to extend beyond the period 
when the apprentice shall reach the age of twenty-one years; the contract subject to be terminated 
by the superintendent or agent, should he be satisfied of personal ill-treatment, immoral use, or 
an intention to leave the Territory. As the practical details of such a system can hardly be per¬ 
fected in advance, and as abuses might arise which would require an earlier action than could 
be procured from Congress, it is suggested that the superintendent be vested with entire powers, 
subject only to the revision of the department. 
These measures, it is believed, are sufficiently comprehensive to cover the whole ground, and 
at the same time preserve all that is requisite of the system. 
The western division of the Territory remains to be considered. On the Columbia river and 
at Shoalwater bay are a few remnants of the once numerous Chinooks. Of these there were, 
properly speaking, two nations—the Upper and the Lower Chinooks; the.former extending from 
the Dalles nearly to the Cowlitz river; the latter from thence to the ocean. As these are better- 
known from previous accounts than any others on the Pacific, it is unnecessary to dwell at length 
upon them. Besides the small party at the Cascades already referred to, there are of the Upper 
nation but five bands, living at different points on the Washington side of the river, and one at the 
mouth of Dog river, in Oregon. In whatever arrangement is made, it would be well to include 
the whole. They number but about 200. Of the Low r er Chinooks there are six or seven settle¬ 
ments, most of which consist of single families. The one on Chinook beach is the largest, and 
amounts to 66. Almost all these are, however, intermingled with the Chihalis. One of their 
grounds is upon the south side of the Columbia, opposite the mouth of the Cowlitz, and therefore 
in Oregon. The total number of this tribe is reduced to about 120. There are four persons 
who claim to be chiefs: Ske-ma-que-up at Wahkiakum, To-tili-cum at Woody Island, E-la-wah 
at Chinook, and Toke at Shoalwater bay. As this last named locality has only recently been 
much known, a rather more particular notice of it is not out of place. It was realty the principal 
seat of the Chinooks proper, who resorted to the Columbia mostly for their spring salmon, while 
they dug their clams and procured their winter supplies on the bay. It formed, in fact, a perfect 
Indian Paradise in its adaptation to canoe travel and the abundance of scale and shell-fish which 
