Method of Burial.

Fig. 116. Incised Design on Stone Dish. From Priest Rapids. ½ nat. size. (Drawn from photograph 44537, 9-3. Original in the collection of Mrs. Hinman.)

Fig. 117 (202-8193). Incised Designs on Dentalium Shells. From under the skeleton in grave No. 25 of a child in a stone cyst in dome of volcanic ash near Tampico. Nat. size.Fig. 118 (202-8178). Incised Designs on Dentalium Shells. From among broken and charred human bones of about twelve individuals in cremation circle No. 15 (10) on terrace northwest of the junction of the Naches and Yakima Rivers.

Incised designs on dentalium shells are shown in Figs.117and118. The first four were found under the skeleton in grave No. 25. This skeleton was of a child and was surrounded by a stone cyst buried in a dome of volcanic ash near Tampico, as shown inPlateX. This lot contained two shells ornamented with designs of the type shown ina, but in the one not figured the diamond points met and formed a checker pattern. There were four of the type shown inb, one of the type shown inc, and two like the type shown ind. The specimens shown inFig. 118were found among broken and charred human bones of about twelve individuals in cremation circle No. 15 (10) on the terrace northwest of the mouth of the Naches River. While there was only one specimen of the type shown ina, there were two of the type shown inb, and one like the four represented byFig. 117b. Another cremation circle containing incised dentalium shells is known as No. 18 (13) and was located on the same terrace. The specimens are mere fragments, one ofthem, from the tip of the shell, bears a design similar to that shown inFig. 117b, the other bears a simple incised spiral, the space between one incision and another being about equal to the width of the incision itself. The character of both the technique and the motive of these designs resembles that of those found on similar shells at Kamloops in the Thompson River region[387]and in the Nez Perce area to the east.[388]The design shown inFig. 117aat least reminds us of paintings on the parfleches found among the modern Sahaptin and Plains tribes.

Fig. 119. Incised Pendant made of Steatite with Red Paint (Mercury) in some of the Holes and Lines. From manubrium of adult male skeleton in grave covered with rocks on a low ridge about two and a half miles south of Fort Simcoe. Nat. size. (Original in the collection of Mrs. Lynch.)

The incised design on the pendant made of steatite (p. 94,Fig. 119) does not seem to differ greatly in technique or motive from other incised designs found in this area and in the Thompson River region to the north. While most of the lines and pits can be considered as forming symmetrical or geometric designs, the central figure on the side shown inFig. 119bmay be interpreted as a conventional representation of a life form, namely, a fish. Red paint is rubbed into some of the lines and pits.

The human figure described under costume (p. 100,Fig. 121) is a somewhat conventionalized realistic form indicated by incisions on one surface of a piece of antler 2 to 5 mm. thick.[389]It was found in the grave of an infant under the vertebrae, No. 25 in a dome of volcanic ash. It is of good technique and artistic execution. The eyes are of the shape of a parallelogram with rounded corners. These, with similarly shaped figures on the headdress or inner hair-rolls, and on the hands, knees, and insteps, slightly resemble a motive common in the art of the coast to the northwest. The crescent-shaped mouth and thick lips are indicated by incised lines, while the cheeks are full, and the entire head is somewhat set out in relief from the rest of the object. The radiating figures above the head do not represent feathers in a realistic way, but closely resemble the conventional paintings made by the Dakota on buffalo robes. These paintings have been called sun symbols, but are interpreted by the Dakota as the feathers of a war-bonnet or other headdress. The fingers and thumb are set off from the palm by two lines, which, with the mark at the wrist, make a figure resembling the eye-form so common in Northwest coast art. The concentric design on the knees is probably related to the wheel, sun, or spider-web pattern common as a symbol on the shirts, blankets, and tents of some Plains tribes. The feet jutting out at the sides are slightly wider than the legs. The inside of the foot is straight with the inside of the leg, while the outer part is curved. The two, taken together with the lower portion of the legs, resemble a divided hoof. The divided hoof is a common design among Plains tribes.

There are only two specimens, of which I am aware, that resemble this. One (T-22107, 177 II) consists of seven fragments of a thin piece of antler found by Mrs. James Terry at Umatilla, Oregon, only about 83 miles in a southerly direction from Tampico. The back of this specimen is largely disintegrated, except on the two dog heads, and these being only about 5 mm. thick suggest that the whole figure was thin. The carving (Fig. 123) is in much greater relief than in the specimen from Tampico, although some of the lines are merely incisions. The tongue projects between, but not beyond, the lips. The cheeks are raised and there is considerable character to the face. The nose is aquiline and narrow, but the alæ are indicated. The orbits are sunken and horizontal oblong pits evidently indicate the eyes. The eyebrows are raised. Two horizontal incisions extend across the brow. Below the chin, at the left, are four incisions in a raised piece. This seems to represent a hand held with the fingers to the neck. A similar hand was probably at the right. A foot, with four toes in relief projecting above the brow as high as do the eyebrows, rests immediately above the upper horizontal incision and apparently indicates that some animal, possibly a bird, stood upon the human head. The fragment, however, is not sufficiently large to settle these points. Two of the other fragments are apparently intended to represent the heads of dogs. The eyes are indicated by the common circle and dot design; while the nostrils in one are represented by drilled dots. The shape of the heads is brought out by the carving of theedge of the object. The fragments are broken off at the neck, and the lower side of each shows the finished surface of the back of the object. The remaining fragments show little or nothing. The animal heads and the feet and hands suggest the possibility that in some cases animal forms were combined in such figures, as on the Northwest Coast, although the general style of art of the object is like neither Haida nor Kwakiutl work, but more like the carvings of Puget Sound and the lower Columbia River. The fact that the carving of this face is more in relief helps to explain the intent of the author of the Tampico specimen.

The other specimen (50-3110 a, b, c) is a quill-flattener, made of antler (Fig. 122). It was obtained by Dr. Clark Wissler from the Dakota at Pine Ridge, South Dakota, who also made reference to other objects of the same sort among the tribe. Porcupine quills were flattened on it with the thumb nail until after it had been broken, when the lower or pointed end had been used as a brush in applying color to form designs on various articles made of buckskin. This end is stained a deep red and the point is much worn. The object, in general, resembles in shape and size the specimen from Tampico. Its sides are somewhat thinner and sharper. The slight indications of hair or headdress, the deeply cut eyes and mouth in the concave side, the holes or ears at the sides of the head, and the methodofindicating the arms by slits, setting them off, from the body, are all details which emphasize this general resemblance. The technical work is about as good as that of the Tampico specimen, but the art work is inferior. One edge of the convex or outer surface of the bone has twenty-five notches, and in each tooth left between them, as well as above the top one, is a small drilled dot. Some of the notches on the other side are broken away with the arm, which is missing. On the same surface are twenty-six horizontal incisions, which were interpreted as year counts. The general shape of the body and the rows of dots are similar to those of the figure pecked on the cliff at Sentinal Bluffs (PlateXI, Fig. 2).

The Tampico specimen may have developed from a quill-flattener, which implement was probably of common and characteristic use among Indian mothers, not only of the Plains but also as far west as Tampico. If the result of such a development, it had probably lost its domestic use and become entirely symbolic.

Mr. Teit has heard the Thompson Indians speak of figures carved by some men in their spare time, and valued highly as curiosities and works of art. They had no practical value, and were generally used as ornaments inside the house. They were in wood, bark, stone and antler, more generally in the last three, and usually represented the human figure. Although the Indians aver that they were sometimes very elaborately and truthfully carved,it is impossible to say, in the absence of a good specimen from the Thompson Indians whether there was any resemblance in style to that of this figure. The Thompson sometimes, placed such figures on the tops of houses, but the great majority were shown inside the houses. The Indian who made the one illustrated[390]told Mr. Teit that he had seen some of larger size which had taken a carver's spare time for many months.

The headdress seems to be a so-called war-bonnet, and would indicate that the figure was that of an important personage; perhaps a suggestion of what had been hoped for the child's position in the tribe or after death. The arms, body, legs, and feet are apparently bare and ornamented with ceremonial paintings, while about the waist is an apron. The whole object seems of a rather high order of art to be a mere child's doll, and it would seem more plausible to consider it as an emblematical figure. The general style of art and costume indicated show little or no resemblance to those of the Northwest Coast, but a strong relationship to those of the Plains.

There are some incised lines on the pipe shown inFig. 127. Those on the pipe shown inFig. 104are described onp. 131. In the Nez Perce region, according to Spinden, incised designs, some of them of a pictographic character and probably modern are found on pipes, and designs of ladder shape are found on a flat plummet-shaped bone object.[391]

Notches.The notch in the base of the spatulate object made of bone shown inFig. 58and the two notches in each side of the base may be for practical purposes but were probably intended to be artistic, while the six notches in the edge of the pendant made of slate shown inFig. 81probably also have been intended for decoration or even to make the object represent something although possibly the representation may be rather conventional.

In the Nez Perce region to the east,[392]a notched stone has been found near Asotin and notches occur as decorations on objects found in the Thompson River region to the north, but, of this type, they are rare if not absent among archaeological finds on the coast to the west from Fort Rupert on northern Vancouver Island to Tacoma.

Circle and Dot Designs.The circle and dot design is commonly found in this region. It may be seen on the top of the pestle shown inFig. 30. There is one of these designs in the tip and eleven about equi-distant in a row around the edge of the knob. In the Nez Perce region to the east[393]the design is found on bone gambling pieces. Further east, this design is also found. This motive may be seen around the top of the bowl on a pipe(50-4867a, b) from the Gros Ventre Indians of Montana collected by Dr. Clark Wissler, which, however, is considered to be recent. To the west, it is not found among ancient things on the coast but among recent objects it may be seen on certain bone gambling cylinders and on beaver teeth used for dice. The design is common in the Thompson River region[394]and the Lillooet Valley between there and the coast.[395]It is perhaps even more frequently seen on the modern things among the Thompson River Indians[396]who often visit the Okanogan country.

The pipe shown inFig. 104was secured from an Indian who is known to have frequently visited the Okanogan area so that if he did not bring the pipe from there, he may at least have gotten the idea for this style of decoration there. This suggests an explanation for the occurrence of the circle and dot design on what are apparently older specimens from the Yakima country. On the lower end of this specimen is a design made up of a zigzag line based upon an incision running around where the stem meets the bowl. The five triangles thus formed are nearly equilateral and there is a circle and dot design in each. Other circles and dots are arranged in seven equi-distant longitudinal pairs about the middle of the bowl. In addition, parallel to these, and between two of the pairs, there is a double-headed figure each end of which resembles the form of a crude fleur-de-lis. All of the incisions on this pipe are colored with red paint. The circle and dot design may be seen on the limestone pipe shown inFig. 106. There is one circle and dot on the tip of the base, encircling this is a row of eight of them and outside of this still another circle of nine. Around the opening for the stem is a circle made up of eight, around the mouth of the bowl are ten and between the circle around the bowl and the one around the stem are three of the circles and dots. A typical circle and dot decoration is shown inFig. 120of what, as stated onp. 65, may possibly have been used as a whetstone. The object is made of slate and the top is broken off. It is 142 mm. long, 18 mm. wide and 6 mm. thick. The lower end and side edges are rounded. On the reverse, the design is similar except that it is continued upward by three circles and dots arranged in the same order as the uppermost three on the obverse and that there are several slightly incised marks on it, one of which, of X form, makes a tangent and a cord with the next to the lower circle and dot. All the circles and dots are filled with red paint. There are twelve incisions, possibly tally marks, on one side edge near the point. The original is in the collection of Mr. Janeck.[397]

The symmetrical arrangement of the perforations and the pits on both sides of the object shown inFig. 77was no doubt due to artistic motives.

Pecked Grooves.Some designs were made by pecking grooves in stone. Part of these, those forming petroglyphs, have been mentioned onp. 121and are shown inPlatesXI-XIII. The upper portion of the marking on the grooved stone shown inFig. 14is made in this way. It may represent a feather headdress, such as is mentioned onp. 119and such as is so common in the pictographs as well as in the petroglyphs. The design on the lower part of the same object was formed in the same way and on the obverse of the net sinker shown inFig. 15are pecked grooves forming three concentric semi-circles on each side of the groove and nearly parallel with the edges of the object. Taken together, they give the suggestion of a spiral. There are three pecked grooves encircling the stone mortar shown inFig. 20and two around the head of the pestle shown inFig. 25. On each side of the lower part of the pestle shown inFig. 31is a longitudinal design made up of four parallel zigzag pecked grooves. The two pecked grooves at right angles to each other on the specimen shown inFig. 60while they are probably made for use may have been interpreted as decorative or artistic. This may also be said of the three pecked grooves at right angles to each other on the club-head shown inFig. 61, and it seems likely that the eight pecked pits made in the middle of the spaces between these grooves and possibly even the two pits at either pole of the object were intended to embellish it. Pecking was also the process employed in forming the sculpture shown inFig. 125. The four pyramidal or dome-shaped nipples on the top of the knob of a pestle found at Five Mile Rapids mentioned onp. 45were probably made by pecking, followed by polishing and they may have served a ceremonial as well as a decorative purpose.

Fig. 120. Circle and Dot Design on Whetstone made of Slate. From the Yakima Valley. ½ nat. size. (Drawn from photograph 44503, 6-4. Original in the collection of Mr. Janeck.)Fig. 121 (202-8191). Costumed Human Figure made of Antler. From grave No. 25 of a child in dome of volcanic ash near Tampico. ½ nat. size.Fig. 122 (50-3110a, b, c). Quill-flattener made of Antler. From the Dakota at Pine Ridge, South Dakota. ¼ nat. size. (Collected by Dr. Clark Wissler.)Fig. 123 (T-22107, 11-177). Fragments of a Figure made of Antler. From Umatilla, Oregon. ½ nat. size. (Collected by Mrs. James Terry.)

Animal and Human Forms.There are a number of sculptures that apparently were intended to represent heads of animals, whole animals and human forms. The top of the pestle shown inFig. 31is sculptured to represent what is apparently an animal head. The top of the one shown inFig. 33has three nipples one of which is longer than the others. This sculpture also seems to represent an animal head, the ears being indicated by the short nipples and the nose by the long one. The top of the pestle shown inFig. 34apparently represents an animal head, the mouth being indicated by the groove, each eye by a pit and there are four incisions across the top or back of the head. A sculptured animal head, with wide open mouth, pits for eyes, and projections for ears on what may be a pestle top, has been found in the Nez Perce region to the east[398]and pestles with headsare found in the Thompson River area to the north.[399]The knob shown inFig. 35(p. 47) is interpreted as representing a snake's head. The heart-shaped knob on the top of the club shown inFig. 68resembles the form of an animal head and stands at an angle of about 45° to the axis of the club. Two of the incised circles probably represent the eyes. The top of the handle of a digging stick made of horn of the Rocky Mountain sheep, shown inFig. 126is sculptured to represent an animal head. It was obtained from an Indian woman living near Union Gap below Old Yakima.

Fig. 124. Fragment of a Sculpture with Hoof-like part. From Pasco. ½ nat. size. (Drawn from a sketch. Original in the collection of Mr. Owen.)

Fig. 124illustrates a fragment of sculpture from Pasco. It is hoof-shaped and is here reproduced from a sketch of the original in the collection of Mr. Owen. The sculptured animal form made of lava shown inFig. 125which was mentioned onp. 38, bears a mortar or dish in its back. It is a good example of an art form which has been specialized so that it may be used or at least so that the useful part is less prominent than the animal figure. It has been sculptured by pecking. The raised eyes are almond-shaped rather than elliptical, and the ears are indicated by raised places on the transverse ridge at the top of the head. The mid-rib or dewlap under the chin is about 6 mm. wide and of thethree transverse grooves in this, only the upper one is deep. The tail is slightly under cut. The grooves are all more or less colored with vermilion, apparently a mineral paint and consequently sufficiently lasting so that we need not consider even the painting as necessarily modern. The general form and especially the four elephantine legs remind us of a somewhat similar animal form with a dish in its back found in a shell heap in the delta of the Fraser River[400]and the animal form with the dish in its back resembles slightly carvings found in the Lillooet Valley[401]and the Thompson River region.

Fig. 125. Sculptured Animal Form made of Lava. From an Indian who claimed to have found it in a grave on the Yakima Reservation two miles below Union Gap below Old Yakima. ½ nat. size. (Drawn from photographs 44452, 2-1, 44455, 2-4, and 44503, 6-4. Original catalogue No. 36 in the collection of Mr. Janeck.)

The pipe made of steatite shown inFig. 128[402]illustrates the modern type of carving in soft, easily cut stone, as well as the style of white metal inlaying employed here during recent years. In this case, the inlaying is nearly bilaterally symmetrical as may be seen by comparingFig. 128awith the outlines incandd. The carving is not symmetrical, the human form holding a fish-like form appearing on one side only, while the rear figure evidently represents a turtle which animal is found in the valley. The other two figures are not easily identified but the forward one perhaps represents a dog, the white metal inlay on it possibly representing a harness, but as likely was merely for decoration. The figure on the base of the pipe might represent a lizard or any quadruped with a long tail. This form and the way it is represented as clinging to the cylindrical part of the pipe at least remind us of similar forms seen on totem poles in the region from Puget Sound to Victoria.[403]The technique is rather crude and the style of art does not closely resemble that of the coast, but reminds us of certain sculptures found on pipes and on the carved wooden stems of pipes in the Plains where this particular shape of pipe is much more common than here.

Fig. 126 (202-8121). Handle of Digging Stick made of Horn of Rocky Mountain Sheep. From an Indian woman living near Union Gap below Old Yakima. ¼ nat. size.

InFig. 105is illustrated a fragment of a sculptured tubular pipe made from steatite by cutting or scratching and drilling the soft material rather than by pecking. It was apparently intended to represent an anthropoid form. The mouth is indicated by an incision, the other features of the headare more difficult to determine, but both the arm and the leg stand out in high relief. As previously suggested onp. 111, this style of art slightly resembles that found in the region from the Lillooet Valley to the Lower Willamette and as far east at least as The Dalles.[404]It is possible that some of the sculptures found in the Thompson River region[405]adjoining the Lillooet Valley on the east and the Yakima region on the north, may be somewhat related to the style of art of this fragmentary pipe. The human form shown inFig. 121has been discussed onp. 127as it is incised rather than carved in the round. Clark mentions a "malet of stone curiously carved,"[406]which he says was used by the Indians near the mouth of the Snake River and Eells[407]mentions two stone carvings from the general area of which this is a part which he describes as horses' heads. If this interpretation be correct, the carvings are evidently modern. The fish form shown inFig. 119has been mentioned onp. 127.

Fig. 127. Pipe made of Stone. From a hillside grave on Toppenish Creek near Fort Simcoe. Collected by Mrs. Lynch. ½ nat. size. (Now in the collection of Mr. George G. Heye, New York.)

The very form of the pestle shown inFig. 34and the symmetrical outline of the club shown inFig. 62are in themselves somewhat artistic, while the fact that the pipe shown inFig. 113somewhat represents a tomahawk or hatchet suggests that it may have been sculptured as representative art. It seems likely that it was modelled after the metal tomahawk pipe introduced by the traders which of course would indicate that it was recently made.

Coast Art.The pipe shown inFig. 127which was mentioned onp. 116is clearly of the art of the northwest coast. It must have been brought to this region from as far at least, as the Kwakiutl and Haida region, and may be the work of an artist from that part of the coast, on Vancouver Island, north of Comox. Although in a fragmentary condition, this sculpture exhibits an excellent technique of its style of art. Astride of the stem is ahuman figure with the left hand to the chest, and the right one resting on the right knee. The head is missing, the chest muscular. The other end of the pipe apparently represents the thunder bird. The head and most of the figure are bilaterally symmetrical. The beak is cut off in such a manner as to form a flat surface at the tip. The feathers of the rear portion of the left wing extend in a different direction from those on the tip, while those of the right wing are parallel with those on the rear part of the left wing. The lower side or tail of this bird figure is broken off, but it probably extended to the broken place shown at the neck of the human face on the base of the pipe. In it, may be seen a groove, the half of a longitudinal perforation which does not connect with the pipe bowl. The carving on the right side of the pipe bowl, the top of which is broken away, is practically the same as that on the left, while the base is carved to represent a human head.

Fig. 128. Sculptured and Inlaid Pipe made of Steatite with Wooden Stem. From Chief Moses of the Yakima Region. ½ nat. size. (Drawn from photograph 44508, 6-9, 6-10, 6-11. Original in the collection of Mrs. Lynch.)

FOOTNOTES:[347]A few of which were figured and described in Smith, (g), pp. 195-203, and abstracted in The Scientific American Supplement, pp. 23876-8, Vol. LVIII, No. 1490, July 23, 1904, and in Records of the Past, pp. 119-127, Vol. IV, Part IV, April, 1905.[348]Smith, (c), Figs. 360b and 378; (d), Figs. 109, 110 and 111.[349]Lewis, p. 191.[350]Spinden, p. 236.[351]Lewis, p. 191.[352]Spinden, p. 236.[353]Spinden, p. 233.[354]Spinden, p. 232.[355]Teit, (a), p. 339 and 381.[356]Teit, (b), Pl.IX.[357]Spinden, PlateX, Fig. 5.[358]Museum negative no. 44479, 4-4 taken from the east. First reproduced in Smith, (g), Fig. 2, PlateVIII.[359]Museum negative no. 44483, 4-8 from the north. First reproducedIbid., Fig. 1, PlateVIII.[360]Museum negative no. 44485, 4-10 from the north.[361]Museum negative no. 44480, 4-5 from the north.[362]Museum negatives nos. 44486, 4-11, 44487 4-12 from the north.[363]Bancroft, IV., p. 735; Lord, II, pp. 102 and 260; Gibbs, I, p. 411.[364]Mallery, p. 26.[365]Lewis, p. 190.[366]Spinden, p. 191.[367]Ibid., p. 222.[368]Ibid., p. 231.[369]Ibid., p. 216.[370]Spinden, p. 232.[371]First reproduced. Smith, (g), Fig. 2, PlateIX; negative no. 44534, 8-11, taken from the west.[372]Ibid., Fig. 1; Negative no. 44533, 8-10 as viewed from the north.[373]Spinden, Fig. 4, PlateX.[374]Smith, (b), PlateXI.[375]Ibid., Fig. 115.[376]Museum negative no. 44463, 2-12 from the east and from a greater distance, showing its relation to the next in negative catalogue no. 44162, 2-11.[377]Represented in Museum, with the one shown in Fig. 1, by negative no. 44462, 2-11 and from a nearer point as shown in this figure in negative no. 44476, 4-1.[378]Museum negative no. 44477, 4-2, is also represented from a greater distance in negative no. 44478, 4-3.[379]Museum negative no. 45696.[380]Smith, (b), Fig. 117a and PlateXI.[381]Smith, (a), Fig. 52.[382]Smith, (b), Fig. 115.[383]Ibid., Fig. 117a.[384]Mallery, p. 26.[385]Cf. Spinden, Figs. 4 and 5, PlateX.[386]Smith, (c), p. 411.[387]Smith, (c), Fig. 369.[388]Spinden, p. 181 and PlateIX, Fig. 15.[389]First described and figured, Smith, (g). See also abstract in Scientific American Supplement pp. 23876-8, Vol. LVIII, No. 1490, July 23, 1904 and in Records of the Past, l. c.; The Saturday Evening Post, Sept. 10, 1904 and the Washington Magazine.[390]Teit, (a), p. 376. Fig. 297.[391]Spinden, p. 188 and PlateVII, Fig. 31.[392]Ibid., p. 183, PlateIX, Fig. 3.[393]Spinden, p. 252, PlateVII, Fig. 30.[394]Smith, (c), Fig. 378; (d), Fig. 109.[395]Teit, (b), Fig. 92.[396]Teit, (a), Figs. 118 and 210.[397]Museum negative no. 44503, 6-4.[398]Spinden, PlateIX, Fig. 19.[399]Smith, (c), Fig. 341a; Teit, (a), Fig. 295.[400]Smith, (a), Fig. 56.[401]Teit, (b), Fig. 97.[402]First figured on p. 283, Archaeology of the Yakima Valley by Harlan I. Smith, Washington Magazine, June, 1906.[403]Cf. also Smith, (b), Fig. 185a.[404]Teit, (b), Figs. 68 and 95-97; Smith, (d), Fig. 183 and especially Figs. 195b and 198.[405]Smith, (d), Fig. 113; (b), Fig. 185a.[406]Lewis and Clark, III, p. 124.[407]Eells, p. 293.

FOOTNOTES:

[347]A few of which were figured and described in Smith, (g), pp. 195-203, and abstracted in The Scientific American Supplement, pp. 23876-8, Vol. LVIII, No. 1490, July 23, 1904, and in Records of the Past, pp. 119-127, Vol. IV, Part IV, April, 1905.

[348]Smith, (c), Figs. 360b and 378; (d), Figs. 109, 110 and 111.

[349]Lewis, p. 191.

[350]Spinden, p. 236.

[351]Lewis, p. 191.

[352]Spinden, p. 236.

[353]Spinden, p. 233.

[354]Spinden, p. 232.

[355]Teit, (a), p. 339 and 381.

[356]Teit, (b), Pl.IX.

[357]Spinden, PlateX, Fig. 5.

[358]Museum negative no. 44479, 4-4 taken from the east. First reproduced in Smith, (g), Fig. 2, PlateVIII.

[359]Museum negative no. 44483, 4-8 from the north. First reproducedIbid., Fig. 1, PlateVIII.

[360]Museum negative no. 44485, 4-10 from the north.

[361]Museum negative no. 44480, 4-5 from the north.

[362]Museum negatives nos. 44486, 4-11, 44487 4-12 from the north.

[363]Bancroft, IV., p. 735; Lord, II, pp. 102 and 260; Gibbs, I, p. 411.

[364]Mallery, p. 26.

[365]Lewis, p. 190.

[366]Spinden, p. 191.

[367]Ibid., p. 222.

[368]Ibid., p. 231.

[369]Ibid., p. 216.

[370]Spinden, p. 232.

[371]First reproduced. Smith, (g), Fig. 2, PlateIX; negative no. 44534, 8-11, taken from the west.

[372]Ibid., Fig. 1; Negative no. 44533, 8-10 as viewed from the north.

[373]Spinden, Fig. 4, PlateX.

[374]Smith, (b), PlateXI.

[375]Ibid., Fig. 115.

[376]Museum negative no. 44463, 2-12 from the east and from a greater distance, showing its relation to the next in negative catalogue no. 44162, 2-11.

[377]Represented in Museum, with the one shown in Fig. 1, by negative no. 44462, 2-11 and from a nearer point as shown in this figure in negative no. 44476, 4-1.

[378]Museum negative no. 44477, 4-2, is also represented from a greater distance in negative no. 44478, 4-3.

[379]Museum negative no. 45696.

[380]Smith, (b), Fig. 117a and PlateXI.

[381]Smith, (a), Fig. 52.

[382]Smith, (b), Fig. 115.

[383]Ibid., Fig. 117a.

[384]Mallery, p. 26.

[385]Cf. Spinden, Figs. 4 and 5, PlateX.

[386]Smith, (c), p. 411.

[387]Smith, (c), Fig. 369.

[388]Spinden, p. 181 and PlateIX, Fig. 15.

[389]First described and figured, Smith, (g). See also abstract in Scientific American Supplement pp. 23876-8, Vol. LVIII, No. 1490, July 23, 1904 and in Records of the Past, l. c.; The Saturday Evening Post, Sept. 10, 1904 and the Washington Magazine.

[390]Teit, (a), p. 376. Fig. 297.

[391]Spinden, p. 188 and PlateVII, Fig. 31.

[392]Ibid., p. 183, PlateIX, Fig. 3.

[393]Spinden, p. 252, PlateVII, Fig. 30.

[394]Smith, (c), Fig. 378; (d), Fig. 109.

[395]Teit, (b), Fig. 92.

[396]Teit, (a), Figs. 118 and 210.

[397]Museum negative no. 44503, 6-4.

[398]Spinden, PlateIX, Fig. 19.

[399]Smith, (c), Fig. 341a; Teit, (a), Fig. 295.

[400]Smith, (a), Fig. 56.

[401]Teit, (b), Fig. 97.

[402]First figured on p. 283, Archaeology of the Yakima Valley by Harlan I. Smith, Washington Magazine, June, 1906.

[403]Cf. also Smith, (b), Fig. 185a.

[404]Teit, (b), Figs. 68 and 95-97; Smith, (d), Fig. 183 and especially Figs. 195b and 198.

[405]Smith, (d), Fig. 113; (b), Fig. 185a.

[406]Lewis and Clark, III, p. 124.

[407]Eells, p. 293.

In ancient times, there were three principal methods of disposing of the dead: in graves in domes of volcanic ash, in rock-slide graves, and in cremation circles. In all of these they were covered with stones.[408]Detailed descriptions of the graves explored by us, are given in the appendix. There are also burials covered with pebbles, some of which may be old; and recent graves (p. 20), where the bodies were apparently buried at length with the feet to the east, and both head and foot marked by a stake, the one at the head being the larger. Simple graves in the level ground known to be old were not found. Gibbs saw bodies wrapped in blankets and tied upright to tree trunks at some distance above the ground near the mouth of the Okanogan River.[409]

Burials in Domes of Volcanic Ash.In this arid region are stretches of country locally known as 'scab land,' on which are occasionally groups of low dome-shaped knolls from about fifty to one hundred feet in diameter, by three to six feet in height.[410]These knolls consist of fine volcanic ash, and apparently have been left by the wind because held in place by roots of sage brush and other vegetation. This ashy material has been swept from the intervening surface leaving the 'scab land' paved with fragments of basalt imbedded in a hard soil. The prehistoric Indians of this region, have used many of these knolls, each as a site for a single grave(Fig. 2, PlateIX).[411]These graves, which are located in the tops of the knolls, are usually marked by large river pebbles, or, in some cases, by fragments of basalt that appear as a circular pavement projecting slightly above the surface of the soil. None of them are known to be recent. On the other hand, there is no positive evidence of their great antiquity. In these we sometimes find a box or cyst. This box (PlateX) was formed of thin slabs of basaltic rock some placed on edge and large flat slabs covering the cyst so formed. Above this, as was usually the case, above the skeletons in this kind of grave, the space was filled with irregular rocks or pebbles. The rocks and cyst were entirely different from those of the cairns of the coast of Washington and British Columbia.[412]The skeletons were found flexed, on the side. In the graves, artifacts such as dentalium shells were deposited at the time of burial.

The Kalapuya of the Willamette Valley to the southwest, buried their dead in the earth. One writer described the process as follows:—"When the grave was dug they placed slabs on the bottom and sides, and when they had lowered the wrapped body down, placed another over, resting on the side ones, and filled in the earth."[413]The account does not seem to indicate whether these slabs were of wood or stone, but in either case there is a certain similarity to the graves with the stone cyst found near Tampico.

A grave which may be of this type, found about two and one half miles south of Fort Simcoe was reported to me by Mrs. Lynch who furnished the following information about it. It was on a low ridge with the usual cairn of rocks about three feet high covering it. This cairn was made up of two distinct layers of rocks, both lying above the contents of the grave which included the skeleton of an adult man estimated to be at least six feet tall and that of a child about six to eight years of age, according to identifications made by the physician of the United States Indian service stationed at Fort Simcoe. The man's skull which was well preserved though brittle, was found four feet below the ground or approximately seven feet below the top of the cairn and on the eastern side of the grave. The pelvis of the child was completely decayed, and few of the bones were intact except the maxilla which was found in the western part of the grave between the patellæ of the man. Near them were found four "links" [beads] of a copper necklace. The maxilla was deeply copper-stained. The steatite ornament shown inFig. 119was found on the man's manubrium.

Rock-slide Graves.The rock-slides on the hill and canon sides as in theregion to the north had frequently been used as burial places. The graves are found from top to bottom. Some of them seem very old. Others were proven to be recent by the character of the objects found in them. The skeletons were in or on the ground and the rocks of the slide had been piled or caused to slide over them (Fig. 1, PlateVIII).[414]The skeleton was buried from one to five, six or even ten feet deep. In some cases, the rocks seemed to have sunk as the body decayed, in others they formed a pile as if placed there to mark the grave. Some graves were marked with sticks (Fig. 3, PlateVI). In others, probably always the older graves, sticks were not seen having doubtless decayed. One of the graves found rifled 75 feet above the little flat at the edge of the north side of the Naches River about a mile and a half above its mouth, seemed to lie walled up with rocks like a well and slabs of a broken canoe, part of which had been thrown out surrounded a few of the disturbed bones. The skeletons were always in a flexed position (Fig. 2, PlateVIII) and objects were found to have been placed in some of these graves.

Spinden states that cemeteries are readily located by the heaps of "river-worn or rock-slide boulders" piled over the graves in the Nez Perce country.[415]They are usually on the first bench above the river bottom and are found near the traditional village sites, from which they can be seen. The more common method of disposing of the dead there, was by burial in the ground, especially on stony hillsides, and covering the graves with stones to keep off the wild animals. This seems to have been the prevailing method throughout the whole Columbia region of which this is a part.[416]Rock-slide graves were sometimes made in basaltic cliffs in the Nez Perce region. One of these is known to have been used in recent times from the presence of a Lewis and Clark medal,[417]and graves marked by pieces of upright cedar and covered by large piles of stone are reported by Spinden on the east bank of the Snake River, beside the mouth of the Grande Ronde.[418]

Indian graves filled up with stones are numerous in the vicinity of the several remains (pp.29,54and82) near Mr. Turner's home, according to Mr. J. S. Cotton. Mr. Turner told him that all the graves that had been excavated contained bones in a greatly decayed condition, which suggested to him that they were very old. These graves, like the other remains of the vicinity previously mentioned, have been in the same condition since about 1874.

The terraces mentioned onp. 13(Fig. 1, PlateVii)[419]may have been made to facilitate reaching rock-slide graves in the same slide; while the pits which were found in the slides (Fig. 2, PlateVII)[420]walled up on the outer sides like balconies, with the rocks that apparently came both from the pits and the disturbed slide above them, have been considered as rifled graves or graves from which the burials had been removed (p. 13).

The following quotation may refer to rock-slide pits:[421]"In the eastern part of Marion County, Oregon, there stands an isolated and most strikingly regular and beautiful butte some three hundred feet in height and covering nearly a section of land. It was fringed about its base, at the time of which I write, with fir groves, but its sides and well rounded and spacious top were devoid of timber, except a few old and spreading oaks, and perhaps a half dozen gigantic firs, whose weighty limbs were drooping with age. A meridian section line passes over the middle of this butte, and four sections corner near its top. While running this line and establishing these corners in 1851, I observed many semi-circular walls of stone, each enclosing space enough for a comfortable seat, and as high as one's shoulders when in a sitting posture, upon cross-sticks as high as the knee ... the older white residents said the Indians made them, but for what purpose they could not say. I became a witness to the use, and was particularly impressed with the fitness for what I saw. Indians from the North and South traveling that way generally camped upon the banks of the Abiqua Creek, a rapid stream of pure, cold water, just issued from the mountains upon the plain. The butte was near, and this they ascended and, taking seats within the stone sanctuaries, communed in silence with the Great Spirit. Bowing the head upon the hands and resting them upon the knees for a few moments, then sitting erect and gazing to the west over the enchanting valley interspersed with meadow, grove and stream." The author states that the place is now called Mount Angel, is surmounted by a Roman Catholic cathedral and that the Indians called this butte Tap-a-lam-a-ho, signifying Mount of Communion; and the plain to the west Chek-ta, meaning beautiful or enchanting.

Possibly the burials in the domes of volcanic ash and those in the rock-slides are practically the results of a common motive by the same people in the same time and the differences may be due simply to the difference in the character of the near by topography and the relative convenience of securingthe material to cover the graves. This idea is strengthened by information given me by Mr. W. H. Hindshaw who stated that from sixteen to thirty miles above the mouth of the Snake River where it cuts through canons there are rock burial heaps immediately above flood level and burials in the flood sand below, both of which he found to contain human bones and implements. He also stated that graves are found on the bluff overlooking the river. One was curbed with the remains of a cedar canoe. The grave had a bottom of plank and a cover over the body—that of a small child—which was wrapped in a fur, apparently a beaver skin. There were a number of beads and brass buttons and a large fragment of the shell of theSchizothoerus nuttalliiwhich must have come from the coast.

Cremation Circles.Rings of stones (Fig. 1, PlateIX)[422]were also seen and on excavation within them cremated human remains were found usually several in each circle. In some cases the ring was irregular and in others assumed the form of a rectangle. None of them are known to be recent. In such places, dentalium shells, flat shell beads, and shell ornaments were usually seen. Mr. Teit says that rings of stones were also put on top of graves in the Thompson River region. Along the Columbia, below the mouth of the Snake River, vaults or burial houses like those found among the Upper Chinook were used.[423]A somewhat similar method was observed even among the Nez Perce.[424]This suggests that the cremation circles here described, may be the caved-in remains of earth-covered burial lodges built somewhat on the plan of the semi-subterranean winter houses.

Position of the Body.In all the old graves the skeletons were flexed and usually on the side (PlateVIII, Fig. 2).[425]The graves where the body was buried at length with the feet to the east were doubtless recent and probably placed that way due to the teachings of Christians. In the Nez Perce region to the east, the body was placed in a variety of positions, either flexed or at length[426]and sometimes upon the side. Considering the difference between the costume and objects used by the men and those by the women, in the Nez Perce region to the east,[427]it would seem that the contents of the graves in this near by region may be used to check the determination of the sex of the skeletons.

Property with the Dead.Objects are usually found with the remains ofthe dead in all classes of old burials but some of the graves contained nothing; others very little. There was apparently no radical difference in the character of the material in the graves in volcanic domes and those in the rock-slides; but the more modern rock-slide graves seemed, on the whole, to contain a greater number of objects than the older graves or the graves in domes. On the coast, objects are found with recent burials, but rarely in ancient graves. The cremation circles often contained dentalium shells and bits of shell objects but little else. In the Nez Perce region to the east a considerable amount of property, ornaments and utensils is found buried with the dead.[428]

Horse Sacrifices.We discovered no graves containing horse bones or over which a skeleton of a horse was found, although it will be remembered that such were found in the Nez Perce region east of here.[429]There, the killing of horses over the graves of their owners became the usual practice when horses were plentiful. Sometimes a horse was buried over the body.[430]In this region, however, we found no evidences of the horse in connection with the graves other than the presence of an old Spanish bit in one of the more recent burials.

Diseases.Out of about seventeen complete skeletons and six skulls secured in this region by our party those of two children (99-4323, 99-4326) and two adults, one of which was apparently a female (99-4336), exhibited anchylosis of some of the vertebrae. The left ankle bones of the other skeleton (99-4327) showed anchylosis with the tibia and one of the ribs was abnormal. The skeleton of a young child (99-4329) with persistent frontal suture, an example of retarded development was also found.[431]

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