Area.—A narrow strip at the mouth of the river Columbia, and along the sea-coast to the river Umkwa.Divisions.—1. Kwalioqwa. 2. Tlatskanai. 3. Umkwa.1. The Kwalioqwa,northof the river Columbia, from which, and from the Tlatskanai, they are separated by the Tshinúks. Number, about 100.2. The Tlatskanai,southof the river Columbia, from which, and from the Kwalioqwa, they are separated by the Tshinúks. Number, about 100.3. The Umkwa, occupying the upper part of the river so-called, about lat. 43°. Number, about 400.
Area.—A narrow strip at the mouth of the river Columbia, and along the sea-coast to the river Umkwa.
Divisions.—1. Kwalioqwa. 2. Tlatskanai. 3. Umkwa.
1. The Kwalioqwa,northof the river Columbia, from which, and from the Tlatskanai, they are separated by the Tshinúks. Number, about 100.
2. The Tlatskanai,southof the river Columbia, from which, and from the Kwalioqwa, they are separated by the Tshinúks. Number, about 100.
3. The Umkwa, occupying the upper part of the river so-called, about lat. 43°. Number, about 400.
The first vocabulary of this section (one of the Umkwa language) was collected by Mr. Tolmie. The notice, however, of its affinities with the Tlatskanai and Kwalioqwa, and the more important discovery of its Athabaskan character, is one of many valuable additions made to Ethnographical Philology by Mr. Hales. I consider, for my own part, that the following table[108]justifies his classification.
We now come to a series of languages which, like the Kolúch, and unlike the Athabaskan and Eskimo, have no great extension from west to east, and which are spoken on thewesternside of Rocky Mountains only. Hence we get a great geographical line of demarcation; whilst the river systems with which we deal are those of Frazer's River and the Columbia, rather than of the Peace, the M'Kenzie, the Saskatchewan, and the Missinissi rivers.
West of the Rocky Mountains, the ethnological affinities run from north to south (orvertically) until we reach the area of the great Paduca family; one, in respect to its direction and distribution, of the most remarkable in America.
The ethnology of the parts between the Pacific, the Rocky Mountains, the Northern Athabaskan, and the Paduca area, is very nearly the ethnology of Oregon. Here we find two great families; and by their sides four or five isolated, or nearly isolated, languages, a phenomenon for which we are now prepared.
The first of the great divisions is one that is conveniently called—
Synonym.—Tsihaili-Selish.Hales.Area.—Discontinuous. Chiefly the lower part of Fraser's River, and the parts between that and the Columbia.Divisions.—1. Tribes to the north of the Columbia, continuous. 2. Tribes to the south of the Columbia, either wholly or nearly isolated.Sub-divisions.—Value of the classification unascertained.a.ContinuousTsihaili. 1. Shushwap. 2. Salish. 3. Skitsuish. 4. Piskwaus. 5. Kawitchen. 6. Skwali. 7. Checheeli. 8. Kowelits. 9. Noosdalum.b.Isolated, or nearly isolated, Tsihaili.—The Nsietshawus, or Killamucks(?).Conterminous, with thea.Hailtsa,b.Nass,c.Athabaskan Taculli and Tsikunni on the north;d.Kitunaha, on the east;e.Sahaptin;f.Tshinúk on the south. The isolated Tsihaili surrounded by Tshinúks, Tlatskanai (discontinous Athabaskans) and Jakons.
Synonym.—Tsihaili-Selish.Hales.
Area.—Discontinuous. Chiefly the lower part of Fraser's River, and the parts between that and the Columbia.
Divisions.—1. Tribes to the north of the Columbia, continuous. 2. Tribes to the south of the Columbia, either wholly or nearly isolated.
Sub-divisions.—Value of the classification unascertained.a.ContinuousTsihaili. 1. Shushwap. 2. Salish. 3. Skitsuish. 4. Piskwaus. 5. Kawitchen. 6. Skwali. 7. Checheeli. 8. Kowelits. 9. Noosdalum.
b.Isolated, or nearly isolated, Tsihaili.—The Nsietshawus, or Killamucks(?).
Conterminous, with thea.Hailtsa,b.Nass,c.Athabaskan Taculli and Tsikunni on the north;d.Kitunaha, on the east;e.Sahaptin;f.Tshinúk on the south. The isolated Tsihaili surrounded by Tshinúks, Tlatskanai (discontinous Athabaskans) and Jakons.
TheShushwap, orAtnahs, are the northernmost of the Tsihaili, and are conterminous with the Taculli. Their number, according to Mr. Hales, is about 1200, increased from 400.
The Salish.—The Salish language falls into three dialects; those ofa, the Kullelspelm or Ponderays (Pend' oreilles),b, the Spokan, improperly called Flat-heads (since they have no such habit as the one suggested by the name), andc, the Okanagan.
A fair sample of the Salish traditions is the following. A ceremony called by them (the Salish)Sumash, "deserves notice for the strangeness of the idea on which it is founded. They regard the spirit of a man as distinct from the living principle, and hold that it may be separated for a short time from the body without causing death, or without the individual being conscious of the loss. It is necessary, however, in order to prevent fatal consequences, that the lost spirit should be found and restored as quickly as possible. The conjuror, or medicineman, learns, in a dream, the name of the person who has suffered this loss. Generally there are several at the same time in this condition. He then informs the unhappy individuals, who immediately employ him to recover their wandering souls. During the next night they go about the village from one lodge to another singing and dancing. Towards morning they enter a separate lodge, which is closed up, so as to be perfectly dark; a small hole is then made in the roof, through which the conjuror, witha bunch of feathers, brushes in the spirits in the shape of small bits of bone, and similar substances, which he receives on a piece of matting. A fire is then lighted, and the conjuror proceeds to select out from the spirits such as belong to persons already deceased, of which there are usually several; and should one of them be assigned by mistake to a living person he would instantly die. He next selects the particular spirit belonging to each person, and causing all the men to sit down before him, he takes the spirit of one (i.e., the splinter of bone, shell, or wood, representing it), and placing it on the owner's head, pats it, with many contortions and invocations, till it descends into the heart and resumes its proper place. When all are thus restored the whole party unite in making a contribution of food, out of which a public feast is given, and the remainder becomes the perquisite of the conjuror.
"Like theSahaptin, theSalishhave many childish traditions connected with the most remarkable natural features of the country, in which the prairie-wolf generally bears a conspicuous part. What could have induced them to confer the honours of divinity upon this animal cannot be imagined; they do not, however, regard the wolf as an object of worship, but merely suppose that in former times it was endowed with preternatural powers, which it exerted after a very whimsical and capricious fashion. Thus, on one occasion, being desirous of a wife (a common circumstance with him), the wolf, or the divinity so called, visited a tribe on the Spokan River and demanded a young woman in marriage. His request being granted, he promised that thereafter the salmon should be abundant with them, and he created the rapids which give them facilities for taking the fish. Proceeding further up, he made of each tribe on his way the same request, attended with alike result; at length he arrived at the territory of the Skitsuish (Cœur d'alène); they refused to comply with his demand, and he therefore called into existence the great falls of the Spokan, which prevent the fish from ascending to their country."[109]
In the Salish tribes we have the best sample of a trueinland Oregonfamily, a section of the American Indians distinguished by certain negative as well as positive characters which require notice.
a.As contrasted with the Indians to the north of them they have a milder climate, are south of the true fur-bearing countries, and below the line of the rein-deer.
b.From the islanders and coast tribes of the Pacific they are distinguished by the necessary absence of maritime habits, and a diet consisting to a great extent of sea fish.
c.To the families on the east of the Rocky Mountains they stand in the remarkable opposition of being imperfect agriculturists rather than hunters. In other words, in getting beyond the range of the Rocky Mountains we get beyond the country of the prairie and the localities of the buffalo; as a set-off to which, although the botany of the Oregon is at present but imperfectly known, the whole district is described as being preeminently productive of edibleroots; not, however, in respect to the number of individuals (for the land is poor), but in respect to the variety of their species.
Oregon, then, at least in its central parts, is the area of an undeveloped agriculture; and (probably like other tribes besides) the Salish look to the returning seasons not, as in Siberia, Arctic America, and the parts to the east of the Rocky Mountains, with a view to the migrations of the buffalo and the rein-deer, but with respect to the production of their successive vegetable esculents; added to which their river-system gives them, in its season, a supply of fish.
Upon this point, even if external evidence were wanting, we might find proof in the Salish names of the seasons (with which the Piskwaus agree), a list which gives us in the months of thecamass-rootand theexhausted salmonthe extreme seasons of want and plenty.
The Piskwaus.—"On the main Columbia, between the Salish proper, and the Wallawallahs below Fort Okanagan. A miserable, beggarly people, great thieves. Their country very poor in game and roots."—Transactions of the American Ethnological Society, p. 13.
The Skitsuish.—Cœur d'alène.—"About 400 souls live on the lake of that name above the falls of the Spokan, have no salmon, raise potatoes, and have a tendency to cultivate."—Transactions of the American Ethnological Society, p. 13.
The Kawichen,Skwali,Checheeli,Kowelits,Kwaintl,KwenawitlandNúsdalum.—The exact relations of thesetribes to each other, as well as their position in the Tsihaili family, is unascertained.
Geographically they agree in forming the south-western division of the stock, and in occupying the peninsula (oracté) between the mouth of the Columbia, Puget's Sound, and Cape Flattery; where, in the latter locality, they are in contact with the Wakash Klassets and Klallems, and, in the former, with the Tshinúks.
Philologically the Atna, as tested by the first known vocabulary of the language, a short one of M'Kenzie's, is closely allied to the Núsdalum. But, then, on the other hand the Núsdalum, Kawichen and Skwali (or Squallyarnish) are by no means so like each other as are the two vocabularies first mentioned.
Again, Dr. Scouler gives reasons against disconnecting this branch of the Tsihaili from the Wakash dialects of Quadra and Vancouver's Island, with which he shows that they have at least the following words in common.
For the particular dialect spoken by another Tsihaili tribe, and placed by Dr. Scouler in the present section, we have no vocabulary, viz.: the Commagsheak in the northern part of the Gulf of Georgia.
The Nsietshawuss.—Occupants of the sea-coasts to the south of the Columbia. Numbers in 1840 about 700. Conterminous with the Tshinúks, on the north, the Jakon on the south, and the Tlatskanai on the east.—Appearance and manners of the Tshinúks.Synonym.—Killamuk.
The Nsietshawuss.—Occupants of the sea-coasts to the south of the Columbia. Numbers in 1840 about 700. Conterminous with the Tshinúks, on the north, the Jakon on the south, and the Tlatskanai on the east.—Appearance and manners of the Tshinúks.
Synonym.—Killamuk.
The elements of doubt denoted by the note of interrogation(?) consist in the discrepancy between the evidence of the Killamuk language, and the evidence of the Killamuk physiognomy; the former being Tsihaili, the latter Tshinúk. Hence, whilst Mr. Hales makes them the former, Dr. Scouler classes them with the latter.
Now comes a small family, falling into no minor divisions, and spread over an area of but third-rate magnitude.
Synonym.—Flat-bows.Locality.—Banks of the Kútani River, one of the feeders of the Columbia.Conterminous.—with the Blackfoots, Ponderay, Salish, Shushwap, and Carrier Athabaskans.
Synonym.—Flat-bows.
Locality.—Banks of the Kútani River, one of the feeders of the Columbia.
Conterminous.—with the Blackfoots, Ponderay, Salish, Shushwap, and Carrier Athabaskans.
The Kútanis are described by Simpson as undersized, irregularly fed, poor, and squalid; the women being plainer than the men. Irregularly fed upon fish and venison, they dig up the kammas and mash it into a pulp. This, in times of unusual scarcity, they flavour with a sort of moss or lichen collected from the trees. On the other hand they are sharp-sighted in making bargains, prudent enough to be the best economisers in their district of the fur-animals, steady in their fidelity to the whites, and so brave, underattacks, as to hold their own against the powerful Blackfoots of the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains.
According to Mr. Hales their numbers are about 400; they are great hunters, furnishing much peltry, and in appearance and character resembling the Indians east of the Rocky Mountains rather than those of the Oregon.
These accounts agree; whilst the evidence of language as known from the vocabularies of the American Exploring Expedition, and a MS. vocabulary of Mr. Howse's disconnect them from the tribes around them.
In physical appearance they arecontrastedby Simpson with the Salish Ponderays. These last struck him with the stateliness of their manners; and so much did they show to advantage, that he considered them as the finest-looking men he had seen, next to the Indians of the plains.
Locality.—Mouth of the Columbia.Divisions.—1. Chinúks Proper, on the southern bank of the Columbia, at its mouth. 2. Klatsops, at Point Adams, south of the Chinúks. 3. Kathlamut, on the south bank of the Columbia, above the Chinúks. 4. Wakáikam. 5. Watlala, or Upper Chinúk, farthest up the river. 6. Nihaloitih.Physical Appearance.—"The personal appearances of the Chinook differs so much 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 general 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, however, 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 representations I have seen of the Esquimaux." * * * "The head is artificially flattened in infancy;but as the children grow up, the cranium tends to resume its natural shape, so thatthe majority of grown persons hardly manifest the existence of the practice.One effect, however, seemed to be permanently distinguishable, in the unusual breadth of the face."—Pickering, p. 27.
Locality.—Mouth of the Columbia.
Divisions.—1. Chinúks Proper, on the southern bank of the Columbia, at its mouth. 2. Klatsops, at Point Adams, south of the Chinúks. 3. Kathlamut, on the south bank of the Columbia, above the Chinúks. 4. Wakáikam. 5. Watlala, or Upper Chinúk, farthest up the river. 6. Nihaloitih.
Physical Appearance.—"The personal appearances of the Chinook differs so much 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 general 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, however, 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 representations I have seen of the Esquimaux." * * * "The head is artificially flattened in infancy;but as the children grow up, the cranium tends to resume its natural shape, so thatthe majority of grown persons hardly manifest the existence of the practice.One effect, however, seemed to be permanently distinguishable, in the unusual breadth of the face."—Pickering, p. 27.
We have already, in speaking of the Salish, met with the wordFlat-head, and, although in that particular case, it was misapplied, it is still an important term in American ethnology, since more than one family of American Indians has the practice ofartificially flattening the head. This we meet with, for the first time, amongst the Tshinúks, the trueFlat-headsof those parts.
The process itself was witnessed by Pickering. In one of the stockaded villages of the Chinúks, where the influence of the missionaries had so far found its way as for some of the houses to stand in a small cultivated enclosure, of about a quarter of an acre in size, an infant was confined to a wooden receptacle, with a pad tightly bandaged over the forehead and eyes, so that it was alike impossible for it to see or move. He also observed that when the child was suspended according to usage, the head was actually lower than the feet.
So much for the children. The adults improve upon Nature by piercing the septum of the nose and putting a ring through it, by earrings, and by painting the face—in default of paint, by smearing it with soot, the marks being after a pattern. A black and dull red paint, with which they ornament their canoes, hats, and masks, are aboriginal, the others procured from traders. A sail, also, seen in one of the larger boats was considered not native, but copied from the Russians. In other respects the management of their canoes, as well as the construction, was skilful; so were some of the contrivances both for fowling and fishing. For the former purpose tall masts were set up to intercept by means of connecting nets(?) the water-fowl at night.Sturgeon were speared or noosed; the darts used for killing fish being double-headed. The capture of whales, an exploit never attempted by even the most enterprising of the Polynesians, is attempted by the Chinúks.
The art, however, of platting, or weaving, seems to be that wherein the Chinúks have the best claim for excellence. Still it is doubtful whether, in this respect, they are above the level of the American tribes in general. The mats are made of thescirpus lacustrisplaced side by side, and strung at intervals. The wool of the mountain goat is woven into blankets, marked, in the way of pattern, with angular figures, coloured black and red. The former seem to be made by changing the material, and substituting the black hair of the dog for that of the goat.
Carving in claystone is another Chinúk art. So many, however, of the specimens in museums are made in imitation of imported articles that the original patterns, consisting generally in the representation of grotesque imaginary quadrupeds, are nearly extinct.[110]
I shall close the account of the Tshinúks with a notice of the Lingua Franca, taken from Mr. Hales, which is now in the actual process of formation in the parts about the mouth of the Columbia. It first began to be developed in the harbour of Nútka Sound; from the language of which district a few words were adopted by the early English traders. When the intercourse with the inhabitants of the Columbia began, these Nútka words became transferred to the Chinúk country; and the three languages which then contributed elements to the so-calledjargon, were the Nútka, the Chinúk, and the English. From the second of these tongues were taken, besides certain substantives and adjectives, the first ten numerals, theword for a hundred, twelve pronouns, and about twenty adverbs and prepositions. Additions were also supplied from the French of the Canadianvoyageurs.
Some of the processes by which this medium of communication has been formed deserve study; and they have been well exhibited in the philological portion of the United States Exploring Expedition, the source of the present information.
1. For a language to be spoken by three different nations it is convenient to admit only such articulations as are common to the three languages. An approach to this occurs here. The harsh Chinúk sounds are modified. The French nasal is dropped. The Englishtshbecomesdzh; perhaps, in the mouth of a Frenchman,zh.
2. In names of objects common to both languages, the choice seems to be determined by the hardness or easiness of the pronunciation. Forman,sun,moon,stick,snow,warm, &c., the terms are English; although the equivalents were part and parcel of the Chinúk and Nútkan, equally. They were, however, preeminently unpronounceable, beingkottllelikum,ottllatl, &c. On the other hand where the Indian is moderately adapted to European organs terms frombothlanguages become current,e.g.
3. Grammar is, as we should expect it to be, at itsminimumamount.
a.b.There are no signs of either the possessive case or the plural number. The former is determined by the construction only—kata nēm maika papa=what name thou father=wh(-at) is (the) name (of) th(-y) father. The latter is sometimes denoted byhaiu=many.
c.In general the tense of verbs is to be discovered by the context. When it is absolutely necessary to fix the time, certain adverbs are resorted to; as,now,formerly,tomorrow. The future sense is expressed bytuké=wish.
d.The notion of condition is expressed by the Chinúkklunas=perhaps, or by the Englishpos=suppose. The only other conjunction in the language ispi=the Frenchpuis=and,or,then, &c.
e.The substantive verb is generally (as in the normal state of the Semitic languages) omitted—maika pilton=thou art foolish.
The changes that European words undergo may be collected from the following vocabulary.
The power of combination is greatly developed. Almost every verb and adjective may receive a modification in its meaning by the prefixion of the wordmamúk=makeorcause. Thus—
That of composition is equally so;e.g.ship-man=sailor,ship-stik=spar,stik-skin=bark,sél-haus(sail-house) =tent, &c.
"The place at which thejargonis most in use is at FortVancouver. At this establishment five languages are spoken by about five hundred persons—namely, theEnglish, theCanadian French, theTshinúk, theCreeorKnisteneau, and theHawaiian. The three former are already accounted for; theCreeis the language spoken in the families of many officers and men belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company, who have married half-breed wives at the posts east of the Rocky Mountains. TheHawaiianis in use among about a hundred natives of the Sandwich Islands, who are employed as labourers about the fort. Besides these five languages there are many others—theTsihailish,Wallawalla,Kalapuya,Naskwali, &c., which are daily heard from natives who visit the fort for the purpose of trading. Among all these individuals, there are very fewwho understand more than two languages, and many who speak only their own. The general communication is, therefore, maintained chiefly by means of thejargon, which may be said to be the prevailing idiom. There are Canadians and half-breeds married to Chinook women, who can only converse with their wives in this speech; and it is the fact, strange as it may seem, that many young children are growing up to whom this factitious language is really the mother tongue, and who speak it with more readiness and perfection than any other."
Locality.—From the Falls of the Columbia to Wappatoo Island, falling into a number of small tribes.
Locality.—From the Falls of the Columbia to Wappatoo Island, falling into a number of small tribes.
The third of the larger divisions of the Oregon Indians is that of the—
Area.—The northern bank of the Columbia from the Tshinúk country, at the mouth, to the junction of the river Lewis. The valley of the river Lewis (or Snake River). As far east as the Rocky Mountains.Conterminouswith the Salish Tsihaili to the north, the Upsaroka (Crows) to the east, the Paducas and Wailatpu to the south, the Skwali Tsihaili and the Watlala Tshinúks to the west.Divisions.—1. Wallawallas, Kliketat. 2. Proper Sahaptin or Nez-percés. 3. Pelús. 4. Yakemas. 5. Cayús(?).Numbers.—About 4000.Aliment.—Roots, salmon.Extract from Mr. Hales.—"Both the Sahaptin and Wallawallas compress the head, but less than the tribes on the coast."
Area.—The northern bank of the Columbia from the Tshinúk country, at the mouth, to the junction of the river Lewis. The valley of the river Lewis (or Snake River). As far east as the Rocky Mountains.
Conterminouswith the Salish Tsihaili to the north, the Upsaroka (Crows) to the east, the Paducas and Wailatpu to the south, the Skwali Tsihaili and the Watlala Tshinúks to the west.
Divisions.—1. Wallawallas, Kliketat. 2. Proper Sahaptin or Nez-percés. 3. Pelús. 4. Yakemas. 5. Cayús(?).
Numbers.—About 4000.
Aliment.—Roots, salmon.
Extract from Mr. Hales.—"Both the Sahaptin and Wallawallas compress the head, but less than the tribes on the coast."
The Kliketatare distinguished by having the lower part of the septum of the nose cut away.[119]
The imperfect industry of the Sahaptin tribes is considered to be on a higher level than that of either the Tshinúks or Tsihaili; so that, in this respect, they stand the first of the Oregon aborigines.
The same applies to their susceptibility of religious influences. With no family have the efforts of the missionaries been more successful than with the Nez-percés.
In physical appearance they are more like the Indians to the east of the Rocky Mountains, than any tribes hitherto described.
Lastly, the easternmost Sahaptin are on the limits of the buffalo area; and as such are partially hunters, as well as common to the two sides of the Rocky Mountains.
It is now convenient to return to the Pacific, and to follow from west to east the tribes that lie south of the area already described.
Locality.—A strip of sea-coast between the Nsietshawus (Tsihaili) the Tlatskanai, the Kalapuya, the Umkwa, and the Saintskla.Numbers.—About 700.
Locality.—A strip of sea-coast between the Nsietshawus (Tsihaili) the Tlatskanai, the Kalapuya, the Umkwa, and the Saintskla.
Numbers.—About 700.
Locality.—Valley of the Upper Willamet.Conterminouswith the Watlala Tshinúks, the Molele, the Tlatskanai and Umkwa Athabaskans.Numbers.—About 500.Dialects.—1. Proper Kalapuya. 2. The Tuhwallatie or Follatie. 3. Yamkallie of Mr. Tolmie.—How far are these the same?
Locality.—Valley of the Upper Willamet.
Conterminouswith the Watlala Tshinúks, the Molele, the Tlatskanai and Umkwa Athabaskans.
Numbers.—About 500.
Dialects.—1. Proper Kalapuya. 2. The Tuhwallatie or Follatie. 3. Yamkallie of Mr. Tolmie.—How far are these the same?
Locality.—Parts about Mount Hood and Mount Vancouver, south of the Columbia.Conterminouswith the Watlala Tshinúks, the Kalapuya, the Cayús, and the Lutuami.Numbers.—"Reduced in 1841, by disease, to twenty souls. Probably now extinct."—Hales.Divisions.—1. Molele. 2. Cayús(?)
Locality.—Parts about Mount Hood and Mount Vancouver, south of the Columbia.
Conterminouswith the Watlala Tshinúks, the Kalapuya, the Cayús, and the Lutuami.
Numbers.—"Reduced in 1841, by disease, to twenty souls. Probably now extinct."—Hales.
Divisions.—1. Molele. 2. Cayús(?)
Locality.—South bank of the Columbia, between the Molele and the Paduca Shoshonis.Numbers.—About 500 good warriors, with extensive pasturage and large droves of horses, one chief having 2,000.—Hales.
Locality.—South bank of the Columbia, between the Molele and the Paduca Shoshonis.
Numbers.—About 500 good warriors, with extensive pasturage and large droves of horses, one chief having 2,000.—Hales.
The note of interrogation denotes that the ethnological position of the Cayús is ambiguous. Mr. Hales makes them Molele, Dr. Scouler, Sahaptin.
Synonym.—Tlamatl or Clamet.Locality.—Head-waters of the river Clamet, due south of the Molele, and conterminous with the Umkwa on the west, the Wihinast Shoshonis on the east, and the Palaiks and Shastis on the south.
Synonym.—Tlamatl or Clamet.
Locality.—Head-waters of the river Clamet, due south of the Molele, and conterminous with the Umkwa on the west, the Wihinast Shoshonis on the east, and the Palaiks and Shastis on the south.
We are now approaching a series of tribes known by little more than their names. Beginning at the sea-coast to the south of the strip occupied by the Yakon, and in the immediate neighbourhood of the Umkwa country, we find in proceeding from west to east—
Locality.—South of the Yakon, between the Umkwa and the sea.
Locality.—South of the Yakon, between the Umkwa and the sea.
Locality.—Sea-coast south of the Saintskla.
Locality.—Sea-coast south of the Saintskla.
Locality.—Mouth of the Umkwa.
Locality.—Mouth of the Umkwa.
Locality.—Middle course of the Umkwa.
Locality.—Middle course of the Umkwa.
Locality.—Between the river Umkwa and the river Clamet, or (ethnologically) between the Killiwashat and the Lutuami.
Locality.—Between the river Umkwa and the river Clamet, or (ethnologically) between the Killiwashat and the Lutuami.
Locality.—South-west of the Lutuami.
Locality.—South-west of the Lutuami.
Locality.—South-east of the Lutuami, and conterminous with the Shasti.
Locality.—South-east of the Lutuami, and conterminous with the Shasti.
The list of the tribes and families of the Oregon territory, is now, with one exception, complete, at least according to the present state of our knowledge; whilst the section that still stands over for notice, extends so far beyond it, and is in other respects so remarkable in its distribution, that it forms an ethnological break.
Hence, although in a purely descriptive ethnography it would be advisable to take the tribes of California in immediate succession to those of Oregon, and those of Mexico next in order to the Californian, the present arrangement will be different, and the transition will befrom the Oregon Indians to the Indians on the east of the Rocky Mountains. This departure from the strict line of ethnological continuity, is demanded in the present volume; because the question as to the origin of the American population, being considered of so much more importance than the mere description of different tribes, the arrangement follows the order, in which the reader requires facts as a basis for his reasoning, rather than the absolute sequence of ethnological relationship. This accounts for certain departures, which may possibly have been noticed, from the form and method of description adopted in the ethnology of Asia; it also is a reason for sometimes placing together groups on the score ofdifferencerather thanlikeness. Such is the case here. The classes about to be noticed follow those that have already been considered, not because they are closely related, but because they present marks of disconnection which are necessary to be known and appreciated previous to any argument upon subjects like the unity ornon-unity of the American population, or its connexion ornon-connexion with the population of the Old World. In other words, as the nearest affinities of the Oregon tribes are with the Californian, the present order of sequence is artificial rather than natural.
As to the line itself which thus diverts our inquiries from the true ethnological sequence, it is the area of a family already[120]mentioned—the area of thePaducatribes. Of this the peculiarity is as follows. It begins with the country of the Wihinast, is separated from the Pacific by the comparatively small areas of the Wailatpu, Molele, Kalapuya, and Yakon, and extends in a south-east direction as far as the Gulf of Mexico. Hence, with theexception of a narrow tract on the Lower Columbia, it runs from sea to sea; so separating all the numerous sections of the Indians of the United States and Canada from those of Spanish America,i.e.from those of Mexico wholly, and from those of California partially.
This gives us a limit for the parts about to be noticed, which, roughly speaking, constitute—
Politically.—the United States and Canada—
Physically.—the river-systems of the St. Lawrence, the Red River, and the Mississippi, and also of those rivers which, like the Potomac, fall into the Atlantic—
Ethnologically.—the country included between the Eskimo, Athabaskan, Kútani, Salish, Sahaptin, and Paduca areas.
Concerning this it may be said that the ocean on one side is hardly a more definite boundary than the Rocky Mountains on the other, so truly do they, as a physical division, coincide with the ethnological one,—at least for the parts between the Athabaskans and Paducas.
The climate of the area may be measured by the fact of its containing Florida on the South, and Labrador on the North, the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, and the coasts of Hudson's Bay.
The east-and-west conditions are less self-evident; the two most important differences being that between the parts east, and that between the parts west of the Mississippi. Speaking roughly, the former is the country of the forest, the latter of the prairie; the former the seat of an incomplete agriculture, the latter the range of the buffalo.
The divisions of the American population that occupy, or occupied, this area, are of unascertained value; I shall give them, in the first instance, nearly according to the classification and nomenclature of Gallatin's standarddissertation in the Archæologia Americana. Some of these will be large, some small; some like the Turk, some like the Dioscurian; phænomena for which we are now prepared. The first in the list, single handed, takes up more than half the whole area.