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Show ~OUTI!ERN COAST--FLA. TREAD INDIANS. Cape Disappointment; a~d farther up, above, below, and opposite Astoria-in the main Channel of the River. The bad character which the mouth of the Columbia gained, by the unfortunate acci .. dent which happened to Lieutenant '\'Vilkes, then Commander of the United States Exploring Squadron, in the Pacific, has since af· fected, materially, and deeply, the prosperity of that infant Colony: and not the Colony alone, but also the interests of the numerous Whalers, which are, in every direction, in every latitude and longitude, constantly traversing the bi'Oad bosom of this Ocean of Oceans; since it has ce1·tainly been the great cause, to discourage an intercotu•se, which would otherwise have been commenced, and cai·ried pn, to the g,·eat advantage of both. This character, which has been and still is so extremely detrimental, is, in a great degree, unmerited and incon·ect. The coast South, from Cape Look Out, (twenty miles South of the mouth o~ the Columbia,) to the U mqua, is generally rugged and. mountamous. There are some &mall Valleys, on the inte 1•• medmte streams; but none of sufficient extent to demand at· tention." ~t Cape Look Out, which is a l~fty and frowning rock, extendmg mto the sea, there are extensive sands and a vast 1·ock risin~ ou~ of. the water, called Kilamoox Head; u~on which·, when ~he wmd Is h1gh from the West, the Ocearr \vaves dash and break 1n such fury, that the roat·ing may be distinctly heard in the Wil .. lammette Valley. The Indians, West of the Cascade Mountains, are di videcl into numerous small bands, and many of them without any acknowl· edged ?ead. ·rhere were once, on the waters of the Columbia, th.e vV Illammette, and a lon o0 ' the shores of the 0 Cean,DOWelJ.Ur 1 tr1bes; but pestilence and .disease, sinee the coming of the w bite man, have swep~ them raprdly away; until but a few, poor, wretch· e'ld, degraded beings,. bey~nd the reach ot oha1 ity, remain. Once Chenamus, a proud, mtel!Jgent, and influential Chief, of the Chen· o.o ks, held swav· over all the tribes ' bet\veen the s h ores o f .t 11 e p a· clfic and the C~sc~des, and between the U mqua and Puget's Sound; nnd extended his mfiuence beyond the M t . B f ·h d th h . 1 oun ams. ut, a ter ts ea ' lS P ace was never filled · d I • an now, the bones of hia peo· p e, are sca~tered upon the rocks and hills, and their dwelling pla-ces, are their "raves Th b f h 1 h o : e ones o uudreds, perhaps thousands, ay eaped up promiscuously t h th · ' oget er. And every isolated rc>cl~ at r1ses out of the C 1 b' · . · d d Th 0 urn m, Is covered With the canoes of the ea • ey are nearly all ''On . d d' . . . b e, un 1seasc 1s still sweepwg tho CHARACTER AND MANNER OF LIVlNG. 53 misernble remnant away; so that, in a few more years, there will not be a single red man west of the Cascades, on the wate l'S of t'he Columbia. The Indians of this lower country, are generally smaller, and not so well formed as the generality of tho Natives of America. They have but few horses, travel mostly in theit· canoes, .and live upon fish, fowls, and root~. Thei1· houses are construct· .ed of slabs split out of Cedar, hewn, and set upon (~nd, around a frame of poles, and covered with bat·k. The Indians are very filthy in their habits, and almost destitute of clothing. The stench arising from the filth about their villages, in the fishing season, is almost insupport1;1ble. They are supel'ior water-men, manage their canoes with the greatest dexterity, and are vet·y expert in fishing. On the Columbia, they fish with seins, (such as are used in the United States.) At the Falls, they build scaffolds, out from the rocks, near to the falling water, and use a sot·t of dip net, fastened on a long stafr. They use spears, where a sein cannot be drawn; and in the night, they fish with hool\s fastened on a pole, which they immerse deep into the water, and when they feel any thing touch the pole, they jerk it up quickly and generally bl'ing out a fish. This mode of fishing is practiced only during the season in which the Salmon are ascending the streams, and immediatly below some great waterfall, where they collect in immense numbers. All the fish that are exported fwm Oregon, are caught by the Indians. Their canoes are the finest. we ever saw; they are made of the large white Cedar, hewn out with great labor. They are constructed with a high bo\V and stern, which are separate from the main vessel, and so neatly put on, that the joints will not admit water.They are very light, and the edges are ornamented with Sea shells. These people are nlso ingenious in the manufacture of mats of rushes, and hats and baskets of grass. Some of their baslwts are water tight, and many of them are ornamented with devices of beasts, birds, and flowers, worked in various colors. The religion of these Indians, is much the same as that of the other tribes of America. They believe in one Supenor Presiding Influence, which they call the Great High Chief. They bel ievc also, in an Evil Spirit, and in numerous inferior Spirits, both good and evil, which inhabit the earth and air, and are invisible, or m;. sume the form of smoke or vapor: the evil Spirits afflicting mankind with misfortunes~ disease and death. They also believe in the Spiritualization of beasts, birds and fish, and even of their |
