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University of Washington Publications

ANTHROPOLOGY

VOLUME III

1929-1930

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

1931

v. 3

CONTENTS

Page

1. Growth of Japanese Children Born in America and in
Japan, Leslie Spier 1-30

2. Mythology of Southern Puget Sound, Arthur C. Ballard 31-150

3. Wishram Ethnography, Leslie Spier and Edward Sapir. 151-300
Index 301-304

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PUBLICATIONS
IN

ANTHROPOLOGY

Vol. 3, No. 1, Pp 1-30

July, 1929

GROWTH OF JAPANESE CHILDREN

BORN IN AMERICA AND

IN JAPAN

By
LESLIE SPIER

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

1929

CONTENTS

Page

I. Introduction 1

II. The Data 2

III. Observations on Body Characters 4

IV. Homogeneity of the Hiroshima Series 9

V. Homogeneity of the Seattle Series 11

VI. Observations on Dentition 16

VII. Discussion of Results 20

VIII. Summary 23

TABLES

1. Age of Japanese Children Born in Japan and in the United States 4

2. Stature of Japanese Children Born in Japan and in the United States 5

3. Stature of Other American-born and Japan-born Children 5

4. Reach of Japanese Children Born in the United States 6

5. Length of Head of Japanese Children Born in Japan and in the United States 7

6. Width of Head of Japanese Children Born in Japan and in the United States 7

7. Cephalic Index of Japanese Children Born in Japan and in the United States 8

8. Width of Face of Japanese Children Born in Japan and in the United States 9

9. Number of Cases of Midorii and Kawauchi Children 9

10. Comparison of Midorii and Kawauchi Children 10

11. Comparison of Children Born to Mothers arriving before 1909 with those of Ar-

rivals of 1909 and Later 11

12. Birth Place of Mothers of Seven and Nine Year Old Boys and Eight Year Old Girls.. 13

13. Comparison of Statures of Older and Younger Siblings in Terms of Standard De-

viations— Brothers 14

14. Comparison of Statures and Older and Younger Siblings in Terms of Standard De-

viation— Sisters 15

15. Teeth of American-born Japanese Children — Percentages of Deciduous Teeth Present

—Boys 16

16. Teeth of American-born Japanese Children — Percentages of Deciduous Teeth

Present — Girls 16

17. Teeth of American-born Japanese Children — Percentages of Permanent Teeth

Present — Boys 17

18. Teeth of American-born Japanese Children— Percentages of Permanent Teeth

Present — Girls 17

19. Average Ages and Variabilities of the Loss of Deciduous teeth and the Eruption of

Permanent Teeth in American-born Japanese Children 18

20. American-born Boys Reduced to Adult Norms Compared with Averages of Pro-

vincial Types in Japan 21

• • •

111

21. Comparison of Children Born Within Six Years of Mothers' Arrival with Those

Born Later 21

22. Comparison of Children Born Within Six Years of their Mothers' Arrival in 1905

and 1906 with those Born Later 23

Appendix A. Years of Arrival of the Parents of American-born Japanese Children 26

Appendix B. Relation of Years of Mother's Arrival to Number of Years Elapsing Be-
fore Bith of Child 27

Appendix C. Birtbplaces of the Parents of American-born Children Distributed Ac-
cording to Province 28

FIGURE

Map Showing the Distribution of Parents' Birthplaces in Japan 29

THE GROWTH OF JAPANESE CHILDREN

BORN IN AMERICA AND

IN JAPAN

THE GROWTH OF JAPANESE CHILDREN BORN
IN AMERICA AND IN JAPAN

I. INTRODUCTION

It has been established that an appreciable change in physical type results
when children are born and reared in an environment different from that of their
parents. This has been shown for European immigrants to eastern United States
by Boas, Guthe, and others.1 So far as I know these observations have been re-
stricted to Caucasian types. That they occur in Mongoloid groups has been sug-
gested but not conclusively demonstrated. There is, of course, no inherent prob-
ability against it.

"K. S. Inui has pointed out that both Japanese boys and girls in America are
taller and heavier than those in Japan."2 Iyenaga and Sato report that "the
Japanese Educational Association [of San Francisco] once conducted an exten-
sive physical examination of Japanese children in twenty different grammar
schools in California" with the finding that children of seven to sixteen years
were appreciably larger than children of the same ages in Japan.3 The difficulty
with accepting these findings as conclusive is that we do not know that the
groups are of comparable physical derivation. "On the basis of a limited number
of measurements, Doctor Romanzo Adams, of the University of Hawaii, has
found that the sons of Japanese immigrants in Hawaii are taller than their
fathers."4

In this paper I will trace the course of growth of Japanese children born in
the United States andj of those born in that section of southern Japan from
which most of our immigrants are derived, and will attempt to show that changes
analogous to those of European immigrants are suggested.

1 Boas, Franz, Changes in Bodily Form of Descendants of Immigrants (Reports of the
Immigration Commission, vol. 38, Washington, 1911); Guthe, C.E., Notes on the Cephalic
Index of Russian Jews in Boston (American Journal of Physical Anthropology, vol. 1, 1918,
213-223).

2 The Unsolved Problem of the Pacific, pp. 210-213 (cited by Smith, William G, Chang-
ing Personality Traits of Second Generation Orientals in America, American Journal of
Sociology, vol. 33, 1928, p. 923).

3T. Iyenaga and Kenoske Sato, Japan and the California Problem (New York and
London, 1911), p. 165, Appendix A.
4 Smith, William C, loc. cit.

(1)

University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

II. THE DATA5

The groups examined were 320 Japanese school children of Seattle, Wash-
ington, and its vicinity, and 521 others of Hiroshima prefecture in southern Japan.
The Seattle children included here were all born in the United States ; the over-
whelming majority in Seattle. The opportunity to measure these children of the
Japanese Language School of Seattle in 1921-23 was obtained through the kind-
ness of Air. N. Nakashima and Mr. K. Takabataka, principal. A few other
American-born children were measured at a language school at Orillia, a farm-
ing community a short distance south of Seattle. Inasmuch as the number of
Japanese children in the Seattle public schools at this time was 922, we have
reached a third of the total.

This third of the school population is presumably representative. So far as
I am aware there is no selection involved at the school. The Japanese popula-
tion of Seattle, one of tradesmen, is socially homogeneous. The desire is general
to send their children to the language school, where sessions are after public
school hours and not compulsory. The school has an asymmetrical distribution
of class population, most pupils being in the lower grades. I do not believe that
any appreciable physical selection is involved in this diminution. On the one
hand, poorer families may withdraw their larger children to help at home ; on the
other, well-to-do families may keep their children, who are better nourished, longer
at school.

The series of Japan-born children was obtained in 1923 at the common
schools of Kawauchi and Midorii, small places about nine miles north of Hiro-
shima City, in Aki province, Hiroshima prefecture. For this I am greatly in-
debted to Mr. Matsutaro Harada, one of my students at the University of Wash-
ington, and the local school officials. Hiroshima was chosen for comparison with
the Seattle series because the Seattle group is commonly said to come from that
prefecture; this is however only partly true. I do not know what the character
of the Kawauchi-Midorii population is. Mr. Harada did not measure all classes
in each place, hence gaps appear in his series.

The method of examination in Seattle consisted in recording the place of
birth of each child, age at his last birthday,6 date of birth, place of birth of each
parent and date of parents' immigration, names and ages of brothers and sisters.
Blanks were sent home with the children to be filled in by their parents to supply
the same data. This information was then checked by comparison writh the

6 The original records have been deposited in the Museum of Anthropology, University
of California, San Francisco.

fi It is customary in Japan to count age from January of the year of birth, not from
the actual birthday (Chamberlain, Basil Hall, Things Japanese, 5th ed., London, 1905, pp.
12-13, 63). So far as I know Mr. Harada obtained ages from birth, in the same manner
as the Seattle series. If the ages of the Japan-born children were reckoned in the conven-
tional Japanese manner, they would average a half year younger than the recorded ages.
This would render the discrepancy between the measurements of American-born and Japan-
born children, to be noted below, somewhat less than indicated.

1929] Spier, Growth of Japanese 3

Language School records. In Hiroshima the data were obtained from the chil-
dren alone.

The characters measured were stature, reach, head length, head breadth, face
breadth, and the dentition was observed. In Hiroshima reach and dental obser-
vations were omitted. These measurements were chosen merely as the most con-
venient. The method of taking them was as follows :

Stature, standing height without shoes. In a few cases the stature was ob-
tained with shoes, the height of the heels measured and subtracted. Stature was
measured with the subject standing erect, free of support ; the two-meter measur-
ing bar held vertical behind the subject by the observer, and read to the nearest
millimeter.

Reach, the span from the tip of the middle finger of one hand to that of the
other, the arms being extended horizontally sideways, with palms facing forward.
The subject was instructed to extend the arms in this position and then move to
the left until the finger tip touched a wall. The measuring rod was then placed
horizontally back of his shoulders with its butt against the wall, and the sliding
arm brought in contact with the right middle finger tip.

Head Length, the maximum glabello-occipital diameter. Head breadth, the
maximum transverse diameter of the vault. Measured with spreading calipers
manufactured by Kny-Scherer Company in millimeters.

Face width, the maximum bizygomatic width. Measured with the same cali-
pers. I believe this measurement was taken from landmarks too far forward,
hence these data should not be used in comparison with other series. But as the
Seattle and Hiroshima series were made in exactly the same way, the results are
comparable.

Dentition, the presence of each deciduous and permanent tooth was recorded.
Any fragment of a deciduous tooth and any partially erupted permanent tooth
was recorded as present. As the examination was made rapidly a source of con-
fusion of the two sets was present. This appears in the irregular values shown
in the tables of occurrence.

The observations were made by the writer and several students of the Uni-
versity of Washington to whom he is indebted, Miss Lillian Hocking, Mr. Matsu-
taro Harada, and Mr. William Pool. The greater number of observations on the
American-born children were made by the writer, especially the head-and face-
diameters, and all dental observations. I am also indebted to Mr. Henry Tatsumi
and Mrs. Sara Schenck for identifying the birthplaces of the parents in Japan,
and to Mr. Eldon Griffin for assistance. Mr. Sidney Adams also volunteered
assistance with the calculations.

The comparability of the measurements by the several observers was tested
by having Spier repeat the head measurements of a limited number of children

4 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

measured by the three others. The average departures of the latter from Spier's
measurements areas follows:

Cases Head Length Head Width Face Width

Harada 10 —0.8 mm. —1.4 mm. +0.2 mm...

king 15 +2.7 +0.9 -0.1

L ... 27 +1.4 +1.1 +0.7

The range of variation of each of these departures is quite small. The differ-
ences are on the whole so small as to be negligible.

III. OBSERVATIONS ON BODY CHARACTERS

The age distribution of the American-born and Japan-born series is given
in Table 1 in the form of the average age in months in each year group. Taken
as a whole the averages hover about five months, somewhat under the midyear
interval (6 months). Their distribution about this point in both series is ran-
dom. The differences between the averages of the two series are small and not
always in one direction. Hence we may consider the series directly comparable
from the standpoint of age.

Table 1. Age of Japanese Children Born in Japan and in the United States (in

years and months)
(number of cases in parentheses)

Boys

Girls

Age

Japan

United States

Difference

Japan

United States

Difference

6 and

4.3

(31)

5.3 (33)

7 and

6.0

(34)

4.7 (37)

-1.3

5.6 (31)

6.3 (39)

6.7

8 and

3.7

(35)

5.1 (28)

1.4

4.7 (27)

5.9 (27)

1.2

9 and

4.8

(59)

5.4 (34)

0.6

4.9 (19)

3.9 (25)

-1.0

10 and

4.2

(30)

5.0 (22)

0.8

3.8 (31)

5.0 (16)

1.2

11 and

5.2

(27)

5.8 (12)

0.6

4.9 (29)

4.3 (25)

-0.6

12 and

5.1

(43)

4.5 (8)

-0.6

3.7 (32)

5.3 (15)

1.6

13 and

4.5

(33)

6.6 (9)

2.1

5.4 (27)

2.6 (12)

-2.8

14 and

5.2 (11)

The average statures and standard deviations for each age group of both
series are given in Table 2. The standard deviations of the series obtained in
Japan exhibit the familiar phenomenon of a regular increase in variability with
age. The values of the smaller American series are fluctuating.

The statures of the American-born children are greater in every age class
than the corresponding Japan-born children. The differences are given in the
fourth and seventh columns together with the probable error of each difference.
The differences increase slightly in the later years among both boys and girls. The
certainty of the differences is attested by the order of size of the probable errors.
In all cases except 8, 9, and 11 year old girls the difference is more than twice
the probable error; in five cases randomly distributed (7, 10, 13 year old boys;

1929]

Spier, Growth of Japanese

7, 12 year old girls) the difference is more than three times the probable error ;
and in only one case (9 year old girls) is the difference less thar^ its probable
error. It is thus reasonably certain that the differences between the series are
real.

Table 2. Stature of Japanese Children Born in Japan and in the United States

(millimeters) .

Age

Boys

Girls

Japan

United States

Difference

Japan

United States

Difference

1076.3±49.1
1110.2±34.2
1173.2±43.4
1227.2±62.4
1256.1±38.6
1310.4±38.5
1350.4±51.7
1375.7±69.7

1063.9±38.6
1113.7±51.2
1151.0±43.1
1219.9±58.1
1251.9±63.8
1334.0±70.0
1360. 9± 61. 4
1401.4±62.'8

7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

1154.9±36.4
1201.0±55.6
1256.6±55.9
1299.5±44.0
1350.8±52.0
1382.3±37.6
1477.0±91.4

44. 7± 8.5
27.7±13.0
29.5±12.6
43. 4± 12.1
40.5±16.7
31.9±15.4
101.3±32.9

1163.7±48.0
1169.9±42.1
1233.5±53.2
1295.9±50.6
1366.0±71.8
1442.3±39.5
1447.9±49.3
1495. 4± 53. 6

50.0±12.4
18.9±11.6
13.6±17.1
44.0±17.1
31.9±19.4
81.4±14.9
46.5±18.7

These series may be compared with values of American-born Japanese chil-
dren of California7 and of children in Japan given by Misawa.8 The latter con-
sists of two series, those of M. Mishima of 9609 boys and 7466 girls, which
Misawa suggests were made in Tokyo City and exclude lower classes of society,
and those of the Japanese Department of Education (Report for 1901) of 869,014
children possibly from elementary schools in the country at large.

Table 3. Stature of Other American-born and Japan-born Children

(millimeters) .

Boys

Girls

Age

California

Japan —
Mishima

Japan —
Educ.
Dept.

Japan —

Cadet

Schools

California

Japan —
Mishima

Japan —
Educ.
Dept.

1077
1145
1204
1250
1295
1334
1362
1425
1471
1550

974
1028
1083
1138
1183
1228
1270
1308
1352
1415
1463

1065
1110
1156
1200
1248
1287
1334
1376
1421
1461

1470
1522
1567
1590
1600

1077
1145
1199
1265
1305
1326
1326
1466
1478
1483

965
1024
1072
1120
1162
1204
1259
1323
1390
1432
1447

1053

1095

1142

1185

1232

1282

1333

1377

1416

1437

7 Made by the Japanese Educational Association, quoted by Iyenaga and Sato, loc. cit.
I have transformed the values from English units to their metric equivalents.

8 Misawa, Tadasu, A Few Statistical Facts from Japan (Pedagogical Seminary, vol. 16,
1909, pp. 104-112).

University of Washington Publications in Anthropology

[Vol. 3

The Hiroshima children are taller than those of Tokyo and of the country
at large in every group. The sole exception is that of the 13 year old boys of
the Cadet Schools, presumably a selected group, who are taller than Hiroshima
boys by 95 mm.

Excess of Hiroshima boys over Mishima series ranges from 23 to 48 mm.

Excess of Hiroshima boys over Education Dept. series, 41-71 mm.

Excess of Hiroshima girls over Mishima series, 11-75 mm.

Excess of Hiroshima girls over Education Dept. series, 56-102 mm.
The American-born children of Seattle are taller in every age group than those
of California. The excess ranges in boys from 44 to 115 mm., in girls from 24
to 121 mm. For our purpose it is significant that the American-born children of
Seattle are taller in every age group than those of Tokyo and Japan at large.

Excess of Seattle boys over Mishima series ranges from 63 to 125 mm.
Excess of Seattle boys over Education Dept. series, 90-143 mm.
Excess of Seattle boys over Cadet School series, 7 mm.
Excess of Seattle girls over Mishima series, 50-119 mm.
Excess of Seattle girls over Education Dept. series, 75-134 mm.

These differences are greater than those between the Seattle Japanese and the
Hiroshima children.

The reach or arm span of children born in the United States is given in
Table 4. Measurement of this character was not made in Japan. The reach is
in all cases (save 13 year old boys) less than the corresponding stature, but the
difference is less among older boys and girls (12, 13 year old boys; 12, 13, 14
year old girls) than among the younger children.

Table 4. Reach of Japanese Children Born in the United States {millimeters).

Age

Boys

Girls

1137.2±43.7
1175.3±60.5
1233. 4± 60. 8
1284.4±55.6
1330.3±57.5
1381.0±61.8
1478.2±88.6

1114 1±60 6

1139 4±41 5

1222 4±51 6

1263 9±62 4

1338 8±73 4

1437 5±41 0

1438 2±58 1

1491 9±61 9

A comparison of length of head is given in Table 5. The standard deviation
of each series is fairly uniform, unlike the series for statures. In absolute values
the American-born children are longer headed than the Japan-born children of
the same age. The differences in most cases are appreciable ; in only two cases
(8 year old boys and 9 year old girls) is a deficiency noted. The difference is
greater than its probable error in half the cases and approximately equal in two
others; in the remaining cases the difference is half the probable error. This

1929]

Spier, Growth of Japanese

case is not so decisive as that of stature but the differences taken as a whole seem
real.

Table 5. Length of Head of Japanese Children Born in Japan and in the

United States {millimeters).

Boys

Girls

Age

Japan

United States

Difference

Japan

United States

Difference

I70.7i4.7
169.0±4.9

2.i±1.2

165.7±5.3
165.7i5.7

171.0i5.7

i67.7±5.3

2. Oil. 3

172.8±4.9

171.0±4.6

-1.8±1.2

167.8i4.0

169.1i6.1

1.3il.4

173.3i5.6

175.2i5.3

1.9±1.2

172.6±4.7

169.9±5.7

-2.7il.6

174.4±5.5

175.1i5.3

0.6il.5

171.7±4.6

172.6±7.6

0.9i2.3

I76.0i4.1

177.3±6.9

1.4±2.7

172.6±4.2

173.3±6.7

0.7il.6

175.9±4.6

178.5i8.0

2.6±2.9

171.8±4.4

175.7i4.9

3.9il.5

177.6i7.1

181.0i5.3

3.4i2.2

175.0±4.5

176.2±6.4

1.1±2.3

178.1±8.8

A comparison of width of head of Japan-born and American-born children
is given in Table 6. The standard deviations of the four series are somewhat less
uniform than those of head length; variations in them are randomly distributed.
The American-born children are appreciably wider headed than the Japan-born,
by an amount absolutely and relatively greater than the differences in head length.
The differences in this measurement are clear and marked. In every case (save
one) the difference is three or more times its probable error; in the case of 7 year
old girls it is more than twice its error. From the standpoint of statistical relia-
bility this is the most certain case yet considered.

Table 6. Width of Head of Japanese Children Bom in Japan and in the

United States (millimeters) .

Age

Boys

Girls

Japan

United States

Difference

Japan

United States

Difference

140.1i5.2
140.8i4.6
142.0i4.9
143.3i5.3
142.8i4.1
143.9i3.6
144.2i4.9
143.5i4.6

137.2i4.2
139.8i4.5
139.4i3.8
140.2i3.3
141.2i4.1
141.4i5.4
141.1i3.4
142.5i3.9

148.0i4.3
149.5i4.0
149.1i5.3
150.8i5.3
152.1±5.1
150.4i3.8
154.8i4.7

7.2il
7.6il
5.8il
8.1il
8.2il
6.1il
11.3±1

1
1
4
6
6
8

144.5i4.5
144.2i4.3
144.0i5.1
146.8i4.0
146.0i5.5
146.7i5.4
149.5i4.5
154.9i6.1

4.7il.9
4.8il.l
3.8il.3
5.6il.2
4.6il.5
5.7il.5
7. Oil. 5

The cephalic index of Japan-born and American-born children is compared
in Table 7. In the preparation of this table the cephalic indexes of individuals
were combined ; it is not based on the averages of head width and length. The

University of Washington Publications in Anthropology

[Vol.

distribution of the values of the standard deviation is again not wholly uniform,
but is random in its variations. The American-born children are throughout
rounder headed than the Japan-born children by an appreciable amount. The
statistical certainty of this is indicated by the fact that in the majority of cases
the difference is three or more times its probable error ; in the cases of 8, 10, and
11 vear old girls it is more than twice the error, and in the cases of 12 year old
boys and girls it is greater than the error. It is thus reasonably certain that the
series as wholes are distinct. The rounder headedness of the American group
is obviously due to the head width being disproportionately greater than the head

length.

Table 7.

Cephalic Index of Japanese Children Born in Japan and in the

United States.

Age

Boys

Girls

Japan

United States

Difference

Japan

United States

Difference

83.6±3.8
83.4±4.0
82.1±4.2
82.8±3.5
82.0±3.8
81.9±3.0
82.2±3.4
80.7±3.9

3.3±1.0
5.5±0.9
2.5±0.8
4.3±1.0
4. Oil. 3
2.2±1.9
4.8±1.3

82.9±4.4
83.5±3.7
83.2±3.4
81.0±2.5
82.3±3.1
82.0±3.2
82.1±2.4
81.3±3.1

86.7±4.3
87.6±3.1
85.3±4.1
86.2±3.4
85.9±4.2
84.5±5.1
85.6±3.4

86.4±3.8
85.6±3.4
85.2±3.3
85.3±5.0
84.4±4.6
83.6±3.2
85.0±3.0
87.3±5.0

2.8±0.9
2.3±0.9

4.2±0.9
3. Oil. 4
2.4±1.1
1.5±0.9
3.7±1.1

The comparative widths of face of these series are given in Table 8. The
standard deviations are somewhat variable but the values are randomly distributed.
The American-born series have standard deviations slightly in excess of the Japan-
born, that is, are more variable. I do not think this is due to a difference in the
manner of taking the measurement ; it will be observed in the table of compari-
sons of the several observers' results (p. 4) that they differ only slightly among
themselves with respect to this measurement. The averages show a consistent
and appreciable difference in favor of the American-born children. The cer-
tainty of this is expressed in the fact that the differences are more than three
times their probable error ; the exceptions are in 8 year olds where the differences
are twice their errors, in 7 year old girls where the difference is again greater
than the error, and in 9 year old girls where there is no difference. The absolute
value of the differences is even greater than in the case of head width, a transverse
measurement with which it usually corresponds. I repeat that I place no great
faith in the absolute values given in Table 8, but do insist that the observations
on American-born and Japan-born are directly comparable.

To summarize these observations : Measurements on American-born Japanese
children, when compared with those of children of the same ages in a district of
southern Japan (Hiroshima) from which a considerable proportion of their par-

1929]

Spier, Grozvth of Japanese

Table; 8. Width of Face of Japanese Children Born in Japan and in the

United States (millimeters).

Age

Boys

Girls

Japan

United States

Difference

Japan

United States

Difference

110.5±5.1
111.0±4.0
115.0±3.6
114.9±5.2
113.9±3.8
119.4±4.9
119.4±4.6
120.9±3.2

109.0±3.2
111.9±4.8
113.9±4.1
117. 3±3. 7
115.6±3.9
119.0±4.2
118.9±5.0
120.8±4.4

116.1±6.3
118.7±9.4
124.9±5.9
124.7±5.2
129.2±5.6
131.6±4.7
136.9±5.6

5.1dbl
3.7±1
10. Oil
10.8±1
9.8±1
12.2±1
16.0±2

2
9
2
3
8
8
0

114.2±6.6
117.1±6.0
117.3±6.2
125.5±5.5
126.1±5.3
127.1±4.6
129.2±7.9
133.8±8.6

2.3±1.4
3.2±1.4
0.0±1.5
9.9±1.5
7.1±1.3
8.2±1.5
8.4±2.4

ents emigrated, show that the former are of larger build at every age. The Ameri-
can-born are distinctly taller, have longer heads, distinctly wider heads, and much
wider faces. The American-born have higher cephalic indexes due to the fact
that their head widths are disproportionately greater than their greater head
lengths. The higher cephalic index and the greater face width indicate a type
with an even more wide and rounded skull than the Japan-born children with
whom they have been compared.

IV. HOMOGENEITY OF THE HIROSHIMA SERIES

In the foregoing discussion I have assumed that the Hiroshima group is
homogeneous. The data were gathered, however, in two adjacent places, Midorii
and Kawauchi. For some reason, Mr. Harada did not always measure the same
classes in each place; presumably for lack of time. In order to test the homo-
geneity of the Midorii and Kawauchi series, comparisons are made in Tables 9
and 10. With but few exceptions these children were born in the villages where
they were measured.

Table 9. Number of Cases of Midorii and Kawauchi Children.

■

Age

Boys

Girls

Midorii

24
3

17
0

28
0

26
0

11
16

University of Washington Publications in Anthropology

[Vol. 3

There are sufficient cases to compare only 9, 12, and 13 year old boys, and

12 and 13 year old girls. The averages, standard deviations, differences, and
probable errors of the differences are given in Table 10.° The average ages, in
months in excess of the given year, are randomly distributed and directly com-
parable. Kawauchi boys are throughout taller; Kawauchi girls incline also to be
taller. Differences in head width, head length, and face width are small and not
consistently in one direction. The differences in cephalic index are also small
and random in either direction. Comparing the differences with their probable
errors, there are no cases of significant difference. In the majority of instances
the error is many times the value of the difference; in only one case (stature,

13 year old boys) is the difference twice the error; in seven cases (stature, 12 year
girls; head width and length, 13 year boys; cephalic index, 13 year girls; face
width, 12 and 13 year boys, 12 year girls) it is greater than the error; in two cases
(cephalic index and face width, 9 year boys) it equals the error. These cases are
randomly distributed. The conclusion is that the Midorii and Kawauchi series are
justifiably consolidated as one.

Table 10. Comparison of Midorii and Kawauchi Children.

Boys

Girls

Age

Age (months)

Midorii

Kawauchi

Stature (mm.)

Midorii

Kawauchi

4.4

5.7

1222.0±51.8

1228.4±69.7

+ 6.4±33.4

143.8±4.1
142.5±6.2
-1.3+.1.5

173.1±6.2
174.1±4.9
+1.0=fcl.5

83.1±3.6

82.2±3.3

-0.9±0.9

114.7±4.2
113.5±5.0
-1.2±1.3

4.3
3.7

1343. 3± 60.0
1356.0±44.9
+ 12.7±16.5

144.1±6.0
144.5±4.8
+ 0.4±1.7

175.9±3.9
176.4±5.0
+0.5±1.4

82.0±3.7

82.4±3.1

+0.4±1.1

120.6±4.9
118.2±4.2
-2.4±1.4

3.9

5.5

1359.2±76.0
1404. 8± 46. 9
+45.6±23.2

141.9±3.8
144.7±5.2
+ 2.8±1.8

176.3±8.6
179.2±4.3
+2.9±2.5

80.8±5.4

80.9±3.7

+0.1±1.7

120.6±3.7
122.3±3.2
+ 1.7±1.4

2.4
3.9

1336.5±61.1
1372.1±58.2
+35.6±23.5

140.2±2.7
140.2±2.9
±0.0±1.1

171.5±4.5
172.1±3.7
+0.6±1.6

81.9±2.1

81.6±1.8

-0.3±0.8

116.4±5.2
119.4±4.2
+3. Oil. 9

5.8
5.1

1399. 6± 63.1
1398.4±61.7

Difference

Head Width (mm.)

Midorii

-1.2±24.8
141.6±3.6

Kawauchi

142.9±4.1

Difference

Head Length (mm.)

Midorii

Kawauchi

Difference

Cephalic Index

Midorii

+1.3=bl.S

175.0±2.8
174.7±5.4
-0.3±1.6

80.0±4.0

Kawauchi

81.9±2.8

Difference

Face Width (mm.)

Midorii

Kawauchi

Difference

+ 1.9±1.4

120.0±3.1
120.6±4.3
+0.6±1.5

8 Discrepancies between combined values which may be derived from this table and
Tables 1-8 are due to the fact that a few Japan-born children measured at Seattle have
been included in the latter by mistake.

1929]

Spier, Growth of Japanese

V. HOMOGENEITY OF THE SEATTLE SERIES

The question arises whether the American-bora material is homogeneous, i.e.,
whether the children born to earlier immigrants are similar to those of the later
immigration. I have tested this for the only age groups for which sufficient
material is available (males, 7 and 9 years; females, 8 years). Again attention
must be called to the small number of cases. The average year of arrival of all
mothers is 1909 (see Appendix A). Hence these age groups have been divided
according to whether the mothers arrived before 1909 or in 1909 and later years.

Table 11. Comparison of Children Born to Mothers Arriving Before 1909 with
those of Arrivals of 1909 and Later {Averages and Variabilities).

Boys, 7 Years of Age:

Stature

Reach

Head Width

Head Length

Cephalic Index

Face Width

Age (in months)

Avg. Year of Arrival of Mothers
Cases

Before 1909

1170.1=1=23.8

1158.6±39.1
147.9=1= 4.9
2=fc
0±

1909 and Later

170

117. 7=b

5.9

1904.9

5.0
4.9

7.3

1150.7=4=41.2

1138.9=b38.6
147. 1± 3.6
171.8=1= 5.2
85.8=1= 3.7
115. ld= 6.1
5.3
1912.1
18

Differences

-19.5±12.5
-19.7=1=15.7
-0.8± 1.8
+ 1.6± 2.0
-1.3=b 1.8
-2.6± 2.7

Boys, 9 Years of Age:

Stature

Reach

Head Width

Head Length

Cephalic Index

Face Width

Age (in months)

Avg. Year of Arrival of Mothers
Cases

1276.5±54.5
1251.1±57.1
148.5=1= 6.3
176.4=1= 5.4
84. 6=b 4.0
127.0=1= 5.9
6.9
1906.6
12

1 241. 5± 65.1
1209. 5± 73. 8
149. 9± 5.0
174. 1± 5.4
86.2=1= 4.6
121.3=1= 5.1
5.4
1910.6
11

-35.1±25.2
-41.6±21.6

+ 1.4± 2.4
-2.3=b 2.2
+ 1.5=b 1.8
-5.7± 2.3

Girls, 8 Years of Age:

Stature

Reach

Head Width

Head Length

Cephalic Index

Face Width

Age (in months)

Avg. Year of Arrival of Mothers
Cases

1173.0±29.3
1136. 6± 33. 3
145.8=1= 3.9
171. 4± 3.3
85.1=1= 2.4
114.3=1= 6.5
3.3
1905.5
8

1170.9±54.6

-2. 2=1= 18. 3

1140.2=1=51.1

+3.6=1=18.4

141. 8=b 4.1

-4.0=1= 1.8

165.8=1= 6.8

-5.5=1= 2.2

85. 7± 4.3

+0.7± 1.5

117.1=1= 5.7

+2.8=1= 2.8

5.0

1911.2

These results (Table 11) show that the boys of the later immigration in
both age groups have smaller values for all absolute measurements, with the ex-
ception of certain head diameters. The differences in stature and reach are con-
siderable ; the face width difference of 9 year old boys is also marked ; while the
differences in head diameters is less marked. The decrease of cephalic index in
7 year olds and the increase in 9 year olds is consonant with the increased head
length of the first group and the increased head width and decreased head length
of the second age group. The differences between the daughters of earlier and

12 University of Wellington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

later immigrants are not so clear. Marked decreases of both head diameters sug-
gest, however, that the children of later mothers are smaller. On the other hand,
there are no appreciable differences in stature and reach. The significance of
the difference between children of the earlier and later immigrations attaches not
only to the absolute size of the differences, but also to the consistency of the
sign. At the same time, not one of these differences between average values is
statistically significant. That is, the error of the difference is large in compari-
son with the absolute value of the difference. The only cases that even approxi-
mate a certain difference are reach and face width of 9 year old boys, and head
width and length of the girls. From a statistical point of view it is thus valid to
use the material derived from earlier and later immigrations as though it were
completely homogeneous.

The question arises as to what reasons may be assigned to account for the ob-
served differences between the children of the two groups of immigrants. The
following reasons suggest themselves. It may be (1) that the mothers of the two
periods differ in type ; (2) that the children were born to mothers differing in age ;
(3) that social selection has left only the smaller children of the later immigrants
in school ; (4) that the later children are junior members of sibling groups as
compared with the earlier children.

A discussion of these points follows :

(1) Without data on the mothers it is impossible to investigate their types.
Assuming that the types are distinct, this may be due to several causes. The moth-
ers may have been derived from different regions of Japan ; social selection among
the emigrants may account for the distinct types ; the average interval of immi-
gration may correspond to a change in type in Japan during the childhood of the
mothers.

The birthplaces of the mothers are tabulated in Table 12 so far as they can
be identified. The provinces are arranged in this table roughly in order from
south to north. The distribution of the earlier and later immigrant groups seem
to be much the same. Thus there appears to have been no geographic selection
of type.

I have not been able to discover in the published reports that there has been
any appreciable social selection among the immigrants who contributed to the
resident population of Seattle during the years represented by the entry of the
mothers considered in this study. If such existed it might account for some dif-
ference in physical type of earlier and later immigrants.

Data collected by the Educational Department of Japan on the stature of
female students, aged 18-30, as recalculated by Matsumura,10 show a steady in-
crease over the period of 1909-1918 amounting to 1.06 cm. in mean stature. He
does not suggest that this process continued from an earlier period, but it is quite

10 Matsumura, Akira, On the Cephalic Index and Stature of the Japanese and their
Local Differences (Journal of the Faculty of Science, Imperial University of Tokyo, Sec-
tion V- Anthropology, vol. 1, part 1, Tokyo, 1925), p. 87.

1929]

Spier, Growth of Japanese

Table 12. Birthplace of Mothers of Seven and Nine-year old Boys and

Bight-year old Girls.

Matsumura's
Province No

Province

Number of Mothers Arriving

Before 1909

1909 and Later

Hyuga

1
3
3

2
1
1

1
1
1
1
1
1

Higo

Chikuzen

Iyo

Suwo

Aki

Bingo

18, 19

Aki or Bingo

20, 21, 22

Bitchu or Bizen or Mimasaka

Bizen

Yamoto

Kii

Omi

42,43

Owari or Mikawa

Mikawa

44, 45, 46

Totomi or Suruga or Izu

Suruga

48
55, 56

Musashi

Mino or Hida

1
1

57
63

Shinano

Etchu

Hokkaido

Honolulu

possible. However, it will be observed (Appendix B) that the children considered
here were born within a few years of the arrival of the mother, where she arrived
in 1909 or later. This suggests that all these mothers were adult before 1909.
that is before the period of marked change in Japan. There is also nothing at
present to show that a change in type of the parents will affect their offspring.

(2) There is no direct data on the age of the mothers at the time of, the
birth of these children. On the whole, one would expect that the mothers who
arrived before 1909 were older than those who arrived after that date who had
children of the same age.

(3) There is no direct evidence that social selection has left only the smaller
children of later immigrants in school. There is this possibility, however. The
later immigrants are perhaps poorer members of the community, hence inclined
to withdraw their larger children to help at home. On the other hand, the later
immigrants, tending to preserve their native customs longer, might be inclined
to continue their children in the language school longer than their predecessors.

(4) If the children of the later immigrants were junior members of their
family groups in comparison with those of the earlier immigrants, then we might
expect them to be less developed. Boas11 has shown that in Toronto and Oak-

11 Boas, Franz, Changes in Bodily Form of Descendants of Immigrants, p. 79.

University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol.

land, children of small families are taller than those in families of larger size.
That is, children in families having only one, two, or three! children exceed the
norm of their age mates in the population at large, while those of families of five
or more children are deficient in stature. These observations may be interpreted
in another fashion; that a first-born child exceeds the average of second, third,
and fourth children, etc. ; a second-born child exceeds the average of those whose
order of birth is later than his own, and so on. This should hold true at least
during their earlier childhood.

Does size of family have a similar effect on these Japanese-American chil-
dren? While data were obtained on the order of birth of the subjects of my in-
vestigation, the information is of doubtful value. I am therefore unable to com-
pare directly the effect of size of families by tabulating the material according
to order of birth. I did establish, however, which among my subjects were sib-
lings (brothers and sisters) and their relative order of birth. We may there-

Table 13. Comparison of Statures of Older and Younger Siblings in
Terms of Standard Deviations — Brothers.

Age of

Excess of

Age of

Excess of

Excesses of

older

older brother

younger

younger brother

younger over

Averages of

brother

over average

brother

over average

older brother

last column

+ 1.26

+ 1.52

+0.26

+0.41

+ 1.26

+ 1.39

+0.13

-0.50

-0.11

+0.39

-0.71

-0.26

+0.45

-1.51

-0.69

+0.82

+ 2.02

+0.47

-1.55

-0.64

+2.02

-0.39

-2.41

+2.02

+0.35

-1.67

+0.19

+ 1.71

+ 1.52

+0.19

+0.10

-0.09

-0.51

-0.17

+0.34

+ 1.39

+ 1.52

+0.13

+0.16

+0.32

+ 1.03

+0.71

-0.09

-1.62

-1.53

-1.05

+0.27

+ 1.32

+ 1.74

+0.07

-1.67

+0.09

+0.35

+0.47

+0.12

+0.35

-0.39

-0.74

+0.10

+ 1.71

+ 1.61

-1.42

-0.30

+ 1.12

+ 1.03

+ 1.60

+0.57

+0.35

+0.45

+0.91

+0.46

+0.33

-0.27

-0.60

+0.19

+0.75

+0.56

+0.08

+0.38

+0.30

-0.39

+0.47

+0.86

-0.41

+0.11

+0.52

-1.37

-1.28

+0.09

+ 1.44

+ 1.16

-0.28

-0.58

+0.63

-0.24

-0.87

1929]

Spier, Growth of Japanese

fore compare each of these siblings with the average of his age. If the effect of
the size of family observed in Toronto and Oakland holds true here, then the
younger siblings should be deficient in comparison with the older when each is
compared with his age mates.

Tables 13 and 14 show the excess or deficiency of the younger sibling as com-
pared with his older sibling in the Seattle families. The values are given as de-
partures of each individual from the average of his age mates, reduced to propor-
tions of the standard deviation of his age.

Table; 14.

Comparison of Statures of Older and Younger Siblings in
Terms of Standard Deviations — Sisters.

Age of

Excess of

Age of

Excess of

older

older sister

younger

younger sister

younger over

Averages of

sister

over average

sister

over average

older sister

last column

+0.55

+0.32

-0.23

+0.68

+0.55

+0.71

+0.16

+0.12

+0.79

+0.67

-0.90

+ 1.21

+ 2.10

+ 1.83

+0.87

-0.96

+0.01

+0.37

-0.01

-0.38

-0.12

-1.02

-0.90

-1.09

+0.31

+ 1.40

-1.72

-0.81

+0.91

+ 1.26

+3.20

+ 1.94

+0.45

+ 1.20

-0.35

-1.55

-0.44

+0.52

+0.96

+0.18

+ 1.28

+ 1.10

+0.49

+0.18

+0.29

+0.11

+0.03

-0.62

-0.65

+0.03

-0.03

-0.06

±0.00

-0.18

-2.47

+0.17

+ 2.64

+0.71

+0.32

-0.39

+0.12

-0.26

+0.36

+0.62

+ 2.04

-0.09

-2.13

-1.40

+ 1.91

-1.43

-3.34

+0.29

+ 1.28

+0.99

+0.10

-1.83

-1.93

-0.03

-0.62

-0.59

The average excess of all younger brothers over their older brothers is
+0.03o-; of all younger sisters over their older sisters is +0.01cr; the average of
these combined is +0.02cr. That is, there is no significant difference between the
younger sibling in relation to his age mates and the older sibling in relation to his.
I have considered it unnecessary to calculate the values for brothers and their

sisters.

The conclusion is that size of family has no effect on the development of these
children. If this were so, we should expect to find evidence also in the yearly

University of Washington Publications in Anthropology

[Vol. 3

averages. Among the older children (age groups 14, 13, 12), the interval between
the age of the older and younger members of a fraternity is greater than that in
the younger age groups. We should therefore expect to find a greater deficiency
of younger siblings when contrasted with their oldest siblings. This does not ap-
pear; the values of age-group averages are quite random. The contrast of these
observations with those of Toronto and Oakland may be explained as due to a
rapid improvement of social conditions among the Seattle Japanese which offsets
the deficiency of development ordinarily produced by large families.

The suggestion that the children of the later immigrants are smaller be-
cause they are junior members of their fraternities is not borne out by these data.

VI. OBSERVATIONS ON DENTITION

The presence of each deciduous tooth and of each permanent tooth in the
Seattle children was noted. The data are given in the form of percentages of
each tooth present in the total of all possible cases of teeth of each kind; teeth,
not individuals, are the units (Tables 15-18). It will be observed that the values
are somewhat irregular. This is inevitable in a rapid examination, where it is
not always possible to differentiate between a fragment of a deciduous tooth and
a cusp of the following permanent tooth, and where further the loss of a tooth by
mechanical means cannot be readily checked.

Table 15. Teeth of American-born Japanese Children — Percentages of

Deciduous Teeth Present — Boys.

No. of cases

Upper

Lower

Age

(teeth, not

individuals)

I I

0 I

1 M

2 M

I I

O I

1 M

2 M

100

Table 16. Teeth of American-born Japanese Children — Percentages of

Deciduous Teeth Present — Girls.

Upper

Lower

Age

Cases

I I

O I

1 M

2 M

I I

O I

1 M

2 M

1929]

Spier, Growth of Japanese

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University of Washington Publications in Anthropology

[Vol.

The average ages of the loss of each deciduous tooth and the eruption of
each permanent tooth, together with their variabilities, have been calculated from
these data by a modified form of Pearson's curve-fitting method12 (Table 19).
The series of observations runs only from 7 to 13 years for boys and 8 to 15 years
for girls. Where the averages obtained are less than seven, they are extrapolated
and hence uncertain. Values near the upper and lower limit of these series are
also open to doubt ; the most certain values are those of nine to twelve years. An
inspection of the distribution tables (Tables 15-18) will show that some of these
values are quite doubtful.

Table 19. Average Ages and Variabilities of the Loss of Deciduous Teeth and
the Eruption of Permanent Teeth in American-born Japanese Children.

Teeth

Deciduous

Permanent

Upper

Lower

Upper

Lower

Boys —

Incisors, Inner

Outer

Canines

Bicuspids, First

Second

Molars, First

5.4il.6

7.3il.2

10. Oil. 2

8.5i2.5
9.6il.9

7.3il.5
8.3±2.1

10. Oil. 5

9.8i2.2
11. Oil. 7

6.4il.7
6.3i2.0
8.6i2.2

8.5i2.4
7.6i3.1

9.4il.2

9.6i2.8
9.9il.5

6.5il.3
8.1i0.9

10. Oil. 7
9.3il.2

10.3il.8

12.3il.9

5.9i2.7
7.9il.5
9.6il.4
9.3il.5
10.0i0.9

13.3i2.3

5.8i2.3

7.2il.2

8.9il.9

10.2i2.3

10.7il.4

Second

Girls-
Incisors, Inner

Outer

Canines

Bicuspids, First

Second

Molars, First

Second

ll.lil.O

7.1i0.8

8.2il.2

9.8il.6

11.6il.9

11.5il.5

These average ages exhibit the familiar phenomenon that the lower deciduous
teeth are lost and the lower permanent teeth erupted in advance of the correspond-
ing upper teeth. The sole exception is in the case of boys' deciduous inner in-
cisors, an extrapolated case. I have pointed out elsewhere13 in my study of the
dentition of Porto Rican boys that the bicuspids form an exception to this rule.
The upper bicuspids are erupted earlier than the corresponding lowers. This is
confirmed in the present case. The precedence of loss and eruption of all lower
teeth is about one year, as has been observed in other cases.

While girls are usually in advance of boys in the development of correspond-
ing physiological status, this does not appear in the present case. The deciduous
dentition of the girls is in every case lost later than that of the boys, on the av-
erage by a little more than one year. On the other hand, in most cases the girls
erupted their permanent teeth slightly in advance of the boys.

12 Boas, Franz, and Clark Wissler, Statistics of Growth (Report of the [United States]
Commissioner of Education for 1904, ch. 2, Washington, 1905), p. 32.

13 Spier, Leslie, The Growth of Boys: Dentition and Stature (American Anthropologist,
n.s., vol. 20, 1918, pp. 37-48), p. 40.

1929] Spier, Growth of Japanese 19

These Japanese children have development of dentition earlier than sev-
eral groups of Boston, New York, and Saxon children for whom data are avail-
able, but are quite similar to a group of Porto Rican boys.14 In comparison with
the Porto Rican boys, examined by Spier, the Japanese boys correspond quite
closely ; the differences in average age in tooth development are for the most part
a small fraction of a year and as frequently positive as negative. The greatest
discrepancy occurs in deciduous second molars where the Japanese boys are a
year behind the Porto Rican boys. The Boston school children observed by Chan-
ning and Wissler consistently erupted their upper permanent teeth about a year
later than the Japanese children. The exception to this is with second molars, where
the Japanese girls are a half year later than those of Boston. In comparison with
another (feeble-minded) group of Boston children, the Japanese children erupt
their upper canines slightly in; advance, their second molars a year and a half
later. I think these several divergences in second molars indicate that the present
(Japanese) series is not overly reliable with respect to the deciduous and perma-
nent second molars. The Japanese boys, like those of Porto Rico, also erupt their
upper canines, first and second bicuspids, considerably in advance of both well-to-
do and poor New York boys observed by Hellman, and their upper canines in
advance of boys in Saxony observed by Rose. An inspection of these data com-
piled by Boas indicates that the interval is approximately one year.

It then appears that the Japanese children attain the physiological status
represented by the appearance of these teeth at about the same time as the Porto
Rican boys and the feeble-minded Boston children. All three groups are ap-
proximately a year in advance of normal Boston children, New York and Saxon
boys. Boas also found that the poor New York children, here referred to, were
approximately eight months in advance of the well-to-do.

It is doubtful that this earlier development of the Japanese children can be
ascribed to a more rapid inherent physiological development. Boas observes of
the other cases here noted : "I expected that, if there should be physical retarda-
tion, we should find among the children of the well-to-do an early development
of the permanent teeth and among children of the poor, a later development.
However, just the reverse was found. The eruption of permanent teeth among
institutionalized children showed an acceleration of approximately eight months.
I think this puzzling phenomenon may be explained by the fact that in dental
care of institutional children there is a strong tendency to remove deciduous teeth
as soon as they show decay, and that the removal of the teeth acts as a stimulus
upon the development of the permanent teeth. Possibly the conditions in Porto
Rico where we also find an unusually early eruption of permanent teeth combined
with a marked retardation in the development of stature, may be explained in a
similar way; namely, by early decay of deciduous teeth which brings about an

"Charming, Walter, and Clark Wissler,, The Hard Palate in Normal and Feeble-
Minded Individuals (Anthropological Papers, American Museum of Natural History, vol.
1, 1908, pp. 316-319). Boas, Franz, The Anthropometry of Porto Rico (American Journal
of Physical Anthropology, vol. 3, 1920, pp. 247-253). Spier, loc. cit.

20 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

early loss of the teeth."15 I am inclined to believe that this explanation is also
adequate to account for the early development of the Seattle Japanese children.
While I can lay no claim to any expertness of judgment, I was impressed at the
time of observation with the shockingly bad condition of the children's teeth. It
must be borne in mind that the Seattle Japanese are a relatively poor, struggling
population.

VII. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

The bodily measurements indicate that the American-born Japanese children
are taller, have greater head diameters and face width, and are more round
headed than those of Hiroshima. This suggests, that there is a change of type
accompanying their birth and rearing in the United States. This is contingent
on the assumption that the Hiroshima children are representative of the type of
the parents of the Seattle children.

To establish this suggested change of type conclusively the Seattle children
should be compared with their own parents. It is a matter of great regret that
I was unable in 1921-22 and again in 1927 to establish contacts with the adult
Japanese population of Seattle, so that I might at least have measured a random
sample of adults including some of the parents.

An indirect way of making such a comparison is by calculating averages for
the Seattle children as adults and comparing these with averages based on the
values for the provinces of Japan, given by Matsumura,16 weighted according to
the number of parents derived from each province.

The values for Seattle boys reduced to adult status were obtained by extra-
polation from the series given in Tables 2, 5-7. 1 have assumed for this purpose that
the distribution of each of these series is rectilinear and that growth terminates
in stature at 18 years, in head diameters at 20 years. Neither of these assump-
tions is quite correct.

The values for the type representing the fathers were obtained by weighting
the averages for the provinces according to the number of fathers from each
province. In doing this I am assuming that the Seattle parents represent a ran-
dom sample from each of the provinces in which they were born. The distribu-
tion of their birthplaces is given in Appendix C. Not all parents are represented
in this tabulation and where a group of siblings occurs among the children their
parents are counted as many times as there are siblings.

The values for the Seattle boys reduced to adult norms are compared with
the values representing the type of the parents in Table 20.

These results are in harmony with those obtained by a comparison of Seattle
and Hiroshima children. The adult type representing the Seattle boy is taller,
has greater head diameters, and is more round-headed than the type representing
their fathers. If these values may be taken as representative, we have as great a

15 Boas, Franz, The Influence of Environment Upon Development (Proceedings, Na-
tional Academy of Sciences, vol. 6, no. 8, 1920, pp. 489-493), p. 492.
18 Matsumura, toe. cit.

1929]

Spier, Growth of Japanese

Table; 20. American-born Boys Reduced to Adult Norms Compared with
Averages of Provincial Types in Japan.

Stature
(mm.)

Head Length
(mm.)

Head Width
(mm.)

Cephalic
Index

American-born boys reduced to adult
Average of provincial types in Japan,

1707.7

1618.1
+ 89.6

192.4

188.7
+3.7

159.7

152.2
+ 7.5

82.0

80.7

+ 1.3

difference between American-born and Japan-born adults as between the tallest
and shortest groups of Europe. The difference is probably even greater than in-
dicated. Matsumura summarizes earlier data indicating an increase in stature of
Japanese men and women in the period 1909-1921, amounting in the case of male
students (aged 21-40) to 2.69 cm. over the period 1909-1918.17 Since the average
year of arrival of fathers in Seattle is 1904, they presumably belong to a type
existing in Japan prior to the general increase in stature there. Matsumura's own
data relate to the years 1911-1917. Our Seattle fathers probably have an av-
erage stature of less than the indicated 1618.1 mm.

The effect of the length of residence of the mother on the type of the chil-
dren may be inquired into, following the suggestive results of Boas' inquiry among
children of European immigrants. A comparison of children born within six
years of the mother's arrival with those born six years and more after her ar-
rival is given in Table 21. The only years for which a sufficiently large number
of cases are available are seven and nine year old boys and eight year old girls.

Table; 21. Comparison of Children Born within Six Years of Their Mothers'

Arrival with Those Born Later.
(Departures from the averages of the age groups in terms of standard deviations)

Age

Cases

Stature

Cephalic Index

Face Width

Sex

Interval elapsing between the arrival of the mother and birth of the child

Less

than
6 years

6 years
and
more

Less

than

6 years

6 years
and
more

Less

than

6 years

6 years
and
more

Less

than

6 years

6 years
and
more

Boys

7
9

All others
All ages

18
19

37
74

-0.12
-0.08
-0.14
-0.12

+0.42
+0.62
+0.79
+0.64

-0.21
-0.10
-0.04
-0.10

+0.07
+0.76
+0.30
+0.27

-0.16
-0.34
+0.15
-0.05

+0.25
+0.64
+0.49
+0.42

Girls

All others
All ages

12
62
74

8
20
28

+0.02
-0.01
-0.01

+0.07
+0.05
+0.06

+0.03
+0.34
+0.29

-0.15
-0.32
-0.27

±0.00
+0.04
+0.03

-0.47
-0.20
-0.28

All children

148

-0.07

+0.35

+0.10

±0.00

-0.01

+0.07

17 Matsumura, loc. cit., pp. 82-87.

22 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Other year groups are treated collectively. Interval groups were chosen as six
years or less and six years and more because it was found that children of mothers
who arrived in 1909, the average year of all mothers' arrival, and those whose
arrival was subsequent to that date were born within six years of the mother's
arrival (Appendix B).

The effect of the length of the mother's residence prior to the birth of child
is clear in the case of the boys. Boys born less than six years after the arrival of
their mothers are below the average of their age mates in stature, longer headed,
and narrower of face ; those born six or more years after their mothers' arrival
differ in the opposite direction. The case for girls is inconclusive. There is a
slight suggestion of higher stature in the later born girls, but the values for
cephalic index and face width show differences in the opposite direction from
the boys. The later born are longer headed and narrower of face. I do not un-
derstand why there should be this difference between boys and girls. It is con-
ceivable that among the children of the older immigrants the taller, more developed
girls are selected out to remain at home more frequently than the boys. I have no
evidence to substantiate this. Taking the children as a whole some slight influ-
ence of the length of residence of the mothers appears.

The difficulty with accepting this conclusion at face value is that this division
of the children coincides with a difference in the time of arrival of the mothers.
I have discussed this above. It may be, as suggested there, that the children are
descendants of different types. I have no evidence on the point.

The question of the effect of the length of mothers' residence may be met
in another way. By comparing children whose mothers all arrived in the same
year we eliminate the possible effects of differences of type of earlier and later im-
migrant mothers. For this purpose I have selected children whose mothers ar-
rived in 1905 and 1906, these being the only years offering a sufficient number of
cases. The age distribution of these cases is quite random (Table 22).

The combined values for both years indicate that the later born children
(those born six or more years after their mothers' arrival) are proportionately
taller than the earlier born in comparison with their age mates. The later born
are also rounder headed, but they are narrower of face. The same proportionate
relations hold true for the years 1905 and 1906 taken separately. There is some
variation in the values for the three characters, notably in face width. The face
width of 1905 boys shows an increase, for 1906 a decrease, with the opposite re-
lation for girls of these year groups. Taken as a whole these values suggest a posi-
tive influence of the length of mother's residence on the bodily form of the child.
It need not be assumed that this is a prenatal influence ; it is more likely that a
change in social conditions surrounding the growing child is involved.

It seems strange that there should be a decrease of face width corresponding
to increased length of the mothers' residence, since this is at odds with the ob-
served difference between Japan-born and American-born children in general. The
American-born children are consistently wider faced in every age group. On the
other hand, the increased stature and cephalic index is consonant with the differ-
ences observed in these characters.

1929]

Spier, Growth of Japanese

Table; 22. Comparison of Children Born Within Six Years of Their Mothers'

Arrival in 1905 and 1906 with those Born Later.

(Departures from the averages of the age groups in terms of standard deviations)

Year of

mothers'

arrival

Sex

Interval between
arrival of mother
and birth of child

Cases

Stature

Cephalic
index

Face
width

Boys

Less than 6 years
6 years and more

2
5

-0.81

+0.55

+0.01
+0.43

+0.10
+0.71

1905

Girls

Less than 6 years
6 years and more

8
8

-0.22
-0.11

+0.06
+0.08

+0.65
+0.07

Combined

Less than 6 years
6 years and more

10
13

-0.34
+0.14

+0.05
+0.22

+0.54
+0.32

Boys

Less than 6 years
6 years and more

+0.11
+0.86

+0.25
+0.44

+0.65
-0.09

1906

Girls

Less than 6 years
6 years and more

-0.05
-0.11

+0.14
+0.54

+0.41
+0.53

Combined

Less than 6 years
6 years and more

10
10

+0.01
+0.66

+0.18
+0.46

+0.51
+0.18

1905 and
1906

Combined

Less than 6 years
6 years and more

20
23

-0.16
+0.37

+0.12
+0.32

+0.52
+0.26

VIII. SUMMARY

1. The parents of the American-born Japanese children of Seattle are
drawn primarily from southern Japan (Kumamoto, Yamaguchi, and Hiroshima
prefectures) and from the vicinity of Osaka and Tokyo in central Japan.

2. The American-born children are larger and more round headed than
children of the same ages born in Hiroshima. The American-born are distinctly
taller, have longer heads, distinctly wider heads, and much wider faces. They
therefore have higher cephalic indexes.

The Seattle children are also taller than American-born Japanese of California
and those of Tokyo and of Japan at large.

3. The adult type deduced from Seattle boys is taller, longer and wider
headed, and more brachycephalic than the type of their fathers deduced from
provincial averages in Japan.

4. The children of later immigrants to Seattle are slightly smaller than
those of earlier immigrants with respect to stature, reach, and face width, while
head diameters show differences in various directions. The differences between
the two groups are, however, not statistically significant.

These differences do not seem to be due to differences in the type of the
mothers. The mothers are derived from much the same parts of Japan and pre-
sumably had all arrived in the United States prior to the general increase in

24 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

stature in Japan. The effect of the age of the mothers and possible influences of
selection in the school population of Seattle are unknown.

It might be supposed that the children of later immigrants are junior mem-
bers of their families, hence smaller (as in Toronto and Oakland). There is here
however no difference in the relation of junior children with respect to their age
mates as compared with their elder brothers and sisters.

5. The children measured in two villages of Hiroshima are not significantly
different, although Kawauchi children are taller than those of Midorii. The dif-
ferences in head and face diameters and in cephalic index are small and random.

6. The effect of the length of residence of the mother in the United States
is suggested by differences between later born children with those born less than
six 3'ears after her arrival. The later born children are taller and more round
headed. This may be due to better nutritional conditions surrounding the later
born children rather than to any effect on the mothers.

7. The American-born children lose their deciduous teeth and erupt their
permanent teeth at about the same average ages as Porto Rican boys and certain
Boston children. They are, however, approximately a year in advance of normal
Boston children, New York and Saxon boys. Boas' suggestion that this seeming
precocity results from mechanical causes (early decay or removal of the deciduous
dentition) appears to be adequate in the present case.

The results are suggestive but not conclusive. They suggest that American-
born Japanese children are physically different from children of the parental type
in Japan. At least they are taller, have longer and wider heads, wider faces, and
are more brachy cephalic than children born in Japan. The inference is that the
observed differences are due to environmental influences, that is, to influences
during the course of growth affecting the American-born in a manner different
from those born in Japan.

These results and this suggestion are in harmony with the findings for chil-
dren of European immigrants to the United States. The frequently expressed
resistance to accepting the earlier findings, which to my mind are conclusive, is
difficult to understand. It is generally agreed that such features as stature, which
show a considerable increase during the period of growth, are materially affected
by nutritional and other influences. It is therefore but logical to hold that any
physical character which is subject to change by growth will be similarly af-
fected. The extent of the influence will necessarly be limited by the amount of
absolute increase. It will also be more strictly limited by the length of the grow-
ing period. Thus, the head diameters increase with some rapidity after birth but
approach their maxima more slowly in later years; the facial skeleton has its
period of rapid growth somewhat later and growth extends over a longer in-
terval ; stature and weight continue to increase much longer than the cranium and
facial skeleton. It is obvious that influences may show greater effect in stature
and less in face and skull, but the possibility of such effects on the latter cannot
be denied. It seems to me that the resistance to accepting these results is die-

1929] Spier, Growth of Japanese 25

tated by a desire to maintain that head form is fixed by heredity alone. The data
of race classification are to a considerable extent observations on head form.
Only by assuming that head form is stable and thus a reliable criterion of racial
identity can much of the current method of race classification be justified.

Number of Parents Arriving
in Each year

i-.
o

' — '

t»j

1 —

■>* CM

CM w:

T-H

O 00 ■* o ""

T-H T-H T— t T-H T^

CM O PC
CM CM t—

T—
T—

T-H

PC "-H CN

PC O
OO o

.-HO

T-T

T-H

J-.

o
■*->
fa

t— ( | t-H t-H

CM I | t-h ,-H

t-h CM t-h CM

00 t-~ IT) -* lO

«-h CM

CM »-l CM CM 1

1 1 PC 1 1

183
1904.024
(1904-1 st mo.)

r-;
O

>
•H

i—H
Si

a
w

■>•
0

V-

r— '

t-H

•<- i

T-H
CM

t— (

-H

T— 1

t-H

1— t

t-H

T-H

T— 1

t-H T-H

T-H

t-H

T-H

H-H CM

t-H T-H T-H

T— i

t-H

• T-H T-H

©\

T-H

*-H *— *

t-H

t-H CM -H

T-H

t-h

T-H T-H

•-H LO CM CM

CM •

T-H

t»

t-«

t-h CM

■ PC CM r-H

T-H CO

T-H

o -h

CM PC

t-h CM PC '-I

r-~ PC

T-H

t-H

T-H

NH • t— ( CM

t-H PO

T-H T-H

T-H

t-H • CM CM T-H

rt* t-h t-h

T-H

t-H lO '-H CM

T-H

CM CM -*

CM CM

T-H

t— 1

T-H

»-H CM T-H

•'l

T-H

CM CM r-

-f O PC CM •

CM t-h CM t-H

Year of
Arrival

0)
-t->

<4-H

■ X

>oc
)

c
o

)

■

1 CN

-1

)

> r-

■0C

C
C
-
* —

>
1

1 -

—

P<"

-t

"■

v£

o >

1929]

Spier, Growth of Japanese

-si

©>

*©.

ffl

i— i

W
Ch
Ch

Years Elapsing Between Arrival of Mother and Birth of Child

t-H

T—

T— (

T-H

IT)

T-H

t— (

T-H

t— i

T-H

©\

T-H

rH T-H

T— I

t-ICN

• T-H

l^.

CN t— 1 t— I i— 1

T-H

CO t-H CN t-H

CN CN CN ■"#

CN t-H CN •

rtlONH

CN • CN

T-H

•*

CO ._<

CN CO T-H t-H CD

CN CN

HHH

lO«5^H

■-* CO

VO CN t-h

iHrt(S

"* CO CN

•HNHTf

«* IOCN

T-l

t-H

T-H T-H

lot— %0

• CO t-H

. t-H CN T-H

00 CN t-H CN CN

• cn

T-H T-H • T-H T-H

• T-H

Nrt -t-H

bfl

T-H T— 1 t-H t-H

NMaO-HNfO

T-H T-H T-H T-H

T-H T-H T-H T-H T-H

t*MO>0'H(NfO'Jl

T-H T-H T-H T-H T-*

Year of Mother's
Arrival

o
o\

T— 1
<U

tt-H

T-H

u
o

VrH

C
cc>

t-H

0
H

)

University of Washington Publications in Anthropology

[Vol. 3

Appendix C. Birthplaces of the Parents of American-born Children
Distributed According to Province.

Matsumura's

Province

Number of

Province No.

Fathers

Mothers

tSatsuma

Hyuga

Higo

Hizen

Chikugo

Chikuzen

Tosa

Awa

Iyo

Nagato

Suwo

Aki

Bingo

Bitchu

Bizen

Harima

—

Iwami

2
1

Inaba

Settsu

Yamato

Kii

Shima

Omi

Owari

Mikawa

Suruga

Izu

Sagami

Musashi

Shimosa

—

Hitachi

—

Shimotsuke

—

Mino

Shinano

Kai

Echizen

Etchu

Iwashiro

Rikuzen

Uzen

—

Hokkaido

—

J.1

Map showing the distribution of parents' birth places in Japan, by provinces. (Provinces
designated by italic numerals; number of cases designated by bold face numerals).

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PUBLICATIONS

ANTHROPOLOGY

Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 31-150

December, 1929

MYTHOLOGY OF
SOUTHERN PUGET SOUND

ARTHUR C. BALLARD

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

19*9

PREFACE

The narratives which follow were obtained chiefly from Indians of King
and Pierce counties in the State of Washington, and recorded for the most part
during and since the year 1916.

The work of recording these tales was undertaken by me independently of
any institution as part of a general study of the aboriginal culture of this region
in the hope of preserving some of its elements from oblivion before the oppor-
tunity for research should pass.

Most of these tales were recorded in the native tongue. An effort has been
made to render the translation as literally as is consistent with smooth reading.

Acknowledgments are due Dr. T. T. Waterman, formerly, and Dr. Leslie
Spier and Dr. Erna Gunther, now of the University of Washington for their
aid and suggestions in compiling and editing the greater part of the material here
assembled.

Arthur C. Bai^ard
Auburn, Washington
July 26, 1929

INTRODUCTION

On the islands and shores of Puget Sound and along the rivers of the inte-
rior there were numerous village groups, each singly or in conjunction with one
or more neighboring groups constituting a separate social entity, politically inde-
pendent. Marriage outside the group was the common if not universal practice.

The "salt water" people and those living a short distance inland all spoke
one language, Puget Sound Salish, with dialectic variations according to locality.

All the groups on southern Puget Sound bore traces of relationship with
the Sahaptin tribes to the east. This relationship was more noticeable the farther
a given group was found living eastward and up river from the "Bay." Beyond
a certain point upstream to the east and even beyond the summit of the Cas-
cades the people spoke two languages, the Puget Sound Salish and the language
of the northern Sahaptin people to the east, popularly called Klickitat. The Snu-
qualmi, the Green River, and the Tuwakwabc living at the junction of the Carbon
River and the Puyallup South Fork, were all two-language peoples.

In consequence of the loose political organization and the common practice
of exogamy, with the free intermingling of the population in this region, there
is little divergence in the mythologies of the various groups. Even myths about
places are known far and wide. On the other hand there may be found current
two or more versions of a myth pertaining to a single locality. Another inter-
esting feature is the extent to which the mythology of this region has been
affected not only by the Sahaptin penetration but also by communication with
the tribes of the more northerly coast region.

The data so far assembled seem to reveal in this area a hybrid culture. It
is not possible readily to determine how much of the myth material is purely
Salishan and how much Sahaptin or otherwise in origin. To do so by comparing
this with other mythologies would be an interesting study.

To illustrate local conditions, the names of the principal informants and
their genealogies, so far as known, are here given.

1 John Xot — Lower Puyallup. Born about 1845.

la Xot — Father of this informant. Lived at Clear Creek near the mouth
of the Puyallup.

lb tcada'ckot — Paternal grandfather ot the informant. Was from Kit-
titas County, of a predominantly Sahaptin group, but where a
Salishan language also was spoken. A full brother of Patkanim,
the well known Snuqualmi chieftain.

lc lE'cXai' — Father of the informant's paternal grandfather.

Id be'tsdu't — Informant's paternal grandmother. Puyallup.

le sAXto'litsa — Informant's mother.

3o University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

If ko'iAlkW — Informant's maternal grandfather. Lived at sdAgwaluL on
Quartermaster Harbor, a village of the sxwobabc ("swiftwater
people").

lg Xwutxwa'tkub — Father of the informant's maternal grandfather. He
was of the sXwobabc and in part from the Skokomish.

lh sisa'ha'L — Informant's maternal grandmother. She was from the
Skagit region.

This informant spent his time on or near the salt water and acquired his
mythology chiefly from that region.

2 John Simon (XwAtqe'd) — Upper Puyallup. Born about 1840.

2a XwAtqe'd — Father of this informant. Lived at tuwaqW, a village near
the junction of the Puyallup South Fork, and Carbon River.

2b kwatsa'Lkau — Informant's mother. She was from the Snuqualmi
region.

3 Tom Milroy (stea'baL) — Upper Puyallup. Born about 1845. He was a

tuwa'qwabc.

3a yawadi'tcsd — Father of the informant.

3b amau'tinica ("Fighter") — Paternal grandfather of the informant. One
parent was from taitidapab, home of the Klickitat tribe in eastern
Lewis County, and one parent was from "beyond."

This informant's maternal grandfather was said to have been from the
Skykomish River, but to have come originally from a group up river from
Yakima, known as the tco'kwabc. A grandmother of this informant was said
to have been of the skulo'cubc, a mythical "wild people."

4 Dick suwatub (ti,Axia'Lkut) — Lower Puyallup. Born about 1840.

4a suwa'tub — Father of Dick. He was born on Green River and was of
Sahaptin origin.

This informant's mother was said to be of the Chehalis group. One ancestor
was said to have been of Chinookan origin but this information is not verified.

5 Jack Smohallah (smo'xb) — Suise Creek. Born about 1850.

5a we'tsitsas — Father of the informant, lived at Suise Creek, a tributary

of Green River. The name is Sahaptin.
5b tcuco'do'L — Mother of the informant.

The informanant received the name, smo"xb, when a boy, from Smohallah, the
noted shaman, at a feast held at Lake Keechelus in the Cascade Mountains.

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 37

6 Jonah Jack, a son of the preceding informant. Born about 1880. He heard

myths related by his grandfather on Suise Creek. His mother was
from the Nisqually region and was said to be descended in part from
a mythical "wild people."

7 Big John (sukwa'Usxt) — Green River. Born about 1840.

7a we'ivtAbc — Father of the informant. Lived at Suise Creek, also called
kala'tci, "left handed."

7b tia'tkolitsa — Mother of the informant. She was from Cedar River, a
tributary of the Duwamish and known by the same name in the
Indian tongue.

This informant lived both on White River and on Green River. It is not
known if any ancestors were of Sahaptin stock.

8 Mary Jerry (Mrs. Jerry Dominick) (yabe'ltsa) — Green River-White River.

Born about 1860. A daughter of the preceding informant.

8a tu'aa'tqolitsa — Her mother. She was from the village of stA'q' on the
lower White River and was a sister of Stuck Jack.

9 August James (yo'yuxtad) — White River. Born about 1885.

9a katakwi'ltsa — Mother of informant. She was from the Snuqualmi
region and married into the staqabc group. She resided on White
River by sufferance of the white people long after the rest of
the group were dispersed.

10 Major Hamilton — Duwamish. Born about 1870. Informant stated that he

had no Indian name. It is said, however, that he had a nickname in
the Indian tongue. This would indicate that in his case no formal
potlatch was held for the bestowal of a name.

10a SAtaxe'baL — Father of the informant was from Cedar River, a tribu-
tary of the Duwamish.

10b ce'btalo (ce'btlut) — Mother of the informant. She was from the
mouth of Dogfish Bay.

11 Sampson (tseu"L) — Born on Green River about 1845. When very young he

was taken captive with his mother by a Snuqualmi group under the
leadership of xotik'e'dib after an attack upon ilalqo at the forks of
Green River and White River, in which his father and an uncle were
killed. Most of his life was spent about Lake Washington. In his
old age he was brought back to the Green River-Muckleshoot region.

11a e'lsbid — Father of informant.

lib sita'mut — Mother of informant.

38 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

12 Lucy Sampson (dagul'tsa) — Duwamish. Born about 1850. Wife of pre-

ceding informant. Was from the village of kati'lbc on Lake Wash-
ington.

12a sxwila'tub — Father of informant.

12b ya'txub — Paternal grandfather of informant.

12c yaa'lpubLo (or yaa'lpubi.ut) — Paternal grandmother of informant.

13 Dan (sile'luc) — Lake Washington. Born about 1845.

13a kwai'axab — Father of informant. He was a Duwamish from the vil-
lage of dxidzila'htc at the foot of Yesler Way, Seattle.

13b t'a'ctcibalo (t'a'ctcibalut) — Mother of the informant. She was a Snu-
qualmi from Falls City ; a stepdaughter of Patkanim, the well known
Snuqualmi chieftain.

13c Xa'Xcidai — Maternal grandmother of the informant was a wife of
Patkanim.

14 Susie (Xwai'kwolitsg — Lake Washington. Bom about 1850.

14a xoxwe'tcub — Father of informant. He was a Snuqualmi. The in-
formant's mother was a Duwamish.

The Lake Washington people were intermediate between the Duwamish and
the Snuqualmi. They were called xa'tcoabc or "Lake people." Lake Washing-
ton was called xatco, "the big lake."

15 Christine Smith (ts'a'lsibslo, ts'a'lsibalut) — Green River. Born about 1840.

It is said that she was taken and held captive in early life by a distant
group.

15a suwA'Lkop— Father of the informant was from upper Green River
and probably also from Kittitas County. Some of the people east
of the Cascades used to spend their winters on Green River where
the climate was milder.

15b ti.a'kcibolo (t^a'kcibalut) — Mother of informant. She was from the
village of stAq ! on lower White River.

15c widai'ui, — The informant's former husband, long ago deceased. He
was commissioned chief by the Government. Her last husband
was a white man.

16 Ann Jack (twa'itidohtsa) — Green River. Born about 1840.

16a take'l — Father of informant. He was of the Yakima or some other
Sahaptin group. It is said that in early life he was taken prisoner

1929] Ballard, Paget Sound Mythology 39

and lived several years with the Umatilla people, and later intro-
duced on Green River a phallic ceremony which he had learned
during his captivity.

16b xolo'p — Mother of the informant was from Green River.

16c tuxsA'lted — Maternal uncle of the informant.

16d daXa'lkut — Maternal uncle of the informant.

These two brothers and their sister, mother of this informant, were said to
have been noted shamans on Green River. The informant herself is said to have
had shamanistic power.

17 Annie Jack (xolo'p) — Green River. Born about 1880. She was a daughter

of the preceding informant and named for her paternal grandmother.

17a Stuck Jack (tika'ku, ka'ki.ed) — Father of this informant was born
about 1845. He was from the village of stAq ! on White River.

18 Charles Sotiakum (sotai'akub) — White River. Born about 1835. The

White River people were a subdivision of, or at any rate closely affili-
ated with the larger Duwamish group. The mother of informant was
a sister of kala'ktsut, a Duwamish chieftain living at or near the site
of the present city of Renton.

19 Joe Bill (le'lkail)A'i,) — Duwamish. Born about 1860. This informant was

Lake Washington and Snuqualmi on his father's side ; Suquamish and
Klallam on his mother's side. His stepfather was from the Duwamish
and White River.

20 Snuqualmi Charlie (sia'txtod) — Snuqualmi. Born about 1850. Informant

was one of the to'ltxwabc, a branch of the Snuqualmi people living
at Tolt.

20a tsowiEla's — Father of the informant, lived at toltXW. This informant's
mother was from the Snoqualmie valley. His father and mother
were probably of predominantly Sahaptin stock.

20b xo'si — Wife of the informant was from the Skykomish River.

This informant was exceptionally well versed in the folk lore and culture
of his people.

21 Jack Stillman (ackanipa'm) — Snuqualmi. Born about 1878.

21a tcilqe'dib — Father of the informant.

21b leqA"Lqedit> — Paternal grandfather of the informant. He was from
toltXW. His sister was mother of preceding informant.

40 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

21c ackanipa'm— Maternal grandfather of the informant, was from the
vicinity of Cle Elum in Kittitas County, and of Sahaptin stock.

This informant gained his knowledge of folk lore chiefly from his older
relative, Snuqualmi Charlie.

22 Joe Young (wiwk'e'dib) — Puyallup. Born 1863.

22a wili'ksxwai — Mother of this informant; her father was of Snuqualmi
and Yakima parentage.

22b aie'dxwab — Maternal grandmother of the informant; was from the
Snohomish region.

22c q'ai'adXW — Mother of the informant's maternal grandmother.

A distant ancestor of this informant lived on Green River. The informant's
father was a white man, probably Scotch, employed by the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany. With the exception of three years on Green River, most of informant's
early life was spent on or near the salt water in Pierce, Thurston and Mason
Counties.

23 James Goudy — Skagit. Born about 1865. This informant is related also to

the Snohomish and probably to the Puyallup group, with whom he has
been much associated.

24 Charley Ashue (ciardk'e'dib — Yakima- Puyallup. Born about 1855. In-

formant was born on the lower Puyallup, where his mother made her
home. He is named for a noted chief who once lived near the mouth of
the Snohomish River, who was an ancestor on his mother's side. His
mother was also partly of Sahaptin ancestry.

The father of the informant was of the silapam, from Selah, near
the present city of Yakima. He was descended from the Naches
River people, of whom, according to tradition, the greater part migrated
to the head of the Cowlitz valley, becoming the tairaapam, or "Klick-
itat" tribe.

25 Burnt Charlie (sxula'ctsut) — Puyallup. He was taken as a scout for the

soldiers in the campaign of 1855-56. Born about 1835.

25a tuxwe'lxubxAd — Father of informant.
25b ya'dubalut — Mother of informant.

26 Lucy Bill — Snuqualmi. Born about 1870. A sister of Jack Stillman and

niece of Snuqualmi Charlie.

27 Nancy Big John (tkwia'tdublut or tkwia'tdublo) — Duwamish. Born

about 1840. Informant spent most of her lifetime on Cedar River

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 41

near the south end of Lake Washington. Cedar River, Black River
and Duwamish River were all designated by the one name, txwada'o,
and the people of that region were called txwadoa'bc. Both parents
of informant were said to have resided on Cedar River.

27a wita"L — Father of Nancy.

27b sisa'bulcid — Mother of Nancy.

27c ke'kulkt — Sister of Nancy.

27d tsa'lxtud — Sister of Nancy.

Both sisters resided at tola'ltxw ("home of herring"), a village
near the mouth of the Duwamish.

CONTENTS

Page

Preface 33

Introduction 35

Phonetic Key 47

The Man Who Would Not Wash His Face (First Version) [Snuqualmi] . . 49

The Man Who Would Not Wash His Face (Second Version) [Green River] 50

The Man Who Would Not Wash His Face (Third Version) [Green River] 50

The Man Who Would Not Wash His Face (Fourth Version) [Puyallup] . . 50

How Muskrat Got the Land [Puyallup] 51

The Theft of Fire (First Version) [Green River] 51

The Theft of Fire (Second Version) [Puyallup-Green River] 52

The Theft of Fire (Third Version) [Yakima-Puyallup] 53

Ant and Bear (First Version) [Green River] 54

Ant and Bear (Second Version) [Puyallup] 55

The Contest for Daylight [White River] 55

North Wind and Storm Wind (First Version) [Green River] 55

North Wind and Storm Wind (Second Version) [Duwamish] 57

North Wind and Storm Wind (Third Version) [Green River] 59

North Wind and Storm Wind (Fourth Version) [Duwamish] 60

North Wind and Storm Wind (Fifth Version) [Green River-Lake

Washington] 62

North Wind and Storm Wind (Sixth Version) [Lake Washington] 62

North Wind and Storm Wind (Seventh Version) [Puyallup] 63

The Contest in the North (First Version) [Upper Puyallup] 64

The Contest in the North (Second Version) [Puyallup or Suquamish] . ... 65

The Contest in the North (Third Version) [Puyallup] 66

Beaver and Muskrat 68

The War Against Chinook Wind [Puyallup] 69

Moon, the Transformer [Snuqualmi] 69

Note on the Story of Moon, the Transformer [Puyallup] 80

DokwebaL and Beaver [Puyallup] 80

Transformer and Wren [Puyallup] 81

Transformer and Deer [Puyallup] 81

House Fly [Puyallup] 81

Xode and the Woman Who Spoke Improprieties [Puyallup] 82

Transformer and Raven [Snuqualmi] 82

Thunderbird and the Puyallup People [Puyallup] 82

Blanket Rock (First Version) [Green River] 82

Blanket Rock (Second Version) [Duwamish] 83

Blanket Rock (Third Version) [Puyallup] 83

Blanket Rock (Fourth Version) [Upper Puyallup] 83

Blanket Rock (Fifth Version) [Green River] 84

44 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Page

How Xode Turned People to Stone (First Version) [Upper Puyallup] .... 85

How Xode Turned People to Stone (Second Version) [Upper Puyallup] . . 85

The Attack of the Snakes (First Version) [Green River] 85

The Attack of the Snakes (Second Version) [Duwamish] 86

The Young Man Who Blocked Up Steel's Lake [Duwamish] 87

How the Whales Reached the Sea (First Version) [Puyallup] 87

How the Whales Reached the Sea (Second Version) [Green River] 88

How the Whales Reached the Sea (Third Version) [Puyallup] 88

How the Whales Reached the Sea (Fourth Version) [Upper Puyallup] ... 88

How the Whales Reached the Sea (Fifth Version) [Upper Puyallup] .... 88

Mother and Father of Whales [Green River] 89

Elk Woman and the Flea People [White River-Green River] 89

The Girl Who Married the Sea Being [Puyallup] 90

The Origin of the Tolt River [Snuqualmi] 90

The Man Beheaded While Diving (First Version) [White River] 91

The Man Beheaded While Diving (Second Version) [Duwamish] 91

The Man Beheaded While Diving (Third Version) [Skagit] 92

The Man Beheaded While Diving (Fourth Version) [Puyallup] 92

How Raven Lost His Venison (First Version) [Green River] 92

How Raven Lost His Venison (Second Version) [Snuqualmi] 94

How Raven Tried to Get Dried Salmon [Green River] 96

How Raven Trapped Beaver (First Version) [Green River] 96

How Raven Trapped Beaver (Second Version) [Snuqualmi] 97

Raven and Bear (First Version) [Puyallup] 98

Raven and Bear (Second Version) [Green River] 99

Raven and Water Ousel [Green River] 99

Raven and Pheasant Go Fishing [Snuqualmi] 99

Elk and Bear, His Wife [Green River] 100

Loon's Son and the Monster Woman (First Version) [Puyallup] 101

Loon's Son and the Monster Woman (Second Version) [Puyallup] 101

Loon's Son and the Monster Woman (Third Version) [Green River] .... 101

Humpback Boy and the Ogress (First Version) [Green River] 103

Humpback Boy and the Ogress (Second Version) [Puyallup] 104

Origin of the Crows [Green River] 106

Crow Woman [ Skagit] 1C6

Coyote and the Snail Women (First Version) [Snuqualmi] 106

Coyote and the Snail Women (Second Version) [Upper Puyallup] 108

Crane Bridge [Upper Puyallup] 109

Chipmunk and Snail Woman (First Version) [Green River] 109

Chipmunk and Snail Woman (Second Version) [Green River] 110

Chipmunk and Snail Woman (Third Version) [Snuqualmi] Ill

Lynx and Grizzly [Upper Puyallup] 113

Bufflehead and Squale [Puyallup] 113

The Menstruating Rock (First Version) [Green River] 113

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 45

Page

The Menstruating Rock (Second Version) [ Skagit- Puyallup] 114

The Brothers Killed by a Monster (First Version) [Upper Puyallup].... 114

The Brothers Killed by a Monster (Second Version) [Green River] 114

The Brothers Killed by a Monster (Third Version) [Lake Washington].. 115

The Sucking Monster (First Version) [Snuqualmi-Lake Washington].... 117

The Sucking Monster (Second Version) [Puyallup] 118

Transformer and the Mountain (First Version) [Upper Puyallup] 120

Transformer and the Mountain (Second Version) [Upper Puyallup] 121

The Five Brothers and the Beaver (First Version) [Upper Puyallup] 121

The Five Brothers and the Beaver (Second Version) [Lake Washington] . 122

How DAtcap Killed the Bear [Upper Puyallup] 122

Mink and His Grandmother (First Version) [Green River] 122

Mink and His Grandmother (Second Version) [Puyallup] 123

Mink Traps a Monster (First Version) [Puyallup] 124

Mink Traps a Monster (Second Version) [Puyallup] 125

Mink Kills Slowat [Snuqualmi] 126

Frog Woman and Her Husband [Green River] 127

Pheasant Goes to the Land of the Dead (First Version) [Snuqualmi] 128

Pheasant Goes to the Land of the Dead (Second Version) [Puyallup] 129

Pheasant Goes to the Land of the Dead (Third Version) [Green River].. . 129

Pheasant Goes to the Land of the Dead (Fourth Version) [Green River] . . 130

Pheasant Goes to the Land of the Dead (Fifth Version) [Upper Puyallup] 131

Pheasant Goes to the Land of the Dead (Sixth Version) [Green River] . . . 131

Pheasant Goes to the Land of the Dead (Seventh Version) [Green River] . 132

Note on the Pheasant Myth [Puyallup] 133

Spring Salmon and Steelhead Salmon (First Version) [Puyallup] 133

Spring Salmon and Steelhead Salmon (Second Version) [Snuqualmi] .... 134

Spring Salmon and Steelhead Salmon (Third Version) [Upper Puyallup] . 134

Humpback Salmon [Snuqualmi] 134

The Rash Youth and the Salmon [Skokomish] 135

Rabbit and Grizzly Have a Contest (First Version) [Puyallup] 135

Rabbit and Grizzly Have a Contest (Second Version) [Green River] 136

Wren, Mouse and Water Ousel (First Version) [Snuqualmi] 137

Wren, Mouse and Water Ousel (Second Version) [Puyallup] 137

Barn Owl and Redtail Hawk [Puyallup] 137

The Girl Who Was Seeking a Guardian Spirit [Green River] 138

The Blind Hunter and His Wife (First Version) [Green River] 138

The Blind Hunter and His Wife (Second Version) [Snohomish] 139

How a Boy Saved His Village (First Version) [Puyallup] 140

How a Boy Saved His Village (Second Version) [Puyallup] 141

How a Man Conquered the Rollers of the Sea in Deception Pass [Puyallup] 142
The Young Man's Ascent of Mount Rainier (First Version) [Upper

Puyallup] 142

The Young Man's Ascent of Mount Rainier (Second Version) [Puyallup] . . 143

Coyote Gets Salmon for the Naches People (First Version) [Green River] . 144
Coyote Gets Salmon for the Naches People (Second Version) [Yakima-

Puyallup] 147

PHONETIC KEY

o o long as in mole.

u oo long as in cool.

u oo short as in foot.

a a as in star.

a u short as in run.

c e long as in they.

e e short as in fence.

i i long as in ravine.

i i short as in sin.

3 indeterminate in unaccented syllables (in accented syllables as u in run.

h surd 1.

x forward spirant.

X back spirant.

k forward stop.

k or q back stop.

glottal stop.

! fortis.

Whispered stops are sometimes capitalized. Final whispered breathing is
represented variously by XW, xw, or w. Other consonants as in English, but b
and m, also d and n, are recorded interchangeably for the same sound.

c sh as in fish,

j zh as in azure.

MYTHOLOGY OF
SOUTHERN PUGET SOUND

THE MAN WHO WOULD NOT WASH HIS FACE (First Version)1

Spetsx2 was married to one of five sisters; he had four brothers-in-law.
He came from the country in the direction of the rain-wind.

From a burned cedar tree, hollow and charred, Spetsx was wont to go out
and get wood for the house. The brothers-in-law did not seem to give him any
help, so he had the work to do alone. Every day he would gather firewood.
Always his face was blackened by the charred wood, and always he left it un-
washed. Once when Spetsx was out working the brothers-in-law said to his
wife, "What is wrong? Why does your husband not wash his face? He is
getting so dirty from not washing that his face is quite black." The brothers-
in-law kept asking till the wife became angry at both them and him. "It cannot
be helped," she said, "what is the use of talking about his face? We cannot
indeed tell how he really looks." She reproached her husband when he came
home. "Your brothers," she said, "tease me and ask me why you do not wash
your face." To the reproof Spetsx gave no answer. "If they wish me to
wash," he thought, "I shall wash some time." He went out for more wood.

His wife continued to scold him. "Your brothers-in-law would have you
wash your face ; you must do so." Spetsx grew angry. "Very well, if they
will have me do it, I shall wash my face."

In the morning Spetsx said to his wife, "I shall go and wash my face today,
as your brothers wish." Down to the river he went to where some boulders
lay along the water's edge, back from the stream. On one of the boulders he
stood facing the southwest. He addressed Rain-wind. Thus he addressed him:
"Greatuncle, I am about to wash my face now."

He began to wash. The clouds began to gather. He sang:

ad tsa'akosib ad tsa'akosib yilyila'b
Adxwiya' kakaya' ko'sibtcEd i yslyEla'b
e — i

While he thus spoke there came a fine misty rain, and the river began to
rise. Spetsx stepped back upon another rock and kept washing. Still it kept
raining, and the river kept rising, and Spetsx kept hopping back.

His wife told her brothers : "Your brother-in-law is washing his face now."
This she said to reproach them. The river kept rising and flooded all the valley.
The storm and rain and rising of waters continued until all was flooded between
the hills. Then Spetsx flew to the home of his greatuncle, Southwest Wind.
All the people were drowned.

1 Related by Snuqualmi Charlie (Snuqualmi).

2 Spetsx is the myth name of a bird similar to the Oregon junco, the common name of
which, according to Jonah Jack the interpreter, is xwa'xwaI or xwaxwc

50 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

THE MAN WHO WOULD NOT WASH HIS FACE (Second Version)*

Spetsx was building a boat. His face and hands were very dirty and he
did not wash. The relatives of the wife said to her, "Tell your husband to wash
once in a while, anyhow." But the wife was afraid to tell him. Finally, the
father-in-law and the mother-in-law told him. Five times they told him. Then
he began to wash at the water's edge and as he washed he sang :
bo'ta bo'ta sxe' otso'tabtcid
kya'kokwta ko'sib
sxo'lgwad xwe'
As the water rose he moved back, cleaning his nails.

His father-in-law said, "Tell your man to cease washing!" The daughter
said, "This is what you wished for, to see him clean."

He kept washing till the rising river drowned every one. Then he took his
little canoe and went down river to the country of the sunset, the home of his
ancestor, Rain-wind.

THE MAN WHO WOULD NOT WASH HIS FACE (Third Version)*

The little gray bird, Spetsx, did not wash his eyes. They had dark rings
about them like wood charred by the fire-drill.

His neighbors said, "You had better wash your face ; you had better wash
your eyes." Finally he washed his face and eyes. He went to the river to do
it. "Now," said he, "I'll wash my eyes." Then the rain began to come.

Water covered all the country. It washed away the country. Many people
were drifting about. There was no land. All were drowned. Muskrat was
on a stick very sad. Many people dove down to bring up land, but could not
get any. Muskrat went down, and brought up some earth in a skin. He made
the country as it is now. Therefore Muskrat should be chief of the land.5

THE MAN WHO WOULD NOT WASH HIS FACE (Fourth Version)0

Groundsparrow got his face dirty gathering wood from old burned cedar
stumps. He never did really wash his face. He was just dipping his hands
and calling his uncles. After he touched his face he felt so bad !
He called the whole family of Chinook Wind. He sang :

syElyEla'b ad kwi'akako'sib tci'cub tcic'ub
"Uncles, I am washing my face ; rain in long drops,
rain in long drops !"
We call that bird spetsxu. He is groundsparrow or swamp sparrow, not
junco. If Groundsparrow is taking a bath on a sunny day and looking south,
look out; it will rain.

8 Related by Christine Smith (Green River).
4 Related by Ann Jack (Green River).

•If this story is told it will bring rain (Tom Milroy, Puyallup).
This bird is found about ponds and sloughs. When it utters its cry he who hears it
knows that a rainstorm is coming (James Goudy, Skagit).
6 An abstract by Joe Young.

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 51

HOW MUSKRAT GOT THE LAND 7

It was raining. The little birds, Beaver, Land-otter and the fishes, all the
people, wished to get land from below. Beaver went down. He could not get
land.

Muskrat was a short distance away. The friends of Muskrat said, "You
go and get the land ; your brothers want you to do so." Muskrat came. His
big friends said, "You try; if you find land below you get it." "Very well,"
said Muskrat. Muskrat went down.

He was gone a long time. Now! He gets the land. He brings the land
up and puts it on the raft. Now, he goes down ; he gets land again. He comes
back. He spreads the land out upon the raft.

Well! He made this country, all this country, he made it. He was elder
brother because he was an important man. "This will be good for the after
people," he said.

THE THEFT OF FIRE (First Version)'

Old- woman Fire had two daughters. The elder was married to Beaver,
and the younger to Land-otter. They all lived in an "old-man-house"9 together.
Beaver, for his subsistence, always ate willow wood, and his wife was ill for
lack of salmon, which she continually craved. The other son-in-law, Land-otter,
was a fisherman and knew how to trap salmon. Many salmon he brought home.
The large ones he gave his mother-in-law. Fire would say, "I am nearly dead;
I am nearly dead." Always and ever Land-otter's wife poked the fire. The
fire kept getting black, and getting black, and at last went out. The Land-otter
said, "Now you have what you wanted." Now the fire was gone. Now the
people complained.

There was no fire in existence, except in one house. The people of the
house had a fish-trap in the river. Beaver went out for a walk and fell into
the trap. He was taken for dead and carried to the house of the trap-owners.
There the people began to skin him. His friends were hiding near by in the
woods. Beaver was skinned, all but a little portion, and at that time he thought
to himself, "Pretty soon they will cut me open." As they were peeling the back
of his hand it tickled him, and he gave a smile. The people disputed. Some
said, "He is alive." Others said, "He is dead." And then others said again,
"He is alive ; he seemed to smile." Fie said to himself, "Why do not my friends
come to rescue me?" The fire-people had peeled off all the skin but a little
on his hand, when his friends began to shoot into the crowd. There was sudden
confusion. At this point Beaver leaped up and seized the fire. He also took
his skin. Then he ran to the forest while the people pursued him. But Beaver
escaped.

He placed the fire in the roots of all the trees : cedar, maple, willow, alder,
cottonwood, and especially the pussywillow. So that now one may work the
fire drill and obtain fire from wood.

7 Told by Tom Milroy (Puyallup). This is apparently a sequel to the preceding tale.

8 Related by Ann Jack (Green River).
0 A potlatch house.

52 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

THE THEFT OF FIRE (Second Version)1*

Land Otter was a great fisherman. A young woman heard of him and
wanted to marry him. She went to Land Otter's house and lived with him. He
went fishing and brought home many salmon.

One day Land Otter told his wife: "You must not poke that fire." The
fire was burning day and night and did not go out. It was not necessary to lay
on wood. Land Otter's wife did not know that Fire was his mother.

One day Land Otter's wife thought, "I wonder what is the reason Land
Otter does not want me to poke the fire." She would keep thinking about that.
That morning Land Otter went away; it was the fifth day. His wife was a
little angry and she kept poking the fire. The fire went out. Then there was
a person lying there dead. Land Otter came back. His mother was dead. He
said to his wife, "Did I not tell you not to poke that fire?"

All the families used to have fires when that fire was burning, without
getting wood or anything. When that fire went out all the fires in the world
went out.

The people all had a hard time. They could get fire in no way. They had
a meeting and talked about how they might get fire. All the people were there.
Even Raven was in the group. One of them said, "It is best for us to go up
into the sky country and get fire, but how are we going to get there?" Another
said, "We'll shoot up in the air anyhow and try." They got their arrows to-
gether and shot but just missed it.

It was Winter Bird, tsitses who had said, "Shoot arrows." When they
missed Raven said, "Call that boy j11 he might be a good shot." The boy came
and shot. The arrows connected ; it reached nearly to earth. Others came and
shot. Raven climbed up, up and made steps so people could climb.

Rabbit in the Sky-country found out that Rabbit from Earth was coming
up to kill him. He said, "I dreamed Rabbit from Earth killed me and strung
my entrails all around."

The people chose the one who should take the fire. It must be one who
would not laugh or be tickled. They tried, all. All laughed but Beaver.

Beaver said, "You folks will be nearby in the morning. Early in the morn-
ing I shall be as dead (siokwad) above the fish weir (cetstud cetsaxtuhagwad)."
Beaver floated down the river. In the morning the people in heaven were awake.
One of them went down to the trap. He found a beaver. He went back and
told the people, "I have found a beaver in the trap." The people got Beaver
and took him home.

Beaver thought, "I wish they would lay me by the fire." They took him
in and laid him by the fire as they would any game. The people talked about
how they would butcher him and Beaver heard what they were saying. They
started to butcher him. They began to skin him. They were getting around

10 Related by Jonah Jack (Puyallup-Green River).

11 Apparently a different individual from tsitses (cf. Haeberlin and Gunther, Ethno-
graphische Notizen, ble'qucid).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 53

towards the back where it was difficult to remove the hide. Then Beaver
thought, "I wish my people would come now."

He feared his people would not come in time. The sky people were just
about finishing him. "They will kill me surely, if my people do not come,"
thought Beaver. Finally the earth people came in a rush. "Uuuuuu," they cried.

Beaver jumped on the fire and took up some fire in his nail. (His claws
are split.) While the earth people were killing the sky people he got some of
the fire although they blew it out as quickly as they could. While the people
were fighting Beaver ran out.

He ran to the alder tree and stuck a piece of fire in the alder. He ran to
the cedar tree and stuck a piece of fire in the cedar. He ran to the willow and
stuck a piece of fire in the willow. He said, "You, Roots, shall serve for the
fire drill of the future people."

tLu cob'ktcuptcuXw aq twila'q atciL ta'lbyuX
Shalt fire drill be thou for the from now on Indians.

The earth people killed all the sky people.

All returned from the war. Beaver and all got home. All but Rattlesnake
and Garter Snake, who were still up there when the ladder from the sky broke.
Old Toad was related to the snakes. She began to cry because they were up
in the air. She cried,

oya'kak ia'kakalo'sib cidalalcalk coqsuwa'tixtud
How my dear brothers are looking around in the heaven !

The snakes heard her cry and felt insulted. They said, "Wait till I get
down, I'll fix you." That is why a snake can eat a toad today. The snakes
were lost. They bunched up and dropped. The rattlesnakes fell in the Yakima
country and the garter snakes in the Puget Sound country. Now Rattlesnake
is supposed to be a Puget Sounder and Garter Snake is supposed to be a Klickitat.

Years ago the Puget Sound Indians had more poison weapons than other
people. They would heat something in the fire and each time they turned it
they would give it a magic word.

The rattlesnakes made their teeth from the tips of the arrows. If an Indian
from Puget Sound speaks his own language when near a rattlesnake it will not
molest him, but a Klickitat or other Indian is in danger.

THE THEFT OF FIRE (Third Version)12

Tsitses is the smallest bird of all. He sings, tsetesadXW. He is a little
brown bird with white stripes on his head. He skips up and down the trees and
hangs by his toes, head down. He is called, in the Yakima language, natnat.
He it was who fastened the sky ladder. When the bridge of arrows from sky
to earth was first made it was not yet safe for the larger birds and animals.
Tsitses went up and wound it about with stedEgwaD. That is Indian rope made
from withes of cedar.

12 Charlie Ashue (Yakima-Puyallup).

54 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology (Vol. 3

All the animals climbed up except Bear and Mountain Lioness. Mountain
Lioness went first of the two. Bear laughed and said, "Oh partner, T could
see your heart." Mountain Lioness got angry and said, "Go up yourself and
I'll follow after." Bear went up. Mountain Lioness laughed and said, "O part-
ner, I could see your heart." Bear got angry and came down.

Raven was chief. Crow and Magpie were his younger brothers. After
all the animals had grabbed for the fire and run away, Raven said, "Now you will
open your hands." One, two, three: all opened their hands. There was no fire,
just ashes. Sbiau came, he was last. He said, "I got the fire." "He lies,"
said Raven. All had now shown their hands except Beaver. Chief Raven sent
a message, "You had better come." Beaver was lying over there, groaning.
"}ia' h.V 1\a'." "I'll go and try," he said. "You people are strong but you did
not get fire."

Sbiau (Coyote) said, "What are you coming for, Big Belly? I opened my
hand last." Beaver said, "Don't talk like that." Beaver opened his hand. There
was a little fire. Sbiau got something and made fire (?). Beaver opened the
other hand : Fire came out. Beaver swam up the river. He placed fire in the
dry roots of the cottonwood logs. Beaver said, "The people of the generation
about to come shall have fire. This shall be their matches."

The Indian matches were the fire drill. We call that colA'ktcupi,.

The real people at that time were those living in the sky country. They
came down to earth then. The people from here became animals and birds.
Sbiau announced that it would be that way. They got rid of the ogres and
everything was all good, as it now is.

ANT AND BEAR (First Version)18

The ant and the bear talked much with each other. Ant got a rope and with
it laced herself tightly. The bear was singing:
saladu'b xgwalbalo'xi

Ant sang:

balo'xid balo'xid

Bear slept. It became warm, and Bear awakened and got up. Then said
Ant, "Will you get me if I go down into the earth?" "I shall get you and eat
you," said Bear. "If I go into old wood, will you get me?" "Yes," said Bear,
"I shall scratch and dig you out with my claws." "If I go up, will you get me?"
"Yes, I shall climb up after you," said Bear. "If I fly will you get me?" said
she, lacing herself up to run the faster. Then Bear put his hands over his eyes,
for he was beaten. If it were not for the ant, we should all be compelled to
sleep all winter.

18 Related by Big John (Green River).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 55

ANT AND BEAR (Second Version)1*

Ant and Blackbear were having a contest to determine how long day and
night should be. Ant danced and sang,
gwe'gwauX baU'xi
Brief shall be daylight ;
gwe'gwauX baLa'xi
brief shall be darkness.
Blackbear danced and sang,

zabdA'b baU'xi
Long shall be daylight ;
zabdA'b baLa'xi
Long shall be darkness.
Blackbear sprang after Ant. She crept beneath a rock. He did not know
that Ant was beneath the rock.

Ant came out again and danced. She tightened her belt and sang,
gwe'gwauX balA'xi
Brief shall be daylight;
gwe'gwauX beLa'xi
brief shall be darkness.
In reply Blackbear sang,

zabdA'b balA'xi
Long shall be daylight ;
zabdA'b balA'xi
Long shall be darkness.
That is why Blackbear eats the ants today. That is why he sleeps all winter.
Ant said: "From now on there shall be modern people; the younger gener-
ation is at hand. There shall be day and there shall be night. No one shall
sleep all winter."

THE CONTEST FOR DAYLIGHT1*

Daylight is five. Raven made five knots in a string for daylight. SkA1.
made daylight short. Raven made his in summer, five fingers long; he made
it long so that he could have a good time. He tied the day in a box. SkAl said,
"You have yours ; I shall let mine go. I shall give you that chief's daughter
and settle up." They had been fighting. SkAl said, "I want a long night and
a short day ; I want the winter so that I may sleep long."

NORTH WIND AND STORM WIND (First Version) "

A stone mountain down on the Duwamish River used to belong to an old,
old woman. Her name was sqwaLvts. Her house was there. It was afterwards

14 Told by Jonah Jack (Puyallup).
16 Told by August James (White River).

16 Told by Big John (Green River). This is arranged from three accounts and some
explanatory material given by this informant and his interpreters.

56 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

transformed into part of the mountain. That old woman was living alone. She
was the only one of her people left alive. They were the rain wind people. Cold
Wind had killed them. There was a war between the rain wind people and the
cold wind people.

It happened this way. Rain Wind (stagwauX or stagwau'qV7) the son of
that old lady, was married to a daughter of Cold Wind (stobb), who lived
further down the Duwamish valley toward the north. That young woman was
Mountain Beaver Woman (caw'l).18

The people of the cold wind village did not like the man and they killed
him. They killed all the rain wind people. Rain Wind was killed by Cold Wind
and Mountain Beaver Woman was taken as a slave to the land of the Cold
Wind people. She was held there as a slave for a long time under the power
of Cold Wind. There a boy child was born to her; Rain Wind was his father.
That little boy was called Little Mountain Beaver (cicu"L). Old Mountain
Beaver Woman raised that orphan child. When that boy grew strong his name
was sXatsa'latci. That means, "Wind-that-tears-the-trees-up," that boy was
Storm Wind.

Cold Wind held the land under his power. All the land was covered with
ice and snow. He stretched a fish-weir of ice across the Duwamish River. No
fish could get up the river past this trap. Further up the valley the people
starved. They could get no fish to eat. The land was desolate.

Storm Wind was growing up. Mountain Beaver, his grandfather, gave him
a bow and arrow to play with. "Do you see that mountain, yonder?" he said
to him. "There is something dangerous there!" The old, old woman, last of
his father's race, was living there. "Something taboo is there," they told the
boy. It was his own greataunt that was dangerous for him. They knew that
she would tell him how his people were killed by Cold Wind.

The boy grew big. He was going away to that mountain. His grandfather
said, "Do not go." "Why not ?" he asked ; "I am going to get my grandmother."
The boy's grandfather had taught him, "After so many years you may go." He
went to the mountain. He came to a mat house on top of the mountain. Inside
that mat house there was an old lady, making baskets. She made baskets of
different kinds, coarsely woven and finely woven baskets : many, many ! That
old lady was his grandmother, sqwaUts.

No one else was there. All the people were killed. For her fire the old
lady had only some tops of the cat-tail rush. When she laid these on the fire
it would blaze up quickly and then die down just as quickly. She could not
keep warm. She was crying for her dead son.

That boy talked to her. He found out about her. He went and pulled up
big fir trees by the roots. He laid them at her door for fuel. He asked how
and when they should fight the cold people. The old lady said, "Wait until
I get my baskets all finished, then we shall settle that. I will fill the baskets up

17 This is the Chinook Wind, a warm southwesterly breeze, which melts the snow and
causes freshets.

18 Mountain Beaver (Haplodon rufus).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 57

with rain and then those cold wind people will be killed by the fish trap." Storm
Wind went away.

Storm Wind went up to his grandmother again. This time she had the
baskets ready. Out of the coarse ones she poured big splashes of rain ; out of
the fine ones she poured a fine misty rain. When this came the flood raised
the trap and broke it apart. All of the cold wind people were killed, all but the
young man's mother. She had been warned to flee.

Cold Wind ran away, down the valley he ran, the land flooding behind
him. Everything was melting. From Elliott Bay he ran across the Sound. He
could not stop anywhere.

He ran across the Sound on top of the water.10 He came to land again
on Bainbridge Island on the far side of the Sound. At a place called Yeomalt
he landed. He could not stop. Away north he ran. That place where he
landed used to be called, before the whites came and changed it somewhat,
tLiboa'ltXW. The meaning of that word is Spirit House. If Cold Wind had
not been chased away we should all be cold and hungry all the time. As it is
we have a little ice and snow, but not for long.

After Cold Wind left the country the fish weir which he built across the
Duwamish River was turned to stone, what was left of it. It stretches across
the river there now. Anybody can see it. At low tide the water runs between
the stones.

Before the country was all torn up by the whites, people who wanted rain
would go in their canoes to the foot of that mountain, which we call sqealAts,
on the west bank of the river just above Allentown. There they would splash
the water. Then it would rain.

NORTH WIND AND STORM WIND (Second Version) 2<>

North Wind overcame Chinook Wind. He established himself on the Du-
wamish River. That little mountain where he lived is called by us, sto'tobb. He
covered the earth with winter, with ice and snow, and desolation, up to the point
marked by the old barrier which extends across the river.

When Chinook Wind was killed, his wife escaped. She went up the
Duwamish River to a place of safety. Here she gave birth to a boy. As the
boy grew up, his grandfather said, "Never go over yonder!" When he became
a grown young man, he went down to the river. There he heard his grand-
mother crying. He went over to her house. She said, "Come in. The ice is
melting from my nose." The ravens, who were slaves belonging to North Wind,
had been dropping filth on her. This had frozen into ice on her face. She
was a mountain named sqwaU'ts.21 That mountain used to be marked as with
paint. That mark was left by the ravens.

"Is it you, my grandson?" "Yes, it is I." His grandmother had no wood
for her fire. He pulled a tree up and placed it upon her fire. "Be easy to

19 From this point explanatory material supplied by Dr. T. T. Waterman.

20 Related by Charles Sotaiakum (Duwamish).

21 SqwalAts means "the face is marked" (James Goudy).

58 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

move for grandmother. Do not be heavy when she wants to place you on the
fire," was his command to the trees. Taking a bone pointed arrow from his
quiver, he gave it to the mother. "When the ravens come, kill them," he said.

Then the son of Chinook Wind went down to the river bank where North
Wind had his fish-weir. Uprooting a Cottonwood tree, he cast it in the river.
It floated down and lodged upon the fish-weir. North Wind called all his
people to help remove it. They tried. They could not move it.

They saw a man reclining upon the farther bank. "It must be the grown
son of Chinook Wind, whom we destroyed." Then North-wind called to him,
"Stranger! Chieftain! I would thank you for your help in removing the drift
from my weir." Then the young man lifted the log with his foot as though it
were but a bundle of feathers. He tossed it over the trap. It floated away.

On the second day the youth again uprooted a tree which floated against
the weir. This weir was made of ice. Again North Wind saw the young man.
Again he asked his help to remove the tree.

Then North Wind was alarmed at the strength shown by the youth. He
offered his daughter in marriage. All bedecked with beads and earrings of ice
was the daughter of North Wind. She set out for the young man's house.
But before she arrived the ornaments had melted.

The next day bedecked as lief ore she again essayed the journey and again
her attire melted away. Again she returned home. A third time she set out
for the home of the young man. But as she drew near the house her finely
again melted. Her husband-to-be said, "Let her depart, she is causing our house
to be swallowed up in the flood." And so he never took the daughter of North
Wind into his house.

Storm Wind returned home to his grandfather, Mountain Beaver. On the
way he killed a screech owl.22 This he gave to the old man for food. But the
bird came to life and attacked the old man, pecking at his breast so that he died.

Dying, the grandfather reproached the youth, saying, "Grandson, I did not
wish you to go to the forbidden spot." The youth replied, "Grandfather, you
should have told me that there had been a war, that that was the reason for
your command."

After this the young man and his mother packed all their belongings and
moved to the mountain, the home of the old woman, their greataunt.

The young man blew upon the earth and brought his parents back to life.
He blew again, blew and blew, and many people came back to life and lived
there.

His grandmother was weaving baskets. These she was preparing in order
to fight North Wind. The first were large and coarsely woven to hold coarse
rain-drops. The next in size and weave were for the steady rain. The smallest
were tightly woven and were to hold the fine mist.

"What day shall we fight Stobla?"

"Tomorrow is the day upon which we may fight."

22 Some informants say it was a pheasant that was killed by the young man, and killed
his grandfather in turn.

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 59

So on the morrow they began the contest. The young man blew. His
grandmother began pouring out the rains ; first the coarse drops, then the steady
rain, and lastly the mist. He blew and uprooted the trees. They beat North
Wind. They chased him away. They melted the ice and blew it north. If the
young man had not been born we should still have the ice here now.

NORTH WIND AND STORM WIND (Third Version)2'

North Wind (stobta) wished to marry the daughter of Mountain Beaver.
North Wind was cold and brought no food. Chinook Wind (stagwauX) also
wanted the girl. He brought gifts of food. The old people refused North
Wind and gave the girl to Chinook Wind.

North Wind raged. He killed all of the chinook wind people except one
old, old woman. That old lady was sqwalA'ts; her home was on a hill from
which the white people have since quarried stone, west of the Duwamish.

That old lady was left all alone, with her two slaves, Short-tailed Rat and
Mole.2* They used to steal food for the old lady.

North Wind built a fish-weir of ice, which reached across the river and
stopped the salmon from running. The remains of that fish- weir became stone
and it can be seen today.

When North Wind came destroying and killing everything, the young wife
of Chinook Wind, who was killed, escaped and ran home by an underground
road to her people. At home a child was born to her. That child was a boy :
he was Storm Wind (sXatsa'latci). As the boy was getting big enough to travel
his grandmother would say to him, "Do not go to that good place." But day
by day he would go a little farther in the direction of the forbidden place.

Now one day, west of the river, where he had been warned not to go, that
boy found an old, old lady, his great grandmother. She was singing and making
baskets ; of all sizes she was making them. She had only cat-tail rushes to burn
in her fire, so that the blaze would flame up quickly and as quickly die down
again. As she worked she sang:

tul a'li Iax da'L stu'xtca'XW co'bali

kulie'bac kwa'dax gwe'a kwa'dax tlo'bAtsxs i' — i25

"There must be someone saved from among the people who perished. Some-
one of them is walking about, he is coming near. That is the reason I am getting
so warm." The ice was now melting from her face. She sang, "I am grow-
ing warm, my young relative comes." She went to the door. Storm Wind
was standing there. "I suppose you are the child of the one who was killed."

Raven was slave to North Wind. He used to perch above the old woman

28 Related by Ann Jack (Green River). This is arranged from two narrations by this
informant.

24 Their names are skaaD and peyA'lktcid.

38 Mrs. James Goudy, a Skagit, gives this song as follows :

tula'laX daL ti'da' a'lalc

qwi'la i'bac Xa'Ui lahA'dhAdqW

qwit'qwA'l gwala"adi

60 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

and drop filth upon her. It froze on her face. Her face was covered with her
frozen tears and the filth of Raven. "Look at me, see how Raven has used me,"
she said. The young man gave her an "iron" (a bone pointed arrow) to punch
Raven with.

That young man was sorry for his great grandmother because she had only
dry rushes to burn. He tore up big fir trees (tcibe'dats; plu. tcibcibe'dats) and
laid them at her door for fuel. Addressing the fir trees he said, "If Grand-
mother moves you to place you on the fire you shall be light in weight and
easy to handle." He said to the old lady, "Do not perform any work outside
the house while I am gone. I shall come back and restore everything in good
condition." So he went away.

Raven came again to annoy the old woman. She prodded him with the
"iron" the young man had given her. Raven said, "Her grandson must have
come to see her."

The young man found the fish-weir North Wind had stretched across the
river. He found yew wrood. He hurled it against the fish-weir. North Wind
was there. The yew logs were floating against that trap. North Wind tried
to pick them out ; he was not able. Storm Wind was sitting on the opposite
bank of the river. He threw the logs over the fish-weir. North Wind said,
"The son of Chinook Wind whom we destroyed must have come to his grand-
mother." Storm Wind said to North Wind, [not recorded].

Storm Wind went back up the hill to his great grandmother. He blew and
many people came to life. He blew again ; they were all in a big house. He
blew again; they all rose. (These were the chinook wind people.)

The old lady had finished her baskets. She left those baskets outside where
they caught the rain. She emptied all those baskets of rain and flooded the
valley.

Storm Wind went down to the river. He blew down one tree, a white fir
(tivAq'tciats). North Wind kept putting his daughter there. Every time he
placed the woman there the river would come up. That was from her icy
ornaments melting. Storm Wind tore up more trees and threw them in the
river until they broke the trap. Now the people could have food. North Wind
fled down the valley.

In the days before the whites came if people told this story to [of?] Chinook
Wind it would soon begin to rain.28

NORTH WIND AND STORM WIND (Fourth Version)27

SqwgK'ts is the home of stsgwauq' (Chinook Wind). That mountain is
his grandmother. Chinook Wind used to live there. North Wind (stobta) came
right to them, the people living in that place. He killed all but one. He did
not kill the old lady and the boy. When the boy was little he began to make

26 If a woman wished to bring rain she would pour water against the side of that moun-
tain (lack Stillman, Snuqualmi).

27 Related by Major Hamilton (Duwamish).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 61

bows and arrows. He killed pheasants. He was out from daylight to late at
night; then he would come home.

This is what the old people told him :

Xa'Xa quatso' o'Xad tua'Lxad
Forbidden to go down-river,

dii< tuco'bad tiUa'dad yElab
They killed your ancestors.

daie't t'qe'ux qwa'dxu e'bac
Only go up-river walking, Grandson.

That young man grew bigger and bigger, and he made bigger and bigger
arrows. He killed bigger and bigger animals. Then he got to be a man and went
to his grandmother. He was becoming Chinook Wind, too.

The old lady was making baskets to hold rain. She said to this young
fellow : "When you are old enough you shall go down and see a lot of people,
the North Wind people, who killed your father."

The young man said, "All right, I shall go down and see." He just went
down to look. All the young people [of the North Wind] who had been playing
ran home inside their house squealing. They were beginning to melt.

The young man went back home. He said to the old lady : "When you
get ready let me know. I shall go down and see what I can do to those people."
The old lady said : "I am ready, I have four baskets full of rain."

The young man said: "Well, I will go down tomorrow morning. When
I get there you pour one basketful of rain into the river."

He threw some trees into the river; the water began to rise. The old lady
found out that the river was beginning to rise. She emptied two more baskets
into the river. The young man threw some trees into the river; they drifted
into the fish trap.

The stout fellows down there were trying to throw the driftwood over; they
could not lift it. He asked, "What are you doing?" They said, "We are trying
to throw the trees over; we cannot do it." He said, "Wait, while I throw it
over." He went down and threw it over.

The old lady poured down the last basket of rain; the river rose pretty
high. The young man fought the North Wind people. All those people were
melted ; they were all killed but one. That one Storm Wind chased down river to
the Sound, clear to the Sound.

North Wind said, "I will stay down the Sound and you stay up this way"
(Loa ha'tcid Loa'LXad Loaha'tcu Liuqe'Xw).

62 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

NORTH WIND AND STORM WIND (Fifth Version)28

There was war between Stobb and SqwalAts. All the relatives of SqwaUts
were killed but one girl. She was under the power of Stobb. Her father was
Mountain Beaver (cawl).

The son of that girl was warned by Mountain Beaver, his grandfather, not
to go to that mountain. The boy killed pheasants and ate them. He said, "I shall
go to that good place." SqwalAts, the old lady living on that mountain, cried
much. The young man came to her house. The old lady rubbed her eyes. She
asked, "From what place do you come? Are you my sister's child?" "I am,"
he said. He was now a full-grown man.

The eyes of the old lady were bad; they were dim from the filth which the
ravens, the slaves of Stobb, had dropped upon her. The young man took a cudgel
and drove the ravens away, back to the north to Stobb, their master. They said
to Stobb, "He nearly killed us."

The old lady said to the young man, "Do not [attempt to] stop the old man
[Stobb]. I am the only one of my people left." The young man went to Stobb.

The young man took some pheasants to Mountain Beaver. The pheasants
attacked the old man and killed him.

The young man said, "I shall go home." He pulled up some trees and threw
them in the river above the barrier, which Stobb had laid across the river. Stobb
said, "Your timbers are interfering with my trap !" Raven said, "I am strong ;
I will get the tree out." After Raven tried, he said, "I cannot raise it." Then the
young man kicked the timber over the trap.

The young man went again to his grandmother. The grandmother said to
the youth, "There shall be much rain. You will come ; your father was killed by
Stobb." Both the grandmother and the young man worked. The grandmother
brought rain so that the river rose and the young man threw timbers into the
river [and so broke the barrier]. Stobb went far away. The ravens were big.
They also went north.

NORTH WIND AND STORM WIND (Sixth Version)28

There was war between Chinook Wind and North Wind. North Wind
wanted to be boss. Nearly all of the Chinook Wind people were killed. Only
one old woman30 was left with her grandson, the child of Chinook Wind and
Mountain Beaver. The old woman cried all the time. She told the little boy,
"Do not go away, something will happen to you."

When the boy grew large enough he went away towards the mountains and
stayed away till he became a man. When he had grown up he returned to see
his grandmother. She was crying. The young man asked, "Why do you cry
all the time? It sounds just as if my father had died."

28 Told by Sampson and Lucy (Green River — Lake Washington).

29 Told by Dan Silelus (Lake Washington).

30 The name of that woman, a mountain, sqwaU'ts, means "fine rain" (Jack Stillman,
Snuqualmi).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 63

The grandmother said, "Do not go down there. You will get killed."

The young man thought, "My father must be down there." He brought
wood and started a fire for the old woman. Her face was covered with frost
and filth from Raven. Raven was slave of North Wind, and used to come and
perch in the house, and drop filth on the face of the old woman. The young man
sharpened a stick and said, "When Raven comes poke him with this stick." He
told the grandmother when he would come back. The fire was blazing now.
"Do not wash your face till I come back," he said. The young man went away.

Raven came to the house of the old woman. The old woman took the stick
and prodded Raven. Raven went back home. He was ashamed ; he did not tell
Stobta (North Wind). Raven went to bed and groaned. North Wind heard.
He asked, "What is wrong?" Raven said , "I'm sick." He was ashamed to tell.

The young man, sXatsalatci, returned to his grandmother. He came stronger
this time [that is, the wind was blowing harder now]. He did not tell that he had
gone down to North Wind anyhow.

The young man left his grandmother again. As he was leaving he said, "You
may wash your face now." She washed and the fine rain began to come. The
young man went to the river. The river flooded, and logs floated down and took
out half the fish weir [of ice] that North Wind had laid across the river.

Chinook Wind (stogwau'q') said, "It will not always be cold like this any
more. There will come warm wind and blow it away."31

NORTH WIND AND STORM WIND (Seventh Version)32

The underground woman, cawl, escaped from North Wind and went to her
people while pregnant. Beaver and Land-otter stole food for her. She made a
bow and arrow for her boy child. When he grew big he made his own. When
he was large enough to go out, everything was at peace.

The boy went to his grandmother. She was the only one of the Chinook
Wind people that was not killed by North Wind. When he looked in at the old
woman she raised her head and sang, "From my generation where I came from
is the breath that struck my face." The boy ordered baskets. Spetsxw was
a nephew. People duck him.33

Stobb had taken the daughter of Chinook Wind for a wife.

The boy said to the snags that drifted over the barrier, "Drift as far north
as you can."

31 Calling for Rain — In former times, when it was cold and the snow lay deep upon the
ground the people used to do certain things to drive the snow away and bring them rain.

They made a board and painted one side black, like the face of the old woman covered
with filth from Raven. Cords were fastened to the boards. These bull-roarers were given
to the boys, who swung them in the air in such a way as to make a noise and bring1 Chinook
Wind. The name of that board was XoTXw.\lb.

The people would catch spetsX, paint his face black and turn him loose. So that he
would go to the river, wash his face and call Chinook Wind. We call that practice, tiu
te'wudx. A certain kind of ceremonial rattle is called ti'wud.

32 An abstract from Joe Young (Puyallup).

38 If the spetsx people are angry rain will come (Big John).

64 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

We call that stone mountain sq'wuU'ts,34 that means, "weeping color." The
gray streaks running down the sides of that mountain are the tears of the old
woman.

That mountain, sba'batil, was the home of North Wind on the Duwamish.
That was where the Ancients lived to make the four divisions of the world. The
North controlled everything.

If anyone trespassed beyond the barrier laid across the Duwamish River the
people of the North caused him to prepare a cord of hazel wood (to hang him-
self with). He would be compelled to meet his fate anyhow.

THE CONTEST IN THE NORTH (First Version) 35

In the ancient time Bluejay [Steller's Jay] was a smart man. At that time
the people were suffering from ice and cold weather. Chinook Wind (stagwau'xw)
and his servants set out on a journey to the north to visit North Wind (stobta)
and there carry on a contest with him by means of games. Bluejay, Beaver and
Raven went along ; these were slaves of Chinook Wind.

It was cold at the home of North Wind. All the people sat down. North
Wind said, "Well, friends, you may celebrate with my slaves. There shall be a
diving contest. If my slaves die you shall have won from me. If your slaves
die I shall have beaten you." North Wind called his slaves ; these were sea-otter.
They came.

Then Raven said, "I shall dive under the water." Bluejay said [to Chinook
Wind], "No, I shall go. Your [champion] would be killed; I shall go." Soon
Bluejay came in his canoe. He had many sticks and much sea-weed. He dove
and came up [under the seaweed]. Sea otter dove and stayed under the water
a long time. He failed to come up. After a long time the people said, "Bluejay
is coming now." North Wind had lost this contest. One of his slaves died this
time.

Another game was started. This time a pole was set up. Raven wished to
climb up the pole. Bluejay said. "No." Bluejay climbed up the pole. Sapsucker
(titLe'kcid) went up half way and fell down. Bluejay beat him. The people
had said, "Bluejay will fall down."

North Wind said, "Oh! you have beaten me!" Chinook Wind addressed
North Wind thus: "In the future you shall not kill people with cold." If North
Wind had won this contest all the people would now be freezing.

34 The stone mountain in this story is situated north of Riverton near the west bank of
the Duwamish about a half mile south of where the highway bridge crosses the river. About
a quarter of a mile below the bridge the ruins of the salmon weir are visible at low water.
That place is known as kala'xad, "the barrier." To the west an elevation on the hillside is
known as sto'tobb, the mountain from which North Wind used to set out against the
Chinook Wind people.

35 Narrated by Tom Milroy (Upper Puyallup).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 65

THE. CONTEST IN THE NORTH (Second Version) ™

Eagle (stLltse'd) lived on Puget Sound. His sister was a large white sea-
bird (skA'LkAbc) who was married to Sea-Otter (daXa'L), and lived far off in
another world where was much ice and snow. Sapsucker (titLe'kcid), who was
from Puget Sound, was, Sea-Otter's slave in that distant country. Sea-Otter was
a large and powerful man, who was greatly to be feared.

Now Eagle became lonesome and said to himself, "I shall go North and
make my sister a visit." So he left the Puget Sound region and all the bird-people
went along with him. Blue jay went along. They traveled and traveled for a long
time. Now they had arrived at the home of Sea-Otter.

When they arrived, Eagle's sister said, "Why did you come here? Your
brother-in-law will kill you. He will snare you, beat you, kill you."

Sea-Otter had many dogs, the hair-seals. Some of these he killed and made
a feast of them for the visitors. At the same time, this feast was to be a contest.
If the visitors should lose, they would be killed. Before eating, Bluejay took a
walk. He got a hollow stick and placed it in his mouth. At the feast he ate and
ate, but never got full. So he won the contest.

On the second day, Sea-Otter told Eagle, "We shall have another game."
They went to the bay and got their canoes. Sea-Otter said to Eagle, "I shall
choose a man from my people to dive." Said Bluejay, "I will do the diving for
my party." Sea-Otter said, "Who first comes up out of the water shall be
killed." A hair-seal was to dive for the village. [Now in the bottom of every
canoe is kept an arrangement of cedar twigs, woven together and covered with
a mat. The hunter kneels upon this to paddle. It keeps his knees dry. This de-
vice of cedar twigs is called tLa'buL. Bluejay, when no one was looking, took this
material from the canoe and made a little pile upon the water. Then Bluejay
was ready to dive.]

The match was now begun. Hair-seal dove and dove. Jay dove and
dove. The people could see but a little ripple. In the morning they dove. Seal
came out about two o'clock. Bluejay's beak meantime was under the sticks. After
Hair-seal came out Bluejay dropped under water, and in a few moments came
out where the people could see him. Bluejay carried with him a club of bone.
When he had come out of the water he drew his club and killed Hair-seal. So
Bluejay won.

On the third day, Sea-Otter said, "We shall have another game tomorrow,
of a different kind." Meanwhile his wife was standing in water making a rope.
She stood so long that her legs were red with cold. For five days was she weav-
ing rope.

Sea-Otter erected a pole of ice, ever so tall. He told Eagle, his brother-in-
law, to point out a man from his company who should climb. But all were afraid.
Said Bluejay, "I will climb." Sea-Otter appointed his slave, Sapsucker, to climb.
So Bluejay started up and Sapsucker started up, both began to climb. Now they

36 Told by John Xot (Puyallup) as a Suquamish story. Material inserted by Dr. T. T.
Waterman is enclosed in square brackets.

66 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

are climbing. Now Bluejay is ahead; now Sapsucker. Bluejay looked down
from time to time and saw the people. Then he started climbing afresh. He went
and went till he could not see the people any more. Then he waited for Sap-
sucker. When Sapsucker overtook him, Jay drew his club and killed him. The
people saw Sapsucker falling and, said, "Bluejay is falling." But when he struck
the ground, they saw it was their companion, Sapsucker. After this Bluejay came
down. When Bluejay had come close, he drew his club and started clubbing the
dead Sapsucker. This was the end of the bird contest.

Sea-Otter had lost. He said, "You may start home tomorrow." Eagle and
his people started homeward. When he embarked, his sister, the white bird, tied
one end of her rope to his canoe. This was to learn if Eagle should get through
safely on his way homeward. At a certain point on the journey the sky lifts up
like a door, and he who passes through may be crushed by it. But Eagle became
crafty. He had his men secure two big timbers and when they arrived at the
place, the men placed the timbers beneath the edge of the sky as it lifted, that they
might not be crushed, and all passed safely through. When through, Eagle gave
the rope a pull as a signal to his sister ; then he untied the rope and his sister pulled
it back. The opening, supported by two pillars, remains to this day.

If this story is told, it will bring frost.

THE CONTEST IN THE NORTH (Third Version) *

When the people went north both Land-otter and Beaver went along.

A girl lived with her parents in the village at a point of land, possibly Dash
Point. That girl, instead of going far away to cleanse herself to get magic power,
used to bathe and bathe daily in the salt water in front of her home. She was
having intercourse with the spirit of the son of North Wind. Each time a wave
lapped against her body it was he. She loved him. She was to go with him to
his home.

The father of the girl was Chinook Wind.

All the people were camping [on the beach]. It was good weather where
they were. Chinook Wind said, "I want all who will be of use to come with me ;
we shall go north to get my daughter back." Chinook Wind sang for magic power.

Bluejay wanted to sing. He said, "I am next." Bluejay's sister said, "When
did they ever take boats?" [?]. Bluejay sang in a different language, the Cow-
litz. He sang thus so that the people would not understand. At the same time
his sister danced. He sang as follows:

itsna'wL itsna'wL tAblwe'nam
If uncovered it goes like this
tutsA'tcitAb tutsA'tcitAb
It was pulled
(That was Bluejay's crest).

87 Related by Joe Young (Puyallup).

1929] Ballard, Paget Sound Mythology 67

The people went north. They sailed and sailed. They arrived at the mouth
of a river. It was frozen across. They stayed one day. Bluejay was angry. He
said, "I shall break it." His sister said, "Keep still, you are not leading." Blue-
jay replied, "I shall lead right now." He fell on his crest and died. His sister
said, "Get him, somebody; give him to me." She stuck him in her breast. He
got warm and kicked. He was put in his place. "You were dead," they told him.
"No, I was sleeping," said he.

Chinook Wind said, "Give me the pole." He struck the ice with the pole.
It thawed and the river began to rise in front of the house of North Wind. The
people waited for an invitation to the house of North Wind. None came. No
one came out from the house.

Bluejay said, "I shall sneak in ; I know where my sister lives." Bluejay found
his sister; she was alone. He got instructions what to do, and went back to his
people and reported.

The Chinook Wind people were asked to come in. Bluejay was told, "The
first trial will be to blow powder in your face. You must dig holes in the ground-
in the air you cannot breathe."

All came inside. Some one cried, "Powder horn, powder horn, turn her
loose." The air filled with smoke. It was so for a long time. Again someone
cried, "Powder horn, powder horn, suck in the smoke." The smoke all went back.
Bluejay said, "Do you think I am dead now?" This was the first game.

At this time they did not know how many were in the village of North Wind.
Bluejay went to his sister, the wife of North Wind. She advised him, "You
shall be fed on one big fish and must eat all of it. Learn how not to eat every-
thing. Gather sticks of elderberry wood and take the pith out." They put them
far in their mouths. They let the whale meat and the oil fall, and soak away in
the gravel. They ate and ate. All had finished. They looked in every corner
for more fish. Bluejay had fixed it. This was the second game.

Bluejay went to his sister. She gave him a warning. "My master is going
to hunt beaver at the beaver dam." "I shall go along," said Bluejay. So he went.
Then he saw North Wind. They took men to drive the beaver in a slough.
"There is a big one ; kill it for us for our food," said North Wind. The big beaver
was an aia'Xos, a monster. The girl had warned Bluejay, "Spear the little beaver;
never molest the big ones ; they are giants."

Chinook Wind, the son-in-law of North Wind, was the chief driver. He said,
"Father-in-law, it is going." Bluejay said, "We have not seen a big one yet."
There came a little beaver. North Wind said, "Do not kill it." But Chinook
Wind speared the little beaver. When he pulled up the beaver it was larger than
any they had ever seen before. North Wind said, "You ought to have got the
big one."

This was the third game.

Bluejay went to his sister. Said she, "The next game is the diving game to
see who can stay under water the longest." (Land-otter and Beaver wanted to
dive.) Bluejay said, "I shall dive." It was early in the morning and very cold.

68 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

They gave Bluejay his way. Seal dove for the North. Afterwards Bluejay went
in a canoe and threw brush overboard. He swam out to where the pole was.
Pulling under he pretended to reach bottom. "Oh, I shall swim back," he said
(to himself). His nose was sticking out. The people saw that he was cheating.
He arrived at the brush and got under. He got a foot-hold in the bank and raised
the brush to his chin. The people said, "Look at Bluejay; he is growling." He
was a seal so long, he said, "I am cold." He was planning to kill Seal. From
that place he swam out ; he arrived at the pole sticking straight down in the water.
Seal was hanging on the pole at the bottom, with his face down. Bluejay carried
a club of black stone. He knocked Seal on the head. Seal came up to the surface.
The people of North Wind said, "Bluejay is coming out" (skaikai tocai).

Bluejay came up on the pole. "Have you another man? Why not send a
man that can dive like me ?" This was the fourth game.

All this time the woman was making a string. It was piling and piling up.
The last end was still being made.

Bluejay went to his sister. The next game was to be target shooting. Blue-
jay said, "I'll be the target. The other one will be killed." The other target was
Loon. The breast of the target was to be turned towards the arrow. Bluejay
placed a stone upon his breast. Chinook Wind shot Loon. Loon lay on his back.
North Wind shot Bluejay. The arrow broke in pieces. Bluejay said, "Have
you another man willing to die ? Why not place a real man like me on the target ?"
This was the fifth game. All this time Bluejay was turning to a man.

Bluejay's sister, the wife of North Wind, said, "Tomorrow will be the last
game, climbing the ice pole to heaven." Bluejay said, "I shall go up that pole."
Squirrel started up the pole for the North Wind. Bluejay said, "I'll fix him."
Bluejay flew; he could not climb. Around the ice pole he flew. "I'll pass him and
kill him," he said. Squirrel was going slowly; he was tired. Bluejay was ahead.
He lay in wait for Squirrel. He struck Squirrel on the head with his club. Squir-
rel dropped and Bluejay followed. He flew down to the bottom in a spiral, in
the reverse direction from that in which he had ascended. When Squirrel struck,
the people of the North said, "Hurrah ! Bluejay has struck the ground."

Bluejay went to his sister. She said, "Tomorrow they will send you home."
Bluejay said, "I shall hold the string; anyone else might lose it." (No one knew
what it was). "If we reach home I shall pull five times. Some of my quills
will be tied to the end, none but mine."

When they were out at sea, Bluejay said, "Otter, steady the boat for your
brothers ; Beaver, steady, but at the stern." All took their places.

The people of the North put their breath on them to kill them, but they
reached home. There was plenty of string left. Bluejay pulled five times to
signal safety.

BEAVER AND MUSKRAT

Beaver traded Muskrat out of his tail. It was too big for so small a man.
Muskrat was chief of the swamps.

The last beaver was killed at Tacoma.

1929] Ballard, Paget Sound Mythology 69

THE WAR AGAINST CHINOOK WIND3*

It blew and blew and blew. The people did not know how to get rid of the
wind. So Flounder, Skate, Bluejay and all the people held a council to devise
some means of relieving the country. They resolved to go in the direction where
Stogwaukh, Chinook Wind, lived and kill him. All their boldest warriors went.
Bluejay thought Skate was too clumsy to be of any value in a fight. They traveled
for a long distance till they reached a spot which was calm. Here they discovered
that the wind came from a high hill near them. At camp they fell into a con-
troversy. Having gathered about the fire they tried to decide on one to lead the
attack upon South Wind. The person highest in favor was Skate. Bluejay be-
came angry. Said he to Skate, "The enemy would never miss you, having once
aimed at you. You are too ungainly. You are sure to be struck. I myself could
shoot a hole right through you." "You could not," said Skate. "I could," said
Jay. "Try it, then," said Skate, "Go over there and shoot." "I'd kill you the first
shot," said Jay. Skate marched away, and said, "Now shoot." Bluejay shot,
but missed. Skate said, "It's my turn," So Bluejay took his place as a target,
while Skate aimed and shot. Bluejay dodged, but was struck in the side and lay
prostrate there. Skate removed the arrow and Bluejay recovered.

Then the people chose Skate to lead them against South [Chinook] Wind.
Among themselves the people wondered, "What shall we do with South Wind
when we get him?" "Shall we kill him?" "No, that would not be right." So
they went to the hill and there they found South Wind lying upon his side.

"If you had killed me," said he, "things would be different; there would be
disease and bad odor. Stand me up, so that wind will not blow." So they stood
him up upon his feet. Said South Wind, "Hereafter when it blows from the
south it will be for only a few days at a time."

That is why South Wind does not blow all the time.

MOON, THE TRANSFORMER39

The grandfather of Moon was named Suwa'bLko; the grandmother's name
was Tupa'ltxw. Their two daughters were Tukwiye', the elder and Ya'slibc, the
younger. Those people lived at toltxw. The two sisters went to dig fern roots
(tadi)40 on the prairie above the Falls. When night came, clear and starry, the
two remained on the prairie for the night. They lay down. As they lay there
the younger sister looked up and saw the stars shining brightly. Looking up,
Ya'slibc saw the stars looking down and wished that the one shining white were
her husband, and that the one shining red were her elder sister's husband.

While the two sisters were sleeping they were taken up to the sky (sXo'-
lgwad). When they awoke in the morning they were in the Sky Country, lying

38 Related by John Xot (Puyallup).
89 Related by Snuqualmi Charlie (Snuqualmi).

40 This is the bracken fern (pteridium aquilinum pubescens), a staple food of the
Indians.

70 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

by the side of the men they had wanted. The sisters did not know where they
were. There was no wind there, only a calm.

The younger sister learned that her husband, the one with the white eye was
an old man, but the one with a red eye was a young man in the prime of life.
About them were many people ; these were star people, relatives of these two men.
Life went on in the Sky Country the same as on earth: the women had to go
out and dig fern roots, and the men would go and hunt game. So the two sisters
said, "Let us go out and dig fern roots too."

They went out and dug fern roots, and brought many home that same day.
They prepared their store of fern roots and cooked it, and the people ate it all
for them. This was the first day.

The next day the two sisters went out and dug many fern roots and brought
them home. They prepared their store and cooked it, and the people ate it all for
them, as they had done on the first day.

On the third day the sisters went out. Their men had warned them in this
wise, "When you find the roots with your digging sticks do not follow those that
go straight down but dig the roots that spread out."

About this time the elder sister became pregnant. The younger sister grieved
after she found this out. She would sit where the smoke would blow in her face
in order that the people might not know the tears were from weeping and that
she grieved at having an old man for a husband.

Every day the sisters would go out and dig fern roots. While out they would
ask each other, "Why is it that our men do not wish us to follow the roots that
go straight down ?" After they had talked of this, they said, "We shall try it."

At this time a boy-child was born to the elder sister. When the child was
born the sisters did not go out to dig, but waited until the child should get strong.
After the baby had become strong, they said, "Let us go out and dig more fern
roots." So they went out and took the baby along.

The men would go out to hunt game every day. The women went out with
the child a second time to dig.

A third time they went out with the child to dig. Between themselves they
said, "We shall follow the roots down this time and see how far they go." They
dug ; they followed the roots down till they reached the sky. When they had dug
through, the wind came up through the hole thus made. Then the women knew
where they were ; they knew that this was the Sky Country.

As the wind came up through, the hunters knew that something was wrong.
They came running to the spot where the women were digging and asked what
was wrong. But the women had stopped up the hole through which the wind had
been blowing and they answered, "Nothing is wrong." Then the men went back
to the hunt. After this circumstance the women did not feel right and they soon
went home.

The next day they went out and dug fern roots. In the morning they gath-
ered many cedar boughs and laid them at the place where the hole in the sky had
been. In the afternoon they gathered fern roots, very few.

1929] Ballard, Paget Sound Mythology 71

The second day after they had dug through, the two sisters went out to dig.
In the morning they gathered cedar boughs and laid them at the appointed spot ;
in the afternoon they dug a few fern roots, just as on the first day.

The third day they went out and did the same.

The fourth day they went out and did the same. This time the hunters be-
came suspicious. The husband of the elder sister asked her, "What is the reason
you do not gather enough fern roots?" The wife replied, "The baby cries, and
I have to dig alone while my sister looks after the baby."

The fifth day they went out. Instead of cutting, the sisters twisted the
branches into a rope (ste'dagwaD). This work took them all day and they dug
very few roots. The sixth day, they went out and twisted rope. Very few roots
were brought home. The seventh day they went out and did the same as on the
fifth and sixth. The eighth day they went out. They made a ladder (sakwa'btc)
of the twisted limbs. The ninth day they went out. They continued to make the
rope ladder.

The tenth day they went out. Instead of making the ladder they dug the hole
through and passed the ladder down through it, thinking to find if it would reach
down to Earth. They shook the ladder and found it was not long enough. They
drew it back again.

The next day the two sisters went out and gathered some more cedar limbs ;
all this unknown to their husbands. Each day they would bring back a very few
roots.

The twelfth day they went out. Instead of cutting boughs they twisted some
more rope. The thirteenth day they went out again. They added the newly cut
branches, now twisted into rope, to the ladder, thus making the ladder longer.

The fourteenth day they went out again. Immediately they hung the ladder
down from the sky and found that it reached to earth. The younger sister stepped
through the hole in the sky to the ladder. The elder sister handed the baby to the
younger, then closed the hole in the sky and caused a forest to grow where the
prairie had been, so that the hunters, searching, might not be able to find them.
Then, when all was ready, the two sisters with the baby descended the ladder to
earth, their former home.

Now the two sisters had gone out to dig roots upon the prairie and there
they had been taken up into the sky. Their parents did not know where they had
gone and were grieving for them all this time. All the while they had been gath-
ering the various bird people, the best doctors they could find. These continued
to dance and sing: Bluejay, Squirrel and others, trying with their spirit power
to find the sisters, but none could find them because their spirit helpers were not
strong enough. Most of the doctors had given up the task and gone home, but
a few were left, dancing and singing, when the women reached the ground.

Then the news spread that the two sisters, daughters of Suwa'bLko and
Tupa'ltxw, had come from the sky. As the news was spread the people gathered.
The two sisters made the ladder into a swing (yado'ad) and caused it to swing
back and forth. Suwa'bLko called the people back that they might have sport and

72 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

enjoy themselves swinging on the ladder his daughters had made. So the people
gathered to celebrate the homecoming of the two women and have sport on the
swing.

From Da'xcdibc to Kalbts (Footprint to Camping Place), a half day's jour-
ney, they swung. At Da'xcdibc one would spring and at Kalbts he would alight.
The latter place is north of the river and from there one can see the bay. The
white people call it Mount Si. The former place is south of the river. It is called
Rattlesnake Mountain by the white people.

Now while the sisters were enjoying themselves with the people swinging,
their blind old grandmother, Toad (tsalo'ya), was caring for the baby. She was
swinging the baby on the swing, putting it to sleep, as it was tied to the baby-
board. (The ancient name of the baby swing is sidza'dus.)

After a time, while Grandmother Toad was singing, the baby ceased crying
and became quiet. The grandmother began to sing, "This feels like rotten wood
instead of a baby."

Ue'ha xwab ayo'yo qwa'i
ti tca'tc ab yux
i — i
u — u

While old grandmother Toad was singing thus Dog Salmon had come and
stolen the baby ; he had unwrapped it from the cradle-board and put in a stick of
rotton wood, wrapping it up in place of the baby.

While swinging on the sky ladder the mother of Moon passed by and heard
the old lady singing. "This feels like rotten wood instead of a baby." She came
over to the place and found it was indeed so, rotten wood instead of a baby. When
the people found out the baby was gone all the swinging and sport came to a stop.
The people wondered which way the baby had gone and who had taken him.

Again all the people gathered, the greatest doctors who could be summoned,
to look for the baby and find who had taken him. "Which one will guess aright?"
they wondered.

While the two sisters were weeping for the baby they took the diaper
(tsiye'qw) woven of cedar bark, dipped it in the water and wrung it out. Five
times they did so. The fifth time they did so there was the cry of a baby. It
was a big sturdy child, a boy, who had come to console the people for their sorrow
in losing the other. This boy was Sun (Lokwa'L), the younger brother of Moon
(sLokwa'bb).

The doctors were all gathered. They danced and sang. Bluejay was the
one to find and reveal who had taken the baby and where it was.

Yellowhammer was the first bird to go in search of the baby after Bluejay
had told. Yellowhammer came to a place where the earth was going apart and
striking together. The name of this place is oq'eq'aq'agwa's. The baby was on
the other side of this place. When Yellowhammer came to this place he could
not go through ; he was not quick enough. Yellowhammer came back and said,.
"The baby is where we thought, truly, but beyond a difficult place."

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 73

Then Woodpecker41 (qa'tqatc) went, but he could not get through and he
came back.

Raven (skwakw) was the third man to undertake the journey. He went half
way to the place, but became hungry and came back without ever having reached
his goal. He said, "The baby is over there but I could not do anything."

Then Osprey (tse'xtsi'x), the fourth man to go, set out. He only got as far
as the open-and-shut place and came back.

Then Bluejay (skai'kai), the fifth man, set out. He was the one who knew
where the baby was. When Bluejay started he did not go straight, but sailed up
and down, singing,

ka'tsa ka'tsa
a'tsati co'badid

When Bluejay reached the difficult place he sat and watched it to see how
fast it was going up and down. He thought he could go through the place safely ;
he thought he would try it. When he tried the passage he went through, but the
earth caught his head and made it flat. But once through, he sang for gladness.

kai kai kai

After this Bluejay flew over to the place where the baby had been taken.
The baby was young Moon, now a man grown, and had boys of his own. Bluejay
passed close by that man. The man was making flint arrowheads (ya'xwad).
As Bluejay passed the man picked up some flakings (zAxabid) and threw them in
Bluejay's eye, saying, "What are you flying here for? I do not feel right; I am
sorrowing every day."

Bluejay replied to Moon, "Grandchild, what I came here for is you." Then
the young man turned about and cleaned the eyes of Bluejay. "I come for you,"
Bluejay continued, "your mother and aunt and all your people are sorrowing for
you." Young Moon replied, "I shall not go at once. After a time I shall go, but
not with you, Bluejay."

"I'm afraid of that place," said Bluejay; "I'm afraid to go back." But Moon
gave him a staff, sharp on both ends, and told him to pry the place apart and
thus get through without further hurt.

When Bluejay returned he did as Moon instructed him and got through the
dangerous place safely. He arrived home flying as before, singing and exulting,
"kai kai kai kai." The people thought, "Bluejay has got the baby now." When
he was once home he told the father and mother of Moon, "Moon will come after
a time, but slowly. He is a big man now, full grown and has boys of his own."

The people noticed Bluejay's head, that it was flat.

The people at the place where Moon lived were Dog Salmon (ti/xwa'i), and

they were the ones who had taken him thither. There he had taken a wife of the

Dog Salmon people.

After Bluejay had come this man wondered, "What shall I do with these

41 Northern pileated woodpecker (Phlaeotomus pileatus albieticola).

74 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

people I'm staying with?" It concerned him, what he should do with the boy
when he should leave. He pondered the matter till he concluded, "Well, I shall
leave my boy here," and made ready to leave. The people were making merry
and Moon was about to bid them good-bye, saying "hu — u."

Moon turned about and caressed his boy saying, "Son, I am going to leave
you now." But when Moon started the boy called, "Father." A second time
Moon caressed the boy and started away. He went a little farther this time, when
the boy called, "Father," and his father went back to him.

Moon did not know what to do to get away from the boy. He pondered a
while, then started a third time. This time he went a little farther than before.
Again the boy called, "Father," and Moon went back to him. A fourth time
Moon started. This time he went a little farther yet.

A fifth time the boy called as before. Moon cut from the right side of his
head a lock of his own hair, then he went back* to the boy and caused him to hold
the hair in his right hand. When Moon had left and was at a distance the boy
called again, "Father," and the lock of hair in his right hand answered him. When
Moon heard, he said, "That plan has availed, truly."

Moon started up the river. He drove the dog salmon ahead of him saying,
"The new generation is coming now and you shall be food for the people, O Dog
Salmon." Thus Moon began his work of changing things upon the Earth.

At this time Moon had first said, "Dog Salmon, go down." Afterwards Moon
wondered if he had made a mistake, then said, "Dog Salmon, go up stream."
Then they became dog salmon and ran up stream. This was Moon's first work.
If Moon had not made that mistake first the dog salmon would have run up
stream all the time and never have gone down to the bay as they do now.

The first group of people to whom Moon came were fighting. "What are
you doing?" he asked. "Fighting," they said. "Why?" he asked them. "You
must not fight each other." Then he changed them into birds or stones, at any
rate transformed them.

At the next place Moon came to a multitude of little slaves, who would
scatter out and then come together. "What are you doing?" he asked, and turned
them into sandpipers (tlwi'LawiL ; ci'ciltc).

At the third place Moon found people fishing. "What are you doing?" he
asked. "We are fishing to get food," they said. "Very well," said Moon and
turned them into sawbill ducks (sawi'hitc).

At the fourth place to which he came Moon found people in a swamp looking
for food. "What are you doing?" he asked. "We are working, trying to get
food," they said. Moon called them to him and seized them. He gathered them
together and let them go. They became mallard ducks (Xa'tXat).

At the fifth place Moon came upon a people gathered upon a sandy beach.
"What are you doing?" he asked. "This is our land, our abiding place," they
said. Moon took them up and put them back as clams (sa'Xo). Moon said. "You
shall be good for food for the people about to come.

The people heard about Moon coming and changing things. They were afraid
and made weapons to defend themselves and kill him.

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 75

Moon came next to people arguing about the length of day and night. One
said, "We shall have daylight every year." The other said, "We shall have day-
light every day." The latter was Ant (batclo'b) and even as she was talking she
was drawing her belt tighter, so that now she has a tiny waist. The other one,
who thought that a day and a night should last a year was Bear (tcE'txwut), and
so he now sleeps every winter but is out in summer.

At the next place Moon came upon Deer making spear points of bone and
singing, "This is what I am, making to kill the Transformer."

aia'q aia'q
Xode'ha'dki
doqweba"L
tits aia'q aia'q

While he was yet singing Deer looked up and saw the Transformer standing
there before him. "What are you doing?" Moon asked him. "Making a weapon
to kill the Transformer," said Deer. "What is it? Let me see it," said Moon.
Deer gave it to Moon. Moon placed the spear point upon the wrist of Deer and
turned him into a deer, saying, "You shall be something good to eat."

Moon next came to Mink (sma'lXkid). "What are you doing?" Moon asked,
"Are you strong?" Then he turned Mink to stone (tcEtta). As soon as Moon
left him Mink recovered himself and gave a cry as he does now and said, "Moon
can not turn me to anything." Moon came back and said, "I shall make some-
thing out of you." Then he took Mink to a lake and turned him into a stick lean-
ing out of the water.

After this, Moon left him. Mink rose up again and cried, "hu — u, you could
not turn me into anything." Moon went back again and studied a long time, ask-
ing himself, "What shall I do with Mink to get the better of him?" Then he
took Mink, and slicing him up in small pieces threw him in all directions. Thus
he turned him into a small animal, such as Mink now is. Mink would have over-
come Moon if Moon had not cut him up. Thus Moon overcame Mink.

Moon went on and came to a place where four women were fighting, pulling
each other's hair. They were preparing themselves to contend with Moon when
he should come to change them. Moon came and stood looking at them ; they
did not know him for Moon. Moon asked, "What are you doing?" The four
women said, "We are practising so that we may know how to contend with the
Transformer when he comes." Moon cast them into the mud, saying, "You shall
grow and be something good to eat." Then the women became what they are
now. They are maidenhair fern (tsa'kwi), skunk cabbage (q'elt), wild artichoke
(sXa'lX), and sand rush (sba'qabaq).

Afterwards Moon came to a man who was working, making a lake. That
man was Beaver (stika'wx). Moon asked, "What are you working at?" Beaver
said, "I am making this so that the water will come and soak up the little trees,
and I shall be able to eat the bark." Moon summoned the man and turned him
into a beaver. Moon said, "You shall be some good for the people to eat ; stay
in the lake the rest of your life."

76 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Afterwards Moon found a man dragging a great many salmon. That man
was Land-otter (ska"a'L). Moon asked, "How do you catch the salmon?" "Oh,
I catch them after my own fashion," said Land-otter. Moon called the man to
him, saying, "You shall catch salmon as you have been wont to catch them be-
fore." Wherefore Land-otter now seizes the salmon in his teeth, catching them
after his own fashion.

By this time Moon had become very hungry. He went along and came to a
place where Wildcat (potqa'b) was roasting a salmon by the fire. While the
salmon was roasting Wildcat turned it over and all at once became sleepy. He
thought, "I shall sleep while the salmon is roasting." It was Moon that had made
him sleepy. When Wildcat had fallen asleep Moon came and took the roast sal-
mon. He ate the salmon, nearly all. Then he took a portion of the salmon, went
to Wildcat, and rubbed a little on his teeth, cheeks, and forehead. The marks now
show as stripes on his face.

When Wildcat awoke he looked over to where the salmon had been, not
knowing he had been asleep, and wondered what had become of his salmon. He
felt about and felt of his teeth. "I must have eaten it," he said, but he was not
sure. He became thirsty and went down to the river for a drink. Each time he
stooped down for a drink he saw his image in the water and threw himself back,
frightened, not knowing he had been turned into a wildcat while asleep. He
soon became wild and ran away.

Moon came to five brothers playing. Their game was to sing, "Fire, fire (sad
sad) ;" then fire would start fromi the eldest and spread all about, threatening
everything with destruction. Moon asked the men, "What are you doing?" "Just
playing," they said. "Sing that song," said Moon. "No," they answered, "It
would not be good for you if we should ; harm might come to you." But they
sang, and when the five sang, "Fire, fire," flames of fire spread all about and
caught every object. The rocks became hot; the water boiled; the world was
on fire.

Moon was frightened and did not know which way to go. Finally he heard
a voice shouting, "This way, my grandson." It was the voice of Trail ; fire goes
over, but does not burn Trail. Moon hastened to the safe keeping of Trail and
saved his life. The escape of Moon was narrow, for his wolfskin quiver hanging
from his back was singed a little.

Then Moon said to the five brothers, "You shall be set in separate places so
that if fire starts it may be put out." Wherefore fire is not now so violent. A fire
such as the five brothers could start would destroy the world.

Moon went on and came to a river. He saw an old man on the other side,
sitting in front of his house. Echo (XwiXwiXw) was the man's name. Moon
called to Echo, "Bring the canoe across (to'lecubc tL'ai)." Echo would tease
Moon, repeating the same words, "Bring the canoe across; bring the canoe
across !"

Again Moon called, "Bring the canoe across !" and again Echo mocked him.

A third time Moon called to the man and a third time the man mockingly
repeated the words. Then Moon swam across the river. As soon as the old man

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 77

saw Moon coming his belly became swollen with fear and he crept with difficulty
into the house.

As Moon drew near and entered the house, he asked the old man, "Why
did you not bring the canoe across for me ?" and Echo repeated the same words.
Both became angry.

Moon asked, "Which way did your relatives go?" "Which way did your
relatives go?" answered Echo. Five times Moon asked the question and five
times Echo replied. Moon thought Echo had relatives, but he; had none at all.
Only his entrails hanging from racks (qwe'aqwaX) in baskets about the wall were
his relatives (sia'ia). Becoming angry, Moon cried out, "I'll kill you!" "I'll kill
you !" answered Echo.

Five times Moon spoke thus and five times Echo thus replied. Then they
fought. Echo almost overpowered Moon. The creatures (dzi'dzwa; ke'aublitcap)
in the baskets wound themselves all about Moon and bound him so that he could
scarcely move.

Then a bird appeared and told Moon to tip over the baskets hanging there.
Moon tipped over the baskets, five of them, and then he transformed Echo to
echo as we know it now. Moon wished good fortune to the bird that had helped
him and went on his way.

Moon journeyed far. He came to a place where he heard some one pounding.
It was Crane,42 using his head for a hammer. As Crane pounded he sang this
song:

tssla's tsala's sxwila'bdi

Pounding, pounding, with the side of my head.

The stones, sticks and trees were alive, so Crane could not use them. If
he took up a stick, the stick struck him. If he picked up a stone, the stone pelted
him. So he was compelled to use his head to hammer with.

Moon came up close to Crane. Moon asked, "What are you doing?" Crane
said, "Grandchild, I am trying my best to work. The salmon in the river I can-
not catch. If I try to make a fishing spear from a stick, the stick will just whip
me, and as for the stones they will spring at me."

Moon said, "Pick up those stones." Crane picked up the stones. They pelted
him all over and he cried out. Moon took the stones and struck them together,
then gave them to Crane. The stones did not hurt Crane any more. Then Moon
said to Stone, "Hereafter you shall be just a stone. People will cast you into
the stream to scare salmon ; you shall not be hurtful to anyone."

Moon asked Crane, "Why do you not gather those poles for fishing spears
and use them?" Crane said, "No, they will whip me." Crane gathered poles;
they whipped him and he cried out. Moon took a pole, broke it in twain, and
struck the pieces together. He gave the pieces to Crane and said to Pole, "Here-
after people will use you to spear salmon, you cannot of yourself give harm to
anyone."

*2 Crane is the popular name of the blue heron.

78 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Then Moon addressed Crane : "Come hither and I shall make you over in
better form." Moon took Crane by his bill and it became long. He stretched out
Crane's legs and they became long. "Go out now, and fish," said Moon. Crane
waded out in the water and found that he was perfected ; he could spear salmon
with his bill. Then said Moon, "From now on there shall be a generation of
human beings and you shall be a crane." And so it is to this day.

Moon came to the place where Snuqualmi Falls now are, near the place
where he was stolen as a child. It was then a fish weir of wood, closed so that the
salmon could not go up the stream. Most of the people who owned the trap lived
on the prairie above. Moon turned the fish weir into a waterfall.

Moon addressed the waterfall thus : "You, Waterfall, shall be a lofty cata-
ract. Birds flying over you will fall and people shall gather them up and eat
them. Deer coming down the stream will perish and the people shall have them
for food. Game of every kind shall be found by the people for their subsistence."

After making the falls, Moon passed on to the prairie, the home of his
father and mother. All the grown people were away digging roots. Entering
a house Moon saw a small boy. The boy went to a shelf (caLka'tad) whereon
stood a basket (kwe'loltc) full of dried salmon. The boy reached for a piece
of the dried salmon, Moon being present. Now, in the olden days it was not
permitted to a boy to eat unless his parents were at home. All the fish came
to life, basket and all rolled into the river. Moon appearing, asked, "What is
wrong?" The boy answered, "I went for dried salmon in the basket, it escaped
me and rolled into the river."

So Moon bethought himself, "It were best to have fish above the falls."
Moon attempted to turn the dried fish to living salmon but they crumbled to
pieces. So there were no fish above the falls.

After his failure, Moon said, "As for the people of the new generation, if
a man see a female dog salmon above the falls leap from the water, his wife
or daughter will die. If a woman see a male dog salmon above the falls leap
from the water her husband or son will die. If any person see a salmon, male
or female, leap from the water, some relative will die." And thus it is that
misfortune is in store for him who sees the dog salmon.

The people came back from digging roots : Moon's father, mother and all
his relatives. Moon said, "I have come back. Take notice from this time on :
I shall make you over and perfect you."

Moon also said: "We must have light on the earth; a moon to give us light
at night and a sun by day.

So Aloon gathered people from everywhere to display their powers and see
who should act as sun by day and who should act as moon by night. Moon
and Sun, his younger brother were holding back so as to see who of the people
would attempt to give light.

Yellowhammer (tsa'dzax) thought he should be the one to give light by
day (tue'bacax lilqwa'lalix). Yellowhammer travelled during the day as sun.
He gave very little light ; he did not do well ; he did not satisfy the people.

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 79

Raven tried out as moon ; he went up at night. It became so dark that no
one could see; he threw a shadow upon the earth.

Coyote (sbiau) tried out as moon. He went up in the air slowly, looking
about. He was a failure ; he only looked around at the people.

Woodpecker (qatqstc), the elder brother of Yellowhammer, tried out as
sun. He was a failure and gave up. He gave no sunshine.

Then Humming Bird (tite'ad or titeiad) tried out as sun. He gave some
light, but he travelled too fast and the day was too short.

By this time the two brothers, Moon and Sun, came to be looked upon as
leaders. Sun said to Moon, his elder brother, "You had best be sun and travel
in the daytime." Moon began his journey by day. As soon as he rose in the
morning everything became hot. The water boiled and fire started everywhere.

The people were not satisfied. Meeting next day they took counsel and said,
"It is too hot. If Moon travels every day he will destroy everything." Moon
said to his younger brother, "I think you will be suitable; you will satisfy the
people better if you travel in the daytime."

Sun made his trial, therefore, and travelled in the daytime. He gave good
bright sunshine and everything was pleasing. He satisfied the people.

At this time Sun said to Moon, "You had best make trial at night and see
how it will be." Moon made his trial by night. He rose in the early evening,
and as he shone he gave a cool frosty light and the people were well satisfied.

Thus when Sun gave light by day and Moon gave light by night all were
satisfied. But the world changed : the people changed to birds and animals of
all kinds. Grandmother Toad can now be seen in the moon at night.

After Moon had returned home, and before the trial to see who should
give light, Moon had said, "The swing will be there forever and if people wish
to go up to the sky they can get whatever they want." But Rat (ka'deyu)
gnawed the rope and the swing fell to the ground, so the people could not climb.
At the close of the trial the swing fell and Rat fell with it. Moon then said,
"The people shall now have a swing to have sport upon but it will no longer be
so high." Moon pronounced a curse upon Rat, saying, "You shall be nothing
but a rat ; you will gnaw and steal what people want and destroy whatever is
good."

The name of the place where the women used to start upon the swing is
Footprint. The footprints are on the hill yet, four of them, which the people
made in starting themselves on the swing. The other place, Kalbts, is named
for a person living at that time. Kalbts was chief of a people in the mountains
and Moon made him a mountain. His two wives were Snail (sXwaio'qw) and
Chipmunk (Xwa'tstLl). The former kicked the latter and she fell. She is a
little mountain off by herself. Everything his mother had prepared Moon turned
to stone.

The people all sitting around, looking, were at that time turned to stone.
They are all there yet on the mountain. The stones are like people, breaking all
the time. When a stone breaks off it is a sign of ill-luck and portends the death
of a chief.

80 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

After he had changed everything, and before he entered upon his work of
giving light, Moon created the various peoples and all the rivers as they are now.

He made the Puyallup, the Nisqually and the other rivers. A man and
wife he placed upon one river; another couple he placed upon another river, a
people on each. Each people had a name, as Skagit, Yakima, L,ummi, Puyallup,
and others.

Moon said, "Fish shall run up these rivers ; they shall belong to each people
on its own river. You shall make your own living from the fish, deer and other
wild game."

These couples increased until many people were on these rivers. This is why
the Indians have multiplied. It is all the work of Moon and no one else but
Moon.

I am an Indian today. Moon has given us fish and game. The white people
have come and overwhelmed us. We may not kill a deer nor catch a fish for-
bidden by white men to be taken. I should like any of these lawmakers to tell
me if Moon or Sun has set him here to forbid our people to kill game given to
us by Moon and Sun. Though white people overwhelm us, it is Moon that
placed us here, and the laws we are bound to obey are those established by Moon
in the ancient time.

Myself and my people are related to the grandfather and grandmother of
Moon, and some are named for them. All peoples here are related to Moon
and speak the same language.

Note on the Story of Moon, the Transformer**

Moon was supposed to rule the day. When he ran his course everything
was scorched, so he turned back. He said to Sun, "Brother, if I go and never
return we shall meet once or twice a year." So they meet but not to talk or
argue. When they meet there is an eclipse.

Sun became a child from the strength of Moon.

One of the ancestors of Moon was named tupaltXW, which means "to clean
up," "leave without speck or blemish." That is, nothing is left lying about inside
the house; all is ready to take something inside. The whole house is renovated
outside and inside. The people used to renew the floor by sweeping out and
cleaning with salt water, then spreading about three inches of gravel on it."

DOKWEBAL AND BEAVER*4

Big Beaver (Xwiye'lts) lived with his family in a lake. One day as his
daughter was out in the woods gathering berries, Dokwebai, came to camp.
Beaver did not know who the stranger was, but secretly planned to kill him.

"You shall be my son-in-law," he said. As the stranger's back was turned,
Big Beaver cut out a slice of flesh from his legs and placed it in the basket

43 Told by Joe Young (Puyallup).

44 Related by John Xot (Puyallup).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 81

to cook. "This is the last game that I killed," said he. "Daughter, you must
feed your husband," he said. So the stranger was fed, and he slept, or seemed
to sleep. Big Beaver took the stranger's spear, for he knew his own spear could
not harm the beaver, and said, "I shall go to the lake to kill beaver." So he
went. But Dokwebai, took his own weapons, and killed Big Beaver and his wife,
and turned the children into beavers. These he drove down the creek. This
DokwebaL did in order that beaver should not be able to kill human beings.

TRANSFORMER AND WREN45

On his travels Transformer found Wren (stCAtcL) butting his head against
a tree. "What are you doing that for?" asked Transformer. "Oh, I am trying
to get firewood," said Wren. "Why do you not use sticks and stones?" asked
Transformer. "When I pick up the sticks they whip me and when I pick up
the stones they pelt me," answered Wren.

Transformer picked up a stone and threw it down ; he picked up a stick and
threw it down. They became gentle. After that Wren picked up wood and
stone without hurt. Transformer taught him the use of wedge and maul, and there-
after he used the wedge and maul to split bark for fuel.

TRANSFORMER AND DEER 46

Deer heard that Transformer was coming and changing the people. Deer
did not wish to be changed.

Deer was sharpening bone. A stranger approached. It was Transformer.
He asked, "What are you sharpening those bones for?" "Oh, to spear the
Transformer," Deer answered. "Let me have your hands," said Transformer.
Deer reached out his hands. Transformer laid the bones upon his wrists and
gave him a slap. He jumped into the brush and became a deer, such as we see
today. Transformer said, "In the future you will kill nobody. You shall merely
be food for the people."

HOUSE FLY47

Long ago a man who was a DZEgwa and had power met House Fly who was
a person. Fly addressed him thus, "Make for me a spear that I may kill whale,
elk, deer and other game, and bows to kill people with, for I also would feed
upon people." The stranger said, "Yes, come with me. I will give you power
to make yourself strong." Fly said, "We would have our homes high up." The
stranger said, "Very well." Then he took Fly, saying, "I shall fix you up as
you wish." Then he took ashes and coals from the fire, and rolled Fly in them
and cast him away, saying, "You will be nothing but a common fly, and will
go round picking up offal."

45 Narrated by John Xot (Puyallup).

46 Related by John Xot (Puyallup).

47 Related by John Xot (Puyallup).

82 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

XODE AND THE WOMAN WHO SPOKE IMPROPRIETIES48

Xode came to a woman who was a dirty talker. He said, "You are a dirty
talker, are you?" While speaking thus, he took hold of her and held her mouth
open. Then he said, "I will hold your mouth open from this day forever."

The woman, with her mouth open, turned to stone, and thus she still remains.
She can be seen at Brown's Point, south of Jerry Meeker's house.

Anyone who wishes to have it rain, takes a stick and rattles it about in the
mouth of the stone woman, and afterward there will come storm and rain.

TRANSFORMER AND RAVEN*9

Star Child changed everything. Blind Raven was making an a'aqAl, some-
thing that is used in a fish weir. Star Child came. "What are you doing?" he
asked. Raven answered, "I am making this fish weir. I cannot see whether it
is good or not ; I am blind."

Star Child laid a stone or similar object on both Raven's eyes and caused
him to see. Raven now could see the fish weir.

Star Child placed the fish weir in the river as you see it now.

THUNDERBIRD AND THE PUYALLUP PEOPLE™

Thunder used to come to Kelly's Marsh (ua'lp), east of Sumner, where
the women were digging fern roots. Thunder would seize the women, kill them
and eat them.

Five brothers resolved, "We will watch for him." The five brothers took
bow and arrow and spear. They fought with Thunder for five days : the eldest
brother on the first day, the next brother on the second day and so on until all
five brothers had fought.

Thunder became so sick that he said, "Leave me alone and let me live. You
shall be my children. You shall go into war and not be killed."

Thunder went away and the people of that place were turned to human
beings.

BLANKET ROCK (First Version)"

The young wife of a member of the Taitida'pabc, a tribe near Squally,
became homesick and wished to go back to her parents, who lived on the shore
of Puget Sound near Three Tree Point. When she got there, her people had set
off with their camp equipment in a canoe. The young woman hastened along
the shore, until she caught sight of the boat in the distance. Crying to her
mother, "Wait for me," she sank down exhausted. There she is to this day in

48 Related by Burnt Charlie (Puyallup).
40 Related by Lucy Bill (Snuqualmi).
&0 Related by John Xot (Puyallup).
51 Related by Ann Jack (Green River).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 83

the form of a white rock. Her husband was dressed in a blanket of whistling-
marmot skins. He was turned into another boulder, down the beach. The
surface of that boulder looks like a wrinkled blanket. The white people call
it Blanket Rock (qoiqwi'ltsa or qoqoi'ltsa, derived from sqoiqoi, marmot). It
now stands on the beach near Buenna. The boat and cargo were turned to stone
and the poles to trees. Crow, who was the slave of the old people, was carrying
water in a basket. This she hid. It turned into a spring on the south slope of
Three Tree Point. That spring is hard to find and brings bad luck to those
who drink it. We call Three Tree Point, Sqe'lEb, which means "loading things
into a canoe."

BLANKET ROCK (Second Version)52

The father and mother were going out in the Sound with a big raft made of
two canoes and a platform between the two loaded with provisions and utensils.

The father heard the young woman on the shore call, and the wife said,

"Your daughter calls." The man turned the raft about and went back.

The rock, called tca'kagwas, (near Woodmont) is the woman. It still stands
on the beach. Her husband was turned into a big rock called kwa'sdolitsa

(blanket), one mile south.53

BLANKET ROCK (Third Version) s*

A man of the Tcilpa'bc group, at Big Bottom, married a certain girl from
the salt-water. While this man was home on a visit, the old people and his young
wife, their daughter, broke camp and started for a trip down the Sound. On
their boat they carried all their luggage so that the boat was well weighted
down. They had gone but a few miles, however, when the girl's husband re-
turned. Finding the camp deserted, he began to shout and call for his wife.
Some echo of his outcry reached them, for the young wife heard, and said, "Pull
ashore, that is my husband calling." They did so, but no sooner had they directed
their course to shore than the great change of the world from the Past to the
Present took place, and the boat and all it contained became the point of land
known nowadays as Three Tree Point. The masts of the boat became the trees,
the load became boulders, and the water they carried became a little spring.
The Indian name for that place means "a load."

BLANKET ROCK (Fourth Version)56

The woman down at the bay cried for her mother. The mother said, "Your
daughter cries, back the boat."

"Related by Joe Bill (Duwamish).

63 Christine Smith said the blanket woman near Des Moines ran from her husband,
kwasdolitsa ; she was on her way home to her people.

"Related by John Xot (Puyallup).

65 Narrated by Tom Milroy (Upper Puyallup), January 30, 1921, evidently as a sequel
to his second version of the following tale.

84 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

The young husband who pursued the wife is called Qoqoi'ltsa (marmot
robe).

The people were changed. We Indians came. One was going to her father,
but turned to stone just the same.

BLANKET ROCK (Fifth Version)"

A woman of the White River people57 from the village of stAq' was married
in the old legal Indian way to a man of the tcelpab living where the town of
Morton is now. That man was a hunter; he was a chief, as all hunters are.

One day the woman said, "I am lonesome for mother, I shall go home."
She did not tell her husband. When ready, she left. Having arrived at the salt
water she followed the beach towards home. She was past Des Moines when
the change came.

As she was sitting down to rest she saw her people ready to set out on a
camping trip. "Wait for me," she shouted. The mother said, "Your daughter
calls." "We'll wait for her," said the father. They did wait. They shoved
the boat stern foremost towards the shore. The old people had been setting out
for the northern end of Vashon Island, the place which is called taxks. They
had a raft made by lashing two canoes together. It carried a load of luggage.
That raft and its luggage were turned into land. It is the place the white people
call Three Tree Point. We call the place sx'elab, which means "a load." Another
name is t'aleyAqW, which means "two canoes bound together."

Crow was the slave of the old people. She had a little basket of water
near the stern of the raft. All who find that water die. That spring is called
kaka'alqo, "Crow's Water."58

The young woman, who had a pack on her shoulders, was turned to a big
white marble rock. That rock stands between Des Moines and Three Tree
Point. We call it q'aweils, which means "glistening white."59

The stone into which the man was turned is called qwiqwiels. It is named
for the whistling jack. The man's blanket was made from the skin of that
animal. The white people call it Blanket Rock. Near Blanket Rock is a stream
which we call k'ak'aXwats, because crabapple trees grow there.

68 Related by Annie Jack (Green River), daughter of Ann Jack.

67 Some informants say the young woman was from sdAgwaluL, a village of the sXwo-
babc on Quartermaster Harbor.

58 The interpreter states that Johnny Adams and eight others, who drank of that water
died. Even one white child died the next day after drinking of it. He himself once made
a search for the spring for a prize of five hundred dollars. It was his intention to plant
a flag above it. This place is also called ka'ka'adi.

69 The interpreter states there are four other similar stones known by the same name :
one at Quartermaster Harbor, another on the east shore of Vashon Island, another one
mile south of Gig Harbor, and a fourth on the east shore of the Narrows, three or four
miles north of Day Island.

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 85

HOW XODE TURNED PEOPLE TO STONE (First Version) «o

The Klickitats came and sat down. The Puyallups came and sat down.
They met to trade women. They had many articles with them for trade.

Xode was giving names to everything. He took a stick and made himself
a fire drill. He put a rope through and carried his pack. He made the pack
small by magic.

The women sat down. Everyone wished to begin trading. Xode said,
"Why-ee ! those women have children in their bellies ! Now they shall bear
children ; thereafter turn to stone."

He put down the wood. It became stone. The people sat down. They
became stone.

This happened near a mountain above the Nisqually River this side of
D'qobid.

HOW XODE TURNED PEOPLE TO STONE (Second Version) «

The people from Puyallup went toward the mountain a little way. The
Klickitats came and wanted to trade women. There were many, many ! One
woman had a Klickitat husband.

Xode caused forests to spring up. Xode had a bundle of sticks bound to-
gether with rope. He tied the bundle of wood and pushed it. It travelled
before him.

Xode said, "Oh ! you have children in your belly !" All the children were
delivered. All the children and the women turned to stone.

The people were changed ; we Indians came. One woman was going to her
father but turned to stone just the same.

Xode only transformed; he did not create.

THE ATTACK OF THE SNAKES (First Version) «*

A young man of the Sxwababc lived at Kwilu't on what is now known as
Quartermaster Harbor in the southern part of Vashon Island. Once he sought
a wife. To the village of StAq on White River he came and there he passed
many days, but no wife did he find. At last, giving up the search, he returned
to his home across the Sound.

Now while on his visit to White River the young man had killed a very
handsome garter snake. It so happened that this snake was the son of the chief
of the snake people and the snake chief was angry. So the snake chief gathered
his people together in council and said, "Let us go to the village of the Sxwababc
and there destroy them ; let us make war upon them."

It was agreed. All of the snake people began the journey. At White Rock
near the prairie they came to the bay, near the present site of Des Moines.

60 Narrated by Tom Milroy (Upper Puyallup).

61 Narrated by Tom Milroy (Upper Puyallup).

62 Related by Big John (Green River).

86 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Out in the bay they spied a fisherman in a boat. They hailed him and bade
him carry them across in his boat. But the boat was too small for so many
people. So the fisherman let trail in the water a long rope which was attached
to the stern of the canoe, and all the snake-people laid hold on the rope until it
was full for the entire length, and the boatman towed them across to the place
where a cliff overhangs the water.

Early in the morning they approached the young man's village. A lone
woman dipping water in a basket espied the attacking party and ran to all the
bouses crying, "The snake people are coming! They are numerous!" Then
the snake people attacked all the people wherever they found them and in what-
ever manner they could reach them. "Hadeda! ha-ada-a-a-da !" There is an-
other one), the snakes would cry, as they saw the people in their houses.

Thus they continued till all their enemies were destroyed and they were
avenged for the death of the chief's son.

THE ATTACK OF THE SNAKES (Second Version)**

The people of White River in former days would call snakes and give them
something to eat. I have seen it myself. The snakes would come into my
father's home. They could understand the people. My people were related to
the snakes. They tell a story about that.

A man from Vashon Island formerly married a woman of the people living
at StAq, on White River. He went to live with that StAq tribe. The snake
people were living near by. One day the man went outside his house. He saw
a pretty snake. He cut it with his stone knife, not enough to kill it, but severely,
so that it was uncertain of movement. The snake people came to that sick snake.
They worked over the sick one in various ways. They could not cure him. At
last he died. Then they all disappeared. This snake was the son of the snake
head-man. The people ;of StAq reproached the Vashon Island man. "You
should not behave that way. That was the son of the snake chief and they are
our relatives." Saying this, they drove the man away from the village, but the
wife stayed there as before. The man went home, back to the bay where his
own village was. His people were the Swiftwater tribe.

The snake people held counsel and resolved to attack the Swiftwater people.
Arriving at .White Rock they espied a boat propelled by fishermen hunting
porpoises. From White Rock, upon which she sat, Lizard-woman shouted,
"Pull ashore and take us across." When the canoe came close to shore, she
railed out, "Stern first." As the stern backed upon the beach the canoe became
filled with snakes. But Lizard-woman did not go with them. The snakes asked
the fisherman, "Where do you live?" He answered, "Across the bay. My
mother is weeping over there because she heard that your son was killed." The
party crossed over to the foot of the high bluff on Maury Island. They went
up over the hill to the bay on the other side. Those snakes killed all the people,

63 Related by Charles Sotai'akum (Duwamish).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 87

coming last of all to a woman weaving a basket by the water's edge ; they killed
her last. They heard the fisherman's mother crying for the slain one, so they
never molested her nor those about her. Returning by the same trail, and find-
ing no boat in sight, they swam back to the mainland near White Rock. Lizard-
woman never went across and therefore lizards are plentiful there today. This
is the place where the white people have the town of Des Moines.

THE YOUNG MAN WHO BLOCKED UP STEEL'S LAKE"

It was formerly the custom for a young man to go out alone to seek super-
natural power. Such a young man would plant a stake in the ground that his
father might see it in the morning, and thus know where his boy had been.

Once a boy from this side of the Puyallup river set out on such a journey.
He said, "I am going to that lake yonder to find whales." He searched for
vSteel's Lake and finally found it. "There is the lake," he said. So he stayed
by the lake a while and watched, and soon he saw the whales come. There
seemed to be an undertow. If the youth cast a stick in the water, the undertow
would carry it away.

"I shall go and close up the place," thought the youth, "and whales shall
no more come up to this place."

vSo the youth got cedar bark and poles. With the cedar bark he tied the
poles tightly together in the form of a raft. Then taking a piece of wood for
a paddle he propelled the raft to the desired place. After this he took a stone
from the shore and leaping with it upon the raft he went down, down till, with
a sound as of a peal of thunder, the raft struck the underground gateway and
closed it up forever. Thus the channel was closed and the whales came no more
to that lake in the hills.

Redondo Creek (too'Lqobid, underground stream), is so called because in
former days it drained out of the lake through an underground channel.

HOW THE WHALES REACHED THE SEA (First Version)89

A long time ago the valley between what is now Sumner and Renton Junc-
tion was a vast lake; the course of the Puyallup River followed what is now
known as Wapato Creek. In the lake there used to be two whales; there they
made their home. Upon the point of the hill, northwest of Sumner, now blasted
away to give room for the Tacoma highway, there used to stand a huge boulder.
To this spot the people would go to get a view of the country above the impene-
trable forest. From this point they could see the whales disporting themselves in
the lake. One day, however, children from the village noticed the whales acting
strangely, and reported the strange actions to their elders. The whales had
become tired of their restricted range in the inland lake and were thrashing

64 Told by Joe Bill (Duwamish) who learned it from his step-father.
"• Related hy John Xot (Puyallup).

88 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

about and churning the waters mightily in their effort to make their way out.
Finally on the fourth day they plowed into the land and forced their way through,
opening a way through the plain out to the Sound.

The water followed them down the channel, and thus a new river came
into being. We call that river StAx, which means "plowed through." The
Whites call it Stuck River. Most of the water in the lake drained out through
the new channel. What used to be the main river now became just a small
creek, Wapato Creek (Xto'bwa'li, river channel). Where the lake used to be
is now a level valley.

HOW THE WHALES REACHED THE SEA (Second Version) ««

One young man was travelling by jumping on the logs and brush in Stuck
River. They were really whales. The whales said, [not recorded].
The youth ran away and the whales went to the salt water.

HOW THE WHALES REACHED THE SEA (Third Version)67

A lake was there. Big whales went up into the lake from the bay. They made
a hole through the ground to the lake not seen by anyone.

It rose until four whales got there. They came up there. After one of
the whales stayed there a certain length of time a big spruce tree grew on his
head.

When he was very old he went out to the bay and turned north. He came
out in British Columbia and there the Indians shot him.

After he was dead they drew him out and cut him to pieces. The fat was
about a foot thick. The Indians cut a piece about four inches by six inches and
traded it for one blanket. The Indians from all the other tribes came and bought
the whale fat until the chief of that place was rich.

This is the end.

HOW THE WHALES REACHED THE SEA (Fourth Version)68

At the time Stuck River was being formed, a shark which had been living
in Stony Creek09 went down to the bay along with the whales.

HOW THE WHALES REACHED THE SEA (Fifth Version)™

The valley was all salt water. The country dried and [the valley] became
a lake. It was worthless spaLkad (swamp) and whales stayed there. It grew
cold and there came a high wind. The whales kept boring until they reached

66 Related by John Smo'xb (Green River).
07 Related by Dick Suwa'tab (Puyallup).
*8 Related by John Simon (Upper Puyallup).

69 Stoney Creek drains Kelley's Marsh and joins Puyallup River southeast of Sumner.

70 Narrated by Tom Milroy (Upper Puyallup) in Chinook jargon.

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 89

the point where the town of Sumner now is. They were glad when they reached
the bay. They ate seeds of trees. It rained and the river rose. Beaver came.
Now White River and Green River came. The river broke through.

MOTHER AND FATHER OF WHALES71

At or near Point Defiance there are two rocks. Those two rocks are
Mother and Father of Whales.

They were left when the rest had gone. That was when the world was
changed.

ELK WOMAN AND THE FLEA PEOPLE"

There is a place on White River known as Tcutapa'ltxw (Flea's house).
This was an important Indian village before the whites came. Long ago in
mythical times the people who lived here were very dangerous. They were the
Flea-people, they say. They used to kill people. They were very large, as big
as cougars are.

Elk had a daughter. She grew up and married. She was married to one
of the Flea-people, they say. She went to live at that village which belonged
to the Fleas, on White River. She lived in the big house there; they received
her. But they meant to murder her.

When it was evening, the Flea-people kindled the fire. When it was burn-
ing well, they put on different material instead of the wood they had been
burning. They laid on the fire a lot of bones. These bones were green. They
made much smoke. The Flea-people intended to smother Elk-woman. That
was their way of killing people.

Elk-woman was alone. None of her friends were there. She was among
the Fleas, without anyone to help her. She began to realize that she had super-
natural power. She became angry. She began to breathe in the smoke. Into
her lungs she drew it. Deep down in her lungs she swallowed it. She blew
it out again. It did her no harm. The Flea-people began to be afraid of her.
They saw her breathing in the thick smoke and breathing it out again. She
became more and more angry. She seized a stick of wood and began to club
the people. She fought also with her teeth. She bit, and fell into a fury. Those
Flea-people were soon all killed. Their blood was spattered about.

They were tough people, those Flea-people. The drops of blood came back
to life. The Fleas revived but they were small. That is why we have fleas now.
If those drops of blood had not come back to life there would be no fleas today.
But fleas are small, because only the drops of blood came back to life. If the
fleas were as large now as they were before Elk-woman fought them, one flea
bite would kill us. We would have blood-poison every time a flea bit us.

It Avas Elk-woman who did that, they say.

71 Narrated by Big John (Green River).

"Related by Mrs. Jerry Dominick (Mary Jerry) (White River-Green River),

^50 ( niversity of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

THE GIRL WHO MARRIED THE SEA-BEING73

At the west end of Fox Island (bati'l, merman) the waves wash the pebbles
up in the shape of birds, fishes and animals. This is because the daughter of
BEtil used to play in the sand there. She would in her play mold the mud into
all sorts of queer shapes. By and by she would get tired of play and then she
would wash her hands in the waters of a brook. As she did so the water in
the brook and the incoming tide became muddy, and thus this place acquired the
name of Tcekwila'lqo (muddy water).

As she grew up, young men from many places sought to marry her. Though
many thought to get her, the daughter did not consent. At last one evening, a
young man came. Again the next night he came, and the next, till the fourth
night. Each morning he departed as mysteriously as he came.

Then the girl resolved to discover the path which her suitor followed on
his return to his home. So observing him upon the fourth morning, she saw
him reach the shore and disappear beneath the waters of the bay. Then she
walked to her accustomed place of play and made the figures of sand which she
had dreamed about making.

As the parents talked of this strange event, they became alarmed. The
Old Man under the sea, the boy's father, might, they thought, dry up the springs
on the island unless his suit were granted. So indeed it proved. Then the old
people consented to let their daughter go, and the water became abundant again.

The young man came on a raft, and claimed his wife, and both disappeared
under the water. Three times she returned to visit her parents and a fourth.
But the fourth time she came with kelp growing upon her face, and she was
different, having the nature of the sea-creatures. Her parents grieved at this
change ; told her it were better she did not return. She left for good, to live
with her husband under the water. A floating buoy midway between Fox Island
and the town of Steilacoom marks the spot under which they made their home.

THE ORIGIN OF TOLT RIVER74

The Wolf people lived on the slopes of Daqo'bit, the great snow mountain.
They were famous hunters and every time one went out for game he brought in
an elk. A pair of Wolf people turned to human-kind. They begat children, five
sons, who grew up to be hunters like their fathers.

The young men, grown up and become persons, went out to hunt, but they
did not kill so many elk as before. The eldest brother reflected and asked him-
self, "What shall we do now?" Then he thought, "We must move now." So
he said to the brothers, "We shall move; we shall go this way as I direct, and
when we find a good mountain we shall stay there."

They moved and made a new camp, but the place was not a good one, they
found no elk. On the next day the eldest brother said, "There is nothing here ;
we shall move and seek another place."

7STold by John Xot (Puyallup).

74 Related by Snuqualmi Charlie (Snuqualmi).

1929] Ballard, Paget Sound Mythology 91

They found another place to camp. Said they, "If this place is good we
shall remain here." On the next day they hunted. They found a few elk, but
not enough to meet their desires. The eldest brother again said, "We shall
move again."

So the five brothers moved. This time they made their camp at Kjdbts, where
the ladder once reached from the sky. They hunted from Kjdbts to the valley
where the Tolt River now flows. They were pleased with the place.

Next day they hunted. They found nothing but elk. "This is a good place
to stay," they thought. "We find many elk." Next day they hunted. They
killed great numbers of elk, all they wanted. They thought this place would make
a good home.

The parents of the hunters were now old and gi-owing blind. The eldest
son said, "This is a good place for the old people ; there is food for them." "We
shall live here now. Let us build something," said the others. Said the eldest,
"I think we shall make a river from elk's tallow."

So they began to melt tallow of elk to make the river. The eldest brother
said, "L,et us pour this and see if it will flow down the ravine and turn to water."

Now they began to look and see what manner of work they had wrought.
It was a river and they thought it good. Now they gave it a name ; they called
it Txwoda'tctub, elk's tallow. But later they gave to the river the name, Toltxw.
which it bears now.

THE MAN BEHEADED WHILE DIVING (First Version)75

A young man had relations with his brother's wife. The brother made him
swim in Bow Lake. The brother's wife was digging roots on the farther shore
of the lake, and the young man tried to swim to her. He sank in the middle
of the lake and did not come up.

The old people, parents of the young man, were digging clams at Three
Tree Point. They saw a corpse. The corpse was headless but there was a tattoo
mark on the left shoulder. The old lady said, "It looks to me like the body of
my son." [The outlet of Bow Lake is midway between Three Tree Point and
Maury Island.]

They went up to the husband of the young woman and said, "What is the
matter with your brother?" "I do not know." Afterwards they became angry
and killed the young woman.

THE MAN BEHEADED WHILE DIVING (Second Version)76

One time three young men were on a journey from the White River-Du-
wamish valley to the bay. One of these, who had stolen a woman, wished to
swim in a lake. His companions tried to dissuade him, but it was of no avail.
"I shall go," he said. "Do as you like, then," they said. So he began to swim.

75 Told by August James (White River).

76 Related by Nancy (Duwamish).

Ut \gton Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Further and further in the lake he swam until he reached the middle. Then the
two saw him whirl around and disappear.

Bevond Three Tree Point at low tide thev saw the head of the voung man.
They recognized it, because the young man had had his face painted. They took
the head and brought it home to the boy's parents. The Lake had taken off
his head.

Many swim now in the lake, but none go out to the center.

THE MAX BEHEADED WHILE DIVING (Third Version) 'T

Once two men were hunting among the lakes and marshes. One was a salt
water Indian and the other was a forest Indian from Green River. The Green
River man was brother to the wife of the salt water man.

The forest Indian told his brother-in-law from the beach about a pool so
deep and having such an undertow that no man could dive to the bottom and
return to the surface ; all who dove to the bottom were carried out to sea.

"I do not believe it: I am not afraid to try it. My spirit helper is Loon,"
said the salt water man. "My spirit helper is Land-otter. Let us dive and see
whose spirit helper is the stronger," said the Green River man. Then they both
dove down, down to the hole in the bottom of the pool.

The salt water man. whose helper was Loon, was carried on down and out
to the salt water, where he was afterwards found, dead. The Green River man.
whose helper was Land-otter, saw a snag down in the pool and seized it. He
afterwards came to the surface and so saved his life.

THE MAX BEHEADED WHILE DIVING (Fourth Version) TS

I have heard of a pool in the Snuqualmi country-, three or four poles deep.
Two men tried to dive to the bottom of that pool. One man tied a stone to a
rope and the rope to his body, and then dove. That man was carried out to sea.
His lung was afterwards seen in the bay. The other man took the stone and
rope but did not tie them to his body. He came back.

HOW RAVEN LOST HIS VENISON (First Version) '»

Pheasan:' sgwAlob) was at his house with his wife and five children.
They were suffering from hunger for there was no food in the house. He
worked late in the night making arrows that he might go out and hunt.

In the morning Pheasant rose early and taking his dog, went out to hunt.
The dog ran and barked as day was breaking. Pheasant concealed himself, took
aim and shot an elk.

" Told bv James Goudy (Skagit).

78 Related' by John Xot" (Puyallup).

79 Told by jack Smohallah (Green River).

50 Properly grouse (Bonasa unbcllus sabini), but commonly called pheasant.

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 93

A stranger appeared. "Why do you hide?" he said. "Come and cut up
the game." Pheasant came and began to cut up the elk with his knife of bone,
but the stranger pushed him aside saying, "You must not cut the game. I will
do the cutting."

Soon the elk was cut up and skinned, and the stranger said, "Kindle a fire
and we will cook some of the game." Pheasant did so, the dog lay down by
the fire, and all were soon fed.

When they had finished, Pheasant packed up his game and equipment, the
stranger having first made the pack small and easy to carry. The stranger also
warned him that he should not look back.

Pheasant set out for home. He became tired and sat down on a log with
his pack, but kept his face straight in front, for he remembered the warning
of the stranger. When he arrived at home he observed the same caution and
kept from looking in the direction from which he had come.

He said to his wife, "Spread a mat whereon I may lay the game." He laid
the game down. Immediately it became large as before. He gave some of the
game to his wife and she cooked it in a wooden box.

Raven lived near by. The children of Raven came and looked upon the
pheasant people, and saw them feasting. Then they ran home and cried, "Father,
there is much food in that house ; they are eating much elk." So their father,
old Raven, went to Pheasant's house and saw what his children had told him.

"How did you kill the elk?" Raven inquired of Pheasant. "I made arrows
for myself and early in the morning I went out and killed him," said Pheasant.

So Raven sat up late that night making arrows and slept little. Early he
rose and went out to shoot the elk, as Pheasant had done. Raven hid in the
same place; there also appeared the stranger and his dog. The stranger had
known of Raven's coming.

The stranger skinned and cut up the elk. Raven kindled a fire, cooked,
and they ate. Then Raven set out for home. The stranger by his power made
the elk small. He warned Raven not to look behind him. "If you become
fatigued, lie down, but do not look back," he said.

Raven started home. On the way he became tired and sat down. "Why
should I not look back?" he thought as he sat there, so he looked back, and even
as he did so the game and cords that held it became rotten wood.

Raven entered his house. He said to his wife, "Go and fetch my pack."
Raven's wife went and looked, and saw nothing at all but a rotten log tied up
with leaves. She went back to the house and asked him, "Where is the elk?'
"Lying right there," said Raven. Then she went back to look for the game.
Five times she did this but found nothing except the rotten log. All this happened
because Raven looked back instead of following the advice of the stranger.

94 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

HOW RAVEN LOST HIS VENISON (Second Version)81

Pheasant went out one day and looked for material to make a bow and ar-
rows. A branch of the yew, straight and without knots, he chose for the bow.
For the arrows he chose little sticks smooth and straight. Of ironwood he chose
them. Late into the night he worked, making the arrows and the bow.

Next morning he rose early and journeyed forth to hunt. Of Siowia'wEd.
the famous hunter, whom no people of the present time have seen, Pheasant had
heard. "I shall get near where Siowia'wKd is hunting," he thought, "and per-
haps I shall obtain some game."

He traveled until he heard the dogs of Siowia'wEd barking. He ran to a
place toward which the dogs were running, and waited. Soon he saw a bull-elk
coming. He drew his bow. With his arrow he killed the elk.

The dogs belonging to the great hunter came upon Pheasant and attacked
him so that he was forced to hide. While he was hiding, he heard the noise of the
yellowhammers hanging from Siowia'wEd's belt,
ka'ta ka'ta ka'ta
tsa'dzok tsa'dzok

Siowia'wEd came upon the dead elk and knew that Pheasant had killed it.
"I smell Pheasant," he said, "Come out, Pheasant !" Pheasant came out of his
hiding place.

"Call your dogs by their names," demanded Siowia'wEd. "The dogs are not
mine, Nobleman; it is your game; you hunted it. I merely killed it so that I
might obtain a little food. Cut up the elk yourself, for it is your game."

"Pheasant talks in a civil manner," thought the hunter. "He is a decent fel-
low." Then he said, "You had best gather wood," and he kindled a fire by blow-
ing into flame the smoldering ember within. Then he made a spit and prepared to
roast the meat.

"Sit down here while I cut up the game," commanded the hunter. Pheasant
obeyed, while the stranger cut up and skinned the game. When the game was cut
open Siowia'wEd took out the fat. As he removed it he gave it to Pheasant. A
portion of it Pheasant ate, but the rest he hid.

Then they roasted some meat and ate. Then said Siowia'wEd, "Fortify
yourself, for you shall carry all this meat home. I will prepare the burden for
you."

Then the hunter gathered up all the meat into one bundle and squeezed it
small into a size and shape suitable for Pheasant to carry. "Make yourself
strong," said he. Placing the headband on Pheasant he said, "When you become
weary, do not look back at the bundle, but sit down with the bundle resting upon
a log, while you keep your eyes straight before you. Do not let the bundle down,
no matter how tired you may be, nor how heavy the bundle may seem. By all
means take it into your house." "Nobleman, I shall try to do the best I can,"
answered Pheasant. "How is the bundle? Is it properly adjusted?" 'Yes, the

83 Related by Snuqualmi Charlie (Snuqualmi).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 95

bundle is properly adjusted, and seems light." So saying, Pheasant quitted the
stranger, who kept nothing of the game for his share but the hide.

The stranger had placed upon the burden a small parcel for a lunch. When
he got weary, Pheasant rested the load upon a log and ate, but he did not look
about.

As he neared home Pheasant was getting very tired, and could walk but a
few steps without stopping to rest. With difficulty he made his way to the house
and dropped the bundle inside the door. Immediately it became a large bundle.
He untied it and fed his children, who were laughing and shouting.

Raven, neighbor of Pheasant, heard the shouting, and sent Kwilia'igks and
the other young ravens to see the family. Kwilia'iaks and his brothers looked in
and saw the family eating. The Pheasant people gave them some fat, and the
ravens ate and ate and ate. Then they went home and told their father. "Ha !"
said he, "I must get ready and go to visit Pheasant."

So Raven fixed his clothing and went to visit Pheasant. He sat down as
they bade him, and ate to satiety. When he had finished he asked, "How did
you kill the elk?" "I made ready," said Pheasant, "and knowing there was a
hunter following the game, I went out to meet him. Hearing the dogs baying,
I placed myself in their path. I shot the elk and killed it." Said Raven, " I am
glad you have told me how to get the game." So Raven went and prepared, mak-
ing arrows and bow as Pheasant had done.

Next morning Raven went and came upon the line followed by the elk and
his pursuers. He heard the dogs; he shot and killed the elk. He hid himself
as the dogs came up. Siowia'wEd came up. Said he, "Raven, I can smell you;
you are here. You will cause my game to smell of raven. Call your dogs by
name." "TAbah'c!" called Raven, but the dogs only attacked him the more
fiercely.

"Where did you get the feathers for your arrows?" asked the hunter. "From
the dzigdzigwada'l," answered Raven falsely. No one ever heard of that bird
before.

"Raven, you had best butcher your elk, yonder," said the hunter. Raven
tried to do so, but Siowia'wEd crowded him aside saying, "You give an offensive
odor. You will spoil the game. Gather wood," he commanded. "Yes, I shall do
so," answered Raven. "Make a fire," commanded the hunter. "Yes, I shall do
so," answered Raven. To Raven the hunter said, "Sit down !" So Raven did.
Siowia'wEd began to cut up the game. To Raven he threw the fat. As fast as
he removed the fat and threw it to Raven, Raven consumed it. The hunter
thought, "Raven is not like Pheasant. He saved some of the fat, this one eats
it all."

When they had roasted the meat and eaten, the bundle was made up and
Siowia'wEd made it small. He placed a small lunch upon it, helping Raven load
it upon his back. "When you go," he commanded, "You must not look back. Is
your pack fitted properly to your back?" "Yes, it is," answered Raven. "Do
not look back when you rest, look forward."

96 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Raven went on. He became tired but did not look back. He talked to him-
self saying, "There shall be a people created hereafter who shall pack burdens,
and if they wish, they may look back at their bundle." "Hereafter," said he,
"every hunter who shall have a bundle may look if he wills." Then Raven looked
back at his bundle.

He went on. As he neared home he became very tired. Said he, "The peo-
ple who follow will be hunters. If one of them becomes tired he may leave his
pack, as I shall leave mine. My wife shall carry it home." "Koko'lowitc," he
called to his wife, "you had best get my pack."

Going out from the house Koko'lowitc searched for the game but found only
rotten wood. "There is no meat here ; nothing but rotten wood," she answered.
"Go again and bring the pack," Raven bade her. Again she went and found no
game. And so it was until she was made to carry a bundle of rotten wood to the
house.

That is all.

HOW RAVEN TRIED TO GET DRIED SALMON82

Pheasant rose in the morning and looked toward the dry timber and wished
for dried salmon.

He took his stone hammer and wedge to the fir trees. He drove in the wedge,
and as he drove he sang, "Talo'p, tslo'p" (dried salmon), and each time he drove
in the wedge out would come a dried salmon. He took them home and gave much
food to his children.

"The Pheasants are doing much talking," said Raven, and he sent his boy
to see about it. Raven's son went and saw them eating. He went back and told
his father. Raven went and asked of Pheasant, "How do you get the salmon?"
"Oh ! I use my hammer on the dry timber," he said.

Xext morning Raven set out to hunt for dry salmon in the timber. Raven
took his wedge, struck it with the hammer and said, "Talo'p, talo'p," and a big
salmon came forth. Raven took the salmon and ate it in the woods. Raven said,
"I am hungry for more salmon, I shall get more from the tree."

Raven drove the wedge and said, "Talo'p," but no salmon. Thus he took
much bark. This he carried home, and said to his wife, "That is salmon." But
it remained nothing but bark.

HOW RAVEN TRAPPED BEAVER (First Version) *~

Pheasant went to the river to trap beaver. He had said to his wife, "I shall
go in the morning to set a cidalko (a stone trap for beaver)." So Pheasant made
a beaver trap.

He went into the house where Beaver lived. He struck Beaver with a stick.

s2 Related by Smo'xla (Green River).

Hz Related by Jack Smo'xta (Green River).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 97

He wished Beaver to follow him. Beaver leaped up and chased him. Pheasant
ran over the trap. Beaver followed and ran into the trap and was killed. Pheasant
carried the quarry to his house.

Raven heard that Pheasant had killed Beaver in a stone trap. "I will do the
same," said Raven. "How do you kill the beaver?" he inquired. "I will show
you," said Pheasant. So he showed Raven how he had trapped the beaver.

Next morning Raven went to the same place. He made a trap. He went
into the beaver house. He struck Beaver with a stick. Beaver pursued him.
Raven ran toward the trap. He blundered into his own trap and brought it down
on himself. "He has killed himself in the trap!" Raven took his own entrails to
the house, had them cooked, and fed them to his children. "These entrails smell
the same as our father smells," said they.

HOW RAVEN TRAPPED BEAVER (Second Version)"

Pheasant lay down to sleep at night and planned what he should do on the
morrow. Next morning he woke and took his stone adze with him through the
forest. He came to a swampy place and there saw signs of beaver. "Here I
shall do something," he thought. "Here I shall make a deadfall for beavers."

He cut many sticks with his stone adze. With rope of split cedar limbs he
fastened the sticks in place between two logs. Upon the top large stones were
placed. Within the trap a trigger was set, and the deadfall was now complete.

He went to the house of Beaver as though for a visit. Beaver took a
bundle of willow sticks which he had cut and offered them to Pheasant for food.
Pheasant took the largest one of the sticks and looked about wondering which
beaver he should strike. He suddenly struck King-beaver himself. Then Beaver
became angiy and gave chase, crying to his fellows, "This is Pheasant !" All
ran out. They all pursued Pheasant.

Pheasant ran along and when he came to the hidden trap he leaped over it,
but Beaver did not see the trap and essayed to pass between the logs. The trap
was thus sprung and Beaver was crushed beneath the deadfall.

Pheasant took the deadfall apart, took out Beaver and butchered him. Then
he gathered sticks, stones and leaves, scooped a hollow in the ground and began
to bake the game in the place thus prepared. He sat and waited. When he
thought the meat was cooked, he uncovered it. Then he made the meat into a
bundle, loaded it upon his back, supporting it by a strap across his chest, and bore
it home.

He arrived home. He unpacked the bundle. His many children were fed
and all were happy, eating beaver meat.

Raven was neighbor to Pheasant. He heard the noise and sent his children
to learn what was happening. One of them, Kwilia'iaks, looked in and saw them
eating. He called the others. The young pheasants threw pieces of meat to the
young ravens, who ate them as they were thrown to them. They went home and

84 Related by Charles Siatkhton (Snuqualmi).

98 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Kwilia'ioks told his father, "Pheasant has much meat and the children are eating.
That is why they are so happy and noisy."

Raven put on his clothes and said, "I am going to visit Pheasant." He en-
tered the house and sat down. Pheasant got a wooden platter and spoon and set
the platter before him with meat upon it. So they fed him.

Raven ate. When he had finished, he asked, "Where did you get the game,
and how did you set about killing it ?" "I went to the place where beaver signs
were to be seen. I made a deadfall. I went into Beaver's house and clubbed
him. He chased me and was caught in the trap, but I ran through the trap with-
out springing it." Thus said Pheasant.

Raven went home. Next morning he set out with his stone adze as Pheasant
had done. He went through the swamp and looked for signs of beaver. He made
a deadfall just as Pheasant had done. He set up two sharp sticks in the ground
and left the trap, having built it well and set it.

Then he went into the beaver house. He sat down and looked about. The
beavers gave him a bundle of willow sticks to eat. Doing as Pheasant had told
him, Raven took a stick and struck the largest beaver. Then he ran, being pur-
sued. Then instead of jumping over the trap, Raven raa into it. He was caught,
pierced by the two sharp sticks.

Beaver came up and sawr Raven in the trap. Beaver kicked him about and
laughed, then he went home. Raven came to his senses and worked hard to free
himself. After a time Raven got out and went home very sick and dejected. So
Raven had nothing to tell, except that he had been caught in a trap.

RAVEN AND BEAR (First Version)86

Bear had a pretty daughter. The daughter of Bear was married to the son
of Skwakw, the Raven. They were living at the home of Bear. Thinking it was
time that he should see his son, Raven made a call at the home where the young
man was living. When he arrived he found that the food consisted only of sal-
mon, fresh and dry. There was a big fire. Bear washed his hands clean and
stood by the fire. There were empty clam shells lying on the ground before him.
As Bear stood there holding his hands out before the fire they became warm and
fat dripped into the shells. The shells were filled with Bear's own fat. This he
dished up for Raven.

While eating, Raven said, "I am going back home and will take my son and
daughter. I wish you to return the visit." So Raven went home. Raven thought
to do the same as Bear. When Bear came to call, Raven washed his hands and
held them by the fire. As they became warm he sucked them and said, "That
won't be the only fat." His hands became still warmer and cracked, but no more
fat dripped from them into the shells placed beneath.

Bear became ashamed for Raven. So he washed his own hands, held them
before the fire till they dripped the shells full of fat. Then he left. This is why
Raven's claws are all scaly and cracked.

66 Related by John Xot (Puyallup).

1929] Ballard, Paget Sound Mythology 99

RAVEN AND BEAR (Second Version)88

Raven went to Bear. Bear asked, "Why did you come?" "Oh, I just
wanted to see you," said Raven.

Bear washed his hands clean after having built the fire. He got a little basin
of wood. He toasted his hands by the fire and the grease fell from his hands into
the basin (lA'wkwAt).

Raven went home. (Bear came to see Raven). Raven did the same as
Bear had done. His hands dried up and became scaly.

RAVEN AND WATER OUSEL87

Raven went to visit Water Ousel (swAXtxts or swAjtsxw), the little bird that
jumps about in the river and dives to catch salmon eggs. Raven went into the
house. Water Ousel would get eggs in winter time. Raven called him, qwe'tax
(kinsman by marriage). He so addressed him because the son of one was mar-
ried to the daughter of the other.

There was a little basket. Water Ousel took it and jumped into the water.
He took salmon eggs from under a rock. He carried the eggs to the house and
cooked them. Raven ate. Raven said, "Come to my house tomorrow."

Water Ousel went to Raven's house. Raven made a fire, took a little basket,
and went to the river. He jumped into the water and got one salmon egg. He ate
it himself saying, "I shall get some more." Then he jumped in the water again.
He found nothing.

It was winter time and cold. Raven became chilled. He was nearly dead
but did not get any more salmon eggs. Water Ousel came and got him and
took him to the house nearly dead with cold.

Water Ousel went to the river with a basket, and got it full of salmon eggs.
He took a basket full to Raven and said to him, "Good-bye, I am going home."

RAVEN AND PHEASANT GO FISHING88

Raven and Pheasant were relatives by marriage and lived in neighboring
houses.

As autumn was merging into winter and the steelhead salmon were running
rather plentifully, Raven said, "Let us go out to spear steelheads." So Phea-
sant made ready the shaft and toggles of his fish-spear and launched his canoe.
Then both went up the river, Raven making himself steersman.

So they reached the riffles. Raven braced the pole against the rocky bottom
and held the boat at rest while he looked about for salmon. Spying a salmon
Pheasant cast his spear, threw the fish into the boat and despatched it with the
salmon club. He looked about and saw another in the same riffle. He speared

86 Narrated by Jack Smo'xta (Green River).

87 Related by Jack Smo'xta (Green River).

88 Related by Snuqualmi Charlie (Snuqualmi).

100 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

it and killed it. Another he saw and killed, another and still another. Thus he
did until the boat was half full of fish, Raven all the while steadying the boat in
the rapids with his pole.

Then said Pheasant, "We have sufficient fish; let us return home." So they
started down the river. Now it is the custom of the people that the members
of a fishing party choose one of the older men for leader, to allot the fish in equal
numbers to each man. So Pheasant pondered to himself all the way home how
the fish should be divided. To himself he thought, "Across the boat shall be the
division line. To save counting the fish, those in this end of the boat shall be
mine and the others Raven's !" Still pondering, he got out of the boat. Raven
said, "Why do you look at those fish? I worked hard to get them. They are
mine."

Without replying Pheasant took his spear and started up the bank towards
his home. He was a little angry but said nothing. Nevertheless he thought,
"I wish the salmon would turn to herring."

Raven went up to his home. To his wife he said, "You had best go down
there and bring up the boat load of salmon." Kokwo'lowitc, the wife of Raven,
went down to the canoe and there found naught but herring. Turning, she called
to Raven, "There are no salmon here; there are only herring!" "Do you not see
the salmon?" shouted Raven. "They are in the canoe there." But the salmon
had turned to herring. Then said Raven to himself, "I suppose Pheasant must
be angry with me, for he has turned the salmon to herring." So Raven's woman
had to take the little herrings home and that was the end of the fishing trip.

ELK AND BEAR, HIS WIFEss

Elk (kwagwi'tcid) married Bear (tae'tXwad). After a certain time he com-
manded her to go to the swamp and gather skunk cabbage for food. When Bear
arrived she was acting queerly. She knew what she was after but did not know
how to handle it.

While trying to get food the woman did not take the bulb entire. Instead
of that she was just ripping, ripping, till she ripped it in pieces. After many
trials she wondered which part was the real food. She thought the skunk cab-
bage was just grass growing in the mud. She sang,

stabL kado'ya do'ya do'ya

kisA'bd tusaqwa'ts skwagwi'tcid kado'yado'yado'ya

akisA'Lad kado'yado^do'ya

When the day was pretty well advanced Elk thought something had hap-
pened to the woman. He was troubled in heart. He returned home early. He
trailed her. A long way off he heard her singing. She mentioned his name. He
sneaked up to her. He said, "Why don't you like what I eat? That's the only
food you'll get this time of the year hereafter." He gave her a slap and she

80 Related by Annie Jack (Green River).

1929] Ballard, Pugct Sound Mythology 101

#
ran off bear style. She became a bear. The man turned back. He became an
elk.

Bear gets that food now. She eats it the first time she is out in the spring.

LOON'S SON AND THE MONSTER WOMAN (First Version) »»

Loon (suwo'Xwad) is a big bird who spends the winter on the lakes. Thun-
der's daughter became the wife of Loon's son.

A woman who was a monster woman, a zA'gwa, was waiting for Loon's son.
She ran away with him ; she took him up to the mountains and married him.

She had him a while and made him bathe in the lake. While bathing he
started to run away. While running he found a number of old people along the
road digging. Those people were Mountain Beaver (cawl), Mole (peA'lqtcid)
and others. The young man said, "A woman is chasing me." The old people
said, "Go on, we shall make this ground soft." So the young man went on. When
the woman arrived at that place she mired in the soft ground and travelled slowly.

The young man passed on, running. All at once he saw a woman sitting out-
side her house. When he was close the woman seized him and took him in the
house, saying, "I take you in ; you are my husband." She was another monster
woman, a daughter of Thunder.

Soon the first monster woman came and said to the second, "I am chasing
my husband. Open the door !" She said this five times. Then at once the wom-
an inside said, "Come inside backwards ; no one comes in face first." The woman
outside replied, "All right, I will come in backwards." As she was getting inside,
the other woman closed the door and pinched her head right off. Then the other
woman took her head and threw it to the north.

That is why the northern Indians cut off the heads of their enemies. The

Indians from this region do not cut off the heads of their slain enemies but leave
their bodies untouched.

The daughter of Thunder squeezed the man and got out of him all that the

other woman had fed him. Thunder's daughter then became his wife.

LOON'S SON AND THE MONSTER WOMAN (Second Version)91

Loon was chief bird in the bay. Loon's son was travelling to the mountain-
side. On the fifth day he saw a woman sitting there. She was watching for him,
wanting him for a husband. Now she kept him and would not let him go. She
took him away and brought him to her home.

There she kept him prisoner. She got the food. All she got for his living
was mice, lizards, frogs, water dogs and the like. She had him a long time. Then
she tried him. She pinched him to see if he was good meat for her to eat. When
it was time for her to go out he went to another house where lived Bear, who
was a slave.

90 Narrated by John Xot (Puyallup).

91 Narrated by John Xot (Puyallup), January 23, 1917.

102 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Loon's son said to Bear, "Grandfather, she pinches me when she conies
home." Bear told him what she was doing that for, trying to see if he were get-
ting fat enough. Bear gave him a little knife and said, "When she pinches you,
cut her, too, and when she cries out say that your finger nails are growing too
long."

When the woman next came home to the young man she told him, "We are
going out swimming together in the big lake tomorrow." The young man was
willing. So next day they went out in the lake and started swimming. The young
man dove and went out to the middle. He came up and gave the cry of the loon.

The monster woman was bathing too, but she could not get out to Loon's
son. The last time he went out to the middle of the lake he told her he was going
to stay under the water a long time.

The last time he dove he made his escape to the prairie. There were mice and
other animals in it, his grandparents. He called on them for help. He told them
the monster woman was following him. They said, "We shall fix the ground
so that she cannot catch you."

The woman was excited and could not find the young man. She followed
his tracks until she came upon the old people digging roots. "Did you see my
husband?" she asked the old people. "No," they said. They made the ground
soft so that she would sink in the holes and get tired. They helped the man.

Loon's son kept running until he saw a woman sitting watching for him. She
was not a zA'gwa. She heard his noise, "Ho-o-o!" The noise of Loon is called
lekwA'lXAB in our language. That woman was the daughter of Thunder. She
went to meet Loon's son and took him into her house, which was a big rock. She
hid him in her house.

She heard the zAgwa coming. The zAgwa came and called to her, "Open
the door and let me in. I want to see if my husband is in there. I have lost him
and am looking for him." Thunder's daughter said nothing until the zAgwa had
called five times. Then she answered, "Open the door, but come in backwards;
come in the other way."

The zAgwD said, "All right." Then they let her come in ithat way. When
she got in the house far enough they closed the door on her and cut off her head.

Thunder's daughter threw the head to the north and the rest of the body
this way. The northern Indians cut off the head when they kill. The people
down here throw the body away.

Afterwards Thunder's daughter took out of the man the food which the
other woman had given him. All his food came out alive. After he was cleaned
out she gave him real food such as venison. They lived there together. She
bore him a little son. Then she took him home to his people.

The first wife of Loon's son was Louse (bA'ctcAd), a pretty woman, by
whom he had had a child. When her husband got back home, Louse was blind
from weeping. Thunder's daughter felt sorry for her, and restored her features
and her eyes so that she could see and was just as pretty as ever.

1929] Ballard, Pit get Sound Mythology 103

Now Thunder is Loon's grandfather. When it storms Loon goes on the lakes
where it is calm. In April he comes down to salt water. Loon is chief of the salt
water people.

LOON'S SON AND THE MONSTER WOMAN (Third Version)92

Loon had many female relatives. He did not care for women. All the
loons would swim to their house. Loon's blanket was there and swam in the
water. The women saw the blankets. They said, "Grandmother, that is my
blanket. I want my blanket. Oh, Grandmother, I want my blanket."

Now the ogress (sweyoqW) travelled a long distance. She took the blanket
of Loon and she took Loon by the hand to her house. Loon slept with the ogress.
She had long nails and scratched Loon so that he became sore. She used to take
her basket along with her and do mischief. She would make fire on the stones
in a cooking pit and cook people.

The ogress had a slave, Bear. Bear stayed in the other side of the house.
Loon said to him, "Old Man, I am nearly dead ; see my skin. I am wretched and
tired, Old Man." Bear gave Loon a little knife. Bear caught salmon and roasted
it so that Loon could eat it and get strong. Loon said, "I am tired." Bear said,
"There is a big lake near. If you are tired, go and swim there."

Loon went away. The ogress came back. Everyone said, "Loon is swim-
ming." The people muddied the water and the ogress did not see Loon. Loon
ran away. Short-tailed Rat (ska'aD) and Mole (peyA'lqtci) were women. They
helped Loon.

Loon kept running. He saw a noblewoman in a house of stone. He wanted
a safe place. The noblewoman said, "Come." Loon said, "I will die now." The
noblewoman said, "You shall not die ; I am a good woman. Do not be afraid ; I
will be your wife. You shall see your father and mother." She gathered camas
and fed Loon.

The ogress came. "Have you seen my man?" she asked. "Oh, he is in my
house," the noblewoman answered. The house was of stone. She shut the door
and cut off the head of the ogress and so killed her.

That noblewoman made a fire and melted the ogress. If she had not done so
the ogress would be here now.

HUMPBACK BOY AND THE OGRESS (First Version)93

Some children were on a picnic. One of their number was a humpbacked
boy. In giving out the pieces of salmon for the lunch his sister gave this boy the
piece near the tail. He complained ; he wanted the large part near the neck. So
his sister said, "I'll eat the part near the tail, but I shall call the ogress!" So
Snail Woman (sweyoqw) came. She was glad when she saw the children. "I
shall eat them," she said.

92 Narrated by Sampson (Green River).
03 Related by Ann Jack (Green River).

104 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Snail Woman took all the children in the basket on her back and starteo
home. Humpback Boy climbed up on the shoulders of the rest, and seizing a
limb on the road, made his escape. Running home, he gave the alarm and said,
"The Snail woman has carried off all your children."

"You hold to me and I shall take you home," the ogress said to the children.
She made a fire on some stones in a pit. The children she ordered to stand in two
rows, the large ones upon one side and the small ones upon the other side. Then
she began to sing.

KwEle'lsox tuwe'axso
The rocks are getting hot.

But the children took a pole and pushed her into the fire. Then the children
turned to little black birds, finches.

HUMPBACK BOY AND THE OGRESS (Second Version)9*

Away back in the past Snail was a powerful woman who used to carry
people off, putting them in a basket on her back. She cooked them for her food.
[This witch had a certain basket in which she put children. It was an openwork
basket of cedar root, made of twining on crossed warps. She kept the inside
of this basket well pitched, so that whatever was put inside, could not climb out
of it. Baskets just like the one she had are still used. We employ them in
gathering clams. We call such a basket, made in this weave, sqaleoltc, "witch
basket." The name of the ogress in myth times was Sxwaiyekw. We call her
now-a-days sla'kat or sqAle' (snail).] The basket which she used to carry on
her back has become the snail shell.95

It came to pass that, as was her custom, she picked up a number of chil-
dren and had them in her basket, carrying them home to cook. After she had
reached home with her load, she put a great pile of stones in a pit, built a fire
upon them, and prepared to bake the children as we bake clams on hot rocks.
[This happened on the west shore of Sinclair Inlet, just south of the Navy
Yard at Bremerton. This place is still called by us, Sqa'le, "witch."]05 As she
prepared the fire, and thought of the children she was going to eat she began
to circle around the fire and sing :

Luqwa'lcitcid Tuwe'uXso

I am going to eat the children.

But there was one among the children whose cunning was a match for the
ogress. This was a hunchback, whom the ogress had carried off, thinking him
a child. He studied the matter and as a result he said to the children, "Wait
until the fire gets good and hot, then we shall push her in."

So as the fire became hot and she circled about chanting, they joined to-
gether and with one effort pushed the ogress into the flames. Then it was

94 Related by John Xot (Puyallup). The portions enclosed in square brackets were
added by Dr. T. T. Waterman from information he collected.
96 Explanatory material by Dr. Waterman.

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 105

her turn to beg. "Help me out; help me out." So they picked up a rotten
stick and reached it to her. It broke as she seized it and she reproached them.
They replied, "The stick is rotten; we can't help it." So the ogress cooked
until she burst. [The pieces flew all about. They fell into the water. They
turned into the jellyfish which are so numerous at the head of Sinclair Inlet.
In August and September the bottom at the head of that inlet is full of jelly-
fish. You can hardly put an oar down without touching one.]95 Since that time
snails have done no harm to people. They used to be dangerous.

After this the children went home. But when they had reached the village,
they found that one of their number, a girl, had become a monster, an ogress.
All the children and others feared her.

Now a man of the crow people reflected upon this circumstance a great
deal. One day a number of the crow people went cruising in a canoe. As they
paddled along, many people viewed them from the banks. And as they travelled
they sought the place where the monster and her mother were digging fern
root (tca'di).96 They were thinking out some means to make away with the
evil child. So as they paddled in their search of the place they sang:

le tca'd tcadi tcai'ya
Fern roots, grandchild ;

lo kwEctai tcai'ya

The fog settles, grandchild ;

le tca'd tcadi tcA'L
Fern roots, grandchild ;

tcaya' ya-ya-a-a-a !
It settles.

As they approached the place where the little ogress lived, the mother heard
their song. She was there digging fern roots. So she hailed the crow people.
They took the girl and put out to sea. And in order that she might be taken
utterly from their ken and never find her way back, they began to sing for the
fog to settle, thus :

le kwAc tcAb ti swati'utid
Fog and cloud over the world ;

le kwAc ti stcaiya
Fog settles, grandchild.

So they paddled away out in the bay and the fog settled. When all was
ready, the crow people became crows and flew away from the canoe. The canoe

88 Not identified.

106 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

became a tree and the little ogress was perched upon the tree crying. Finally,
she came to land, restored to her natural self.

At the place where she landed was a woman digging fern roots. This
woman was no other than Scarface, or Raccoon woman, a slave of Thunder bird
and his house mate, Skunk. Now these men were away hunting and Raccoon
woman brought the guest into the house and fed her. She cautioned her, "When
Skunk comes home, he will be jesting and singing, 'Kata kata kata kata,' but
you must not laugh. If you laugh Skunk will make you his wife." Soon Skunk
came home bearing the quarry, a fawn, which he had taken in the hunt. As
he came he jested and sang. But the guest did not laugh, and all was well. But
Raccoon said, "You wait till you hear Sio'wiawEd. He is the husband for you.
You will hear the sound of his belt. It is made of live red-crested woodpeckers."
Sio'wiawEd soon came home and laid down his game, and Raccoon woman took
it. When Sio'wiawEd sat down, Raccoon brought the woman in and placed her
beside him. So the girl became the wife of Master Hunter.

ORIGIN OF THE CROWS"

Five crows got in a canoe. Some one on shore asked, "Where are you
going?" "Oh, we are going to dig tca'di, dig tca'di, dig tca'di," they said. The
woman on shore said, "We wish to go along."

But the crow men just sang, and paddled with their paddles turned so as
not to propel the boat. Also they laughed much. Someone passed wind : sud-
denly the boat became a stick and they all turned to crows.

CROW WOMAN'8

One time the crow-woman, Ka'ka, was digging clams. Five trout boys
came to the house of Ka'ka. "Ka'ka," they cried, "the trout are destroying
your home." But she did not listen. Again and again they cried, "Ka'ka, the
trout are destroying your home." Finally she came and looked, turning her
head from side to side. "Ka'ka is not my name," said she. "My name is
Kwolkwe'lbulo." From that time she flew and became a crow.

COYOTE AND THE SNAIL WOMEN (First Version)**

The people were dwelling, as we used to dwell, in a winter house. The
children, many of them, were running about and playing outside.

Of the dreaded snail-women there were five sisters, ogresses all. Each of
these bore upon her back a huge basket into which she would put any children
she could capture.

w Related by Jack Smohalla (Green River).

98 Related by James Goudy (Skagit).

99 Related by Snuqualmi Charley (Snuqualmi).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 107

One of the snail-women approached the big house at nightfall, seized one
of the children, placed him in her basket, and ran home, where she devoured
him. Next night she did the same.

When anyone left a child inside a house alone, crying for food, the snail-
woman would come and call, "Come outside, here is something for you to eat."
Then when the child came out she would put it in her basket and make her
departure with all speed. Always Snail Woman watched for the children.

Sbiau, the coyote, heard of the deeds of the snail-woman and said to him-
self, "I shall make myself into a child and the snail-woman will take me." He went
into the house among the people while they were all asleep. He sat by the door
and cried for food.

Snail Woman heard the child, as she thought, crying for food. She went
near and called. When Coyote came outside, she offered him some bark.
"Nephew, this is salmon, come and eat it," she said. Coyote knew it was bark
but took it nevertheless.

The snail-woman attempted to seize the child and put him in her basket
but Coyote seized Snail Woman at the same time and in the struggle tore her
arm from her body. She went home lacking one arm.

Coyote studied within himself, "What may I do with this arm so as to kill
the ogress?" He decided upon building a house. He began to build it. He
began to build it of nothing but pitch. He finished the house. Then he sent
a messenger to Snail W^oman with the word, "Tell Snail Woman to come for
her arm, I will give it back to her."

The five snail-sisters came to Coyote's house. All came inside except the
youngest one. He desired all to come inside, but the youngest refused. He told her
to stick her tongue out. She did so and Sbiau bit her tongue off. Then she
could not tell her sisters anything.

Coyote came back into the house. He began a medicine dance inside. The
four snail-sisters also started to dance. When they saw the arm they were beside
themselves in the dance. They went mad as they danced. Coyote placed the
ann back on Snail Woman. He put it on the wrong place. Snail Woman went
crazy, jumping about.

When Coyote found that they were beside themselves with dancing he went
to the doorway and kindled a fire. The house began to burn.

All this time the youngest snail-sister was trying to warn the others, but
she could not speak. The house burned and the four snail-sisters perished.
Coyote had killed them.

The youngest snail-woman, having lost her tongue, ran home. Coyote pur-
sued her. He overtook her at her home and killed her. So the last of the snail-
sisters was killed.

There were five snail-children at the home of the snail-sisters. Coyote tried
to kill them but they began to eat him. They ate him a piece at a time. They
ate all the flesh from his body ; he was all bones. He went out to fill his body
with flesh and came in again. He asked his brother what he should do but his
brother would not tell him.

108 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

The last time Sbiau went outside his brother told him, "As you enter the
house you will see five objects hanging from the rafters. Knock those all down
and you will kill all the young snail-people." Coyote went in and did as he had
been told. As he knocked down one of the hanging objects one of the snails
died. Thus he continued until all were dead.

Then Coyote said, "The generation of real people is about to appear and
there shall be no snail-woman to prey upon the people." Had it not been for
the labors of Coyote we should have had Snail Woman with us yet. As it is,
she is only a harmless little snail creeping along the ground.

COYOTE AND THE SNAIL WOMEN (Second Version) 10<>

A child was crying. His parents said, "If you cry the ogress will come."
The child did not stop crying. The parents left him and went to another house.

The ogress (sweyoqw) came. She said, "Ah, take this dried salmon and
eat it. Don't cry or the ogress will get you." "You are the ogress," said the
child. "Eat this or the ogress will get you!" said the woman. Now the child
takes the ogress by the wrist. He drags her. Now she cries, "Ah, Grandson,
you're breaking my arm." He pulls her arm off. Now she goes away.

The boy runs to his parents. "I pulled the ogress' arm loose," he said.
"Don't lie!" said the parents. "Oh, I did," the boy answered. "You're just
lying," they answered. Then they saw the arm. It was twitching; the hand
opened and closed.

On the next morning Xode came. The people said to him, "O Chieftain,
the ogress will eat us." Xode replied, "It will be well if you get pitch." They
got pitch. They split it and bound it in bundles.

They went at night to the house of the ogresses. There were many of them
inside. The ogress whose arm was torn off said, "O kinsman (sbalo'tsid), your
child did this !" Xode answered, "I shall restore you."

It became dusk. Xode said, "Well, dance now; you will get warm and
sweat. Then I shall put back your arm and it will be good again, and solid.
When you dance you must sing.

oyo'L tce'L ati sbalotsid (tce'L

Come dance ( ?) ; kinsman dance (?)."

While they were dancing Xode got pitch and made a fire against the house.
One woman was at the door. Xode said, "What is that in your mouth? Stick
out your tongue." She stuck out her tongue and Xode bit it off.

The one whose tongue was bitten off could not tell her sisters about the fire.
All the women were burned up, but the young woman and her tongue were gone.
That was the end of them.

100 Narrated by Tom Milroy (Upper Puyallup).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 109

CRANE BRIDGET

Crane once killed a snail-woman.

A man once said to his brother, "Don't go to yonder place, the snail-women
are there." The brother went a short distance and came back. He went a little
farther and came back. He went a little farther. He saw smoke. "There are
people there; my brother is crazy," he thought.

He saw people. "Oh, be seated, kinsman," they said. He thought, "I guess
they are snail-women." He sat down. They said, "Sit down, the snail-woman
may get you." Then they went out with their baskets.

The man jumped up and ran from the house. He saw Crane with a canoe.
He cried, "Oh, take me ; the snail-women are after me." Crane took him across
the river in a boat.

The snail women returned to the house. They followed the man's tracks
to the river. They saw Crane on the farther bank building a canoe. Said the
snail-women, "Oh kinsman, did you see the young man whom we are follow-
ing?" Crane said, "Yes, I took him across." "Oh friend, take us across; we
are following him," they cried.

Crane came down to the river. He sat down, stretched his leg across the
river, and said, "Come across the river on my leg." "Oh, I will fall," said Snail
Woman. "No, you must do as I direct," said Crane. Snail Woman started
across. When she was half way across Crane moved his leg and Snail Woman
fell off into the river and drowned.

Crane said, "It shall not be as now with the people that shall come after.
There shall be no ogress to kill the people that shall come after."

CHIPMUNK AND SNAIL WOMAN (First Version) «»

In the old times Chipmunk was a little boy. He lived with his grandmother.
Her name was XaXai'aXAlkid.

Snail-woman was eating bugs near by.

The little boy went out to gather blackcaps for his grandmother. As he
picked the berries, thus he sang:

xodetca'aa- tsakaiya'aa • • Ataxe'ts toL\'kwAltcid toke' tekwA'l
I save ; I take to Grandmother the red ones ; I eat the black ones.

The little boy was sitting by a big bush while he sang. Snail Woman heard
him singing. She wanted to eat the little boy. She was a witch. She carried
a basket on her back with hot rocks inside it. She used to put children in the
basket and cook them.

That old witch called and said, "Come, Grandchild." Snail Woman had
painted stripes on herself and she said, "See! you are my grandchild." But the
little boy said, "No, my grandmother is in the house."

101 Narrated by Tom Milroy (Upper Puyallup).

102 Narrated by Ann Jack (Green River).

110 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

He jumped on an old log to get away. Snail Woman threw rotten sticks
at him and tried to seize him. He jumped and got away, crying, pAts pAts
pAts. Snail Woman scratched him with her black fingers and left his body
striped with black. The little boy turned to a chipmunk. He was Chipmunk
when he got home.

When Chipmunk got home his grandmother hid him under a pile of fresh
water mussel shells (Xoled). Those mussels are found in a creek this side of
Black Diamond.

The old lady had tattoo marks on her body. Snail Woman came up looking
for Chipmunk. "Kinswoman (sbalotsid)," she said, "how do you tattoo your-
self?" "You must smear pitch over your body and roll on the hot stones in
the fire as I do," the old woman said. "It will make your flesh soft."

Snail Woman tried to jump in the fire. She was afraid and held back. On
the fifth trial she jumped in the fire in the cooking pit. "I'm burning; I'm
burning!" she said. She turned about and tried to get out of the cooking pit
but could not. Chipmunk's grandmother took a forked stick (asiaks) and held
Snail Woman down on the hot rocks until she died. Then she took the mussel
shells off Chipmunk and he came out of hiding.

Snail Woman turned into a little snail such as she is today. She is harmless
now and does not eat people.

They covered Snail Woman with leaves and moss. The next day Snail
Woman's four sisters came looking for her. Chipmunk killed them with stones
and they turned to swallows.

CHIPMUNK AND SNAIL WOMAN (Second Version)1**

The four younger sisters of Snail Woman were out looking for her. They
said, "Perhaps our sister sat down here looking for bugs." The younger sisters
took off their cedar bark skirts and broke the cedar bark in the ground and
made a dust. They were very lousy.

They came to the place where the elder sister had been roasted in the cook-
ing pit. They had heard Chipmunk say, "We have left some good food in the
cooking pit." The sisters ate what was cooked. The youngest sister said, "I
do not eat," but she did eat.

They all became thirsty. They went to the river and drank. "My sister's
eyes! My sister's teeth!" they said. They saw their own reflection in the water.

"I told you not to eat it," said the youngest sister. All four cried and ran.
They vomited and as they vomited, they said, "It tastes like my elder sister."

Two men rolled stones down hill upon the women. One snail-woman was
killed. Her sister said, "Where are you?" but there was no answer. Then the
men heaved a stone and killed another sister.

1<>3 Narrated by Ann Jack (Green River). Alternative to the last sentence of the first
version, which was probably an invention of the interpreter.

Note : A place on Green River, where the snail-women are supposed to have slid is
called sweyuctsauio or sikwiAqtsauio.

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 111

There were two sisters left now. They went to the river. They saw two
fishermen in a boat. They said to the fishermen, "Take us across." The men
filled the snail- women's baskets with stones till the canoe shook and overturned
the women. Thus they sank.

CHIPMUNK AND SNAIL WOMAN (Third Version)"*

Snail Woman had four sisters, younger than herself. Snail Woman made
ready and said, "I am leaving the house to hunt for food. If I do not return
by night you may look for me." Then she left on her search for children to eat.

There were people living along the banks of the river and she used to prey
upon these. Among them lived an old woman and her grandson. These were
the chipmunk people.

The little boy was wishing to go and pick black-cap raspberries but his
grandmother would not consent. The grandmother feared Snail Woman, but
the boy said, "She will not eat me; I will not make any noise." At last the
grandmother gave the boy a basket and sent him out to pick berries, warning
him, "Do not make a noise; something may catch you."

That little boy was Chipmunk. Chipmunk went out and sat by a bush and
picked berries. As he picked the black-cap raspberries this is what he sang :
"The ripe ones I shall eat ; the red ones I shall put in the basket for Grandma."

diL ki ko kwA'ta lelA'kwad tcAd
diL ki xo xetsala kixa dedso kaia

Chipmunk kept on singing. Snail Woman at last heard him and came. "I
did not tell you to sing that song; I told you to be still," she growled. Chip-
munk leaped out of her reach to the top of an old rotten stump.

"You will get hurt up there on that place, grandson ; come down," she called.
"No, you are not my grandmother; I shall not come down," he answered. Chip-
munk was planning how he might escape. He took a piece of rotten wood or
bark and threw it down. Thinking it was he, the old snail-woman sprang for
it. "Now I know you are not my grandmother," said Chipmunk. "I wished
to keep you from getting hurt," said Snail Woman.

Snail Woman kept on calling the little boy grandson and asking him to
come down. "My grandmother looks different from you," said the little boy,
"She is tattooed on the face ; you have no tattoo mark on the face."

Again he threw down a piece of rotten wood and again Snail Woman sprang
after it, thinking it was Chipmunk. Chipmunk said again, "I know you are
not Grandma," and again Snail Woman said, "I thought you might get hurt."

Chipmunk studied. "This time," he thought, "I shall jump." He threw
another chip a great distance away. As the ogress leaped after the stick Chip-
munk jumped. Snail Woman looked up and missed him, then saw him running
along the ground. She chased him. As he was on a log and her fingers were

184 Narrated by Snuqualmi Charlie (Snuqualmi).

112 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

closing upon him he escaped with deep scratches on his back. These are the
stripes on the chipmunk's back.

Chipmunk reached home and found his grandmother weaving baskets. He
told the story of his adventure with Snail Woman. His grandmother hid him
under the shell of a fresh-water clam. (The name of that is Xolaid. The name
of Chipmunk's grandmother was XaXaiaXA'lkid.)

Snail Woman came. She said, "I was following a child and I missed him.
Did you see one?" "No, I did not see anyone." "The boy had a grandmother,
who looked just like you, tattooed on the face. Are you his grandmother?"
"There are many people living across the river who are tattooed. Chipmunk
must live across the river." "How did you tattoo your face?" "Do you not
see that cooking pit? I merely got in the fire there and rolled about and came
out, then pressed my face with my fingers."

Snail Woman was eager to be tattooed. Chipmunk Woman gathered wood
and kindled a fire. When all was ready and the fire was removed from the
stones, Snail Woman began to go round the fire singing, "I am afraid : it is too
hot. I am afraid : it is too hot."

a'i.9 ba'dw a'w ba'dw

While Snail Woman was singing Chipmunk Woman pushed her into the fire.
Writhing she screamed, "Pull me out; I am burning." Grandmother called to
Chipmunk, "Get a forked stick." Chipmunk did so and they pinned Snail
Woman to the baking stones and held her there till she perished. Grandmother
covered Snail Woman with leaves and boughs to cook her. Then Grandmother
and Chipmunk fled across the river.

Snail Woman had said to her sisters, "If I kill anything I shall save it for
you." The sisters now came and found meat roasted on the stones. The two
elder sisters ate of it and vomited. They died. The two younger sisters did
not eat of it.

These two younger sisters came to a bluff overlooking the river. They sat
down. While they were sitting there a man in a canoe (his name was StcApXW)
took a sling (xextiyAstid) and threw at them until he struck the elder of these two
sisters in the head. She slid and rolled down towards the river.

The younger sister thought that one (the man) was sliding and she called
out, "How is the sliding down there?" "Pretty good." Then the younger sister
slid down the hill calling, "Sbalotsid, come after me! Sbalotsid, come after me!"

The man paddled across for her and called to her, "Sbalotsid, keep your
eyes closed in my canoe. It is easily tipped; it may tip over. If you open them
you will shake the canoe." As soon as she entered the canoe, she closed her
eyes.

The man said, "As soon as the canoe strikes you must jump out." The
canoe entered the riffles and struck a boulder. The snail-woman jumped out
and was drowned, and that was the last of the snail-women.

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 113

LYNX AND GRIZZLY105

Lynx (tca'tcab) was in the Klickitat country. He got Grizzly (tca'tUcab)
for a wife. She knew how to kill deer and elk. Grizzly said to her man, "Do
not go to that place yonder; if you go you will come to evil." Lynx thought,
"What harm is in that place yonder?" Now he goes thither. He saw a house
with much smoke and people inside. He saw five women ; they were pretty.

One of the women said, "Why not stay with me to live? Let us get mar-
ried." Lynx said to the woman, "My wife is an ogress ; she will eat me if she
learns where I am." The woman said, "I am not an ogress ; let us go to
Puyallup." They started on the road to Puyallup.

Grizzly missed her husband. He did not come back and she knew. She
said, "Oh, he has got a new wife." She followed them. The new wife, Sqwatad
by name, grew tired. Lynx said, "Oh, the ogress is coming after us." But
Sqwatad sat down and embraced him. Pretty soon he said, "Oh, do you know
she is coming?"

Grizzly came. She seized the new wife by the head, tore the head in two
and cast it apart. She seized the man, tore his head in two and cast it apart.
Then she cried, "Oh! I am mad; I have killed my man. If I had killed the
woman alone it would have been all right, but I have killed my man. I shall
go back."

BUFFLEHEAD AND SQALE »•

Bufflehead was named sbabai'kaxAd when he killed the giant woman at the
Bremerton Narrows. That place is north of Colby, between that place and the
narrows.

There are many jellyfish at that place. They are the menstrual discharge
from sqAle; that is why they are called ka'lalii, talbyux, "filthy people."

Having set his basket of water on shore, Bufflehead took Giant Woman
with him in a little boat (sde'txwil). He told her, "When you are in the boat
keep your eyes shut ; if you open them you will drown."

Out they go. Bufflehead jarred the boat. He blamed Giant Woman, "I
told you never to look ; keep your eyes shut !" So he killed her. The water
is rough at that point.

(I drank in 1897 from the basin of water that Bufflehead carried at that
time. My companion also dipped a bucketful of water from it but the spring
remained just as full as before. In 1917, when I returned to that place I found
that somebody had chipped off the stone of the hillside and the water was gone.)

THE MENSTRUATING ROCK (First Version) 10-

The point west of Sumner is called tla'wwitks. That is where Sxode
turned a woman to stone. She was a wild woman ; she was sxweyoqW. Xode
killed her with a hammer. The same thing happened at Brown's Point, also at
Yakima. Now there is much blood and water coming from that stone.

los Narrated by Tom Milroy (Upper Puyallup).

1100 Narrated by Joe* Young (Puyallup).

10T Narrated by Jack Smo'xb (Green River).

114 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

THE MENSTRUATING ROCK (Second Version)™*

The big split rock at the point of the hill west of Sumner is known as
tla'Lowulks (or tla'Lowudks). There Transformer killed the ogress by splitting
her head open with a stone hammer. She used to call and entice the passers-by,
and then kill them. Transformer pretended to be deceived by her and then
killed her.

It is a menstruating rock. There are five such rocks. One of them is in
Lewis County.

THE BROTHERS KILLED BY A MONSTER (First Version) ™»

In the ancient times a big beaver of the kind known as Xwi ye'ldz lived
in the swamp (Kelly's Marsh, east of Sumner). It was his practice to kill the
people and eat their hearts.

At last one of five brothers went to kill the monster. The monster killed
him and ate his heart. The second brother went to kill the monster. He, too,
was killed and his heart eaten. The third, also, met the same fate. The fourth
was killed, but his heart was not taken out.

Then the fifth and youngest brother went and killed the monster beaver.
Then he turned to the last brother who had been slain, and stepping over the
body again and again brought the dead brother to life.

Then he said, "The generation of beings about to be brought on the earth
shall be mortal. Of each family some shall die, but not all ; some shall be left."

THE BROTHERS KILLED BY A MONSTER (Second Version)110

There were five brothers, hunters, who lived in the same house. They were all
wealthy. The oldest said, "I shall go to seek a wife tomorrow."

Next morning he went to seek a wife. He traveled all day. There came
a heavy rain. Near night the man saw a deer, but failed to kill it. The deer
ran. There was much rain. He could hear some women singing, "Ya' ya ya'
ya." There were ogresses. The man ran in that direction. "I shall get a
woman," he thought, but it rained only the harder.

It became dark, while much rain fell. The man found a fir tree and under
it a dry place to sleep. "I shall sleep here," he thought. He made a fire. He
lay down.

Late at night he fell asleep. A voice called, "How are you? Do you
sleep?" "Yes, I sleep," was the answer. Five times the voice called. Finally
the man fell asleep. Then the monster came down the tree and killed him ;
then hid him behind logs. This happened also with the next three brothers.

The youngest brother cried, "All my brothers are dead!" He set out, as
the others had. He heard a woman singing. It was the ogress. The young

108 Narrated by James Goudy (Skagit-Puyallup).

108 Related by John Simon (Upper Puyallup, Tuwakwabc).

110 Related by Jack Smo'xta (Green River).

1929] Ballard, Paget Sound Mythology 115

man laid down his quiver and covered it. The ogress came down the tree in
the form of a bear and tried to kill the quiver. The young man kept shooting
arrows from one side and killed the ogress. He brought his brothers to life.

One of the brothers said, "I have slept a long time." "Yes, you have slept;
you were dead, killed by a bear." The first brother had been dead so long he
could not stand. Nowadays it is not dangerous for people in heavy shadow,
but only in the dead dry timber. Formerly the shadow would kill people. It
used to be a woman, that shadow.

THE BROTHERS KILLED BY A MONSTER (Third Version) »*

There were five brothers of whom the four elder were wolves. The youngest
was called Siso'bcid. There was news one evening of a feast at a distance and
the oldest wolf brother prepared for a journey to that place. Early in the
morning he set forth, taking with him a bow, arrows, and quiver.

He journeyed along and every bird he found he killed and hung upon a
bush. Toward evening he heard a woman, as he thought, singing, so he went
in search of her. He went along; he found Bluejay. He aimed and shot an
arrow at Bluejay, but missed, and the bird flew away singing "Ka'tsa, ka'tsa,
ka'tsa," in mockery.

Next the wolf brother found Deer standing in his path. He drew his bow
and shot, but the arrow missed and Deer escaped. The wolf brother passed
on. It was getting late now and night was settling on the land.

The wolf brother came to a place of shadow. "Here is a good place to camp
for the night," he thought, "Here I shall be dry and rest safely." So he built
himself a fire, having kindled it from his bundle of dry cedar bark. Then he
lay down to rest.

Darkness soon had covered all the earth. Lying there, Wolf brother heard
a voice from the shadow asking, "Are you still awake?" and to this he replied,
"Yes, I am still awake." Again the voice asked, "Are you still awake?" and
again he answered drowsily, "Yes, I am still awake." Again the voice asked and
again the man answered still more drowsily. The fifth time the voice asked
there was no reply. This time the man had fallen into a deep sleep.

Immediately the monster of the shade came down and slew the man. It
cut out his heart and devoured it, then cast the body behind the tree where none
could see, and ascended the tree again.

When the oldest wolf brother had set out he had said, "If I find a big cele-
bration I shall be gone all day tomorrow." At the close of the morrow the
oldest brother had not returned and the second oldest said, "If my elder brother
has found a big celebration I shall go likewise." So he set out the next morning.

He traveled along. He found a bird hanging from a bush. "This is what
my brother killed," he said. He did the same as the oldest brother. He heard
a woman singing where his older brother had heard her the day before. "The

111 Related by Susie (Lake Washington).

116 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

place where that singing is, is where I shall find my brother," he thought.
"There are many people where that singing is."

The second wolf brother found Bluejay in the same place as the oldest,
aimed and missed, and the bird flew away mocking. He found a deer, aimed,
missed, and the deer ran away. This happened at the same place as on the
former occasion.

Wolf brother came to a place of shadow. "This is a good place to camp,"
he thought. "Here is the fire my brother had." So the second wolf brother
kindled a fire and lay down. The supernatural being of the shade called down
to him, "Are you awake yet?" "Yes, I am still awake," he answered. So it
went until the fifth time when there was no answer from the man. Then the
supernatural being came down and cut out his heart and cast the body behind
the tree.

The third wolf brother said, "My brothers are having a good time and I
shall join them." So on the third morning he set out upon the journey. He
found a bird in the same place his brothers had found one and he killed it. He
hung it upon a tree. In the same place as his brothers he found a bluejay and
a deer, and like his brothers he drew his bow, shot his arrow and missed.

Like them he found the place of the shadow. Like them he kindled a fire
and lay down to sleep. The voice called and the brother answered till the fifth
time, when the being came down the tree, cut out his heart, devoured it and cast
the body away.

The fourth wolf brother said to Siso'bcid, the fifth and youngest, "My
elder brothers are having a good time and they are among a great concourse
of people. I shall set out to meet them tomorrow." So he set out and did as
his older brothers, and came to the same end.

Then Siso'bcid, the fifth brother, made ready to set out on the same journey
the fifth day. He got everything ready, his bow, arrows, and quiver. He went
a little distance away from his quiver and called to it. The quiver did not answer
as it should ; it was not modeled right. So he worked upon the quiver to make
it talk more plainly, and put it back in its place. Then he went off a little dis-
tance and talked. This time the quiver answered properly and the man said,
"You are perfected now."

Next morning he started out upon a journey to find his brothers. On the
way he found hanging in the tree the birds which his elder brothers had killed.
The one first killed was now half decayed. He went on. He killed no birds.
He went on till he found a bluejay. He killed it. He went on and found a
deer. He killed it. He came up to the shadow place. He addressed his brothers
thus :

TiLa'xwsoi, tul dzEgwa
(?) from the monster.

He kindled a fire in the same place as his elder brothers had kindled it.
He laid the quiver down by the fire, then went on the other side of the tree
and stood watching for the monster. The spirit of the shadow called, "Are

1929] Ballard, Paget Sound Mythology 117

you awake yet?" The quiver answered, "Yes." The fifth time there was no
answer and the spirit thought, "He is asleep." Then the shadow came down
to kill this man as he had the others. He went to the quiver and attempted to
cut him open, as he had cut the others, but Siso'bcid shot him with his arrows
and killed him.

Siso'bcid then took the dead bodies of his four elder brothers and laid them
side by side a half step apart. He cut open the shadow, took out the hearts it
had eaten, and placed them back in the bodies of his brothers. In the body of
the brother next older than himself he first placed the heart, then stepped over
the body five times and the brother rose. To the next elder brother he did
the same and the same with the next. But the eldest he could not raise because
the heart was now rotten. Many times Siso'bcid tried to raise him, but the
oldest brother could move only a little. Siso'bcid gave up the attempt because
the heart was rotten.

He said, "The generation of human beings is coming soon." The oldest
is now the first to die.

He cut up the caba'lop112 and threw the pieces in all directions. He said,
"There will be no shadow-monster. Where there is shade, it will be a good
place to camp, now that people are coming into existence."

THE SUCKING MONSTER (First Version) "3

Siso'bcid went on with his three living brothers. They killed many deer.
When they had killed two or three, Siso'bcid would hold them till they became
small and easy for his brothers to carry, and thus they would bring them to camp
without great effort.

The brothers went on till they found an old man sitting. He was a monster
of the kind that would draw to him and eat anything that came by, bird, beast,
or anything. Siso'bcid recognized the monster before they had come near him.
This monster was named Batks. He was of the kind that is called so'totsid; the
kind that would draw anyone to him in spite of one's self.

Siso'bcid and his elder brothers came to where Batks was sitting. Batks
thus addressed them, "I am full now, but I shall eat you tomorrow." The brother-
ers camped at this place until next day. The next morning, Batks was hungry.
Siso'bcid said to him, "We have plenty of meat for your breakfast, which you
may eat to appease your hunger." Having thrown down the game Siso'bcid made
the carcasses big again and very fat. He cooked the meat and gave meat and
soup to Batks, who ate it all.

The monster said to Siso'bcid, "I shall eat you today, sometime when I am
again hungry." Batks was full and sleepy. He said, "I had better sleep awhile.
There are plenty of lice on my head; you had better look for them." Batks fell

112 The site of Old Tacoma is caba'bp, Shadow Monster. It is probable that this myth
was localized there.

113 Related by Jack Stillman (Snuqualmi) and Susie (Lake Washington).

US University of Washington Publications in Anlliropology [Vol. 3

asleep. Siso'bcid sat down and looked for lice on his head. He addressed his
brothers, "Go on! Don't stop! Run as hard as you can."

Siso'bcid stayed; his brothers were gone. Soon they had passed four rivers.
' [e arose. He said, "What shall I do now? I shall make a little dog." He made
a dog and told him to look for lice. The dog looked for lice. Siso'bcid said,
"You are perfected now."

He was now about to follow his brothers. He had five arrows. In five di-
rections he shot them. He told the dog, "If Batks wakens and asks where we have
gone, bark in this direction the first time." The monster soon awakened, and
asked where the brothers were. The dog barked in the direction pointed out.
Then Batks drew everything from the direction indicated until he drew in the
arrow and found that Siso'bcid had not gone that way.

Batks again asked of the dog where the men had gone. The dog barked in
another direction. Batks drew in everything from that direction until he drew

in the arrow and found that Siso'bcid had not gone that way. Thus did Batks

until the fifth time. The fifth time, after he had gotten four arrows, Batks drew

in from the direction in which Siso'bcid had gone.

First he drew in the dog. Siso'bcid had told the dog, "If Batks draws you
in, eat out his heart." So after Batks had drawn in four arrows, he drew in the
dog. The dog began eating the monster's heart.

Batks was now drawing the brothers. Siso'bcid now asked his brothers,
"Have you a supernatural helper?" Each answered. The oldest told what his
helper was. His was the snow. Batks drew in the snow. He asked of the sec-
ond brother what his power was. "The supernatural helper of our elder brother
was worthless," he said, "The monster sucked it in." "The sand is mine," said
the second brother. Batks drew in the sand, but the dog was still eating at his
heart. Siso'bcid asked the third brother what was his power. "Mine is the dry
brush," said he. This also was drawn into the maw of the monster. By this time
the monster was getting weak.

Now Siso'bcid called on his power. His was the down of the cottonwood
tree. All this down was sucked in by the monster. By this time the dog had
eaten all the heart and the monster was dead.

Then Siso'bcid and his brothers went back to the monster. They opened the
monster and got out the dog. It ran about. They cut up the monster and threw
the pieces in all directions, throwing the head to the north.

To the monster they said, "The generation of people is coming and there
shall be no monsters ; the people will kill them." So the monster was destroyed.114

THE SUCKING MONSTER (Second Version)!"

Wildcat had four brothers, two of them wolves and two of them cougars.
They were famous hunters and would bring deer, bear and all manner of game

114 There is a third story about the five brothers but we da not remember it (Susie
and interpreter).

115 Related by John Xot (Puyallup).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 119

home to camp. Wildcat, their little brother, was not their equal in the hunt, and
they were accustomed to leave him at camp to keep the pot a-boiling. So he was
always cooling and eating the savory venison and bear meat.

Upon leaving camp his brothers, the wolves and cougars, would caution him,
"Stay at camp and do not let the fire go out." On one of these occasions, how-
ever, Wildcat became forgetful of his brother's instructions, and while his at-
tention was directed elsewhere, the juice of the meat kept boiling over and spilling
upon the fire till the embers were utterly quenched.

Now across the valley there lived a monster, Batks by name. Batks would
kill anyone who ventured near him and the brothers were all fearful of him. At
this time the old man was sleeping, with his back to the fire. Wildcat thought,
"There is my chance ; I will take an ember from that fire while Batks is sleeping."
So he made his way to the camp of the old man, and while the old man seemed to
sleep he took the fire and made his way back to camp.

By this time his brothers had returned from the hunt. Wildcat told them,
"Brothers, while the meat was cooking the juice boiled over and quenched the
embers. Nevertheless, I have snatched a coal from the fire of our neighlxjr and
he did not know it." "Oh ! Be sure he did know it," said the brothers. "We shall
fall into misfortune."

Hardly had they composed themselves when Batks, himself, appeared. "My
grandson came and invited me to your camp," he said. Much as they feared
him, the brothers made the best of it and offered the old man food. They fed him,
and they fed him and they fed him. He ate and ate and ate. He ate all the meat
in the basket and then he drank all the juice. Then he said, "Well, my grand-
children, I am going to sleep. WThen I wake up I will eat some more." And
he went to sleep.

As soon as the old man had gone to sleep, Wildcat and his brothers left
camp and did not stop till they reached a hill. Then they took counsel among
themselves. "He will merely draw in his breath and draw us toward him whether
we will or not, for whatever he will he draws to him and it is destroyed." The
elder brothers, the wolves and cougars each named his helper. "That is my help-
er,"-each one said. "With this I shall save myself." Thus all the brothers spoke.
At last they said to the youngest, "What is your supernatural power?" "Oh! I
have none," he at first replied, diffidently. "Have you no power?' "The cotton
that blows from the cottonwood and willow in seed time is my power. That is
the only thing that I have received."

Now the old man drew in his breath. He drew in and drew in. The wolves
and cougars could not withstand his power. As they were about to lose their
hold, the little one called upon the cottonwood down and willow down for help.
When Batks continued drawing in, the down filled his nostrils and his lungs,
like a storm of snow and he burst open.

Then the five older brothers said to Wildcat, "We are going to leave you.
We shall hunt and feed upon the deer and larger game. If a portion of the
carcass is left you may consume it. At other times you shall follow up the creeks
and feed upon the salmon." After saying this they became wild.

120 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

TRANSFORMER AND THE MOUNTAIN (First Version)118

Long ago T'qobad was a person. She always knew when anyone was traveling
near and used to suck in her breath and devour such a one. She drew in cougars
and all kinds of animals.

Xode found out about it. He thought, "It will be bad if she keeps on de-
vouring people in the future age; it will not do for her to eat people. I shall
kill her and turn her to harmless rock." Xode made three ropes.

He crept up to the mountain (and fastened himself with the three ropes).
He tied one (to a tree) to the right of him, one to his left and one straight be-
hind him. He sat up so that T'qobgd could see him.

T'qobad said, "Oh, a man is sitting there. He must be the Z9gw9 stobc
(Transformer)." She asked, "What do you want?" Xode said, "Oh, I am com-
ing to draw breath (with you and see which is the stronger). But first let us
vomit and see what each one of us ate."

T'qobad said, ' [Very well], I shall vomit first, you afterwards." Xode said,
"Very well, we shall have our eyes closed. When we are through we shall both
open our eyes and see what each one has eaten and thrown up."

T'qobad vomited first. She threw up the bones of the people she had eaten,
nothing but bones. Xode drew the bones toward his side. Xode vomited a
handful of the red seed pods of the little wild rose and shoved it toward T'qobad.
"Now open your eyes and you will see," said Xode. T'qobad opened her eyes.
"When was I eating these things?" she wondered. "Oh, that man is a zagwa
(ogre)."

"Now we shall draw each other; get ready. I shall be the first to draw,"
said Xode. Xode drew ; he raised T'qobad a little from the ground.

T'qobad drew. One of Xode's ropes broke.

Xode drew a second time. He raised T'qobad a little higher this time. She
was frightened.

T'qobad drew a second time. Another rope broke. Xode had only one rope
left.

Xode drew a third time. He raised T'qobad still higher than before.

T'qobad drew a third and last time. She drew and drew him inside and
smothered him. Xode was inside the mountain among the cougars. He said,
"Get away; give me room to start a fire." Xode got his fire drill ready and
made a fire.

When the fire got good and hot the grease began to drip and drip. As the
grease dripped on the fire it got warm and smoky inside. As the fire grew hotter
the ogress began to squirm about and ache. After a time she ceased to move.
Xode thought, "She is dead now." Then he walked out and looked at her. "She
is dead."

[Xode pronounced judgment], "You shall not do thus any more. You shall
not suck the people in. You shall be a [mere] rock. There shall be water running
out from you; there shall be water inside you. People shall step over your legs
and you shall not molest them."

116 Narrated by Tom Milroy (Upper Puyallup).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 121

TRANSFORMER AND THE MOUNTAIN (Second Version)117

T'qobid was a woman in the ancient time. She was bad; she ate people.
Her feet were everywhere. She killed one, two, three. She ate Grizzly, every-
thing.

Xode thought, "It is not good for the mountain to eat people, not good for
the later people. I'll kill her." He killed her.

Xode crept up ; the mountain did not see him. Now he is near. He fastened
three ropes to his body and tied them to three trees behind him. He wanted to
learn if that mountain were stronger than he. T'qobid saw him. She asked,
"What do you come for?" Xode answered, "I came for you ; who is the stronger,
you or I ?" The mountain said, "What do you want to do?" Xode said, "To learn
who is the stronger, let me see what you eat." The mountain said, "Very well."
Xode said, "You vomit first." The mountain said, "Very well." The mountain
belched, and out came the bones of Indians. Xode raked in the bones. Xode
vomited berries and pushed them towards the mountain, saying, "See my food."

The mountain saw the red berries and thought, "Where did I eat them? I
do not know what those berries are. That Indian is strong." Afterwards she
said, "Now! sototogwalA'xtciL (let us begin to draw our breath)." Xode said,
"I first." He drew. The mountain was afraid ; she rose up. The mountain
drew and Xode rose. He broke one rope, only two were left.

Xode said, "Well, I shall do the same as you." He drew a second time. The
mountain rose straight up. The mountain drew and Xode rose up. He broke
another rope. Only one rope was now left.

Well ! Xode drew a third time. Then the mountain drew a third time. Xode
broke the last rope and was drawn inside the mountain. He found bear and
other animals inside of the mountain. He said to them, "Go away, I shall kindle
a fire." He kindled a fire and caused much smoke and a great heat so as to melt
all the fat from her body. She shuddered. Now she is dead. Xode got out.
Then he pronounced judgment upon her.

"Well ! In the future you shall be harmless rock. You shall not eat people.
People will walk upon you and you shall not eat them."

THE FIVE BROTHERS AND THE BEAVER (First Version)118

At the end of Kelly's Swamp, east of Sumner, known as kwA'xtci there lived
a beaver. He was a king-beaver, but not of the kind known as zAgwa.

Some brothers were discussing among themselves what should be done. No
one had been able to kill the beaver. One of the brothers, who was named
Xwia'tcap, said, "I can kill the beaver." "No, he will kill you," said his brothers.

However, Xwia'tcap made himself a spear pointed writh elk-horn, with a cord
of elk-hide attached to the shaft. Coming within range of the beaver, Xwia'tcap
secured the free end of the thong to a sapling and cast the spear straight at the
beaver.

117 Narrated by Tom Milroy (Upper Puyallup).

118 Related by John Simon (Upper Puyallup).

122 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

As soon as the spear was thrown the hunter ran. The tree held the beaver
impaled by the spear. Struggle and bite as he might, the beaver was not able to
free himself nor to injure the man. Finally Xwia'tcap called his brothers and
they quickly killed the beaver.

THE FIVE BROTHERS AND THE BEAVER (Second Version) »•

There is a big rock on the right bank of the Duwamish. The name of that
rock is "Beaver House." There is a story about that.120

Five brothers lived in one house together. The eldest brother heard about
the monster beaver that used to live in the swamp. He wanted to kill and eat
that beaver. He went out to kill the beaver. He came home at night, tired our.
The big beaver had almost killed him.

The youngest brother slept all the time, day and night. The elder brothers
said to him, "Get up and help us." The youngest brother replied, 'T cannot do
anything," and went back to sleep.

The youngest brother was dreaming of Thunder. Thunder said to him, "I
and you will kill Big Beaver." The boy was getting power from Thunder, while
asleep.

The elder brother went out and fought, but again Big Beaver nearly killed
him. This was the fourth time.

On the fifth time the youngest brother said, "Do not go. I am getting ready,
prepare my weapons." He had power from Thunder. It was getting near noon.
He said to his elder brothers, "Stand there and watch him."

Thunder came down. That lightning broke the rock in two. Big Beaver
got out. The elder brothers ran away.

HOW DATCAP KILLED THE BEAR"*

Some men were saying, "Who is strong enough to kill the bear?"

One of them, DA'tcap by name, said, "I am stronger than any of you. I can
kill him." Thereupon they searched for the bear's sleeping place. They found
him under a log.

"Here he is ; let's get him out," they said. The bear began to creep out.

DA'tcap had brought a stone with him. Seizing the bear by the ear, DA'tcap
struck him five times with the stone and killed him.

MINK AND HIS GRANDMOTHER (First Version) "2

Mink said to his grandmother, "I want to go and fish." He went fishing.
Other fishermen got a great many fish. He made a slido'p. Mink said, "Grand-

119 Narrated by Dan Silelus (Lake Washington).

120 A rocky knoll on the right bank of the Duwamish, east of the interurban railway
bridge is called by other informants, skiA'kw, which is said to mean "Beaver House." Dan
calls this place t'pa'ltXW; cf. the name of the grandmother of Moon.

121 Related by John Simon (Upper Puyallup).

122 Related by Jack Smohalla (Green River).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 123

mother, I want your tsovviL to put on the hook." Mink's grandmother cut and
gave it to Mink. He put it on the hook. He fished and caught one fish.

Mink went home and took the fish to his grandmother. "Take the fish."
She took one fish. "Why are you so slow?" (she said). "I have many fish in
the boat but they will steal them."

Mink rubbed and many fish came. He had lied to her. He said, "You are
very slow; I am losing many fish."

MINK AND HIS GRANDMOTHER (Second Version)123

The people were trolling for Dolly Vardens (pVsatc) ; everyone was getting
fish. There were two men in one canoe. Each time Mink met them he asked,
"What kind of bait?" No answer. Finally the man in the bow said in derision,
"titsowiLa'lotc titsowiLa'lotc," and nothing more. Mink went straight home.

Mink asked his grandmother, "Cut a little piece for bait; everyone is having
luck with it."

As Mink started out everyone was going home. He went in their place count-
ing on luck. "If I were a whale I should draw in air, swallow canoe and all,"
he sang. A whale came up each time he sang. It drew near. It drew in Mink,
canoe and all.

Mink was inside the whale. While inside the whale Mink thought, "I did
wrong asking Whale to take me." His canoe had a broken bow; it was called
tsabA'lks, "broken bow." The canoe was the kind we call sdack'kwiL. Mink said,
"I know I shall get out." He took some slivers from the broken bow and drilled
for fire. After the fire started he went to the stern and crept under it to escape
from the smoke. Mink got his whale. The whale moves, moves, moves, stops.
Mink knows it is dead.

Mink held his ear against the wall. Soon he heard someone knocking. He
listened ; he understood ; someone was working. Mink sang,

tultcaa-' tul tcaa-' tulatctcaiad
From whence the sound?
tula'tcigwA'dtcid ati kwa'dic kwa'dic
I am sounding from inside the whale.

The old man was building a canoe. The fifth time Mink sang, the old man,
listening, saw a big whale. He ran home to report. They got a man skilled in
butchering. He cut a hole in the whale large enough for one person. He asked
anyone present to try the hole to see if it were large enough. A big woman in
the crowd said, "I'll try." She went in. Mink reached his hand up to seize her.
The woman retreated. She said, "You have a man in there."

Mink said, "What's the matter? Can't you let my game be? That's my
outfit ; my canoe and fishing utensils are in there."

Mink told his grandmother he had caught a whale with the bait she had
given him.

123 Narrated by Joe Young (Puyallup).

124 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

MINK TRAPS A MONSTER (First Version)*"

Mink and his brother were camping by a creek just before the break of
spring in late February, at the time the salmon were going back down stream
after laying their eggs.

Mink made a trap of cedar limbs rounding at the top, the small end down
stream and the open portion up stream. Mink's brother thought, "Mink has
made this trap for trout." He did not know that Mink had made it for some-
thing else. Night came and they slept. Next morning Mink called his brother,
"Wake up, go and see the trap; it might have a salmon." The boy went down to
see. He saw a trout in the trap. He hallooed, "Come down, we have a trout in
the trap." Mink went down. When he got down, he told his little brother, "You
are calling me for nothing ; that trout is nothing, not worth hallooing for." So
Mink untied the end of the trap and let the trout go.

Next night they slept. On the third morning Mink said to the boy, "Go
down and see the trap." The boy went down and hallooed, "Come down! There
is something in the trap." Mink went down. He saw he had caught a land ot-
ter. Mink killed the land otter for he wanted it. He took it to camp and flayed
the carcass. When Mink was through flaying it, he put sticks inside the pelt,
stretched it, and put it away high up in the house. Mink called the land otter his
nephew. The land otter had been floating downstream looking for supernatural
power and had got caught in the trap. At noon Mink heard people say, "Young
Land Otter has been lost." Then he started crying. When crying he said, "Prob-
ably my nephew got caught in a trap." But Mink himself was the only one who
had a trap.

On the fourth night they slept. In the morning Mink woke his little brother.
"Go down and see the trap," he said, "we may have something in that trap."
Mink's brother found something in the trap, a big tyee salmon. When Mink came
down he said, "That is nothing to halloo about ; untie the trap and let him go."

The fifth night passed and in the morning as before Mink's brother went
down to see the trap. He shouted. "We've got something." When Mink came
they had something, sure enough. Mink's brother was all twisted up and about
to die. Mink saw the monster caught in the trap. They had caught aia'xos, one
of the strongest of the 'supernatural powers. The aia'xos is a monster having
the head and f orequarters of a deer and the body of a snake ; it is the most pow-
erful living thing.

Mink stepped back and forth over the prostrate form of his brother and
sang,

otLa'tcid bes salwa't tisu'suqwa

I am just as powerful as anyone, my little brother.

Mink truly was just as powerful as any of them. When his brother became
strong, Mink killed the aia'xos.

Mink had camped there because he had heard that all kinds of salmon go

124 Related by John Xot (Puyallup).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 125

down the creek in the early spring. He had made the trap in order to find super-
natural power.

People learned that Mink had trapped young Land Otter. When this be-
came known Mink took flight and went to hide in the swamp with his sisters, the
frogs. People lost sight of him and could not find which way he had gone. Later
they found he had gone to his sisters, the frogs. Land Otter set his people to
watch for Mink, "Kill him when he comes out." Mink heard their plan and
sent word, "I am not afraid; I shall come ashore some day." By one man he
sent word, "Tell Land Otter I am going ashore tomorrow. I do not care if [
am killed, but I am going ashore tomorrow."

As Mink was about to go ashore, his sisters, the frogs were crying, "Do not
go ashore, you will be killed. Stay in the boat." "No, I am going ashore. All
I ask you to do is to put pitch all over my body." So when Mink started for
shore he started to dance and sing,

Hoble' kwisupA'l sAlgwa'
Hotale' kwisupA'l SAlgwa'
They are blaming someone else.

Mink tried by singing this song to bring it about that they really would blame
somebody else.

All Mink's sisters, the frogs, sang with him. They made a big noise, as they
do now. They sang,

waxe'e' waxe'e'

In the early springtime now it is customary for us to say, Mink is coming
ashore. We call the month of February waq waq o's, Frog's face.

Mink jumped ashore from the boat and went into the house of the land-otter
people. The pitch on him caught fire when he passed the fire. The people in-
side cried, "Oh, he is a great man. It is no use trying to kill him." So they
jumped out and ran away, and some of them were turned to birds .

MINK TRAPS A MONSTER (Second Version) *™

Mink heard of Slowat, a great man, a monster. Mink started, he and his
younger brother, LE'tcab. They came to a place and camped over night. Mink
made a trap for salmon going down stream. The name of that trap is sXwe'ap.
In the morning Mink sent his brother to look into the trap. On the fifth morn-
ing his brother found a monster in the trap. It was Aia'Xos. When Mink's
brother saw it, he got all twisted up.

Mink thought, "I had better go and see what has happened to my brother."
He went and found his brother all twisted up. Mink said, "What are you doing
here?" LE'tcab could say nothing. Mink said, "What is wrong with you, that
you should get like that? I am an aia'Xos too."

125 Told by Jonah Jack (Puyallup).

126 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Mink doctored and sang:

kwapo'tsutwati tla'lcid aia'Xos.
Get straight ; I am aia'Xos.

They took Aia'Xos and killed it. They went on. Mink said to his brother,
"You had better get under the sand. See if I can hit you spearing a flounder."
Mink's brother got under the sand. Mink speared him. Mink got him out almost
dead. Mink cried:

zaa- q zaa- q sko'pkopats
Fall, fall ! hemlocks
oa'tabod tisia'b tsoso'kwa
Died, my dear little brother !

They went on. Mink tried different tricks by which he might get Slowat.
He would put pitch on himself and dance by the fire till the pitch burned out.

They kept on a few nights [day's journey] till they landed. They had a few
dry clams. Mink left his brother under a canoe with five clams to eat. "I shall
go and see if Slowat is about," he said.

Mink came to Slowat in the house. They practised. Slowat asked, "What
do you eat?" Mink said, "Oh, I am as great as you are. I eat almost anything."
Slowat said, "Let us dance." They built a big fire and danced about. Mink
grappled with Slowat and sang:

tla'lcid stilwat
I am stilwat.

Mink got Slowat on the fire and Slowat burned to death. Mink went back and
found his brother dead.

MINK KILLS SLOWAT1-26

Slo'wat was a chief who lived back up the Snoqualmie River at a place called
XeXo'lgwad. He possessed much wealth, many articles of metal ; even his hat
and other garments were of metal, shining like the sun.

The people down the river here wished and longed to get the articles of shin-
ing metal away from him. So they made up a party and went to the house of
Slo'wat with the purpose of killing him and getting the shining metal. The party
arrived and demanded admittance. The door closed and pinched off the head,
leaving the body outside. Slo'wat picked up the head and hung it up within the
house. Thus the door did the work and Slo'wat merely picked up the heads un-
til all were killed.

Another group set out to attack Slo'wat and met with a like fate. Another
group also was destroyed in like manner, and another and another until five war
parties perished.

126 Related by Snuqualmi Charlie (Snuqualmi).

1929] Ballard, Pttgct Sound Mythology 127

Finally Mink heard of Slo'wat and how he was killing all who went against
him. Then Mink talking to himself said, "I shall go to see Slo'wat." Making
ready his canoe, Mink said to his brother, "We shall get ready and go to see
Slo'wat." So Mink got the canoe ready and they started up the river. They
landed and drew the canoe up on the bank. Then Mink gave the word to his
brother, "Stay here until I return." He placed the canoe over him for shelter.
Mink gave him one clam for food and left him.

Mink journeyed up the river till he came to a village. Of them he asked,
"How far is it to Slo'wat now?" The people did not answer. Mink went on.
Of the next village he asked the same question and they replied, "What do you
wish to see Slo'wat for?" Mink went on. He was getting close to Slo'wat now.
He saw some pitch. Said he, "Pitch is my grandmother. I shall wear you for
my dress."

Mink went on again with the pitch on him. He got to the house of Slo'wat.
He looked at the door and at the pile of heads on the shelves high above. He
watched the door. The door opened. He made a spring and alighted within
the house. Crying, "Why did you come in?", Slo'wat seized him. Slo'wat tried
to force Mink out from the house, but Mink kept working toward the fire. Mink
caught fire; Slo'wat also caught fire. Mink kept repeating within himself, "I am
Slo'wat, myself. I am Slo'wat, myself." This he repeated and held Slo'wat
until he died.

Mink took all the articles of shining metal, which had belonged to Slo'wat,
loaded them upon his back and started for home. All the tribes along the river
heard that he had killed Slo'wat. Going to the riverside to get his canoe, he
found his brother dead. "I left sufficient food for you, my brother," he said.

FROG WOMAN AND HER HUSBAND127

Frog Woman heard about two good men who were hunters. She picked
the best man for her husband. She stayed at home all the time. She missed her
husband ; she wished for him.

She became pregnant. She fell sick. She went to the lake where her mother
was. She left her baby in the lake ; she hid it with her mother.

The man went out hunting. He was near the lake. In the lake the baby
called, "Papa!" It did this four times. The man fed the baby deer gristle.
Then he knew the child for his own.

The man went home feeling sad. He dried meat. He talked to his wife. He
said, "Why did you take the child to the water and not keep it at home? It is
hungry." The wife did not answer; she would never talk. She just sat down.
Another woman asked her, "Why do you not talk?" But she would not talk;
she just sat still.

327 Narrated by Ann Tack (Green River).

128 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

At last she leaped and sang :

to'Xod si a'd ad to'Xodsia'dad

to'X tcid is e's ta to'Xtcidise'sta

I am just the same; I am just the same.

I am just that way; I am just that way.

The woman went to the lake and became a frog. Now she talks half the year.

PHEASANT GOES TO THE LAND OF THE DEAD (First Version)1^

Pheasant had a family of five children. Wildcat was a hunter. He wished
to marry Pheasant's daughter but she did not like him. The daughter went out
for cranberries. She began to sing, mockingly, about Wildcat. She went to pick
the berries, leaving Wildcat at the house.

Wildcat missed Pheasant Woman, and wondered, "Where is she?" He went
out and sought her. He found her in the bushes picking berries. Wildcat heard
her singing and calling him names. He grew angry and went home for bow and
arrow. He shot Pheasant Woman and she went home wounded.

Arrived home, she called her children out. "Bring out my hat," she said.
Her father brought the hat. "It is not the one I want," she said. She died. The
father desired to go with her to the World of the Dead. He put the children in
a basket and carried them on his back. Thus he moved out. Then he went with
her.

His daughter closed her eyes. Pheasant thought, "I shall do the same thing
and go with my daughter." So he did. When he opened his eyes he kept within
the right trail on the journey to the spirit land.

They kept going. They arrived at the river. They heard noises, sounds of
life, on the other side. The woman told him to shout. He shouted but no answer
came from the other side. Pheasant kept shouting until he became weary. He
was shouting for a canoe as was the custom when a traveler came to a river with
people on the opposite side. But nobody seemed to hear him. His daughter then
shouted. Then they could see people coming out of the houses for them. The
people came with canoe and ferried them across to the village of the dead.

The dead people ferried the Pheasant people across. They made their home
in the village and Pheasant married there, becoming one of the group. When
the old man opened his eyes he would step upon the dead people, but if he re-
membered and kept his eyes closed he would see the people and not offend by
jostling them. By reason of this annoyance the people grew to dislike his presence
i here and wish him away.

So at last the daughter said to her father, "You had best go back now to
your former home, for here you harm many of the people." Said Old Man Phea-
sant, "Very well, I will go back and take the young of our family with me." So
he put the young pheasants into his basket and took them over with him.

12S Related by Snuqualmi Charlie (Snuqualmi).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 129

On the way home Old Man Pheasant tripped and fell. The young pheasants
spilled from the basket and scattered. He caught but one; the remaining four
went back to their mother.

He arrived home. He had with him one young one only. The remaining ones
went back to the village of the dead. If Old Man Pheasant had brought all the
children back, we should now have many pheasants with us.

PHEASANT GOES TO THE LAND OF THE DEAD (Second Version)"*

The daughter of Pheasant died and he grieved, "Wherever you go, my daugh-
ter, I shall make my journey thither." So he began to go with her to the land of
the dead. "If you come," said she, "close your eyes, then you will find the way.
If your eyes are open you will not see." So Pheasant closed his eyes and he could
see his way clearly, but whenever he opened them he would lose the road. Finally,
below the earth, they reached the land of the dead (sdia'bats). At a distance
they saw the village but before them was a stream. Pheasant shouted to the
people of the village to come with the boat to fetch them across. But he was
of the living people and they were of the dead, so his cry did not reach their ears.
But his daughter gaped (as the dead will), and the dead heard and came with the
boat. As they stepped into the boat, Pheasant forgot himself and opened his
eyes. Then the dead people became nothing but bones, which he stepped upon
unwittingly. They threw him out of the boat. In the village, too, he failed to
see the dead, so that he jostled the people and trampled them. So much was this
to their displeasure that they sent him back to earth.

Pheasant did not return permanently, however, for at a certain season of
the year, he is missing. He then goes on his yearly visit to the dead.

There is another similar story about owl and his wife, but I do not remember
it.

PHEASANT GOES TO THE LAND OF THE DEAD (Third Version)"0

Wildcat wanted Pheasant's daughter for a wife. He came to her house to
visit her. As he sat by the fire his skin grew red and became offensive to her.
She did not like Wildcat and did not want him for a husband.

The father of Pheasant was Spetxs (the man who would not wash his face).
Pheasant (sgwA'lob) had many children.

Pheasant's daughter went out to pick crab-apples as she had always done.
She sang :

kwAlkwAla'btcidgp patcA'b

acXe'bocib patcAb

Wildcat sits by the fire and cooks his skin, Wildcat. . . .

129 Related by John Xot (Puyallup).

130 Narrated by Ann Jack (Green River).

130 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Wildcat drew his bow and shot Pheasant's daughter. He came to the house and
said to the children, "Children, you are wasting the crab-apples." "Why?"

Pheasant's daughter came home to die, but she was getting better. She told
the children, "Give me my basket. If he shoots my crop, (yEle'pas), then I shall
die."

Pheasant's daughter had five hearts [hats?]. She told the children, "Bring
me another heart." The children brought one. "Oh, I want my new one; this
heart is old," she said. But the children had brought the old heart and she died.

She said to her father, "Sleep and follow me." At the lake she said to him,
"Sleep and you shall see the people come." She became angry and said, "Do not
step on the people."

In the place where the dead people were there was much activity and cele-
bration. The dead people swung, gambled with bones, and amused themselves
in other ways.

Spetxs was the father of Pheasant [woman]. Stumbling, he stepped on
and killed many children. The dead people had to take him across the lake to
his home.

PHEASANT GOES TO THE LAND OF THE DEAD (Fourth Version)"1

Pheasant had five children. He did not want Wildcat for a son-in-law.

Pheasant Child was eating crab apples. Wildcat said, "Do not laugh, your

mother has many , you will break the trees." She was singing. Wildcat

wondered, "What is that she is saying?" She was singing,

kwilkwila'btcidabdAb patCA'b

Wildcat understood. He said, "What are you saying?" "Oh, that your skin
is rotten," she answered. "I'll shoot you," he said, but he did not shoot. "Shoot
my crop," she said. Wildcat shot her heart ; he shot her basket. She was dead,
seemingly.

Young Pheasant recovered her breath and went home. "Where is my heart?
Oh, I want my heart, my newest heart." They brought five hearts. Her child
brought an old heart. She died.

She went to the land of the dead and called. They laughed. The old man
came and called ; they laughed. She called again and they knew. They came and
got her.

She said to her father, "Close your eyes and see the people."

The old man got dry wood for fire. It was no good; it was wet. The dead

people told the old man to go from their country. That is the reason Pheasant

does not die.

One man whom I know was afraid to eat pheasant. He did not want to

go to the land of the dead.

131 Narrated by Ann Jack (Green River).

1929J Ballard, Paget Sound Mythology 131

PHEASANT GOES TO THE LAND OF THE DEAD (Fifth Version)*^

Transformer (Xode) was father of Pheasant (sgwAlob). Pheasant was in
the crab-apple tree, singing:

kwAlkwAla'btcicfob dase'yaptcAb
altsigtsud to'los gwA'des

Wildcat was near. She was singing to taunt him about his red skin. He said,
"I will kill you!" Pheasant said, "If you hit me in the crop, quickly I will die."
Wildcat shot her. She went home.

When she got home she sang for magic power. She sang :

we o'tLok tcetsLe'yacid we'wepa'i,

opatso,tcid wusXe'leltc

Give me my cap. I am trying to get up.

Pheasant's child brought her the new cap. Pheasant said, "No, I do not want
that; I want the new one." The children then brought the old cap and asked, "Is
that the new one?" Pheasant answered, "Yes, that is the new one." She put
the old cap on her head ; then she died.

Pheasant went to the ghost land (skaiu). Soon after, Xode followed. They
conversed, "Father, have you come?" "Yes, I wished to see you." "Well, if
you go home bring back two children with you. There are no children here now."

Xode went back. He brought two children. Pheasant had said, "If the
children laugh while on your back, do not say, 'Stop'." Xode was bringing
them. They laughed. He said, "Oh, stop !" The children became nothing. Five
times this happened. He then said, "Only one, I shall take one." He took one
to the house. "Well, that is good," said he, "if I take one at a time." For the
future people it shall not be well to have two children at one time. There shall
be one child each time."133

PHEASANT GOES TO THE LAND OF THE DEAD (Sixth Version)1"

Owl lost his wife by death. He followed her to the land of the dead. His
wife gaped and called the ferryman. If one gapes, he is said to be calling the
dead. (That is, if he gapes after nightfall.) In the land of the dead one can
see people if his eyes are closed. Day below is night above. The owl is below
at night when it is daylight in the graves. When the Indian doctor closes his
eyes he can see into the spirit world beyond. The dead waken at night. Owl
found out all these things.

182 Narrated by Tom Milroy (Upper Puyallup) in Chinook jargon.
i«3 Twins were thought to be monstrosities. There is some evidence to show that it was
at one time customary to put twins to death.
184 Related by Ann Jack (Green River).

132 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

PHEASANT GOES TO THE LAND OF THE DEAD (Seventh Version) »b

Groundsparrow (spEtsXW) was the grandfather of five children. His
daughter, Pheasant (sgwA'lob), was their mother.

Bobcat (patcA'b) lived with his old, old grandfather in the next house.
He took a liking for the widow. He did not win her favor, for he was ugly,
dirty-faced and lean. One day he made himself big with moss; he wrapped
moss about his legs in order that he might appear to be fat.

It was autumn. Every day Pheasant used to be off picking crabapples.
Wildcat knew she went away. He thought, "I shall find out what she is doing."
He trailed her. He drew near and caught her singing. She sang :

tuXe'bosib patcA'b patCA'b Alksaxwa's

Makes an ugly face Wildcat, Wildcat, at his place.

kwulkwala'btcidAbAXW patsA'b patCA'b Alkssxwa's

Sits so close to the fire he gets burnt Wildcat, Wildcat, at his place.

Wildcat planned to shoot Pheasant. He said, "I'm going to shoot you."
She said, "Shoot away." Wildcat shot. Pheasant dodged twice each way.
When Wildcat had shot four times, Pheasant said, "What makes you miss me
so? Hit me in the crop and you'll get me." The fifth time Wildcat shot, he
shot her through the crop.

Wildcat pulled the arrow out and went home. When he arrived at home
the children of Pheasant were playing, throwing crabapples about. Wildcat
advised them to save food as their mother might die or get hurt.

Pheasant revived and came home at nightfall. She asked for her best
yElepa's. That was a food basket, sometimes used for a hat. such as the Yakima
people wear. People used to prepare food by pounding it up in a yEle'pas.
Pheasant had five of them. The children brought her a very new one. She
said, "I want the good one." They gave her the next best and the next, until
they got the one used every day. It was worn through. "That is the best one,"
Pheasant said. She put it on her head. That is how she died.

As Pheasant was dying she sang:

a'tL tcitsu a'cid yEle'pas
Bring-ye, children, [my] hat;
owo'Xtcid txul ela'bats
I go to the Unknown (Unseen).

Groundsparrow said, "If [not recorded] I shall follow my daughter." He
loaded the young in a basket and started with his eyes shut. He traveled with
his eyes shut, trailing his daughter. On the way the little ones slipped away,
one by one. They did not wish to go to the land of the dead.

The old man caught up with his daughter. They arrived at the bank of
the river. The old man, keeping his eyes shut, saw people on the other side
having a good time, playing the old Indian games. The daughter said, "You

135 Related by Annie Jack (Green River), daughter of Ann Jack from whom earlier
versions were obtained.

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 133

yell." He yelled the best he could. The daughter said, "If you don't yell, I'll
kill you." The old man called out five times :

to'lecubs tL,ai

Bring the canoe across.

He could get no answer. The daughter yelled as one gapes for sleep. Two
young people came over in a canoe. Groundsparrow opened his eyes and said,
"There is nothing but bones in the canoe." Pheasant said, "Shut your eyes or
I'll kill you." Groundsparrow shut his eyes and saw two nice looking young
people. The two young people took them across.

On the other side Groundsparrow opened his eyes; he saw nothing but
bones. "Shut your eyes or I'll kill you," said his daughter. He was four days
with the dead. Meantime he used to steal a sight with his eyes open. He saw
that they were dead. He used to walk over the dead people, trampling upon
their bones.

The dead people found fault with Groundsparrow and took him back across
in the canoe. When he landed that was the end of the journey.

Note on the Pheasant Myth1

Pheasant's daughter is blind in one eye. She looks with her blind eye,
talking to the spirits. An Indian never eats the head of a pheasant because half
of it is dead. When she looks to the right she is talking to the living. The head
was ske'ya' (ghostly).

One was held a prisoner on Vancouver Island. She had asked the dead,
"How is this person to go back?" [They answered], "Wait till the footlog is
made ; go right on the footlog."

SPRING SALMON AND STEELHEAD SALMON (First Version)^7

Long ago both the steelheads and spring salmon used to run in the South
Fork of Puyallup River, but they fell into a dispute and a fight over which
should have the river to himself in the future. In the outcome Spring Salmon
was victor and he took from Steelhead all his possessions : his canoe, his paddles,
his pole and even his clothes. Steelhead was left without anything at all with
which to make his way back to his home in the Sound. Spring Salmon had
even taken his bones.

So Steelhead turned to and made for himself bones of yew wood. From
yew he also made his clothes. This is why the skin of the steelhead is so tough.
Then from the same wood he made a canoe and paddles, and started back to
the bay. But before going he thus addressed Spring Salmon, "You have van-
quished me and you may now toss your big head all you please as you make
your way up the river."

136 Recorded from Joe Young (Puyallup).

137 Related by Jonah Jack (Puyallup).

134 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Therefore only the spring salmon run in this river and what dress they
wear is taken from Steelhead. He is handsomely arrayed but still bears his
own head.

SPRING SALMON AND STEELHEAD SALMON (Second Version)"*

Steelhead Salmon came up the river. Spring Salmon also came up river
after a while. Steelhead had made ready and was going home by that time.
As he went down he met Spring Salmon who was coming up. "How is the
river?" asked Spring Salmon, "Is it good?" Steelhead replied, "I suppose this
river is good for a salmon like you, with your big head and big belly, going up
the river." Spring salmon grew angry. He said to his companion, "Let us
attack this Steelhead !" They attacked him. They took his things, paddle, pole,
all other utensils that he had. The latter went down river without his paddle.
He just drifted down. Spring Salmon acquired them all, put them on himself
and went on up the river.

Steelhead floated half way down to the bay and drifted against a snag.
"What shall I get?" he said to himself. He picked out the yew wood and made
a paddle and other equipment of it. Therefore, he is called Skwa'wul, because
his tools were taken from him.

SPRING SALMON AND STEELHEAD SALMON (Third Version)"*

Tyee Salmon (tsa'tsap) was going up the Puyallup River in a canoe with
Trout. These two met Steelhead (skwawul) and a little salmon (tciwa"), com-
ing down. Tciwa" has a big mouth.

Tyee Salmon asked, "How is the river up above?" Steelhead answered, "It
is good for a man with a big head." Tyee Salmon grew angry, for he had a big
head. Tyee Salmon and Steelhead fell to fighting. The two smaller salmon also
fell to fighting.

Now Tyee Salmon does not go up the South Fork any more ; he goes up the
North Fork. Only Red Salmon (sko'Xwits) goes there.

HUMPBACK SALMON140

If Hado, the humpback salmon, is angry as he comes up the river, he brings
a sickness, smallpox or something, upon the people. Hado at his first coming was
somewhat afraid of the Indians. He did not wish to meet with ridicule from
anyone. In coming up the river he did not wish anyone to catch him and throw
him on the bank carelessly. He wanted to be dried and kept for food.

Hado came up the river singing, "I do not want the young people to make
sport of me." Coming up he sang, "The Snuqualmi young people are going to

138 Related by Snuqualmi Charlie (Snuqualmi).

139 Narrated by Tom Milroy (Upper Puyallup) in Chinook jargon.

140 Related by Snuqualmi Charlie (Snuqualmi).

1929] Ballard, Pitget Sound Mythology 135

laugh at me, coming up the river. They laugh at me because I have a hump back,
coming up the river."

Hado came up the river to die. He likes that, lying along the bank. His soul
always goes back home. He goes down-river, saying, "Good-bye," to the people
of Snuqualmi. "It will be another year before I come up the river again," he says.

THE RASH YOUTH AND THE SALMON*"

Although the salmon's body is broken and decays at the end of the spawning
season, the salmon only seems to die. Its soul goes back to its home in the ocean
and returns every spawning season.

Once there was a young man at Shelton Creek who said, "What is this story
the old men tell us about the salmon never dying? I shall make a trial and see
whether the salmon really lives again." The name of the salmon of which he
spoke was toa'Lat.

One day, when the salmon were running strong, the young man speared a
salmon and cast it upon the shore. The young man had with him some cord
woven from cedar bark (slagwats). He fastened this about the salmon in three
places ; about the gills, before the middle sfin and about the tail. The salmon
died. Soon it decayed and passed from sight.

Again it was the season of the salmon run. The salmon were running thick-
ly; they filled the stream from bank to bank. The young man and all the other
people of the village were gathered on the bank to watch them.

At once a king salmon, bound with three cords of cedar bark, came to the
surface and approached the shore. As he had done before, the young man speared
the salmon and cast it upon the shore.

Immediately the young man fell in a faint and expired. The people called a
doctor, who worked over the young man. The doctor learned from his spirit
helper, and told the people, that the salmon had taken the soul of the young man
and borne it to the distant ocean to take the place of his own.

That is why the bow and arrow are hung up and not used during the time
of the king salmon run, which recurs each alternate year. If those weapons
were carried about, a stray arrow might strike and injure the king salmon.14

RABBIT AND GRIZZLY HAVE A CONTEST (First Version)1*3

Grizzly asked Rabbit to go to the Yakima country to play slahal, in a match
game with the Yakima. Rabbit consented and they set forth upon their journey.
When they reached Lake Keechelus, they stopped and made camp. Said Rabbit,

141 Abstract of a story related by George Leslie (Skokomish).

142 George Leslie referred to this salmon as dog salmon, but the term toa'Lat means
king salmon. This salmon is known by several other names in English. The Snuqualmi
call it iyA'kW. Leslie also said this salmon runs every second year, not every year, as the
others do.

143 Related by John Xot (Puyallup).

136 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

"Let us practice before we get to Yakima." "Very well," said Grizzly. So they
began to play. Now Grizzly wanted to eat Rabbit and each time a play was made
Grizzly made as if to seize Rabbit. But Rabbit would leap from under his hand
and the play would proceed.

Failing, Grizzly began singing for rain. He sang, tCAb tCAb tCAb, so that
the Rabbit's fur would become heavy and Rabbit would be unable to move quickly.
But Rabbit sang for the blue sky and frost. Rabbit sang:

saxsaxala'ia,
Kwe'Ex kweExElai'a
Clear sky ! Clear sky !

Rabbit prevailed, for next morning there was ice and the lake was frozen
over. They ate breakfast. After breakfast Rabbit ran out upon the ice and
back. Then he sat by himself. Picking up a portion of his dung, he said, "I
have a rock," and flung it across the ice. "It is solid, see?" said he. Then he ran
off and back, and Grizzly was convinced that the ice was safe.

So Grizzly fared forth with Rabbit to cross the lake. All went well till they
reached the middle, when Grizzly broke through. "Get me a stick," he called.
Rabbit took a stick and held it out to him. But the stick was rotten and broke
with the weight of Grizzly. Again Grizzly called for a stick and Rabbit got a
stick, but the stick was rotten and broke with Grizzly's weight. Finally Grizzly
became so cold and benumbed that he sank and drowned. Then Rabbit jumped
into the woods and became the creature we see today.

RABBIT AND GRIZZLY HAVE A CONTEST (Second Version)144

There is a big stone mountain at Lake Keechelus. The white people have
built a railroad past the foot of it. That is the place where Rabbit and Grizzly
had the gambling match, and Rabbit killed Grizzly. Grizzly turned to stone and
became the mountain we see today.145

Grizzly was rich. He had many blankets and other articles. Rabbit and
Grizzly gambled all night, and Rabbit won all Grizzly's possessions. In the morn-
ing the lake was frozen and Rabbit ran out on the ice. Grizzly tried to follow but
he was tired, going on his haunches. The ice began to crack. "The ice is not
strong," said Grizzly. "Oh, yes it is," said Rabbit. Five times Grizzly started.
The fifth time he started he went out to the middle of the lake and broke through
the ice. Grizzly was drowned.

Rabbit took all of Grizzly's articles ; his blankets, his gloves and his leggings.
He went to the Yakima valley.

That is why the rabbits east of the mountains now have long fur on their
legs. When the Yakima see a rabbit they say, "Those are Grizzly's things. Rab-
bit has Grizzly's gloves and leggings."

144 Related by Ann Jack (Green River).

145 WiyE'lyEtsas is the place where Rabbit killed Grizzly.

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 137

WREN, MOUSE AND WATER OUSEL (First Version) ^

Wren was living in a house with Mouse, his grandmother. Water Ousel
was going up the river in a canoe. Wren, in the house, heard the noise.

Wren said to Mouse, his grandmother, "Dig a hole in the hot ashes and we
shall bury Water Ousel when he comes to fight."

Wren and Water Ousel wrestled and fought. Water Ousel was the stronger ;
he threw Wren in the hole in the ashes. Water Ousel left the house and went
on up the river in his canoe.

Grandmother Mouse dug Wren out of the ashes. He was dead. Mouse sang
a medicine song to bring him to life and she did bring him to life.

That is all.

WREN, MOUSE AND WATER OUSEL (Second Version) 147

Wren was living with Mouse, his grandmother. He asked Mouse for sexual
intercourse. She said, "Patch up the house." Wren looked outside. No one was
coming, it seemed. White Sawbill [American merganser] and Water Ousel were
coming down the river in a boat. They landed the boat. Sawbill, who was boss,
said, "Go and get the news."

Water Ousel went up to the house and opened the door. He saw what they
were doing. He went back to the boat. Sawbill asked, "What news?" "Noth-
ing," said Water Ousel, "only Wren and his grandmother are at it."

Sawbill struck his paddle against the boat. Wren heard the noise and looked
out. He saw the boatmen and asked, "Any news?" "Yes," answered Water
Ousel, "Wren and his grandmother were at it only a short time ago." Wren, in-
sulted, challenged Water Ousel to a wrestle.

Wren had said to his grandmother, "Dig a hole in the ashes of the fireplace.
When I kill him, we shall cover him ; we shall cut his nose out." They wrestled
and Sawbill killed Wren. Mouse covered her grandson instead of Sawbill with
hot ashes. All was silent. She wondered, "What news of my grandson since
he won the battle ?"

She afterwards did something to bring him to life.

BARN OWL AND REDTAIL HAWK148

Barn Owl (qUpqlap)149 had a wife stolen by Redtail Hawk (sia'tc!). Barn
Owl was out hunting. The redtail hawks came for the woman and told her to
get ready. So many were the hawks that she had to go.

They took her. They were gone all that day; they were gone five days.
Barn Owl caught them one at a time. He prayed for a drizzling rain and fog
that would make them scatter. One redtail hawk and then another became cold

146 Related by Jack Stillman (Snuqualmi).

147 Related by Joe Young (Puyallup).

148 Narrated by Joe Young (Puyallup).

149 The name, q lApq lap signifies "champer," an epithet employed because of its habit of
champing the bill when disturbed. This is not the eastern barn owl but another species not
identified by me.

138 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

and fell behind, while the rest passed on ahead. Thus they went on, each one
a day apart from the other.

Barn Owl overtook and killed four of the redtail hawks singly. He overtook
the last one. They fought from the ground up, up, till they disappeared in the
heavens. Barn Owl fought until only his head was left. Nevertheless he claimed
his wife and took her back home. Before he got home his body grew back.

Nowadays if anyone's head is severed from the body it results in death ; the
body will not grow back. If that man had served himself right, used the right
magic, his descendants would be the same way now.

THE GIRL WHO WAS SEEKING A GUARDIAN SPIRIT*™

Owl wished to marry a certain young woman. The young woman did not
want him. That young woman was always swimming in order that she might
obtain a guardian spirit. Owl followed her as she swam. Owl sang:

tUX tUX galo'b
towe'yaXso towe'yaXso

Owl did that to scare the young woman. But when she heard him sing she
thought, "I have got a guardian spirit now ; I know how to get a guardian spirit."

The young woman went home. She said to her parents, "I wish to sing
for a guardian spirit." They cleaned up the house and spread out mats to sit upon.
They sang,

tUX tUX galo'b
towe'ysXso towe'yaXso
Owl came. He sang,

Xte' ba'aX tiL taTbyux

"Looks like an Indian, that guardian spirit."

The young woman became ashamed and frightened. Owl sat down and
stopped singing.

THE BLIND HUNTER AND HIS WIFE (First Version)15'

There was an old man who was getting blind. He had a wife and five chil-
dren. They all used to go out to look for food. Their food was skunk-cabbage.
The youngest child was a girl. She would lead the old man. The older children
would pick the skunk cabbage. They would make a fire and bake the skunk
cabbage on the hot stones. The outside leaves were bad but the inside leaves
were good to eat. The woman would give the outside leaves to the old man for

180 Narrated by Ann Jack (Green River).
151 Related by Ann Jack (Green River).

1929] Ballard, Paget Sound Mythology 139

his portion. The old man would complain of his food. She would tell him, "That
is good food."

One day the children saw an elk. They ran home and told the old man that
an elk was eating skunk cabbage. The old man took his bow and made it taut.
His little girl led him to the place where the elk was feeding. "How are you
going to shoot?" she asked him. "Oh, the same as I used to shoot a long time
ago," he answered. He had the girl point the arrow straight at the elk. "Oh,
yes ! Now shoot it !" the girl said. The old man measured and took aim. He
shot and killed the elk. The girl led him home. His woman got skunk cabbage
and fed him the good part. The girl surreptitiously gave him a little elk meat
with it.

(The girl had supernatural power). She made a rope. It was soft and
pliable. She coiled it up in a boat. She tied a stone to one end of it. "I will take
you in the boat," she said to the old man. They crossed the bay in a boat at a
place called To'dc, beyond the mouth of the Snohomish River.

There was a passage opening under the surface of the bay. An underground
channel, which we call sbadaX, came into the bay at that point.

"The rope will take me to the bottom," said the old man. "Do not cry, my
child." He took the stone. She tipped the boat and lowered him into the water.
He did not come up again. She went home crying, "My father killed himself."

The old man found a supernatural being under the bay. The being152 said,
"O great blind chief, welcome." The dog of that supernatural being licked the
eyes of the old man. He became able to see ; he grew young. He came up from
the bottom of the bay to earth.

The old man now had supernatural power. He built a house; elk came
through that house and they would die; salmon came through that house and
they would die; every kind of game was taken in that way.

People came to his house to get supernatural power, and to dry meat and
fish for themselves from the game which he took. They brought the man gifts
and wives. He would say, "Why do you bring me so many wives ? It was my
child that made me the way I am now ; go and get her." But the girl hid herself.

The man became known as a chief. He hired people and made a big boat.
He went to the north, to British Columbia. He never came back.

THE BLIND HUNTER AND HIS WIFE (Second Version)1"

A man was dwelling with his wife and children. That man was blind. That
wife saw an elk. He asked, "Is it far?" She answered, "It is near." He took
his bow and arrow. She led him out. "Now you cause me to train my arrow,"
he said. He shot. He sensed that he hit the elk. "Undoubtedly you hit the elk.
We shall eat of it," she said tauntingly. She went to dress it. She took the liver
home. Now she cooked it. "It sounds as though liver were cooking," he said.
"That is what it is; it is liver," she jibed.

M2 The name of this power is tio'UbAx. By some it is said to be the greatest of all.
168 Translation of a text by a Snohomish woman.

140 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

She deserted the old man. She made camp where that elk was. She dried
the elk meat. She would not feed her husband. The little girl went to see him.
She fed him elk meat. He took the little girl on his lap. He petted her hair.
Now she told him to eat a little piece of meat. She told him that he did kill the
elk. [She went to him four times. The fourth time] he told that little girl not
to come back again.

He crept away. He arrived at a lake. He felt about him. He found young
cedar limbs. He twisted a rope. Now he tied them end to end. [He made a
raft.] He went out to the middle of the lake. He tied the rope to a stone. He
dove. He touched the bottom of the lake. He reached a house where people were
dwelling. The chief asked, "Who has arrived?" A slave told him, "It is a per-
son who is blind." "Bring him in," the chief said.

The chief began to rub the man's eyes. He began to see. The chief caused
him to look upstream. He caused him to see this pile of goods. He turned
him around, downstream. He showed him this pile of goods.

He floated up. He fell asleep ; he awakened on land. He could see. He

went home. He dwelt there, killing the elk. That little girl came. She went

back there where her mother was. She went to her father four times. She
told her father that her mother wanted him to come back. Her father said

to her, "If she comes, she shall dwell out there."

HOW A BOY SAVED HIS VILLAGE (First Version)"*

Two men (from a village on Commencement Bay) were getting ready to go
scouting. The grandson of one said, "I am going along." The grandfather
whipped him. "You are always crowding yourself in," said he. The boy replied,
"I am going." The other man said, "Let him go ; he has a heart."

The boy went along. They arrived at Adams Prairie where they met thou-
sands of the enemy. The boy killed more people than the two old men. He
would seize the arrows of the enemy and throw them back. The old man, his
grandfather, was nearly dead. "Get up," the boy told him, "you've been asleep
long enough."

The old man got up. They all shot their arrows towards the west and the
people gave way. The old men and the boy traveled westward to the bay, and
followed the beach around past Day Island and Point Defiance to their home at
the head of Commencement Bay near the mouth of De Lynn Creek. The boy
had saved his people.

The blood of the prairie people was washed down the gully and gave the
modern name to that stream. The name was changed from its former name
to dux wa'dAbcab, which means "pertaining to the prairie people." The white
people call it De Lynn Creek.

154 Related by Joe Young (Puyallup).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 141

HOW A BOY SAVED HIS VILLAGE (Second Version)155

One day Si'tuwaltXW and another old man and their granchild, Tawa'stad,
were planning and getting ready for battle with the prairie Indians. "Let us
meet them or they will kill our people," they said.

The old men and the boy took a short cut to the prairie, coming out by Dr.
Spinning's road to a point east of the race track. (The Indian name for that
short cut is sAxba'kwab, which means "to eat clams without water.") Not hav-
ing eaten breakfast previously, they now upon arriving at this place sat down and
ate dry clams without water.

It had been told the little fellow, "So-and-so is coming, go back! You will
fall by the way." "So much the better," said the orphan boy. When they arrived
one man said, "Leave him alone, he must have had a good dream." The boy
now took the lead.

At Rigney Hill they took the middle of the prairie. The boy practised shoot-
ing the arrows up, running under and catching them. The men said, "You are
a nuisance." He was practising for the battle, but they did not know it.

They crossed Clover Creek (sast ku). On the top of the prairie the boy
fell behind. The old men talked. The boy saw foreigners by the thousand. They
lagged. They came after him. "What shall you do?" "Go straight ahead," he
answered.

They fought from the forenoon and killed a number. The boy got in front
of his elders. Whatever arrows came he caught and reversed on the other fellow.
They fought until one of the old men was shot in the stomach. The boy pulled
out the arrow. "Get up : don't sleep ; that is not what you came for. Get up and
light." The man confessed that he had been asleep. The second man had the
same thing happen to him. He came to his senses and told the boy, "Shoot to
the west." The boy shot above the people to the west, then began to kill them
outright. The enemy parted and left an opening; they disappeared from sight.

The old men and the boy returned northwest toward Lake Steilacoom. They
soaked themselves in the cold springs at the head of the lake. It began to thunder
and rain.

Instead of returning directly home they went to the village of the Steilacoom
people. There the people gave them a big dinner. They never told about the
foreigners. After the storm the foreigners followed their tracks to their source.

After dinner the men and the boy went home by following the beach around
past Day Island and Point Defiance. They arrived at their village two days ahead
of the foreigners.

The foreigners came. The New Addition villagers destroyed them all, killing
all but one woman. They held her a few days, then gave her beads, all she could
carry. [It was told her] she must tell the truth about how she was saved. It
was customary after a victory to spare one or more of the enemy.

The name of the foreigners was To'bcided (prairie people).

155 Related by Joe Young (Puyallup).

142 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

HOW A MAN CONQUERED THE ROLLERS OF THE SEA IN DECEPTION PASS15«

There were people living at Big House on Gull Harbor, north of Olympia.
That was the king of houses, known as tca'a'etXw because it has a sunken floor.
The people at that place were called tci tca'c abc.

Something was wrong. A man left his home and family and went to Point
Deffelmeyer. There he fasted and cleansed himself. After certain days he
floated home [and was seen at the village]. He swam out in the bay and re-
turned home ill [because he was not able to dive to the bottom of the bay].

The man swam back to Deffelmeyer Point. There he scoured himself by
scraping his skin clean with twigs. He looked to see if he were perfectly clean.
At last he found what was wrong; there was yet a little soil under his finger
nails. He scraped them with a shell ; several times he scraped them. Each time
after scraping his nails the man dove down.

On the last day he dove, the spirit house at the bottom of the bay drew him
down and his body floated to shore. Down under the water the spirit of the
house showed him mysteries. The spirit of the house commanded the man to go
and conquer the Rollers of the Sea. The Rollers of the Sea were creatures that
would ride the waves and roll down upon and destroy boats and people. They
attacked boats and people somewhere about Deception Pass.

The man had to take a certain number of canoes and men to follow him. He
placed ten double prongs of yew upon the canoes, on stern and prow, to catch
the Rollers. They arrived at the place of the Rollers. As soon as a Roller de-
scended upon his boat he commanded, "Throw it out!" and the prongs threw
the Roller into the deep water. If one of the prongs broke he replaced it.

When he had conquered five Rollers he commanded the men, "Take the
covering from the stern ! Take the covering from the prow !" Before that time
all who did not cover the prows and sterns of their canoes were killed, but all
who had good minds lived.

Three times the man conquered the Rollers of the Sea where they used to
kill people. Then he pronounced judgment upon them, "You shall be naught
but sea-biscuits (tetc ta'djlitc)."

After that the man became "wild." He took the best of his crew in a canoe
to the place above the spirit house and commanded the canoe to go down. Slowly,
as he commanded, the canoe with owner and crew drifted down to the spirit house
at the bottom of the bay.

THE YOUNG MAN'S ASCENT OF MOUNT RAINIER (First Version)1"

This story is not a sXwiya"b (myth). The man in this story was a real per-
son. He was out looking for stL' a'litu'D (magic power). He made five wedges
of elkhorn.

He went to the mountain, T'qo'bad, and began to climb up over the snow. He

368 Narrated by Joe Young (Puyallup).

X67 Related by Tom Milroy (Upper Puyallup).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 143

used the elkhorn wedges to chisel steps in the snow and ice. One wedge wore
out and the man threw it away. He used another and another. The wedges lasted
until he reached the top of the mountain.

At the top of the mountain the man looked about and found a lake. He
stayed one night on the mountain top. He swam and washed himself in the lake.
He gained stL'a'litu'D (magic power) there.

T'qo'bad said, "You have come to stay one night, so I can talk. You shall
grow to be an old, old man. Moss will grow on the joints of both your anns and
on both knees. Your hair will fall out and your scalp will be as moss, and then
in time you will die of old age. At the time of your death, when you are very
old, my head will burst open and the water which you now see [in the lake] shall
flow down the hillsides."

The man picked up two, five pearl shells, of the kind called asXAi'txs. Now !
he starts back. Oh ! it is snowing ! "The mountain does not wish me to take these
shells," he said. He threw down one, then another and another until he had
thrown down all five. Then it ceased to snow.

The young man grew old ; his hair fell out. He grew very old. Moss grew
upon his head, his knees and his elbows. He said to the people, "When I die
look at T'qo'bad. Her head will be broken and the little lake will burst forth."

The man died and it was so. The head of T'qo'bad burst open and the water
rushed down the hillsides and swept the trees from the valley. The prairie about
the town of Orting was called by us, swe'kW, which means "open," because the
flood cleaned it and left it covered with porous stones.

The white people do not now see the lake on the mountain top ; it has been
spilled out.

THE YOUNG MAN'S ASCENT OF MOUNT RAINIER (Second Version)""

The grandfather of my grandmother went up to the summit of Mt. Rainier.
That was because his spirit helper told him to go. He should make twenty ar-
rows with copper points. These were to help him in climbing. He used two ar-
rows at a time. He was to begin from the west side and circle around to the east.
That was because there was a roaring wind between the high peak and a smaller
on the other [southeastern] side. The young man made three rounds to see if
he could locate it. Finally he arrived at the top.

There was a little lake more than half way to the east side. The young man
went to the right and to the left. He discovered some pearl shells close to the
trail. He also discovered a litter of pups, as he thought, They looked at him
and he looked at them. "My! they are tame!" he thought. He petted them.
They were perfectly still. They were marked like caterpillars. Indeed cater-
pillars are called "dogs of the Sun." He picked out two of the pups. One was
spotted and the other was white. When ready to start down the mountain the
young man stuck the two pups inside his vest (suX Iaxw).

188 Narrated by Joe Young (Puyallup).

144 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

He started down. There came a blizzard. He thought, "Taking these shells
has caused the blizzard. I cannot travel." He recalled the saying, "You should
never take any curiosities." He threw one down. The air began to clear. He
left the shell right there. He said, "I take that shell to prove where I have been."
He was longer going down than climbing the mountain. In places he lost his
footing and went under the crust.

All this time the dogs were eating him and he did not know it. They were
sucking his blood and flesh. He thought, "I shall take them out and see how they
are getting on." Then he felt the garments touch his raw flesh and he saw where
the pups had been devouring him. Right there on the trail he left them.

The young man brought home a single shell. When his granddaughter died
and was laid away that shell was placed over her head. The name of his grand-
daughter was Kaya'dXW. She was buried at ti/wA'iats, the same place where
the young man who climbed the mountain had lived. [This is the name of a
stream near Orting or a tributary of Green River.]

Creatures like those the young man took for dogs are found at Granite
Mountain near the summit of the Snoqualmie Pass and also at tsAqw. People
dare not camp there.

The name of my great grandfather, son of the woman who was buried with
a shell on her head, was wiLak'e'dab and I bear the same name. He lived at
Orting.

COYOTE GETS SALMON FOR THE NACHES PEOPLE (First Version)""

Sbiau (Coyote) had one son. The son had two sisters, his wives, and again
two sisters, his wives; four in all. The first two wives were ring doves (sq'u':-
qwau) [bebeb in the Yakima language]. The second two wives were sawbill
ducks (swe'hitc). The elder of the first two wives had a baby boy.

One day, in the evening, Sbiau complained that his arrows wrere getting short
of feathers. The next day he got dry cedar wood. This was a scheme to trick
his son out of his wives.

Sbiau asked his sisters what he should do. These two sisters lived in his
stomach in the form of berries. The sisters answered that they did not know.
Sbiau threatened them with a storm of hail. Then they told him what to do.
They said, "Make a false golden eagle, which will fly up far and then drop."

Sbiau did so. He commanded the bird to fly up, then drop down. In the
evening when his son returned from the hunt Sbiau had already made the bird
from his own dung. He said, "I found a big bird while out looking for wood."
The son answered, "Don't trick me ; take me in the morning the first thing."

In the morning they went out. Sbiau said, "There it is," and the bird began
to fly. Sbiau said, "Take off your moccasins; in order to succeed, take off
everything from your feet up, even to your earrings."

169 Related by Annie Jack (Green River).

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 145

The boy went up on a rock to get the wings of the bird for his arrows. When
he was atop of the rock he was marooned. All the rock below him was smooth.

Meantime the old man put on his son's clothes. He yelled and said, "My
father has found the best of birds. Instead of me your father-in-law went and
died at once." The women mourned for their husband. Old Sbiau said, "When
did you hear of anyone mourning for her father-in-law and saying he was her
husband?"

On the next day the old man said, "Get ready; we leave the place where
your father-in-law lived." While they were getting ready the first two wives hid
food that it might be obtainable if their husband should return. When they made
camp that night Sbiau said to the elder of the first two wives, the one with the
baby, "You camp over there ; you are too noisy mourning your old, old father-in-
law, now dead." The old man camped with the other two wives.

In time the wife with the baby had a long cord twisted and was dragging it
along the trail.

The son of Sbiau was still up on the rock. On the fourth day, while Spider
was passing along the young man said to him, "Grandfather, if you will get me
down I will pay you in Yakima string." Spider said, "I will try, although my
netting is getting rather weak." Spider helped the young man get down. The
young man went to camp. He found some food, all cooked. Afterwards he found
his clothes and put them on.

Spider said, "In this direction." The young man followed the marks of the
cord his wife was dragging. He saw the remains of the camp fires. He said,
"My son has camped there." He noticed that his two elder wives and the son
camped apart from the others.

On the morning of the fifth day he was getting close. The fire of the last
camp was still burning. He kept on going. On the fifth day he reached the
dragging cord. The baby was singing, ''' Father, Father, Father." The women
pulled the cord. The mother said, "Don't say that; your father is dead." The
fifth time this happened the young man stepped on the rope and held it. The
baby now stopped crying. The woman looked back. It was her husband. She
said to her sister, "Wait, here is your husband ; he has come up to us."

They ate dinner. Afterwards the women took an ointment and used it on
him. After this they told the whole story to him. She said, "You'll hear it to-
night." He said, "No, you'll camp right by the fire."

Coyote's son made himself small. He was hidden in the luggage and carried
by the women. He said, "In camp you must not make fire, but throw your lug-
gage on the opposite side."

All was ready. They spread their blankets. The younger woman slowly sat
her husband up. The old man said, "Son, Son, my pretty son, my dear son, I'm
not doing anything to your wives." "Here, take off my clothes, you are making
them stink," said the young man. The old man took them off.

I I < University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

On the next morning the young man said to his father, "We shall go no
further." "Which way?" asked the old man. "We shall stay right here," said
the young man.

The young man went out and killed a big buck near the river bank. He
grew powerful. He made five streams. He crossed them. He butchered and
packed up the first deer he killed. He made a cord of deer gut in the fashion
of a belt. The old man also made a cord of deer gut. His cord broke. "I do
not know what is the matter," the old man said. He was losing his power.

The young man made it rain and raise the river so that the old man could

not get back in time. The old man asked his sisters what he should do to be

saved. "Make a little ark and go with the tide in safety," they answered.

The old man's wives were caught in the water during the rain. They are

in the water vet, todav. We call them sawbill ducks.

Since the old man could not return to his wives he floated, floated down. He
caught on a salmon weir. That was a place where five sisters kept a barrier to
prevent the salmon from ascending the river. They were wi'tsowits, a little noisy
sandpiper.

Towards sundown a woman out getting camas looked and saw him there.
She said, "Sbiau is turning to a baby now." The next woman found him. She
said, "I suppose a baby boy floated down. I shall try to save the boy." She
touched her face to his lips. He was very hungry. She gave him a salmon ear
to suck. "Oh, he is going to live," she said.

On the first day he lay there with food tied to his wrists. The woman came
back. He had sucked all the food but the part tied to the string. On the second
day Sbiau went to the river to get salmon. He cooked it in his own style. The
girl said, "He must be full; he does not eat what is tied to his hands."

Sbiau planned : "I could tear this dam open." On the first day he made a
plate [platter] and a bar [digging stick] out of hardwood. In all he made five
plates and five bars.

Sbiau put the plates on his head [to protect himself]. He pried and pried at
the dam. The women were out digging roots. The digging stick of one woman
began to break. (They knew something was wrong). The youngest sister said,
"Xo, you have got what you need. After this (you will) get all you want to eat.
If you see anything you will always want to rear it."

They went down to the river. Sbiau was at work. (The women began to
club him.) At each blow Sbiau lost a plate. To the fifth plate he whispered,
"Do not give way until I have won." All this time he was prying, prying. When
he [they?] saw the water running free they hit him one blow. The last plate
broke. Sbiau ran yelling, "A wonderful child."

Sbiau sang,

e'tutA'ge' e'tutA'ge'

Upstream we're going; upstream we're going!

1929 J Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 147

Sbiau traveled upstream until he was very hungry. After a time it came to
him in spirit that he could yell and the salmon would jump ashore. He said.
"My works, come ashore !" They came, but in the wrong place. He worked,
trying to get them out. He became disheveled and covered with fish scales, and
was all tired out.

He consulted his sisters. They said, "You get the fish in the right way but
in the wrong place. Next time start to call from a sandy bank; you are sure to
get it." Four times he called and he got the salmon.

Sbiau dressed and cooked the salmon he had gotten in this way. He did
thus many times. The last few times he cooked the salmon drowsiness overcame
him. The five wolf brothers followed him, and when he was asleep, they de-
voured the salmon and smeared his mouth with grease and remains of the fish.
Sbiau was getting thin, eating so much fish and yet not getting full.

These wolf brothers camping had all kinds of eggs in reserve. They were
about to cook them at their camp. Sbiau retaliated. He made the wolf brothers
sleepy. He ate all that they had roasted. He painted their lips. He went back
to his own camp. There he cooked fish and ate that too.

Sbiau took his revenge four times. The fourth time this happened the eldest
wolf brother complained, "We are getting thin." The youngest brother said, "I
told you so; we are playing a game against a great man. Let us go into the
wilderness. This way!" And so they left.160

COYOTE GETS SALMON FOR THE NACHES PEOPLE (Second Version) *«

There is a place on the upper Naches River where Sbiau (Coyote, Spilyai)
is to be seen in the form of a large rock, near the last waterfall he made. The
salmon can get no farther up. There is a story about that.

The son of Sbiau had four wives. Two were mourning doves (sgwu' :qwau)
and two were pA'da, spawn of the male salmon. Old Sbiau loved the latter be-
cause they were white. He did not like the former because they were dark.

The son of Sbiau was getting eagle feathers. The old man said, "I am get-
ting feathers now." In a good place they built a rock ; old Sbiau raised it up.
He put bird's nests there and created birds. Those birds were eagles, of a kind
that we never see now. He made the birds out of the nests ; the nests were his
dung. These birds were nearly old enough to fly. "Oh, I have found birds that
I think we can get. They will be ready to fly tomorrow morning. It is a good
place to get them."

The young man could see; "Oh, there they are." "Well, you can climb for
them ; put your best clothes on." The young man did so. When he came to the
rock the old man said, "You had better take your clothes off." "Very well," said

180 There is an image of xode in stone at a high elevation in the mountains (Joe Young).
This is a myth of the Naches River people (naxtce'spam), commonly called Klickitat,
handed down among their descendants on Green River.

191 Related by Charlie Ashue ( Yakima- Puyallup).

148 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

the young man and he did so. "Now, my son, you go up." He did so. As
soon as he arrived at the top the rock began to rise higher and higher. The birds
changed back to manure. "Oh," he cried, "he has imprisoned me." He could
not come down. He had to stay up there four or five days.

The old man put on his son's clothes for a disguise. "Now my wives will
have to move from here : I sent my father up on a rock and he died," he said.

Old Sbiau went to live with the white girls. The dark girls knew ; it came
to them in spirit what had happened. They camped apart. They all left camp
and traveled on. The dark girls left some of their carrots baked in the ashes
for food for their husband if he should come along.

Up on the rock the young man was wondering how he should get down.
Suddenly he saw old man Spider. "Grandchild, what are you doing here?" "My
father put me here; I am up here forever (astLaltalA'tcid)."

"Well, Grandchild, I'll try to get you off. See how my rope will serve you."
He tied one end in a good place. "Now get on my back." Down they went ; they
touched ground. The young man went home. He uncovered the ashes and ate
the food.

The next day he traveled ; he found the same thing. Every day the two dark
wives left food for him in the ashes and he found it. At last he came up with
them ; he heard the two wives crying, as mourning doves do today. Every day
they had cried. Old Sbiau, hearing them, would come over and scold them,
"What is the matter with you, crying for your husband?" On the last day the
baby of one of these cried louder and louder, "ba ba bad (dear dead father) ; he
died long ago." They looked back. "He is coming!" They told young Sbiau

how their father-in-law was treating them.

He made himself small and they hid him in a basket. Old Sbiau came over.
At once the son came out and thrashed the old man with a stick. "O Son, I'll
be a slave now. I was just taking your wives away. I thought that you had died."
"You wanted me to die," said the young man. The young man got his wives
together and left the old man crying alone.

The next day the young man killed a deer. He made a pack of the kill, mak-
ing a rope of the entrails. He thought, "I am going to get even with my father."
He said, "I have a pack over yonder." The old man went after the pack. The
young man made little rivers between camp and the place where the pack was.
The old man took the pack and started. The water rose and he could not get
across. The rope of entrails broke and the pack fell apart. Eogs were floating
down the flooded streams.

Sbiau asked his sisters what he should do, "Change yourself into a baby ;
wrap yourself on a board, and drift down stream." "I'll do so," he said. He
drifted down the river; away down he drifted to a place among the tules. That
place where Sbiau stopped is called ta'ptac; the white people call it Prosser. It
used to be a great fishing place for the Indians.

Five sisters lived there. They were wi'tsowits, sandpiper. They had a bar-
rier across the river and held the salmon from going up any farther.

1929] Ballard, Puget Sound Mythology 149

Early the next morning the eldest sister went down to the river for water
and salmon. She heard a child crying. "Its parents must have drowned," she
thought. "If we adopt and bring up this child it will be good for us; the child
will bring us water and wood." "I've found a baby," she called out. All the
sisters came down to the river. "We could raise him," she said, "we had better
take him home." Only the youngest sister was suspicious.

The next day the sisters went to dig camas (in the Puget Sound language,
sxa'dzub). "We'll tie him," they said. They gave him a salmon ear [ ?] to
suck; they fastened it to a cord within reach. "We'll raise him all right."

The day after, Sbiau was making plates to put on his head. He was going
to have revenge. On the fifth day all was ready; he had five plates finished.
"We'll open the dam," he said. He put all the plates on his head and went down
to the dam. He worked and worked.

The girls came home and found Sbiau working. He was almost through.
The first girl clubbed one plate off his head. The next girl clubbed another plate
off. All this time Sbiau was working . The fifth girl clubbed the last plate off his
head. Sbiau was all through; the work was all done. The dam was broken
down and salmon could go up stream.

Sbiau leaped and cried, "O they found a baby, weo, weo, weo !"

Sbiau followed the salmon up river. He became hungry. He wondered
how he could get salmon. He thought, "I shall call them." He danced and
called the salmon. The salmon leaped from the water. Sbiau seized them. They
floundered and got away. He was in a rocky place. He went to a sandy place.
He danced and sang for the salmon again. They leaped from the water and fell
upon the sand. He seized them and killed them.

Sbiau went a little way and made a fire. He prepared the salmon for cooking
and set them before the fire to bake.

Nearby there were five wolf brothers living on grouse eggs. The wolf
brothers threw a medicine that made Sbiau drowsy. He lay on his back and
slept. The five brothers came and ate. They rubbed some of the juice of the
salmon on the hands and lips of Sbiau. Sbiau awoke. "I must have eaten," he
said. He was hungry yet. He touched his tongue to his lips. "O, it is delicious,"
he said. This happened five times. At last, on the fifth day, Sbiau got really
hungry. This was away above the forks of Yakima and Tieton rivers.

Sbiau began to ask his sisters what was wrong. They answered, "When your
salmon is nearly cooked the five wolf brothers trick you: they eat the salmon and
leave you." Sbiau asked, "What could I do?" The sisters said, "Stay back
and watch them. Let them go ahead. They live on grouse eggs. Wrhen they
make a fire put medicine on [bewitch] them."

The five brothers put grouse eggs in the ashes in five places. Sbiau watched ;
he thought, "The eggs are nearly cooked." He threw the medicine. The five
brothers became sleepy ; they lay on their backs and slept. Sbiau came. He got
all the eggs in a big pole. He ate all the eggs and smeared the faces and hands of
the five wolf brothers with the remains. The wolf brothers awoke. They thought,

150 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

"Oh, we must have been eating long ago." This happened for five days. Sbiau
got even with them.

Sbiau traveled on. At last he got to the waterfall. "I have gone far enough
now," he said. He built the waterfall, a high one, away up the Naches River in
the mountains.

Sbiau made a place for himself; he made a resting place of stone. He made
himself into a stone and there he sits by the waterfall. That is as far as the
salmon go. We call that in the Yakima language, spilyai koWpX, which means
the waterfall of Spilyai. That is the place where the white people are going to
build a tunnel for the Naches Pass Highway.

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PUBLICATIONS

ANTHROPOLOGY

Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 151-300 May, 1930

WISHRAM ETHNOGRAPHY

LESLIE SPIER and EDWARD SAPIR

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

1930

PREFACE

The Wishram were one of the earliest groups known to explorers of the
Columbia River basin, and their trading establishment at the Dalles was of great
importance to the development of the Northwest ; yet it is curious that we remain
to this day in ignorance of their mode of life. Even the many travellers and
traders of the early nineteenth century who left accounts made no adequate
mention of a tribe whose mere presence on the middle Columbia seriously cir-
cumscribed their own actions. Perhaps the reason is that the truculence of the
Wishram, and their resentment of the efforts of white traders to compete by
establishing trading posts on the Columbia, prevented any sojourn among them.

Only a few Wishram still remain. Some still occupy their original home at
Spedis, Washington, opposite The Dalles, especially during the fishing season.
Others are on the Yakima reservation in central Washington, to which they were
induced to move about 1860-5. Our information was obtained at the latter place.

The purpose of Sapir's visit in 1905 was primarily linguistic ; ethnographic
information was somewhat of an aside. Expenses of the investigation were
borne chiefly by the Bureau of American Ethnology, with some assistance from
Mr. George G. Heye and the American Museum of Natural History. The
University of Pennsylvania Museum also provided the services of Miss M. W.
Bonsall as draughtsman. The linguistic material, and some of the ethnographic,
was published in part as a "Preliminary Report on the Language and Mythology
of the Upper Chinook" (1907), "Wishram Texts" (1909), and in Franz Boas'
grammatical sketch of Chinook (1911).

The ethnographic investigations of Spier in 1924 and 1925 were financed
by the University of Washington. In the former year assistance was had under
a grant as Fellow in the Biological Sciences, National Research Council.

Our data partly overlap but are largely supplementary. It was thought
advisable to combine these groups of limited material. It must be understood,
however, that this sketch is woefully incomplete. This is due in part to the loss
of native culture among the few survivors, to unwillingness on the part of some
of our informants, but primarily to the brevity of our visits. New data on the
Wasco, Cascades, and other Upper Chinook are included here. Undoubtedly
much can still be gotten from the Wishram remnant and other Upper Chinook
still on the Columbia.

We are indebted to the American Museum of Natural History and the
Museum of the American Indian (Heye Foundation) for supplying illustrations
of specimens. Mr. William H. Holmes has also provided an illustration of a
canoe carving. Dr. Erna Gunther furnished Wasco kinship terms, and Dr. W.
D. Strong and Mr. W. Egbert Schenck other information.

(153)

154 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Sapir's informants were principally Pete McGuff and Louis Simpson.
McGuff, a half-blood, furnished much additional material during the years 1905-
1908 by correspondence in answer to specific questions. His information may
have been influenced by a long residence in early years among the Cascade
Indians. Spier's informants were Mrs. Mabel Teio, an elderly Wishram, and
Frank Gunyer, a middle aged Wasco, who also acted as interpreter. Mrs. Teio
was not disposed to volunteer information.

The phonetic system for native words has been explained in Sapir's "Wish-
ram Texts" (p. xiv). Spier's renderings are much less satisfactory; no attempt
has been made to reduce them to Sapir's orthography.

Leslie Spier
Edward Sapir

May, 1929.

CONTENTS

Page
Preface 153

Linguistic Relationship and Territory 159

Material Culture 174

Fishing 174

Hunting 180

Vegetal Foods 182

Cooking and Meals 185

Canoes 186

Tools and Manufactured Articles 188

Adzes, chisels, wedges, and knives 188

Awls and needles 188

Pestles and mortars 189

Bowls, spoons, and ladles 189

Blankets 190

Mats 191

Packstrap 191

Baskets and bags 192

Parfleches 197

Bows and arrows 199

Tanning 200

Musical Instruments 201

Houses 202

Dress and Personal Adornment 205

Calendar, Colors, Directions, and Gestures 208

Calendar 208

Colors 209

Directions 210

Gestures 210

Social Organization 211

Caste 211

Chiefs and Councils 211

Murder 213

Adultery 216

Marriage 217

Residence and House-Composition 221

Slaves 221

Trade 224

Warfare 228

A Paiute Raid 232

Another Paiute Raid 233

A Meeting with the Bannock and Paiute 233

Religious Practises and Beliefs 236

Spirits 236

Acquiring Power 238

The Shaman's Inaugural Dance 240

Shamans' Performances 241

Curing Practise and Witchcraft 244

First Salmon Rite 248

(155)

156 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Page

Omens 249

Visions 250

The Smohallah Cult 251

The Individual 255

Infancy 255

Childhood 256

Names 258

Ear Piercing 261

Feasts of Rejoicing 261

Kinship Terms 262

Games 266

Sweating 268

Smoking 269

Burial Customs 270

Wishram Tales 273

Salmon Myth 273

The Cannibal Woman 274

The Deserted Boy 274

Star Husband 276

Wasco Tales 277

Sky Rope 277

Chipmunk's Stripes 277

Origin of Death 277

Raccoon 279

Food Smellers 279

Abstracts 280

Wishram Tales 280

Wasco Tales 280

Bibliography 282

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 157

FIGURES

Page

1. Map of the Columbia River showing the location of Wishram and other
villages 165

2. Outline of a net-gauge 177

3. A wooden spoon 190

4. Design patterns named by the Wishram 195

5. Wishram design units 196

6. Wishram beaded bags 197

7. Wishram parfieche designs 198

8. Cradles 256

9. Gambling bones for the hand game 267

PLATES

1. Mortars and spoons 287

2. Wishram twined baskets 288

3. Wishram and Paiute twined baskets 289

4. Wishram twined baskets 290

5. Wishram twined bags 291

6. Wasco twined baskets and bag 292

7. Wishram bag in coarse open-twine 293

8. Wishram coiled baskets 294

9. Parfieche used by the Wishram 295

10. Parfleches used by the Wishram 296

11. Parfieche used by the Wishram 297

12. Parfleches used by the Wishram 298

13. Carved side-piece of a burial canoe 299

WISHRAM ETHNOGRAPHY

LINGUISTIC RELATIONSHIP AND TERRITORY

The Wishram are a small tribe originally occupying the north bank of the
Columbia River about the Dalles,1 that is, at the upper end of the passage of the
Columbia through the Cascade Range. These Indians, most of whom are now
on the Yakima Reservation, Washington, called themselves ila'xluit, the first
person singular of which (i'tcxluit, "I am an Ila'xluit") is in all probability the
"Echeloot" of Lewis and Clark. They are known by their Yakima and Klickitat
neighbors (tribes of the Sahaptin stock) as Wu'cxam, which, in its anglicized
form of Wishram, or Wishham, is their common appellation today.

Together with the allied Wasco, occupying the opposite bank of the Colum-
bia, they were the easternmost Chinookan tribe on the river. Their tongue, the
Upper Chinook dialect, "was spoken on the upper course of Columbia river, as
far west as Gray's Harbor on the north bank and a little above Astoria on the
south bank of the river. It was subdivided into a number of slightly different
dialects. The principal representatives are Kathlamet and Clackamas, which are
spoken on the lower course of the Columbia River and in the Willamette valley,
and Wasco and Wishram, which were spoken in the region of The Dalles."
Boas gives Kathlamet as the westernmost Upper Chinook tribe, living from Gray's
Harbor and Astoria up to Kalama. "Linguistically Clackamas seems to be
very close to Kathlamet, if not identical with it."2 Kikct is a term used by
these Indians to embrace the various probably mutually intelligible dialects of
Upper Chinook : Wishram, Wasco, White Salmon, Hood River, Cascades,
Clackamas, and Kathlamet.3

Wishram belongs to the uppermost dialectic subdivision. "The language
spoken by them is, to all intents and purposes, the same as that of the Wasco
on the other side of the river and of the White Salmon and Hood (or Dog)
River Indians farther down the stream. More prominent dialectic differences
appear when we get as far down as the Cascades ; the dialect of this locality
may be considered transitional between the Wishram and the Clackamas of the
Willamette region."4

It is exceedingly difficult at this late date to determine the linguistic and
tribal groupings of the Wishram and their neighbors. Dislocation of the tribes
in this quarter began at the end of the eighteenth century, even before the
coming of the earliest white explorers, and a series of terrible epidemics early
in the following century decimated the population. Add to this that our notes
are confused, due to our lack of detailed knowledge of the river territory, neither

1 Attention should be drawn to the distinction between The Dalles, the present town
of that name on the Columbia, and the Dalles or Five Mile Rapids, several miles above that
town. We have tried consistently to differentiate these, but in our notes and other sources
they are often confused. The latter is also the Long Narrows of Lewis and Clark.

2 Boas, Chinook, 563; Kathlamet Texts, 6; Sapir, Wishram Texts, 234.
8 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 192.

4 Sapir, Preliminary Report, 533.

159

160 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

of us having had an opportunity of visiting it. What follows must be regarded as
tentative, until someone goes over the district with other informants.

The Wishram lived on the north bank of the river, roughly from White
Salmon River to Ten-Mile Rapids above the Dalles. Their permanent settle-
ments were directly on the river, but they hunted and sought plants on the higher
country directly back from the river to the watershed, that is, on the southern
slopes of Mount Adams and the so-called Klickitat Mountains. It is possible
that the White Salmon people, who occupied the vicinity of the river of that
name, and who spoke the Wishram language, may not be properly classed as
Wishram. The same is true of the la'daxat group, who had several villages
about the Klickitat River. The difficulty is the one that confronts us throughout
the length of the Pacific Coast ; that political and territorial units are not sharply
defined. In a more restricted sense, then, the Wishram were the people of the
Dalles, whose principal settlement was nixlu'idix at Spedis, and whose other
villages clustered from Crates Point below to Ten-Mile Rapids above. Their
river frontage may thus have been only the brief span of fifteen miles ; from
White Salmon River to Ten-Mile Rapids is only thirty-five miles.

The neighbors of the Wishram prior to 1800 were not the same as those
of the historic period. This was because of the movement of Sahaptin speaking
peoples to the northern side of the Columbia, pushed out of the upper Deschutes
drainage, as Teit has shown,5 by Snake attacks from the south and east. At
least as late as 1750 both banks of the Columbia above the Dalles were occupied
by Salish speaking people, whose remnants are still to be found in the Moses-
Columbia band and Wenatchi. The northward migration which dispossessed
these Salish ultimately deposited the Sahaptin Tenino, Tyighpam, or Deschutes
on the south bank about the mouth of the Deschutes River, and the Klickitat
on the north bank. The latter held the territory on the river above Ten-Mile
Rapids, and had several villages interdigited with those of the White Salmon
group, or occupied jointly with them. Beyond the appearance of these Klickitat
among the White Salmon and elsewhere lower on the river, there may have been
little shifting of the tribes below the Dalles.

The Wasco were located on the south bank directly opposite the Wishram
at the Dalles. They probably also had villages on the south side of Ten-Mile
Rapids, at Celilo Falls, and as far upstream as the mouth of the Deschutes.
They also laid claim to the country as far east as the John Day River, but never
occupied it.6

Downstream from the Wasco on the Oregon side, and nearly opposite the
White Salmon group, were the Hood (or Dog) River people. The Chilluck-
quittequaw, a Chinookan division mentioned in 1804-6 as ten miles below the
Dalles and extending nearly or quite to the Cascades, were probably White
Salmon or Hood River Indians. The Cascades group (itata'la) were located
on both sides of the Cascades, and at least on the north side downstream to
Skamania and perhaps to Cape Horn. These were the Watlala (wala'la) men-

6 Teit, The Middle Columbia Salish, 98 f .
«Teit, loc. cit., 107.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 161

tioned by Lewis and Clark. Ross mentions the Cathleyacheyachs at the head
of the Cascades in 1811-14.7 The north bank may have had no settlements, or
at least no permanent villages, for some distance between the White Salmon
and the Cascades. Below the Cascades people, roughly from Troutdale to
Kalama, and in the lower Willamette valley, were the Clackamas groups, whose
territory was undoubtedly subdivided. Our information, relating to the occu-
pancy of the Columbia from the Wishram to the Cascades, is of the period circa
1850, and shows no appreciable change from what was found by Lewis and
Clark in 1804-6.

In the middle of the seventeenth century the Columbia valley above the
Wishram and Wasco was occupied by Salish tribes. Teit's evidence8 is that at
the Dalles or immediately east of it were the NekEtEme'ux (.nkutEme'xu), who
were reckoned by the Moses-Columbia as a distinct tribe. They were "popularly
considered to be related to the Thompson Indians, or at least to have spoken a
language similar to theirs." "Opinions differ a great deal as to the exact loca-
tion of the tribe, but all agree that they lived near or above The Dalles. I
obtained the following locations from three or more informants: (1) around
The Dalles or east of The Dalles; (2) in the Wishram country or near the
Wishram; (3) in the Wishram or the Wasco country, or near one or both
of these tribes ; (4) on both sides of the Columbia, a little distance or some
distance above The Dalles, but chiefly on the north side some little distance back
from the river; (5) chiefly or entirely on the south side of the river, some-
where between the mouth of the Deschutes and The Dalles. Perhaps they had
more than one settlement (it is thought two main settlements), and may have
occupied a considerable extent of country along the river. Current tradition
says that the tribe was originally in two camps about fifteen or twenty miles
apart. Some think the remnants of the tribe remaining on the Columbia settled
among The Dalles Indians and Wasco. One informant said that this tribe was
the same as the Wishram, or formerly lived with the Wishram, but that their
name was the same as that of the Thompson Indians. Another informant stated
that the place they once inhabited was called .sko'pa or qo'pa (Wasco?), and
later a few of them (probably a remnant) went to Na'pxwa (Lapwai?) or
Na'p.a. .sqa'pa means 'sandy' in the Thompson language, and there is a place
of that name in the Thompson tribe generally written Skuppa."

Above them were the Middle Columbia Salish (TskowaxtsEnux or .nkeeus),
now known as the Moses-Columbia band of Eastern Washington, who at that
time extended upward on both sides of the river from near the Dalles to below
the mouth of the Wenatchee River. "North of the river, a little distance back,
the Columbia Salish claim to have extended west of the Dalles to the mountains,
probably the spurs of the Cascades, in Skamania County, south of Mount
Adams." This may well have been hunting territory for these river people, held
jointly with Wishram and White Salmon, which later became the heart of the
Klickitat possessions.

7 Ross, Adventures of the First Settlers, 123, 257.

8 Teit, he. cit., 92-109.

162 University of M^ashington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

This was the section of the Columbia most affected by the Sahaptin and
Waiilatpuan migrations. These began about 1750 or even earlier, under pressure
of Snake raids, or at least accelerated by them. The Sahaptins seem to have
been living in the neighborhood of the upper Deschutes River; the Waiilatpuan
Molala-Cayuse in a band of territory north of them and south of the Middle
Columbia Salish on the Columbia. The series of movements brought the Sahap-
tins north of the Columbia; the Molala were displaced west of the Cascades
and the Cayuse to the northeast. The first of these migrations into Washington
was that of the people later known as Yakima. They were followed by other
Sahaptins (the Klickitat) who "remained in the intermediate country, ranging
between the White Salmon River on the west and Horse Heaven in the east,
with headquarters at one time around Glenwood and the central Klickitat River."
This was back of the White Salmon and Wishram on the river. Later "those
who remained on the Klickitat River and neighborhood now began to occupy
parts of the north bank of the Columbia (Chinook territory) in the salmon-
fishing season and in the winter, during the rest of the year living back in the
mountains." "It seems that on the heels of the Klickitat, if not part of the same
migration, came some of the same kind of people as those who occupied the
Columbia on both sides of the river, from The Dalles east to John Day River.
Some of them actually settled among the Wishram and Wasco, or occupied
places between villages of those tribes. These people were not so numerous
as the Yakima and Klickitat, and became known as Tenino or TEnai'nu. By
some people they were reckoned as part of the Klickitat, and by others as part
of the Tyighpam (tai'xpam). These migrations seem to have taken place by
way of Deschutes River, from Tyighpam country or perhaps from farther

south A movement of Tyighpam or Tenino, or both, who lived on the

south side of the Columbia, east of The Dalles, and most of those who lived in
the country back of there as far south as Tygh, Warm Springs, and Shaniko
[carried them] into the country to the west, along the boundaries of the upper
Chinook, across Hood River, and extending as far as Oregon City, probably
in the early part of the last century." This division of Sahaptins at the Dalles
became known as wai'yampam. They were mentioned by Ross as at the head
of the Long Narrows in 1811-13.9 The northwesterly movement of the Snake
appears to have been at its height about 1800-30. "At this time, it is said, for
fear of the Snake, hardly any people lived on the south side of the Columbia
between The Dalles and the Umatilla, or possibly nearly to the Wallawalla."
Lewis and Clark also observed that in 1804-6 the Indian establishments were on
the north bank alone, for fear of the Snake.10 Klamath contacts with the Wish-
ram date from this time, with the clearing of the whole country on the Deschutes
drainage.

There is a tradition of the Wishram, recorded by Mooney and obtained
independently by us, that part of their number migrated northward to the upper
Columbia. While the form in which the accounts were recorded is purely

8 Ross, Adventures of the First Settlers, 129, 195, 240.
10Hosmer II, 31.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram, Ethnography 163

mythical, it is possible that such a migration actually took place, perhaps caught
up in the Sahaptin movement. Sapir recorded at length the tale referred to by
Mooney:11 the Wishram quarreled over how the duck made a certain noise,
until some of their number seceded, and travelled up the Columbia to the
Wenatchee River and beyond. Mooney gives their final location as the head-
waters of the Spokane, while Mrs. Teio, one of our informants, placed them
in British Columbia. All informants agreed that they are still in the north,
although no living Wishram has ever seen them.

This has something of an authentic ring, despite the folkloristic element
of the quarrel, until we realize that the Moses-Columbia tell a similar story of
the little Salish tribe NekEtEme'ux, the neighbors of the Wishram at the Dalles.
As the following quotation from Teit indicates, the Moses-Columbia believe that
the Thompson also split over a quarrel, and the Thompson have a tale to the
same effect. "According to tradition, a long time ago the tribe had a quarrel,
and divided, part of them migrating north (following Columbia River, according
to some). According to some stories, these emigrants again divided somewhere
in the middle of the Columbia country, part of them crossing the Cascades to
the Coast country, where they settled, and finally disappeared as a tribe. Those
who remained near The Dalles dwindled away, and also finally disappeared as
a tribe. It is thought that most of them were killed off by plagues or epidemics
which seem to have visited the river about the end of the eighteenth and early
part of the nineteenth century, when the Columbia tribe was first decimated.
Most Columbia and Sanpoil people believe, however, that a few individuals of
them still survive, and may occasionally be met with in the Wasco country and
also further north in the interior, and again west of the Cascades. Some in-
formants seem to believe that the Thompson Indians of British Columbia are
descendants of the part of this tribe that went north. Others, again, think that
the original home of all the Thompson was in the central part of the country ;
and that after the quarrel, one part went north and became the Thompson
Indians, and the other part went south and became the tribe near The Dalles.
It is also reported by the Columbia that there remains a band, now numbering
about twenty individuals, who speak the Thompson language or a dialect nearly
the same (they also speak Columbia), who live somewhere in the country to
the north, not far from Columbia River, and within twenty-five miles of a place
called Prairo (? possibly Pateros). Some Thompson claim that the last-named
people are probably descendants of a band of Indians from .nkai'a, near L,ytton,
who left their country as the result of a quarrel, and finally located near the
Columbia about a hundred and fifty or more years ago, and therefore are not
connected with any Dalles tribe."12 If the NekEtEme'ux Salish are not wholly
legendary, it may be that they are identical with the dissident Wishram group.
On the other hand, while we may well believe that the NekEtEme'ux actually
existed, it seems wholly probable that these stories are pure myth, Wishram,
Moses-Columbia, and Thompson alike. Similar tales of separation of tribes

11 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 200; Mooney, The Ghost-Dance Religion, 740.

12 Teit, The Middle Columbia Salish, 96.

164 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

after quarreling, having all the ring of authenticity, have been recorded else-
where in the Basin-Plateau area; for example, from the Northern Paiute
i Paviotso) and the Havasupai.13

The locations of the Wishram villages and those of some of their neighbors
are shown on the accompanying map (Fig. 1). There were probably more settle-
ments than shown. The information refers to the period of 1850 and before.
Our data are confused and indefinite ; hence the locations may be considered
merely approximate in most instances. No information was obtained about
villages on the Oregon side save for Wasco and Deschutes. All names are
recorded in Wishram phonetics, except as noted in the list below.

WISHRAM VILLAGES

1. at !at !aTia itcaGi'tkxoq, the roasting-pit of the ogress At!at!a'tia (see p.
274), was located on a small island "near the Falls or 'Tumwater'."14
This may be Celilo Falls but is probably Ten-Mile Rapids. This is
reckoned the extreme eastern point of Wishram occupancy.

2. wa'yagwa (marikca'xalix), a little below the last.

3. wa'q lEmap, a short distance above nixlu'idix, hence perhaps but a quarter

mile above Spedis railroad station, where is a mound known by this
name.

4. nixlu'idix, the chief Wishram village, was directly at the Dalles close to

Spedis.15 This was a summer and winter settlement, containing about
400. The name "contains the same stem element (-xluid-) seen in the
generic name Ila'xluit, by which the Wishram call themselves. The
first person singular of this, itcxlu'it (T am a Wishram'), is probably
the 'Echeloot' of Lewis and Clark. The etymology of Nixlu'idix is
uncertain. Louis Simpson suggested that it was connected with
diglu'idix (they [i.e., the people] are heading for it [i.e., the village]'),
in reference to the coming-together of many different tribes of Indians
at the Falls for trading-purposes. This is probably folk-etymology, as
ni — is a common local prefix in place-names."16 McGuff contributed
another etymology: "An old lady tells why the Wishram are called
ilaxluit. I never heard this explanation before. Once there were lots
of people at this village. There came a monster of a woman, called
Akxa'qusa (for whom an arrow was later named), who ate all the
people of the village. Soon after East Wind's daughter came with the
wind blowing over the village and saw it was destroyed. There were
only pieces of clothing and small bits of bodies lying around. She
gathered the pieces together in five piles and sprinkled them with paint.
She stepped over these piles east and west, north and south, five times.

13 Loud and Harrington, Lovelock Cave, 162, 165, 167; cf. Lowie, Shoshonean Tales,
200-9, 242; Spier, Havasupai Ethnography, 98.

14 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 36.

15 See Biddle, \Vishra)n.

16 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 38.

1930]

Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography

165

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166 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Then the piles formed into five people. Now she named them idaxa'luit.

She said to them

imca'lq ixlu'it imca'lxam iya'xliu

your flesh coming together your land (his) name pertaining to

nixlu'ia

drew together.

The name nixlu'idix means 'at once it (your flesh) came together'."

5. ciq te'ldaptix, about a half mile below nixlu'idix, contained about 400 people.

(It should be noted with all references to distances given by our in-
formants that they seem very inexact.)

6. caba'nkckc, a village a little below the last and about a mile from Spedis.

7. sku'ksxat, means "round eel or sucker mouth," had a population of about

twenty-five. (This place may have been above the following.)

8. wasna'niks, a half-mile downstream from caba'nkckc.

9. niu'xtac, the river current in Big Eddy encircles the village. Big Eddy is

an embayment in the north bank at the lower end of the Dalles. The
village was a quarter-mile from wasna'niks. Lots of sturgeon were
taken here.

10. H'lusEltslix, means "the place where it (water) keeps going down" (prob-

ably referring to some hollow place which fills and empties as the
water swells into it) ; about two miles from nixlu'idix.

11. Ga'urecila, a quarter-mile below, was occupied for fishing only when the

water was high at this place.

12. Ga'wilaptck, a winter village a mile below the station Grand Dalles. It takes

its name from the fact that this is a famous place for finding things ;
here is slack water in which canoes and other drifting objects collect
(cf. idwi'ptck, driftwood; idla'ptck, drift, driftwood [in Cascades and
Clackamas] ; Gawi always denotes a place which is great for some-
thing).

13. nayakxa'tcix, means "tooth" or "row of pointed rocks," a winter village a

mile below the last.

14. tsapxa'didlit, about a mile below, was a wintering place. Driftwood was

gotten there.

15. cq'o'nana, about a mile on, that is, about four miles from The Dalles across

Crates Point. Sometimes about fifty people lived there, where stur-
geon were caught.

16. cka'gEtc, meaning "her (their) nostrils or nose," named from a rock of

this shape.

17. la'daxat, was a short distance below the mouth of Klickitat River and about

a mile above Memaloose Island, that is, perhaps ten miles below The
Dalles. This was a winter village of 100 to 200 people. Many suckers
were caught there in winter.17 The next village in order downstream,
cGwa'likc (18), belonged to the Klickitat.

17 Sapir, IVishram Texts, 298.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram, Ethnography 167

19. waGi'nxak, or Gau'amuitk, was a half-mile below this Klickitat village, that
is, perhaps a mile below Memaloose Island, an Indian burial ground.18
This was the last settlement downstream of the Wishram proper.

WHITE SALMON AND KLICKITAT VILLAGES

18. cGwa'likc had a population of fifty Klickitat (?ti'xadat). It was not far
below Memaloose Island.

20. tgasGu'tcu, meaning "their (her) bones," was said to be about a half-mile

west of idwo'tca, a long, high mountain opposite Mosier, Oregon, and
at the same time about a mile above White Salmon Landing. If the
Landing is near the modern town of White Salmon, these distances are
incompatible. This was jointly a town of White Salmon people (more
properly "dried salmon people," itk la'uanbam' idE'lxam) and Klickitat,
300 in number.19

21. Imie'qsoq or Imuyaqso'q", was a half-mile from the last, in 1905 the site

of the Burket Ranch. It contained perhaps 100 White Salmon.

22. itkli'lak or ilk'i'lak, meaning "dried pulverized salmon," was at White

Salmon Landing, a half-mile downstream. This was inhabited by White
Salmon people and Klickitat. The White Salmon group, who derived
their name from this place, spoke with probably only slight variations,
the same dialect as the Wishram and Wasco.

23. na'ncuit is now Underwood, Washington, about a half-mile below, at the

mouth of White Salmon River. The village was well populated.

CASCADES VILLAGES

The villages of the Cascades Indians were separated by an interval from
the lowest of the White Salmon villages. The first location mentioned for them,
wala'la, was some ten miles below Wind River, which would place it near the
Cascades of the Columbia. There must have been other settlements about the
Cascades of which we do not know. All mentioned below, like all the fore-
going, were on the Washington side of the Columbia.

24. wala'la, now Slide ( ?), is doubtfully a village. The word means "lake"- ( ?)

and gives its name to the Cascades people, wala'lidE'lxam.20

25. sk tema'niak held a population of the Cascades. It was a little below wala'la

and is indicated on the map near the present town of Skamania.

26. hcaxwa'lukl was perhaps two miles below sk tema'niak. It had a popula-

tion of 1000 (?). The name means "they are running by her con-
tinually."

18 The island was noted by Lewis and Clark in 1805 (Hosmer, II, 51).
119 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 30.

20 Lewis and Clark mention a village at the head of the Cascades in 1805, behind which
were ponds (Hosmer, II, 53-4).

168 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

27. nimicxa'va was a Cascades village about half a mile below a high rock
(ik!a'lamat) now known as Castle Rock and about two miles above
Cape Horn. (These are not to be confused with the Castle Rock and
Cape Horn on the lower Columbia). The population was in the neigh-
borhood of 400. L>1

WASCO VILLAGES

The Wasco villages were on the south side of the Columbia directly opposite
those of the Wishram at the Dalles. They presumably extended at least from
The Dalles to Ten-Mile Rapids even after the settlement of the Sahaptin Des-
chutes beside them, but we have a record of only three villages.

29. wa'sq !o was the chief village. It was five or six miles above The Dalles,

(at Wasco, Oregon?), opposite nixlu'idix, the chief village of the
Wishram. The name is derived from wa'cqlo ("small bowl" or "cup"),
the reference being to a cup-shaped rock near the village, into which
a spring bubbled up. The spring is now obliterated by the highway.
The WTasco tribal name galasq !o' simply means "those who have the
cup. —
28. wikxo't was a Wasco village located a mile above The Dalles on the Oregon
shore, hence below wa'sq !o.

30. wotsaqs, "lone pine," is doubtfully a village. This was said to be a few

miles above the Dalles on the south bank, but it may well be the last,
lone tree east of the Dalles mentioned by early travellers.23 The tim-
bered country of the Cascade Range extends as far eastward as The
Dalles ; any tree standing on the barren south side to the east would
be distinctly noticeable.

WAIYa'MPaM OR DESCHUTES VILLAGES

The Sahaptins living immediately above the Wishram and Wasco were
known by several alternative names : Waiya'mpam, Tyighpam, Tenino, and
Deschutes. Possibly these names referred to subdivisions. Teit gives the im-
pression that this local group, which acquired a specific name, Tenino or
TEnai'nu, were part of the Klickitat or of the Tyighpam. The proper home of
the latter was higher on the Deschutes.24 It may well be that this was a mixed
group. They were said to differ dialectically from Klickitat to a slight degree.
The Wishram and Wasco called these people collectively ilkai'mamt. This
included the people of sk !in on the north side of the river, and the Deschutes
Indians (Wayam and Tenino) on the south. Sklin was the country imme-
diately north of the Columbia and east of the Falls or "Tumwater." Mooney
states that the Sk !in people had a village on the north bank opposite Celilo Falls ;

21 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 22.

22 Ibid, 240.

23 "Ogden's Tree," e.g., is shown in this position on the map of the Wilkes expedition
(reproduced by Biddle, Wishram, opp. p. 9).

24 Teit, The Middle Columbia Salish, 100.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 169

another group (tapana'sh or eneeshur) was located opposite the mouth of the
Deschutes, and a third (uchi'chol or ochechotes) lived on the north bank of the
Columbia in Klickitat county, Washington.25 Lewis and Clark stated that there
was not more than six miles between the nearest villages of Echeloots (Wish-
ram) and Eneeshurs. They mention the Wahhowpum (waiya'mpam) as on
the north shore near Rock Creek, twenty-four miles above the mouth of the
Deschutes River.20

31. ti'naino was a wa'yam village nearly five miles above The Dalles, being the

first Sahaptin village on the south side east of Chinookan territory.

32. si'lailo, at the present Celilo, Oregon, was another wa'yam village eleven

or twelve miles above The Dalles.27 Other settlements must have been
somewhat to the east about the mouth of the Deschutes. The country
beyond is a sandy, unattractive waste, and without doubt lacked any
population to speak of.

We have no precise knowledge of the numbers of the Wishram. One reason
is that we are not certain just which villages were reckoned as properly Wish-
ram. It is our impression, however, that they formed only a small tribe, whose
numbers were of the order of 1000 to 1500, probably nearer the lower limit.

Lewis and Clark offer an estimate of 1000 in 1804-6. But if the number
of houses or lodges they recorded, twenty-one, is correct, this is too high, because
it yields the incredible average of forty-eight people to a house. Assuming
twenty-one to be correct for Nixlu'idix alone, that is, the principal village, and
assuming an average of two families or ten persons per household, we have
210 for the population of the village. This is not impossible. Yet the number
given, 1000, may represent the total for the tribe.

Their estimates for other tribes of the vicinity are no more certain.28 We

list these from east to west :

Number per
Houses Persons house

Wahowpam (waiya'mpam), from Rock Creek

to twenty-three miles below 33 700 21

Eneshure (Sahaptin), on both sides at Ten-
Mile Rapids 41 1200 29

Eskeloot (Wishram), at the upper end of the

Dalles 21 1000 48

Chilluckkittequaw (White Salmon or Hood

River), from the Dalles to river Labiche

(Hood River?) 32 1400 44

Smockshop band of Chilluckkittequaw

(hnie'qsoq, White Salmon), r. Labiche to

the Cascades 24 800 33

25 Mooney, The Ghost-Dance Religion, 740.
26Hosmer, II, 46 (cf. 263), 266.
27 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 39, 40, 242, 244.
28Hosmer, II, 502.

170 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

1 f we knew the number of houses in each village we might estimate the
population by assuming the average size of a household. We have no valid
information on this. This can be approached by obtaining an average number
of houses per village from the records of Lewis and Clark. We list below those
villages in this district for which they make mention of the number of houses
or persons (from east to west).

Wahhowpum (waiya'mpam), mouth of Rock Creek,

north side (266)29 12 temp, mat huts

A little below, north side (266) 5 huts

Eneeshurs (Sahaptin), 4 miles above the following,

north side (265) 4

Eneeshurs, more than 8 miles above a point a little below

the mouth of the Deschutes River, north side (265) 6

Lower end of Miller's Island (32) 8

One mile below, north bank (32) 16

One mile below the last, opposite the end of the island

(32) 6

Eneeshurs, a little below the mouth of the Deschutes

(263) 9 mat houses

At the head of Celilo Falls (33) 17

At the foot of Celilo Falls, north bank (33) 5 large houses

Two and a half miles below Celilo Falls (38) 3

Ten-Mile Rapids (39) 1

Nixlu'idix, at the head of the Dalles, north side (39) . . 21 (large village)

About nine miles below The Dalles, right bank (47) . . . 8
Six miles below the last, right bank ("houses contain

30 souls") (49) 7

Somewhat more than four miles below and three miles

above Memaloose Island (50) 11

A short distance below Memaloose Island, right bank

(51) 2

Three miles below, right bank (51) 2

From a point a mile below, for six miles downstream,

were scattered 14

Smackshop (Imie'qsoq, White Salmon), about six to

seven miles above White Salmon River (254) .... 100 warriors
Just above Labiche River (Hood River?) ; the first

village on the south bank (51 ) 4

Five miles below Canoe River (White Salmon River?),

left bank (51) 4

Three miles below the last (i.e., 32+ miles below The

Dalles), north side (51) 3

At the head of the Cascades, north side (53) 8 large houses

At the head of the Cascades, south side (253) 11 cr^ded: .

' 60 warriors

29 Page references to Hosmer, vol. II, are given in parentheses.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 171

Three miles above the foot of the Cascades, north ( ?)

side (56) 4

At the foot of the Cascades, south ( ?) side (247) 6

Wahclellah (Cascades) village, one mile below Beacon

(Castle) Rock, north side 23

The houses in villages on the Cascades seem to have been much larger than
those upstream. Those of an old village on the north bank, midway of the
Cascades, were uncommonly large: one measured 160 by 40 feet.30

This yields a total of 220 houses in twenty-seven settlements ; an average
of 8.15 houses per village. If we assume an average of two families or ten
persons to a house, this means an average of eighty or more persons per village.
This is not an unreasonable number for an average household: the only specific
instance we have, a rather haphazard group of relatives at Nixlu'idix, does
actually number ten (see p. 221). At the time (1860-70) the town held nine
or ten houses. The number of towns pertaining to the Wishram proper as given
by our informants, that is, from at !at la'lia itcaGi'tkxok, at Ten-Mile Rapids,
down to waci'nxak, opposite Mosier, totals eighteen. Eighteen villages with
eighty or more persons each yield a total Wishram population of 1440-1500.
We need not assume that all these places were occupied at one time ; some may
have been solely or largely fishing stations. If this be so, the number might be
reduced to about 1000. This agrees with Lewis and Clark's figure, but, of
course, is no real check to it.

The number may be approached in yet another way. Ross (1811) states
that "the main camp of the Indians is situated at the head of the narrows [Ten-
Mile Rapids or the Dalles?], and may contain, during the salmon season, 3,000
souls, or more; but the constant inhabitants of the place do not exceed 100
persons, and are called Wy-am-pams."31 He may have meant that the whole
concourse who congregated above the Dalles for trading was 3000. If we
assume at least two-thirds of them belonged to local villages, we have 2000 to
apportion among the Sahaptins, Wasco, and Wishram. This means perhaps
700 Wishram.

Mooney maintains that the population was even higher before Lewis and
Clark's day than is indicated by their estimates. Epidemics had already reached
them, even as early as 1782-3, and destroyed one-third to one-half of their
number. He lists the Wishram at about 1500 before that time, i.e., in 1780.
Mooney's tribal discriminations in this area are somewhat chaotic, so that too
much faith must not be placed in his estimates.32

The impression remains, however, that the number at the opening of the
last century was about 1000. An upper limit is certainly 1500. Of their villages,
Nixlu'idix, the principal, may have held several hundred persons, perhaps 400
as our informant had it.

soHosmer, II, 251.

31 Ross, Adventures of the First Settlers, 129.

32Mooney, Aboriginal Population of America, 13 f.

172 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

An attempt was also made to identify Chinookan tribal and village names
gleaned from the Handbook of American Indians. These are listed below with
Wishram equivalents following. We have included in the present list only
names referring to tribes or localities upstream from the Clackamas ; others on
the lower river and among the coastal Chinook were also obtained.

Cathlassis Tribe on or near the Dalles.

galasq !o', inhabitants of wa'sq !o ; the tribal name of the Wasco.

Cath-lath-la-las Tribe or village ( ?) on the Columbia at the Cascades,

ilala'la. galala'la, "lake people," Cascade Indians (waia'la, "lake country,
small lake").

Chilluckquittequaw A division of the Chinook ten miles below the Dalles

and extending near or quite to the Cascades in 1804.
Probably White Salmon or Hood (Dog) River Indians.

Chippanchikchiks Chinookan (?) tribe on north side of the Columbia, a

little below the falls in the Lon^ Narrows.

.caba'nkckc, a Wishram village a little below Spedis.

Clahclellah Considered by Lewis and Clark to be a branch of the

"Shahala" nation. Located at the Cascades of the
Columbia in 1804.
galala'la, "lake dwellers," lived at the lake ; Cascade Indians.

Cow-e-laps Village six miles below the Dalles and three miles from

the mission,
ca'wilaptck, a Wishram village below The Dalles on the Washington side.

Des Chutes Collective term applied to Indians on and about the

Deschutes River, Oregon. Identified by Gibbs with
the Eneeshurs of Lewis and Clark.
Designates the ilk la'imamt, Sahaptins.
Echeloot Tribe on the Columbia at the Dalles in 1804.

Probably i'tcxliuit, "I am a Wishram," one of the ila'xluit.

Iltte-Kai-Mamits On or near the Dalles. Perhaps Chinookan ; perhaps

Sahaptin tribe.
ilk !a'imamt, the Sahaptin people above the Dalles.

Ithkyemamits On the north side of the Columbia near the Cathlathlas

or Wascos. May have been identical with the Eche-
loots, Eneshurs or others. Morse places them oppo-
site the entrance of the Deschutes River into the
Columbia,
(same as the preceding.)

Kle-mak-sac A village 25 miles down the Columbia from the Dalles

in 1844.
Imie'qsoq, a village of the White Salmon across from Mosier, Oregon.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 173

Ne-nooth-lect A village in 1844, 28 miles from the Dalles on the

Columbia,
ni'nulclidix.

Niculuita Village on Columbia River opposite the Dalles,

nixlu'idix, the principal Wishram village at the Dalles (see text above).

Smaksop In 1804 lived on each side of the mouth of the Labiche

not far from and above the Cascades.
Imie'qsoq, a White Salmon village (see Kle-mak-sac, above).

Scal-taepe (or Scal-tolpe) Village at head of Cascades, Columbia River.
sq!E'ldlpl, known also as skalxE'lEmax (a village?).

Tcipan-Tchick-Tcick Tribe of 100 at the Dalles on the Columbia,
caba'nkckc, a Wishram village a little below Spedis.

Wasco Formerly occupied the neighborhood of a spring some

ten miles east of the Dalles.
wa'sqlo, the principal Wasco village (see text above).

Watlala Chinookan division located in 1804 below the Cascades

of the Columbia,
wala'la, the Cascades Indians.

Weocksockwillacum Chinookan division located in 180-1 on Canoe Creek on

north side of the Columbia just above Crusattes River
not far above the Cascades. Occupied several villages.
Imie'qsoq wi'lxam ( ?), the White Salmon Indians.

Wev-eh-hoo Tribe on south side of Columbia River, near Crusattes

wa'iax-ix-. Riven

Wisham Village formerly at the "Long Narrows," north side of

the Columbia, three miles above the Dalles,
wu'cxam, the Yakima-Klickitat name for the ila'xluit, the Wishram.

MATERIAL CULTURE

FISHING

While we have no explicit statements, it is probable that the Wishram
depended primarily on fishing for subsistence, secondarily on root and seed
gathering, with hunting in distinctly subordinate place. So we judge from a
few direct references, the location of these people on the banks of the Columbia,
and by comparison with the habits of other tribes of this general region. The
Columbia, the largest river of the Pacific Coast, contains fish at all times of the
year and at certain seasons the fish ascending the stream run in prodigious
numbers.

The Columbia is somewhat south of the best salmon area, yet five species
of salmon (Oncorhynchits) ascend the river, and with them the steelhead trout
(Salmo), confused with the salmons by Indian and white fishermen alike. Cobb33
states that the largest of the salmon, variously called chinook, spring, tyee, or
king salmon, come to the Columbia in "three runs, the first entering during
January, February7, and March, and spawning mainly in the Clackamas and
neighboring streams. The second, which is the best run, enters during May,.
June, and part of July, spawning mainly in the headwaters. The third run
occurs during late July, August, September, and part of October, and spawns
in the tributaries of the lower Columbia." The blueback (red or sockeye)
salmon enters with the spring run of chinooks. The silver (coho or white)
species "usually appears in July, and runs as late as November." Only few
of the humpback or pink salmon occur as far south as the Columbia. The run
of dog or chum salmon is at about the same time as that of silver salmon;
"from about the middle of August till late in November." The principal center
of abundance of the steelhead trout on the Pacific coast is the Columbia River,
where it is found during the greater part of the year. The size of these species
varies considerably : in this stream their average weights are respectively about
22, 5, 6, 4, 8 and 8-15 pounds. So far as the salmon and steelheads are con-
cerned, the most plentiful supply on the middle Columbia would seem to be in
summer (May to October), especially its earlier half. Midwinter and again
April seem to be the periods of ebb. Lewis and Clark observed April 19, 1806,
that the first salmon arrived in the vicinity of the Dalles.34

Statements of our informants confirm this. The water in the river is so
variable, however, that locally supplies of fish were sometimes not available.
Salmon were caught at Celilo on the south bank even at its lowest stage, in
October, but at Spedis on the north bank, where the Wishram villages were
located, it became too dry long before this.

A wide variety of other fish were taken, among them pike, sturgeon, sucker,
chub, trout, smelt, and lamprey eel. Shell fish were also used. Chub and
suckers were caught in the spring : they are fat in April, but not considered
good later. Lampreys were caught at Celilo in winter. They were not taken

33 Cobb, Pacific Salmon Fisheries, 8-11.

34 Hosmer, II, 261, cf. 257.

174

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 175

in winter at Spedis, but from April to June old fish of the previous year were
caught. Franchere states that the sturgeon enters the lower river in August-
September, and "a small fish about the size of a sardine," probably the so-called
"smelt" (olachen), in February.35

In the immediate vicinity of the principal Wishram villages the Columbia
River is a maze of narrow channels, whirlpools, and eddies between the pre-
cipitous shores and the rocks jutting up in the stream. Fishing stations were
highly prized and passed by inheritance into the possession of a group of rela-
tives in each generation. It was assumed by the informants that these were
descendants of the original discoverer of the site. No one else was allowed to
fish at a particular station without permission of its owners. Six to ten related
old men might own a station in common at which their families fished. Any
one among them might preempt the best place at the station temporarily. Each
station had its overseer who was usually a chief or head man.

It is probable that each group of this sort had a station for spearing fish
and another where they netted. At least there were stations appropriate to each
of these methods and they were not used at the same time. Fish were speared
in the fall ; caught with the dip net in summer. McGuff stated that one could
not use the spearing station for dip-netting nor the netting station for spearing
with any success. It is doubtful that this has any esoteric significance; rather
that the stations were chosen with respect to the stages at which the river flood
stood, varying from one season to another.

The Columbia varies surprisingly in its stages for a river carrying such a
volume of water. The river is low dviring the late summer, reaching its ebb
in October, but rises forty-five feet in flood stage.36

The fish that were caught belonged exclusively to the fisherman, but custom
permitted old men (presumably anyone) to take fish for each of their two meals
a day. If the fisherman lifted his net to the fishing-stage and let it lie with
the one or two fish it contained, some one among the old men squatting on the
staging would club the fish and appropriate it for his own. If, however, the
fisherman brought up several fish which he wanted to retain, he slapped him-
self on the buttocks as a sign of his intention.37 While the station and the
staging erected there was common property to the group of owners, each man
fished with his own spear or net.

Preparation for erecting the fishing-stages was made in summer when the
water was low. Holes were made in the river bed at some distance from the
shore to receive the posts on which the staging was to be supported. When the
water has reached the proper level during the summer, a strong man familiar
with the task was chosen to set the posts. A fir sapling, pushed out from the
bank, was sat on by others to hold it firm while he walked out on it. He
fastened a rope around his waist, the other end of which was tied above, to
keep him from being carried away should he slip off. Carrying a staging-pole,

35 Franchere, Narrative, 322-3.

36 Strong and Schenck, Petroglyphs, 77.

37 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 187.

176 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

he watched until the swirling water brought the hole to light, quickly inserted
it in place, and immediately tied it to the fir sapling on which he stood. Those
on shore at once piled rocks on their end. A second post was similarly set and
cross-bars tied between the saplings with hazel ropes. When the water reached
its proper level at another station the staging was similarly set.38

All stations did not require staging. One man owned a spot beside a whirl-
pool at the foot of an upright rock. He slid down to it on a pole. There he
had a plank wedged in place for a footing. His catch was hauled up with a rope.

Netting seems to have been by far the commonest mode of fishing, spearing
being restricted to fishing in the autumn. We may presume that like most pro-
fessional fishermen they looked on line fishing as too unproductive.

The common dip-net had its net attached to a wooden ring to which a long
handle was fitted. This ring was formed of a maple sapling, one to two inches
thick, bent into a hoop two feet in diameter, its ends inserted into a segment
of oxhorn. The handle, a long pole two inches in diameter, was fastened to
this. McGuff's sketch of the implement shows, however, the handle extending
within the hoop where it was fastened to a transverse bar. The net was a pouch
four feet in length fastened tightly on the hoop and woven of fibers from a
tree resembling the willow. McGuff states that a double strand of selected
flax fibers was used for large salmon nets, any common grade of flax for those
nsed to take eels, chub, and suckers. A long rope was tied to the hoop, probably
at the point of attachment to the handle, the free end of which was fastened
to a convenient rock so as to steady the net. This was used in a whirlpool.
When a salmon entered the pool it was dipped up and clubbed.

A similar dip net had its net loosely threaded on the hoop and fastened
to the cross-bar by a slip-knot. When a fish was caught the jerk of its weight
caused the knot to slip so that the net mouth sliding closed on the hoop caught
the fish as in a purse.

Nets for eels (lampreys) and smelt were similar to those described above,
but smaller. The hoop was eighteen inches in diameter and the mesh of the
net quite close. They were used at night ; when the fisherman felt the eel in
the net he dumped it into a hollow in the rock beside him.

The seine net was made of a size appropriate to the place where it was to
be used. The Wishram seining place was midway between the Wishram village
at Spedis and Sk !i'n (perhaps six miles above). At this place a seine twelve
feet deep and 100 feet long was used. It was made of selected flax fiber with
a mesh of three or four inches. Ropes of an inch thickness were fastened along
top and bottom margins to take the floats and sinkers. The floats were of
wood, the size and shape of a bottle, fastened ten feet apait. Directly below
each float was a sinker, a stone of three pounds weight, either flat and pierced
to take the attachment, or ovate and grooved. To set the seine, two men
paddled out on a crescentic course while a third tossed it overboard. A rope
seventy-five to 100 feet long attached to the net was used to haul it in (ashore?).

38 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 185.

1930] Spier and Sapir, IVishrann Ethnography 177

Gauges were used in fabricating all nets. These were flat slabs of elk-
horn, a quarter inch or more in thickness, three to four inches long, and of
various widths. A width of a half inch was suitable for the mesh of eel nets,
two and a half to three inches for steelhead, blueback and silver salmon, three
to four inches for chinook salmon and sturgeon. The shape of the gauge is
shown in outline in Fig. 2, reproduced from McGuff's sketch. It bore various
decorations on its faces ; human faces, salmon, sturgeon, seal, and the heads of
various birds.

Fig. 2. Outline of a net gauge redrawn from a native sketch.

Fish traps seem to have been of two varieties, basket traps and weirs.
These were used more in the creeks than in the open river. The basket trap
was made in two sizes, differently named, but not certainly different in con-
struction. The smaller trap, called ik la'lat, for small fish, like trout and chub,
was a cylindrical basket tapering to a closed end. In the open end was a series
of rods arranged funnel-wise and perhaps terminating in a ring. The fish •
attempting to jump the falls, drifts back through the funnel and is unable to
find its way back through the small opening. The larger trap (ak la'lat) for
salmon was identical, but may have had an additional construction inside.
McGuff's sketch suggests that the funnel in the mouth gave on the small end
of a second funnel facing toward the rear of the trap. This would provide
an inner chamber in which the fish would remain, but it does not appear to
add to the efficiency of the device, if it really existed. Such basket traps were
made of hazel or willow twigs fastened together in open twine construction.
They were set in a creek below a low fall ; a foot or two was sufficient for the
purpose. Two posts were thrust into the bed or bank slanting toward each
other. The basket trap was suspended from a rope connecting their upper ends.30
Weir-like obstructions may have been placed to direct the fish toward its mouth.

The weir was placed in larger creeks at points where there were a series of
shallow falls. This was formed of a series of posts supporting horizontal poles
lashed together and forming a pen with its opening upstream. At night fish
sometimes drift downstream backward. They swim excitedly on the first bench,
more quietly on the second, and rest at ease in the enclosure surrounding the
lowest fall. A gaff hook was used to take the fish out.

39 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 26.

178 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

The club for killing salmon, sturgeon, etc., was a straight wooden billet
fifteen inches long, tapering from a diameter of three and a half to one or two
inches. It was not decorated.

Fish spears were generally the two-pronged variety common on the North-
west Coast. Two long divergent prongs were lashed to the end of a pole, each
bearing a detachable point. Each point was fastened with sinew and pitch to
one end of a cord four feet long. The other end of each cord was then tied
to the spear shaft in such fashion that when the point wras set on its prong, the
cord was somewhat slack. When the fish was struck the detachable point came
free, holding the fish attached to the shaft by the cord. The points were of
flint or deerhorn. We may presume the deerhorn points were like those of
other tribes in the vicinity ; they presumably had a socket hollowed in the base
into which the foreshaft of the spear fitted. The flint points would have to have
been set into a wooden or horn piece (as McGufF s obscure statement suggests) in
order to furnish a socket. McGuff's sketch shows the points furnished with
barbs. The shaft varied in length depending on the height of the fishing stage
above the water ; generally they were about sixteen feet long. The wooden
foreshafts or prongs were presumably lashed to the shaft with thin strips of
wild cherry bark as elsewhere on the coast.40

Fish was dried by hanging it where it was protected from the sunlight, and
smoked incidentally, in the summer mat-lodge. A large section at the rear of
the house was given over to the drying racks. The desire was to have the
fish dry as long and thoroughly as possible. They were, however, not deliber-
ately smoked as by the tribes of Puget Sound.

Clark observed in October, 1805, that "on these rocks [at the Dalles] the
Indians are accustomed to dry fish, and as the season for that purpose is now
over, the poles which they use are tied up very securely in bundles and placed
on the scaffolds."41

Salmon was often dried, pulverized, and preserved in baskets, for use in
winter, and to be traded to other tribes who came regularly to the Dalles for
barter.42 The dried salmon has a sweetish taste and was often used by pinches
as a condiment on other foodstuffs. It was stored in twined circular baskets
lined with dried salmon skin and covered with more of the same. It was said
that it would then keep indefinitely. The salmon skin was prepared for this
purpose by repeated drying and stretching. A sack of dried salmon was called
itci'nqu'ix-, and may have been of a standard size.

Lewis and Clark observed (October 1805, presumably at Celilo Falls) the
"Indians engaged in drying fish and preparing it for the market. The manner
of doing this is by first opening the fish and exposing it to the sun on their
scaffolds. When it is sufficiently dried it is pounded fine between two stones
until it is pulverized, and is then placed in a basket about two feet long and
one in diameter, neatly made of grass and rushes, and lined with the skin of

40 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 29.

41 Hosmer, II, 39.

42 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 30.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram, Ethnography 179

a salmon stretched and dried for the purpose. Here they are pressed down
as hard as possible and the top covered with skins of fish, which are secured
by cords through the holes of the basket. These baskets are then placed in
some dry situation, the corded part upwards, seven being usually placed as close
as they can be put together, and five on the top of them. The whole is then
wrapped up in mats, and made fast by cords, over which mats are again thrown.
Twelve of these baskets, each of which contains from ninety to a hundred
pounds, forms a stack, which is now left exposed till it is sent to market ; the
fish thus preserved are kept sound and sweet for several years, and great quan-
tities of it, they inform us, are sent to the Indians who live below the falls,
whence it finds its way to the whites who visit the mouth of the Columbia.
We observe, both near the lodges and on the rocks in the river, great numbers
of stacks of those pounded fish."43 At the Dalles "the stock of fish dried and
pounded was so abundant that he [Clark] counted one hundred and seven of
them [bundles], making more than ten thousand pounds of that provision."44

Such pounded fish was dried on a grass mat which was placed on top of
a grid of poles supported on posts, like that used for drying meat. The grid
was just the size of the mat and had its cross pieces spaced somewhat further
apart than in the meat drier. This was considered the most effective way of
drying ground fish since air could reach it through the mat as well as from
above. It dried much more rapidly and thoroughly in this fashion than in any
other, and never decayed.

Lewis and Clark also observed the storage of fish in the ground for winter
food (at Celilo Falls?, October, 1805). "A hole of any size being dug, the
sides and bottom are lined with straw, over which skins are laid ; on these the
fish, after being well dried, is laid, covered with other skins, and the hole closed
with a layer of earth twelve or fifteen inches deep."45

Fresh ( ?) fish was prepared by steaming it and splitting off the flanks.46
AtslE'pts ?Ep was a mixture of dried fish and pieces of flesh mashed up
fine and kept in fish-oil.47

A fish-soup (ilu'luck) is mentioned as given to a convalescent man. It
was made of heads of various varieties of salmon.48 This use of soup may be
akin to the common view of Indians that soup is fit food only for invalids.

The eels (lampreys) are small. These were split and cleaned, but the head,
tail and backbone left in place. They were cut into four or five segments,
about five inches long. To roast them, a stick was thrust through from the
inside, and then stuck into the ground so as to lean obliquely over the fire.
They were roasted until brown. The wood chosen for this purpose is a variety
growing in the mountains which imparts no taste to the cooked eel.

43Hosmer, II, 33.
44 Ibid, II, 40.
i5Ibid., II, 36.

46 Sapir, loc. cit., 29.

47 Loc. cit., 141.

48 Loc. cit., 182.

180 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

HUNTING

Hunting presumably took a secondary place in Wishram activities. Most
hunting was in the forests clothing the southern spurs of the Mount Adams
mass, the locally-styled White Salmon and Klickitat Mountains. Deer and elk
were taken with the bow and club by still-hunting, or driven along their runs
to waiting hunters, or taken in pit falls. Fences, decoys, and the surround
were unknown. Predatory animals, or any that could be caught with bait, were
usually taken in deadfall traps, although they wrere also stalked.

Deer were seldom killed in summer when the bow was the chief reliance.
As these were short ranged, still hunting was not very fruitful. To be sure,
stronger men, wTho wielded more powerful bows, were more successful. In
winter the deer could be readily followed over crusted snow or driven into
snow covered pits.

The organization of a hunting party was described by McGuff as follows.
Men who wanted to hunt would gather and decide among themselves where
they will hunt, whether snow shoes will be needed, the number of days they
intend to stay, how much food must be taken along, and so on. Their hunting
food was usually dried salmon eggs, which were far lighter to carry and con-
tained more oil than anything else of equal weight. They appointed one of
their company to conduct the hunt, to make plans concerning their route and
where they were to meet. Before they left this man would build a sweatlodge
in which he sweated for five mornings before the sun rose. All the while he was
sweating he talked to the steaming rocks asking for good luck, that he and his
party might kill much game. He addressed the sweatlodge as great grand-
parent (alxtlma'x). (Why it was so called, McGuff's informant could not
say). At the same time his companions were also sweating. When they went
everything was left to this man : his method was used. Sometimes he was a
shaman; if so, he was more to be relied on, for he would then have dreamed
where to find the deer or elk next day. If this leader should fail, the next party
of which he was a member would pass him by in their selection by reason of
his poor judgment. When their time limit was up they stopped hunting. If
they had more meat than they could carry, it was hung on tree limbs to be left
until someone in need of meat passed by.

A hunting party divided the game equally. The one who killed a deer
was entitled to the hide and horns ; he might prefer to give them to another.
Deer were rarely cut into pieces unless there was but a single deer, for example,
to divide among them. The carcass was always eviscerated, the legs were tied,
those on the same side by a cord eighteen inches long, and the deer slung on
the packer's back so that a leg rested on each of his shoulders. Some preferred
a packstrap, in which case the legs of the deer were tied to its body and the
strap attached to the carcass above the hips and behind the shoulders. The
strap rested on the packer's head or across his chest and shoulders. A strong
man could transport two big bucks, a weight of some 300 pounds.

Deer were also taken on their natural runways. The hunters would select

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram, Ethnography 181

points where it was known that deer habitually passed at certain times during
the day or when disturbed by hunters. Such a point was a mile and a half
above the mouth of the Klickitat River, where eight or ten men might take
their stand. Others went upstream half a dozen miles to drive them down.
Above this on the river was a point where the deer always crossed; hunters
also waited on either side there. Despite all the confusion of shouting and
shooting, the deer would invariably turn into the runways past the waiting
bowmen.

Elk were found much further back in the mountains. They were hunted
in much the same manner as deer, but an attempt was always made to kill the
leading stag first. If this was successful, five or six of the herd could be
dispatched before they took alarm. Should only an outlying animal be hit, the
herd would almost certainly flee following their leader.

Deer were much easier to take in winter when they floundered in the snow
drifts. A snow fall of two or three feet crusted by following sleet or hail
made success quite certain. The deer were then found in large herds taking
shelter from the storm in some grove of heavy timber. Snowshoes used in
the pursuit brought them within easy bowshot. The deer breaking through the
crust, cut their legs and soon ceased struggling to escape. They were then
clubbed rather than shot. (The form of the club is unknown.)

Deer were also taken in winter in pitfall traps. These were trenches dug
in the regular deer trails, six feet wide, fifteen or twenty long, and quite deep.
Poles were laid across this, covered with a little light brush. After a light
snow its existence was quite concealed. The game was then driven toward
the pits with the aid of dogs. Some would fall through ; those that did not
would remain with their feet hanging between the poles. Those that fell
through could never jump out and were there dispatched with clubs.

Dogs are described as woolly and all of a single type.

In fawn time a deer caller was used. A grass blade was held between the
thumbs when the hands were clasped, leaving an opening on each side. Putting
the hands to the mouth and blowing on the edge of the grass blade created a
bleating sound imitating the cry of a fawn and causing a deer to answer or
approach. This will also attract a cougar or wolf who might mistake it for
a fawn.

Bears were hunted only in the mountains where huckleberries, blackberries,
and hazel nuts abound, that is in late summer and fall. Bears are much more
approachable at this time when they are occupied only with gorging themselves.
The hunter crept within close shooting range. Bear flesh was not much
esteemed. It was eaten but little; the majority of Wishram would not eat it
under any circumstances. One of their strongest beliefs was that the bear was
a human at one time and his flesh is like a man's. The fur was rather desired.
It was used for bed mattresses and for a kind of breech clout having a wide seat.

Bear, cougar, wolf, fox, and other animals attracted by bait were caught in
deadfall traps. Large logs were required in a deadfall for bear, cougar, and

182 University of H'ashington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

wolf. Lewis and Clark mention seeing snares set for wolves near the Dalles.49

Timber wolves are like elk, in that once the leader is killed, others may
be shot and will not ordinarily turn on their pursuer. Wolf hunting was very
dangerous before the introduction of guns. Yet the fur was greatly desired
and valuable. Shamans, war chiefs, and chiefs of tribes were the only ones
who had it and only exceptional hunters pursued them.

How far contribution was levied on the animal world we do not know. A
number of animals and birds were cited as eaten: tree squirrel (considered
excellent food), ground squirrel, mountain goat, ducks, grouse. They did not
eat, among others, grizzly bear, badger, rock squirrel, turtle, eagle, magpie,
redwing-blackbird, dove, and iGwai'Gwai (a small grey bird).

Meat was sundried to preserve it. Sometimes it was cured more thor-
oughly by roasting and smoking it on a special form of scaffold. This was a
low affair consisting of four posts driven into the ground at the corners of a
rectangle three by six feet, supporting a grid of small poles about three feet
above the ground. The meat was sliced in small pieces of one-half to one and
a half pounds in weight, and thin, one-half to an inch thick. These were laid
singly side by side on the grid. A fire was laid under the grid and maintained
as uniform as possible to roast all the meat evenly.

Ducks were boiled.

VEGETAL FOODS

The gathering of roots and berries, in fact of all vegetal products whether
intended for food or as basket materials, etc., was primarily a feminine task.

Women went in the spring to the prairies on the mountain slopes to dig
roots. They carried a basket tied to the waist at the right side. The digging
stick was oak, eighteen inches to two feet in length, had a curved point and
bore a short cross-grip at the top. Berries and nuts were also obtained on the
mountains, but in the fall. Like roots, these were stored for winter use. It is
somewhat doubtful that seeds of composite plants were used. At least the
common practise of beating them into a basket was unknown to Mrs. Teio.

Seeds of the water lily were traded from the Klamath. They were not
gathered by the Wishram and may not grow in their country. These seeds
are called lge'luk, which is not a Klamath word.

A partial list of plant foods was obtained.

ROOTS

camas, the familiar staple of the whole region. Plentiful on higher ground near
the mountains. Dug in May. Pit-roasted for two days ; not boiled.

wild onion (ilq lla'uwaitk), an elongated root. Roasted.

wild onion (ak lu'stxulal and ak!a'lakia), two other roots mentioned; the latter
is the larger.50

49 Hosmer, II, 44.

50 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 95.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishrami Ethnography 183

another variety of wild onion (ltlko'kcti), very small and round. Roasted two
days.

wild potato (wakxa't), twice as big as an acorn; known generally as "wap-
patoo."51

wild dwarf potato (kEcla'xEn), globular, an inch or more in diameter (identical
with the last?). The proper time to dig it was after it lost its flowers in
May or June. Roasted, or rather steamed, in a pit for a short time.

wild potato (itqlwo'l), one of the foregoing?; said to be similar to the following
(amu'mal), but of finer grade and grain.52 The skin is black; mashed
fine and boiled in a stew.

bitter wild potato (amu'mal), very small. These were cleaned and pounded fine
in a mortar, squeezed into balls, and dried. They were then made into a
loaf, ten inches long, between two sticks which were tied together at the
ends.53 Pairs of these connected by short cords were slung over con-
venient poles and hung away to dry. This might either be eaten dry or
made into a mush.

wild carrot (adwo'q), a sweet root. Boiled, but could be eaten raw. A stew
called idei'nExt was made of this root with bitter wild potatoes, to which
dried fish was sometimes added.54

another wild carrot (Tmtslona, in Yakima), a finger-length root resembling the
carrot of a plant bearing yellow flowers. Roasted.

abia'xi (or peyahee), a little macaroni-like root dug in the mountains; each
plant has a little bunch of these rootlets, four or more together, and about
five inches long. The jacket was scraped off the rootlets to the white
flesh. Boiled.

akapi'lili, a plant with leaves like grass, the tiny root of which is carrot-shaped.
Washed and eaten raw.55

ilk !a'lak !ia, a flat root bulb (three-quarters to an inch in diameter) of a plant
with long grass-like leaves and small grayish flowers. Roasted, but could
be boiled.

lxlumk laimax, a flat root of a large flat-leafed water plant (not the water-lily)
found in a lake on the south side of Mount Adams. Gathered in the fall
with the aid of a flat stick or by feeling about with the foot. Roasted like
camas.

large sunflower (wapTctx), the roots were dug in the spring. Roasted.

51 Sapir, loc. cit., 140.

52 Sapir, loc. cit., 94.

53 Described for the lower Columbia Indians by Franchere (Narrative, 321).

54 Sapir, loc. cit., 78.

55 Franchere mentions a food called chapaleel in the form of "square biscuits, very well
worked, and printed with different figures. These are made of a white root, pounded, re-
duced to paste, and dried in the sun" (Narrative, 322).

IS! University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

LEAVES AND STEMS

large sunflower, the early leaves of this were eaten fresh.

wi'pik, a plant with a sheaf of flat leaves, a foot high, bearing yellow flowers.
In the spring the stems were gathered, peeled, and eaten like celery.

wi'pan, like the last but smaller. Used in the same way.

Ilkwa'hac, the leaves (of the preceding?) when they first appear were eaten
fresh like lettuce.

BERRIES AND NUTS

hazel nuts, gathered in the fall and eaten without further preparation.

acorns (see below).

aslau'a.itk, a thorny tree as large as a willow bearing black berries.

akwalai'kwalai, similar but with red berries.

huckleberries, ripe in the fall.

blueberries (emi'tck!an), on bushes twelve to eighteen inches tall. These and
huckleberries were pounded somewhat, and put away for the winter in tall,
narrow baskets.

aga'kwal, berries having the bluish color of eels (hence the name) ; grow on
low bushes like blueberries.

cranberries, gathered in the fall on the southern slope of Mount Adams ; smaller
than the cultivated variety and not hollow. Boiled.

MOSS

ik !u'nuc, a black hair-like moss found on fir trees in the mountains. Gathered
at any season but especially in the fall. Cleaned with the fingers, soaked
for a long time and washed very clean. This was mixed with wild onions
(ilq lla'uwaitk) and pit-roasted. It was placed in the pit. which contained
hot stones, between dry pine needles which were first wetted. A fire was
built over the pit as well. It was allowed to roast for two days. This
was then formed into cakes.

While the only full account of food preparation was that of acorns, we do
not wish to imply that the Wishram made any considerable use of acorns in the
manner of Calif ornian tribes. Ripe acorns intended for winter use were gathered
in November after they had fallen from the trees. They were pit-roasted, sacked,
and carried home to the river villages for storage. A shallow pit, three feet in
diameter, was dug, and filled with fire wood on which stones were laid. When
the wood was consumed, the stones were poked about to form a flat surface.
These were then covered with a layer of mixed dry oak leaves and dry fir needles,

1930] Spier and Sapir, irishram, Ethnography 185

which were sprinkled to form steam. The acorns were placed on this, covered
with leaves and then with dirt. A heap of logs was built over this and allowed
to burn for two days, by which time the acorns were thoroughly roasted. Five
to eight large bagsful were cooked at one time.

When the roasted acorns were sacked, they were carried to the villages.
Nearby at the river brink were pot-holes in the rocks. These, which served as
storage pits, were individually owned. One belonging to Mrs. Teio's mother,
for example, was three feet in diameter by six feet deep. Blue mud, which has
a pleasant odor, was brought from the river and dumped into the hole. The
acorns were thrown in, together with the aromatic seeds of the k!adodo'na plant
(a non-edible plant resembling wild mustard), and mixed with the mud. The
mass was covered with a clean mat and sticks, and rocks so firmly piled over it
that no animal could dig in.56

When the acorns were wanted, the mud and seeds were washed away. The
shells were soft so that they could be picked open with the fingers. They needed
no further preparation. The nuts were not a staple but were eaten at leisure
moments, not at meals.

Dried huckleberries, hazel-nuts, and acorns were made up into packages of
standard size which were given special designations, as follows : respectively
iuna'yExix, ak'u'lalix-, agu'lulix-. These are similar to the sacks' of dried salmon,
which seem to have been of standard size. It may well be that this standardiza-
tion was the result of the extensive trade carried on by these people.

COOKING AND MEALS

Various methods of cooking have already been described. The principal
method employed for vegetable products at least seems to have been pit-roasting,
probably because roots formed the largest single element. Boiling seems to have
had a decidedly second place.

Stone-boiling was the single form employed. Granite bowls were used for
the purpose, the hot stones being dropped into the food. While the large wooden
bowls were not described as cooking utensils, it is possible that they too were
used in this fashion. Apparently baskets were not used for the purpose.

Fir bark was extensively used in the hearths. In a Wasco tale collected
by Curtin it is explained that a large log was customarily put on the fire with
bark on top of it. The wood was called the "husband of the bark.""'7 Lewis and
Clark note "their chief fuel is straw, southern-wood, and small willows."; The
fire-drill was the simple palm drill, probably of a single piece of wood. Tinder
was used.

Food was served at meals in bowls of wood and horn, and presumably in
baskets. Horn and wooden ladles and spoons were used with these.

56 The Yakima were said to bury them in a hole in the earth near a spring, mixing
them with kladodo'na seeds and k!auninai'ak, a fragrant plant with leaves like those of the
willow. This resembles the procedure on Puget Sound.

57 Sapir, IVisliram Texts, 312.

58 Hosmer, II, 261.

186 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Meals were served twice a day, morning and evening. Visitors of, both sexes
were fed first, then the family. Men of the household might eat with the guests.
One point is clear, that men did not eat first.

CANOES

The Wishram were essentially a river people, their primary interests cen-
tering in fishing and movements on the Columbia. It must be remembered that
in their immediate neighborhood the broad river is narrowed to a turbulent stream
rushing among rocks and quite dangerous to navigate.

Of the three types of canoe made on the Northwest Coast, as differentiated
by Olson,59 the Northern, the Nootka or Chinook, and the shovel-nose canoes,
the Wishram made only the shovel-nose to our certain knowledge. They also
used the Chinook canoe and may have manufactured it. They discriminated be-
tween two types of canoe, in addition to the Chinook, but it does not appear from
McGuff's sketches that these differed in any appreciable way save in size.

The canoe (called ikni'm?)00 was, according to Mrs. Teio's description, a
modified form of the usual shovel-nose. The prow was pointed and sometimes rose
above the level of the gunwales, when it might be carved or painted. But the prow
was flat underneath like typical shovel-nose examples, not with the sharp vertical
cutwater of the Nootka-Chinook form. The stern was brought to a point as well
but apparently was not vertical. No mention was made of separate prow and
stern pieces set on the gunwales, as in the Nootka-Chinook variety, although it
is possible that a separable prow-piece was provided. Two varieties of the Wish-
ram canoe were distinguished by McGuff: tc !gwa'man, used on the river where
the water is relatively quiet (in contrast to the Chinook canoe as a sea-going
craft), measuring twelve to twenty feet in length, with a beam of two to three
feet, and t !a'ma, (it !a'na?), a knock-about craft used on the river and lakes, more
slender than the former, large enough for four or five people, yet so small that
two persons could carry it.

Canoes of this type were seen by Lewis and Clark in 1805 in the vicinity of
Celilo Falls and the Dalles. "On the beach near the Indian huts we observed two
canoes of a different shape and size from any we had hitherto seen [i.e., the ordi-
nary shovel-nose of the interior] ; one of these we got in exchange for our
smallest canoe, giving a hatchet and a few trinkets to the owner, who said he
had purchased it from a white man below the falls, by giving him a< horse. These
canoes are very beautifully made ; they are wide in the middle and tapering toward
each end, with curious figures carved on the bow. They are thin, but being
strengthened by cross bars about an inch in diameter, which are tied with strong
pieces of bark through holes in the sides, are able to bear very heavy burdens,
and seem calculated to live in the roughest water. . . . The canoes used by these
people are, like those already described, built of white cedar or pine, very light,
wide in the middle, and tapering towards the ends, the bow being raised and

59 Olson, Adze, Canoe, and House Types, 18.

60 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 39.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 187

ornamented with carvings of the heads of animals." On another occasion Lewis
and Clark differentiated the several types of canoe on the lower river, and state
of this type, "the canoes most used by the Columbia Indians, from the Chilluckitt-
equaws [just below the Dalles, i.e., White Salmon or Hood River Indians] to
the ocean, are about thirty or thirty-five feet long. The bow, which looks more
like the stern of our boats, is higher than the other end, and is ornamented with
a sort of comb, an inch in thickness, cut out of the same log which forms the
canoe, and extending nine or eleven inches from the bowsprit to the bottom of
the boat. The stern is nearly rounded off, and gradually ascends to a point. This
canoe is very light and convenient, for though it will contain ten or twelve per-
sons, it may be carried with great ease by four."61

The Nootka-Chinook canoe was used by the Wishram, and possibly even
manufactured by them, to judge from McGuff's manner of reference. On the
other hand Mrs. Teio insisted that this was used only below the Dalles, although
as far upstream as the Cascades and Hood River. Lewis and Clark state that
they did not see it above tide-water, that is, below the Cascades.02 Inasmuch as
McGuff stated that this was used more on the sea, it may have had little or no
use in Wishram territory. The Nootka canoe (tuwi'yE) was described as thirty
to fifty feet in length and from four to six feet in breadth.

All types of canoe were hewn from cedar logs, obtained some distance below
the Dalles. Mrs. Teio tentatively suggested fir and pine as materials.63 So far
as pine (sugar pine?) is concerned, Klamath informants stated that it makes too
heavy a canoe. Bark canoes were not made.

They were hewn inside and out with flint "hatchets," according to McGuff
who probably meant adzes, then burned smooth over the entire surface. Fir pitch
was smeared by some over the canoes so that they would burn evenly. In earlier
times canoes were not painted, according to Mrs. Teio; later they were painted
black and red inside (like the Nootka canoe), black or blue outside. Some had
carved figures of men and animals on the stern and bow, and probably on the
sides. A carving of a canoe side, presumably an extra piece attached to the
gunwale, is illustrated in Plate 13. This is a portion of a cedar burial canoe
picked up on Memaloose Island, the burial place of the Wishram above The
Dalles. This portion is eight feet long.6*

Paddles were ordinarily made of ash (Mrs. Teio said maple) but infrequently
of oak wood. They differed in size according to the canoes with which they were
used; lengths varied from four to six feet. The width of the blade was uniformly
five to eight inches. McGuff's sketch shows the upper end of the handle enlarged
transversely to afford a grip, and the tip of the paddle blade deeply notched, like
those observed elsewhere on the lower Columbia, as among the Kathlamet.65

«• Hosmer, II, 36, 48, 134.

62 Hosmer, II, 134.

«3 But on points of this nature, she consistently showed uncertainty and ignorance.

64 Found by Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Filloon of The Dalles, Oregon; the illustration was
kindly provided by Mr. W. H. Holmes.

65 T. N. Strong, Cathlamet on the Columbia; Franchere, Narrative, 328.

188 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Canoe bailers were made in several sizes of maple, ash, and oak wood. In
shape they were said to resemble spoons, probably in that they were provided with
handles. Various decorations were carved on them.

Canoes were made by those with special skill, but they needed no super-
natural power. As with finishing any big task, a man would feel happy in its
completion and give a general feast.

The leader of a canoe party sat in the stern as steersman. Three paddlers
had places before him.

TOOLS AND MANUFACTURED ARTICLES

Adzes, Chisels, Wedges, a>nd Knives. The art of woodworking was perhaps
developed to the same degree as on Puget Sound, a decidedly second place in
comparison with the typical Northwest Coast peoples of British Columbia. We
judge that Wishram woodworking could not compare with them either in quantity,
finish, or variety of wooden articles. Yet they were undoubtedly superior to all
nearby peoples in woodwork. Wishram manufactured dugout canoes, paddles,
bailers, wooden bowls, mortars, troughs, ladles, spoons, bows, and cradle-boards.
Plank houses were not in common use. On the other hand they did not manu-
facture a typical utensil of the Northwest Coast, the wooden box.

Adzes, at least small ones, were used in the preliminary roughing out of the
object. The Wasco also used small adzes.06 If an inference is permissible from
the distribution of adzes in northwestern America as Olson has defined it,67 we
should suspect that the Wishram used the straight adze. "What is evidently an
adze of this form is mentioned by Lewis and Clark as occurring in the Lower
Columbia region where it seems to have been the only pattern known." This was
also the sole type of northwestern California. (There is no data for Oregon).
The straight adze has a stone blade in the line of the handle, a straight or slightly
curved piece of wood, bone, or horn, where it is lashed against a flattened sec-
tion at one end. Flint "hatchets" were mentioned by McGuff in describing how
canoes were made, but he surely meant adzes.

A flint bladed chisel with a wooden handle was used in gouging and en-
graving designs. The wooden object was then further finished by scraping with
the sharp edge of a flint.

Tree trunks were split with elk antler wedges.68

Knives were flints set in deerhorn handles and both single and double edged.
These were probably used for skinning, butchering, and as weapons, rather than
for wood-working.

Awls and Needles. Awls were used in all sewing on skins and coiled baskets.
Sinews were not usually directly inserted in the manner of our cobblers, but a
needle was employed. Awls were fashioned of bone or deerhorn, and of flint for
basketry. Needles were made of various sizes. The common sewing needle

06 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 295.

67 Olson, Adze, Canoe, and House Types, 13-14.

68> Sapir, Wishram Texts, 183.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishranb Ethnography 189

was three to eight inches long, provided with a long, sharp point. It was described
as similar in shape to the common grainsack needle, hence may have been some-
what curved. A longer needle of the same shape had a diameter of one quarter
inch and a length of twelve inches. Somewhat larger needles of this sort were
used in sewing reeds together for mats. Thick needles (one quarter to an inch
and a quarter [?] in diameter and from four [ ?] to ten inches long) were used
for rough work such as sewing thongs in fish-baskets for handles, to take
packstrap ropes, or to lace the basket or bag closed. Needles were made of
hard wood (ironwood, dogwood, or oak), dressed by scraping with a sharp flint,
and finished by oiling (fish or animal oil), and then being laid away to dry be-
fore being used. The informant did not know whether needles were ever made
of bone.

Threads for sewing were flax fibers and sinew. Moccasins for winter use
were sewn with flax, for summer with sinew, since flax is better able to with-
stand a wetting. The flax or hemp is Apocynum cannabinum*9 The sinew was
that lying along the spine of a deer and, we may presume, the long leg tendons.
Flax fibers and sinews were rolled and twisted to make threads. String or rope
was also made of hazel withes.

Pestles and Mortars. Stone pestles were most common, being used for pul-
verizing dry fish, roots, and berries ; wooden pestles were used only for mashing
fresh berries. The mortars were solely of wood, although stone bowls cracked
by the heat of cooking might be used.

Stone pestles were twelve to fourteen inches long, round in section, tapering
from a three inch diameter at the bottom to half that at the top. The lower face
was somewhat convex. The upper end was sometimes ornamented by shaping
it to resemble a nose, for example. These were made of common or black granite
(gabro?), the latter being better material. The stone was placed on a layer of
dry dirt, four or five inches thick, to serve as a cushion and prevent it breaking
during the pecking process. It was lightly tapped with a sharp-edged fragment
of granite, turning it the while to give it cylindrical form. Hollows were fash-
ioned by continuous pecking at one spot.

Mortars were fashioned from thei tough roots of the oak. A block was
hewn in bucket shape, sixteen inches or less in diameter at the top, tapering to
little more than half that diameter at the base, and somewhat less high than broad.
The walls were relatively thin. At two points on the rim, opposite each other,
handles projected above its general level. These sometimes project beyond the
exterior surface of the mortar as squarish bosses. Ornamentation may encircle
the mortar near the rim or be confined to the boss-like handles. On one mortar
illustrated the ornamentation is the familiar "kerb-schnitt" type of the southern
Northwest Coast area (Plate l).70

Bowls, Spoons, and Ladles. All of these were made of wood or horn, but
large bowls for cooking were made of stone. Wooden spoons and ladles were

69 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 183.

70 Boas, Primitive Art, 284. Identical mortars from the Wasco are in the Field Museum
of Natural History (nos. 88704, 5, 7, 10, 11).

190

University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

hard wood; ash, maple, oak, and the root of the crab-apple. Their form is shown
in Plate 1 and Fig. 3. The bowl was more round than elliptical but sometimes
pointed, and quite deep. The handle was curved and usually rose above the level
of the spoon. It was carved, with some intention at least of providing a better
grip. Others were made of mountain sheep and mountain goat (?) horn. Moun-

Fig. 3. A Wooden Spoon (specimen in the University of Pennsylvania Museum).

tain sheep horn spoons were not plentiful among the Wi shram as the animal lived
on Mount Adams well back of their territory. They searched for shed horns on
the sheep ranges while gathering huckleberries and considered themselves very
lucky if they stumbled on one.71 Mountain goat horn spoons were described as
with elongated bowls and short straight handles, which would conform to their
natural shape.

The horns were boiled until soft, the handle bent to shape, and the bowl
formed over a spherical or oval stone to take shape as it cooled. When it was
set to shape, carved ornament was added. Horn bowls could not, of course,
be used with hot foods, but it was stated that horn spoons could be so used.

Stone bowls were made of granite. The hollow was made first since the
stone would withstand hard pecking while still a solid block. When the hollow
was completed the exterior was dressed. Large bowls of this type were used for
cooking by the familiar process of dropping hot stones into the food.

Blankets. Rabbit-skin blankets may have been used for robes as well as bed-
ding. Long strips were cut spirally from dried (?) rabbit skins to furnish warps.
These were wefted (presumably twined) with cords made of a grass which grows
three feet high, rolled into string on the thigh. The Wishram did not weave
blankets of mountain goat or other wool, and our informant did not know whether
such articles were ever made of sagebrush or cedar bark.

71 Strong states that the mountain sheep, now extinct in this area, must once have been
found there, since it was described from Mount Adams in 1829. Lewis and Clark describe
the mountain goat in the area but not the sheep. It does not seem to have been common
in the region. (Strong and Schenck, Petroglyphs, 80).

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram, Ethnography 191

Mats. These were made of tule (and other reeds?) and of a grass men-
tioned below. Tule mats formed the covering of mat lodges and the under layer
of the roofing on earthlodges. Smaller mats were spread over the floor of the
house and on the benches as mattresses. The lodge coverings were long tule mats,
having the width of the tule, three to six feet, and lengths from six to twenty feet.
These were sewn with long curved wooden needles carrying flax cords. McGuff
stated that only flax was used in sewing mats. Nettle cord was not mentioned by
our informants, but it is conceivable that it was used in twined mats.

A grass mat, called itcxic or watcxtc, was used for drying fish. This was
made of waqEnEkc, a grass resembling elk grass but growing in bunches on the
edges of bodies of still water. (It is one to two feet in height, with sharp edges,
and stiff when dried).

Packstrap. Prior to the acquisition of horses, most carrying of loads was
performed by women. Dogs were not used for packing nor with a travois. In fact
the travois is still unknown. Of recent years poles were tied on each side of a
gentle horse to be dragged to a summer camp, e.g.

Loads were carried on the back by a packstrap passing over the forehead
or in front of the shoulders. The load rested rather high on the small of the back,
so distributed that two-thirds of the weight was borne by the back, the balance by
the forehead band. The use of a basket hat by women alone, who were the pack-
ers, confirms Kroeber's suggestion of a functional relationship between the hat
and the packstrap.72 Fish, e.g., were carried in soft baskets of two hundred
pounds capacity to which the strap was tied, from the river bank up the steep
slope to the drying house. Wood and other articles were carried in the same
fashion. Women of relatively slight build (130 to 150 pounds weight) are known
to have carried in this way some forty to fifty blueback salmon. As these aver-
age about five pounds apiece, the total load was 200 to 250 pounds. A man might
pack from 150 to 300 pounds, a strong individual being able to carry two big
bucks on his shoulders.

Packstraps were formerly braided cords or deerskin straps. More recently
a woven strap displaced these. The cord affair was made of twisted or rolled
wild flax fibers, three strands of which were so braided together as to be wider
at the midpoint of its length. This wider portion rested on the forehead. In a
packstrap of deerskin the central wide segment was a piece separate from the
thongs, which were sewed to it. Such straps might be fifteen feet long, with a
central section a foot to eighteen inches long.

The woven packstrap was introduced in Mrs. Teio's girlhood, about 1875.
She does not' know where the new style came from ; it was adopted by all the
residents of the Yakima Reservation. One specimen seen had a total length of
five feet ; the central portion, fourteen inches long and nearly two inches wide,
was continuous with the warps of the tie cords. These warps were eleven strands
of commercial cord. The warps were simply braided for two feet at each end ;
then for an inch or so the warps were divided into two bundles which were

72 Kroeber, Handbook of the Indians of California, 807.

192 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

braided separately; the central section was wefted with commercial yarn. This
was woven by twining two yarns continuously from right to left, the whole warp
being turned over at the beginning of each new pick in order that the directions
of twining remain the same. A decorative effect was introduced by using varied
colored yarns in narrow bands across the warps, the intervening spaces being
neutral colored yarn. These colored bands were in order, brown, red, black,
black, red, brown.

Baskets and Bags. These must have been the most numerous articles of a
household, used for a variety of purposes in transporting and storing food and
other articles. The list of the several kinds we have at hand may not exhaust
the varieties. Further, the twined baskets are so flexible and so closely resemble
the flat twined bags, and are at the same time so variable in size and shape, that
it is not easy to separate the forms as given in our notes.

The baskets collected by Sapir are both twined and coiled, the bags twined.
McGuff separated these as (1) aklwa'tq, a small twined basket with circular base,
so flexible that the sides may meet like a wallet; (2) siklanxat, a twined wallet-
like bag; (3) iL lu'nEpac, a bag like the last but in coarse open-twine, and per-
haps always larger; (4) at lu'ksai, a coiled circular basket with a coiled base; (5)
ick !a'le, possibly the same technique as the small twined basket (1) but certainly
larger. A word for a small basket, apq IwEnx, was also recorded by Sapir. Mrs.
Teio named only two varieties (or forms) of baskets: Ixk !a'banox, a flat bag in
coarse open-twine used for carrying loads of fish, probably the same as iiJu'nEpac
(3), and islai'pas, a circular twined basket for storing pulverized salmon, possibly
ak!wa'tq (1). How far these names refer to technical differences and differences
of use, we do not know. In addition a conical basket hat ats la'xelai'a was worn
by women. This was twined of white mountain grass. The Wishram were said
to be among the chief producers of these hats in the Plateau.73 Water buckets
were tightly woven of cedar roots, probably twined.

All these were made by the Wishram with the possible exception of the coiled
baskets (4). This was uniformly referred to as "a Klickitat berry basket," which
may mean that it was traded from the Klickitat or was made in imitation of a
similar Klickitat form. The type of basket was common throughout coastal and
interior Washington. The Klickitat also state that neither Wishram nor Wasco
made coiled baskets.74

All of these types served indifferently for transportation and storage. There
was some differentiation, however. Smaller twined circular baskets of capacities
of one4ialf to two gallons were used in the mountains when picking acorns, pine
nuts, or digging roots. Larger baskets of this sort of two and a half gallons and
more were primarily storage baskets. Provisions for which they had more con-
cern, such as dried camas and peyahi (a bitter macaroni-like root dug in the
mountains), were preserved in the twined wallets. A basket called islai'pas, pos-
sibly only the common twined circular basket, a foot in diameter and two deep,

73 Haeberlin, et al., Coiled Basketry, 139.

74 Haeberlin et al., loc. cit., 136.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram, Ethnography 193

was used to store pulverized dried salmon. The basket was lined with dried sal-
mon skin and its contents covered with more of the same. Coarsely woven open-
twine baskets, quite flat and provided with handles, some two feet deep, were
the primary carrying baskets. Salmon were carried in these, as many as seven
at a time, with their tails protruding from the top.

The twined circular baskets were sometimes made and used in pairs (with
identical decoration?). This may be a transfer from parfleches which were usually
made in pairs (but we must remark, not by the Wishram at all).

Both twined circular baskets (1) and twined wallets (2) were made in simple
twine. An examination of the photographs of specimens available fails to show
any use of diagonal twine or any certain use of three-strand twine stitches on the
sides of the fabrics. The twined baskets, however, were begun at the base with
crossed warps twined in bundles, the number of warps in each bundle being re-
duced at intervals, using diagonal twine (crossing two warps) which sometimes
extended as far as the edge of the base (see Plate 4). The wallets were pre-
sumably made as among the Klamath, by twining weft strands through the warps
at their midpoints, then continuing these across one half the warps and then the
other half continuously. This produces a flat bag closed on three sides (Plate 5).

Both twined fabrics were made of strips of the bark of willow, cedar, and
bearberry; sometimes of a tall grass growing in the mountain lakes. Modern
examples have warps of unraveled commercial rope. The process of their man-
ufacture was considered a slow one: an expert could make an undecorated basket
of the size of a five pound pail in a minimum of two days, but if it required deco-
ration, this was increased to four. A wallet was even slower in its manufacture
since it was twined more finely, tightly, and regularly. Such baskets ranged in
size from one-half gallon capacity to five, most commonly near the lower limit.
The wallets measured ten by twelve inches, fourteen by twenty-four, for example.

The edge of such baskets and bags is provided with a binding of buckskin
or cloth in a majority of the specimens. This is furnished with thong loops for
handles in the case of the basket, and with a draw-string, or loops to take a draw-
string, in the bags.

The ickla'le was a large circular basket, known to us only from McGuff's
sketches. Since it was rather elaborately decorated and said to be woven evenly
and tightly, we surmise that was in twine weave. The size was given as a bushel
and a half and again as of five and a half gallons capacity. These were made
of cedar roots and elk grass.

Coarse open-twine bags were used for burden baskets. To judge by the
single photograph at hand (Plate 7) they were made in essentially the same way
as the smaller twined wallets. Mrs. Teio described such burden baskets (called
ixk!a'banox by her) as having a rope inserted in the sides, in some fashion not-
clear, terminating at the rim in handles to which the pack-strap was fastened.
(Possibly a rope was turned through the warps, or caught in the twining, when
the bag was begun and its ends caught in the twining on the sides as extra warps).

194 University of Washington Publications in AntJiropology [Vol. 3

The coiled basket had a cedar root foundation sewn with elk grass and, for
decorative purposes, with the sap bark of the cedar. The cedar roots were dug
up and dried in the sun for five or six days. They were then soaked in warm
water for a day and split with the aid of a sharp flint. They were careful to
split and scrape the pieces to a uniform width. These were then sorted according
to width, the various widths being suited to the several sizes of basket. A pointed
Hint was used as an awl for inserting the sewing strand. We do not know whether
the baskets had a single or multiple rod foundation. Each segment of founda-
tion material tapered so that the next bit added might be lapped with it. The cedar
sap bark was variously dyed and used almost solely for design figures. The
specimens at hand show imbricated decoration but the manner of its application
was not described. Coiled baskets were made even more slowly than the wal-
lets, a small one of the size mentioned above requiring six days to complete.75
In size these had capacities of one-half gallon to three times that amount.

In order to obtain design pattern names, Sapir took with him to the field a
series of photographs of Klickitat, Ljllooet, and Thompson baskets in the col-
lection of the American Museum of Natural History. Those among them named
by the Wishram are listed below and shown in Fig. 4, drawn by Miss M. W.
Bonsall of Philadelphia, an expense kindly assumed by the University of
Pennsylvania Museum.

a, hide of a spotted fawn; b, laq!Esq!Es (a very old pattern) ; c, deer and
birds or butterflies (the Klickitat interpretation of the figures was horses) ; d.
steps; e, loose fitting dovetailing ( an aboriginal concept?); f, salmon stomach;
g, steps (the Lillooet interpretation was doubtfully fungus) ; h, sturgeon roe (be-
fore spawning) ; i, steps; j, hazel withes; k, eyes.

Several other" design names were obtained for which we have no illustrations
at hand: curlew, frogs, birds, salmon, fish gills, teeth.

Several other design units were redrawn by Miss Bonsall from sketches
furnished by McGuff (Fig. 5). His interpretations follow; a, willow or hazel
withes; b, eyes and teeth; c, fish teeth; d, (human?) teeth; e, rattle snake fangs
and jaws ; f, none given.

A resume of this limited series of designs shows,76 first, that single units,
not complex designs, are named ; second, that their representative value is stressed
by a literal interpretation; third, that they bear the names of real objects and liv-
ing forms, not of ideas ; fourth, that the association of name and form is not very
variable. To be explicit, a realistic figure of a fish is a salmon or generically a
fish (PI. 2, a, b), of a quadruped with horns, an elk or deer (PI. 2, c; Fig. 4, c),
of winged figures, eagles, birds, or butterflies (PI. 2, c, e, h ; Fig. 4, c), and those
of humans show arms, legs, trunk, head and features (Fig. 4, c, f, g). The
series of teeth are quite realistic. Obtuse spurs opposed from parallel base lines

75 A description of the method of their manufacture by the Klickitat is given by Mason,
Aboriginal American Basketry, 427; for illustrations, see pp. 429-430 and Pis. 159-161.

76 See also Haeberlin et al., Coiled Basketry, 357.

1930]

Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography

195

Illl5j!

iplllillllllllllll

■ EMI J

lilllH

1ii™™imI

l/llllllllllllllllj

ssmlJ

Tola RtQOnlli Iff

iffijJ nramcll

J k

Fig. 4. Design patterns named by the Wishram from Klickitat, Lillooet, and Thomp-
son baskets (American Museum of Natural History, a-e, h, i, Klickitat; f, g. k, Lillooet;
j, Thompson).

196

University of Washington Publications in /lnthropology [Vol. 3

d e f

Fig. 5. Wishram design units redrawn from native sketches (a-d,
twined baskets; e, flat bag; f, coiled basket).

or a single line are human teeth (Fig. 5, d; PI. 3, c) ; a series of oblique angles
are fish teeth (Fig. 5, c) ; oblique lines with two recurving triangles represent the
(open?) jaw of a rattler with its protruding fangs (Fig. 5, e). The other cases
of teeth are less obvious, but may be related conceptually to these fish and snake
teeth by reason of their oblique parallel lines (Fig. 5, b; PI. 3, d). Hazel withes
are shown by long parallel oblique lines (PI. 2, d; Fig. 5, a) which may repre-
sent the parted fibers of( the twisted withe, and by parallel zigzags crossing others
(Fig. 4, j) which may be interpreted as twisted withes. Perhaps inevitably be-
cause of its importance in their life, parts of fish appear in several designs ; fish
teeth (Fig. 5, c) ; zigzag lines as fish gills (PI. 3, a) ; an elaborate enclosure as
a salmon stomach (Fig. 4, f ) ; and a stepped diagonal with pendants as sturgeon
roe before spawning (Fig. 4, h) which, for all we know, it may resemble. A
series of large spots are those of a fawn skin (Fig. 4, a). Small lozenges and
lozenges containing crosses (as pupils?) are eyes (Fig. 5, b; Fig. 4, k). A quite
different design (PI. 3, b), also called eyes, is difficult to understand unless we
hazard that the lids are shown with eyelashes above and below. The most vari-
able set of designs are those known as steps (Fig. 4, d, g, i), yet the representa-
tion is clear. The design unit in all three cases seems to be a brief stepped line.
A series of steps called a loose fitting dovetail joint (Fig. 4, e) does indeed look
like the kerfs of such a joint partly separated, yet this might also have been
called "steps."

1930]

Spier and Sapir, Wishram] Ethnography

197

It will be observed that the habit of naming small design units is identical
with the case of the parfleche decorations. There names for the complex forms
on the exterior of the bags were avoided and only the simple disconnected ele-
ments on the side flaps named.

It may be noted that a single word idak !i'nulmax, is used indifferently of
painted and basket designs.77

Beaded bags are a modern innovation in imitation of Plains beadwork.
These are small handbags made largely for tourist traffic. Two with decoration
resembling that of the twined baskets and wallets are shown in Figure 6. More
recently even these have been displaced by floral designs, ultimately derived from
the Great Lakes region, and animal forms in lurid colors.

^fe8 "^fr ♦ ■♦

Hfr HlfBh 4^ H^-

-a|j. .flp. 4gB. -a|j.

<tip- m m|SH mfih *

Fig. 6.

History).

Wishram beaded bags with old-style decoration (American Museum of Natural

Parfleches. These folded envelope-like rawhide cases were used for storage
and as pack-bags on horses as by the Plains Indians. They were not manufactured
by the Wishram nor by other peoples now on the Yakima Reservation (Yakima,
Klickitat, etc.) but were traded from the Nez Perde.78 There is no information
as to whether the Wishram purposely selected among the Nez Perce patterns.

Designs elements were named. In addition to the interpretations to be given
directly, McGuff stated that some elements were called buffalo eyes and elk eyes.
We do not know if the names werel the invention of the Wishram or derived, like
the parfleches, from other sources.

77 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 142.

78 McGuff's statement to this effect confirms our information recorded elsewhere (Spier,
Parfleche Decoration, 95). Farrand also noted of certain specimens in the American
Museum of Natural History, "Yakima, but probably of Nez Perce manufacture." The
Klickitat and Yakima sometimes made them according to Haeberlin et al. {Coiled Basketry,
357, 360).

198

University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Plate 9 shows the exterior of a parfleche when folded and the interior re-
vealing the decoration on the side flaps. The colors of the exterior are red,
green, blue, and yellow ; of the interior green and yellow. The figures on the side
flaps were interpreted as people. Both parfleches of Plate 10 have the same color
scheme as that of Plate; 9. Both, bear decoration on the side flaps; that on b
consists of pairs of parallel lines transverse to the flap including a series of di-
agonal lines. This was said also to represent people. It will be observed then
that there was consistency in the use of the design name. The parfleche of Plate
1 1 is a very old and faded specimen of buffalo calf skin. The original colors now
appear as red, green (black?), and yellow. This was said to have been painted
with native color-stuffs, not with commercial pigments like the other specimens
figured. The black paint was made of buffalo blood mixed with pitch and "other
stuff" (charcoal?), and either burned in or applied while hot. The side flaps
are decorated with figures representing fishes. From McGuff's sketch of this,
these are lozenges with serrated edges. A series of other parfleches are shown
in Plate 12. Figure 7 shows a series of parfleche designs redrawn by Miss Bon-
sall from sketches by McGuff. Only three of these show decorated side flaps

/^\/^\/&\A

r^i

/^l/fr^U&s

AAA

>xx<

'XX

Fig. 7. Wishram parfleche designs, redrawn from native sketches (The deco-
ration of only one flap is shown ; decoration of the side flaps is shown above, where
it occurs).

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishrami Ethnography 199

in the original sketches. Again it was only the isolated designs on the side flaps
that were named: those of a were called arrowpoints; c, people (as in Plate 9) ;
g, mountains.79

Bows and Arrows. These were used for small game as late as 1870 but
only meagre descriptions are now available. McGuff observed that ordinarily
bows had so little range that they were of no great value in still hunting, de-
pendence being placed rather on clubbing deer floundering in deep snow, yet
that strong men wielded bows of greater range. This suggests the possibility
that both self and sinewbacked bows were used.

The direct information at hand is that bows were sinewbacked (sinew-
lined, in Mason's terminology). These were made of oak or dogwood, with
a length of about four feet. They were straight, a third broader at the middle
than at the tips, and lacked the constricted grip of the Northwest Coast types.
The backing of layers of fresh sinew was applied over the outside of the bow
to within six inches of each end. When dry it became taut and added mate-
rially to the bow's strength. The bowstring was released from one end until
wanted for use. so that the bow-stave would remain straight.

Bows were held either horizontally or perpendicularly when shooting.

Arrows were made of any hard wood. They had diameters of three-eighths
to a half-inch, lengths from fourteen inches to two feet. Stone heads were
inserted deeply in the split shaft, fastened with sinew, and the wrappings
smoothed over with pitch. Arrows for small game and birds lacked heads.
The feathering consisted of three vanes. These were halves of large split
feathers, ordinarily those of the mountain hawk, for war arrows eagle feathers.
The head of a war arrow was poisoned with the contents of a rattlesnake poison
sac. The outlines of a few stone heads were sketched by McGuff, presumably
some found on the old village site. They ranged in length from three-quarters
to two inches. All are tanged and, with a single exception having acute barbs,
have rounded barb shoulders.

A peculiar type of war arrow was described by McGuff. This had a
multiple barbed point, which he described as composed of two to four barbed
flint heads, each one set into the barb of the preceding. The binding was of
fresh or moistened sinew, which on drying would become very taut, coated
with pitch. Yet the binding need not be very rigid since the purpose of the jointed
head was to have segments of it remain in the wound. Such is his description
as he understood it from an old woman, but his sketch suggests rather a multiple
barbed bone head or a stone head set in a barbed bone foreshaft. Such forms
have been described by Mason from western Washington, the Columbia River
region, and northwestern California.80 It is quite conceivable that this barbed
bone head or foreshaft was so deeply notched that it was indeed easily snapped
off. This type of arrow was usually used by war chiefs, and never for game.
It is called aqxa'qusa after a huge cannibal woman Akxa'qusa who descended
on the Wishram village and ate all its inhabitants.

79 For a discussion of parfleche decoration in this area see Spier, Parfleche Decoration.

80 Mason, North American Bows, pi. XLIX, fig. 5; pi. L, figs. 5-7.

200 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Tanning. Hides of large animals were valuable. These included deer and
elk skins, and the pelts of bear, timber wolf, coyote, mountain goat, and raccoon.

A deer skin was cut free of the carcass back of the ears and at the knees,
leaving the tail attached to the hide.

The hair could be scraped off immediately if the hide was fresh. Otherwise
it had to be soaked in water for one or more days depending on how long it had
been dry. It was bundled up and weighted down with stones in the creek. It
was then slung over a smoothed slanting pole, perhaps five feet long and six
to twelve inches in diameter, which rested against a convenient tree. The hide
was caught between the edge of the pole and the tree. The scraper was a deer
or bear rib rubbed to a smooth edge on a stone. Both hair and pigmented layer
were removed. A stone scraper held directly in the hand was used to remove
excess tissue and fat from the flesh side.

The hide was then immersed in a solution of warm water and deer brains,
contained in a wooden trough, long enough (overnight) to become soft and
pliable. This trough was made from a maple or ash log, and was two to four
feet long, eight to fourteen inches wide at the top, six to twelve inches deep.
Only sufficient brain was put in the water to make it slightly soapy. Brain that
had been prepared was much better for the purpose than the fresh article. Deer
brain was set aside to rot a little, when it became quite oily. It was sometimes
placed in a small flat bag between sticks placed cribwise and hung close to the
fire to hasten the extraction of the oil. When the hide was well soaked it was
rubbed between the hands, wrung out, and hung in the sun to dry for a day.
It was soaked a second night in the same solution, rubbed, and again wrung dry.
To wring a skin, the legs, neck and tail were tucked in, the whole placed around
a post, and the ends twisted together with the hands. (A stick was not used
as a lever to twist it, as elsewhere.)

A frame was constructed on which to stretch and rub the hide. This con-
sisted of two poles set upright, bearing two crosspieces tied to them. Holes
were punched along the edges of the hide with a bone awl and a strip of skin
or rawhide thong was threaded through them. Another thong passing through
this one was used to lace the hide in the frame. It was then rubbed vigorously
in all directions with a special instrument. This was a beveled stick, or more
commonly a stone scraper or deer-horn wedge set in the end of a stick. The
flat flint scraper had a blunt, smooth edge; the angle of the horn wedge was
quite acute. The wooden handle was two to three feet long, two inches or more
in diameter; the blade, projecting four to six inches, was fastened with a sinew
lashing and pitch. It was held in the hands, not under the arm. As the hide
was worked on it grew slack and the lacing was drawn up. Of course, the
more the hide was worked the larger and thinner it got. By this means it could
be worked to the thickness desired.

Small skins could be tanned just as well in another fashion dispensing with
the frame. The rubbing stick was set vertically near a fire, and the skin
stretched and rubbed over the end bearing the scraper blade.

Smoke tanning seems generally to have been added to this process. A well

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 201

smoked skin would not spoil if wet ; it could be wrung out and rubbed soft.
Skins intended for moccasins were especially well smoked. A hole of a foot
diameter and as deep as the arm was filled with well rotted wood of indifferent
varieties which would produce a dense slow smoke. McGuff states that the
edges of the hide were pinned down around the hole with small sticks which
were then brought together and tied above so as to support the hide. Mrs. Teio
had it that the skin was sewed down the side and tied about the neck to form
a bag, which was then hung from a tripod, the edges being weighted down.
It was first smoked with the flesh side in so that the carbon would strike well
into the pores until the hide was yellow. It was then turned inside out and the
process repeated. McGuff set the time for smoking at about two hours. The
tripod appears to be a recent device substituted for the dome-shaped frame
after Mrs. Teio was grown, perhaps about 1880. This frame was made of
willow twigs and over it the hide was flung. Any small holes appearing in the
finished hide were sewn with sinew from the back of a deer.

Musical Instruments. These were only moderately developed among the
Wishram, in which they were one with other North American tribes. Drums
of three varieties, the notched rasp or rattle, a deer hoof rattle, and possibly
the flute (or flageolet) constituted the total.

The commonest drum was a plank laid before a row of drummers on which
they beat with billets, some eighteen inches long. This thumping device was
used in a shaman's curing practise and in the hand game.

The drumming accompaniment to the songs of spirit dances was furnished
by a horizontal pole slung from the rafters by a rope at each end. This could
then be thumped against a plank set upright in the earthen floor before it.

The only true drum known to the Wishram was the hand drum of tam-
bourine type. Longer two-headed drums were not known. It may be that the
hand drum is of relatively recent introduction among these people since it figured
largely in the dances of the Smohallah cult. It was also used, to be sure, as a
signal to call a meeting of the council of chiefs, and again to beat out the
rhythm of war dances, although here the notched rasp seems to have been the
proper instrument.

The hand drum was a hoop formed of a flat oak stick, two to six inches
in width and one to three feet in diameter. It was provided with one or two
skin heads ; the latter being, of course, a more valuable article. The head was
of deer or bear skin, and in later days horsehide, soaked before it was stretched
over the frame so that on shrinking it would be drawn taut. It was fastened
on by three thongs which crossed the open face, providing a grip. The head
was sometimes decorated with a star (?), etc.; perhaps only those used in
Smohallah dances bore decorations. The drumstick was a straight piece of
dry wood, wound about at one end with cloth. Small drums were held in the
hand ; larger ones were set on the ground, where several drummers crowded
around.

The notched rasp or rattle was the familiar instrument of the Basin tribes,
a hardwood stick along which a series of semicircular notches were cut. It
was rasped with another stick rubbed up and down along the notches.

202 University oj Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

The deer hoof rattle was used by shamans in curing and in the war dance.
Deer feet were soaked in boiling water for a few minutes, when the hoofs
could be readily detached. Holes were punched anywhere in them ; they were
threaded on a cord and set away to dry. When twenty-five or thirty had been
collected, they were threaded on a sinew cord and attached to one end of a
six-inch wooden handle. The name of the rattle, aq !a'nalala, was also the word
for deer hoof. This was used by the Wasco in the war dance.

HOUSES

Houses took two forms ; a semisubterranean earth lodge primarily for winter
use, and a mat lodge. In addition, Mrs. Teio described a plank house, but
McGuff stated that only two forms were used. Besides these dwellings there
were small sweatlodges.

Generically houses are itquli- ; a winter house is it-tca'xulkxt, whether above
or below ground. The earth lodge is specifically watcE'lx (also a root cellar)
and the mat lodge ittcagwa'yakxut.

The semisubterranean earth lodge was a hemispherical superstructure built
over a circular pit. The size varied with the number of inmates, from one to half
a dozen families. Gunyer mentioned a pit sixteen or more feet in diameter,
dug out to a depth of four feet. McGuff set the depth at six or more feet. The
framework of the superstructure was of poles, covered with tule mats, grass,
and dirt, or with cedar bark. Egress was by a hole in the roof reached by a
ladder. (The frame was not described. We may assume that, like the Klamath,
Middle Columbia Salish, and Thompson houses to the south and north, it con-
sisted of four or two central posts bearing ridge poles on which rested others
extending from the margins of the pit, rather than a series of poles extending
directly from the margins to meet in an apex.) Low bed platforms extended
around the walls, under which dried foodstuffs were stored. The floor and
sides of the pit were lined with mats. There is no suggestion of the use of
such lodges as men's club houses as in California.

The semisubterranean lodge was seen by Lewis and Clark in April, 1806,
among the Weocksockwillacums ( ? Imie'qsoq wi'lxam, White Salmon Indians)
at Canoe River just below the Dalles. "Those [houses] which are inhabited
are on the surface of the earth, and built in the same shape as those near the
rapids [the Cascades] ; but there are others, at present evacuated, which are
completely under ground. They are sunk about eight feet deep, and covered
with strong timbers, and several feet of earth in a conical form. On descending
by means of a ladder through a hole in the top, which answers the double
purpose of a door and a chimney, we found that the house consisted of a single
room, nearly circular and about sixteen feet in diameter."81

The mat lodge was wholly above ground. It was rectangular in plan and
provided with a gable roof. A sketch by McGuff suggests that one slope of
the gable was quite short and abrupt ; the other slope occupied nearly the entire
width of the roof. Or he may have meant that the roof had only one pitch

81 Hosmer, II, 253.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 203

in the manner of the shed-like houses of Puget Sound. The house was rounded
at each end, the poles at these places presumably leaning inward to the apex
of the gable. Small fir poles were tied together in fashioning the frame. The
entire frame was covered with long tule mats or cedar bark, both inside and
out on the walls, but outside only on the roof. Openings were left for smoke
holes above each fireplace and for doorways. The mats were laid so as to
overlap and shed the rain. They were so arranged that the tules stood verti-
cally. Sometimes poles were laid on the mat covering to hold it in place. Such
houses measured up to forty feet in length, having one to four fireplaces, with
a width of twelve feet, and stood ten feet high at the ridge, five feet at the
eaves.82

Lewis and Clark mention seeing such mat lodges at the village of the Skilloot
(ila'xluit, Wishram) at the Dalles (April 19, 1806) : "Since we left them last
autumn they have removed their village a few hundred yards lower down the
river, and have exchanged the cellars in which we then found them for more
pleasant dwellings on the surface of the ground. These are formed by sticks,
and covered with mats and straw, and so large that each is the residence of
several families."83

If the house was small, containing a single family, the entrance was in
the end, and according to McGuff's sketch, at one side of the end. A long
house had a doorway on the side for each family. By way of a door, a mat
with cross-sticks sewed top and bottom was tied in place above the opening.
It was not fastened at the bottom. Windbreaks (mats?) were sometimes placed
to windward of the smoke holes to prevent the wind blowing in.

A large section at the rear of the mat lodge was given over to the racks on
which fish were hung to dry. The house was tightly covered so that no sun-
light could reach the fish. This portion had no smoke holes as it was desired
to confine the smoke there to hasten the drying, although another informant
said that fish were not deliberately smoked.

Such houses had bed platforms, three feet or more above the ground,
extending around all four walls save as interrupted by the doorway. Or a
single large sleeping platform, six feet above the ground, occupied one end.
They never slept on the ground within doors. The desire was to have the
fire between the doorway and the bed, which could be conveniently arranged
in a small house with a single entrance, but how the several parts were arranged
when a section of the house was given over to fish drying was not outlined to us.

Small mats covered the floor except at the fireplaces. These were swept
off as necessity demanded. The fire was confined in a shallow pit, not rimmed
in with stones. Every morning the fireplace was cleaned out and water sprinkled
there. Beds were made of mats or other soft articles such as bear skins, or
buffalo skins obtained from the Nez Perce in exchange for salmon. The cover-
ing was of blankets. The whole was cleaned, rolled up, and stowed away in
the morning. Bedding may have been placed in a tent outside.

82 For an illustration of a similar house see McWhorter, The Crime Against the
Yakitnas.

«3 Hosmer, II, 260.

204 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

The mats covering the lodge had the width of the tule length, three to six
feet, and lengths varying from six to fifteen or twenty feet. The tules were
sewn together side by side with grass (flax?) cords piercing them at intervals
of a hand's breadth. The cords were two-strand, rolled together on the thigh.

At the end of the fish drying season in August, the covering of the mat
houses was rolled up and stored away until they returned from hunting and
berry picking in the mountains.

The plank house described by Mrs. Teio was presumably rectangular and
gable or shed roofed like those of the coast. The frame may have been like
that of the mat lodge. The broad planks were tied vertically to the frame. The
roof was probably of mats, not planks. For the planks, they went down river
to the vicinity of Mount Adams where broad slabs, a foot or even two across,
could be riven from the cedar trees. Such houses were described as warmer
than the mat lodges, which suggests that they had some use in winter.

Lewis and Clark describe plank houses as though they were the only type
in the Wishram village (undoubtedly, from the description of its location,
Xixlu'idix at Spedis) which they saw in October, 1805, yet the following year
they mention "cellars" at this place. "The houses, which are the first wooden
buildings we have seen since leaving the Illinois 'country, are nearly equal in
size, and exhibit a very singular appearance. A large hole twenty feet wide and
thirty in length, is dug to the depth of six feet. The sides are then lined with
split pieces of timber, rising just above the surface of the ground, which are
smoothed to the same width by burning, or shaved with small iron axes. These
timbers are secured in their erect position by a pole stretched along the side of
the building near the eaves, and supported on a strong post fixed at each corner.
The timbers at the gable ends rise gradually higher [to an apex], the middle
pieces being the broadest. At the top of these [at the apex] is a sort of semi-
circle, made to receive a ridge-pole the whole length of the house, propped by
an additional post in the middle, and forming the top of the roof. From this
ridge-pole to the eaves of the house are placed a number of small poles or rafters,
secured at each end by fibres of the cedar. On these poles, which are connected
by small transverse bars of wood, is laid a covering of the white cedar, or arbor
vitae [bark?], kept on by the strands of the cedar fibres; but a small distance
along the whole length of the ridge-pole is left uncovered, for the purpose of
light and permitting the smoke to pass through. The roof thus formed has a
descent about equal to that common amongst us, and near the eaves is perfor-
ated with a number of small holes, made most probably to discharge their arrows
in case of an attack. The only entrance is by a small door at the gable end.
cut out of the middle piece of timber, twenty-nine and a half inches high above
the earth. Before this hole is hung a mat, and on pushing it aside and crawling
through, the descent is by a small wooden ladder, made in the form of those
used amongst us. One half of the inside is used as a place of deposit for
their dried fish, of which there are large quantities stored away, and which
with a few baskets of berries form the only family provisions ; the other half
adjoining the door remains for the accommodation of the family. On each

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram. Ethnography 205

side are arranged near the walls small beds of mats placed on little scaffolds
or bedsteads, raised from eighteen inches to three feet from the ground, and
in the middle of the vacant space is the fire, or sometimes two or three fires,
when, as is indeed usually the case, the house contains three families." At a
village a few miles below they saw "there were figures of men, birds, and
different animals, which were cut and painted on the boards which form the
sides of the room, and though the workmanship of these uncouth figures was
very rough, they were as highly esteemed by the Indians as the finest frescoes
of more civilized people."84

DRESS AND PERSONAL ADORNMENT

Our information on clothing does not reach back to clearly aboriginal days.
While men were credited with simply a breech-clout, a sleeveless vest, and fur
robes, which are aboriginal enough, the woman's costume was given as a long
skin dress, leggings, and moccasins, that is, full Plains costume. But it seems
unlikely that Plains dress was introduced among them prior to that strong in-
filtration of Plains traits in the whole area which began subsequent to 1750. If
we are to hazard what the costume may have been in earlier times, judging by
what is known of neighbors north and south, women's garb was as scanty as
men's, consisting solely of a kilt or apron of fringes or fibers, or a skin, pendant
from a belt, possibly in the form of a breech-clout, plus upper garments like
those of men.

Lewis and Clark describe the dress of the people above the Cascades as
similar to that seen in the vicinity of the Dalles. "Their dress, also, consisting
of robes or skins of wolves, deer, elk, and wild-cat, is made nearly after the
same model; their hair is worn in plaits down each shoulder, and round their
neck is put a strip of some skin with the tail of the animal hanging down over
the breast." They noted of the Weocksockwillacum (probably White Salmon
Indians) at Canoe River just below the Dalles, that they differed from the Indian
of the Cascades in dress : "the chief distinction in dress being a few leggings
and moccasins, which we find here like those worn by the Chopunnish [Nez
Perc^e]." At the Skilloot ila'xluit, Wishram) village at the Dalles they re-
marked in April, 1806: "They are also much better clad than any of the natives
below, or than they were themselves last autumn ;85 the dress of the men consists
generally of leggings, moccasins, and large robes, and many of them wear shirts
in the same form used by the Chopunnish [Nez Perce] and Shoshonees, highly
ornamented, as well as the leggings and moccasins, with porcupine quills. Their
modesty is protected by the skin of a fox or some other animal drawn under
a girdle and hanging in front like a narrow apron. The dress of the women
differs but little from that worn near the rapids [the Cascades], and both sexes
wear the hair over the forehead as low as the eyebrows, with large locks cut

84 Hosmer, II, 40, 47.

SB A. B. Lewis interprets this as evidence of the introduction of Plains clothing at this
date, but it is just as likely to represent seasonal variation (Tribes of the Columbia Valley,
188).

206 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

square at the ears, and the rest hanging in two queues in front of the body. The
robes are made principally of the skins of deer, elk, bighorn, some wolf and
buffaloe, while the children use the skins of the large gray squirrel. The
buffaloe is procured from the nations higher up the river, who occasionally visit
the Missouri; indeed, the greater portion of their apparel is brought by the
nations to the northwest, who come to trade for pounded fish, copper, and
beads."86

Pelts of various animals were used in winter; bear, raccoon, deer, wolf,
coyote, and mountain goat, all deemed valuable. Summer costumes were of
tanned hides, such as deer and mountain goat. Moccasins were primarily for
winter use; very few made use of them in summer.

Breech-clouts were made of fur, such as raccoon, and were of small size.87
Winter garments of this nature, made of bear skin, were broad in the seat. A
mat-like affair of tules, fashioned in (open?) twine, was worn in the snow for
warmth. Having a broad seat it added considerable protection in slipping and
sliding over the snow-clad hills. Leggings of fur and dressed hide wTere fastened
to the breech-clout. The sleeveless shirt or vest was made of coyote or raccoon
skins. This was described explicitly only as a man's garment. Shirts of the
Plains type were not known originally. A recorded word (wa'cEmx) for a
beaded ornament of buffalo-skin tied to the middle of the blanket used as a
robe suggests that the robes were decorated in the familiar Plains style. This
ornament was attached to the blanket so as to lie on the middle of the back.
This was presumably the band bearing circular bosses attached to or painted on
Plains robes and known to occur in this area at least among the Klamath and
Nez Perce.88

Caps were made of fur (for winter use alone?) ; for example, from two
head skins of coyotes. Mittens were made of coyote pelt and mufflers for the
neck of the same.

The women's dress was the characteristic long garment of Plains women,
but showing those local features typical of the northwesterly tribes. It hung to
midcalf from the shoulders, with cape-like extensions to the elbow open below,
and the body of the dress itself open under the arms as far as the midribs. Two
buckskins were used in its manufacture, one before and another behind, sewn
together along the shoulders and down the arms, leaving only a brief hole for the
neck. Little gores were inserted near the bottom in each side in order to make
the dress flare. (In answer to a leading question, the informant stated that the
skins were probably hung with the tail end at the top, which is the Plains method).
The sleeves were slit into heavy fringes which hung below the arms. The lower
margin of the dress was probably also fringed a little. Little thongs were inserted
in rows on the lower part of the skirt as further fringes ; sometimes these had
each a bead strung on them. A heavy beaded yoke was added crossing the

8« Hosmer, II, 52, 254, 260.

87 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 183.

88 Spinden, The Nez Perce Indians, 218. Klamath specimens, skin bands bearing circu-
lar areas of beadwork, are in the collection of the Field Museum (nos. 61985, 6).

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 207

shoulders and extending down on breast and back. The dress was gathered in
with a beaded belt.

Conical metal jingles were attached to the dance costumes of both men and
women. It was said that in earlier times these were made of horn or bone.

Women's leggings were also of Plains type. They reached from below the
ankles to the knees and were beaded over their entire surface.

A basket hat was worn by women alone. This had the form of a truncated
cone ; its upper flat face was four inches in diameter, and the height eight to ten
inches. It was twined of white mountain grass and decorated.89

Moccasins of a single type were worn by both men and women. These were
not of the type in common use on the Yakima Reservation today (1924), a one-
piece affair,90 but had a seam up the toe meeting a U-shaped piece on the instep.
In back it conformed to the modern type, with a seam up the back and a little
tab extending at the heel (a single tab, whereas the modern moccasins have two).
It lacked the ankle flaps of the modern form.91 Beading extended along the toe
and over the instep to hide the sewing. Summer foot-gear were sewn with sinew,
winter ones with flax which would not soften in the wet. Well smoked deer-
hides were chosen for moccasin material, as these would not harden when wetted
and dried.92 Moccasins were mostly worn in winter, when they might be stuffed
with dry grass for warmth.

Some sort of "socks" were made of a wild grass; perhaps a short legging or
grass stuffing for moccasins in winter was meant.

Snowshoes may be conveniently described here, although not properly cloth-
ing. These were of the elliptical type; a hoop of hazel, dogwood, or oak, two
feet long by eighteen inches broad, netted with deer or bear rawhide strips, an
inch wide and with the hair on.93 They were used primarily in hunting.

The hair of both sexes was parted straight up the crown and hung in a braid
in front of each shoulder. Each braid was formed of three strands and hung full
length. Women alone wrapped the lower end of their braids with a broad band
decorated with trade beads and long white beads (dentalium shells?). Jinglers
such as Chinese cash were hung at the ends. Men also wore their hair in a single
queue at the back. In a third style men cut off the front hair on a level with the
tip of the nose or mouth, brought this back as a pompadour, and braided the side
hair on both sides. This is the general fashion on the reservation today. The
braids were sometimes tied together to lie on the breast.

89 The Nez Perce hats figured by Spinden (The Nez Perce Indians, PI. VI) conform
admirably to the description, as well as those from Nez Perce, Walla Walla, and Cascades
figured by Mason (Aboriginal American Basketry, 439, pi. 167). See also Haeberlin et al,
Coiled Basketry, 139, 354.

90 Moccasins of a single type are used by all the modern inhabitants of this reservation,
the Kalispel of the Idaho- Washington boundary, and the Nez Perce (cf. Spinden, The Nez
Perce Indians, 216).

91 Assuming that this was a one-piece moccasin, the upper and sole being a single piece,
it approximates Wissler's pattern no. 11 (Material Culture of the Blackfoot, 144).

92 The people of Warm Springs Reservation use alder bark to dye moccasins yellow;
those of the Yakima reserve were beginning to imitate this in 1924.

93 Oval snowshoes with a somewhat elaborate netting were collected on the Columbia
River (?) by the Wilkes expedition (Mason, Primitive Travel, 408).

203 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Face paints were undoubtedly used for decoration as well as in war, but it
is noteworthy that all our informants mentioned their use primarily as cosmetics.
A dark red paint was used in this fashion. Lumps of a certain warty fungus
were gathered where they had fallen from fir trees, wrapped in leaves, buried in
the earth, and roasted until red by a fire kindled over them. The product was
cleaned, then scraped with a knife to secure it in a powdered form. This was
thoroughly mixed with deer tallow and kneaded with the fingers until the mass
was no longer greasy. This was intended as a cosmetic, not as a decoration ;
women used it on their faces when they worked out-of-doors to prevent sunburn
and wind-cracking. A brighter red was obtained from a clay found in mountain
creeks. A lump was roasted in a fire. Yellow paint was a fungus (?) found
under the bark of an oak log that had lain for some time ; it was simply scraped
off. McGuff also stated that yellow paint was made of "mud and other ingredi-
ents, of liquids gotten from saps of different woods," e.g. alder bark ( ?). Black
paint was simply charcoal. Paints were used in dry powdered form as well as
with tallow as a vehicle. Blue and green paints were unknown.

Ear pendants were hung from holes in the ear lobe and its periphery. Both
sexes had these, as, many as five holes in each ear; the number gave prestige.
These were pierced with some ceremony in early childhood (see p. 261). Each
pendant was formed of a dentalium shell through the central longitudinal hole of
which a short length of rolled deer sinew had been passed. Two or three little
beads were strung on above this. Two pendants were hung from each hole.
There was then a little cluster of pendants at each ear.

The Wishram did not make beads, either of shell nor bone, although
they were very fond of them. Dentalium shell beads were obtained from the
Pit River Indians of California ; so we were told, but this must have been the
ultimate source so far as, the Wishram knew, with the Klamath as intermediaries.
A dentalium bead was called tci'nmax; those of highest value, that is long dentalia
marked with zigzag lines, kawig'e'tht.

CALENDAR, COLORS, DIRECTIONS, AND GESTURES

Calendar. The Wishram have long discontinued the use of the native terms
for the months. In 1905 there was barely one who knew them. The following
fragments are all that could be secured. A month corresponding to a late sum-
mer month (July- August) was termed itcakcti'lit a'kulmin, literally "her-rotting
moon," i.e., "the rotting month" ("moon" or "month" is feminine in gender, as
is also "sun"). This probably refers to the rotting of salmon after spawning.
Another month, apparently following this, was called itcaxuda'malal a'kulmin,
"her-attacking moon," "the attacking month," August-September, from the series
of attacks of schools of sturgeon and salmon at this time. Then (about September)
came itgaxala'gwax a'kulmin, "her-huckleberry-patch moon," i.e. "the month for
huckleberrying." Another month, presumably October or November, itcaGu'lulix,
meant "her-acorn gathering (moon)", "the month for gathering acorns."

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 209

Three of the months bore ordinal numerals; "seventh," "eighth," and "ninth,"
e.g. alak !wis, "the (fem.) ninth," i.e. "the ninth month."

Three terms refer to the weather, but it is doubtful if these are true month
names. They seem rather to be descriptive terms that might be applied to any
of their appropriate months. They are: itca'lixtcak a'kulmin, "her-frost moon";
itca'tcatcaq a'kulmin, "her-cold moon"; and itcaL la'iumit, "her-warmth (moon)",
referring to the spring. The Wishram sometimes call "Christmas time" k !ik !ila,
which is borrowed from Klickitat.

A new moon is called acu'max a'kulmin, which cannot be further analyzed.
One can also say utxui'lal a'kulmin, "the moon is standing."

A Clackamas calendar, obtained through Pete McGuff from an old Clack-
amas woman living with the Wishram on Yakima Reservation, is interesting in
that not one of the twelve terms has a known Wishram correspondent. The
Clackamas term for "month," xaiE'm, is not known in Wishram. The list follows :

watca'gun

January

waqxu'li

July

Giaxlk hilulxl

February

wa'pulli

August

witcala'myxun

March

wak Inu'wi

September

wali'cnan

April

watca'mal

October

Gitiga'lgui

May

wakma'lalidix

November

witcaka'ctilit

June

gugwa'Lx

December

These names have a decidedly archaic ring to them, with the feminine wa-
prefix and witca- "her" (corresponding respectively to normal Wishram a- and
itca-). Their meaning is not at all apparent, but wa-tca'gun, "January," is prob-
ably related, to Wishram — tcatcaq (reduplicated), "cold weather." Apparently
this is a well formalized calendar of obscure etymology, comparable for fixity
and lack of clear terminological significance to our own. This is noteworthy be-
cause most Indian calendars are easily interpreted and it jibes with the stubborn
etymological obscurity of Chinookan personal names.

The appearance of ordinal names in the Wishram calendar aligns it with
others of the Northwest, front Yurok to the Eskimo of southern Alaska, and
like them ordinals are not consistently used; throughout. There is a possibility
that our Clackamas series beginning with January represents an aboriginal count
unmodified by white influences. If that be so, then the time of beginning may
have been the winter solstice or the winter sacred period, both known in the
Northwest.94

Colors. A list of colors was requested of Mrs. Teio, on two occasions, who
gave:

talpa'l red datgu'p white

dala'lmax black topt'saix blue

daga'cmax, yellow atak'a'nopsolgwi'lit like foliage

dagu'c brown

94 Cope, Calendars* 142, maps 2 and 3.

210 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

The absence of a specific term for green is interesting in view of the commonly
observed confusion of green and blue in the nomenclature of many primitive peo-
ples. Mrs. Teio hesitated long before giving the term here recorded for green.

Directions. The extraordinary feature in connection with Mrs. Teio's re-
sponse to a request for directional terms is that she named the winds and gave
only two of these. The west (Chinook) wind is lkxa'la ; the east wind, wi'k'ok.
She knew of no names for north and south winds. It is true that the prevailing
winds blow very strongly up and down the Columbia through the gorge it cuts
through the Cascade range.

Gestures. A few observations were made on gestures. Women beckon with
all four fingers, the hand held palm up. They point with the face, the lips only
slightly protruded. The length of an object was indicated on the extended hand
by grasping the proper point on the wrist with the other. Both in casual conver-
sation and telling stories the action of running was indicated by flexing the arms
and working the elbows to and fro.

The proper hand to take in greeting, i.e. shaking (?) hands, is the right.

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

CASTE

Class feeling was strongly marked as elsewhere on the Northwest Coast.
Three classes were recognized in addition to slaves, who stood outside the social
structure. While these represented gradations of wealth, they were not primarily
such since chiefs were not always among the wealthiest persons, and they in turn
were not always chiefs. The highest class was presumably that of hereditary
chiefs and their families. It may also have included war chiefs and shamans.
How the middle and lowest classes were distinguished is unknown. We may
suggest that the middle class were those with some distant affiliation with chiefs.
A lowest class individual was specified as poor, owning no slaves and little of
anything else. It seems unlikely that the divisions were sharply set off. This
would, however, not change the estimation in which most members of a class were
held.

A chief was called icta'mx ; his children, adult or immature, were so styled,
but never his wife. This is a departure from the prevailing Northwest Coast
habit, known at least as far south as Puget Sound, whereby all the members of a
ranking family were known by a distinctive term.

CHIEFS AND COUNCILS

Several men were simultaneously chiefs. For example, about 1875 two men
were chiefs of the remnant of the Wishrant population J K!a'lwac and Sla'kic.
Chieftainship was hereditary; on the death of a chief his place was taken by a
son, a brother, a grandson, or some other close relative. A woman could not be
chief. The son of a chief married the daughter of a chief (of another tribe?)
and their children were of high rank, the rank of the family never becoming
less. If the family died out the people proceeded to the selection of a new chief.05

A man of parts, well versed in the arts of his people, of accommodating dis-
position, well provided with property in the form of horses, slaves, canoes, and
other valuables, is chosen. "He is respected and called a chief." He then mar-
ries the daughter of a chief, and as his sons and grandsons do likewise, the rank
of the family increases.

Nevertheless being a chief did not imply necessarily being a particularly
wealthy man. It often happened that the wealthiest people did not belong to the
highest rank, the chief's class. The separation in the Wishram mind of chiefs
and the wealthy is intelligible not only because of the hereditary basis of chief-
tainship, but because the possibility of acquiring wealth was open to anybody.
All the early travelers describe the population of the Dalles as essentially a trad-
ing people.

a5 For the burials of chiefs, see page 271.

211

212 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

As an instance of these observations we may cite the situation among the
handful of Wishram remaining. Dick ( ?) Sla'kic, a middle aged man, living
among the few Wishram still on the old village site on the Columbia, is recognized
as chief. He is a paternal grandson of the chief of that name mentioned above,
for whom he was named, and whose successor he is. While these people are un-
der the jurisdiction of the Yakima Reservation and normally return there in
winter, those who are settled permanently on the reservation recognize another,
Frank Siletsi, as a local chief, perhaps only to represent them in dealings with the
government agent. This man holds his position by reason of his wife, who is
a niece on the fraternal side of the former Sla'kic. Our informant did not know
whether a husband would have been substituted in this fashion in earlier days.
The people chose him, because a woman could never be chief.

On coastal Oregon there existed a system of dual chieftainship : the Tilla-
mook and Alsea had two chiefs for every river, the Coos for each small village.
In each case one out-ranked the other.90 It is just possible that a dual chieftain-
ship is reflected in the circumstance that the Wishram had two chiefs in 1875.
This is doubtful, however; it is more likely that several preeminent individuals
were simultaneously recognized. At least our informants gave no hint that the
number was confined to two, either in the group at large or in a single village.

War chiefs were distinguished from the generality of chiefs. We do not
know how they were chosen nor the tenure of their office. The suggestion of
our information is that they were not chosen solely when conflicts were imminent,
but continued to be recognized in the interim. They were apparently men with
powerful guardian spirits and personally aggressive, to judge by the remarks be-
low on the subject of murder. We suggest tentatively that they were distinguished
from other chiefs in that they1 obtained their position by personal qualifications
rather than by heredity.

Common men did not fight with war chiefs. In a fight between two of this
rank one or both might die of severe wounds, depending on the strength of their
guardian spirits. The Indians of this neighborhood held that a war chief with
a sturgeon spirit was powerful. A sturgeon can survive being stabbed in several
places as long as the heart is not hit. A man with such a spirit could similarly
withstand being severely wounded. Similarly, other war chiefs had rocks or
trees for guardians ; they might be hit by arrows but the missiles could not pene-
trate.

Chieftainship here meant something more than office and rank. Chiefs
seem to have had considerable power: their word was implicitly obeyed. Acting
in, concert the chiefs decided on the fines or death penalty for a murderer or
adulterer. If there was trouble within the tribe, it was the function of the chief
to declare what should be done. Whatever the decision, it must be obeyed. The
chief was "the head of the tribe." If a man killed another and the chief ordered
that he was not to be brought to account, so it was. If then the murderer was

96 Boas, Notes on the Tillamook, 4; St. Clair and, Frachtenberg, Traditions of the Coos,
25.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram) Ethnography 213

avenged and the avenger known, the chief might decree that this man should be
killed, and he was killed. All cases were carried to the chiefs for decision.

There was another side to this possession of apparently unlimited power:
a chief was at least partly responsible for the behavior of his followers and it
was certainly his obligation to make good a fine imposed on one of them, which
the man was unable to pay.

The composition of councils is not quite clear. Where a formal meeting be-
tween the chiefs of two tribes was concerned, it is possible that membership was
confined to chiefs. On the other hand, it is probable that in a council of Wish-
ram alone, prominent men and perhaps all men took part with the chiefs, since
spectators were mentioned to us. Chiefs were provided with spokesmen (doubt-
fully, one for each), who repeated to the gathering in a loud voice what their
principals said. This type of repetition is called kixwau' ululix. The spokes-
man might be any man ; it is not clear that there was any specialization of func-
tion here. It is well to note that this is a pattern of Wishram procedure ; a sha-
man also had his spokesman who repeated aloud what the spirit communicated to
the shaman. The characteristic functionary of Northwest Coast chiefs will be
recognized here.

The feathered war headdress was worn at formal meetings, at least by im-
portant individuals. The hand drum was used to call members to a meeting. When
a council was protracted, there were intervals of rest, the chief who called the
meeting providing tobacco. He started a pipe around the group, each chief tak-
ing a puff or two and passing it on. In the meanwhile spectators were privileged
to go out. In this will be recognized the formal smoking of the calumet, char-
acteristic of the Plains and the southern Plateau, and presumably not ancient
among the Wishram.

No one was allowed to enter or leave when an important council was in
progress, such as those that dealt with war, plans against other tribes, or with
murder cases. Nor was any friend or relative of a defendant allowed to be
present. Important councils were held at night and guards posted, not that the
chiefs were in personal danger, but rather to prevent information being carried
to their opponents.

In an intertribal dispute, it was the duty of the chiefs to meet in council to
investigate the case or to meet with the foreign chiefs. Should the matter not
be settled at this conference, they argued no longer but declared war. Councils
of both types are noted in the account of the meeting with the Bannock (p. 233),
one of the noteworthy features of which is the truculent speeches and dissimula-
tion of the chiefs.

MURDER

Murders were not uncommon. Their origin was usually the jealousy of a
man over attentions to his wife or, where a death was laid to witchcraft, killings
followed in attempts at vengeance. The relations of men to women not their
relatives were distinctly circumscribed and a misstep which might be construed

214 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

as constructive adultery was resented and punished. The evident purpose of
bringing a murderer before the chief or council was not so much to fasten re-
sponsibility, on the murderer nor to punish his act as anti-social, as to prevent the
hazards of a blood-feud.

The circumstance that affected the penalty imposed by the council was in
the first instance the evidence, which in the nature of the case was almost always
circumstantial, as it was necessarily in cases of witchcraft. The second consider-
ation was the rank of the murdered or rather the relative ranks of murderer and
murdered. The third was a settlement satisfactory to all the principals in order
that the matter should rest with this solution. There was little legal subtlety in
these considerations ; confession would not mitigate the penalty, and no other
pleas were effective, unless we except those of justification and accident, which
were doubtless considerations. Inasmuch as the offender and his partisans were
excluded from the discussion, there could be no effective argument on these
counts. In short, the simplest of personal relations existed between the chiefs,
the murderer, and the family of the murdered. This threw the disposal of the
problem fully on the chiefs, whose dictates must nevertheless have been limited
by public knowledge and sentiment.

Cases always rested on circumstantial evidence and public knowledge. An
eye witness never testified, for his life was in danger if he did. It was more than
likely that he next would die at the hands of the defendant's kinsmen.

The penalty imposed, and in fact the question whether one would be imposed
at all, depended largely on who was murdered and to what family he belonged. It
made a material difference whether he was of poor family or rich, himself a sha-
man, a war chief, a member of their families, or a man with many children, etc.
If the murdered man was a shaman and was known for witchcraft, usually noth-
ing was done about it. Since a shaman was never killed for anything but bewitch-
ing someone, his death was taken as prima facie evidence that there was real
cause and the killing fully justified. A war chief was thought to be murdered
only by another war chief, since a common man would never think of quarreling
with one. People were too much in fear of war chiefs. If a shaman's kinsman
was killed, the case was at once investigated by the council of chiefs and the
murderer was compelled to give whatever the shaman demanded. Shamans and
war chiefs alone had this privilege. A chief was afraid of a shaman, not that he
was apt to "poison" the chief himself, but for fear that he might cause the death
of some near relative. A shaman's family was not molested ; one rarely heard of
one being killed. Similarly the murder of a war chief or some member of his
family was very rare, for a war chief might refuse proffered blood money and
take immediate revenge, or do so at once without allowing the council time for
meditation.

When a homicide was held to be without sufficient justification, the murderer
was fined a large amount of property in canoes, furs, slaves, etc. If he was un-
able to meet the demand he was condemned to death by bowshot, the nearest of
kin of the murdered being his executioner. The fine is blood money, fixed here

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 215

by the dictates of the chiefs, save in the case of shamans and war chiefs as noted
above, not by direct negotiation of the principals as elsewhere. It does not seem
that the chief or chiefs shared in any part of the fine paid. When a murdered
man left several children, the compensation was fixed in proportion to their num-
ber. The widow was then entitled to it for their support. The desire was to
achieve a settlement satisfactory to the feelings of the aggrieved who was then
supposed to be content. Yet at times a bitter feeling remained, their promises
to consider the matter closed were broken, and taking vengeance into their own
hands, they retaliated by killing the murderer or one of his; family.

Much depended on the rank of the murdered. A murder among people of
the lowest class was not the concern of the chiefs ; the solution was usually blood
vengeance. Those of the middle class were protected by the chiefs ; the fine was
of middle value and there was not much chance of their being condemned to
death. A chief was in duty bound to make good the blood money of a follower
unable to pay, at least where it was owed a member of another tribe (or group?).
But a murder in the high class was attended by a heavy imposition or by certain
death. At times the amount demanded was so great that five or six families were
involved in producing it.

The set of circumstances in a case of witchcraft may be outlined as follows.
When two Indians had a serious difficulty and one wanted to dispose of the other,
he hired a shaman to bewitch him. In eight or ten days this man died after but a
brief illness. As he expired he repeated the very words used by the shaman in
defining the manner of his death and stated who had planned the deed. The one
who had hired the shaman was taken before the chiefs (?). They found him
guilty and set the compensation. If he failed to bring the required amount, he
was shot. The shaman was not culpable; the one who had planned the crime
alone was guilty. Some would not wait on the chiefs' decision but ambushed the
suspected man; this might lead to a series of reprisals. Five or six might be
killed in this manner before a murderer was seen and known with certainty, when
the case was brought before the chief. In this event the fine was very heavy,
five or ten slaves, depending on the caste involved.

Circumstances were necessarily different when the murderer was one of an-
other tribe. Unless the chiefs of the two peoples could agree, war was inevitable.
It was very rare for them to agree on a death penalty, since feeling would run
high. If the offender was unable to meet the demand for blood money, his chief
would call a council for the purpose of getting together the sum. Chiefs showed
in this manner how much they cared for their people.

A quite obscure statement was obtained from Mrs. Teio : that a murderer left
immediately in the early morning for the mountains, where he remained fasting
for four or five days. ' She did not know whether this held for women as well.
It is conceivable that purpose was one of purification and the renewal of spirit
power by a new quest.

216 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

ADULTERY

The relations between an unrelated man and woman were regulated by a
formal code, the purpose of which was to enforce circumspection in their deal-
ings. Girls were closely watched. It was a very difficult thing for a man to find
opportunity to meet or speak to a young girl. It is said that illicit relations be-
tween young people were very rare. A girl who had transgressed was no longer
worth anything ; no one would care to buy her. Her parents too lost prestige by
their carelessness. We must assume that this concern varied with the status of
the family, that poor people with little to lose were far less vigilant. This is,
in fact, borne out by the statement that they would deliberately arrange compro-
mising situations in order to levy a species of blackmail.

There was equal concern over the conduct of a wife ; so much so that con-
structive adultery was a punishable offense, perhaps to the degree of adultery
itself. This circumspection surrounded as well relations with the wife-to-be of
an infant betrothal, whether an immature girl or a woman affianced to a boy.

An unmarried man must take great care not to come too close to any un-
related woman. For example, should he meet one on the trail, he must step
aside, perhaps ten feet, in order to avoid touching her. This, even if wholly ac-
cidental, was construed as an improper advance, and the husband was considered
mortally offended, and derided by others. The offense could be compounded by
a heavy property fine, varying in value with the rank of the husband, or if the
husband considered himself insulted beyond redress by payment, the offender
might even be punished by death. If the husband desired to keep the affair secret,
he might lie in ambush for the offender and kill him without further ado. It is
said to have been a trick of an impoverished man to get wealth for himself by
causing some wealthy man unwittingly to touch his wife or daughter, whereupon
the offended person could demand heavy payment for the affront. An unmarried
man was forbidden by the possibility of misinterpretation ever to offer anything
to a married woman ; for example, should she express a desire for a drink of
water, the young man was not supposed to get it for her. The notion of implied
adultery was pushed so far that an unmarried man who fetched water never
drank first of it himself under any circumstances. Should he do so, it was a
certain sign that after marriage he would commit adultery with his mother-in-
law.

Adultery and actions construed as such were heavily punished, by death to
the adulterer or a heavy fine. Such statements as we have limit punishment to
the adulterer alone ; what action, if any, was taken against the adulteress is un-
known. Should a low class Wishram commit adultery with the daughter or other
close relative of a chief, he was very apt to be ordered killed by the chief's coun-
cil. When a man discovered illicit relations with his wife, he killed the adulterer
and paid but a small sum to the latter's family by way of recompense. Or he
might spare the man's life but demand such damages as he thought reasonable,
though the offender was then warned that if he was again found by this man
talking to the wife, the husband would be at liberty to kill him. It mattered not

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 217

what they talked about ; they were not to talk together out of earshot of other
people.

We can hardly doubt that this account is somewhat over-formulated. It is
doubtful that the reactions to every chance encounter could have been so severe
as implied. Yet the possibility that certain actions could have been construed
as moral breaches seems to have been in Wishram consciousness, and hence
furnished a limitation to casual social contacts.97

MARRIAGE

Marriage in all classes of Wishram society was legalized by a set procedure
involving primarily the exchange of gifts. While this is described by the Wish-
ram themselves as the buying of a wife, it is not bride-purchase in the sense of
acquiring a chattel. The purchase was simply a customary procedure to be fol-
lowed regularly for the sake of the social approval it gave to the union. There
can be no doubt that at the same time the size of the gifts exchanged was a
measurable criterion of the social pretensions of the participant families, and gave
status to the newly formed union. We have recorded no expression that the pur-
chase sum was given as compensation for the loss of the bride's services to her
family. The primary notion was that unions not sanctioned by purchase were
not legitimate, not permanent, and the offspring illegitimate. Such children were
called lxkixtu'mxon, or luga'mit'cgixt, something picked up.

A second general feature was that marriages were commonly outside of the
tribe. While we were not told so, we infer; that this held primarily for high class
and middle class unions, or for the former alone. Chiefs and their sons, as noted
above, married the daughters of chiefs, who must frequently have been of other
tribes in view of the limited number of chiefs with which we can credit the Wish-
ram. It seems likely that the attitude of the Indians of western Washington was
duplicated here. "Generally speaking, these Indians seek their wives from among
other tribes than their own. ... It seems to be a matter of pride, in fact, to
unite the blood of several different ones in their own persons. . . . With the
chiefs this is almost always the case."9S At any rate, we have recorded the state-
ment that chiefs and well-to-do men married women of tribes from the Cascades
to the mouth of the Columbia River, as well as the Klickitat. Conversely Wish-
ram women married into these groups also, specifically with the Kathlamet and
Clackamas. It will be observed that, with the exception of the Klickitat, these
were marriages with peoples of Upper Chinook speech, differing hardly at all
from Wishram. Tribal exogamy of this sort was characteristic of the whole
southern Northwest Coast area.

97 Incidentally there is a lesson here for the theoretical ethnologist. If the avoidance of
man and woman here were known only objectively it would present a situation resembling
that, say, in Melanesia. One might suppose then; the explanation to be that women were
set apart from the man's social fabric because of the low esteem in which they were held,
or that men avoided them because of their periodic impure state. Either guess would be
a shot far wide of the mark. The moral is that it is as necessary to discover what the
native sentiment is as well as to record the behavior.

98 Gibbs, Tribes of Western Washington, 197.

218 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

On the other hand endogamous marriages were not prohibited. People with-
in one Wishram village could marry unless they were blood relations.

Plural marriages occurred. Some had two, three, or four wives, or as an-
other informant put it, a wealthy man, owning many canoes, slaves, and other
valuables, had from two to eight or ten wives. It was a matter of indifference
whether plural wives were sisters or not. The marriage ceremony followed exactly
the same form in every case, it was said ; that is, each wife had to be purchased.
Otherwise children born to the union were "as nothing," that is, not legitimate.

Infant betrothals were arranged when the principals were as young as two
years." A regular wedding feast was held, with the exchange of gifts. The
bride was purchased for the groom by his parents with canoes, pelts of various
animals, buckskins, and feathers. They remained in their parents' homes until
babyhood was at an end ("until they could talk plainly"), before being allowed
to live together. (Presumably the girl then joined the boy at his home). Some-
times they remained separate until they were grown. Similarly a man bought a
baby as his wife ; when she was old enough they lived together. He regarded her
parents as his parents-in-law and they reciprocated in their regard. Or a woman
might be bought as the bride of an infant boy: she was then known as married
to so-and-so's son. Circumspection attended relations with the brides of infant
marriages as fully as in normal cases. Should one of the parties to an infant
marriage die before they began living together, the survivor adopted full mourn-
ing. He or she must remain single for five years and during that time must never
dress his hair, for example. At the expiration the deceased was replaced by an-
other, the nearest relative, a sister or brother. That is, the levirate and sororate
were adhered to as rigidly in these cases as in normal marriages.

When a young man wanted to marry his parents selected a good worker
whom they favored. (Sapir's informant however phrased the choice as that of
the groom).100 They sent an old man, not necessarily a relative, to her parents
to offer so much property, money or horses, as a purchase price. The young
woman's father might reply; "Wait; I want to consult my relatives." If he
favored the youth he would send a man to tell the suitor's people. Then the lat-
ter's father would send word that they would arrive at a certain time. (In Sapir's
brief account the original emissary took the purchase articles to the bride's
father and returned with the counter present).

The suitor and his father then dressed in their finest and proceeded with
their relatives to the girl's home. Meanwhile her family had prepared a feast.
The visitors sat down near the house. Then a man of their party brought forward
the horses, crying "Wa+" ; saying that so many were given by the father, so many
by the aunt, etc. The girl's father called out the names of his own relatives who
were to be the recipients. Spokesmen on the bride's side similarly went forward
and called out gifts for the other party. Spokesmen of this sort were each paid
a blanket for their services by the father of the contractant for whom they acted.

99 These statements apply to the people of the Cascades as well.

100 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 175.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram. Ethnography 219

Women relatives of the girl then brought baskets tied together with beads,
beaded bags, and other fine handiwork, and called the names of recipients. Men
of the groom's party; spread blankets to receive them. The women took the
blankets back with them. The groom's mother gave the girl's mother a shawl.
A whole trunkful of clothing was exchanged in this fashion.

The bride's people then spread a blanket or tanned skin on which the bride
seated herself. She was dressed in all her finery. A woman sat on each side of
her, her mother-in-law and another. They took off her finery and gave it to the
groom's people. Then they dressed her hair with deer tallow and each inserted
a comb, of which each had several. Then the girl's feminine relatives removed
these. Others were put in her hair and removed again, and so on.

Meanwhile the girl's relatives prepared food. When the groom's party was
dressed they went to the others. Men went first, then the groom, and finally
the women with packs of blankets. The bride's party spread nice mats and
placed blankets for the youth and his close relatives to sit on. They were then
served, and the platters, etc., were presented to them.

This concluded the initial part of the ceremony, by which the groom was tak-
en to his wife's home. Throughout the whole affair the young couple never ad-
dressed a word to each other.

The gifts were approximately equal, unless one side was too poor. In the
account published by Sapir the groom's gifts consisted of three slaves and two
race horses, the return present of a tanned elk-skin, an ox-hide blanket, and two
woven blankets. When it was questioned whether this was really a purchase,
since the gifts on both sides were equal in amount, Mrs. Teio replied: "Quite so,
but the purpose of the gifts was that people should not gossip later and that the
union should be permanent. Nowadays the girls elope and that is not legitimate."

The youth now remained with his bride's family. After a few weeks they
took baskets, food, horses, etc., and with the girl's relations went to the groom's
former home. The bride's mother spread a blanket for the girl to stand on. They
then poured baskets of beads, pouches, etc., over the girl as she stood before the
house. The groom's family appropriated these. She sat down and her mother-
in-law removed her finery. In its stead she draped blankets, shawls, and lengths
of cloth over the bride, which the latter's female relatives then removed.

Then food was placed for the visitors to eat. The groom's family gave
presents to the bride's to carry away with them. The bride's people went out to
where they had left their packs and made a pile of things for the groom's relatives.
The bride's relatives then returned home, leaving the couple in residence with the
groom's family.

After an appointed interval, only a week if they wished to hurry the affair,
the couple and the groom's relatives again visited the bride's. Again there was
the exchange of presents and feasting. Finally, after a brief time the couple
were taken in the same fashion to the groom's home, which was) to be their
permanent residence.

Etiquette demanded two visits apiece by each family before the marriage
ceremony was ended.

220 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Formal visiting of this sort did not end, however, with marriage. The ef-
fort of the two families was directed toward maintaining friendly relations by
visiting, feasting, and exchanging gifts in this manner. Thus, a few months after
the birth of a child of either sex, the husband's people set a time at which they
would visit the bride's relatives. The baby was decked out. The husband's peo-
ple made gifts to the wife's. The latter then reciprocated by a gift-bearing visit.
There was only one such visit by each family to celebrate a birth, but they re-
peated this on the birth of every child as an expression of their pleasure.

Divorce did not call for the return of the presents.

The levirate and sororate were usual but not obligatory, at least not so
regular for adult unions as the informant's statements concerning infant marriages
would imply. If a man already had a family he did not of necessity have to take
his brother's widow to wife. There was no preference expressed for junior or
senior levirate. The widow might marryj a cousin, or for that matter anyone.
Leviratical rights were expressed, however, by the fact that an outsider had to
make a present of a horse or whatever to the dead husband's people so that they
would look on him as one of themselves. It is significant that the gift was not
made to the wife's family. The sororate, in the form of a substitute for a dead
wife, was also practised but by no means in every case. We have already noted
that the polygamous sororate did not occur as a regular form. Obviously the
formal nature of these institutions was modified by the circumstances of cora-
patability, residence, etc.

On the relations between relatives by marriage we have little data. It is
known at least that there were no tabus between mothers-in-law and their sons-
in-law, between fathers-in-law and their son's wives. The following tale illu-
strates the relations of men to their mothers-in-law.

There was a man who abused his wife. When his mother-in-law interfered, he spoke
to her angrily. She said : "Perhaps he is going to give me the skin of a certain animal
{a white furred beast living in the sea]." That man had a little supernatural power; he
could go under water and kill for her. He made up his mind : "I am going to get that for
my mother-in-law." He told one little fellow: "If you know how to go under the water,
we will go together." The little fellow said: "Yes, I know how to do that." He too had
a little power. So they made big1 sharp stone knives which they fastened to sticks [lances?].
They then went in a canoe, but I do not know how far.

They went under the water. They killed that white animal and brought it out. They
took it ashore and skinned it. They tanned the skin until it was soft. They brought it
home with them.

The old woman was lying down, so they spread the skin over her. She was sur-
prised : "Oh, I said that, but, I did not think they would get it. My son-in-law has a strong
mind ; no one else could get it."

So from that time men tell their sons : "No matter what your mother-in-law tells you,
do not answer; do not abuse her." They tell their daughters too: "Do not get angry with
your mother-in-law." If they quarrel with her, they give her something to make her feel
better.101

Something has already been said of sex relations outside of marriage. Prosti-
tution was at any rate not institutionalized.

Of abnormal sex, situations it is known that two or three transvestites, possi-

101 Told by Mrs. Teio.

1930] Spier and Sapir, lVishram: Ethnography 221

bly real hermaphrodites, existed. They were called ik le'laskait. None of them
were shamans.102

Marriage as outlined for the Wishram smacks strongly of typical Northwest
Coast ideas and procedure. There too marriage for the upper class was inter-
tribal, and the union legitimized by purchase, its amount fixing the social status
of all concerned. The very procedure of ceremonious visits, with gifts presented
by spokesmen, the feasting and carrying away of the feast utensils, the rivalry
in lavish giving are all reminiscent of the potlatch. Even the transfer of valuables
by the person of the bride is analogous to Kwakiutl practise.

RESIDENCE AND HOUSE-COMPOSITION

As indicated in the description of the marriage ceremony above, a couple
took up permanent residence with the husband's relatives. But while patrilocal
residence was usual, conditions might warrant a man living with his wife's rela-
tives. A newly married couple did not build a separate house for themselves,
but took up residence in the house of the man's father, brother, or other male
relative.

All the people in a house were related. Sometimes an unrelated person with
no other home joined them. Beyond the circumstance that a son with his bride
joined his father, there was no intentional stressing of paternal or maternal re-
lationships in household composition. Once a household group was established
helpful relations prevailed. Thus, women would freely give food to other fami-
lies in the house should they need it.

We have knowledge of the composition of only one specific household. That
in which Mrs. Teio lived as a girl in Nixlo'idix, the sole Wishram town of that
day (1860-70), held her maternal grandmother, her mother's maternal aunt's
daughter and her daughter, her father (who died in her infancy), mother, brother,
and self; her sister and her husband; and a half-brother. The house had two
fireplaces ; at one cooking was done for her mother, grandmother, sister, brother,
and herself. Sometimes a visiting woman lived with them, helping to dry fish.

At this time the town Nixlo'idix held perhaps nine or ten houses.

SLAVES

Slaves as non- Wishram stood apart in the social structure, ranking below the
lowest class, whose material conditions could not, however, have differed much
from theirs. They were captives of war, never Wishram, for no such institution
as debt-slavery, e.g., existed. They were not, however, always captives made
by the Wishram but frequently had been bought from other peoples, the trade
in slaves being heavier at the Dalles than probably any other place in the north-
west. The number owned by Wishram and Wasco was considerable.

Teit's information obtained among the interior Salish was that "slaves were
very numerous on the lower Columbia and at The Dalles long ago. They were

102 Among the Klamath Spier found a man who, as a youth, had lived among the Wish-
ram. There he changed to girls' dress and habits to escape bewitching by a Wishram shaman.

222 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

boys and girls and some adults. All the Oregon tribes dealt more or less in slaves,
and so did the Coast people. The Dalles people always bought slaves and resold
them. Of the slaves who reached The Dalles, a few were Snake, some were from
the Coast, and others from California. Some were from Rogue River and the
Shasta, by way of the Klamath and Kalapuya, who bought them from other tribes
or captured them in war. Probably nearly all were captives of war in the first
place, but some were slaves' children and grandchildren. There were no interior
Salish or Sahaptin people kept, bought, or sold as slaves, either at The Dalles or
elsewhere."103 Partial confirmation of this was obtained by Spier among the Kla-
math. These people were in the habit of making extensive slave-taking raids,
the majority of their captives being carried to the Dalles for trade. Considerable
numbers were taken in this fashion ; there is a record that in 1857 they captured
fifty-six Pit River women and children, who were sold at the Dalles. Their
slave raids were primarily against the Achomawi and Atsugewi of Pit River
in northern California, to a lesser extent against Northern Paiute (or Snake)
of eastern Oregon and the Shasta of adjacent California, with a few captured
among the Upland Takelma of the upper Rogue River. It is probable that the
Klamath contribution to the Wishram-Wasco slave market was negligible until
after the coming of the horse, about 1800-40, and perhaps wholly absent prior to
the opening of direct contact with the Columbia tribes at the end of the eighteenth
century.104 The following autobiographical account of a slave indicates that
slaves were also traded from the Klickitat who obtained them on raids into
southwestern Oregon and adjacent California.105

I and my brother were captured in a war between the Klickitat and my tribe, the
Shasta [but see below]. I am half Shasta and half Molala. With the Klickitat were In-
dians from several villages on the Columbia. In those days my people did nothing but
prepare for war with Indians from the Columbia, who were in a habit of raiding our peo-
ple to capture women and children as slaves. My tribe and others of Oregon and [north]
eastern California prepared by making arrows, bows, and other implements of war. I was
then a boy of about four years, while my brother was about six. [This fixes the date at
about 1842] 10«

I well remember the day the "fish-eaters," as we called them, charged on us at a
river where we were living by fishing for salmon. We had lots of dried salmon prepared
for winter use. It was about noon of a summer day when I and my brother by the river
heard the Columbia Indians give their war-cry on the opposite bank. The river was
deep and swift but quite narrow.

My father pulled his clothes off and painted his face. Several other men of our party
were ready at once. Immediately my father was hit in the eye by a Columbia River arrow.
The enemy crossed to the side we were on. My father saw we were outnumbered and
were being beaten. Our people scattered, fighting all the time. My brother and I hid be-
tween some big boulders. The last I saw of my mother was when she ran by our hiding
place with my father following with his eye out. They plunged into the river and swam
down to a landing some distance below. I heard my father call out loud : "My dear sons,
wherever you are hidden, if you are found you must remember the route you take so that
you will know how to get back when you can get away. My eye is wholly out." All the
rest of the women and men got away, but I and my brother were found right away, as we
were seen by a spy who stood on the other side of the river.

We were taken to Sketeu'txat, now Vancouver, Washington. I was kept by one family
while my brother stayed with another. After a long while I was given to a Wishram fam-

103 Teit, The Middle Columbia Salish, 122.

104 Spier, Klamath Ethnography.

105 Told by Johnny Bullhart, circa. 1908.

106 On Klickitat raids into this area, see Teit, The Middle Columbia Salish, 99.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram, Ethnography 223

ily with whom I remained until I was freed [about 1855-60, on passing into federal juris-
diction by being moved to the Yakima Reservation]. We were so well cared for that my
brother and I never had any idea of running away after we became grown boys. My
brother died at Walla Walla thirty years ago. We both forgot our own language. I now
talk Wishram and Klickitat, and am seventy years old. I do not know any of my relatives.
I have twice been back to my tribe [presumably Molala] but failed to find any of them. I
was not remembered by. anyone. My father was a Shasta, but I never went to them to
see if I could find any relatives.

In war special efforts were always made to capture near relatives of the
enemy chiefs; a captive son of the brother of the enemy's chief was considered
a greater triumph than the capture of almost any number of ordinary people.
Hence a large proportion of the slaves among the Wishram were of high birth;
being a slave by no manner of means implied low rank by birth. The Siletz In-
dians, that is those of, western Oregon at large, were contemptuously termed
"slaves" because, being poor fighters, more of them were captured than of any
other tribe.

Slaves were expected to wait on their masters and to do all the work of the
household. When travelling, they were taken along to do the packing, gather
wood, establish camp, etc. In a meeting with the Bannock which ended in a
fight (see p. 233), the slave of the above autobiographical account, then a lad
of sixteen, was taken along! to pack the equipment from the canoes to the en-
campment and to ride home such horses as were gotten in trade. As the affair
turned out, he took an active part on the Wishram side in recapturing stolen
horses.

On the whole it is likely that their life was materially like that of the poor
among the Wishram. They were ordinarily well treated by their masters ; the
account above makes that clear. The treatment depended largely on their own
behavior, we were told; a mean spirited slave was treated accordingly. A run-
away was punished by applying a torch to the soles of his feet until they were
raw; if he ran away again this was done even more severely.

Perhaps the largest single element of their lives that distinguished them from
poor Wishram was uncertainty. We have no statement that a slave was ordinarily
killed with his master, but this was true at least of chief's personal slaves. This
was also the custom of neighboring peoples. Thus, in 1844 a slave boy was
bound to the body of the dead chief of the Wasco (Wascopams) in the grave
house preparatory to burial, and among the Chinook, it was recorded that a slave
was bound to that of a chief's daughter and exposed in a canoe.107 There was
the further uncertainty of how long a master would keep his slave.

Wealth was also measured in slaves. Mrs. Teio stated that her father had
a great many — two! But considering the large number held by the relatively
small number of Wishram implied in general statements, it would seem that
wealthy men owned a far larger number of slaves. It may be assumed that the
poor owned few or none. In one marriage account three slaves were cited as
part of the bride purchase. A notion of their value may be gotten from the fact
that the Klamath set the exchange price of two slave children taken to the Dalles

107 Minto, Condition, 300, note 4; Schoolcraft, Archives, 2, 71, quoted in Bancroft, I, 249.

224 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

at five horses, several buffalo skins, and some beads. In 1859 Taylor noted the
value of one woman as worth five or six horses, a boy one horse.108

TRADE

If there was any one outstanding aspect of Wishram life it was trading.
They were famous as the possessors of a trade market among tribes for a vast
distance around and were inordinately proud of their reputation. In fact, they
commonly render the name of their principal settlement, Nixlu'idix (now Spedis,
Washington), as "trading place," although the word is perhaps not capable of
being etymologized. The vicinity of the Dalles was probably the most consider-
able trading establishment of the whole northwest, marking the meeting place of
the interior and coastal groups in the bottle-neck of the gorge of the Columbia
as it cuts through the Cascade range.

The role of the Wishram as traders was entirely that of stay-at-homes ; there
is no evidence that they ever went abroad to trade. They were wholly middle-
men. It must not be assumed that the trade at the Dalles was wholly in their
hands; the Wasco on the opposite, south, side of the river, and the adjacent bands
of Sahaptins, shared in it equally. Iri earlier days, perhaps prior to 1750, the
Salish groups who occupied the banks of the Columbia immediately above them
to the east participated in this middleman's role.

Teit furnishes an excellent summary of trading at the Dalles.

"The Columbia and Wenatchi [of east central Washington] were the principal traders
of the Salish people in the west, and large numbers of them went annually to The Dalles,
where they traded with the Wishram, Wasco, and other tribes. It seems that long after
the tribe was pushed out of the country near The Dalles and farther north, their trading-
parties still claimed and maintained right of way through every part of the country to
The Dalles. It is said that large, well-armed, and well-equipped parties of Wenatchi and
Moses-Columbia annually passed through the Yakima country to The Dalles ; and some
other of their parties, in conjunction with Spokane, went south on the opposite side of the
river, through the Wallawalla and Cayuse countries. The common route, however, was
on the west side of the river, through the Yakima country. . . .

Trading at The Dalles was in skins, fur, fish, oil, roots, pemmican, feathers, robes,
clothing, shells, slaves, and horses. On the whole, products of the lower Columbia, the
Coast, and the southern or Oregon country, were exchanged for products of the interior
east and north.

Many of the products obtained by the Columbia Salish at The Dalles and west of
the Cascades were carried across country and sold to the Sanpoil, Okanagon, and others, at
a profit. . . . Products from as far south as the Modoc, Rogue River, and Shasta reached
The Dalles, also from a considerable distance north and south on the coast, and from the
Plains.

Revais said that the greatest intertribal trading-place was at The Dalles. The people
there lived entirely by fishing and trading. They bought almost anything brought to them,
and resold it again. Grande Ronde, in eastern Oregon, was an important trading-place.
Other places were the mouth of the Cowlitz, near Scappoose or about opposite the mouth
of the Lewis, near Oregon City, the western Grande Ronde, the middle Nisqually, the
upper Puyallup, near the mouth of the Okanagon, near Colville, and near the mouth of the
Snake ; but there were other minor trading-places in the territories • of most tribes. Con-
siderable trade from the west and southwest of Oregon and from the Klamath [River?]
passed through the Kalapuya to Oregon City and thence to The Dalles. . . . Things traded,
say, at the Grande Ronde and Okanagon were retraded at The Dalles. Products from the
coasts of Washington and Oregon, Puget Sound, the plateaus of the interior to the north
and east, the Plains, the interior of Oregon and northern California, reached The Dalles.

108 Quoted in Gatschet, The Klamath Indians, I, Ix).

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishramj Ethnography 225

Slaves were very numerous on the lower Columbia and at The Dalles long ago. They
were boys and girls and some adults. All the Oregon tribes dealt more or less in slaves,
and so did the Coast people. The Dalles people always bought slaves and resold them. . . .

Shells, beads, Hudson Bay blankets, robes, clothes, horses, and fish were probably the
principal things traded, also slaves, canoes, dressed skins, furs, and the like. Furs sold by
The Dalles people to the Hudson Bay Company were all procured from other tribes. In
later days they had few for sale, as the trapping-tribes traded directly with various posts.
Some people of the following tribes came to The Dalles in the trading season : Columbia,
Spokane, Yakima, Klickitat, Tyighpam, Wallawalla, Umatilla, Cayuse, and sometimes
Palous, Nez Perce, Klamath, Molala, and Kalapuya. On the. whole, the exchange of
products at The Dalles was south and southwest versus north and northeast. The Wishram
and Dalles people generally, and the Kalapuya, were always more or less hostile to the white
traders. They resented the direct trade with neighboring tribes, considering that they should
by rights act as middlemen."109

In addition to the tribes who visited The Dalles for trade cited by Teit, our
informant listed Toppenish, Wenatchi, and Nespelem. People came from every-
where to the east in the spring, from as! far as the Spokane. Elsewhere food
was scarce by spring but the Wishram had plenty, especially dried salmon. They
brought a variety of wild products, such as wild potatoes, to exchange for salmon.
On the other hand, the lower Columbia people came only rarely to The Dalles
and then only members of the higher classes, such as chiefs and important sha-
mans. They came with canoes which they traded for buffalo robes.

The trade on the river was described by Lewis and Clark in 1806 in the
following terms. "Of that trade, however, the great emporium is the falls [the
Dalles to Celilo Falls], where all the neighbouring nations assemble. The in-
habitants of the Columbia plains [i.e., between the falls and the Snake River],
after having passed the winter near the mountains, come down as soon as the
snow has left the valleys, and are occupied in collecting and drying roots till about
the month of May. They then crowd to the river, and fixing themselves on its
north side, to avoid the incursions of the Snake Indians, continue fishing till about
the first of September, when the salmon are no longer1 fit for use. They then
bury their fish and return to the plains, where they remain gathering quamash
till the snow obliges them to desist. They come back to the Columbia, and taking
their store of fish retire to the foot of the mountains, and along the creeks which
supply timber for houses, and pass the winter in hunting deer or elk, which, with
the aid of their fish, enables them to subsist till in the spring they resume the
circle of their employments. During their residence on the river, from May to
September, or rather before they begin the regular fishery, they go down to the
falls, carrying with them skins, mats, silk-grass, rushes and chappelell bread.
They are here overtaken by the Chopunnish [Nez Perce] and other tribes of the
Rocky mountains, who descend the Kooskooskee and Lewis's River for the purpose
of selling bear-grass, horses, quamash, and a few skins which they have obtained
by hunting, or in exchange for horses with the Tushepaws.

"At the falls they find the Chilluckittequaws [White Salmon?], Eneeshurs
[local Sahaptins], Echeloots [Wishram], and Skilloots [Wishram?], which last
serve as intermediate traders or carriers between the inhabitants above and be-
low the falls. These tribes prepare pounded fish for the market, and the nations

109 Teit, The Middle Columbia Salish, 121-2.

226 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

below bring wappatoo roots, the fish of the seacoast, berries, and. a variety of
trinkets and small articles which they have procured from the whites.

"The trade then begins. The Chopunnish and Indians of the Rocky moun-
tains exchange the articles which they have brought for wappatoo, pounded fish,
and beads. The Indians of the plains, being their own fishermen, take only wap-
patoo, horses, beads, and other articles procured from Europeans. The Indians,
however, from Lewis's river to the falls consume as food or fuel all the fish
which they take ; so that the whole stock for exportation is prepared by the na-
tions between the Towahnahiooks [John Day River?] and the falls, and amounts,
as nearly as we could estimate, to about thirty thousand weight, chiefly salmon,
above the quantity which they use themselves or barter with the more eastern In-
dians. This is now carried down the river by the Indians, at the falls, and is con-
sumed among the nations at the mouth of the Columbia, who in return give the
fish of the seacoast and the articles which they obtain from,' the whites. The
neighbouring people [i.e. at the mouth] catch large quantities of salmon and dry
them, but they do not understand or practice the art of drying and pounding it
in the manner used at the falls, and being very fond of it, are forced to purchase
it at high prices. This article, indeed, and the wappatoo form the principal sub-
jects of trade with the people of our immediate vicinity. The traffic is wholly
carried on by water ; there are even no roads or paths through the country, ex-
cept across the portages which connect the creeks.

"Many Indians from the villages above passed us [Lewis and Clark, at the
Cascades] in the course of the day, on their return from trading with the natives
of the [lower] valley, and among others we recognized an Eloot [Echeloot,
Wishram] who with ten or twelve of his nation were on their way home to the
long narrows of the Columbia. These people do not, as we are compelled to do,
drag their canoes up the rapids, but leave them at the head, as they descended,
and carrying their goods across the portage, hire or borrow others from the peo-
ple below. When the trade is over they return to the foot of the rapids, where
they leave these boats and resume their own at the head of the portage. The
labour of carrying the goods across is equally shared by the men and women,
and we were struck by the contrast between the decent conduct of all the natives
from above and the profligacy and ill manners of the Wahclellahs."110

Ross writes of the trade in the Wishram-Deschutes country five years later:
"The main camp of the Indians is situated at the head of the narrows, and may
contain, during the salmon season, 3,000 souls, or more ; but the constant inhab-
itants of the place do not exceed 100 persons, and are called Wy-am-pams [Des-
chutes] ; the rest are all foreigners from different tribes throughout the country,
who resort hither, not for the purpose of catching salmon, but chiefly for gambling
and speculation ; for trade and traffic, not in fish, but in other articles ; for the
Indians of the plains seldom eat fish, and those of the sea-coast sell, but never
buy fish. Fish is their own staple commodity. The articles of traffic brought to
this place by the Indians of the interior are generally horses, buffalo-robes, and

110Hosmer, II, 149-151, 249.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 227

native tobacco, which they exchange with the natives of the sea-coast and other
tribes, for the higua [dentalium] beads and other trinkets. But the natives of the
coast seldom come up thus far. Now all these articles generally change hands
through gambling, which alone draws so many vagabonds together at this place;
because they are always sure to live well here, whereas no other place on the
Columbia could support so many people together. The long narrows, therefore,
is the great emporium or mart of the Columbia, and the general theatre of gam-
bling and roguery.

"We saw great quantities of fish everywhere ; but what were they among so
many : we could scarcely get a score of salmon to buy. For every fisherman there
are fifty idlers, and all the fish caught are generally devoured on the spot ; so
that the natives of the place can seldom lay up their winter stock until the gam-
bling season is over, and their troublesome visitors gone. All the gamblers,
horse-stealers, and other outcasts throughout the country, for hundreds of miles
round, make this place their great rendezvous during summer."111

The trade was by no means always direct with the Wishram. The Nez
Perce sometimes brought buffalo robes to trade with the Klickitat for their
baskets. They in turn took them to the Wishram to exchange for cured fish
(salmon, sturgeon, and eels). Nez Perce parfleches among the Yakima, Klickitat,
and Wishram — and practically all of these were of Nez Perce manufacture — at-
test to another article of trade. The Wenatchi journeyed westward across the Cas-
cades to trade with the tribes of Puget Sound and southward. Doubtless articles
from the coast, such as shells, found their way in this fashion to the Wishram.

The Wishram also traded with the Wasco for dried elk and deer meat. The
Wasco had direct trading relations with the Umatilla, more extensive than those
of Wishram with the latter, by which they acquired buffalo robes. The direct
contact of Umatilla with Wasco was presumably due to the former coming on
horseback, hence keeping to the south side of the Columbia. Occasionally the
Umatilla brought a horse or two for the Wasco, which further changed hands un-
til it came into possession of the Klickitat, who became horse breeders. Before
1825-30 these Indians had no horses or few which were then confined to the Nez
Perce and Umatilla. The coming of the horse doubtless gave great impetus to
trading.

The Klamath may not have had much direct contact with the Wishram. Kla-
math informants were indefinite as to the exact locality they visited on the Co-
lumbia; it was vaguely The Dalles. It is most probable that they traded rather
with Wasco, since the objectives of their trading expeditions were Warm Springs
as well as The Dalles. Slaves, Pit River bows and beads, and lily seed were taken
there to exchange for horses, blankets, buffalo skins, parfleches, beads (probably
dentalium shells), dried salmon, and lamprey eels. Occasionally they stayed the
winter on the Columbia, sometimes for a number of years.

There is at least one observation on the comparative wealth of the tribes in
the general vicinity of The Dalles. Our informant stated that the Toppenish and

111 Ross, Adventures of the First Settlers, 129-130.

228 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Wenatchi were very poor, even among "the supposed first class." They drifted
about, managing a trade now and then, but had no status until absorbed by the
Klickitat. These statements must be interpreted as relative to the substantial
wealth implied for the Wishram.

Special friendships with foreign Indians were sometimes the result of these
trade contracts. "When one has a friend in another country (i.e. among an-
other tribe), he comes to see you, or you go to see him. Both are glad to meet
each other ; one gives the other a horse or something valuable, the other gives
something in return. Such are each other's ie'lpEt, trading-friend."112

WARFARE

It is difficult at this late date to define the intertribal relations of the Wish-
ram under aboriginal conditions. It is at least clear that in the middle of the
last century and for some time earlier they carried on continued though inter-
mittent warfare against the Northern Paiute of Eastern Oregon and their
cogeners the Bannock-Snake to the east. In fact the specific name for the
Paiute was ilt lua'nxayukc, enemies. With the neighboring Sahaptin tribes 'they
were on reasonably friendly terms, and were closely linked in friendship with
the Wasco, dwelling opposite on the Oregon side of the Columbia, and with other
Upper Chinookan peoples.

The explanation of their enmity for the Northern Paiute and Bannock-
Snake is to be found in the evidence newly discovered by Teit, that the move-
ment of Sahaptin and Waiilatpuan tribes from the south bank of the Columbia
exposed the Upper Chinookan peoples to direct attack by these Shoshoneans.113
At the opening of the eighteenth century, Salish speaking peoples occupied
Eastern Washington south to the Columbia and west to the Dalles. On the
south side of the river dwelt the Waiilatpuan peoples, Molala and Cayuse. South
of them again on the upper Deschutes River were the Sahaptin peoples known
later as Yakima, Klickitat, and allied groups. Beginning in 1750 a series of
attacks by Snake and Paiute on the Sahaptin s led them to withdraw north of
the Columbia, led the Cayuse to move northeastward, and the Molala to cross
the Cascades to the west. The pressure of Snake raids reached its height in
the period of 1800-30. This left the southern bank of the Columbia empty of
people save for the Wasco and the allied Sahaptin Tyighpam and Tenino near
the Dalles and in the Warm Springs country. The ability of the Shoshoneans
to carry on these raids was presumably due to their acquisition of the horse
(about 1750) before it reached the more northern peoples.114

Most of their conflicts must have been in the nature of retaliatory measures
between villages of their own or with their neighbors. This is suggested by
the accounts given above of the manner in which murders, abductions, and other
wrongs were handled. Franchere draws a picture of such conflicts, which while

112 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 104.

113 Teit, The Middle Columbia Salish, 98 f.

114 Compare Wissler, The Influence of the Horse, 13.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 229

referring to the lower Columbia peoples, must also give the flavor of conflict
among the Wishram.115

"As all the villages form so many independent sovereignties, differences
sometimes arise, whether between the chiefs or the tribes. Ordinarily, these
terminate by compensations equivalent to the injury. But when the latter is
of a grave character, like murder (which is rare), or the abduction of a woman
(which is very common), the parties, having made sure of a number of young
braves to aid them, prepare for war. Before commencing hostilities, however,
they give notice of the day when they will proceed to attack the hostile village;
not following in that respect the custom of almost all other American Indians,
who are wont to burst upon their enemy unawares, and to massacre or carry
off men, women and children ; these people, on the contrary, embark in their
canoes, which on these occasions are paddled by the women, repair to the hostile
village, enter into parley, and do all they can to terminate the affair amicably;
sometimes a third party becomes mediator between the first two, and of course
observes an exact neutrality. If those who seek justice do not obtain it to their
satisfaction, they retire to some distance, and the combat begins, and is con-
tinued for some time with fury on both sides ; but as soon as one or two men
are killed, the party which has lost these, owns itself beaten and the battle ceases.
If it is the people of the village attacked who are worsted, the others do not
retire without receiving presents. When the conflict is postponed till the next
day (for they never fight but in open daylight, as if to render nature witness
of their exploits), they keep up frightful cries all night long, and, when they are
sufficiently near to understand each other, defy one another by menaces, railleries,
and sarcasms, like the heroes of Homer and Virgil. The women and children
are always removed from the village before the action."

The Wishram really had no wars of their own, according to McGuff's
testimony, but sometimes joined the Wasco in battle with the Paiute. This
might well apply to the period of the Shoshonean attacks, since the broad
Columbia furnished a bulwark to the Wishram on the north bank. They did
indeed sometimes live among the Wasco and were identified with them in prac-
tically every activity.

Some of the habits of the Wishram- Wasco in warfare can be gleaned from
Simpson's account of two raids in which he participated in 1866-68 against the
Paiute of the Malheur-Hamey district.116

A war dance took place before dawn of the first night of the expedition,
in which dreams prefiguring the conflict were related. "We dreamt that we
all became covered with blood. And then in the morning our chief said : 'Now
do you make a fire and I shall tell you something.' So then we got up from
bed, and then we took hold of iqta't-sticks [notched rasps]. And then we sang,
now strongly we sang. And then the hero said: 'Now I shall tell you people
what I dreamt. Now this day we shall die. I have seen the Paiutes. If we
are to see them, it will rain.' Thus said the hero. And again we sang, rubbing

115 Franchere, Narrative, 330.

116 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 204 f.

230 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

the iqta't-sticks together. And again one man said: 'Now I shall tell you what
I, for my part, dreamt. A grizzly bear ran away from us toward the setting
sun. And then we caught only the grizzly bear's son. Thus did I dream.' And
the people yelled their war-whoop: wa+ and ma+." Later Simpson observed
that the chief's dream was fulfilled; it did indeed rain. The rasp referred to
is the familiar notched rattle of the Basin tribes, a hardwood stick in which a
series of semicircular notches have been cut and on which another stick is
rubbed up and down.117 Sapir's information was that at this time they danced
to the accompaniment of this instrument while singing.118 McGuff stated that
the hand drum was also used in the war dance. The war whoop was appropriate
not only to this preliminary but in the charge. It was uttered as in the Plains ;
a high pitched shrill cry while beating the palm against the open mouth. The
first of these sounds was given with full voice, the latter whispered.

Enemy camps were located by watching for their fires during the night.
Scouts set off in pairs, one of them returning to inform the main body when
the camps were located. The attacking force gathered before dawn and charged
on the befuddled sleepers with the first show of daylight. Simpson observed
that among their preparations for the charge one horse was decked with feathers.
If resistance was met they might engage in battle through the whole day until
sundown. The war party of Simpson's first raid numbered one hundred men.

A species of bravado was displayed. When the Simpson party had to cross
a bridge defended by the Paiute, the chief arranged the main body in front two
by two, set the pack horses in the middle of the cavalcade, and designated ten
strong brave warriors for a rear guard. "The captain said to us : 'You shall
not go back, you shall go ahead to the other side. If the guns will be shot at
us, just go ahead. You shall not be afraid. Now that is how we are travelling;
the command has been given us. Now we can only die,' he said to us. 'What
do you think? Now will you do thus? Are you willing to die? (If so), lift
up your hands !' And then we showed our hands. Again he turned round and
said to the (others) : 'Now this day we shall die. What do you think? Now
will you do thus ? Are you willing to die ?' They said : 'Yes ! We all think it
well that we should die this day'." The feat was hazardous to the extreme,
but they were at one in agreeing that it was far better to die in battle than to
turn back.

A different turn was given to the taunts flung at the enemy. Repeatedly
they shouted, "We give you this bullet for nothing" as an accompaniment
of a random shot. For instance, the chief delivered himself in this fashion :
T shall tell them that the Great Chief (the President) has made up his mind
that we fight for fifty years or one hundred years, so that you had better not
be shooting. (Sarcastic: "Don't waste your powder.") You must first see
us before you shoot at us ; maybe you will run out of ammunition. This one bullet
I shall give you just for fun. Do you Paiutes listen, listen to me!' And then
he shot off his gun."119

117 Wasco specimens in the Field Museum, nos. 60494, 87636.

118 Sapir, loc. cit., 206.
"9Sapir, loc. cit., 211, 219.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 231

Nevertheless they did not disparage the enemy. "Thus the Indians have
strong hearts ; not thus are white people. Indians could pass five days and eat
nothing [note the pattern number], nor would they drink any water. So strong
are the Wascos, they are not cowards. So also they too, the Paiutes, are not
cowards," although elsewhere, "The Paiutes are bad people, they are thieves."120

Despite their avowed determination to do or die, the affair terminated in the
manner of all Indian affrays. When they met an impasse, a breastwork in an
impregnable position defended by the Paiute, and found that one of their number
was wounded, one in one hundred, they decided to turn back. To be sure, they
had to their credit more than forty scalps, many other slain enemies, a number
of prisoners, and some horses and guns.

The characteristic mode of mutilating the enemy dead was to rip open the
belly, cut off the head and set it down ten paces distant, and take the scalp.
This is repeatedly cited in Simpson's account. To this we can now add that
by way of trophies the Wishram took the scalp, hands, feet, and sometimes
penis and testes, but not the head. The scalp was of generous size, the whole
head skin above ears and eyes, not the mere vortex on the crown taken by Plains
tribes.

Women and children were taken prisoners, though slave-taking was not
the primary purpose of the Simpson party. On this occasion (1866-68) they
were taken -to Walla Walla (and released to the mission there?). The Wishram
did not ordinarily make slave raids, obtaining their slaves by trade. The treat-
ment of the aged and decrepit, of no value as slaves, is instanced by their
mauling the head of an old blind woman with a gun butt.

Armament for war consisted of bow and arrow, shield, and lance. Arrows
were provided with stone heads dipped in rattlesnake poison. Dr. W. D. Strong
was told that ants were also used to poison arrows. Others had segmented
points which snapped off, remaining in the wound (see p. 199). A round hand
shield was used (material unknown), painted red and blue. The informant did
not know whether stick armor was used. The lance was not made by the Wish-
ram but obtained from the Wasco, who took them from the Paiute in battle.
The last were admitted to be very skillful in throwing them. We may suspect
however that these were not missiles but short stabbing lances as elsewhere in
the west. Such lances had hardwood shafts and flint heads. McGuff sketched
a triangular blade, three and a quarter inches long, presumably found on the
old Wishram village site, as one of these.121

War paint was usually red, sometimes yellow. This aligns the Wishram
with the Basin tribes. On the other hand the Klamath and Takelma used white.122

A feather headdress was worn in war. This seems to have been; the cir-
cular crown of the Idaho-Montana tribes, not the full headdress of the Plains.

120 Sapir, loc. cit., 223, 225.

121 We received no mention of the flat, round, chipped stones, called "throwing stones
by Steward, found on archaeological sites near The Dalles {A Peculiar Type of Stone Im-
plement).

122 Spier, Havasupai Ethnography, 207, Klamath Ethnography; Sapir, Notes on the

Takelma, 264.

232 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

The feathers were sewn on a buckskin band of two inch width with sinew or
I uckskin thongs. These were usually uniform in length, although some men
mixed long and short feathers. Headdresses of tail feathers were quite highly
valued. Eagle feathers were more commonly chosen by chiefs and principal
warriors, others using those of various large birds. Such headdresses were also
worn at important meetings.

Presumably the Wishram went to war fully clad, for Simpson remarks
repeatedly on the nakedness of the Paiute in the account cited above.

Both Wishram and Wasco held a scalp dance for a victorious party imme-
diately on their return. It took place at night, dancing until the early dawn.
The scalps and other human trophies were hung on short poles, six feet in
length. Women painted red. The dancers formed a ring, or two or three
concentrically, going around as they sang. Those holding scalps had places in
the inside ring. Widows of men killed in the battle were placed within the
circling dancers, where they mourned, and taking a scalp in each hand beat
them on the ground. Thus they had revenge. "Now then a certain Paiute boy
f newly captive] was taken and enclosed in a sack. We went right there up to
the fire. Then he was taken out, there he ran about near the fire, and the Paiute
boy was captured [as though in war]."123

Several war narratives follow :

A Paiute Raid.12i One time they went to gather food. The Paiute came
on foot. A young woman had a little boy of six. The women ran away but
the Paiute caught these two. They took them far south of the Dalles, over the
hills in the direction of Warm Springs. When they camped the two were put
in the center while the Paiute slept all around to guard them. She told them
by signs not to kill her but to take them along. There were a great many Paiute,
who were almost entirely naked. The Paiute were very tired because they had
travelled far. That woman could not sleep ; she watched them. They were
sound asleep ; she woke her boy. The Paiute lay like dead. She stood up and
took her boy on her back. She stepped carefully between their legs and arms ;
they were sleeping close together. Then she ran homeward.

She went a long way before daylight. Then she said, "I guess they are
coming. We will have to hide now." The boy said, "Well, we will hide." There
were logs lying near the ground. The boy dug under them and they lay in the
hollow with their faces covered. Soon they heard the rumble of the Paiute
coming. She warned her boy to keep quiet. Soon they arrived and searched.
They were standing on top of. the logs, but they left. She told her boy not to
get tired ; "We will hide all day. One of them will sit down somewhere to
watch." They stayed all day.

Over there her relatives were weeping and fasting for their dead. One
young girl had been killed with an arrow because she resisted. She had many
beads.

Toward evening they fled again. The boy was hungry but he made his

123 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 221.

124 Told by Mrs. Teio.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 233

mind strong; he had a little power. When they reached the river she shouted
loud, "Waaa." They heard across the river and fetched them in a canoe. The
husband clasped his boy and they celebrated. She told how they had been saved.
Everyone came and they had a feast.

Another Paiute Raid.125 Two women had a low underground house. The
doorway was just big enough to crawl through. A Paiute scout saw them in
there. He was naked except for a buckskin breechclout. One woman said to
the other, "We must not be ashamed if he has his will of us." He probably
wanted to do this and then kill them. That is why he did not go back to tell
the other Paiute. One woman talked by signs to him to distract his attention
from the other. He seized the first. The other woman seized his privates ; he
jerked back and expired instantly. They cut off his scalp and buried him under
the house. This happened three or four miles below the Dalles on the Oregon
side. The woman tied the scalp to the end of a long stick, and all the people
danced and sang because they were glad. The women all painted with red earth.

A Meeting with the Bannock and Paiute.126 In 1856 I was about sixteen
years old. Of course I remember things of importance as though it was yes-
terday. I was then [a slave] with a Wishram family. News came to the Wasco
on the side of the Columbia opposite the Wishram village, that a band of Ban-
nock with their chiefs were coming to Wallula to meet the Columbia River
tribes; that they had buffalo robes, dried buffalo meat, and a few horses to
trade for dried salmon, Klickitat baskets, etc. The principal object of the Ban-
nock was to make the acquaintance of the Columbia tribes, especially of the
medicine men and chiefs. Of course the Indians on the river knew that the
Paiute were nearby, and for this reason were a little afraid that they were being
invited into a trap. For the Paiute and the river Indians were bitter enemies.
Yet the news was spread among the Klickitat, Cascade, and Hood River Indians,
in all the villages, between Cascades and Sk'.in [a Sahaptin tribe opposite the
Deschutes] and from Wai'am to Waiya'xix [the Deschutes villages to Cascade
Locks].

A general council was held at Wishram to decide whether to meet the
Bannock. People came in canoes from all along the Columbia to this meeting.
After several days' consideration a decision was rendered in favor of the Ban-
nock's request. Chiefs from Sk !in, Wai'am, Wasco, and Nixlu'idix [the Wish-
ram village] advised their people to take their arms with them concealed. Strong
men were asked to come from all the villages. Canoes were carried over the
falls at the Dalles and Celilo in which to cany these people and their belongings
to Wallula. Several young men were chosen to go along, so that if horses were
given them these lads could bring them down by land along the river. I went
with the man I stayed with [whose slave he was] as one to care for our things
and help carry them from the river to our camp when we arrived. We heard
that the Bannock were already there. Among the Wai'am [Sahaptins] there
were perhaps three men who understood the Paiute and Bannock language, and

125 Told by Mrs. Teio.

126 Told by Johnny Bullhart, a Shasta-Molala slave.

234 L'uizrrsiiy of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

who also talked it fairly well. We took dried salmon and other things to trade
for buffalo robes and horses. I should judge that about one hundred or more
went with us ; men from all around, in good health and strong. In two days
we arrived early in the afternoon ; about eight chiefs were with us. We stayed
at the river that night, early next morning leaving for what is now Wallula
Junction [on the Walla Walla River, not far above its mouth]. We arrived
at noon and found a band of Bannock with a few Paiute.

We built our camps a hundred yards from theirs while the river chiefs and
prairie chiefs met, talking through an interpreter. The prairie chief (Bannock)
spoke first, as follows : "Very well, you river chiefs and your children, we
are glad to meet you and hope that we will meet as long as we are here in good
faith with one another. We people from the sunrise come here to meet you
and make your acquaintance as trading friends (ie'lpEt).127 We did not come
here to have any trouble. We have told our young men to treat you well and
avoid trouble; to trade whatever we have brought, buffalo robes and meat, cos-
tumes for the chiefs, and some horses. We want to meet with you here for
several days and hold dances of all kinds. You dance your fashion and we will
show you our styles." When he closed his speech all answered a-xi (very well).
Cxima'wic, a supreme chief of the Sk !in spoke : "Very well, my prairie friends,
we hope that what you have said is all true. For our part we simply came at
your request with the intention of meeting you in honor as you have said. We
also have told our children (meaning those who had accompanied them) not
to disturb anything you have nor yourselves. My children are obedient in
whatever we tell them. We brought you dried fish flesh ; we brought you robes
of various kinds made from the fur of the animals we kill near the river. We
want in exchange especially horses and buffalo robes. We will stay with you
five days at the longest [note the pattern number]. We will let you dance first
tonight while we look on." The prairie people agreed to this. The meeting
was held out in a big open space [to avoid a surprise attack], no timber nearby,
but sage brush and sand hills. Our chiefs told us not to expose any of our
weapons unless they started trouble.

It seemed to me that everything was going nicely. That night they danced
war[ ?] dances and others. Our chiefs looked on with their chiefs and some
of our men. Others of our men guarded our camp and kept a watch posted.
Next night we entertained them, showing our several dances. Everything went
nicely up to the last day when we began trading. The chiefs and medicine men
traded ; our people got horses, about nine of them, and other things. The
Bannock brought tobacco in great quantities. Trading went on all day.

That night we had nine horses to look after. I and four others watched
until midnight, when we went to bed. Next morning we found our horses
missing and that half of the Bannock were gone. Our chiefs asked the prairie
chiefs what had become of the horses they had given us. They did not know,
were surprised to learn the horses were missing. Our boys tracked the horses
where they had been driven over the hills. We discovered the horses had been

127 See Sapir, Wishram Texts, 104, and p. 228 of the present paper.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 235

stolen back. Then we got busy and started afoot taking short-cuts which the
Wai'am knew, being well acquainted with that country. We had not gone very
far when we found our horses herded by four men in a deep canyon. When
they saw us they fled over the hills. They were chased. One man was over-
taken, thrashed, and then allowed to go when badly cut up. They had been
resting the horses, waiting until night came when they would travel again. Some
of the older Paiute and Bannock had gone on to get a start. When we returned
with the horses and they found that one of their men was cut up and pretty
badly hurt, they began to be hostile. Of course, our men were ready.

Immediately a fight started. We got in a creek bed and fought from behind
the bank, keeping them in the open as much as we could. We got orders from
the war chief to leave our positions that night after it was quite dark and to
make for the landing, so that if we were followed we would have a chance of
getting away. We who had the horses left before the others. Of course, we
had struck camp before we began fighting. We did not lose a man in that fight
as we fought carefully, close together, and keeping well under the protecting
bank. Several of the other side were hit. We swam the horses across the river
to the Washington side.

Next morning we waited and found that they had broken camp and were
getting away as fast as they could over the hills. The chiefs of the Bannock
did not even apologize [ !] ; it seemed that they wanted to start trouble. Their
intention had been to get us there, trade with us, and afterward take the things
back, driving us off or killing us if we fought back. But they saw the numbers
were about equal and that we showed ourselves brave, so they could do no better
than to try to steal the horses alone from us. We reached home safely.

About four or five years afterward they called us again to meet at the
same place. The Bannock chiefs sent us word that they would have their
children behave and treat us nicely, that they had more horses and many nice
buffalo robes. But we decided to pay no attention to their invitation unless we
should go for war. The river chiefs held their council at Wasco this time and
decided that if they went again it would mean a bloody war, so we, or the chiefs,
decided not to go. Word was sent upriver to them that while they were as
near as Wallula they might as well come down to Wasco or to Wai'am. Across
the river from Wallula was a village to which they signalled and told what they
wanted, and through whom we received their invitations.

RELIGIOUS PRACTISES AND BELIEFS

SPIRITS

Practises center almost wholly in shamanism. Furthermore, this was of a rela-
tively simple sort, with a gloss of more typical ceremonialism of the Northwest
Coast. There were no ceremonials not connected with shamanistic rites. Beyond
this the doctrinal background is relatively unknown to us, but seems to have
been but weakly developed.

Secret societies did not exist among the Wishram, nor were there shamans'
organizations. The shaman was assisted by a speaker, but clownishness was not
part of his activities, nor did buffoonery occur in other connections. Masks
were not used, with the sole exception of one to frighten children.

Prayers were directed to the earth, the rivers, the clouds, to the whole
category of natural phenomena. The impression derived is that the Wishram
thought of themselves as among the earth's creatures, one class of things among
the elements of the universe, and on a parity with them, no different from them.
The prayers and declarations to the rivers, mountains, and whatever, seem to
imply only that the individual wished to fix, to indicate his place among them.
It is clear that the natural phenomena played only a passive role; they were not
spirits from which power could be obtained. The exception was thunder, which
figured as a spiritual entity, and as such, as a guardian. Their function appears
in the naming rites : "We want the mountains, the rivers, the creeks, the bluffs,
the timber to know that this man or woman is now named so and so. We
want to let the fishes, the birds, the winds, snow, and rain, the sun, moon, and
stars know that so and so has become as alive again. His name will be heard
again when this man is called." In an account of the Smohallah rites, which
certainly incorporate the ancient views, the sun was more frequently appealed
to in prayer, the moon and stars less often.

The spirits from which power was obtained were animals, birds, reptiles,
insects, and fish, that is, inhabitants of the physical world, not the physical world
itself. Their number was large; there were mentioned, grizzly and common
bear, buffalo, wolf, coyote, cougar, wild cat, deer, mountain animals generally ;
eagle, raven, birds of the mountains, lakes and rivers generally, both large and
small; rattlesnake, mountain lizard, turtle; sturgeon; insects; thunder. The list
is not complete.

There was at least one anthropomorphic spirit who figures as a guardian,
Itc lixvan, mentioned in a Wasco tale. She dwelt in the waters of the Columbia,
and figured as a protector of fishermen and hunters of water animals.128 A
water-monster (itcxi'un), living in the big whirlpools and eddies of the Columbia
was also a guardian. Thunder was a large bird which caused lightning when
it spat.

128 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 260-263. The Chinook equivalent is Iqamia'itx (Boas, Chi-
nook Texts, 230).

236

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishranv Ethnography 237

These guardian spirits (iayulmax, itca'yuhnax [f.]) were by no means
of the same potency. A shaman could not cure any one who had been bewitched
unless his own spirit was more powerful than the spirit intrusive in the patient.
Hopeless cases were those bewitched by the spirits of the grizzly, water-monster,
mountain lizard, eagle, sturgeon, cougar, and turtle. Of these the grizzly and
water-monster bewitchings were most fateful. Even the most powerful shamans
would not attempt to cure these.

Those who had sturgeon spirits were exceptionally brave ; no matter what
wounds they might have received they would not succumb, just as a sturgeon's
vitality is great. It may be deeply cut without being killed. War chiefs almost
always had for spirits, sturgeons, rocks, or trees. Some of them might be struck
by arrows but they could not be wounded, and if they did penetrate, these men
would not die. Only those who had weak spirits or none at all were killed.

Certain spirits gave one the power to move stealthily, to hide readily, and
be hard to shoot. Such were mountain lizards, snakes, small insects, and small
birds. Only those with more powerful spirits could spy them out and shoot them.

One who had a deer spirit became a good hunter of deer. He dreamed of
where they were to be found. The deer talked to [told?] him. Such a man
never ate deer meat, save when sick and about to die, he would ask for 'the flesh,
eat a small piece and in a few days be well again.

A man with a rattlesnake spirit would not be bitten by them. He could
safely pick them up. He skinned them, dried the skin, and mixed it with his
tobacco. Only such a man could smoke this. He could also send his snake
(spirit) to bite someone.

There were other mythical beings who were not guardian spirits. Of these
we know of gaiaba'xam, a land monster. This was described as resembling an
alligator, provided with a rattle like a rattlesnake, and which left a big track
as it crawled.129 They were plentiful in holes on the north bank of the Columbia,
it was said, "but blasting for the road must have driven them out !" The follow-
ing- tales were told of this :

*&>

Two boys killed one and got its spirit. During a war they split its hide, put it on,
and did wonderful things.

A Spokane girl of ten or thereabouts was swallowed by one. They found the hole
it was in, built a fire in the mouth of the cave, and smothered the monster. A lone Spo-
kane man crawled in and brought it out. When they cut him open, they found the girl
whole inside.

Cannibal women figure in the folk-tales. It cannot be said that these were
entities of the same sort as the spirits, but inasmuch as they are spoken of in
everyday life, they were something more tangible than mere actors of the myths.
At!at!a'lia was a huge stupid ogress, represented in a mask used to frighten
children as having an ugly face, big eyes and ears, and said to have been striped
like her children. She stole human children which she devoured; her children
were fed snakes, frogs, toads and the like. Her husband of the tales was
(Horned?) Owl. Akxa'qusa was another cannibal woman. She may have been

129 Cf. Sapir, Wishram Texts, 117.

238 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

only a creation of the tales, but she was associated in everyday life with a wicked
multiple-barbed arrow-point, named for her. She was said to have once descended
on the Wishram village and eaten all its inhabitants.

It is clear that a burden was imposed on the recipient of power not to
abuse it. Thus a Wasco tale turns on such a case. A youth who has been given
power by the elk is induced by his evil father to kill them needlessly. The elk
takes him to task and withdraws his influence.130

On the subject of the personal soul, we have nothing save a recorded word,
walu'tk, meaning life, spirit, wind, breath.

ACQUIRING POWER

The acquisition of power was open to everyone ; sex was no bar to it.
Success in life was contingent on acquiring some power from the spirits, yet
some never acquired any. Since the measure of success was held to be directly
dependent on the extent of power, and this was held to vary from one individual
to another, we cannot but conclude that the actual causal sequence was the
reverse : those who were successful credited themselves with unusual spirit
power. It does not seem possible that anyone would maintain failure in his quest
for power. The very secrecy maintained about one's spirit experiences offered
opportunity to keep that fact concealed until occasion should arise when some
success was achieved to hint at the possession of power. It does not seem clear
that the lad who returned from his quest admitted anything more than that he
had an experience, without revealing its content. Again, at spirit dances those
with power hinted at their spirits by their actions, but no more. The full reve-
lation came only at the point of death when all the details were recited. Under
such conditions the stage was set to assume a very close causal relationship
between spirit power and material success.

The revelation at death or in dire need had a form quite stereotyped. The
dying man called for some article connected with his spirit, told how he came
by his power, and recited that as an omen it would storm. Thus, a man who
had a wolf as a guardian had its backbone set on a pole, one with a deer spirit
then ate deer meat for the first time; in a Wasco tale a man whose guardian
was an elk asked for five elkskins.131

Certain individual tabus also revealed the nature of the spirit guardian.
Thus, the fact that a man refrained from deer meat actually revealed that the
deer was one of his spirits. Others would not eat fish, or certain kinds of
berries, and so on. (We surmise that this does not imply that the berry was
itself a guardian spirit.)

This reticence about spirit experiences is strikingly dissimilar from the atti-
tude of the Klamath, e.g., who do not hesitate to make theirs known explicitly
on proper occasion. On the other hand it conforms to the practise of such
groups as Ojibway.132 It may be that in this the Klamath follow the California!!

130 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 257-259.

131 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 221-223, 258.

132 Compare Radin, Some Aspects of Puberty Fasting Among the Ojibwa.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 239

tradition, where religion rests lightly and in fact guardian spirits were almost
wholly unknown, while the Wishram conform to the more general American
view. Again, it does not appear that a Wishram loses spirit power while mourn-
ing, as among the Klamath.

The guardianship of a spirit or individual protector could be gained only
when one was young. After a certain period the power to acquire it vanished
and if one had not by that time been fortunate enough to gain the protection
of a spirit he would remain so unprotected ever after. The protection of a
spirit was gained in some solitary place, generally in the mountains. After a
period of "training" for a spirit one would appear to the young man in a dream
or vision. He would assure him of his protection, and would give him some
sign by which his protecting presence would be made known, or some means
by which wounds inflicted by a spirit could be healed. The power was granted
also of being able to interpret the language of the spirits. For instance, one
who had gained the protection of Coyote could tell, on hearing a coyote's howl,
what person was going to die. One that had the Rattlesnake as his guardian
spirit could heal all wounds inflicted by a rattlesnake. Supposing one had the
Thunder as his spirit ; if he were severely wounded and expected to die, he
would sing his spirit song, calling upon the protection of the thunder. If the
thunder heard the call, it would rain and thunder at a particular time of the day,
even if the sky were cloudless and the weather absolutely clear, and the wounded
man was sure to recover ; if it did not rain, he would die. No one ever revealed
how he came by his spirit ; only at the hour of death he disclosed all the mysteries
pertaining to it. The belief in these spirit powers is still very strong and many
Indians who seem to be thoroughly civilized and sophisticated have spirits secretly.

A child began to "train" (alxEla'y', literally, moves himself), that is, prepare
for a spirit experience, when still quite young, six to twelve years old ("when
he can talk plainly"). He was sent out at night to some distant lonely place,
to a lake, the mountains, the river, a large grove of big trees, or some big rock
pile. This was always at a considerable distance133 from home, in a place which
was usually quite unfrequented. He was bidden to travel about and finish an
appointed task at the designated spot. This was always stereotyped; piling
up rocks, pulling up young oak or fir trees, or making withes of the saplings.
The task was accommodated to the child's strength; at first small rocks, e.g.,
were piled, larger ones later. This was looked upon as physical preparation for
life as well as opening the way to acquiring a spirit.134 When the assignment
was to some inaccessible and distant place, the lad was ordered to leave some
sign that he had been there. He was given a carved piece of wood or a pecu-
liarly shaped stone to leave; something that a person (one was always sent to
investigate) would recognize without doubt. Such carved images represented
bear, deer, birds, or fish. Or he might be instructed to return with a branch
or plant to be gotten only in this particular place. The rock piles and the withes

1133 McGuff gives a curious instance of the application of the pattern number in his notes :
"more than five miles."

134 The Thompson looked on training during the vision quest in the same light (Teit,.
The Thompson Indians, 317 f).

240 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

that he made were proof in themselves. Should the inspector find he had
slighted his task, he was sent back next night to complete it.135

One such place was a cave, called tca'mogi, a half mile below Nixlu'idix
on the Columbia bank. At high water this is under water. Boys were sent at
night to dive into its entrance ; it seemed to draw them in as they entered. There
were a number of such places nearby.

One man sent five brothers to stay in this cave. Something threw snakes or bugs on
one of them. He started to run out but was cut in two before he got away. The others
tried successively; some stayed through two or three experiences, the fourth stayed through
four. But all of them were killed. Then this man sent the fifth, his last son. This one
knew how to stay; he was the last. He stayed there through five nights and got great
shamanistic power.

At waca'k'ukc, about three-quarters of a mile below the village cq'o'nana,
was a big rock in the water, at which boys sought spirits.

The lad was sent at irregular intervals to spend a night at each of several
lonely spots. He continued until he received an experience. The child knew
nothing of what he was to expect, nor did the one who sent him on the quest.
While he was sitting awaiting it, the spirit animal approached with a great roar-
ing sound, accompanied by flashes of fire, a high wind, hail and rain. The child
was frightened helpless, or fell into a trance ("a kind of sleep") in which he
seemed to dream the words spoken by this animal. He dreamt (that the power
spoke like a human : "When some one is sick, you will cure him ; you must then
follow me singing." The acquisition was looked upon as more or less involuntary.

In a Wasco tale, a boy was visited by an elk, who said : "If you will serve me\ and
hear what I say, I will be your master and» will help you in every necessity. You must
not be proud. You must not kill too many of any kind of animal. I will be your guardian
spirit."136

The lad was sick, helpless and frightened. A shaman was employed to
relieve and to restore him. Many of them got more than one spirit at a time ;
this made them especially ill and unstrung. But they were accordingly stronger
in the future, and correspondingly greater shamans. A shaman was respected
according to the number of spirits he had, and paid in proportion. Some had
as many as five or six familiars, either all mountain birds and animals, or a
variety of river and lake fishes, river and lake birds.

THE SHAMAN'S INAUGURAL DANCE

A more elaborate mode of relieving the visionary was adopted when an
older lad or young woman went out with the deliberate intention of seeking
spirit power of sufficient potency to establish himself as a shaman. Its primary
purpose was to provide occasion for the inauguration of his career.

When he returned he told his relatives, his parents primarily. They prepared
a nicely tanned elkskin as a dance platform, stretching it on a rectangular frame
of boards set on edge so that it lay a foot from the ground. This was placed
in the house with a painted post, as thick as one's wrist, set upright beside it.

135 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 187.

136 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 257.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 241

Everyone gathered in the house at night. The lad took his position on the
stretched elkhide, dancing on it that he might not touch the ground, holding
on to the pole as he danced. He sang five songs. Others sang with him, keeping
time by rapidly beating with short sticks (a foot long) on a long board laid
before them. One drummer was provided with a long pole (one of fourteen
feet in length) swung in a horizontal position from the roof beams by a rope
tied to each end. This was at a convenient height so that a man could swing
it end-on against a plank set up for the purpose. The one who used this drum
had to be thoroughly familiar with the songs ; he was well paid by all the singers.
(Yet a Klamath informant told Spier that in his youth he had worked one of
these drums for the Dalles people.)

When he finished, his father and other relatives danced on the elkhide, one
after another, singing their spirit songs. They danced to help him. While he
was dancing his mother went about giving things away. When a man of strong
power danced to help the youth, she made him a gift. Those who sang (rela-
tives alone?) also gave things away. These were slung over a cord stretched
across the house ; some things placed among them symbolized horses to be
given away.

When the lad had gotten power, they appealed to a shaman to treat him.
The shaman danced and gave presents away ; he danced for a long time. Then
they helped the lad onto the shaman's back, who then danced with him and sang
to make him strong. The boy became unconscious and stiff as a board. He
was laid beside the elkskin, where the shaman blew over him until the boy
began to sing. Then he rose again, reascended the elkskin platform, and danced
once more. Now he was strong.

Then the boy tried his power. He called out: "Who is sick?" Someone
came forward and lay down. He sucked the spot, singing ; others were dancing
and singing, too, to help him. He took out the sickness, held it in his hand ;
black matter ran from it. He swallowed it to feed his spirit.

The performance lasted for five successive nights. On the last morning
his parents gave away quantities of gifts. Just when the shaman gave his aid
and the neophyte first tried his powers is not clear in our account, but it was
probably during the last of the five nights.

SHAMANS' PERFORMANCES

Spirit dances were held only or primarily in midwinter, that is, from De-
cember to March. These were occasions when those with spirit power met to-
gether to sing their spirit songs and to dance. There can be no doubt that the
circumscription of such performances to midwinter aligns this with the "sacred
period" of the typical Northwest Coast tribes, among whom spirit power returned
to the performers at this time and when alone they could dance.

Each person, men and women, sang but once during the night, but they
might repeat the song for as many nights as the affair continued. They never
sang in this fashion by day. The dance form consisted in part of alternately

242 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

flinging the body forward with amis outstretched and then leaning as far back
as possible.137 The swinging pole-drum was also used at these performances. They
gave some little things away; a few eagle feathers or some other articles they
wore. A singer was not compelled to make gifts, but if he did not, he was classed
as cheap, mean minded, and selfish, and when such a one was hired to cure he
was paid less than those who freely gave away their belongings. The belief was
that one who gave freely knew he had a strong spirit, would become a strong
shaman when he was ready to practise, would secure the best of pay because he
was more certain of a cure. Such a shaman could soon reimburse himself for the
cost of these gifts.

Since a person would never speak of his spirit until his death, the only way
in which the people) generally knew of it was at such performances. Then the
singer referred to his spirit in his songs. He also wore a symbol ; the feathers
of the bird, a strip of skin or a pelt, a necklace of snake skin or of fish vertebrae.
Since these were peculiar to the visionaries, they never borrowed parts of such
costumes from one another. They also showed what their spirits were by their
actions. One with a wolf spirit wore a hat and belt of wolf skin; if he had
both wolf and eagle he imitated them, spreading his fingers and waving his arms
in imitation of an eagle's flight, e.g. Others imitated the cries of their spirits ;
as wagwa'li gwa'li for the raven, and La'zi i^a'zi for a rattlesnake. They did not
always wear appropriate costume but contented themselves with these imitative
performances.138

A probable element of these dances of which we were not told is the custom
of dancing as close to the fire as one could bear. This was not only the habit of
the Klamath in one direction, but characteristic of the Northwest Coast proper
as well. Its presence in this region is attested at least by the references in a
Wasco tale. This describes just such a singing and dancing festival among the
animals, wherein the singers carry others on their backs as they dance over the
fire ; each of the five nights they dance closer to the flames.139

The reaction of a person not at the moment a dancer took a definite form.
When a man or woman heard his own song being sung, he "became like fire in-
side ; wild." He called on some one to cut his flesh so that he could eat it. This
one pinched up the flesh of the arm of the one requesting it, cut off a bit, and
gave it to him to eat. He also wiped away his own blood with his hand and licked
it. "That was his spirit doing that." Next morning he bathed the wound with
cold water. This was done only once during any one dance. He did not have
to make a present to the one who cut his flesh for him. A man who went to
dances all winter would have a row of scars along each arm. Only the arms were
cut in this fashion. It is not quite clear what was meant by "hearing his own
song." It may mean that a man was not always the leader when his song was
sung, or that it continued after he had ceased. Or as is more likely, once a man

137 The round or squaw dance form was unknown to the Wishram in any of their rites ;
it was, however, used by the Yakima.

138 This performance closely parallels the guardian spirit dance of the Nez Perce (Spin-
den, The Nez Perce Indians, 262-264).

139 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 311-312; see also 95-99 and compare 129-131.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 243

had sung during the dance, his song was repeated from time to time although he
did not dance again. Another possibility is that he heard someone who had the
same spirit singing, although it is not likely that any two individuals had identical
songs.

This type of activity had its analog among the Blackfoot, where bits of flesh
were cut in rows from the arms, legs, and trunk as offerings to the sun.140
Specific inquiry among the Wishram failed to reveal the presence of the rites of
the Kwakiutl and Nootka, wherein skewered flesh was torn loose, nor the biting
practises of their cannibal dancers.141

An account of a more ambitious performance (or perhaps of two) was con-
tributed by Mrs. Teio. Sa'lmin (or Wa'katca ?) was a shaman who did not prac-
tise curing. He had a daughter who had a little power. When she danced she
wore a frontlet of beaded pendants on her forehead, which hung down to cover
her eyes, so that no one could see them. He built a large dance house with a
bench running along all its sides. It was a plank house perhaps forty feet long,
with a single fireplace. He also provided the usual elkskin dance platform in
the center of the house, near which was an upright post to hold to. People from
everywhere were invited to his dance, for which he had a feast prepared. The
house was so crowded that they sat not only on the bench but on the ground in
front of it.

Five young men assisted him. Each had a blanket over his shoulders which
was tied about his waist. They knelt in a row in front of a long board with their
heads bowed. Each was provided with a short billet of wood which he thumped
vertically on the plank: in time to the song. These billets were the length and
thickness of the forearm, and were held one hand above the other.

The shaman had some (seal?) oil which he poured back and forth in his
cupped hands and rubbed over his face. He never got sore eyes. As he sang he
danced to and fro in front of the boys. He stood before the five throwing (duck?)
feathers into the air. One of the boys' sticks began to sway, pulling him about.
He could not let go. It pulled him to his feet ; he had a little spirit power. The
shaman told some strong men to watch the boy, to grasp him from behind by the
blanket which was firmly tied about him. They were to hold him back and make
him stay in his place. The boy lay stiff and lifeless but still held the stick up-
right on his chest, clenched in his hands. Two or four boys lay thus. Then
someone with a little power blew on the boy's stick to loosen his grip, so that
the spirit would not draw his hands tight and kill him.

My [Mrs. Teio's] two brothers did this: the elder one called the younger to
his side. They sat side by side. My younger brother began to sway. The elder
one also did a little, but he stopped and began to thump again. The elder then
blew on the other's hands, "made it cold," and saved him. "He did not want him
singing in that big crowd."

140Wissler, Blackfoot Sun Dance, 265; see also Spier, Plains Indian Sun Dance, 475,

493.

141 Boas, Social Organisation and Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl, 495, 635.

244 I diversity of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

All this time Sa'lmin was singing; all the people too. From time to time
he threw grease on the fire and drank a lititle of it. Soon the boy (sic) who lay
stiff called out and began to sing. They made him sit up and loosened his blanket.
Then he went over onto the elkskin and sang. After he began his family gave
presents away so that he might sing well. If they had not given things away, he
would have gotten sick.

I [Mrs. Teio] saw two boys sing; they had never sung before. One was
my cousin. My grandmother gave things away for him. He was her sister's
daughter's son.

After these two sang, Sa'lmin stopped. Then others who had spirits sang one
after another during the night.

Sa'lmin's daughter had a bed built high in the house "like an upper story."
It was covered so that she lay hidden there all day for the five days of this per-
formance. Every night she sang while dancing on the elkskin. She had acquired
a spirit some time before. She was not yet married (and seems to have been
sexually immature). While she sang her mother and younger sister went around
the fire singing with her. Her father gave away presents each morning.

Each night's performance lasted until morning. They danced in this fashion
for five nights. Sa'lmm alone knew how to give this dance with the thumping
sticks. These were called wa'kc'kwiti't.

There are two points of comparative interest in this performance; the thump-
ing sticks and the inner chamber for the girl. A stick of a peculiar shape with
just these powders wras also known in western Washington. The features are
alike; the kneeling boy cannot resist the pulling of the stick when its spirit has
been sung into it. He is clad in a blanket fastened about his waist, by which his
friends attempt to hold him back. The variations are largely in the shape of the
stick or board. This has been recorded among the Snuqualmi and Snohomish
of Puget Sound, the Quinault on the coast, and the Klallam of the Strait of Juan
de Fuca.142 The inner chamber for the seclusion of the young girl suggests the
similar structure of the Northwest Coast tribes used for the seclusion of adoles-
cents and as sleeping-chambers.

CURING PRACTISE AND WITCHCRAFT

The shamanistic cure? depended on the extraction of the foreign substance
or spirit in the patient's body. There is no evidence of a belief in sickness caused
by the loss of the soul, as among the Chinook proper.143

There appears not to have been much specialization of function among sha-
mans. Every shaman could cure, although their powers, hence their abilities,
were thought to vary. Some among them could further use their powers to
inflict harm on other persons, bewitch them. Idiaxi'lalit was the term to designate
a curing shaman; idiaGe'wam, those who bewitched.144 (The feminine forms of

142 Haeberlin unci Gunther, Ethnographische Notizen, 59; Olson, Quinault ms. ; Gunther,
Klallam Ethnography, 292.

143 Boas, Doctrine of Souls among the Chinook, 39.

144 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 16.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 245

these terms are itgaxi'lalit and itgaGe'wam). Specifically, the specialized rattle-
snake and bear shamans of the California tribes had no parallels here. Those who
had rattlesnake spirits cured snake bites. Men and women shamans cured in
the same fashion.

Calling on a shaman to cure was really only an extension of the belief that
anyone could cure himself provided his spirit was sufficiently powerful. This
meant in practise, however, that self-curing was largely confined to shamans.
Should one of these get hurt, as by being stabbed or breaking a leg, he would sing
his spirit song to protect and cure himself. "The spirit was awakened; the power
of this creature was received by the person who is helped by it." We are not
certain that he would attempt it if he thought himself bewitched. He used no
rattle or drum ; the audience, who also sang with him to help, beat time with
sticks on a long plank. Then an omen would occur; it would rain or thunder.
(This was true whatever the spirit he possessed.) Such a rite occurred at home;
never in a sweat-lodge, since the use of these structures had no relation to curing.

An excellent instance of this was recorded as part of a Wasco war narrative.
A desperately wounded man was brought home to where a scalp dance was held.

Now the man had become sick. So then a long pole was set up, and then ceremonial
feathers were tied on top of the pole to a wolf's backbone, the man's guardian spirit. The
man said : "Now I shall die, and do you all hear what I have to say, what I learned when
I was a boy. Now then I saw something [on my spirit quest] as a boy, so that now I shall
tell you all what it was that spoke with me as a boy, what I recognized. Now it is going
to rain a little. Thus I know, I found it out as a boy. I saw black (clouds) passing over
the sky, and the sky turned white. And then it rained. If it will not! rain and if it will
not hail, then truly I shall die." Then it started in to rain and to hail, and the wounded
man said ; "Now I shall bathe in the water, and you will carry me." So then he was car-
ried to the water and put into it. And then the man recovered ; surely indeed the Paiutes
had shot at his guardian spirit. He did not die, he became well. Every one saw him, also
I here saw him.145

This illustrates as well how the vision experience was told only in extremis.

Those who had insufficient power to effect a self-cure had recourse to a sha-
man. An emissary was sent to offer the shaman so much in valuables for his aid.
If he considered this insufficient, he refused. Another person was then sent to
offer more. The first messenger could not go again, because by the very refusal
it was shown that he was an unlucky person and had increased the patient's likeli-
hood of dying. Payment was offered in the form of canoes, furs, stone bowls,
dip nets, spears, and in the historic period, horses, cattle, blankets, and money.
No payment was made unless the cure was successful ; the shaman was some-
times held to a cure within a limited time, else he was not paid. In that event
another one was called in.

When the shaman felt that the cure was more difficult than he alone could
master, he invited another to work with him.

If you should become sick, then you think to yourself : "whom shall I take that is a
good medicine-man?" You give him three horses and two oxen and twenty dollars. The
medicine-man says: "I shall not succeed in making him well, he is too sick." One more
medicine-man has been taken; now they are two. He has been given four horses, one
cow and ten dollars, and two blankets.

145 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 221-223.

246 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Now the medicine-man says : "Now it is well that we two doctor, we shall doctor
right. Now we two shall make him well." And the medicine-man says (to his companion) :
"It seems that you thought you are a poor medicine-man. It seems that this man over
there has become sick, so that we two shall doctor him now. Now he will get well. What
do you think, O medicine-man, for your part?" He says: "Yes! now both of us shall
doctor him." The two of them doctor him, but he has not got well. Now the man dies.
Both of the medicine-men are killed, (who) were doctoring him. Those two were wicked,
they had "shot" him.

Again one man has become sick. And again a medicine-man has been taken; he has
been given two horses, and three blankets, and ten dollars. Also a woman has been taken
(who) is to doctor. She has been given, has been paid as her fee, one horse, and one cow,
and two blankets, and five dollars. Now the two of them doctor; now they have put down
time-beating sticks [a plank was pounded with sticks] and he sings; the medicine-man
keeps on doctoring.

Now the medicine-man says : "Now he will not die, now we two shall make him well."
Again, just so the medicine- woman says: "Now he will not die, now we two shall make
him well." Now the two of them say: "Now tomorrow we two shall go home and we shall
completely doctor him." Now the two of them have just completely doctored him. And
then they are about to go home. They say: "Now where are the horses?" [in payment of
their services]. A boy goes to get the horses.146

The drumming on a long plank was done by ten men hired for the purpose.
The shaman, like a chief, had a spokesman, who repeated aloud what the spirit
communicated to the shaman. (We have no information whether the same indi-
vidual always assisted a shaman).

All pre-adolescent children were sent away, especially babies. There was the
danger that the "disease" taken from! the patient's body might lodge in theirs;
older people were not so susceptible (because they had spirits of their own to
resist?).

There was a regular costume for practitioners, which consisted essentially of
a cap bearing eagle feathers. In addition, the shaman painted his face in various
colors, wore buckskin leggings and shirt, and, we presume, articles peculiar to
his familiar spirit as described above. Shamans had rattles made of a bunch of
dew-claws strung together ; we do not know that they were used in curing,
however.

A shaman always smoked before starting to cure, taking five puffs of his
pipe and inhaling the smoke. This made his cure more effective since it made his
spirit more active and strong.

A big fire was built beside which the patient was laid. The shaman sang his
spirit songs to the accompaniment of the din created by whacking at the plank-
drum, warmed his hands repeatedly at the fire beside him, and placed them on
the sick man's stomach. The spirit power in his hands drew the "disease" toward
them. Then he applied his mouth to the spot to suck it out. (A tube was not
used). In this manner he drew out "blood, bad stuff." Having gotten it into
his mouth, he spat it into a vessel of water "to cool it." It was then more easily
handled. Ordinarily it remained invisible to the laity although other shamans
could see it readily enough. He would sometimes show a little object as the of-
fending substance.

Mrs. Teio's niece, Julia Wahpat is a shaman. She can take "dirt out of one's eyes.'*
She blows into them and then sucks it out.

146 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 179-183.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 247

Matter-of-fact procedures must also have accompanied shamanistic cures,
or been invoked for common disorders. We have no data on these. It is ob-
served, however, in an account that a convalescent was given fish-soup, made of
the heads of salmon and white salmon.147

Bewitching seems to have been common, or perhaps most serious illnesses
and injuries were laid to this. When serious trouble arose between two Wishram,
one might pay a shaman to bewitch ("poison") his rival. A few days' illness and
the bewitched one died. As he expired he spoke the very words used by the sha-
man in sending his spirit on its mission, in which the shaman instructed it just
how the deed was to be accomplished. The dying man named his rival as the
instigator. The accused was tried by the chief who assessed a fine as blood -
money ; should he fail to pay, he was ordered shot. The relatives of the bewitched
man might not wait for action of the chief's council but take vengeance into their
own hands. Five or six were sometimes slain in a feud begun by a charge of
witchcraft before the case came before the council. The fine was especially
heavy in that event, since the guilty man was held responsible for the additional
deaths as well. The chief rarely bothered with feuds of this sort among the
lowest class. It will be observed that the malignant shaman came off scot free
in these cases. He was not guilty in any sense, since he acted merely as the agent
of the one who hired him.

Nevertheless a shaman was killed if he was thought guilty of witchcraft
on his own account. This was not by order of the chief's council, but an act
of revenge on the part of the survivors. If it was generally believed that the
shaman had received his deserts, no action was taken against the avenger. Ordi-
narily a shaman and his family, like that of a war chief, occupied an exceptional
position. Neither the man nor his family was likely to be molested ; people were
too much in fear of a shaman's powers. For instance, the murder of a member
of his family was a very rare occurrence. The shaman had the privilege of de-
manding whatever he chose by way of recompense for the killing. Chiefs were
too much in fear of shamans to hold them to account, not that a shaman would
bewitch a chief, but he might take revenge on some member of his family. Sha-
mans were not ordinarily killed because they failed of a cure. But they would be
if it was thought that they had bewitched the patient in the course of their prac-
tise. This is the explanation of the killing of the practitioners mentioned above.

The shaman called in to cure one bewitched proceeds exactly as described
above. That his effectiveness was limited by the relative powers of his own and
the intrusive spirit is clear from the following account. Even though the patient
might die, the shaman might sometimes extract a little object from his body.
This he would hold in his hands, enquiring of the surviving relatives what they
wanted done. They would take revenge by cutting it in two ; then the bewitching
shaman would go out of his mind or die.

The following statement by an eighty-five year old shaman named Smith es-
tablishes the relative powers of the spirits and how much curing in a witch -

147 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 183.

248 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

craft case depended on this factor. It expresses as well the dangers that inhered
in the procedure, the prohibition of untoward action, and the truculence of cer-
tain shamans.

This doctoring is true. I have been curing for more than sixty years and have met
all kinds of disease. Some diseases are bad. When a person is bewitched, he will surely
die unless the shaman has a much stronger spirit than that killing the patient. When a
person dies of witchcraft, the body cracks in manyl places, although they may appear be-
fore he expires. Such cracks are not deep, perhaps only an eighth of an inch, just enough
to let the blood run freely. The body turns various colors, especially red and blue stripes
lengthwise of the body. This shows that he was bewitched by a strong shaman. A sha-
man who undertakes to take such a spirit out of the sick must have a stronger spirit him-
self. If not, even though he draws it out, it will kill the shaman and both will die. In five
days the shaman is dead. Some important bone of: his body breaks, a leg or his spine.
This happens, not from any accident, but while he is lying sick abed. So curing is very
dangerous and a shaman must be treated well.

This is especially true where a family has many children. When a shaman visits
their home the children must remain very quiet. In particular they must not run behind
his back. To pass behind his back when he does not see it may frighten him, disturb his
spirit, and cause him harm. They must also be careful not to1 drop anything, to make a
sudden report, so that; he is startled. If they do, he gets angry and may bewitch some
member of the family.148

A person who has as a spirit an eagle, grizzly bear, couger, or wolf, in fact any ani-
mal that will eat human flesh, is "bad" (malignant). He especially must be treated with cir-
cumspection. These spirits want human flesh when they can get it, hence such a shaman
will bewitch someone just to satisfy his spirit, which is just the same as feeding it.

FIRST SALMON RITE

A ceremony over the first salmon taken in a run of the fish was celebrated
by tribes from northern California to northern British Columbia. Throughout
the same area there were special attitudes and behavior toward this fish.149 Both
features were shared by the Wishram.

The first salmon run of the year on the Columbia River is that of the spring
(or chinook) salmon. They appear first in March and the run is at its height in
mid-April.150

The procedure with the first salmon was rigorously followed, for if the
proper behavior was not observed few of the salmon would be caught. The first
salmon caught (sometimes the first few) was carried home by the fisherman
and laid aside. No further fish could be taken until the proper rite had been
carried out over this one. No one might touch this fish except a shaman (any
shaman), who cut off the two flanks of the fish, leaving the head, backbone, and
tail in one piece. He made incisions at short intervals in each flank piece, in-
serting bits of dry cedar wood to hold them open. The backbone-piece was also
prepared for roasting by cleaning it. Stones were heated in a shallow pit and
arranged to form a flat surface when the wood was consumed. A thick layer
of choke cherry leaves was heaped on this, on which the pieces of the several

148 Both prohibitions also occurred among the Klamath and comparable ideas were
shared by Kwakiutl and Thompson.

149 For a discussion, see Gunther, A Further Analysis of the First Salmo>i Ceremony.

150 So our informant, but Cobb puts the run from January to March {Pacific Salmon
Fisheries, 8) and Lewis and Clark set their first appearance in 1806 at April 19th. (Hosmer,
II, 261).

1930] Spier and Sapir, IVishram Ethnography 249

salmon were laid covered with mats. From time to time the covering was raised
to see if the fish were baked.

All the people of the town attended the feast. Other food had been pre-
pared and spread out on the ground. Old people came to take some of it home.
Everyone, even children, was given some of the salmon to eat. (Sapir's in-
formant stated that "all the old men eat it, each a small piece," but this does not
preclude the others).151 Prayers were said at the feast by anyone. "He prayed
over water, salt, fish, etc.," to the accompaniment of drum and bell. This sug-
gests that the reference is to the days of the Smohallah cult. This being so, it is
possible that this was the Christian grace taken over by both Smohallah and
Shaker adherents. Some certainty attached to this suggestion since prayers were
said neither at the fishing places nor atj the time of cutting the salmon.

Lewis and Clark observed the rite at Skilloot village (ila'xluit, Wishram)
at the Dalles, April 19, 1806. "The whole village was filled with rejoicing to-day
at having caught a single salmon, which was considered as the harbinger of vast
quantities in four or five days. In order to hasten their arrival, the Indians, ac-
cording to custom, dressed fish and cut it into small pieces, one of which was
given to each child in the village."152

The rite not only insured the salmon run to everyone but made the fishing
stage at which the first salmon was caught particularly lucky. The rite was not
made for runs of salmon later in the year.

Inquiry was made concerning other attitudes and observances toward the
salmon found elsewhere on the coast. Salmon bones were ordinarily discarded,
not returned to the river. There was no belief in a connection between salmon
and twins. Salmon, in fact all fish and game, were susceptible to the presence
of mourners. If a baby died, its father might not go near the fishing places, else
the salmon run would cease. The same tabu applied to a widower or widow. The
latter might not handle fresh fish or game without giving bad luck to the fisher-
men and hunters, and should she eat it, the game was likely to disappear almost
in its entirety. It is not clear that the five day sweating for purification that fol-
lowed burial entirely removed the prohibition.

The chinook or spring salmon, as the first of the year, came in for special
regard. They were very particular about how this fish was caught. No one could
talk casually and carelessly about it. Boys were told: "You must not say T am
going to catch the spring salmon, to kill him.' He was a person. If you say
that you might be drowned." Boys who disregarded this and said they were
going to catch many, always met with bad luck; they might be drowned, or at
least would catch only a few.

OMENS

A number of omens (imqxa'tc) were recognized.

A rainbow was a sign of a birth, in fact, the end of the arc pointed to the very
spot. When a double rainbow was seen it meant that there had been two indi-

151 Sapir, IVishram Texts, 183.
i52Hosmer, II, 261.

250 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

vidual births or that twins were born. Further, the nature of the rainbow af-
fected the weather. If it was a "bad rainbow" the day would become unsea-
sonable, excessively hot in summer or stormy in winter. On the other hand, if
the rainbow was "good," the weather would turn very pleasant. Mrs. Teio
said, however, that a birth always caused a bad day ; it stormed or became hot.
This coupling of birth, rainbow, and storm was common to all Upper Chinookan
peoples (Wasco, Cascades, and Clackamas) as well as the Wishram.153

"If at night the moon is seen with a star closely following her to one side,
that truly1 (signifies that) now some woman is soon to become a widow.154 If
the moon is seen with two stars following her, that (signifies that) the woman
will die and her two children will die. Now, if, when it is yet daylight, the moon
is seen with a rainbow about it, truly that (signifies that) somebody will be
murdered secretly." The howl of a coyote also foretells the approach of death.

Sneezing was a sign, among the Wasco, that someone was talking about the
sneezer.155

Certain acts also affectj the weather. When the people were berry picking
on the southern slopes of Mount Adams, boys would sometimes climb far up,
where they would pull up quantities of a certain plant. This would bring a storm
which would cause the people to move away. If one stirred about in a hole in
the rocks near the Wishram village of Nixlu'idix, the wind would rise.156 One
must not point at the moon shining brightly in winter else a great frost would
take place ; "the moon would become ashamed."157 The croaking of frogs was a
sign of approaching rain, which presumably has a basis in fact.

Walking over the dead caused bad luck ; the result was laming a leg. Grains
of Indian corn were not eaten because they were considered to be bones of the
dead. The latter must be a rationalization about an unfamiliar food, arisen pos-
sibly since the coming of the whites, since the Wishram were far from any agri-
cultural area.

VISIONS

Dreams were believed to prefigure coming events. It is possible that these
were derived from the guardian spirit, but it was not so stated. That is, there
is not much difference between a dream in which a hunter was told by his spirit,
the deer, where deer were to be found, and the following:

A war party set out against the Northern Paiute. On the night of the first
day "we camped. And then we dreamt that we all became covered with blood.
And then in the morning our chief said: 'Now do you make a fire and I shall
tell you something.' So then we got up from bed, and then we took hold of
iqta't-sticks [notched rasps]. And then we sang, now strongly we sang. And

153 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 191. A connection between births and the weather is also
conceived by Thompson, Klamath, Northern Maidu, and Eastern Porno.
a54This is also a Wasco omen (see tale, p. 277).

155 Sapir, he. cit., 193, 106, 293.

156 The same belief is entertained by the Klamath.

157 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 193.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 251

then the hero said: 'Now I shall tell you people what I dreamt. Now this day
we shall die, I have seen the Paiutes. If we are to see them, it will rain.' Thus
said the hero. And again we sang, rubbed the iqta't-sticks together. And again
one man said : 'Now I shall tell you what I, for my part, dreamt. A grizzly bear
ran away from us towards the setting sun. And then we caught only the grizzly
bear's son. Thus did I dream?"158

A prophecy of the coming of the whites was reputed to have had its source
in another vision. "Long ago, I believe, the people learned that now whites would
soon come. One old man, I believe, learned of it at night. Then he dreamt ; he
saw strange people, they spoke to him, and showed him everything ; and he heard
something like three or four Indian songs. In the morning he spoke to all the
people. And then everybody gathered together to hear him— women, men, chil-
dren, old men — everybody. He told the people what he had seen in his sleep at
night. And then they gathered to hear him ; they danced every day and every
night. They were made glad because of his story." He then became quite ex-
plicit in describing what the whites were like and what they would bring. "For
days and nights they danced. They were not at all hungry, truly they did their
best (in dancing). Everything they saw — ax, hatchet, knife, stove. . . . Then
indeed they would again jump up and down; they did their best strongly. And
truly things are just so to-day; now surely the old man dreamt just that way."109
This has all the ring of a Ghost dance performance, the revelation of a great
change, the dancing by the whole population, the ecstasy and joy, yet there is
nothing specific of the Ghost dance about it. The prophecy was not that of the
return of the old life and the coming of the dead. Unfortunately other details
are lacking, e.g., the form of the dance, prescription of conduct, etc.

THE SMOHALLAH CULT

We have several times referred to descriptions of earlier religious practices
as pertaining to the Smohallah cult. This seems to have been prevalent among
the Wishram as a substitute for their ancient forms, or rather, as a modification
of them. The Smohallah cult still flourishes on the Yakima Reservation in the
form of the Pom-pom or Feather religion. It still has its adherents among the
handful of Wishram and Wasco* but many of them, perhaps the majority, are
converts to Methodism and that pseudo-Christian sect of the Pacific Northwest,
the Shakers.

The difficulty in assigning what follows definitely to the Smohallah cult
is that one of us (Spier) believes that the historic cults, Smohallah, Pompom,
Shakers, and the two Ghost Dance movements, were merely so many special ex-
pressions; of an old form of revelatory religion that prevailed in this general area.
Much of what follows indicates a recurring pattern of behavior, the specific in-
stances of which cannot be easily assigned to one or another of the historic cults.
For convenience of reference only we present the whole as pertaining to the

158 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 207.

159 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 229-231.

252 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

earlier historic cult of this region, that of Smohallah. We will reserve discussion
of this point to another place.100

"They worshipped the sun chiefly; sometimes they spoke of the moon and
stars in this connection.101 In their prayers they mentioned the sun more fre-
quently. The one who prayed stood up in the center of the house, their church.
(This church was made with wall and roof covering of tule mats. It was gen-
erally very long, about forty to fifty feet, and four or five paces wide.) He or
she would speak in a very low tone while another person beside him would repeat
the words louder. As soon as he was finished the drums were beaten. There
were usually five drums in use. The drummers were at one end of the church.
A row of women down one side and a row of men down the other danced face to
face. They danced in place, hopping up and down, with their extended right
hands holding an eagle tail feather. [In an account by Mrs. Teio, the dancers
held their arms flexed, swinging their hands back and forth before their chests].

"The church costumes were decorated with eagle feathers and yellow paint.
Their faces were painted various colors. The wings of eagles and other large
birds were used as fans when it was warm. [The lower ends of these were buck-
skin-covered].

"The one who preached was a person who had died and come to life again.
On this account the Indians never buried sooner than five days and nights, since
many of them came to life again. He told what he saw in the other country, as
they called it. Some saw the same things and people there ; others saw different
things. This religion was strongly believed in and is to this day by the older In-
dians. They knew there was another place to go after death in this world."

The following account of his experience was told by Charley. He is one
of the preachers of this religion, having "died" some fifty years ago (i.e., about
1855-60).

"What I saw, how I felt just before my last breath, was similar to what my
people saw [me do?]. I was dead three days. Just before I died I saw my
mother who had died some years before. She was high up in the air. After I
died I saw a beautiful country, with grass knee high and as green as green can
be, no brush nor any kind of stick. I walked along until I finally saw some bushes.
Reaching these I saw a person standing at the edge of it. I saw these were
huckleberry bushes with nice green berries on them. I thought at once that I
must pick one and try it. This person said : 'No ; you must not pick any of these
berries.' He was standing right in the pathway. He stepped aside and told me
to go on, warning me not to put my fingers on the berries. I heeded and went
along.

"After a while I came to a place where there were many green fir trees, cedar,
and other timber. I saw a person standing there, also in the pathway. Oh, how
nice the trees looked. I thought I would take a small limb of one, but before I
did, or spoke, this person repeated what the other had said. He gave way to

16,0 See also Spier, The Ghost Dance of 1870.
161 This narrative is that of Pete McGuff.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 253

me and I went on, finding at the next place, creeks full of small and large fish ;
at the following places, deer, elk, places with beautiful birds, places with all kinds
of roots Indians use as food. At each place was a person in a cave, dressed in
deer and elkskin clothing decorated with eagle feathers and painted with yellow
paint.

"I finally reached a place where people were dancing, but I was stopped be-
fore getting very close. I saw people whom I knew had died years before and
my relatives. But no one would speak to me. I tried my best to talk to my dear
mother but she would not even look at me.

"I learned the songs they sang and the way they performed. Then I was
told by one of the persons that I must do likewise, that I must teach my people
this before I would be allowed with them and my mother. 'We will send you
back ; you are wicked.' After talking to me a little, he turned me around to the
right.

"I woke from death and since then have done as I was told. I will never
forget that I have a place to go after my death where I can find my people. I did
not see a white person nor any but Indians. Preachers of older days never saw
any either. They believed, and I too believe, that white men do not go to the
place we Indians go. I tell this to my people in my preaching; that there is an-
other place to which a white man goes. He goes up all right, but must be to an-
other part."

Mrs. Teio gave the following account, when asked if she knew of Smohallah :

"My uncle, Dick Benson, died. He was a [reservation] policeman. He was
wicked; he left his wife for another woman. They laid him out when he died.
Some boys drummed and prayed for him. Smoke came out of his body. They
told him he would have to return to earth because he had drunk, gambled, etc.
'You will have to go back and pray every day ; then you can get through.' He lay
dead all day, but he came back to life. He confessed and told his people not to
gamble, nor drink, nor to steal lovers. 'You have to be of proper mind to go
through when you die.' All his children heeded him for a while. He lived
through the year until the next spring when he died. This was when I was a
little girl [circa 1860-65].

"Smohallah lived near Toppenish later. [She spoke as though Benson was
Smohallah, but later denied that Smohallah was a man]. He said: 'Early in the
morning clean yourselves and your houses, and then cook.' Our religion [Shak-
er] tells the same thing.

"Some people of the Smohallah religion live at Nixlu'idix [Spedis] now.
They drum and pray on Saturday evening and Sunday morning ; praying to pre-
pare for the return of the dead. [Not clear; she seemed to mean that the dead
might return in the manner of Benson and tell how to lead the good life "to go
through" on the Judgment Day]. There is a long house there which they use
as a church. Everyone belonged to this religion when I was a girl. They always
used bells and drums at their meetings.

"Smohallah dreamed. Some other started the religion when some one died

254 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

like my uncle [not clear]." On the other hand she insisted later that Smohallah
was not a man's name, but the name of the cult.

She had never heard of Wowoka and his Ghost dance doctrine, nor of that
of the Ghost dance of 1870, although she had seen the Northern Paiute who were
brought to the Yakima Reservation about 1875. She knew nothing of the doctrine
of the restoration of the old life and the extinction of the whites.

THE INDIVIDUAL

INFANCY

There were certain omens connected with birth. They said that when a
child was born it might rain, or blow, or be very hot ; the weather was unusual,
and it was because of the birth that it was a bad day (Mrs. Teio). McGuff's
manner of stating this suggests either that the state of weather depended on
whether the birth was easy or hard, or that good weather was a favorable sign,
a storm or an extreme temperature the reverse. A rainbow was similarly a sign
of a birth, the child being born at the point where the arc begins. A double rain-
bow signified that two were born at the same time, or that someone had given
birth to twins. This belief was shared by the Wasco, Cascades, and Clackamas.

The cradle-board was not made before the birth ; in fact, they waited per-
haps five days. It was then made by some old person; an old woman for a girl,
an old man for a boy. These were people possessed of some shamanistic power;
at least they had as guardian spirits the dog or coyote. Such guardian spirits
could understand the language of babies. They maintain that a dog, a coyote,
and an infant can understand each other, but the baby loses his language when
he grows old enough to speak and understand the tongue of his parents.

A cradle was used until the child was weaned, that is, for one or even two
years. The child was accustomed to sleep in it, and spent most of its time on
the board, hence it was not abandoned early. When one child had outgrown its
use, it was kept for another of the family. But if the baby died they would dis-
pose of it in some distant place. Babies were not buried with the cradle but placed
in the charnel house on an island in the river.

The cradle was a wooden board, rectangular but tapering markedly to the
lower end. The corners of the upper end were so deeply notched or cut away as
to leave a trapezoidal handle protruding from the middle of this end. The cradle-
board was of cedar or fir. A hoop of rosewood, as thick as one's thumb, rose
high over the child's face. Each end of this was firmly bound to a side of the
board. One or two cords to the handle, two others to the base, kept it upright. A
square board was sometimes set upright above the child's head, fastened trans-
versely to the board. A pair of holes was drilled at each side, above the place
where the head rested, to take the ends of a packstrap. A strip of cloth (buck-
skin?) was fastened along each of the longitudinal sides of the board so as to
cushion them. A series of holes down each of these sides bore a series of loops
through which went the thongs by which the baby was lashed in. A soft pad
was fastened to holes drilled for the purpose, to provide a pillow for the head;
the feet rested on a similar pad. A soft bed was provided on the board, the baby
covered by a decorated buckskin, and lashed fast (Fig. 8).

Frontal flattening was accomplished by placing a cloth on the forehead, then
a soft pad as big as the hand ; then a broad band bound the whole to the board
(probably to holes in it). McGuff stated that a strip of buckskin about four

255

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University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

a b

Fig. 8. Cradles (a, from native sketch; b, from specimen seen in the field and said to
resemble a Wishram cradle).

inches wide was folded into a square, four by four inches. This was placed on
the forehead of the securely laced baby, then another piece of buckskin was
strapped over the head. As the child grew, the flattening device was tightened.
Only certain persons could be entrusted with this task ; not every mother could
undertake it, for she might lace it so tightly as to kill the child. The flattener
was not put in place until the baby was two or three weeks old, and was con-
tinued in use for eight or ten months.

Lewis and Clark observed that both sexes had flattened heads. "They also
flatten the heads of the children in nearly the same manner [as the Sahaptins and
Flathead], but we now [on the down-river journey] begin to observe that the
heads of the males, as well as of the other sex, are subjected to this operation,
whereas among the mountains the custom has confined it almost to the females."162

Frontal flattening was orthodox and preferable to a normal head. Every-
one had it: "they did not like to see round heads." "If its head should not have
a flattened forehead, it would be laughed at."103 Slaves lacked flattened heads,
by which may have been implied either that it was forbidden to slave children,
or what is more probable, that adult slaves, largely derived from southwestern
Oregon and northeastern California, did not have deformed heads. (A flattened
forehead was called llxapa'ka, a natural one llmigakstu'k).

CHILDHOOD

The impression derived from the attitude of parents as exemplified on oc-
casions for rejoicing is that family sentiment was strong among the Wishram.

162 Hosmer, II, 47.

163 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 177. Sapir understood that the flattener was a piece of hard
wood or skin made to fit the child's forehead. The use of wood is doubtful.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 257

There were not only proud celebrations over the child's little successes, over
turning points in later life, but there was considerable serious instruction of the
child, more or less formal, on how to conduct himself for a full life. Since
much of subsequent success was laid to the acquisition of power from a proper
guardian spirit, the boy or girl was rigidly instructed and guided in obtaining it.
This has been discussed above. We indicate here a few other items.

The old people told boys who wanted to be strong to run up the neighboring
high hills without pausing to rest. This would train them to follow the hunt
without tiring. Girls were set the same task so that they would be active and
strong.

A long while ago, when I was a boy, the old men would tell myths in winter. Now
there I was listening to them. I would be told : "If you fall asleep before it is finished,
straightway you will have to go and bathe. If you do not fall asleep, you will not go and
bathe." Now I was fond of myths when I was a boy, so I would be satisfied with the
things that I was told and would listen to them. If I fell asleep too early, (when) it was
all finished, they would wake me up. An old man would say to me: "Go in bathing!" I
would try to refuse, but in vain, so I just had to go. I was undressed entirely naked where
he knew there was lots of ice or also where; it was pressed together tight.

He would give me an ax for chopping up the ice. He would say to me : "You will
chop right through it, you will dive under water, you will stick your head out, you will
turn around, you will look to the rising sun, you will cry out 'wa!', you will shout. You
will duck down under water, you will stick your head out, you will look across this way
(i.e., north), straightway you will again shout 'wa!' You will duck down under water, you
will stick your head out, again you will shout as before, you will look across yonder (i.e.,
south). You will duck down under water, you will stick your head out, you will look to
the setting sun, you will shout 'wa!' You will duck down under water for the fifth time,
you will stick your head out, you will look up to the sky. Then enough ; you will return
home."

Now when I came home, a fire was already burning. On the ends of my head-hair
icicles were dangling. I would be told : "Don't be looking at the fire ; turn away from it,
present your buttocks to the fire. It will quickly blow at you and make you grow quickly."
That is how I was done to in order not to be sick and in order to be strong, or just so,
in order to prepare one for a guardian spirit. And indeed ever since I was a child I have
never been sick; I have always been strong. But not at all have I seen anything that they
call a guardian spirit, I do not know what it is like. Sometimes, although there is no ice
in the river, it is present in a canoe or a boat ; in that same water I would bathe myself.
In winter the water of a boat or canoe always freezes, which is just a little bit cool.164

We have recorded an incomplete statement that the (horned?) owl (ikau'hau)
"scares children." It is probable that what was implied was the common custom
of elders among the western Indians to threaten to invoke the owl to discipline
unruly children.

A mask was used to frighten children. This was of cedar; an ugly face,
with big eyes and ears, which represented At !at !a'ha, one of the cannibal women.
She figures in the mythology as a stupid, child-stealing and -devouring woman, of
immense size, having a striped body like that of her own children; she has a
fondness for human flesh and feeds her children snakes, frogs, toads, and the
like. "No one today can give an exact description, nor did anyone ever see her."
Owl is her husband, which perhaps explains his function as a bugaboo. This
cannibal-woman concept has a wide distribution through the northwest. The
Wasco conception of her was identical with that of the Wishram.16 This is the
only use of a mask known to the Wishram.

164 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 189, 191.

165 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 35-39, 165-173, 274-286.

258 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

NAMES

Without doubt the greatest event in a Wishram's life, and certainly the most
•ressive ceremonial of the ordinary individual, was the bestowal of his name.
A child was first named when he was from six or eight months to two years old ;
he might receive a substitute when adolescent, and perhaps again as an adult,
during a shamanistic dance. Occasion arose to change the name again on the
death of a relative, when there was less ceremony or perhaps none at all.

There was a marked objection to telling names, one's own or another's.
Names did not have meaning and were different for each sex. The observances
with respect to names were strictly adhered to.

A name was always that of a dead elderly relative ; there was no exception
to this. No two people within the tribe bore the same name, although it might
occur among another Upper Chinookan people. When a man died his name
was not uttered again for five years. Some close relative was then given it, a
son or grandson, e.g. For instance, Ta'xcani died ; after five years his son would
call all the people of the neighborhood to a big feast, giving away many presents,
and paying an important man well for then calling him by his father's name.
The Klickitat observe the same custom, "using the name again after five days
or five years" (sic).

It is easy to understand then why names have no meanings. If names have
been handed down from generation to generation, there must have been only a
limited number in use and in that sense great stability. But if archaic forms
were preserved and in addition suffered phonetic attrition, it is possible that they
should become in time meaningless, provided they ever had any meaning. The
only counter tendency would be that of reading meanings into them, which is
certainly not the habit today.

Children were not named in earliest infancy; parents waited until they
showed they would survive. This was variously put at six or eight months, a
year, two years. Wishram and Klickitat both followed the same custom. The
idea was that a child named when still very small might die, when the name
would have to remain unused for another five years. They would rather wait
and be certain before giving it a name.

The name might be changed at any time in later life when a relative died.
This was done out of deference to the feelings of the parent of the one whose
name was changed ; he might feel sad to hear his child called by the name the
dead person had used for him. McGuff specified that the change was made
when a parent or brother or sister died. (It is significant that the change was
not made on the death of one's own child, implying that children never called
their parents by name.) Sometimes all the names of a family were changed in
this fashion. Members of the family did not like to use a name which had been
used by the deceased. That would be looked on as mocking the dead.

The naming ceremony was quite impressive. A feast was prepared, and
relatives and friends even of other tribes were invited. Very valuable gifts were
made to the spectators, so that the person would be widely known by this name.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 259

The one who was to be named was dressed in a costly costume and stood between
two others in the midst of the gathering. The one on his left began in a low
voice: "This is now so and so." The one on his right repeated this in a loud
voice, the people answering loudly: "axi." The name given was that of some
relative who died long before ; probably some of the younger people had never
known or even heard of this person. Then again the one on the left said in a
low tone : "This name used to be so-and-so who died long ago." The one on
the right repeated these words in a loud voice and again the spectators answered :
"axi." Now the one on the left said in a low tone : "We want the mountains,
the rivers, the creeks, the bluffs, the timber to know that this man or woman
is now named so and so." He on the right repeated this in a very loud voice,
the spectators responding: "axi." The left said again: "We want to let the
fishes, the birds, the winds, snow and rain, the sun, moon, and stars know that
so and so has become as though alive again. His name will be heard again when
this man is called." The right repeated as usual, the people answering: "axi."
This was the last announcement. Anyone among those present who was ever
acquainted with the former bearer of the name could now come forward and
ask for whatever he wished. He said : "I am glad to meet so and so again after
being so long lost [dead]. I am glad this name has come to be spoken again;
so I want so and so to give me this and that." It was invariably given him.

The sentiment behind the rebestowal of the name was avowedly that the dead
becomes alive again.

The following description of the naming ceremonial is blended of two other
accounts. It does not differ except in details. When a child was to be named,
his parents invited guests and prepared for them. An old man would rise and
address the gathering. He repeatedly lifted a nicely tanned elkskin and pro-
nounced the name. "You used to call him by that name when you met him on
the road. Today he is going to leave that name. Today he [the child] will be
called by his grandfather's name, so and so. You will know it when you meet
him, and you will call him by that name." He would then cut the skin into
pieces sizeable for moccasins and give one to each man. Another man rose :
"All you who are gathered here in this house ! A long time ago there was so
and so: he is going to be with us again. We will give this name to the child."
They gave him a blanket. A second man: "My nephew (or whatever), so and
so, bring me a saddled horse." So they bring it to him. Another rose : "He
was [is?] going to give me a horse, that name [man?]. The parents would
say : "Yes, we give you that horse ; he is going to be with us again." A woman
might rise to say : "So and so, bring me a blanket," and they would give it to
her. They gave away many valuables to their friends and relatives on behalf
of the boy or girl.

A "high-sounding," apparently titular prefix, Sapa — - or Sipa — meaning big,
great, sir, was sometimes used with the names of mythological characters. It
may have had current use.166

The importance attached to names, which were almost titles, and the desire

1,68 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 134, 66.

260

University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

to have them widely known is distinctly reminiscent of the Northwest Coast
proper.

The following list of names was obtained. Data on the age of the person
and the earlier relative who bore the name were obtained for some.

MALES

k loto'mc, young.

tco'palai, young, his maternal grand-
uncle's name.

to'mxot, young.

taniwa'ce, middle aged ; named for
his father, a shaman who was
killed.

ka'la'mEk, old.

spidi's, old.167

ta'xcani, old.

pa'pkEs, young ( ?) ; said to be that
of a former Wishram chief.

mE'nait, old ; the common name of
the same man in later life.108

ba'laxwoc

ckh'lpam

dagi'ucac

klie'lx (or k!i'yElx)

kxala'mak

Lxoa'likEn

lala'qxam

saxa'll

sila'tsi

snE'niwa

tamsa'wit

ta'mxat

txa'uaxca

wacta'tci

wai'sata

wa'lauis

xa'tc lEmtc !Em

xE'milk

xi'muc

FEMALES

tanitcespam, little girl ; named for her
maternal grandmother, an Upper
Chinook from below Hood River.

k Iwu'naiat, young.

tauwai'ipam, young; said to sound like
a Klickitat name; her grandmother
was one.

alika'l, middle aged.

diimiau'ox, old.

k lesu'sni, old.

texau'wac, old.

xai'adwisa, old.

ba'cacpa

cagi'hvot

cli'cli

gacno'gwox

kesa'mis

kiai'toni

k !u'ltcaiEt

ni'sapam

qxisamis

sabiau'xs (or sa'biax)

sa'iamElut

sa'uyapam

si'lamgas

tsa'itxo

tso'sigans

tu'malEC

wagu'miac

wai'yapic

xinwat

ya'utani

yayau WEn

The following men's names are those of other tribes: Wasco, gu'tcta,
weditc, wilu,169 Cascades, sa'ianuxEn; Klickitat, xatama'L !ki.

167 Spedis, Washington, the site of the Wishram village, is named for him.

168 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 224.

169 Curtin, in Sapir, Wishram Texts, 284.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 261

EAR PIERCING

A celebration of much the same order took place when a child was to have
its ear lobes pierced to carry ornaments. This was done for children of both
sexes, when only a few years old. No piercing was done in later life. (It is
interesting as an example of conservatism to note that little girls' ears are still
pierced, but the practise has been given up for boys, except among the "wild"
Indians on the Yakima Reservation.)

People gathered in the house at the invitation of the child's paternal grand-
father, e.g.170 He said : "Do you all now come ! Now my son has a child, a
little baby, and the ears of my son's child will have holes pierced into them."
A little food was prepared of which all ate. The piercing was done by an old
man or woman, a relative or friend who was adept at it. A tanned elkskin was
spread out on which the child was placed. Then the lobes and peripheries were
pierced two, three, or four times, for the number gave prestige. Sapir's in-
formant said five to each ear (five is the Wishram pattern number). Our
informant did not know what was anciently used for piercing. A loop of deer-
sinew was inserted to keep the hole open ; it was frequently anointed with deer
tallow to keep it soft. The elkskin was then cut into pieces large enough for
a pair of moccasins, which were distributed as gifts, as in the naming cere-
monial. Various other gifts were made to old people at this time : small baskets,
horsehair rope, twined bags, were specified. Those who pierced the ears, and
those who held them, received a larger share. They sang and danced on this
occasion ; danced individually, or in twos or threes, men and women together.

"Now the boy or the girl has become good If it did not have its ears

pierced, it would be laughed at." An elderly woman informant had three holes
in each ear, two in the lobe and one somewhat higher.

FEASTS OF REJOICING

The giving of a first name and the piercing of ears in childhood were only
the first of a series of rejoicings over turning points in the child's career. The
next landmarks that followed were the first products of the child's labors, and
for girls, maturity. In fact, the same pattern of behavior continued throughout
life. We have seen how adults were newly named on the death of a relative.
The same sort of rejoicing and public recognition took place, for example, when
a man recovered from a serious illness. Its form was always the same, a feast
and valuables given to the assembled guests. Perhaps the most striking thing
about these celebrations is the love and concern over the child's successes which
the parents displayed.

When a little girl was big enough to pick enough huckleberries to make a
iuna'yExix (a huckleberry-load; a package of dried huckleberries of standard
measure), the old women were called, and it was given to them. This gave her
good luck in picking berries and made her a rapid picker.

1710 This account is a combination of other note's with that given by Sapir (Wishram
Texts, 177).

262 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

My mother did this for me [Mrs. Teio] whenever I did something. When I was
seven or eight years old, I picked berries, which she dried. She called the old people and
gave them a feast. She did the same when I was nine ; I picked more then.

Last year a little girl about four years old dug a quart of wild onions. They cooked
them. They had a feast and gave away blankets and cloth. I got a skirt. Perhaps this
year she will dig something, a little more.

When a boy catches his first salmon, and again when he kills his first deer
or bear, they had a similar celebration. All the older people of the village were
invited by the boy's parents. The fish was roasted on sticks, and on this the
old men feasted. Other edibles were furnished by the parents. After the feast
the old people, especially the men, were the recipients of gifts; blankets, shawls,
etc. This gave the youngster success in catching more.

The girls' puberty celebration was essentially of the same kind. At first
menstruation the girl was secluded in a little house apart for five days. A dance
was given by her parents during the five nights. At the expiration of the time
she was brought among them decorated with bead necklaces, which, with other
gifts, were distributed among the guests. The celebration was held because her
parents rejoiced that she was now a woman and ready to accept offers of
marriage. Possibly she could wear bead necklaces only from this time forward
as an indication that she was now mature.

Women were not secluded nor was their daily life interrupted in any way
at their courses, save on this first occasion.

Sometimes a man would prepare a salmon feast after the fashion of the
first salmon rite in order to make the old people happy. Everyone would come
to his feast.

KINSHIP TERMS

Lists of terms were obtained independently by us.171 In the combined list
that follows the form given is in the third person, except in the case of parents
where alone the first and second forms differ from the third. The vocative
forms are given parenthetically. Bracketed forms are alternatives.

ilxt la'max (masc), alxt la'max "all progenitors from the fourth genera-

tion back, i.e., beginning with one's
great-grandparents."172

itc lu'mox173 any great-grandparent (probably a first

person form).

itca-kla'cuc (k!a'cuc) her paternal grandfather.

ia-ga'k !uc, ia-ti'lec174 (ga'kluc, ti'lec,174 ti'la174 his maternal grandfather

aya-k !i'c (k!ic) his paternal grandmother.

aya-cki'x (ckix) his maternal grandmother.

wi'-am his father (wi'n-amc, first person;

wi'm-am, second person).

171 Some of these terms have been published by Sapir, Terms of Relationship and the
Levirate, 329.

172 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 169.

173 Forms obtained by Spier alone.

174 Sahaptin in origin.

i'a-mut

(a'mut)

iatE'm

(al'm)

aya'-lak

(a'iak)

aya-Gu'tx

(aGu'tx, aqxo

ia'-lxt

(a'pu, Ga'pu)

waya'-lxt

(alxt)

io'u-xix

(a'wi)

aya'u-txix

(a'tci)

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 263

wa'y-aq (a'qxo) his mother (wa'n-aqc, first person;

wa'm-aq, second person),
his paternal uncle, step-father,
his maternal uncle,
his paternal aunt, father's brother's
wife (?).173
(aGu'tx, aqxo'da) his maternal aunt, step-mother, mother's

brother's wife (?).173

his elder brother,
his elder sister,
his younger brother,
his younger sister.

All cousins (both parallel and cross) as well as step-brothers and -sisters
are called by these four terms.

ia'-xan (a'cwa) his son.

aya'-xan (a'ca) his daughter,

ia'-qxoq, id-ia'-qxoq his children.

ia'-wElx \ his brother's son.

aya'-wElx f ..... his brother's daughter.

■; / i > (qxe'wElx) *

itca -weIx I her sister s son.

aga'-wElx ' her sister's daughter.

ia-la'txan | . _« , his sister's son.

aya-la'txan ( *' his sister's daughter.

itca'-tkiu her brother's son.

aga'-tkiu her brother's daughter.

These nepotic terms are also applied to the children of parallel- and cross-
cousins.

ia'-qcEn } , , . his son's son.

? \ (Gacu) , . , , , ,

aya -qcEn j his son s daughter.

ia-ga'kan, ia-ti'la17* \ his daughter's son, his sister's daughter's

I (ga'gu, ti'la)174 son.173
aya-ga'kan, aya-ti'la174 ) his daughter's daughter.

itca'-gian | ( ' \ her sons SOn'

aga'-gian ( ^ga ^ her son's daughter, her brother's son's

daughter.173

264 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

nca'-tkEn

(da'ga)

asra'-tkEn

her daughter's son, her sister's daugh-
ter's son.173
her daughter's daughter.

These terms presumably apply to the remaining grandchildren of siblings as
well and probably to those of parallel- and cross-cousins.

itca'-gikal
aya'-gikal

ia'-qci'x

itca'-qcix

aya'-gcix

itca'-cti
aga'-cti
aya'-cti

itckwo'kein173
akkwo'kein173
itc-qix
aga'-tum

itca-pu'tcxan "i
aya-pu'tcxan \

itcanu'mdatx173

aganii'mdatx173

(qxigi'kal)

(iqci'x)

(icti', icti'u)

(iqi^x)
(qxi'tum)

(qxipu'tcxan)

ia-cu'x (plural il-cu'xtikc
il-qxo'qcn-ana, il-qxo'qma-na

i'-plqau
a'-plqau
itie'-luq lEmax
ilga'-luq lEmax
wi'-limx
wa'-limx

her husband,
his wife.

his father-in-law, his son-in-law.
her son-in-law.
his mother-in-law.

her father-in-law.

her mother-in-law, her daughter-in-law.

his daughter-in-law.

son- or daughter-in-law's father,
son- or daughter-in-law's mother,
his brother-in-law.175
her sister-in-law.175

her brother-in-law.175
his sister-in-law.173

granddaughter's or great-granddaughter's

husband,
grandson's or great-grandson's wife,

daughter's daughter's daughter's

son's wife,
his relative,
relatives by marriage (not thus related

to the husband of a newly married

girl but to his blood relatives),
widower,
widower,
divorced man.
divorced woman,
remarried man.
remarried woman.

"It is customary in Wishram, when apostrophizing a relative, as in mourn-
ing, to use both the non-pronominal vocative and the first person singular pos-
sessive form of the noun (as if one were to say in English: 'Papa, my father!')."

175 Each of these four terms applies to the two possible relationships, e.g., "his brother-
in-law" means both "his sister's husband" and "his wife's brother."

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 265

Thus, a'ca wagl'xan, "my daughter!" and ga'iya witcigl'yEn, "grandson, my
grandson !"176

In all these terms the sex of the speaker makes no difference in the stem
used, unless noted otherwise. There is, of course, the inevitable sex-prefix of
Chinook words. Thus, there are no separate terms for the brother, e.g., of a
man and of a woman.

While it is not obvious, the grandparental and grandchild terms are verbally
reciprocal as well as conceptually so.

The system as a whole is relatively simple. Parallel and cross-cousins are
equated to the siblings and their descendants termed like those of siblings. Avun-
cular relatives on the two sides of the family are kept separate and differentiated
by sex as well. The nepotic relationships are not correlated with these. Among
them there is one term for the child of a sibling of like sex with the speaker,
separate terms for the child of a sibling of unlike sex. At greater remove from
the speaker, there are four classes of grandparent, conceptually and verbally
reciprocal with four kinds of grandchildren. In this classification the primary
distinction is based on the sex of the connecting relative. One impressive feature
of the whole system is that the sex of the speaker does not figure.177

From the fact that there is a coincidence of terms for paternal uncle and step-
father, maternal aunt and step-mother, step-child and a man's brother's or a
woman's sister's child, Sapir has argued for the influence of the levirate in estab-
lishing these terms.178 But if, as Spier's additional datai given here indicate, the
step-mother is also equated with mother's brother's wife (not father's brother's
wife), the force of this is considerably lessened. The paternal aunt is also
probably equated to father's brother's wife. As the data stand then the spouses
of the uncles are equated to their respective sisters. It may be maintained that
this is conceptually, hence historically, distinct from the equation of step-parents
with the avuncular relatives, but we cannot say which is the primary usage.

The following brief list of Wasco kinship terms was obtained :1T9

k la'kos

paternal grandfather.

wi'namc

father.

wa'naks

mother.

etcstsumt

father's brother.

etclum

mother's brother.

axxak

father's sister.

icu'i

elder brother, cousin.

Ico'xix

younger brother, cousin.

wagul

elder sister.

gu'dxix

younger sister.

yoxhan

son.

eiyoxhan

daughter (axhan, my daughter)

176 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 158, 94.

177 For the relation of this to other systems, see Spier, The/ Distribution of Kinship
Systems, 76.

178 Sapir, Terms of Relationship and the Leinrate, 328.

179 By Dr. Erna Gunther from Frank Gunyer.

266 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

etckeo [her?] brother's son.

aktkeo [her?] brother's daughter.

icqikal my husband.

axqwikal my wife.

col brother-in-law.

axtu'm my sister-in-law.

axllkaw" my [ ?] widow.

All of these terms are recognizable in the Wishram list except Icu'l, elder
brother and cousin, and col, brother-in-law.

A term, itcta'ta. for "my maternal uncle," recorded by Boas among the
Chinook proper,180 was employed among the Wasco by little children to mean
"my brother."

GAMES

Shinny was played only in the spring. A pole was set up at each end of
the playing field as a goal. The ball was laid in a hole at the center of the
field, whence two opposing players struck it out. The side which gets the ball
past the other's post wins. This game was played by men only, perhaps five on
a side. The ball could not be touched with the hands. The shinny stick was
crooked ; the ball was made of oak (?) root. Stakes might be anything.

Double-ball shinny was, as usual, a woman's game. The goals were as for
shinny, but the "ball" was not set in a hole. This ball was made by joining
two billets of heavy hard wood by a strong buckskin thong, a foot long. Each
billet was about nine inches long, an inch or more in diameter, provided at the
middle with a groove in which the thong was tied. The striking sticks were
straight, four feet long, slightly pointed. The "ball" was thrown toward the
opponent's goal with the point of the stick ; it could not be touched with the
hands.

Hoop and pole was played by men and boys only ; any number played.
The hoop was a ring of willow or other wood, eighteen inches in diameter; the
stick somewhat thicker than the thumb. It was not netted. The pole was
unusually small, only four feet long and hardly thicker than the hoop. It was not
marked nor decorated in an)' way. Any smooth spot was used as a playing
ground. The stereotyped method of throwing the hoop was to hold it vertically
in front of the shoulder and to throw it down to roll along the ground. The
poles were then hurled after it. The winning throw was one in which the pole
pierced the hoop, so that they fell lying together in this fashion.

The only bow and arrow game recorded was that of shooting at marks
made of bundles of weeds about eight inches long.

Foot-races were indulged in by men, boys, and girls. They raced both to a
distant point, or to it and returned.

Any contest designed to test physical power or endurance was called
'waqi'lukck. The one who stood the most pain won the game.181

180 Boas, Vocabulary of the Chinook Language, 135.
381 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 84.

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 267

Anyone might toy with the ring and pin game, children too, solely for
amusement. The device consisted of a bundle of cattail-down, bound into a
cylinder as long as the finger and about an inch in diameter. A short cord
fastened to one end attached it to the bone (?) pin on which it was caught.
We could not learn with certainty whether the bundle was swung toward or
from the body, probably the latter.182

The dice game was feminine; men never played it. It may have been
played only in winter and spring. The (deer?) bone dice were four in number;
seven inches long, a half inch wide, flat on one side, slightly convex on other,
somewhat pointed at the ends. These were marked in pairs on their convex
faces; two called "men" (ika'luxc) had a line of crosses along the face, those
called "women" (inu'mkckc) were marked with two longitudinal lines of dots,
crossing which were transverse lines. Not all women owned nicely marked
dice. These were thrown from the hands. If two of a kind fell face up, "men"
or "women," the thrower won a point ; with any other throw the dice passed
to an opponent. It is probable that sticks were used to mark the points won,
but the informant did not know how many there were, nor their use.

The hand game183 was formerly played by men alone ; now men and women.
Any number of individuals could play. Seated on the ground, each of the parties
had a plank laid before them on which to beat with short sticks (eighteen inches
long) while they sang. Four gambling bones were used. These were made
of the shin bone of a deer, as long as a finger and three-quarters of an inch in
diameter. Two of these, called "men," were marked with a piece of buckskin
tied around a groove at the middle ; the two called "women" were unmarked.
Sticks serving as markers were stuck into the ground between the parties ; our
informant did not know how many.

Fig. 9. Gambling bones for the hand game ; a, set used by men ; b, set used by women
(redrawn from a native sketch).

The leader of each side sat in the middle of his row. He rolled all four
bones in his hands, then passed one "man" and one "woman" to one man on
each side of him, always an assorted pair. These hid them one in each hand,
swinging their hands to and fro across in front of their bodies. The object
of their opponents was to guess in which hand the "men" were hidden. (McGuff

182 Airs. Teio did not know whether juggling was in vogue.

183 Ordway of the Lewis and Clark party observed the game in 1806 (Quaife, Journals,
344).

J<»S University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

states the unmarked pair were guessed for.) The leader of the opponents sat
still, watching. He announces his guess by hand movements. If he chose both
outside hands (that is, the right hand of the man on his left and the left hand
of the man on his right) he moved his hand across in front of him with thumb
and forefinger extended. If he chose one inside and one outside hand, he
drew his hand across with only the forefinger extended. If he chose both
inside hands, he moved his open hand edgewise downward as though between
them. To show how they were hidden, the hider then held high his hands
palms forward.

If he correctly guessed the way in which one of the hiders held them, his
side took that pair of bones. Then he guessed again for the other pair. If he
missed on the second guess, his pair returned to their former owners. We do
not know how the markers were used, but suggest that7" one was drawn from
the pile by the hiders when their opponents guessed incorrectly.

Riddles were unknown.

Children slid down some slippery rocks at Nixlu'idix, the village at Spedis.
One, known as watst'a'loxlux, to slide, was a long slippery rock resting obliquely
against another. They sometimes quarreled over this sport.

SWEATING

The sweatlodge was the small hemispherical affair containing heated stones
common on the western plateaus. The ordinary lodge was three to four feet
in diameter, three and a half feet high. Others large enough to admit five or
six people were broader, but no higher. The frame was made of willow poles
stuck into the ground about a foot apart in a circle. No specified number was
used, as among the Blackfoot. These poles were then bent down and tied together
at the top ; there were no horizontal ribs. The frame was covered, probably with
mats, over which dirt was heaped ; nowadays blankets are used. A doorway
was left, which was closed with a blanket. They carpeted the floor with sweet
smelling fir boughs.

Stones were heated on a crib of sticks outside and carried in to a hole, some
eighteen inches across, just inside the entrance, either to the right or left. Water
was sprinkled on the hot stones to create steam.

It was customary to go into the lodge to sweat five times, by which time
the stones had grown cold. There was no esoteric significance attached to the
number; it was merely customary. They were enjoined to keep their eyes
closed, else they would become red around the rims. "Those who did not have
strong minds would get scared and run out." On coming out of the lodge it
was customary to sit about to cool off before plunging into a nearby stream.

Formerly men and women made use of separate sweatlodges, or more prob-
ably went in at different times ; nowadays a man and his wife will go in together.

Sweating was for several purposes. Hunters always sweated in the morning
before starting out, in order to rid themselves of their body odor. In spring
when the trees on the mountains were freshly green and scented, they carried
the leaves and green bark, especially of the fir, into the lodge so that they would

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography 269

acquire this fragrance. It was usual to sweat first to cleanse oneself, then bring
in the fresh leaves for their pungent odor.

Sweating was also indulged in to acquire good luck ; it was so used by
fishermen, trappers, gamblers, and lovers. An old man would be hired to go
into the lodge with the sweater; he took his position near the heated rocks. He
was one who knew how to talk to the sweatlodge, asking it to help his employer
and to give him luck in marrying the woman of his desire, e.g. In the same way
a woman would hire some old woman to plead for her.

Mourners and those who touched a corpse had to purify themselves by
sweat-bathing. The mourner began to sweat five days after the death, going
into the lodge once a day for each of the five succeeding days. This was so
that they would not contaminate the things they touched, giving bad luck to
others.

A sickly person would also go into a sweatlodge in order to recover his
strength. There was also a pothole (?) at the river near Lyle, said to have
been made by Coyote. Heated stones were put into this and it was filled with
water to provide a hot bath for sickly persons.

SMOKING

In earlier days only shamans and chiefs smoked ; common men would have
gotten "consumption" from its use. The shaman always inhaled fhe puffs
before beginning to cure in order to strengthen his spirit and to make it more
lively. One whose spirit was the rattlesnake would dry a snakeskin and mix it
with his tobacco. The pipe was also used at interludes in council meetings,
the chief who was host starting the pipe on its round, each chief present taking
a puff or two.

We are not certain that any of the three plants used were tobaccos. A plant
(iglai'nul), having a leaf like that of the turnip (and hence perhaps a tobacco),
was grown in spots where ash beds remained from burned logs. McGuff stated
that this seed or plant was gotten from the Hudson Bay Company. Yet the
practise of planting in ashes is aboriginal.184 Prior to this, Indians from the
east brought a smoking leaf which was bitter and strong. These Indians told
that this plant was scarce and grew only on the cliff faces, whence they procured
it by shooting it down with arrows. This sounds, of course, like a fiction to
enhance its value. The third plant (Hpatciu) was probably bearberry, the com-
mon kinikinnick of the northern latitudes. It was described as growing on the
mountains; a very low plant bearing red berries, the leaves lanceolate, an inch
long. The leaves were roasted before a fire until brown, when they were dried,
crushed, and mixed with tobacco.

The potency of these early tobaccos was said to have been much greater
than the commercial tobacco now in use. Four or five puffs made a pleasant
amount. Sometimes a smoker would take too much, rendering him unconscious
for as much as a half hour. Such heavy tobacco was ordinarily smoked only
at bed time.

184 Sapir, Notes on the Takelma, 259; Goddard, Life and Culture of the Hupa, 37.

270 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Tobacco was not chewed, as for example, with lime.

The pipe described was of the elbow type, fitted with a short wooden stem.
The bowl was of a fine grained local stone, blue-green to black in color. The
two arms of the L-shaped bowl were of about equal length, three inches, and
of the same diameter, that is, about an inch and a half. A little nubbin pro-
truded forward from the base of the bowl proper. The slender wooden stem
was about five inches long. Such pipes were made by the Wishram them-
selves.1*'5 Further up the Columbia straight tubular pipes were in use, probably
in the hands of the Sahaptin peoples at Celilo.

BURIAL CUSTOMS

When a man or woman died the body was kept for two or three days before
being carried to one of the burial houses. The mourners brought various valu-
ables for the deceased because he was liked. These were tied all over his
body: sea-fish bone beads, sea-shell beads, round glass beads, and strings of
Chinese cash. The body of a virgin was similarly decked in addition with cloth
and bracelets. The corpse, having been painted and dressed, was wrapped in
a tanned buckskin, placed on its back on a plank the width of the body, and
lashed there. Two men then carried it to the family burial house ; they were
not necessarily relatives and were paid a horse apiece for their sendees. Many
mourners followed. It was deposited with the row of corpses at the side of
the last one set in place. Sometimes the man's horse was taken there to be
killed. The gathering then dispersed, with further duties falling on members
of the family and those who had handled the corpse alone.

Mourning was continued for five or ten days. "If a man should die, the
people mourn. He is liked ; his heart was good to everybody. Ten days and
five days they mourn. Again, so also in case of a woman. Good was her heart
and, when looked at, good her appearance."180 Parents and other relatives cut
their hair short to the ears.

Those who handled the corpse and close surviving relatives had to purify
themselves by sweating. They began five days after the death, going into the
sweat-lodge once on each of the five succeeding days. Men and women used
separate lodges (or the men used it before the women) and during this time
they also ate apart. The sweating was to cleanse the mourner so that he could
handle things as others did, without causing bad luck. If a widow handled fresh
fish or game, the fisherman or hunter would have bad luck the rest of the year,
and should she eat fresh flesh, the game or fish were likely to disappear almost
entirely. Should a widow fail to purify herself, the fish would run deep and
the game be wild in the vicinity of the village, so that they would be difficult
to take. Nor could a widower, or the father of a dead baby, go near the fishing
stages until he had purified himself, else the fish run would cease.

Widow and widower had to keep up full mourning and remain unmarried
for five years, during that time never dressing the hair, for example. This
restriction applied as well to the survivor of an infant marriage even though it
never reached the stage where the couple lived together.

185 Klamath pipes of this general type are figured by Barrett, Material Culture of the
Klamath, pi. 22, figs. 8, 9.

186 Sapir, Wishram Texts, 179.

1930] Spier and Sapir, WishraM Ethnography 271

The funeral of a chief was somewhat more elaborate. His body was dressed
in his buckskin clothing and his spirit outfit added. Chiefs of other tribes came
to view the body. After five days and nights the corpse was carried to the
burial island. His personal servant (a woman, a man, boy, or girl) was also
taken to the burial place. A few words were said to him, he was killed and
buried with his master, and "nothing more was said about it." A few days
after the burial, the property of the dead chief was distributed among his rela-
tives and other chiefs as remembrances. Then a big feast was given by the
tribe and his successor was recognized. When a chief's wife died, a girl or
woman servant was also generally buried with her. This was true among the
Clackamas as well (see below).

An account of a funeral of earlier days was obtained from Mrs. Teio, who is now a
member of the pseudo-Christian sect of Shakers. Curiously enough it appears to be the
rite of members of the Pom Pom religion (derived from the Smohallah cult and now flour-
ishing among the Yakima), not the ancient Wishram form.

The body was taken to a long house, "a church," not used for secular dances. A
row of men faced the body on one side, a row of women opposite. Perhaps three of the
men had hand-drums of the tambourine type and one a little bell. They stood in place
singing. Then the bell was rung a little and someone stepped forward (the widow or an-
other relative), and prayed. They continued this through the night until sunrise, various
men praying between intervals of drumming and singing. The body, decked out as de-
scribed above, was then carried to the burial vault in the ancient manner.

The island of the dead, Memaloose Island in the Columbia, is locally quite
famous. It derives its name from a Chinook jargon word for the dead. This
island is several miles upstream from the former Wishram village Nixlu'idix at
Spedis, Washington. This has been the Wishram burial ground throughout the
historic period and the span covered by tradition. The burial vaults clustered
somewhat thickly there and each was crowded with corpses. Each family owned
one; sometimes it was used by several related families. If a woman had no
place to put her dead, she might ask a man for a place in his vault, making him
a present. These structures were built by a group of related men.

The burial house was a small rectangular structure of planks set over a
shallow pit, measuring about ten feet to the side and six feet high, and with a
shed-roof, that is, with but a single pitch. The wall planks were set vertically.
A burial house was called Itk H'mxotgamo'x. "In them the bodies were laid
with their heads to the west, sometimes piled up to a depth of three or four
feet. Carved wooden images were frequently set up around the vaults, and the
planks were often carved and painted to represent men or various animals."1*7
We figure the carved side of a canoe found on this island (plate 13).

Bodies were not reburied.188

Cremation was not practiced by the Wishram,189 nor did our informant

187 Lewis, Tribes of the Columbia Valley, 171.

18s For many years the whites of the vicinity were in the habit of plundering the grave
houses, until they were trampled down and the bones scattered. Some years ago the Wish-
ram built a single stone vault there, in which they collected all the bones they could then
find.

|189 Mr. W. Egbert Schenck informs us that investigations in archaeological sites at
The Dalles and on Miller's Island, opposite the mouth of the Deschutes River, show cre-
mation formerly to have been the custom in this region.

272 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

know of any tribe in the vicinity that did. She knew it however as the custom
of the Klamath and Northern Paiute in Southeastern Oregon.

An account of Clackamas burial was obtained. Their chiefs were buried in a man-
ner similar to that of the Wishram but differing in details. The corpse of the chief was
taken to his burial place in a small canoe, large enough to admit of only two paddlers. His
slave-servant was taken in another similar canoe. Others followed in large canoes. When
the body was laid in the hole the slave was called and addressed thus : "You have been
very good to your master, waiting on him all the time. He thought of you as his own son,
fed you the same food he ate, and you also thought warmly of him and treated him as a
father. Now you see he is gone forever and never again will be seen. You have no one
to attend at home, so you may go with him. Now get down in the hole and cover yourself
with part of your master's clothes ; be there beside him." He was then lowered into the
grave and buried alive.

WISHRAM TALES100

SALMON MYTH1'1

Five wolves had a house. They stole Spring (Chinook) Salmon's wife.
They all went hunting. Spring Salmon made the springs dry up, so the wolves
thirsted. They went around and around. They said, "Hmmm, that is a salmon
smell." They could not keep still ; they were wild because they smelled salmon.
The springs all dried up so that they all died except the youngest. That is why
there are wolves now ; the youngest was saved. Then Spring Salmon took his
wife again.

They went down the river in a canoe. He told his wife he was going to
sleep. "Do not wake me. You will be captain in this canoe. We will go
straight down. If you see anything do not be afraid." He lay down where he
sat and slept. As they went along she saw a worm crawl out of his head ; salmon
get wormy. So she pushed him away. "Haaa," he cried.

They reached a big rock a little below Lyle. He said, "Oh, wolves' wife,
you hurt me." He made a hollow in the side of the rock with his paddle just
big enough to sit in. Then he placed his wife on the blade of the paddle and
put her up there. She had nothing to eat. This was punishment because she
hurt him.

He paddled a long time until he came to his house. He had two big crows
(or ravens). They used to fly about and on their return he would listen to
what they said. Finally one said, "I am going to have the eyes." The other
said, "I am going to have the cheeks ; you can have the eyes." He heard them
and said, "What do you see, that you talk that way? Do you see something?"
The crows said, "Yes, we saw a woman. She is in a rocky place: no one can
get there. She is very poor, a nice looking woman." It was his wife. So he
said, "You fellows can go this morning and bring her on your backs. Do not
kill her: bring her here." The crows said, "Yes, we will try." So they put
their wings together and put something on this. Then they flew up, and because
it did not fall off, he said, "I guess it is all right ; you can go fetch her."

So they went. That woman could not move. She cried. She said, "I can
not go ; I might fall." But they said, "No, we will take you. Our brother sent
us." So they sat down where she was and crossed their wings. They told her
to sit on that and place one hand on the shoulder of each. So she sat there and
they took her. "Kaw, kaw," they called as they took her. Anything Spring
Salmon wished, he did; it was all right. So he took her for his wife again.
She no longer starved. She was all right now ; they lived together again.

190 For a discussion, see Sapir, Preliminary Report, 542-4.

191 Told by Mrs. Mabel Teio.

273

274 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

THE CANNIBAL WOMAN192

There was a girl and a little boy at Spedis. These two were very smart.
They were looking for arrowheads, which they found. An ugly woman named
At !at la'liya came. She had a big basket in which she put them. She covered
them and tied them in. Then she carried them to her house near Celilo. She
had many children there, which she always roasted. The girl hurt the boy ; he
cried, "Sister, you hurt me." The woman said, "[That is a sign that] my
children got burned." His sister whispered, "Say it again," and he did. The
woman said, "Somebody hollered; my children got burned. I will have to leave
this basket." When they reached there these two children were all right. The
two cut a hole in the basket and got out. Then they stuffed the basket with
grass and roots.

The two fled. The girl carried the boy some of the time. When they
reached the river again, an old man told them, "I will take you over there."
The woman found that they were gone when she opened the basket, so she
followed them. They went across in the old man's canoe, but she swam after
them.103

She tried to catch them but she was drowned. The old man took them
across the river. She floated down until she stood upright as a big rock. She
has breasts and her basket on her back. That is why there are no more cannibal
women about. All the children are shown that rock.

THE DESERTED BOY19*

There was a very mean boy at Spedis. He fought with the other children
all the time. The boy's grandmother had an underground house. An old man
said, "We are going to take him into the hills across the river and leave him."
Those two old women said, "No!" They cried. He said, "Yes, he is too mean."
At last he took the boy across the river. The two old women never stopped
crying. The men went over there to cut sticks for the hoop of the hoop and
pole game. They left him there. One young man said, "We will defecate."
They made a face in the faeces with a stick and told it, "If you hear a cry,
you call out." They put another far inside the clump of bushes where they
cut the sticks. That mean boy said, "It is a long time now. I have lots of
sticks." So he shouted, "Ho!" Somebody shouted, "Ho!" He called again
and then went over there. Again he called and heard the reply. He went there,
but there was no one. He saw the faeces with mouths. He said, "I guess they
deserted me." So he took the sticks.

When he reached home nobody was there except the magpies. Everyone
else was across the river playing the hoop and pole game. He went into the
house and cried. He heard something going k'e, k'e, like a fire. He looked
around until he found it ; it was something to make string of. He said, "I am

192 Told by Mrs. Teio.

193 The narration was interrupted at this point.
1M Told by Mrs. Teio.

1930] Spier and Sapir, IV is hr am Ethnography 275

going to make a trap to catch magpies." He made it and caught many of them.
He dried the skins. He used the string to sew them together to make a blanket
for sleeping. He measured it : "It is long enough for me to sleep."

Then he went fishing and caught a chub. He roasted it at the fire and
ate one side. He kept the other for the morning. He said, "Oh, I am all right."
So he slept under his magpie blanket. Next morning he put it on, tying it
around his neck, and went fishing again. He got two fish. He cooked one
and kept one for evening. "I am getting on all right." Next morning he fished
again. Pretty soon he got something: it was heavy and nearly pulled him in.
It was put there by a woman of the river people, the daughter of Itc le'kian, a
river man. They had tied a big basket of salmon, camas, and berries to his line.
He pulled it in. "Oh, I have something." He opened it. "Oh, my ;" he danced.
As he danced his blanket flapped straight out behind.

The people who had left him now saw him. "Something happened to that
mean boy. He is dancing close to the river." He took the basket to his house.
Soon he ate and slept again. He was glad.

That woman got ready at night. She was a young girl ; she had long hair.
She made a nice house : she put nice blankets in it. The boy had nothing but
his magpie skins. She wished him to be a man now. She put him in her bed.

In the morning he looked all around. He saw the blankets. He saw him-
self: "My, I am big." He turned and saw the woman. He was afraid and
astonished by her nice clothes. He said nothing. She knew what he thought.
She said, "That food I sent you because you were poor and deserted. Now I
have come to stay with you." He said, "All right."

That morning the people saw it and said, "Look, that mean boy now has a
good house. Smoke is coming out of it." They thought about him.

Those two stayed there until they had a little boy and a girl. They grew
quickly. He told his wife. "I guess we will go to see my grandmother. Perhaps
she is still alive." She agreed. He made a bow and arrow for the little boy.
She made a little basket and digging stick for the girl. The boy tried to shoot.
Those people across the river saw it and talked about him. But they never came
across, because they were ashamed. So the family crossed to see the man's grand-
mother. They travelled; the boy tried to shoot birds. "Oh, a different man is
coming," the people said. He knew because his wife had given him power. His
grandmother, blind and poor, was sitting in the underground house, crying con-
tinually. He went in and said, "Oh, you two are alive yet?" One said, "Eh."
He told them who he was. They cried, "No, you are a man; that was a little
boy." He said, "Yes, that is me," but they did not believe him. He made them
believe. So they returned across the river with him.

That is all I know of this story.

276 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

STAR HUSBAND1"5

Some young girls were sleeping out in the open in the summer. They saw
the stars, one big one and a little one. The younger girl said, "I will have the
smallest for a lover," and the elder, "I will have the larger." They slept. Toward
morning something lay close to the younger; it was bright, like gold. This hap-
pened north of Spedis. She said, "Oh, something is lying by my side." The
older sister said, "That is the star you were wishing for." So they jumped up
and went home. Everybody came to see him shining there. Now it is gone; I
guess someone threw it in the river. Sometimes it shines there.

195 Told by Mrs. Teio. She did not know of the sky root digging incident. The
Wishram have the spider rope incident, but Airs. Teio did not know it.

WASCO TALES196

SKY ROPE1''7

A little boy was taken to the sky, where he grew up. A woman forbade him
to go to a certain place. There were a people who ate nothing but human eyes.
These people wanted him to marry their daughters, of which there were five. His
own people found him and cleaned his stomach of eyes, bones, etc.

He married the youngest daughter of the Sun. They liked him because he
was a good hunter. He went to the forbidden spot [another?] where he found
a hole. He looked down to the earth. He saw his brother, who had no eyes,
crying for him. He felt sorry for his brother. He went back and lay down, for
he did' not know how to descend. His wife asked him what was wrong. He told
her. She said she would get two old people, Spiders, to make a rope for him.
They let him down. She said, "Tell your people to clean their house five times
[or for five days] before you enter." He met his brother there, crying, and
asked, "Why do you, cry?" His brother said, "Because I lost my brother." This
younger brother said, "I do not believe you are the lost one. I think you are
the trickster Bluejay." But he found it was his brother. The older brother told
him to instruct the people to clean house : then he would join them with his family.
So the younger brother told them.

The sky family brought all sorts of things from the sky. Now the family
had plenty to eat : before this they had been starving. The sky couple had twin
boys who were fastened together. The Sun's daughter told her brother-in-law not
to take the twins anywhere for fear something might happen to them. Blue j ay
thought, "Perhaps I can split them apart." He took his axe and cut them apart.
But when they parted their entrails were dragged out. The woman was sewing
when her thread broke : she knew that something had happened. Her brother-
in-law told her. She found them split in two. She was so sad that she wanted to
go home. She said, "Now I will take my sons back home. The only time you
will see them is on those occasions when you see a bright light on each side of
the sun when it is shining." This is a sign that some one is going to be very sick
or die. (A star near the' moon has the same significance.)13

198

CHIPMUNK'S STRIPES
A cannibal woman grabbed at Chipmunk. Her fingers scratched the marks
on his back.

ORIGIN OF DEATH

Eagle helped Coyote get his wife in this way. Eagle knew where the dead
stay. They went down the Columbia River to find this place. Coyote saw a
boat. He called very loud to the man, "Bring your boat here." Eagle knew that

196 This group of tales was obtained from Frank Gunyer in this abbreviated form alone.

197 This is a long tale, of which this is not the beginning.

198 This belief is current among the Wishram, who phrase the first with reference to
rainbows around the moon.

277

278 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

the man was a shade who took the drowned in his boat. The man would not come
to shore. Eagle did not like the way Coyote called. He took him under his
wing and jumped over to the boat. Then they were ferried across. They saw a
smoke on this island. Eagle said, "Let us go to that house." They saw two old
living people there. Eagle asked, "Why do you live here?" "Our children all
died, so we live here. At night they come here." "Where are the dead?" "Way
over there where a big frog looks after them. Hei lives in a big house. He swal-
lows the moon. The souls lie there and only rise when it is pitch dark." They
told them to kill the big frog. "People tell the frog when it is time to swallow
the moon. She makes live leaps to reach the moon. She puts the moon in her
stomach. Then the dead wake and have a good time."

Coyote saw this : he stayed in the corner of the house during the day. He
heard his wife having a good time. He was jealous and wanted to jump out to
catch the man with his wife. But Eagle held him. In the morning the frog spat
the moon out ; it was daylight.

The old folks said, "The only way is to kill the frog and use his body to act
as he does. That is the only way to get the soul." "All right," Eagle said, "we
will have to make a box." Eagle made the box. They killed the frog and skinned
her. Coyote put on the skin. They told him to make five jumps. He practised.

At night he slept there in his disguise. Two men said, "Frog, make your
jump." He jumped, but not quite far enough. Some of the dead suspected: they
disputed among themselves whether it was Frog. Again he jumped, but not far
enough. By the fifth jump most of them were sure it was not Frog. Coyote
caught the moon and tried to swallow it, but it stuck out of his mouth a little.
They though it was Coyote. He put his hand over his mouth to cover the moon.

The dead came into the house until it was completely filled. Coyote heard
his wife. Eagle called, "Let the moon go." He was at the door holding his box
over the opening. Coyote spat the moon out. Then when it was light they all
left the house but they were caught in the box.

These two told the old people that they had all the souls. They shouted to
the man in the boat, but again he would not come ashore. Eagle took Coyote
under his wing and jumped to the boat. They went across.

Eagle carried the box. They travelled up the river. When nearly home,
Coyote heard the people talking in the box. He asked Eagle to let him carry it.
He said, "You are a great man and yet you carry it ; I am only common ; let me
take it." Eagle resisted, but finally gave it to him. Coyote was curious to look
into the box. He told Eagle to go ahead of him. Eagle said he would wait, but
Coyote insisted. Eagle suspected that Coyote would destroy the people in there.
He went on. Coyote opened the box, slowly, but the powerful spirits came right
out, and went back where they had been brought from. Coyote tried to close the
box, but he could keep only one crippled man in it.

Eagle knew at once what the other had done. Coyote carried the box on and
gave it to Eagle. Eagle said, "I do not want it now." He let the cripple go. He
said, "If I had brought it here and opened it properly, people would live again in
the spring just as the trees do."

1930] Spier and Sapir, Wishranv Ethnography 279

RACCOON

Raccoon and his grandmother had five potholes filled with acorns in the rocks
near the Columbia. She gave him only one and a half acorns to eat. He stole
the contents of all five holes, defecating in them instead. He hid under the ashes.
She took a stick and struck him across the back and tail, making the marks that
raccoons have today.

He made five big balls of berries with thorns sticking out all over. He fed
them to his grandmother. He brought water to her, using her basket hat. But
he first punched a hole in the bottom, so that she got very little. She began to
sprout wings and finally flew off to perch as a rock that is there now. Raccoon,
grieving, sat down and rubbed his buttocks along the rocks. These marks can
still be seen.

FOOD SMELLERS

A people on the Columbia had no eyes or mouths. They ate by smelling the
sturgeon. Coyote opened their eyes and mouths.

ABSTRACTS

WISHRAM TALES
Salmon Myth (p. 273)

Spring Salmon's wife is stolen by five wolves. He makes the springs dry
so that they die of thirst. One is saved hence there arc wolves now. He takes
his wife in a canoe. She pushes him away when she sees a worm crawl from
his head. In punishment he places her in a hole he makes high in a rock. His
crows discover her and carry her back at his command.

The Cannibal Woman (p. 274)

A girl and boy are stolen by a cannibal woman, who carried them in her
basket. The girl makes the boy cry out. The cannibal thinks that her own
children are suffering and leaves the basket. The two escape, crossing the river
in an old man's canoe. The cannibal pursues but is drowned. She becomes a cer-
tain rock; that is why there are now no cannibal women.

The Deserted Boy (p. 274)

People decide to desert a boy who is quarrelsome. His grandmother pro-
tests. They go across the river with him to search for sticks. They desert him
leaving their faeces to call to him. When he arrives home, the people have left.
He makes a blanket of magpie skins and catches fish. A river-woman pitying
him ties a basket of food to his line. She prepares a house and food, and lies
with him as he sleeps. They have two children. The people see his house and
are ashamed. He seeks out his grandmother, with his family, and shares his
good fortune.

Star Husband (p. 276)

Two girls wish for stars as lovers. In the morning something shining, a
star, lies close to the younger. They go home. People come to look at it. It is
thrown into the river ; that is why it sometimes shines there.

WASCO TALES
Sky Rope (p. 277)

A boy, growing up in the sky, is forbidden to go where people eat human
eyes. (He does but) his people clean these from his stomach. He marries the
Sun's daughter. He finds a hole in a forbidden place and looks down on the
earth. He sees his brother without eyes and pities him. Spiders make a rope on
which he and his family descend with an abundance of food. The sky-couple
have Siamese twins as children. Sun's daughter warns the brother to protect the

280

1930] Spier and Sapir, IV is hr am Ethnography 281

twins. He splits them apart. Sun's daughter is sad and returns to the sky with
the twins. They are now the bright lights beside the sun which are an omen of
death.

Chipmunk's Stripes (p. 277)

A cannibal woman snatches at Chipmunk, scratching the marks on his back.

Origin of Death (p. 277)

Eagle and Coyote go down the river to bring back Coyote's dead wife. Coyote
demands assistance of the ghost who ferries the drowned. Eagle carries him to
the boat. They find an old couple living near their dead children. The dead are
cared for by a frog who swallows the moon so that they come to life. Coyote
is jealous of his wife's partner. They kill the frog. Coyote dresses in its skin
and tries to swallow the moon. All the ghosts crowd into the house.
Eagle catches them in a box. Again Coyote demands ferriage but Eagle carries
him back. As they journey home Coyote obtains the box on the pretext that he,
being common, should carry it. Coyote peeps into the box and all the dead escape
to the land of shades except a cripple. Eagle lets the cripple return. Because
of this act, people do not revive in the spring.

Raccoon (p. 279)

Raccoon's grandmother has plenty of acorns but gives him little. In revenge
he eats them all, leaving his faeces in their place. She strikes him making the
marks raccoons now have. He feeds berry balls to her, and gives her water in
her hat in which he punches a hole. She sprouts wings and flies off. Raccoon,
grieving, rubs his buttocks on the rocks making marks now seen.

Food Smellers (p. 279)
Coyote opens the eyes and mouths of a people who eat sturgeon by smelling it.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bancroft, Hubert Howe. The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft : I, The
Native Races (San Francisco, 1886).

Barrett, S. A. The Material Culture of the Klamath Lake and Modoc Indians
of Northeastern California and Southern Oregon (University of Cali-
fornia publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, 5, 1910,
no. 4).

Biddle, Henry J. Wishram (Eugene, Oregon, n.d.).

Boas, Franz. The Doctrine of Souls and of Disease among the Chinook Indians
(Journal of American Folklore, 6, 1893, 39-43).

Chinook Texts (Bulletin, Bureau of [American] Ethnology, 20, 1894).

The Social Organization and the Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl Indians
(Report, U.S. National Museum for 1895, 1897, 311-737).

Kathlamet Texts (Bulletin, Bureau of American Ethnology, 26, 1901).

The Vocabulary of the Chinook Language (American Anthropologist, n.s.,
6, 1904, 118-147).

Chinook (in Handbook of American Indian Languages, Bulletin, Bureau
of American Ethnology, 40, 1911, pt. 1, 559-678).

Notes on the Tillamook (University of California Publications in Amer-
ican Archaeology and Ethnology, 20, 1923, 3-16).

Primitive Art (Oslo, 1927).

Cobb, John N. Pacific Salmon Fisheries (3rd. ed., Report of the U.S. Com-
missioner of Fisheries for 1921, Appendix 1, [Bureau of Fisheries Doc.
no. 902], 1921).

Cope, Leona. Calendars of the Indians North of Mexico (University of Cali-
fornia Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, 16, 1919,
no. 4).

Franchere, Gabriel. (Thwaites, Reuben Gold, ed.) Narrative of a Voyage
to the Northwest Coast of America in the Years 1811, 1812, 1813, and
1814 [etc.] (Early Western Travels, 1748-1846, 6, Cleveland, 1904,
167-410).

Gatschet, Albert Samuel. The Klamath Indians of Southwestern Oregon
(Contributions to North American Ethnology, 2, 1890, 2 pts.).

Gibbs, George. Tribes of Western Washington and Northwestern Oregon
(Contributions to North American Ethnology, 1, 1877).

282

1930] Spier and Sapir, IVishram Ethnography 283

Goddard, Pliny Earle. Life and Culture of the Hupa (University of Cali-
fornia Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, 1, 1903,
no. 1).

Gunther, Erna. Klallam Ethnography (University of Washington Publica-
tions in Anthropology, 1, 1927, no. 5).

A Further Analysis of the First Salmon Ceremony (University of Wash-
ington Publications in Anthropology, 2, 1928, no. 5).

Haeberlin, Hermann und Erna Gunther. Ethnographische Notizen uber die
Indianerstamme des Puget Sundes (Zeitschrift fur Ethnologie, 1924,
1-74).

Haeberlin, H. K., James A. Teit, and Helen H. Roberts (under the direction
of Franz Boas). Coiled Basketry in British Columbia and Surround-
ing Region (Forty-first Annual Report, Bureau of American Ethnol-
ology, 1928, 119-484).

Hodge, Frederick Webb, ed. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico
(Bulletin, Bureau of American Ethnology, 30, 1907, 2 pts.).

Hosmer, James K. History of the Expedition of Captains Lewis and Clark,
Reprinted from the Edition of 1814 (Chicago, 1902, 2 vols.).

Kroeber, A. L. Handbook of the Indians of California (Bulletin, Bureau of
American Ethnology, 78, 1925).

Lewis, Albert Buell. Tribes of the Columbia Valley and the Coast of Wash-
ington and Oregon (Memoirs, American Anthropological Association,
1, 1906, pt. 2).

Loud, Llewellyn L. and M. R. Harrington. Lovelock Cave (University of
California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, 25,
1929, no. 1).

Lowie, Robert H. Shoshonean Tales (Journal of American Folk-Lore, 37,
1924, 1-242).

Mason, Otis Tufton. North American Bows, Arrows, and Quivers (Report,
Smithsonian Institution for 1893, 1894, 631-679).

Primitive Travel and Transportation (Report, U.S. National Museum for
1894, 1896, 237-593).

Aboriginal American Basketry (Report, United States National Museum
for 1902, 1904, 171-548).

McWhorter, L. V. The Crime Against the Yakimas (Nonth Yakima, Wash.,
1913).

Minto, John. The Number and Condition of Native Race in Oregon [etc.]
Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society, 1, 1900, 296-315).

284 University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

Mooney, James. The Ghost-Dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreak of 1890
(Fourteenth Annual Report, Bureau of American Ethnology, pt. 2,
1896, 641-1110).

The Aboriginal Population of America North of Mexico (Smithsonian
Miscellaneous Collections, 80, 1928, 7 [Publ. 2955] ).

Olson, Ronald L. Adze, Canoe, and House Types of the Northwest Coast
(University of Washington Publications in Anthropology, 2, 1927, no.

1).

Ouinault Ethnographic Notes (ms.).

Quaife, Milo M. The Journals of Captain Meriwether Lewis and Sergeant
John Ordway Kept on the Expedition of Western Exploration. 1803-
1806 (Publications, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Collections,
22, Madison, 1916).

Radin, Paul. Some Aspects of Puberty Fasting Among the Ojibwa (Museum
Bulletin, Geological Survey of Canada, 2, 1914, pt. 4).

Ross, Alexander (Thwaites, Reuben Gold, ed.). Adventures of the First
Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River [etc.] (Early Western
Travels, 1748-1846, Cleveland, 7, 1904).

St. Clair, Harry Hull and Leo J. Frachtenberg. Traditions of the Coos
Indians of Oregon (Journal of American Folk-Lore, 22, 1909, 25-41).

Sapir, Edward. Notes on the Takelma Indians of Southwestern Oregon (Amer-
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Preliminary Report on the Language and Mythology of the Upper Chinook
(American Anthropologist, n.s., 9, 1907, 533-544).

Wishram Texts (Publications of the American Ethnological Society, 2,
1909).

Terms of Relationship and the Levirate (American Anthropologist, n.s.,
18, 1916, 327-337).

Grammatical Notes on Upper Chinook (see Boas, Franz: Chinook).

Spier, Leslie. The Sun Dance of the Plains Indians : Its Development and
Diffusion (Anthropological Papers, American Museum of Natural
History, 16, 1921, pt. 7).

The Distribution of Kinship Systems in North America (University of
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An Analysis of Plains Indian Parfleche Decoration (University of Wash-
ington Publications in Anthropology, 1, 1925, no. 3).

1930] Spier and Sapir, IVishram, Ethnography 285

The Ghost Dance of 1870 Among the Klamath of Oregon (University of
Washington Publications in Anthropology, 2, 1927, no. 2).

Havasupai Ethnography (Anthropological Papers, American Museum of
Natural History, 29, 1928, pt. 3).

Klamath Ethnography (University of California Publications in American
Archaeology and Ethnology, in press).

Spinden, Herbert Joseph. The Nez Perce Indians (Memoirs, American An-
thropological Association, 2, 1908, pt. 3).

Steward, Julian H. A Peculiar Type of Stone Implement (American An-
thropologist, n.s., 30, 1928, 314-316).

Strong, Thomas Nelson. Cathlamet on the Columbia (Portland, 1906).

Strong, William Duncan and W. Egbert Schenck. Petroglyphs Near the
Dalles of the Columbia River (American Anthropologist, n.s., 27,
1925, 76-90).

Teit, James H. The Thompson Indians of British Columbia (Memoirs, Amer-
ican Museum of Natural History, 2, 1900, pt. 4).

Teit, James H. (Franz Boas, ed.) The Middle Columbia Salish (University
of Washington Publications in Anthropology, 2, 1928, no. 4).

Wissler, Clark. Material Culture of the Blackfoot Indians (Anthropological
Papers, American Museum of Natural History, 5, 1910, pt. 1).

The Influence of the Horse in the Development of Plains Culture (Ameri-
can Anthropologist, n.s., 16, 1914, 1-25).

The Sun Dance of the Blackfoot Indians (Anthropological Papers, Amer-
ican Museum of Natural History, 16. 1918, pt. 3).

PLATES

1930]

Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography

2s;

—

„

288

University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

;.?J*§!

£2v V*:

tion

f g h

Plate 2. Wishram twined baskets (Museum of the American Indian, Heye Founda-
a, 1-b 2838; b, 9431 ; c, 1-d 2H3H; d, 9433; e, 1-c 2838; f, 9432; g, 1-a 2838; h, 9430.)

Description of the plates: Plate 2. (a). Designs in black. Within the band are five vertical lines of
fish, four in each. The fish design represents a salmon (itga'gunat ). The black line above the man may
be a "trade mark." Rim binding and handle of buckskin.

(b). Six vertical lines of fish, four in each. They pair off by having tails and mouths alternately
toward each other. W'hilei the five vertical lines of fish motifs in specimen a might be considered as an
instance of the operation of the Wishram pattern number, five, it is obvious that this alternation was pos-
sible only with an even number of vertical.-. Rim binding of red cloth; handle of buckskin.

(c). The designs are in brown; above and below the brown lines encircling the basket are areas in
which the wefting is darker than where it forms the background of the designs. Starting from a vertical
line and going to the right there are two vertical bands of elk, three of eagles, a vertical line, one of
eagles, and two of people. The rim and handle are of buckskin. The design name is deer (itgatc'.a'nkc.)

(d). Designs in black. The design is hazel-rope (idbi'natx). The lines encircling the basket are incom-
plete, ending one stitch short and of course, on a round above that on which they begin. The handle is
of buckskin. To one side of it black thread is sewn over the rope rim as a "trade-mark"( ?), but it is
needed to hold the ends of the rope together.

(e). Designs in black. Four vertical lines of two eagles each; the other figures scattered. Design
called eagles (itgatcli'nun). Rim and handle of buckskin.

(f). Designs in black, save that a brown band, two stitches deep, is inserted as the third and fourth
series of stitches above the legs. Design styled people. Rim and handle of buckskin.

(g). Designs in black except for the arms and trunks which are green; the baud is black, and like
those in figure f has an extra stitch extending from it. Design called people (itga'drlxam ). A black line
of three stitches to the left of the human figure at the right may be a "trade-mark"; it is not matched on
the other side. Rim binding is buckskin.

(h). Five eagles in black. The human figure in black has a green stripe of three stitches above the
legs as a "trade-mark." This design called eagles. Rim and handle of buckskin.

1930]

Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography

289

4- -V.

PPWwWIHl

Plate 3. Wishram and Paiute twined baskets, a, c, d, Wishram; b, Paiute (Museum
of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, a, 9427; b, 9434; c, 9430; d, 942m

Plate 3. (a). The stepped elements are in black with the median diagonal lines in red. The lozenge
at the lower right has a border of black surrounding a field of red enclosing a central cross in red. This
design was called fish gills. The base of the basket is made of cordage; the rim is finished by turni
back the warps (in the manner of Klamath baskets?)

(b). This is a Paiute basket brought from Warm Springs Reservation. The design was called eves
by the Wishram. The background is brown, both warp and weft, the decoration in white. A '•trade-
mark." composed of two dark stitches separated by a white, is in the upper solid white band. The rim is
bound with cloth through which a cord is drawn.

(c). The design is human teeth. Decoration is in brown. The wefts of the base and the warps
throughout are of commercial cord. The rim is a piece of sacking with rope and loops, through winch
to thread it, to tie up the basket.

(d). The design is serpent fangs. The upper course of decoration is black yarn (or cloth I. the second
brown, third black and white, fourth brown, fifth black and white, sixth and seventh are like fourth and
fifth respectively. The base is wefted with cordage; the rim is calico (?) with an Indian hemp (?) cord
drawn through. A tiny patch (one stitch) of black yarn above the upper band is a "trade-mark" ( ?)

2! 0

University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

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Plate 4. Wishram twined baskets (American Museum of Natural History).

1930]

Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography

291

Plate 5. Wishram twined bags (American Museum of Natural Historj )

292

University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

nm\\\\\W*

■ ■ ■

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■

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d e f

Plate 6. Wasco twined baskets and bag (Museum of the American Indian, Heye
Foundation; a, 9155a; b, 1202; c, 9155b; d, e, 8633; f, 2179).

Plate 6. This plate consists solely of specimens from the closely allied Wasco, which are included
for comparison. (a). The five hands of decoration consist each of a median band of white bordered In-
narrow bands in blue from which extend vertical spurs in red. The handle of buckskin is sewn directly
into the basket.

(b). This basket is interesting as a case of negative decoration. The white elements seem to form
the decorative units but inasmuch as they are of the same material as the body of the basket, it may he
that the dark portions, which look like background, really constitute the design. Considering the w-hite
parts as designs, we have at the top a series of alternating short lines, each two stitches long; next a series
of angular J) figures, followed by three bands of oblique lozenges. On the other hand if the dark parts are
the design, the upper band remains the same descriptively, the second consists of reversed K figures, the
remaining bands of oblique hour-gla-s figures. This specimen was collected by Curtis, who recorded it as
from "Wasco Nez Percfis from Washington; made of corn husks."

(c). The upper course of design is of red yarn; the second is dark (black or brown) above, red
below, the third red, and the fourth red above and dark below, reversing the color sequence of the second.
Dark (brown) and light bands separate the design courses. A "trade-mark," a small red yarn lozenge,
lies below the lowest deisgn course. The rim is bound with calico through which a cord is drawn.

(d, e). Obverse and reverse of a basket. The lowest four fishes, two eagles, and two elk or deer,
and the lower heads, necks, and shoulders of the human figures are brown; the rest of the designs are
black. This suggests that the difference in color is not intentional (as the head of the second deer from
the bottom is black) but due to the original stock of brown material giving out. Going to the right there
are in sequence two lines of double heads, three of four joined eagles, three of twelve fishes (the first and
second arranged with joined tails to form open lozenges, the second and third with mouths adjacent), and
one line of deer. The rim is of buckskin. Attention is drawn to the diagonal twine in the upper part
of the basket forming a self pattern. The stitching is not regular, however, occasionally crossing only
one warp instead of two.

(f). A twined bag from which much of the color of the decoration has been lost. On one side
the vertical stripes are in order from right to left, blue and brown, red, blue and brown, red; on the opposite
face the same order is repeated from right to left, which means that the stripes opposite each other on the
two faces are alternately red and blue-brown.

1930]

Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography

2\ K-

Plate 7. Wishram bag in coarse open-twine (Museum of
the American Indian. Heye Foundation, No. 1-2839).

j'\

University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

,-^W*

Plate 8. Wishram coiled baskets (a-c, American Museum of Natural History; d, e,
Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation; d, no. 9435; e, 9429).

Plate 8. (d). White imbricated overlay on dark wrapping. A buckskin loop is inserted through the
body of the basket; cordage through holes in the rim.

(e). White imbricated overlay appears sporadically on the dark wrapping, apparently to give a design
of random dots. The rim loops are imbricated throughout. Two buckskin loops are provided; one passes
through two basketry loops at the rim, the other through this buckskin loop and a third basketry loop

1930]

Spier and Sopir, Wishram Ethnography

295

Plate 9. Parfleche used by the Wishram, but probably of Nez Perce manufacture;
a, folded, b, open to show the decoration on the side flaps (Museum of the American Indian,
Heye Foundation, no. 9437).

University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. 3

O r

C0C~
43 On

S rt

1930]

Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography

297

Plate 11 Parfleche used by the Wishram, but probably of
Nez Perce manufacture (Museum of the American Indian, Ueye
Foundation, no. 1-2840).

2! >8

University of Washington Publications in Anthropology [Vol. .^

Plate 12. Parfleches used by the Wishram, but probably of Nez Perce manufacture
(American .Museum of Natural History).

1930]

Spier and Sapir, Wishram Ethnography

299

Plate 13. Carved side-piece of a burial canoe.

INDEX

University of Washington Publications in Anthropology, Vol. Ill

Adams, Romanzo, 1.

Adams, Sidney, 3.

Adultery, 216.

Adzes, 188.

Age distribution, Japan-born and
American-born children, 4; Midorii
and Kawauchi children, 10 ; Seattle
Japanese children, 11.

Alsea, 212.

Awls, bone, 188.

Bags, 192.

Bannock, 213, 223, 228, 233.
Basin influence, 201.
Basket hats, 207.
Baskets, 192.

Bears, trapping, attitude toward, 181.
Birth, 255.
Blackfoot, 243.
Blankets, 190.
Boas, Franz, 1, 13, 24.
Body characters of Japanese chil-
dren, 4f.
Bowls, 189.

Bows and arrows, 199, 231.
Burial, 270.

Calendar, 208f.

California influence, 222, 224.

Calumet, 213.

Cannibal women, 237.

Canoe bailers, 188.

Canoes, 186f.

Cascades, 159, 160, 161, 171, 172, 173,
202, 205, 217, 233, 250, 255.

Caste, 211.

Cathlassis, see Wasco.

Cathlathlalas, see Cascades.

Cathleyacheyachs, 161.

Cayuse, see Waiilatpuan.

Cephalic index, 7f., 10, 11, 20, 22, 23,
24, 25.

Chiefs, 211.

Childhood, 256.

Children, American Seattle, 2, 6, 8f . ;
Boston, 19, 24; Hiroshima prefec-
ture, 2, 6, 8f., 20, 23, 24; Japanese
American-born, 4, llf., 17, 18, 20,
21, 23, 24; California Japanese, 1,
5, 23 ; Hawaiian Japanese, 1 ; Jap-
anese Japan-born, 1, 4, 21 ; Kawau-
chi, 2, 9f., 24; Midorii, 2, 9f., 24;
New York, 1, 9, 24; Porto Rica,
18, 19, 24; Saxon, 19, 24; Tokyo,
5, 6, 23 ; Toronto and Oakland, 13f .,
15, 16, 24.

Chilluckquittequaw, 160, 169, 172, 187,

225.
Chinook, 223, 226; tribal and village

names, 172f.
Chippanchikchiks, 172.
Chisels, 188.

Chopunnish, see Nez Perce.
Clackamas, 159, 161, 209, 217, 250,

255, 271, 272.
Clahclellah, see Cascades.
Club, fish, 178.
Colors, 209.
Cooking, 185.
Coos, 212.
Councils, 213.
Cradle, 255.
Curing, 24lf.

Deer, hunting, 180, 181.

Deer hoof rattle, 202.

Dentition, 3, lof . ; deciduous, 16, 18,

19, 24; permanent, 17, 18, 19, 24.
Deschutes, 160, 162, 172, 225, 226, 233.
Directions, 210.
Divorce, 220.
Dog River Indians, see Hood River

Indians.
Dogs, 181.
Dress, 205f.
Drum, 201.
Duwamish tales, 57, 60, 83, 86, 87, 91.

Ear pendants, 208.

Ear piercing, 261.

Earth lodge, 202.

Echeloot, 159, 172, 225, 226.

Elk, hunting, 180, 181.

Eloot, see Echeloot.

Eneshure, see Sahaptin.

Eskeloot, 169, 225.

Eskimo, 209.

Face, width, 3, 4, 8, 10, 11, 20, 22,23,

24.
Fathers, Japanese, 1, 20, 21, 23, 26f.,

28.
Feasts, first labors, 261; first name,

261 ; new names, 261 ; puberty, 262.
Feather headdress, 231.
Fire drill, 185.
Fishing, 174f . ; club, 178; spears, 178;

traps, 177.
Food, vegetable, 182f.

301

302

University of Washington Publications in Anthropology

[Vol. 3

Games, 266.

Gauges, net, 177.

Gestures, 210.

Green River tales, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55,
59, 62, 82, 84, 85, 88, 89, 92, 96, 99,
100, 103, 106, 109, 110, 113, 114, 122,
127, 129, 130, 131, 132, 136, 138, 144.

Griffin, Eldon, 3.

Growth of Japanese children, If.

Guthe, C. E., 1.

Hair, 207.

Havasupai, 164.

Head deformation, 255.

Head length, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 22, 24.

Head width, 4, 7, 10, 11, 24.

Homogeneity of Hiroshima children,
9f.; Seattle children, llf.

Hood River Indians, 159, 160, 233.

Horse, influence of, 222, 228.

Houses, 202f . ; composition of house-
hold, 221.

Hunting, 180f.

Marriage, 217f.

Mat lodge, 202.

Mats, 191.

Matsumura, Akira, 12, 20, 21.

Memaloose Island, 170, 271.

Misawa, Tadasu, 5.

Moccasins, 207.

Molale, see Waiilatpuan.

Moses Columbia, 160, 161, 163, 224,

225.
Murder, 213f.
Musical instruments, 201.

Nakashima, N., 2.

Names, 258.

Needles, 188.

NelcEtEmeiix, 161, 163.

Nespelem, 225.

Netting, 176.

Nez Perce, 197, 203, 205, 206, 225, 226,

227.
Northwest Coast influence, 188, 189,

211, 213, 221, 236, 241, 242.

Identification of birthplaces, Schenck,

Sara, 3 ; Tatsumi, Henry, 3.
lltte-Kai-Mamits, see Sahaptin.
Infant betrothals, 218.
Inui, K. S., 1.
Ithkycmamits, 172.
Iyenaga, T., 1.

Japanese, growth of children, If.; de-
partment of education, 5, 12 ; Edu-
cational Association of San Fran-
cisco, 1 ; Language School, Orillia,
2 ; Language School, Seattle, 2 ;
mothers, age of, 13 ; arrival in Se-
attle, 26, 27 ; birthplaces 12f ., 23,
28; comparison of children, 11, 12,
21f.; junior members of sibling
group, 12, 13, 24.

Kalapuya, 222, 224, 225.

Kathlamet, 159, 187, 217.

Kinship terms, 262.

Klamath, 162, 182, 187, 192, 202, 206,
208, 222, 224, 225, 238, 242, 272.

Klickitat, 159, 160, 162, 168, 192, 194,
197, 209, 217, 225, 227, 228, 233.

Knives, 188.
Kwakiutl, 221.

Lance, war, 231.

Lake Washington tales, 62, 115, 117,

122.
Levirate, 218.
Lillooet, 194.

Observations on Japanese children,
Harada, Matsutaro, 2, 3, 4, 9;
Hocking, Lillian, 3, 4; Pool, Wil-
liam, 3, 4.

Okanagan, 224

Omens, 249.

Packstrap (tumpline), 191.

Paddles, 187.

Paint, face, 208; war, 231.

Paiute, 164, 228, 229, 230, 232, 233,
250, 272.

Palous, 225.

Parfleches, 197.

Personal adornment, 205f.

Pestles and mortars, 189.

Pit ovens, 184, 185.

Pit River Indians, 208, 222.

Plains influence, 197, 206, 207, 213,
230.

Power, 238f.

Pra3'ers, 236.

Puget Sound, 203, 204, 244; tales,
49f . ; trade, 227.

Puyallup tales, 51, 52, 53, 55, 63, 64,
65, 66, 69, 80, 81, 82, 84, 85, 87, 88,
90, 92, 98, 101, 104, 108, 109, 113,
114, 118, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125,
129, 131, 133, 134, 135, 137, 140, 141,
142, 143, 147.

Rasp, notched, 201, 230, 250.

Reach (physical measurement) 3, 6,

11, 23.
Religious practices, 236f.
Residence, 221.

1931]

Index

303

Sahaptin, 169, 170, 171, 172, 222, 224,
225, 228; migrations, 160, 162, 163,
228
Salish tribes, 160, 161, 162, 202, 221,

222, 228.
Salmon fishing, 174, 178.
Salmon rites, 248f.
Sanpoil, 224.
Sato, Kenoske, 1.
Scalp dance, 232.
Shamanism, 236, 240, 241.
Shield, war, 231.
Shoshonees, 205.
Siletz, 223.

Skagit tales, 92, 106, 114.
Skilloot, 203, 205, 249.
Sk!in, 233.
Skokomish tales, 135.
Slaves, 221 f., 225.
Smohallah cult, 201, 249, 250.
Snake, 160, 162, 222, 225, 228.
Snohomish tale, 139.
Snowshoes, 207.

Snuqualmi tales, 49, 82, 90, 94, 97, 99,
106, 111, 117, 126, 128, 134, 137.

Smoking, 246, 269.

Social selection, 12, 13.

Sororate, 218.

Spears, fish, 178.

Spirit dances, 241.

Spirits, 236f.

Spokane, 224, 225.

Spoons, 189.

Spokesman, chief's, 213, 246.

Stature, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 14, 15, 19,
20, 21, 22, 23, 24.

Stone boiling, 185.

Sweatlodge, 268.

Takabataka, K., 2.
Takelma, 222.
Tanning, 200.
Tcipan-tchick-Tcick, 173.
Tenino, 160, 162.
Thompson, 194, 202; tale, 163.
Tillamook, 212.
Toppenish, 225, 227.
Towahnahiooks, 226.
Trade, 224f.

Transvestites, 220.
Traps, fish, 177.
Tyighpam, see Deschutes.

Umatilla, 162, 225, 227.

Villages, Cascade, 167; Deschutes,
168; Klickitat, 167; Wasco, 168;
White Salmon, 167; Wishram, 164.

Wahchelahs, 226.
Wallawalla, 162, 225.

iiatpuan, 225; migrations, 162,
228.
Wai'yampam, (Deschutes), 162, 169,

170, 171.
Warfare, 228£.

Wasco, 159, 160, 161, 162, 171, 172,
J, 188, 192, 202. 221, 222, 223, 224,
111 228, 229, 230, 232, 233, 250, 255,
265; talcs, 185, 236, 238, 240, 242,
245; Sky rope, 277, (abs, 280);
( hipmunk's stripes, 277, (abs,
281); Origin of death, 277, (abs,
281); Raccoon, 279, (abs, 281);
Food smellers, 279, (abs, 281).
Watlala, see Cascade.
Wedges, 188.

Wlenatchi, 160, 224, 225, 227, 228.
Weocksockwillacums, see White Sal-
mon.
Wey-eh-hoo, 173.
White River tales, 55, 89, 91.
White Salmon, 159, 160, 161, 169, 170,

172, 202, 205.
Wishram, 159f . ; linguistic relation-
ships, 159; population, 169; terri-
tory, 159; tales, Salmon myth, 273,
(abs., 280) ; Cannibal woman, 274,
(abs., 280) ; Deserted boy, 274,
(abs 280) ; Star husband, 276,
(abs., 280).
Witchcraft, 247.
Wolves, 182.

Yakima, 159, 162, 197, 225, 227, 228;

tales, 53, 147.
Yurok, 209.

£ Washington (State) University
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