Explorations in the Upper Columbia Country [pp. 255-266]

E.xplorations in the Upper Columbia country.
the whites; and we also procured the ser vices of one of the Indians as a guide in our
projected trip through the Moses Reserva tion. This fellow, an Omak Indian, with
the half English, half Indian name of Alex ander Smitkin, proved himself invaluable in
many ways. His mount was a small, com pactly-built mule, which carried him patient ly throughout the trip, and with his rider
formed a most interesting picture.
Two of us started out one morning to visit
an Indian settlement at the mouth of the
Okenagan. At a point on the Columbia op posite their small village, we tied our horses,
and having hailed an Indian, gave him half
a dollar to ferry us across, which he did most
skillfully. The rude dwellings of these In dians were mainly tents, supported on poles,
and large enough to contain six or seven
persons pretty well crowded together. It was
a sleepy looking settlement. The Indians
were reclining on their blankets and furs, the
women sewing and mending, and the men
smoking. The babies, strapped on boards,
were asleep, and the older children followed
us around with shy and curious glances. We
exchanged a few words with the men, and
examined their abodes. Constant intercourse
with the whites has changed their wild habits to a certain degree, and especially in the
matter of dress. The women wore calico
skirts, sometimes a shawl for a waist, and usually a handkerchief over the head. The men
wear trowsers of cloth or buckskin, and usually a flannel shirt, but, as a general rule,
nothing to cover the head. All wear moccasins. Their features are frequently very
regular, and with long, black hair, straight
and coarse, and sinewy, well-developed figures, they are sometimes almost handsome,
and, at all events, strikingly picturesque.
They are curious, but reserved; will look at
and carefully scrutinize you, but rarely ask
any questions. When spoken to, they are
civil and intelligent in their answers. If questioned about a portion of their country, they
will take a piece of stick and map it out on
the ground quite accurately. Of distance, as
such, they have little conceptiou, but can tell
how long it will take to travel between any
VOL. VII.-i7.
two points. I asked my guide one day how
far it was to a certain place; he looked at
the sun, and pointing to a position to be
occupied by it later on, said: "Sun yah-wa
mika klap o-cook il a-he," meaning, "When
the sun is there, you will reach that place";
and his reckoning was correct, time and rate
of travel being his basis of estimating dis tance.
It was July when I visited these Indians,
so they were in the midst of their prepara tions for a winter's supply of food. Around
their camp, salmon and strips of venison were
hung to dry, and on the ground, berries.
The salmon are caught in large quantities in
a sort of net-work of sticks placed across a
stream, or else speared with long poles. The
women and children gather the berries.
Sometimes the women accompany their hus bands on hunting expeditions, and are often
as clever with the rifle as the men.
They have rapidly learned the value of
money and want good pay for their services.
Our ferriage across the Columbia cost us fif ty cents each way. Their means of conveyance were dug-outs,-logs of wood that had
been cut off, and hollowed out into canoes
about two feet wide, eighteen inches deep,
and from ten to twenty feet long. Rather
rickety affairs they are for one not accustomed
to such boats, but managed most skillfully
by their pilots, who safely paddle them across
the swift streams, and that, too, when they
are loaded down almost to the water's edge.
When we left their camp, an Indian ferried
us across the Columbia, and at the same
time drove his pony, swimming, to the opposite bank; then secured his canoe, mounted
his pony, and rode off.
It was later than we had anticipated, so
after looking after our horses, we conceived
the idea of recrossing the river to the Indian
camp, paddling the canoe ourselves, to see
if we could not get some supper. This risky
business was finally crowned with success
after several unlucky starts, and we got only
a slight wetting. The Indians stand up in
these dug-outs, but to increase our chances
of safety, my companion and I took the extra precaution to sit down. At the camp,
1886.]
257