Tuesday 13th11 of May 1806.
a fine morning I administered to the sick and gave directions.
we collected all our horses and set out at 1 P.M. and
proceeded down the Creek to the Flat head River a short distance
below the enterance of the Creek at the distance of 3
miles from the Village. at this place we expected to have met
the Canoe which was promised to be furnished us, and for
which an indian set out very early this morning. we halted
at the Flat Head River unloaded our horses and turned them
out to feed. Several Indians accompanied us to the river and
continued untill evening. The man who set out early this
morning to the forks of this river for a canoe did not arive
untill after sunset we remained all night; in the evening we
tried the speed of several of our horses. these horses are
strong active and well formed. Those people have emence
numbers of them 50 or 60 or a Hundred head is not unusial
for an individual to possess.
The Chopunnish are in general stout well formed active
men. they have high noses and maney of them on the acqueline
order with chearfull and agreeable countinances; their
complexions are not remarkable in common with other Indian
Nations of America they extract their beard, but the men do
not uniformly extract the hair below, this is more particularly
confined to the females. they appear to be cheerfull but not
gay, they are fond of gambling and of their amusements which
consists principally in shooting their arrows at a targit made of
willow bark, and in rideing and exersiseing themselves on
horseback, raceing &
c. they are expirt marks men & good
riders. they do not appear to be so much devoted to baubles
as most of the nations we have met with, but seem anxious
always to riceve articles of utility, such as knives, axes, Kittles,
blankets & mockerson awls. blue beeds however may form
an exception to this remark; This article among all the nations
of this country may be justly compared to gold and silver
among civilized nations. They are generally well clothed in
their stile their dress consists of a long shirt which reaches
to the middle of the leg, long legins which reach as high as
the waist, mockersons & robe. those are formed of various
skins and are in all respects like those of the Shoshone. Their
orniments consists of beeds, shells and pieces of brass variously
attached to their dress, to their ears arround theire necks wrists
arms &c. a band of some kind usially serounds the head,
this is most frequently the skin of some fir animal as the fox
otter &
c. I observed a tippet worn by Hohâstillpilp, which
was formed of Humane scalps and ornemented with the
thumbs and fingers of several men which he had slain in battle.
they also were a coller or breastplate of otter skin orniminted
with shells beeds & quills. the women brade their hair in two
tresses which hang in the same position of those of the men,
which ar[e] cewed and hang over each sholder &
c.
