Wednesday March 19th. 1806.
It continued to rain and hail today in such manner that
nothing further could be done to the canoes. a party were
sent out early after the Elk which was killed yesterday with
which they returned in the course of a few hours. we gave
Comowooll alias Connia, a cirtificate of his good conduct and
the friendly intercourse which he has maintained with us during
our residence at this place; we also gave him a list of our
names, (do not) The Killamucks, Clatsops, Chinnooks,
Cathlahmahs and Wâc-ki-a-cums (Qu: Wackms) resemble each
other as well in their persons and dress as in their habits and
manners. their complexion is not remarkable, being the
usual copper brown of most of the tribes of North America.
they are low in statu[r]e reather diminutive, and illy shapen;
poss[ess]ing thick broad flat feet, thick ankles, crooked legs
wide mouths thick lips, nose moderately large, fleshey, wide at
the extremity with large nostrils, black eyes and black coarse
hair. their eyes are sometimes of a dark yellowish brown the
puple black. I have observed some high acqualine noses
among them but they are extreemly rare. the nose is generally
low between the eyes. the most remarkable trait in their physiognomy
is the peculiar flatness and width of forehead which they
artificially obtain by compressing the head between two boards
while in a state of infancy and from which it never afterwards
perfectly recovers. this is a custom among all the nations we
have met with West of the Rocky mountains. I have observed
the heads of many infants, after this singular bandage had been
dismissed, or about the age of 10 or eleven months, that were
not more than two inches thick about the upper edge of the
forehead and reather thiner still higher. from the top of the
head to the extremity of the nose is one streight line. this is
done in order to give a greater width to the forehead, which
they much admire. this process seems to be continued longer
with their female than their mail children, and neither appear
to suffer any pain from the operation. it is from this peculiar
form of the head that the nations East of the Rocky mountains,
call all the nations on this side, except the Aliohtans
or snake Indians, by the generic name of Flatheads. I think
myself that the prevalence of this custom is a strong proof
that [of] those nations having originally proceeded from the
same stock. The nations of this neighbourhood or those recapitulated
above, wear their hair loosly flowing on the back
and sholders; both men and women divide it on the center of
the crown in front and throw it back behind the ear on each
side. they are fond of combs and use them when they can
obtain them; and even without the aid of the comb keep their
hair in better order than many nations who are in other rispects
much more civilized than themselves. the large or apparently
swolen legs particularly observable in the women are obtained
in a great measure by tying a cord tight around the ankle.
their method of squating or resting themselves on their hams
which they seem from habit to prefer to siting, no doubt
contributes much to this deformity of the legs by preventing
free circulation of the blood. the dress of the man consists
of a smal robe, which reaches about as low as the middle of
the thye and is attatched with a string across the breast and is
at pleasure turned from side to side as they may have occasion
to disencumber the right or left arm from the robe entirely, or
when they have occasion for both hands, the fixture of the
robe is in front with it's corners loosly hanging over their
arms. they sometimes wear a hat which has already been
discribed. this robe is made most commonly of the skins
of a small animal which I have supposed was the brown
Mungo, tho' they have also a number, of the skins of the
tiger cat, some of those of the Elk which are used principally
on their war excursions, others of the skins of the deer panther
and bear and a blanket wove with the fingers of the wool of the
native sheep. a mat is sometimes temperarily thrown over
the sholders to protect them from rain. they have no other
article of cloathing whatever neither winter nor summer. and
every part except the sholders and back is exposed to view.
they are very fond of the dress of the whites, which they wear
in a similar manner when they can obtain them, except the
shoe which I have never seen woarn by any of them. they
call us pâh-shish'-e-ooks, or
cloth men. The dress of the
women consists of a robe, tissue, and sometimes when the
weather is uncommonly cold, a vest. their robe is much
smaller than that of the men, never reaching lower than the
waist nor extending in front sufficiently for to cover the body.
it is like that of the men confined across the breast with a
string and hangs loosly over the sholders and back. the
most esteemed and valuable of these robes are made of strips
of the skins of the Sea Otter net together with the bark of
the white cedar or silk-grass. these strips are first twisted and
laid parallel with each other a little distance assunder, and then
net or wove together in such manner that the fur appears
equally on both sides, and unites between the strands. it
make[s] a warm and soft covering. other robes are formed in
a similar manner of the skin of the Rackoon, beaver &c. at
other times the skin is dressed in the hair and woarn without
any further preperation. in this way one beaver skin, or two
of those of the Raccoon or tiger catt forms the pattern of the
robe. the vest is always formed in the manner first discribed
of their robes and covers the body from the armpits to the
waist, and is confined behind, and destitute of straps over the
sholder to keep it up. when this vest is woarn the breast of
the woman is concealed, but without it which is almost always
the case, they are exposed, and from the habit of remaining
loose and unsuspended grow to great length, particularly in
aged women in many of whom I have seen the bubby reach as
low as the waist. The garment which occupys the waist, and
from thence as low as nearly to the knee before and the ham,
behind, cannot properly be denominated a petticoat, in the
common acceptation of that term; it is a tissue of white cedar
bark, bruised or broken into small shreds, which are interwoven
in the middle by means of several cords of the same materials,
which serve as well for a girdle as to hold in place the shreds
of bark which form the tissue, and which shreds confined in
the middle hang with their ends pendulous from the waist,
the whole being of sufficient thickness when the female stands
erect to conceal those parts usually covered from formiliar
view, but when she stoops or places herself in many other
attitudes, this battery of Venus is not altogether impervious to
the inquisitive and penetrating eye of the amorite. This
tissue is sometimes formed of little twisted cords of the silk-grass
knoted at their ends and interwoven as discribed of the
bark. this kind is more esteemed and last much longer than
those of bark. they also form them of flags and rushes which
are woarn in a similar manner. the women as well as the men
sometimes cover themselves from the rain by a mat woarn over
the sholders. they also cover their heads from the rain sometimes
with a common water cup or basket made of the cedar
bark and beargrass. these people seldom mark their skins
by puncturing and introducing a colouring matter. such
of them as do mark themselves in this manner prefer their
legs and arms on which they imprint parallel lines of dots
either longitudinally or circularly. the women more frequently
than the men mark themselves in this manner.
The favorite ornament of both sexes are the common coarse
blue and white beads which the men wear tightly wound
aro[u]nd their wrists and ankles many times untill they obtain
the width of three or more inches. they also wear them in
large rolls loosly arond the neck, or pendulous from the
cartelage of the nose or rims of the ears which are purforated
for the purpose. the women wear them in a similar
manner except in the nose which they never purforate. they
are also fond of a species of wampum which is furnished them
by a trader whom they call Swipton. it seems to be the
native form of the shell without any preperation. this shell is
of a conic form somewhat curved, about the size of a raven's
quill at the base, and tapering to a point which is sufficiently
large to permit to hollow through which a small thred passes;
it is from one to 1 1/2 Inches in length, white, smooth, hard
and thin.[4]
these are woarn in the same manner in which the
beads are; and furnish the men with their favorite ornament
for the nose. one of these shells is passed horizontally through
the cartilage of the nose and serves frequently as a kind of
ring to prevent the string which suspends other ornaments at
the same part from chafing and freting the flesh. the men
sometimes wear collars of bears claws, and the women and
children the tusks of the Elk variously arranged on their necks
arms &c. both males and females wear braslets on their
wrists of copper brass or Iron in various forms. I think the
most disgusting sight I have ever beheld is these dirty naked
wenches. The men of these nations partake of much more of
the domestic drudgery than I had at first supposed. they
collect and prepare all the fuel, make the fires, assist in cleansing
and preparing the fish, and always cook for the strangers
who visit them. they also build their houses, construct their
canoes, and make all their wooden utensils. the peculiar provence
of the woman seems to be to collect roots and manufacture
various articles which are prepared of rushes, flags, cedar
bark, bear grass or waytape. the management of the canoe
for various purposes seems to be a duty common to both
sexes, as also many other occupations which with most Indian
nations devolves exclusively on the woman. their feasts of
which they are very fond are always prepared and served by
the men.
Comowool and the two Cathlahmahs left us this evening.
it continued to rain so constantly today that Sergt. Pryor could
not pitch his canoes.
