Chapter VII: Introduction (5)

I know all kinds of men. First there were my people (the Indians);
God made them first. Then he made a Frenchman [referring to the
Canadian voyagers of the Hudson Bay company], and then he made a
priest [priests accompanied these expeditions of the Hudson Bay
company]. A long time after that came Boston men [Americans are
thus called in the Chinook jargon, because the first of our nation
came into the Columbia river in 1796 in a ship from Boston], and
then King George men [the English]. Later came black men, and last
God made a Chinaman with a tail. He is of no account and has to
work all the time like a woman. All these are new people. Only the
Indians are of the old stock. After awhile, when God is ready, he
will drive away all the people except those who have obeyed his
laws.

Those who cut up the lands or sign papers for lands will be
defrauded of their rights and will be punished by God’s anger.
Moses was bad. God did not love him. He sold his people’s houses
and the graves of their dead. It is a bad word that comes from
Washington. It is not a good law that would take my people away
from me to make them sin against the laws of God.

You ask me to plow the ground! Shall I take a knife and tear my
mother’s bosom? Then when I die she will not take me to her bosom
to rest.

You ask me to dig for stone! Shall I dig under her skin for her
bones? Then when I die I can not enter her body to be born again.

You ask me to cut grass and make hay and sell it, and be rich like
white men! But how dare I cut off my mother’s hair?

It is a bad law, and my people can not obey it. I want my people to
stay with me here. All the dead men will come to life again. Their
spirits will come to their bodies again. We must wait here in the
homes of our fathers and be ready to meet them in the bosom of our
mother. (_MacMurray MS._)

The idea that the earth is the mother of all created things lies at the base, not only of the Smohalla religion, but of the theology of the Indian tribes generally and of primitive races all over the world. This explains Tecumtha’s reply to Harrison: “The sun is my father and the earth is my mother. On her bosom I will rest.” In the Indian mind the corn, fruits, and edible roots are the gifts which the earth-mother gives freely to her children. Lakes and ponds are her eyes, hills are her breasts, and streams are the milk flowing from her breasts. Earthquakes and underground noises are signs of her displeasure at the wrongdoing of her children. Especially are the malarial fevers, which often follow extensive disturbance of the surface by excavation or otherwise, held to be direct punishments for the crime of lacerating her bosom.

Smohalla’s chief supporter and assistant at the ceremonies was Kotai′aqan, or Coteea′kun, as MacMurray spells it, of the Yakima tribe. The name refers to a brood of young ducks scattering in alarm. He was the son of Kamai′äkan, the great war chief of the Yakima. He also gave MacMurray the story of the cosmos, which agrees with that obtained from Smohalla, but is more in detail:

The world was all water, and Saghalee Tyee was above it. He threw
up out of the water at shallow places large quantities of mud, and
that made the land. Some was piled so high that it froze hard,
and the rains that fell were made into snow and ice. Some of the
earth was made hard into rocks, and anyone could see that it had
not changed—it was only harder. We have no records of the past;
but we have it from our fathers from far back that Saghalee Tyee
threw down many of the mountains he had made. It is all as our
fathers told us, and we can see that it is true when we are hunting
for game or berries in the mountains. I did not see it done. He
made trees to grow, and he made a man out of a ball of mud and
instructed him in what he should do. When the man grew lonesome, he
made a woman as his companion, and taught her to dress skins, and
to gather berries, and to make baskets of the bark of roots, which
he taught her how to find.

She was asleep and dreaming of her ignorance of how to please man,
and she prayed to Saghalee Tyee to help her. He breathed on her
and gave her something that she could not see, or hear, or smell,
or touch, and it was preserved in a little basket, and by it all
the arts of design and skilled handiwork were imparted to her
descendants.

Notwithstanding all the benefits they enjoyed, there was quarreling
among the people, and the earth-mother was angry. The mountains
that overhung the river at the Cascades were thrown down, and
dammed the stream and destroyed the forests and whole tribes, and
buried them under the rocks. (_MacMurray MS._)

In connection with the wonderful little basket, MacMurray states that Kotai′aqan presented him with a very ancient drum-shape basket, about 2½ inches in diameter, to give to his wife, in order that she might likewise be inspired. Concerning the catastrophe indicated in the last paragraph, he goes on to say:

The Cascade range, where it crosses the Columbia river, exhibits
enormous cross sections of lava, and at its base are petrified
trunks of trees, which have been covered and hidden from view
except where the wash of the mighty stream has exposed them.
Indians have told me, of their knowledge, that, buried deep under
these outpours of basalt, or volcanic tufa, are bones of animals
of _siah_, or the long ago. Traditions of the great landslide at
the Cascades are many, but vary little in form. According to one
account, the mountain tops fell together and formed a kind of
arch, under which the water flowed, until the overhanging rocks
finally fell into the stream and made a dam or gorge. As the rock
is columnar basalt, very friable and easily disintegrated, that
was not impossible, and the landscape suggests some such giant
avalanche. The submerged trees are plainly visible near this
locality. Animal remains I have not seen, but these salmon-eating
Indians have lived on the river’s border through countless
ages, and know every feature in their surroundings by constant
association for generations, and naturally ally these facts with
their religious theories. (_MacMurray MS._)

In an article on “The submerged trees of the Columbia river,” in Science of February 18, 1887, the geologist, Major Clarence E. Dutton, also notices the peculiar formation at the Cascades and mentions the Indian tradition of a natural bridge over the river at this point.

SMOHALLA CHURCH ON YAKIMA RESERVATION]

MacMurray continues:

Coteeakun went on to say that some day Saghalee Tyee would again
overturn the mountains and so expose these bones, which, having
been preserved through so long a time, would be reoccupied by
the spirits which now dwell in the mountain tops, watching their
descendants on earth and waiting for the resurrection to come. The
voices of these spirits of the dead can be heard at all times in
the mountains, and often they answer back when spoken to. Mourners
who wail for their dead hear spirit voices replying, and know they
will always remain near them. No man knows when it will come, and
only those who have observed nature’s laws and adhered to the
faith of their ancestors will have their bones so preserved and be
certain of an earthly tenement for their spirits. He wanted me to
confirm this.

Coteeakun was pacific and gentle. He said all men were as brothers
to him and he hoped all would dwell together. He had been told
that white and black and all other kinds of men originally dwelt
in tents, as the red men always have done, and that God in former
times came to commune with white men. He thought there could be
only one Saghalee Tyee, in which case white and red men would live
on a common plane. We came from one source of life and in time
would “grow from one stem again. It would be like a stick that the
whites held by one end and the Indians by the other until it was
broken, and it would be made again into one stick.”

Some of the wilder Indians to the north have more truculent ideas
as to the final cataclysm which is to reoverturn the mountains
and bring back the halcyon days of the long past. As the whites
and the others came only within the lifetime of the fathers of
these Indians, they are not to be included in the benefits of the
resurrection, but are to be turned over with all that the white
man’s civilization has put upon the present surface of the land.

Coteeakun was for progress—limited progress, it is true—to the
extent of fixed homes and agriculture, but he did not want his
people to go from their villages or to abandon their religious
faith. They were nearly all disposed to work for wages among the
farmers, and had orchards and some domestic animals upon whose
produce they lived, besides the fish from the rivers. Smohalla
opposed anything that pertained to civilization, and had neither
cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, nor chickens, and not a tree or
vegetable was grown anywhere in his vicinage. Kowse (_Peucedanum
cous_), kamas (_Camassia esculenta_), berries, fish, and the game
of the mountains alone furnished food to his people, whom he
advised to resist every advance of civilization as improper for
a true Indian and in violation of the faith of their ancestors.
I found, however, that he was willing to advise his people to
take up lands and adopt the white man’s road, if the government
would pension him as it had pensioned Chief Moses, so that while I
thought he believed in his religion as much as other sectarians do
in theirs, he was tainted by the mercenary desire to live upon his
followers unless otherwise provided for by the government.

From Captain E. L. Huggins, Second cavalry, who visited Smohalla about the same time, we obtain further information concerning the prophet’s personality and doctrines. When Smohalla was urged to follow the example of other Indians who had taken up the white man’s road, he replied, “No one has any respect for these book Indians. Even the white men like me better and treat me better than they do the book Indians. My young men shall never work. Men who work can not dream, and wisdom comes to us in dreams.”

When it was argued that the whites worked and yet knew more than the Indians, he replied that the white man’s wisdom was poor and weak and of no value to Indians, who must learn the highest wisdom from dreams and from participating in the Dreamer ceremonies. Being pressed to explain the nature of this higher knowledge, he replied, “Each one must learn for himself the highest wisdom. It can not be taught. You have the wisdom of your race. Be content.”

When the officer contended that even the Indians had to work hard during the fishing season to get food for winter, the prophet answered:

“This work lasts only for a few weeks. Besides it is natural work and does them no harm. But the work of the white man hardens soul and body. Nor is it right to tear up and mutilate the earth as white men do.”

To the officer’s assertion that the Indians also dug roots and were even then digging kamas in the mountains, he replied:

“We simply take the gifts that are freely offered. We no more harm the earth than would an infant’s fingers harm its mother’s breast. But the white man tears up large tracts of land, runs deep ditches, cuts down forests, and changes the whole face of the earth. You know very well this is not right. Every honest man,” said he, looking at me searchingly, “knows in his heart that this is all wrong. But the white men are so greedy they do not consider these things.”

He asserted that the Indians were now so helpless before the white men that they must cease to exist unless they had assistance from a higher power, but that if they heeded the sacred message they would receive strong and sudden help as surely as the spring comes after winter. When some doubt was expressed as to his own faith in these things, he asked pointedly:

“Do the white teachers believe what they teach?”

“It is said, Smohalla, that you hate all white men.”

“It is not true. But the whites have caused us great suffering. Dr Whitman many years ago made a long journey to the east to get a bottle of poison for us. He was gone about a year, and after he came back strong and terrible diseases broke out among us. The Indians killed Dr Whitman, but it was too late. He had uncorked his bottle and all the air was poisoned. Before that there was little sickness among us, but since then many of us have died. I have had children and grandchildren, but they are all dead. My last grandchild, a young woman of 16, died last month. If only her infant could have lived”—his voice faltered slightly, but with scarcely a pause he continued in his former tone, “I labored hard to save them, but my medicine would not work as it used to.”

He repelled the idea that the Indians had profited by the coming of the whites, and especially denied that they had obtained ponies from this source. His statement on this point may be of interest to those who hold that the horse is indigenous to America:

“What! The white man gave us ponies? Oh, no; we had ponies long before we ever saw white people. The Great Spirit gave them to us. Our horses were swifter and more enduring, too, in those days, before they were mixed with the white man’s horses.”

He went on to tell how the Indians had befriended the first explorers who came among them and how ungrateful had been their later recompense, and said: “We are now so few and weak that we can offer no resistance, and their preachers have persuaded them to let a few of us live, so as to claim credit with the Great Spirit for being generous and humane. But they begrudge us what little grass our ponies eat.” At parting he repeated earnestly, “If they tell you Smohalla hates all white people, do not believe it.” (_Huggins, 2._)

* * * * *

Our knowledge of the Smohalla ritual is derived from the account given by Major MacMurray and from the statements of Yakima and Pälus informants. The officer’s account is that of an intelligent observer, who noted ceremonies closely, but without fully comprehending their meaning. The Indian account is that of initiates and true believers, one of them being the regular interpreter of the Smohalla services on Yakima reservation.

The officer had already seen the ceremonial performances at the Indian villages at Celilo and Umatilla in Oregon, at Tumwater and Yakima gap in Washington, but found its greatest development at the fountain head, the home of Smohalla at Priest rapids. His account is so full of interest that we give it almost in its entirety.

While still several miles away, his party discovered the village, the houses extending along the bank of the river, with several flags attached to long poles fluttering in the wind. The trail from the mountains was winding and difficult, but at last—

We reached the plain and were met by a procession, headed by
Smohalla in person, all attired in gorgeous array and mounted on
their best chargers. We wended our way through sagebrush and sand
dunes to the village street, not a soul being visible, but from the
mat-roofed salmon houses there came forth the most indescribable
chorus of bell ringing, drum beating, and screeching. I noticed
that the street was neatly swept and well sprinkled—an unusual
thing in any Indian village. This, Smohalla said, was in my honor
and to show that his people had cleanly tastes. Our procession
passed on beyond the village to a new canvas tent, which had a
brush shade to keep off the sun and was lined and carpeted with
new and very pretty matting. Smohalla said this had been prepared
especially for me, and was to be my house as long as I should stay
with him. To cap the climax, he had constructed a bench for me,
having sent more than 90 miles for the nails. Fresh salmon, caught
in a peculiar trap among the rocks and broiled on a plank, were
regularly furnished my party, and with hard tack and coffee of our
own supplying we got enough to eat and drink. Our own blankets
furnished sleeping conveniences. The river was within two yards of
our tent door and was an ample lavatory.

When I awoke the next morning, the sound of drums was again heard,
and for days it continued. I do not remember that there was any
intermission except for a few minutes at a time. Seven bass drums
were used for the purpose. I was invited to be present, and took
great interest in the ceremonies, which I shall endeavor to
describe.

There was a small open space to the north of the larger house,
which was Smohalla’s residence and the village assembly room as
well. This space was inclosed by a whitewashed fence made of
boards which had drifted down the river. In the middle was a
flagstaff with a rectangular flag, suggesting a target. In the
center of the flag was a round red patch. The field was yellow,
representing grass, which is there of a yellow hue in summer. A
green border indicated the boundary of the world, the hills being
moist and green near their tops. At the top of the flag was a small
extension of blue color, with a white star in the center. Smohalla
explained: “This is my flag, and it represents the world. God
told me to look after my people—all are my people. There are four
ways in the world—north and south and east and west. I have been
all those ways. This is the center. I live here. The red spot is
my heart—everybody can see it. The yellow grass grows everywhere
around this place. The green mountains are far away all around the
world. There is only water beyond, salt water. The blue [referring
to the blue cloth strip] is the sky, and the star is the north
star. That star never changes; it is always in the same place. I
keep my heart on that star. I never change.”

There are frequent services, a sort of processional around the
outside of the fence, the prophet and a small boy with a bell
entering the inclosure, where, after hoisting the flag, he delivers
a sort of sermon. Captains or class leaders give instructions to
the people, who are arranged according to stature, the men and
women in different classes marching in single file to the sound of
drums. There seems to be a regular system of signals, at command
of the prophet, by the boy with the bell, upon which the people
chant loud or low, quick or slow, or remain silent. These outdoor
services occurred several times each day.

Smohalla invited me to participate in what he considered a grand
ceremonial service within the larger house. This house was built
with a framework of stout logs placed upright in the ground and
roofed over with brush, or with canvas in rainy weather. The sides
consisted of bark and rush matting. It was about 75 feet long by
25 feet wide. Singing and drumming had been going on for some time
when I arrived. The air resounded with the voices of hundreds of
Indians, male and female, and the banging of drums. Within, the
room was dimly lighted. Smoke curled from a fire on the floor at
the farther end and pervaded the atmosphere. The ceiling was hung
with hundreds of salmon, split and drying in the smoke.

The scene was a strange one. On either side of the room was a
row of twelve women standing erect with arms crossed and hands
extended, with finger tips at the shoulders. They kept time to the
drums and their voices by balancing on the balls of their feet and
tapping with their heels on the floor, while they chanted with
varying pitch and time. The excitement and persistent repetition
wore them out, and I heard that others than Smohalla had seen
visions in their trances, but I saw none who would admit it or
explain anything of it. I fancied they feared their own action, and
that real death might come to them in this simulated death.

Those on the right hand were dressed in garments of a red color
with an attempt at uniformity. Those on the left wore costumes of
white buckskin, said to be very ancient ceremonial costumes, with
red and blue trimmings. All wore large round silver plates or such
other glittering ornaments as they possessed. A canvas covered the
floor and on it knelt the men and boys in lines of seven. Each
seven, as a rule, had shirts of the same color. The tallest were
in front, the size diminishing regularly to the rear. Children and
ancient hags filled in any spare space. In front on a mattress
knelt Smohalla, his left hand covering his heart. On his right
was the boy bell ringer in similar posture. Smohalla wore a white
garment which he was pleased to call a priest’s gown, but it was
simply a white cloth shirt with a colored stripe down the back.

INTERIOR OF SMOHALLA CHURCH]

I and my two assistants were seated on a mattress about 10 feet in
front of the prophet, which fortunately placed us near the door
and incidentally near fresh air. There were two other witnesses,
Indians from distant villages, who sat at one side with Smohalla’s
son looking on.

Smohalla’s son was said to be in training as his successor. He was
a young man, apparently about 23 years old, tall, slender, and
active in movement, and commonly kept himself apart from the body
of the people. He was much darker than his father. His dress was
brilliant in style and color. He ordinarily wore a short gown or
surplice, sometimes yellow and at other times sky blue, with ornate
decorations of stars or moons appliqué, cut from bright-colored
cloths. The sleeves were extravagantly trimmed with beads and
silver ornaments. He knelt at the right of the group as the place
of honor. On his left was Coteeakun, the head man of the Indian
village at Union gap, on the Yakima reservation. The third man was
Coteeakun’s brother, a most intelligent and progressive Indian.
(_MacMurray MS._)

From Charles Ike, an intelligent half-blood interpreter on Yakima reservation, who is also the regular interpreter of the Smohalla ritual services at the Yakima village of Paʾkiut, we obtain additional interesting details concerning the ceremony as there performed, with the underlying religious teachings.

As at present taught, the religion finds adherents among probably all the tribes along the Columbia from near the British border down to the Wushqûm tribe at The Dalles, with the exception, perhaps, of the Klikatat, who are nearly all Catholics. The two chief centers are at Pʿnä or Priest rapids, where Smohalla in person regularly preaches to about 120 hearers, and at Paʾkiut, at Union gap on Yakima reservation, where, until his death a short time ago, Tianä′ni has regularly conducted the services for about 300 of his tribe. At each place is a church or meeting-house built as already described.

The former high priest of the doctrine among the Yakima, and the right-hand man of Smohalla himself, was Kotai′aqan, already mentioned, the son of the great war chief Kamai′äkan. It is even asserted that he was the originator of the system. However this may be, it is certain that he had much to do with formulating both the dogmas and the ritual. In temper he was more gentle than Smohalla, and more disposed to meet civilization half-way. On his death, about 1890, he was succeeded by his stepson, Tīanä′ni, or “Many Wounds,” who filled the office until about October, 1892, when he was murdered near his home by two drunken Indians. He was succeeded in the chieftainship by a younger son of Kotai′aqan named Sha′awĕ (or Shaw-wawa Kootiacan), and in his priestly functions by a man known to the whites as Billy John.

The regular services take place on Sunday, in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Sunday has been held sacred among the Nez Percés and neighboring tribes for more than sixty years, as the result of the teachings of the Hudson Bay officers. The prairie tribes also, having learned that Sunday is the great “medicine day” of the whites, now select it by preference for their own religious ceremonies of the Ghost dance and the mescal. There are also services during the week, besides special periodic observances, such as the “lament” for the dead, particularly the dead chiefs, in early spring; the salmon dance, when the salmon begin to run in April, and the berry dance, when the wild berries ripen in autumn. The description of the ceremonial of the salmon dance will answer for the others, as it differs chiefly only by the addition of the feast.

As already stated, the house has the door at the eastern end, as is the common rule in all Indian structures. On the roof, at the eastern end of the building at Paʾkiut, are the flags, the center one blue, representing the sky; another one white, representing the earthly light, and the third yellow, representing the heavenly light of the spirit world. Blue, white, and yellow are the sacred colors of this system, as also of that of the Shakers, to be described later. On entering, the worshipers range themselves in two lines along the sides of the building, the men and boys standing along the northern wall, the women and girls along the southern wall, and all facing toward the center. The first man entering takes his place on the north nearest the door; the next one stands just beyond him, and so on; while the women and girls, when their turn comes, make the whole circuit along the northern side, and then, turning at the farther end, take their places in reverse order along the southern wall. In the open space between the rows is a floor-walker, whose business it is to see that everyone is in the right place. All are dressed as nearly as possible in the finest style of the old Indian costume, buckskin and shell ornaments, their faces painted yellow, white, or red with Indian paints, and carrying eagle feathers in their right hands (plates +XC+, +XCI+; figure 66).

At the farther end, facing the door, sits the high priest, while just behind him stands his “interpreter,” and on his left are seated on the ground the three drummers with their large drums in front of them. The high priest carries a large bell in his left hand and a smaller one in his right.

Dishes of fresh-cooked salmon and jars of water, together with a plentiful supply of other food, are ranged in front of the devotees. After a preliminary ceremony in the nature of a litany, in which the principal articles of their theology are recited in the form of question and answer by the whole body of worshipers, the high priest gives the command, “Take water,” when everyone raises a cup of water to his lips. Next comes the command, “Now drink,” and each one takes a sip. At the words, “Now the salmon,” each takes up a portion of fish, which he puts into his mouth at the next command, “Now eat.” Last comes the command, “Now help yourselves,” which is the signal for a general attack on the provisions.

When everyone has satisfied his hunger, the remains of the feast are cleared away and the “dance” begins. At a signal given by a single stroke of the bell in the left hand of the high priest all stand up in line on either side of the building. At another stroke of the bell all put their right hands on their breasts. Another tap of the bell and the right hand is brought out in front of the body. Another, and they begin to move their right hands backward and forward like fans in front of the breast, and thus continue throughout the dance, keeping time also to the singing by balancing alternately upon their toes and heels, as already described, without moving from their places. Ritual songs are sung throughout the remainder of the service, in time with the movements of the dancers and the sounds of the drums, and regulated by the strokes of the bell.

Between songs anyone who wishes to speak steps out into the open space. With a single tap of the bell the high priest then summons his “interpreter,” standing behind him, who comes forward and stands beside the speaker, a few feet in front and at the right of the high priest. The speaker then in a low tone tells his story—usually a trance vision of the spirit world—to the interpreter, who repeats it in a loud voice to the company. At the end of the recital the high priest gives the signal with the bell, when all raise their right hands with a loud “Ai!” (Yes!). The high priest himself sometimes discourses also to the people through the interpreter; at other times directly.

Each song is repeated until the high priest gives the signal with the bell to stop. Most of the songs consist—in the native language—of seven lines. At the end of the first line the high priest taps once with the bell; at the end of the second line he taps twice, and so on to the end of the song, when he rings the bell hard and continuously, and all raise their hands with a loud “Ai!” Then the song leader, who stands with a feather fan between the high priest and the drummers, starts the next song.

The first song is given by all standing motionless, with the right hand on the breast and with eyes cast downward. It may be rendered:

Verily, verily, Our Brother made the body.
He gave it a spirit and the body moved.
Then he counted out the words for us to speak.

Another begins:

Verily, Our Brother put salmon in the water to be our food.

Another begins:

O, brothers! O, sisters!
When first the light struck this world, it lighted the world forever.

Our Brother (_Nämi Piäp_) is the term used in referring to the creating spirit, instead of “our father,” as we might expect them to say.

On leaving, at the close of the ceremony, the man nearest the high priest passes around in front of him and down along in front of the line of women, and as he reaches the door he turns around and bows to the high priest. Each man in turn thus files around and passes out, after which the women—first the one nearest the high priest and then the others in regular order—pass out in the same manner. While the worshipers are thus going out, the high priest, standing up, rings continuously the small bell in his right hand, while with the larger bell in his left he gives a single stroke as each one passes through the door.

_Tribes of the Columbia region_

The following synopsis will give a good general idea of the location and numbers of the tribes of the Columbia region from the British line down to the Cascades, including all those under the influence of the Smohalla religion. Except when derived from such well-known authorities as Lewis and Clark, Stevens, Gibbs, etc., the information given is the result of personal investigation and work with Yakima and Pälus Indians. The general boundaries of the tribes west of the Cascade range, including the adherents of the Shaker religion, are also indicated on the accompanying map (plate +LXXXVIII+), but our information in regard to this region is too meager to be definite.

+Kutenai+ (Kitunahan stock).—_Synonyms_: Arcs Plats, Cotonné, Cottonoi, Coutanie, Flatbow, Kitunaha, Kootenai, Koutaine, Kutneha, Skalzi, Tushepaw (Lewis and Clark, 1805), White-tailed Deer People (Clark, Indian Sign Language). The Kutenai, properly Kituna′qa, form a distinct linguistic stock, and live chiefly on the Canadian side, around Kutenai river and lake, but extend across the line into northern Idaho and northwestern Montana. Their extension southward dates from their treaty of peace with the Flatheads about ninety years ago. In company with the Flatheads they were accustomed formerly to come down from the mountains in the fall to hunt the buffalo on the headwaters of the Missouri. They are mentioned by Lewis and Clark in 1805 under the name of Tushepaw, with bands distinguished as Ootlashoot, Micksucksealton (?), and Hohilpo living in the mountains and on Clark’s fork within United States territory. According to Gatschet, Tu′shipa is a collective term applied by the Shoshoni to the tribes living north of them, including the Nez Percés and others, as well as the Kutenai. A part of the Kutenai joined with the Flatheads and Upper Pend d’Oreilles in a treaty with the government in 1855 and are now on Flathead (Jocko) reservation in Montana. They are probably all Catholics. Others, living in northern Idaho, have never entered into treaty relations, and may be followers of Smohalla. The best estimates for the last fifty years give those within the United States a population of from 400 to 450.

+Pend d’Oreille+ (Salishan stock).—_Synonyms_: Calispel, Coospellar (Lewis and Clark), Kahlispelm, Kalispelines, Kalispelusses, Kellespem, Kullas-Palus, Ku′shpĕlu (a Yakima or Pälus form), Papshpûn-ʿlĕma or “people of the great fir trees” (Yakima name), Pend d’Oreilles or “ear-rings” (French name), Ponderas. The Pend d’Oreilles held the country along the river and lake of the same name, in Idaho and Washington, immediately southwest of the Kutenai. They are commonly distinguished as Upper, on the lake, and Lower, on both banks of the river. They are the Coospellar mentioned by Lewis and Clark in 1805. They formerly crossed the mountains annually to hunt buffalo on the Missouri. Since 1844 they and most of the other Salishan tribes of this region have been under the influence of Catholic missionaries. The Upper Pend d’Oreilles joined with the Flatheads and Kutenai in a treaty with the government in 1855, and are now on Flathead reservation in Montana. Some of the Lower band joined them there in 1887. Others are on the Cœur d’Alêne reservation in Idaho, a few are with Moses on the Columbia in Washington, and the rest are still in their original country, never having entered into treaty stipulations. The whole tribe numbers about 1,000 souls.

+Colville+ (Salishan stock).—_Synonyms_: Chaudière (French name), Chualpay, Kettle Falls, Quiarlpi or “basket people” (Hale), Schrooyelpi, Schwogelpi, Schwoyelpi, Swielpee, Wheelpoo (Lewis and Clark). They originally occupied the country on Colville and Kettle rivers and on both sides of the Columbia from Kettle falls down to Spokane river, in Washington, and extending north into British territory to about the lower Arrow lake. They are mentioned by Lewis and Clark under the name of Wheelpoo. Kettle falls on the Columbia, within their territory, was the great salmon fishing resort for all the tribes of this region, and here, in 1846, was established the Catholic mission of Saint Paul. As a result of this missionary work, all of these Salishan tribes, excepting the Sanpoil, Nespelim, Mitaui, and a part of the Spokan are now Catholics. In 1854, according to Stevens, the original Shwoyelpi were nearly extinct and their places had been filled by Indians from neighboring tribes. Without ever having entered into any treaty with the government, they were assigned in 1872 to Colville reservation, Washington, which had been set apart for the tribes of that section. They were reported to number 616 in 1870, and only 301 in 1892.

+Lake+ or +Senijextee+ (Salishan stock).—These owned the country on both sides of the Columbia, in Washington, from about Kettle falls northward into British Columbia to the vicinity of Arrow lake. They are now on Colville reservation in Washington and number about 350, with perhaps a few others across the boundary. They may be identical with the Lahannas of Lewis and Clark.

+Spokan+ (Salishan stock).—_Synonyms_: Lartielo (Lewis and Clark), Sarlilso (Gibbs), Sinhumanish, Sinkoman (Kutenai name), Spokihnish, Spokomish, Zingomenes. They are commonly distinguished as Upper Spokan or Sineeguomenah, Middle or Sintootoo, and Lower or Chekisschee (_Winans, Comr., 1870_). Spokan is the name given them by the Cœur d’Alênes; Sinkoman is their Kutenai name, while the Lartielo or Sarlilso of Lewis and Clark is simply a bad misprint for Sintootoo, the name of the middle band. They are closely connected, linguistically and politically, with the Sanpoil and Nespelim. The lower Spokan are now Protestants, the rest are Catholics. They formerly owned the whole basin of Spokane river in Washington and extending into Idaho. They are now on Spokane reservation in Washington and the Cœur d’Alêne reservation in Idaho, and number in all about 900 or 1,000.

+Cœur d’Alêne+ (Salishan stock).—_Synonyms_: Pointed Hearts, Qʾma′shpăl or “kamas people” (so called by the Yakima), Skeechaway, Skeetsomish (Lewis and Clark), Skitsămŭq (Pälus name), Skitswish, Stietshoi. They occupied the lake and river bearing their name in Idaho and the adjacent headwaters of the Spokane. A part of this territory they held jointly with the Spokan, whose language they speak. In 1892 they numbered 427, on Cœur d’Alêne reservation in Idaho.

+Sanpoil+ (Salishan stock).—_Synonyms_: Hai-ai′nĭma (Yakima name), Hihighenimmo (Lewis and Clark), Ipoilq (another Yakima name), Nʾpochle (Stevens), Sans Puelles, Sinapoils, Sinipouals, Sinpaivelish, Sinpohellechach, Sinpoilschne, Siur Poils. The name by which this tribe is commonly known is sometimes written as a French form Sans Poils, meaning “without bristles,” or “hairless,” but it is more probably an Indian word. They occupy the country on Sanpoil river in Washington, now included within Colville reservation, and are closely allied with the Nespelim. These two tribes are the most aboriginal in eastern Washington, and adhere strictly to their primitive customs and religion. The two tribes are thus described by Winans, the government farmer, in 1870:

They have never received any presents from the government, although
they have been frequently asked to do so. They seem suspicious
of the whites, are the least civilized and most independent of
any of the tribes of the territory. They are rich in horses and
cattle, possessing all the comforts they know how to enjoy, and it
appears their only fear is that they will be interfered with by the
government. They are perfectly contented with their condition, and
would not accept anything from the government if offered, except a
religious instructor and doctor.

Some years later they were brought under the reservation system and a change came o’er the spirit of their dream. In 1892 we are told officially that “the Sanpuell Indians are the worst people that I have anything to do with.... They are surly, ignorant, and filthy,” notwithstanding which they still “have the same religious prejudice as the Nespelims about receiving aid from the government.” Of the Nespelim the same intelligent witness tells us that “they are a peculiar class of Indians, having a religion of their own.” The religion of the two tribes is aboriginal, and is similar to the Smohalla doctrine in principle, although not in ceremonial. In 1892 the Sanpoil were estimated at 300.

+Nespelim+ (Salishan stock).—_Synonyms_: Inspellum, Sinspeelish. On the north bank of the Columbia, in Washington, along Nespelim river and down to the junction of the Okinagan, and on the opposite side of the Columbia down to about Grande Coulée. They speak the same language as the Sanpoils, and in aboriginal habit, religion, and organization are closely identified with them. They are within the limits of Colville reservation and were reported to number only 62 in 1892.

+Okanagan+ (Salishan stock).—_Synonyms_: Oakinacken, Okinakane, Okiwahkine. They occupy the whole basin of Okanagan river in Washington, extending north into British Columbia, and including Similkameen river. The Okanagan were an important tribe or confederacy divided into a number of bands, some of which have also at times been considered as belonging to the Spokan, while others are commonly recognized as distinct tribes. Ross gives them “twelve tribes,” as follows: Skamoynumach, Kewaughtchenunaugh, Pisscow (Piskwaus), Incomecane′took, Tsillane (Chelan), Intie′took (Entiatook), Battlelemuleemauch or Meatwho (Mitaui), Inspellum (Nespelim), Sinpohellechach (Sanpoil), Sinwhoyelppetook (Colville), Samilkanuigh (Similkameen), and Oakinacken (Okanagan). They are now included within the Colville agency, and are Catholics. They were estimated at 340 in 1870 and reported as numbering 405 in 1892.

+Mitaui+ (Salishan stock).—_Synonyms_: Battlelemuleemauch, Meatwho, Meshons, Meteowwee (Lewis and Clark), Methows, Mithouies. They formerly lived on the west side of the Columbia, including the basins of the Methow, Lake Chelan, and Entiatook river. Lewis and Clark met some of them in 1805 below the mouth of the Wallawalla. They are closely connected with the Piskwaus and Isle de Pierres. They now reside in Nespelim valley on Colville reservation, confederated with the Isle de Pierres under Chief Moses. The two tribes were reported at 390 in 1892. A few others live in the neighborhood of Kittitas near the Yakima tribe. See _Piskwaus_.

+Isle de Pierre+ (Salishan stock).—_Synonyms_: Columbias, Linkinse, Sinkiuse. They originally occupied the country in Washington from the Columbia eastward to the Grande Coulée, extending from about the mouth of the Grande Coulée down nearly to Crab creek. Isle de Pierre is the French name of Rock island in the Columbia at the mouth of the Wenatchee. For a long time, under their noted chief Moses, they refused to recognize the authority of the government or to go on a reservation. Now, however, they are settled in Nespelim valley, on Colville reservation. They were reported to number 390 in 1892 and are described as “true, genuine Indians in every sense of the word.” Their chief, Moses, the enemy and rival of Smohalla, was thus described in 1870: “Moses, the head chief, has been a great warrior. He was foremost in the fights of 1858 with Colonels Steptoe and Wright, and was severely wounded a number of times, but not dying, the Indians believe he has a charmed life. He is medium sized, about 45 years old, noble looking, straight as an arrow, and never breaks his word. He has more influence than any other chief east of the Cascade mountains in the territory. He comes nearer being such a chief as we read of than any I have ever met. He is kindly disposed toward the whites and invites them to come and settle in his country.” (_Winans._) Linguistically they are probably nearest related to the Piskwaus.

+Wa′napûm+ (Shahaptian stock).—_Synonyms_: Columbia River Indians, Sokulks. This is the tribe of which Smohalla is the chief and high priest. They are a small band, numbering probably less than 200 souls, and closely connected linguistically and politically with the Yakima, Pälus, and Nez Percés. Wanapûm is the name by which they are known to these cognate tribes, and signifies “river people;” from _wana_ or _wala_, “river” (particularly Columbia river), and _pûm_ or _pam_, “people or tribal country.” Together with the other non-treaty tribes of this region they are known to the whites under the indefinite name of “Columbia River Indians.” They are identical with the Sokulk met by Lewis and Clark at the mouth of Snake river and described as living farther up on the Columbia. The name Sokulk seems to be entirely unknown among the Yakima and Pälus of today. The Wa′napûm range along both banks of the Columbia, in Washington, from above Crab creek down to the mouth of Snake river. Their village, where Smohalla resides, is on the west bank of the Columbia, at the foot of Priest rapids, in the Yakima country. It is called Pʿnä, signifying “a fish weir,” and is a great rendezvous for the neighboring tribes during the salmon fishing season. Haying never made a treaty or gone on a reservation, they are not officially recognized by the government.

+Pä′lus+ (Shahaptian stock).—_Synonyms_: Palouse, Pelloatpallah Chopunnish (Lewis and Clark), Peloose, Polonches, Sewatpalla. The Pälus owned the whole basin of Palouse river in Washington and Idaho, and extended also along the north bank of Snake river to its junction with the Columbia. They were, and are, closely connected with the Wanapûm and the Nez Percés. Pälus, the name by which the tribe is commonly known, is properly the name of Standing Rock, at the junction of Palouse and Snake rivers. They can not explain the meaning. They have four villages: Almotu, on the north bank of Snake river in Washington, about 30 miles above the mouth of Palouse river; Pälus, on the north bank of Snake river just below the junction of the Palouse; Ta′sawĭks, on the north bank of Snake river about 15 miles above its mouth; and Kasĭ′spä or Cosispa (meaning “at the point,” from _kăsĭ′s_, a point, and _pä_, the locative), at Ainsworth in the junction of the Snake and Columbia. This last village has a slight difference in dialect and is sometimes regarded as belonging to the Wanapûm. Although the Pä′lus are mentioned as parties to the Yakima treaty of 1855, they have never as a tribe recognized any treaty limitations or come upon a reservation. They are aboriginal in their ideas and among the most devoted adherents of the Smohalla doctrine. They were estimated at 500 in 1854, but, not being officially recognized, it is impossible to give their present number.

+Pĭskwaus+ or +Winä′tshipûm+ (Salishan stock).—_Synonyms_: Piscaous, Piscous, Pisquose. The name by which this tribe is commonly known is properly the name of a fishing place on Wenatchee river, and is probably Salishan, but may be from the Yakima _pĭsko_, signifying “a bend in the river.” The Yakima call the river Winätshi, signifying a “river issuing from a cañon,” and the tribe Winätshipûm. The Piskwaus proper, on Wenatchee river, with their connected bands or tribes living in the same neighborhood, west of the Columbia in Kittitas and Okanogan counties, Washington, are a southern extension of the Mitaui and speak the same language. Under the name of Piskwaus, Stevens includes “the Indians on the Columbia between the Priests’ and Ross rapids, on the Pisquose or Winatshapam river; the Enteatkeon, Chelaun lake, and the Mithaw on Barrier river. The name of Pisquouse, however, properly refers to a single locality on the river known to the Yakamas as Winatshapam. The Pisquouse themselves, as has before been remarked, are so much intermarried with the Yakamas that they have almost lost their nationality. These bands were formerly all united under one principal chief, Stalkoosum, who is said to have been a man of great note among them. He was killed a few years since in a fight with the Blackfeet, since which there has been no head of the tribe.” (_Stevens, Comr. Rept., 1854._) The Piskwaus and smaller connected tribes took part in the Yakima treaty of 1855, but do not live on the reservation. Most of them live on the Wenatchee and the north branch of Yakima river in Kittitas county. They are all Catholics. There is no official statement of their number. Smaller tribes or bands connected with the Piskwaus proper and speaking the same language are:

1. +K̔′tătäs+, K̔tătäs-‛lĕ′ma, Ketetas (Stevens), Pshwa′năpûm (Yakima name), Shanwappoms (Lewis and Clark). K̔′tătäs signifies “a shoal,” _‘lĕ′ma_ being a tribal suffix, and Pshwană-pûm in the Yakima language signifies “shoal people,” the name referring to a shoal in Yakima river at Ellensburg.

2. +Ska′utăl+, or Skaddal (of Lewis and Clark). About Boston creek and Kahchass lake, at the head of Yakima river.

3. +W‛shä′nătu+, or Shallattoos (of Lewis and Clark). The word means “huckleberry” in Yakima, and is applied to a site on Yakima river just above Ellensburg.

4. +Skwa′nănă+, or Squannaroos (of Lewis and Clark). A Yakima word meaning “whirlpool,” and applied to a point on Yakima river about opposite the entrance of Selah creek, the village being on the west bank of the river. This band may possibly speak the language of the Ätanûm, a Shahaptian tribe, whose territory adjoins them.

5. +Qamĭl-‘lĕma+ or Kahmiltpah. The name is Yakima, and signifies “people of Qamĭ′lh.” Qamĭ′lh, or “Watching for Fish,” was a chief who formerly lived with his band about Saddle mountain, on the east side of the Columbia, above Priest rapids. They are called Kahmiltpah in the Yakima treaty of 1855. They now live with the other tribes last named in Kittitas county.

6. +Si′ăpkat+ or Seapcat. They reside now in Kittitas county, but probably lived originally at a place of the same name on the east bank of the Columbia, about Bishop rock and Milk creek, below Wenatchee river. They are called Seapcat in the Yakima treaty of 1855. The word is of the Piskwaus language.

+Yä′kĭmâ+ (Shahaptian stock).—_Synonyms_: Cutsahnim (Lewis and Clark), Eyackimah, Pa′‛kiut-‛lĕ′ma, Stobshaddat (by Puget sound tribes, _Tolmie_), Waptai′lmĭm, Yackamans, Yookoomans. The Yakima are the most important tribe of the Shahaptian stock, excluding the Nez Percés. They occupied the country of Natchess and middle Yakima rivers, in the present Yakima county, Washington, and are now on a reservation within the same county. Stevens says the name signifies “black bear” in the Wallawalla language, but Yakima informants state that it is a nickname signifying “coward” or “runaway,” and say that the proper name of the tribe is Waptai′lmĭm, people of the “narrow river,” or Pa′‛kiut-‛lĕ′ma, “people of the gap,” both names referring to the narrows in Yakima river at Union gap, near Yakima bridge. Their old village was on the west side of the river, just below the gap. They are the Cutsahnim of Lewis and Clark. This name may possibly come from the same root as Kû′tsano′t, “Lying Alongside,” the name of an old Yakima chief who died about 1880. In 1854, according to Stevens, they were “divided into two principal bands, each made up of a number of villages and very closely connected, the one owning the country on the Natchess and lower Yakima, the other on the Wenass and its main branch above the forks.” These latter, however, were chiefly of the Piskwaus connection. They had then several chiefs, of whom Kamaiakan was the most important. Like all the other Columbia tribes east of the Cascade range, they formerly crossed the Rocky mountains annually to hunt the buffalo on the waters of the Missouri. In 1855 the government made a treaty with the Yakima, Piskwaus, Pälus, and other tribes by which they were to cede a territory on both sides of the Columbia, extending generally from the Cascade range eastward to Palouse and Snake rivers, and southward from above Chelan lake to the Columbia, excepting a small portion between the Columbia and the lower Yakima. At the same time the Yakima reservation was established and an arrangement was made by which all the tribes and bands concerned were to be confederated under the title of the “Yakama Nation,” with Kamaiakan as head chief. Shortly afterward the Yakima war broke out, and the treaty remained unratified until 1859. As already stated, the Pälus and several other tribes have never recognized it or come on the reservation, and their objection to such removal has become a religious principle of the Smohalla doctrine. In the original treaty of 1855 fourteen tribes are named as participating, as follows: Yakama (Yäkima), Palouse (Pä′lus), Pisquouse (Pi′skwaus), Wenatshapam (another name for Piskwaus), Klikatat (Klûkatät), Klinquit (not identified), Kowwassayee (K′kasawi), Liaywas (not identified), Skinpah (Skinpä), Wish-ham (Wushqûm), Shyiks (not identified), Ochechotes (Uchi′chol), Kahmiltpah (Qamil′lĕma), and Seapcat (Si′apkat). Among these were represented at least six languages and three linguistic stocks. The majority of these Indians west of the Columbia, including the Yakima proper and others on the reservation, are Catholics, with also a number of adherents of the Shaker and Smohalla doctrines. Those on the reservation numbered 1,200 in 1892, with an estimated 1,500 outside the boundaries. Beside the principal band of Yakima, the Waptailmĭm already mentioned, there are also the Sĕ′tăs-‛lĕma, or “people of the rye prairie,” on Setass creek, a western tributary of the Yakima in the eastern part of the reservation, and the Pĭsko, or people of the “river bend,” in a village also on the south side of the Yakima, between Topinish and Setass creeks. (See _Pishquitpah_.) Their dialects are said to differ slightly from that of the Waptailmĭm.

+Ä′tănûm-‛lĕma+ (Shahaptian stock) or “people (_‛lĕma_) of Ätanûm creek.”—A small tribe on Atahnam creek, in Yakima county, Washington, on the northern boundary of the reservation. They are said to speak a language distinct from Yakima or Klûkatät, but cognate. They have no official recognition now or in the treaty of 1855. The name Ä′tănûm is Yakima, and refers to a stream “ascended” (by salmon).