Traditions of the Thompson River Indians (cont.)
BY FRANZ BOAS.
THE Thompson River Indians, whose mythology has been recorded in the following pages by Mr. James Teit, form a branch of the Salishan tribes which inhabit large portions of the States of Washington, Idaho, Montana, and of the Province of British Columbia. The languages constituting the Salish stock may be grouped in two main divisions, -the coast Salish and the Salish of the interior. While the former is divided into a great number of languages spoken by the tribes extending from Tillamook in Oregon to Bella Coola in British Columbia, the languages of the interior show greater uniformity. The Salish proper is spoken in the interior of Washington, Idaho, and Montana, and extends into southern British Columbia, where it is spoken by the Okanagan. The Shuswap, that is spoken in southeastern British Columbia, is closely affiliated to it. Between the Shuswap and the coast, two other languages are spoken, - the Lillooet in the north; the Thompson River language, or NLaka'pamux1 in the south. The last-named tribe lives on Fraser and Thompson rivers, a little above and below their confluence.
The tribe is divided into five divisions, - the Nkamtci'nEmux on the upper part of Thompson River, the Cawa'xamux in Nicola Valley, the NLak·apamux'o'? or real NLaka'pamux, around the confluence of Thompson and Fraser rivers, the SLaxa'yux on upper Fraser River, and the Uta'mqt farthest down Fraser River. The Nkamtci'nEmux are neighbors of the Shuswap. The Cawa'xamux come into contact with the Okanagan, while formerly they were neighbors of a small Athapascan tribe which live on the upper part of Nicola River. The SLaxa'yux live next to the upper Lillooet, while the Uta'mqt come into contact with the coast Salish on the lower course of Fraser River.
The greater part of the following traditions were collected among the Nkamtci'nEmux and Cawa'xamux.
The NLak·a'pamux are primarily hunters and fishermen. They subsist largely on venison and salmon, although berries and roots which are collected by the women constitute an important portion of their diet. Of recent years their customs have somewhat changed, owing to the influence of the white settlers. They have learned to build log cabins, and begin to till the soil. They also work to a considerable extent for wages on ranches and in pack-trains. Formerly they spent the winter in the valleys of Thompson and Fraser rivers, where they lived in small villages, most of which consisted of a few houses only. In the spring they resorted to the mountains, where the women gathered roots, and where the men went hunting. In the summer, when the salmon ascend the rivers, considerable portions of the tribe erected their summer huts near the river courses, and engaged in curing fish for winter's use. Later on, they visited their hunting-grounds in pursuit of deer In the spring, great numbers of Indians belonging to all divisions of the tribe assembled in some of the higher valleys of the country, particularly in a valley situated n short distance northeast of Lytton, which is called BEta'ni. The hillsides of this valley abound in plants the roots of which are eaten by the Indians. While they were assembled here, the men passed much of their time gambling, while the women were engaged in digging and curing roots.
The winter houses of the Indians were underground lodges -covered over with a roof made of beams, mats, and dirt. A hole from eighteen to thirty feet in diameter, and about three or four feet deep, was dug, and four beams were placed on the rim of the hole, slanting upward towards the middle. They were supported by posts. These beams were covered with cross poles and mats and dirt. They did not come into contact in the middle, where a hole was left about three or four feet in diameter. Access to the lodge was had through this hole, in which a ladder was standing which led to the floor of the dwelling. The fireplace was at the foot of the ladder, which was protected from the heat of the fire by a slab of stone. The beds were arranged near the walls.
In summer the people lived in tents made of bark or of rush mats. These tents were either circular or square. In the latter case the smoke escape was along the ridge of the tent. Most of their household utensils were made of woven basketry or of birch bark.
They dressed mainly in deerskins. The clothing consisted of shirt, leggings, and robes. Their shirts were generally made of buckskin. Those worn by the men reached half way down to the thigh. The long leggings were attached to a belt. Moccasins made of buckskin were worn over socks made of sage-brush. The shirts of the women were longer, and were more elaborately ornamented, than those of the men. They also wore long leggings. Both men and women used to wear skin robes over their shirts. Deerskin, dogskin, and buffalo-skin were used for this purpose; but they also wore robs woven of rabbit-skins cut into strips. The Uta'mqt used blankets woven of mountain-goat wool. These were undoubtedly acquired from the coast Indians. The men used to wear a strap of skin tied on their heads to hold their hair back; but caps made of buckskin were also used.
