The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891, May 01, 1876, Image 6

Historic Oregon Newspapers

The west shore., May 01, 1876, Page 6, Image 6

Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR

About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1876)

Prev Page of 12 Next Prev Issue Next Text PDF JP2 (1.1 MB) Clip/Print Image

Return to Top

Prev Page of 12 Next Prev Issue Next

Newspaper Page TextMay, 0 THE WEST SIIOHE. INDIAN i.H'K AT SITKA. BY V. C. 1'HAT. Dnjlircak at Sitka is grcctuJ y the f.lst swelling li'Jtcs of f;ur :4-a trek's, follow ed I))' lliu Mowinir of four trunip''ts. The KoMicrs arc living scalteral through town, and llioai; whose tiiiners arc not dijt.HU from tliu i:.irri.o:i Mill 1i.ivl Imsine.vj tint keeps tiicin .M,.! ; .! i'ktc through the wcarj- hours of niijlit. So .i to 1,'kc them timely warning tlat tlieir presence at rev eille is require!, the lingers nw.sl ironl cnade the hidewalks ofllie town, witlisound ,ng hrxv, waking the civilian as well as the military, 1 iien you may .seelun .soldiers rushing along the streets at a fearful rate, whisking past you from highways anj hy ways, darting from out of sundry habita tions not claimed ly I'ntlc.Suin.atidtumu Iintr over tlii sixteen feet high stockade on their exit from die Indian Ranch; for if they are not on time, their ahsence is pun ished hy line and imprisonment. Slowly now Sitka enlivens; at da break all the Indians, men, women, children, newborn infants and all have hurried, nak ed and shivering, out of their houses, and run out into the waters of the bay, where they dip down several times, anil then out and back. This is a religious observance of theirs, and must not be omitted, no mat ter what the season. Often of a winter's morning, when the thermometer thought il a favor lo show So abwt zero only, have I heard one united yell, and a thousand human forms rushed .simultaneously into the clear frosty waters of the ocean. An outsider can then see queer antics, for the icy deep makes the bathers frolic about like lamlis on green pastures, and a continual howl and wail rends the air and proves that the sensation of the devotees is not pleasant. The conscientious oliservance of this custom during the w inter has this effect on the very young children, that more than fifty per cent, become lMiw-lcggeJ. Not a single Indian us yet in town. Hut more music is upon the air, and we will go down and sec the guard mount. They do not mount anything higher than their shoes, and as they sltnd drawn up in strictly par allel lines, glistening in brass, iron and steel, clothed in the colors of constancy, the features of many illuminated by "spir itual" fervor, while the a Ijiitant and olhcers of the day wave their crimson plumes up on the morning air and muster their war riors with keen eyes and ready tongues, the looker-on is glad he is not "even as one ofthein." This new gu.ird now takes the place of the wearied watchers of last night, the prisoners have all lieen counted by the new ulliccr of the day, the (.'ouiinauder has given his orders, and now everything is in readiness lo let in our daik-browed neigh bors. It is about nine o'clock, and the lores have just been opened lo admit the unwary purchaser. I.el Us go over to the gale which the coronal is jut aUmt lo open, and lake a look at the entering mul liliule, Over ihe gate is a platlorm and a scnlrv lux with liell attachment. Theie let us take xwt. See how hundreds ol the In duns are squilling on th -ir haunches, with and wiihoni g.Hi.ls, ciiiently awaiting ihe owning act, The key rattles in the lock; Ihe wallers anse; ihecro.sbar is u moved; the coining ones Uo themselves on one leg; open swings the gate, and -gel out ol Ihe wa! l ike a tornado th.v sweep through the pirul and in i'no minutes the! are all ou-i town. I he sentry and ihecor l.ll walch the mpouiing Ueds, lo make Mire thai ihey ,.,vo u.nK, lrK , ili)t ill Ihnr se,ion, neither ol which they are allowed to hung m. i.vc , wg a uWoumv ol the contraband amcU-s re waids the .-ealou, seiiln, and then Mr. 01 Mrs. is marched oenotheguaid-hou,e, where tliev are accoiumod.ued to lull, and chains ami csfrcised at vaiious pu,ljt workii, iilK'iully chipping a, WCMkl. A thionj of from lueto seven hundred passes into town within lialf an hour, of all ages and sexes, all looking verymuchpres scd for time as though thousands of dollars depend on their arrival. The.e Indians have coarse hair, very black, but (with the exception of their medicine men) the males do not wear long hair. Their eyes arc large and dreamy, "childlike and bland;" their disposition indolent and thcirappcar ance noways prepossessing. A fancy of theirs makes them cover their whole face with' lampblack and scai-oil, which is al lowed to gradually wear oil" before the coat is renewed. As for washing the face, it is out of the question, though their bodies arc ficqu.i.lly iiiiiiiergcd; yet a.i '.ha' kxp themselves greased with seal oil, the cleans ing clement (nearly always salt water) can not be expected to take much ctTect on the accumulating grime. With all this, it seems ratherstrange that their clothes, con sisting for men of drawers, shirt, and blank ets, often also, shoes and lilts, and for wom en of petticoats, chemise, dress an J blankets are kept neat and clean men and women, every Sunday, bring in their dirty linen to town and in the creek at the saw-mill wash ing them with plenty of soap, too. Their motto is; "Kveryonc for himself and the devil take the hindmost;" for the wives do not attend to the wash of tin familv not they! If the husband wants a clean shirt he may wash it. A common sight is to see an Indian gravely step into the creek, within ten steps of the main street, pull oil shirt and unmentionables, scrub ihcin, spread them on the bank, and ihen con tentedly curl himself or herself alongside, throw a blanket over the form divine and have a snooze, to find, on awakening,, the linen clean and dry. They mostly select the Sabbath as washday; for on that day no stores arc allowed to be oien, and the church that was built for lliem long ago, wits, alioul twenty years since, convened hy them into a fort whence they amused them selves, one day, by bombarding the town with their flintlocks, wounding and killing a number of the Russians, since which time religious stock has come down to zero in thai vicinity, until, last year, Uroihers How ard and Hammond tried lo bull the mar ket among them with very indifferent suc cess, indeed. Winters, w hen slid creek is frozen over, and from the millrace overhead icicles twenty feet long hang down along its whole length, forming fanciful arches and grottos; when the flaxy snow covers all, these na tives still bring iheir washing here; a hole is cut in the ice, and barefooted they stand on the brink and lave and scrub as uncon cerned as were a sirocco blowing. It often struck me, why strong-minded females do not go up to Sitka and join the iribe. Never have I seen a liner distribu tion of family diilieslhan right here. Thus, you may sec a noble warrior trudging along the sidewalk, proudly and tenderly earn ing in his arms an infant, while his sKiuse brings up the rear with a dear linle puppy in her embrace. Thus, domestic l.dsir is finely divided among lliem. Apropo., ol infants, I think it must be on account ol the climate's gradually dunging, as know ing ones tell us. lint we see here so many of the children, cairied alionl by the In. dians, pile in color, with jeatures uninis. lakahly Caucasian in mould. Perhaps, on first beholding; the light, they were ludlv (scared at seeing the sl.irry emblem waving high above them that emblem of mi!,. internal siqiervision of alowigin.il alfairs. renowned the woild over for its effective j ness. Il is not quite clear lo nie, but cl'n j nologists and hval residents of long slaiul- i"g may doubtless bo able lo rise au.l ex- plain this little r.uy change. And now, if you want to hive your ideal of ihe heroic Red, a la l'enimore l'o, IKT knocked "higher than a lite," ju-t come along and let us enter a trader's store. I le enters the same and prices all the soods, even if he does not mean to buy a cent's worth. That often happens, and it is a frequent generator of curses, loud and long from the impatient storekeeper. Hut this party here came lo buy and sell, indeed, and the fun begins. The buck carries the furs, the squaw ihe money. This isgener allv slung around the neck, in a little leath ern pouch; but when they decide to make a small purchase, before going in, ihe wo man takes out of the bag so much as she concludes lo spend, and this she carefully deposits in her mouth, where it remains until paid over to the trader. After much discussion the bargain is concluded, the wife in all cases of doubtful value deciding, and the articles are done up in brown pa per and delivered. The woman then bends over the counter, down drops the lower jaw,' out rolls the money, and before it is done jingling, all juicy as it is, it reposes in the till, till some future day it will be sent far away to swell out the trader's bank account. I.o, havinc bought, he w ill sell in his turn ; a bundle of furs he unfurls, and volubly he praises their quality. The trader goes one eye on the speaker and one on the furs, closely examining them, and asks what's the price ? The Indian then goes up high in the figures, and would Ukc more than they bring in the market; the trader says bah 1 and divides the amount asked by about two, willing to give the quotient. Indignant Indians roll up all in a hulT and rush out with many a sonorous "Klakh!" which means "No, you don't," and which puts you in mind of Poe's raven. Then they make the rounds, not leaving one store unvisited, repeating the scene in each, after which they return to the trader who offered the most, and he gets the pel try. Hut should they not be satisfied by any of the prices offered, they will march back to their village with their furs, taking them afterwards to sonic Hudson Hay Post, w here, if they do not procure a higher price, they at least obtain goods cheaper than from the American traders. These Indians arc very confidential ; Ihey always occupy the porch in front of your house, where they take up all available sce, pleasantly chatting and criticising friend and foe without favor tocither. Then they get tired and drop down on their knees and elbows, with a blanket thrown over the whole, their bustles looming up high in air, like hold promotorics in foggy weather. In this position they remains for hours, unless some loud noise within the house disturbs their dreamy slumber, when half a dozen of them w ill start up and with reproachful eyes flatten their noses against the window panes, as though to say, "How could you be so rude 1" Those whose ani mal spirits will not admit them to be inact ive, proJucc cards, and soon become high ly interested ami vociferous in their games. l,)uile a number of them daily bring in deer, fish and clams, peddling them from house lo house. It is an appetizing sight to see a squaw stalking the sidewalk, a quarter of a deer in her hand, the end of il trailing along the ground; she meets a sister, down drops the quarter on the side walk, and they interchange news. Mean while a big dog is investigating the quality of the meat, besnilling it all over; where ihe thread of the narative breaks off, the venison is taken up. and you arc ex;cled to buy it, yes, and eat it, too. In Ihe Summer-time the squaws go out in Mpiadst.-i pick berries, Alaska his agreat variety of these, and the cranberry is hence exported t,i Portland, they make nice pie, especially vvlic, you know how they are collected. A squaw, arriving on ihe ground, spreads her blanket; than she has on noth ing but hercliemi-e; which is tied nlvout ihe 1i.kIv by a rope .,ive ,1C oi,. tIl0 gathered berries are then dropp.-d down the neck ol the chemise; when from ihe rope upward she is "chock" full of llic j luscious b un, she wdks to the blanks po.i ,, it. unucs her loins-and '. whit a falling off i there! Cranberries in heaps cover h.-r cunning Utile, bat VCI). dirty lect; an 1 these th- unconjeious Port landers smack their lips ov er and sav, "I low delicious 1" Thank you! no more for me CANCERS RR NOW HtLTKss L'IXY TltBATPn !i porthtnd without the use of the knlfo ivn AI.ItltH Il.lnte of Philadelphia. Alsoull CHRONIC IHseiwcof tin Ih'iiih, spine, li.'art, liver, kidnev wmiih mill nil of those, weaknesses or nervou complaint whfcli so often cause the mitr.'rer lI drairouta inlMTiihle exIMeni-e, to hike on n? iiiuturcold im--and hurry down to nn umimelv liriive. Ninety prreenl of the aches ninl pairi . M) common to women might he uvoldccl ma ninny ii home where there In nouuht hut "uirerlnji ami want iiiluhl lie the nhode ol lniipy nouu crowned with hcnlth nml plenty if they would only wok irper timely nlil. Those nuner inif with any miiliirnant iirowth or niren, should apply enrly, for time in their euso 1b often of viii importance, "l Olliee and TrenMng iloomn, 127 and 129 First (U. Portliuid, On'Kon. HEC'I HKTHK INVAM ARI.K " PIRRUNO SCRUBBING MACHINE Send orders to the Hole Agents, BRENNER & SON, Wholfxulr ami IMiiil Orocers, First und Vnut. hill Btreetn, Portland. WHALLEY & TECHHEIMErT" Attorneys at Law, Uooiim Xo. 7 ami 8 In Ollaan'ti BnlMlnir eorn. First uml Ali Streeli, Portland. r A. C. GIIII1S. w. n. GILBUtT GIBBS & GILBERT, j Attorneys and Counselors at Law, Corbel! Building, 03 First St., Portland, 0. H ill praclli-e tn nil I'ourti uf Renin) in ihe tils te iti pay jwrlit ular utlenlioii to Uuatiiru iu (be V. tt Couitfc BARBER & NICKLINT SS DENTISTS, HucccHiora to Hutch it Thompson, 1WI Flist-8t., Portland, Ogn. JOHN A. BECK, WATCMMAKK.lt A JKWELKR, 10!) FRONT St., Porllmnl. Oreiron. select iiHKortment of Gold ntl PI 11 lef I Jewelry Pebble Hpecta. elea, and Nelh Thmni Cluck, special imen. J1011 Kiveu to repairing- Wuiclies, Clocks and lewolry OREGON BAKERY, F. Ol'ITZ, - - . Proprietor, FIret St., neil to cor. of Pine, Portland, M11 mi fact u rent of all kinds of Crackers, Bread, Cakes AND PAHTRY. PILOT, SHIP AND NAVY BREAD Alwuy sold below Hun KninelHco prices. Hrent llciltictioit In Price at NICOI.Al HUO.'M CENTRAL PLANING MILLS, Cor. North Second nnd K Htr.. Portland. 1-UHTIC,CKIl,INO. MOULDINO, ALL KINDS V of I'eilar Lumber, Flooring, Hush, Doow. lliinds, Bracket, Urns, 'funks, Fencs, c. Common HlBe Uooia, tfci-h und lilluda at San Frunclsco prices. k't Id Tour kcj out of lis Country. 3D. MBTZ&En, MmmUcturrrof Glue, Curled Hair and Keats' Foot Oil. Umpired 1 wipplvtlio Ulntc sad WMhiimtnn Tcrrl I0!? "L""" ff"'l-,' I'lift i. Uider diivtt.ur T. A. Davit a Co., Purtldud, Ongon. THAT W. II AftltIS, ATT11R OHRAT BA8T em Clothing store, No. Ui First-!,, has the bent Horlmciil of Cloth In jr, mid sells ut lower riccHilmu miy oihnr homo 111 Portland. AMERICAN LAUNDRY. 'IM1K ONLY FLACK Tn"tUK STATE TO GKT your Mil HTM ASD CO LI. A KM Pone up In No. 0110 style. Try them once nnd you'll wearnoothem. Our Lace Curtains and Blankets can't be beat. Office, American Rxcrmnjre Cigar Htore, comer rniiu uml iishtnKton mrccU. H luteal iNiuir Ilium's Clir Store, corner First and Alder stteoU. Laundry, cor. F and Tenth sts. REMOVED To Corner of Front and .Morrison 81s., Portland. D. W. WILLIAMS & CO., Bnec'ssors to Williams A Myers, ( 'out in i ss ton Merch a n tn, And Dealers In Groocriea, Oregon and California Prodnoe. Buciitel c Stolte, the Leading Photographers OP Tllla STATB, Arc now establUlicd at their BEW48Q ELEGJHT RQOHSi 0 tiir corn k a or First ul Mcrrisoa - Streets.