inhabit the southern part of the territory of Oregon, in the vicinity of upper California. Their population of about Io,ooo souls is divided into several bands, scattered here and there over the barrenest country in all the region west of the mountains; almost all the surface is covered with scoria and other volcanic products. They are called Snakes by reason of their poverty, which reduces them to burrow in the ground like those reptiles and to live upon roots. Occasionally a hunting-party will come east of the mountains to hunt buffalo, and at the season when the fish come up from the sea, they go down to the banks of Salmon river and its tributaries to lay in their winter stock. They are pretty well provided with horses. At the rendezvous they gave a parade to greet the whites that were there. Three hundred of their warriors came up in good order and at full gallop into the midst of our camp. They were hideously painted, armed with their clubs, and covered all over with feathers, pearls, wolves' tails, teeth and claws of animals, outlandish adornments, with which each one had decked himself out according to his fancy. Those who had wounds received in war, and those who had killed the enemies of their tribe, displayed their scars ostentatiously and waved the scalps they had taken on the ends of poles, after the manner of standards.
After riding a few times around the camp, uttering at intervals shouts of joy, they dismounted and all came to shake hands with the whites in sign of friendship. I was invited to a council by some thirty of the principal chiefs. Just as among the Cheyennes, we had first to go through all the ceremonies of the calumet. To begin, the chief made a little circle on the ground, placed within it a small piece of burning dried cow-dung, and lit his pipe from it. Then he offered the pipe to the Great Spirit, to the sun, to the earth and the four cardinal points. All the others observed a most profound silence and sat motionless as statues. The calumet passed from hand to hand, and I noticed that each one had a different way of taking it.