Page:Oregon, her history, her great men, her literature.djvu/69

66 trappers and traders came to Oregon, the Indians held great hm annually in the Yakima Valley, also at The Dalles and at Yainax, which is near Klamath Lake. Various tribes sent delegations to these fairs for the purpose of trade and festival in such numbers that Ross reported as having seen in the Yakima Valley a camp of native lodges covering six miles square and containing three thousand people; Also Samuel A. Clarke tells us in his "Pioneer Days of Oregon" that at these lairs the Indians exchanged products, sold horses and slaves, and carried on all manner of native commerce. Everything that was for sale was placed on the market at these annual gatherings where the natives gambled with all the ardor of Indian nature. Trials of archery were held, and there were races—on horse and afoot—the tribes wagering their money, their horses, and sometimes their wives. Feasting, orgies, and dancing took place. The heart of some fierce enemy was exhibited with commendable pride. It might be dried like a mummy encased in a deer skin cover embroidered with bead work and porcupine quills. Scalps were proudly displayed and the scalp dance was planned regardless of expense The most accomplished warriors went through the maneuvers of battle, in a space surrounded by a circle of drummers beating the time to barbaric music. Around the fire, which was in the very center, the principal warriors went through various evolutions, uttering horrid cries, flourishing their arrows, hurling their spears, brandishing their tomahawks, or performing the pantomime of scalping their victims—every one participating, except the chiefs who were looking on with dignified appreciation from their elevated canopies. I hen the young chiefs were paired off with the forest belles, who were chosen to be brides and who were adorned with feathers, beads, paint, nose quills, and rings for their fingers, ankles anti wrists. These were some of the features of the Indian fairs that were annually held in the Oregon Country before it was occupied by the white race.