Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 5.djvu/364

 354 JOURNAL AND LETTERS OF DAVID DOUGLAS. form him into a grizzly Bear, and set him to run in the woods for the rest of his life, so that he would never see his wife again. It is not to be wondered that these fears acted powerfully on the Indian, and caused him to be- have in the way he did. Mr. Black afterwards furnished me with another guide, whom I took the more readily, as he was no smoker, and such a knave that nobody would dare to steal from him. It is, however, worthy of notice, that among these people confidence answers' best. An instance of dishonesty has hardly been ever known where property has been in- trusted to their hands. Another good point in their character is hospitality. A stranger can hardly imagine the kindness he will receive at their hands. If they have a hut they entreat you to enter it, or failing that, if the day is wet, one of brushwood is quickly made for your use, and whatever they possess in the way of food is set before you. On one occasion I was regaled with steaks cut from a Doe of the Long-Tailed Deer (Cervus leucurus), accompanied by an infusion of 2 sweetened with a small portion of sugar. The meat was laid on the clean foliage of Gualtheria Shallon, in lieu of a plate, and our tea was served in a large wooden dish, hewn out of a piece of solid timber. For spoons we had the horns of the Mountain Sheep, or Mouton Gris of the voyageurs, formerly mentioned. The garb of the Umptqua [Umatilla ?] tribe of Indians, of whom Centrenose (a native name) is the chief, consists of a shirt and trousers, made of the undressed skins of small deer. The richer individuals decorate this garb with shells, principally marine ones, thus showing their proximity to the sea. The females wear a petticoat made of the tissue of Thuja occidentalis, like that which is used The word is quite unintelligible in Mr. Douglas' Journal.