Page:The Columbia river , or, Scenes and adventures during a residence of six years on the western side of the Rocky Mountains among various tribes of Indians hitherto unknown (Volume 1).djvu/140

 *testably more filthy and ugly. Their teeth are almost worn away. The greater number have very sore eyes: several have only one; and we observed a few old men and women quite blind. The men are generally naked; and the women merely wear a leathern belt, with a narrow piece of the same material joined to the front, which very imperfectly answers the purposes intended. Some wear leathern robes over the breast and shoulders; but others allow these parts to remain naked. We observed no one who appeared to assume the authority of a chief. Each seemed quite independent of the other, and complete master in his own house and family. Their unfeeling brutality to the few old blind people I have mentioned was really shocking; and I may safely say, a more unamiable race of democrats are not to be found in that country of republics. We distributed a quantity of tobacco among them, with which they appeared satisfied; after which we embarked, and proceeded on. The upper part of this chain of rapids is a perpendicular fall of nearly sixteen feet; after which it continues down nearly one uninterrupted rapid for three miles and a half. The river here is compressed by the bold shore on each side to about two hundred yards or less in breadth.