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/206

 *tion for other articles;—but they were satisfied, and we had no cause to complain. The Spokans are far superior to the Indians of the coast in cleanliness; but by no means equal in this respect to the Flat-heads. The women are good wives, and most affectionate mothers: the old, cheerful, and complete slaves to their families; the young, lively, and confiding; and whether married or single, free from the vice of incontinence. Their village was situated at the point formed by the junction of the two rivers. Some houses were oblong, others conical; and were covered with mats or skins, according to the wealth of the proprietor. Their chief riches are their horses, which they generally obtain in barter from the Nez Percés, in return for the goods they obtain from us for their furs: each man is therefore the founder of his own fortune, and their riches or poverty are generally proportioned to their activity or indolence. The vice of gambling, however, is prevalent among them, and some are such slaves to it, that they frequently lose all their horses. The spot where

The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep

is about midway between the village and the fort, and has rather a picturesque effect at a dis