The women are rarely permitted to dance with the men, but form
groups apart, dancing to the same instrument and song.
They have a great passion for play, and a variety of games. To such a
pitch of excitement are they sometimes roused, that they gamble away
everything they possess, even to their wives and children. They are
notorious thieves, also, and proud of their dexterity. He who is
frequently successful, gains much applause and popularity; but the
clumsy thief, who is detected in some bungling attempt, is scoffed at
and despised, and sometimes severely punished.
Such are a few leading characteristics of the natives in the
neighborhood of Astoria. They appear to us inferior in many respects to
the tribes east of the mountains, the bold rovers of the prairies; and
to partake much of Esquimaux character; elevated in some degree by a
more genial climate and more varied living style.
The habits of traffic engendered at the cataracts of the Columbia, have
had their influence along the coast. The Chinooks and other Indians
at the mouth of the river, soon proved themselves keen traders, and in
their early dealings with the Astorians never hesitated to ask three
times what they considered the real value of an article. They were
inquisitive, also, in the extreme, and impertinently intrusive; and
were prone to indulge in scoffing and ridicule at the expense of the
strangers.
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