reat price.

[Footnote W: Horses are abundant up the river; but they are not
indigenous to the country. They will be spoken of in a future chapter.]

The most remarkable birds are the eagle, the turkey-buzzard, the hawk,
pelican, heron, gull, cormorant, crane, swan, and a great variety of
wild ducks and geese. The pigeon, woodcock, and pheasant, are found in
the forests as with us.

CHAPTER XIX.

Manners, Customs, Occupations, &c., of the Natives on the River
Columbia.

The natives inhabiting on the Columbia, from the mouth of that river to
the falls, that is to say, on a space extending about 250 miles from
east to west, are, generally speaking, of low stature, few of them
passing five feet six inches, and many not even five feet. They pluck
out the beard, in the manner of the other Indians of North America; but
a few of the old men only suffer a tuft to grow upon their chins. On
arriving among them we were exceedingly surprised to see that they had
almost all flattened heads. This configuration is not a natural
deformity, but an effect of art, caused by compression of the skull in
infancy. It shocks strangers extremely, especially at first sight;
nevertheless, among these barbarians it is an indispensable ornament:
and when we signified to them how much this mode of flattening the
forehead appeared to us to violate nature and good taste, they answered
that it was only slaves who had not their heads flattened. The slaves,
in fact, have the usual rounded head, and they are not permitted to
flatten the foreheads of their children, destined to bear the chains of
their sires. The natives of the Columbia procure these slaves from the
neighboring tribes, and from the interior, in exchange for beads and
furs. They treat them with humanity while their services are useful, but
as soon as they become incapable of labor, neglect them and suffer them
to perish of want. When dead, they throw their bodies, without ceremony,
under the stump of an old decayed tree, or drag them to the woods to be
devoured by the wolves and vultures.

The Indians of the Columbia are of a light copper color, active in body,
and, above all, excellent swimmers. They are addicted to theft, or
rather, they make no scruple of laying hands on whatever suits them in
the property of strangers, whenever they can find an opportunity. The
goods and effects of European manufacture are so precious in the eyes of
these barbarians, that they r