Part 7

The long, narrow, oval pebble, shown in Fig. 44, is about 140 mm. long, of a yellow, volcanic, coarse-grained rock, and is in the collection of Mr. Austin Mires of Ellensburg. This was found at Priest Rapids. The top is battered and slightly chipped, the other end has been battered to a rather flat edge, and this battered surface extends one half way up one side of the specimen and two thirds of the way up the other.[150] A large flat oval pebble (202-8214), found on the Cherry Creek camp site, has a notch pecked in each side edge and is battered slightly on one end. It may have been notched for hafting as a hammer, or for use as a net sinker, but the battered end suggests the former use. These pebbles which have been used as hammerstones, remind us of the unbattered pebbles found with pieces of glassy basalt in certain caches near Kamloops.[151] Pebbles used as hammerstones are also found in the Nez Perce region to the east[152] and according to Lewis stone hammers were used for splitting wood in the general plateau region of which this is a part.[153]

[150] Museum negative, no. 44534, 8-2.

[151] Described by Smith, (c), p. 415.

[152] Spinden, p. 188.

[153] Lewis, p. 186; Lewis and Clark, III, p. 124.

A pebble, oval in outline and in cross section (202-8303), found on the surface of the bank of the Columbia River, near the head of Priest Rapids, is battered on one side edge near the middle in a way that suggests that the place was for the reception of the end of a handle. The lower edge is battered and the top has a large chip off of each side. It was probably used as a hammerstone. Another flat oval pebble of lava (202-8305) found at the same place, is chipped on both sides of the entire edge; but the edge is not sharp, apparently having been dulled by scraping, the natural sand blast or weathering. A disk or sub-oblong-shaped pebble (202-8304) also found at the same place is chipped from one side only across the entire edge at a slight bevel so that it has a nearly flat edge. The high places of the edge are smoothed as if from its use in pecking, yet it does not seem to have been much used for such a purpose or to need to have been chipped into disk form for that use.

None of the pebbles which were notched and supposed to be net sinkers, as mentioned on p. 30 and that were found in this region, show battered ends or appear as if they had been used as hammers. On the other hand, some of the grooved pebbles described as net sinkers are battered, p. 30. It will be remembered[154] that no notched hammers or those grooved entirely around, like those found here, were found in the Thompson River region, although a pebble which had been notched or grooved on two edges was found and figured as a hammer.[155] Nor was the grooved stone maul used by the Nez Perce to the east according to Spinden[156] although many specimens are found on the Umatilla in northern Oregon to the south.[157]

[154] Smith, (c), p. 415.

[155] _Ibid._, Fig. 347.

[156] Spinden, p. 188.

[157] Lewis, p. 186; Lewis and Clark, III, p. 124.

_Celts._ Celts made of stone such as were common in the Thompson River region[158] were not found by us in the Yakima region; but one typical specimen which apparently resembles the celts found on Puget Sound, more than it does those found in the Thompson River region is shown in Fig. 45. It may be seen in the collection of Mr. McCandless who secured it from an Indian at Ellensburg. This celt is made of serpentine and is 190 mm. long.[159] A similar specimen, in the same collection, resembles this one but shows grooves along the side edges by means of which it was cut out. There is a celt made of green serpentine, only about 3 mm. thick in the collection of Mr. Owen, but it was found at Umatilla, Oregon.

[158] Smith, (d), p. 142; (c), p. 415.

[159] Museum negative no. 44507, 6-8.

Celts of jadeite (?) narrow and oblong were found on Snake River above Lewiston in the Nez Perce region to the east.[160] Spinden states that these were evidently acquired by trade from natives of the northwest coast and that they have been cut by grooving and breaking. Also, that this method and material was not employed by the Nez Perce who considered the objects to have been used as wedges. I am inclined to believe, therefore, that these more nearly resemble the celts of the Thompson River country[161] than they do those of the coast. At least one celt of this general style has been found near Lake Chelan lying between the Thompson River region and both the Yakima and Nez Perce regions. It is a long stone celt and was found in an ancient grave on the bank of the Chelan River near the house of Hon. Amos Edmunds, of Chelan, Washington. In the graves of this group, according to Mr. C. G. Ridout, who cooperated with Mr. Edmunds in excavating at this place, and from whom all of our information on this specimen was obtained, stone knives and skinning and scraping tools were found. This celt is of a mottled green "marble resembling onyx" (probably serpentine or nephrite) 400 mm. long, 47 mm. wide and 15 mm. thick. It is slightly concave on the two sides, while one side edge is flat and the other is concavely bevelled. The poll is of the natural unworked stone and judging from the drawing furnished by Mr. Ridout, was broken off. It is raggedly diagonal. The cutting edge is sharpened by long convexly ground surfaces of nearly equal size and curve. The bevel of the side edge suggests that the material for the celt was cut out by grooving and breaking as was the case in the Thompson River region, where the celts showed similar traces of grooving.[162] It is true that similar grooving may be seen on celts from the Coast, but in that region the celts are short, while in the Thompson River area they are long like this one and the material is more often of the mottled green color than on the coast. The specimen is owned by Mr. Edmunds and is in the collection of Mr. Ridout.

[160] Spinden, p. 182 and Figs. 1, 2, Plate IX.

[161] Smith, (c), Fig. 349.

[162] Cf. Smith, (c), Fig. 349.

No pieces of antler or other material which may possibly have served as celt hafts were found in this region, although it will be remembered that one specimen, thought possibly to have been such, was found at Kamloops in the Thompson River[163] region, another in the Lillooet Valley[164] and that celt hafts made of antler were common on the coast at Port Hammond,[165] Comox,[166] Saanich,[167] and Utsalady.[168] A piece of antler (202-8378a), found on the surface near the head of Priest Rapids, is much bleached and shows signs of having been daubed with red paint. It consists of a piece which has been cut around below a fork with some sharp instrument and then broken off. The prongs seem to be simply broken off.

[163] Smith, (c), Fig. 348, p. 115.

[164] Teit, (b), Fig. 66.

[165] Smith, (a), Figs. 29 and 59.

[166] Smith, (b), Fig. 107.

[167] _Ibid._, Figs. 129-130.

[168] _Ibid._, Fig. 157.

_Hand-Adze._ Only one hand-adze has been found in this area, so far as I am aware. It is catalogue No. 25 in the collection of Mr. Janeck, made of stone and found near the surface of an old burial ground of the Indians near the mouth of the Yakima River on what is known as McNeals Island. This specimen is shown in Fig. 46, and is 165 mm. long, 228 mm. in greatest circumference which is around the part corresponding to the edge of the striking head of a pestle, 37 mm. in diameter at the top and 37 mm. along the edge of the blade. It is made of rock resembling diorite or diabase. The natural surface of the pebble from which it was made shows on the ridge of the striking head of the pestle-like part. The convex side of the celt-like part of the object is very smooth. This is apparently partly due to the fact that it presents the smooth natural surface of the pebble from which the object was made, and also to more or less friction which must have been received here when in use. It probably served as an adze. This specimen is perhaps the most ideal form of this type that I have seen, the upper end comparing closely to a pestle, with a slight indication of a knob at the top, a flaring body, and a short striking head, the sides of which extend as a ridge nearly if not entirely around the specimen. The celt-like part is to one side of the axis, so that one side expands to meet the ridge above mentioned, forming a concavity; the other contracts to meet it forming a convex sweep from the cutting edge to the beginning of the body of the pestle-like part.[169] Such hand-adzes have been found at Portland, Columbia Slough about ten miles below Portland,[2] and Mr. E. D. Zimmerman of Philadelphia has informed me that there are five or six specimens of this type in his collection but the discovery of this specimen at McNeals Island marks the most eastern occurrence of this type, so far as I know at present.[170]

[169] Museum negatives nos. 44452, 2-1 and 44503, 6-4.

[170] First mentioned on pp. 303-304, Noteworthy Archaeological Specimens from Lower Columbia Valley, by Harlan I. Smith, American Anthropologist, (N. S.) Vol. VIII, No. 2, April-June, 1906.

_Whetstones._ Whetstones, recognized as such, are rare in the Yakima region but a fragment (202-8217) of a sandstone pebble, which is apparently rubbed on the irregular sides was found on the surface of the little camp site, west of Cherry Creek, near Ellensburg. It probably served as a rough whetstone or for grinding implements into shape.

The cigar-shaped object made of friable stone, shown in Fig. 69, and considered on p. 81 as a war implement or "slave-killer," is suitable for use as a whetstone and may have been such. The object thought to be a whetstone shown in Fig. 120, is in the collection of Mr. Janeck, and is said to be from the Yakima Valley. It is made of friable slate; the top is broken off. It is 142 mm. long, 18 mm. wide and 6 mm. thick with rounded edges. The circle and dot design incised on the specimen is described on p. 131. It would seem that use as a whetstone would destroy the design.[171] From the whole region, I have seen only these three specimens that can be considered as whetstones. This scarcity seems somewhat remarkable when we consider their abundance in the Thompson River region,[172] and also on the coast at Port Hammond and Eburne in the Fraser Delta,[173] Comox,[174] North Saanich[175] Victoria,[176] New Dungeness,[177] and Port Williams.[178]

[171] Museum negative no. 44503, 6-4.

[172] Smith, (d), p. 144; (c), p. 417.

[173] Smith (a), p. 167.

[174] Smith (b), p. 312

[175] _Ibid._, p. 339.

[176] _Ibid._, p. 360.

[177] _Ibid._, p. 389.

[178] _Ibid._, p. 392.

Beaver teeth sharpened for use as knives, such as were found in the Thompson River region,[179] were not found by us in this whole area any more than in the Fraser Delta,[180] although they were present at Comox,[181] and though not certainly identified at both Saanich[182] and Burton.[183] However, a beaver tooth was found (202-8189) in cremation rectangle No. 21 (16) on the flat overlooking the mouth of the Naches River. Objects that are considered as knife handles, such as were found at Lytton,[184] though not certainly at Kamloops[185] were absent here as in the Fraser Delta.[186] Objects made of bone or antler and thought to have been used for flaking stone implements were also absent.

[179] Smith (d), p. 144; (c). p. 417.

[180] Smith (a), p. 168.

[181] Smith (b), p. 318.

[182] _Ibid._, p. 346.

[183] _Ibid._, p. 398.

[184] Smith (d), Fig. 50.

[185] Smith (c), p. 418.

[186] Smith (a), p. 168.

_Drills._ Drill points chipped from stone are perhaps less abundant in the Yakima country than in the Thompson River region[187] to the north. They are found of various shapes in the Nez Perce region[188] to the east but it will be remembered that they were not certainly identified among finds from the coast.[189] The specimen shown in Fig. 47, was collected at the head of Priest Rapids, and presented by Mrs. J. B. Davidson of Ellensburg. It is chipped from a grayish chalcedony. The shaft is rather blunt at the end, possibly having been broken off, and is somewhat lozenge-shaped in cross section although one side has a less pronounced ridge than the other which causes the section to tend towards the sub-triangular. The base expands sidewise and is somewhat thinner at the end than at the shaft although it is thicker than the point. A point somewhat similar in shape, but 57 mm. long, chipped from white chalcedony, and found at Priest Rapids, was seen in the collection of Mr. Austin Mires. Another drill point chipped from black trap, 48 mm. long, and also found at Priest Rapids, was seen in the same collection. The shaft expands sidewise into a base of the form of a truncated triangle which is rather thin. Fig. 48 shows a drill point chipped from reddish brown chert that was found on the surface near the head of Priest Rapids. The upper portion resembles the first-mentioned specimen and the lower part is somewhat similar to it but more lenticular in cross section. In other words, the implement is either double-pointed or it was intended to chip away the lower part. The lower point is so well chipped to form that it seems more likely to be a double-pointed drill.

[187] Smith (d), p. 148; (c), p. 419.

[188] Spinden, p. 185, Figs. 23-25, Plate VII.

[189] Smith (a), p. 190; (b), p. 438.

Holes which have been drilled and apparently with such drills as these are seen in the stone objects shown in Figs. 34, 77, 81, 99, 105, 119. The shell object shown in Fig. 88 probably was broken; but in Figs. 76, 79, 90, 91, 93 and 94, the shell seems drilled and in Fig. 73 the antler is drilled.

_Scrapers._ For scraping and shaving, the objects shown in Figs. 49-52 would have been useful. One side of these consists of a large facet, as in the case of Fig. 50, or is but slightly chipped. This surface on the first two specimens shows the bulb of percussion, while on the fourth all signs of the bulb have apparently been obliterated by secondary chipping along a longitudinal third, probably done to flatten the side, although as this scraper was made from a fragment of a flake rather than from the whole flake it is possible that the bulb was not on this piece. In the third specimen the bulb does not show as the object was not made from a flake but from a thin piece of chalcedony which shows striations upon both surfaces suggesting that it may have been the filling or cast of a seam from which it has separated. The upper ends of the first two specimens are somewhat convex on this surface probably because of the bulb of percussion. The lower or wider ends, which are chipped to a scraping edge from the opposite side on all the specimens are somewhat concave or at least flat as in the third specimen. The other two are not so regular in outline, but are also chipped like a scraper at the broad end and the side edges. The specimen shown in Fig. 52 was found on the surface of the little camp site on Cherry Creek, near Ellensburg, and is of a waxy, yellowish brown chalcedony. It is shaped something like a gun flint.

There is a scraper 66 mm. long made of a greenish slate in the collection of Mrs. Davidson to whom it was presented by Mr. Owen. It is somewhat tongue-shaped and slightly concave-convex. The base is broken while the curved edge is slightly chipped on the convex side to form an edge. The point is rather thin and has been somewhat rubbed. Red paint has been daubed on the specimen which suggests that it may have been found in a grave. It will be remembered that scrapers were found, although not so frequently, in the Thompson River region[190] to the north and that in the Nez Perce region to the east,[191] they are usually irregular in form, flat on one side and convex on the other. While their chief use may have been for skin scraping, they are found by experiment to be excellent implements for planing wood, and may well have served for the scraping down of arrow-shafts, spear-shafts, and for similar work.

[190] Smith (c), p. 418.

[191] Spinden, p. 185 and Fig. 5^6.

Some of the chipped points described on p. 23 may have been used for knife points. Among these there are a number of specimens which were particularly suited for this use. The specimen shown in Fig. 6 may have served as a knife, possibly one used for ceremonial purposes although it may have been used as a spear point. These knives, being somewhat symmetrical differ from the one found at Kamloops[192] in the Thompson River region which was similar in shape to the knives used until recently by the Thompson River Indians.[193] These knives from the Thompson River region are chipped much more from one side than from the other and have curved points. The specimen shown in Fig. 3 (202-8336) has an absolutely flat base which is apparently an unworked portion of the block from which the object was chipped. It is possibly an unfinished arrow point, but its outline suggests that it is a knife point. The specimen shown in Fig. 2 is chipped from waxy red chalcedony. It has a straight end and one edge of the point is slightly more curved than the other, which together with the fact that one side is nearly flat suggests that it may have been one of those points which are considered to have been used for knives rather than for arrow or spear points. The specimen (202-8369) shown in Fig. 1 may have served either as the tip for an arrow or as a knife point, and it may be compared with the much more deeply serrated points found in the Thompson River region.[194]

[192] Smith (c), p. 418, Fig. 352d.

[193] Teit, (a), Figs. 125-126.

[194] Smith (d), Figs. 8 to 19; (c), Figs. 332 i-j and 334.

_Arrow-shaft Smoothers._ Arrow-shaft smoothers, made of coarse sandstone like those from the Thompson River region,[195] were not found by us in this area nor on the coast;[196] but one of these grooved stones was seen in the collection of Mr. E. R. McDonald at Ellensburg. It was collected by Mr. Dick Williams, of the same place, who found it on the west bank of the Columbia River, twenty miles north of Priest Rapids, Kittitas County. It is made of a salmon-colored gritstone, and is of the usual type, semi-cylindrical with a longitudinal groove on the flat side, in this case a very small groove such as might occur if it had not been much used. In the Nez Perce region to the east,[197] according to Spinden, there have been found an arrow-shaft smoother made up of two somewhat rectangular blocks of light tufa, each with a semi-cylindrical groove in one side and a soapstone object which he considers to be an arrow-shaft polisher, but I have considered this as a mat presser.

[195] Smith (d), p. 145; (c), p. 419.

[196] Smith (a), p. 190; (b), p. 438.

[197] Spinden, p. 187, Fig. 32, Plate VII.

TOOLS USED BY WOMEN.

A number of implements were found which may have served for the preparation of skins and for sewing. Among these may be mentioned skin scrapers, awls, a needle, and a mat presser.

_Scrapers Chipped from Stone._ The scrapers chipped from stone, shown in Figs. 49 to 52, and considered among tools used by men on pp. 67-68, may possibly have been used on skins although they seem rather small for such a purpose. The specimen shown in Fig. 53, made from a flat circular pebble was found on the surface of the bank of the Columbia River, near the head of Priest Rapids. The edges are chipped in such a way that it has been brought somewhat to the form of a square. This object would serve well as a skin scraper if hafted in the split end of a stick and used like similar implements seen in use by us among the natives of the Thompson River region.[198] It resembles archaeological specimens from the same area.[199] In the Nez Perce region to the east[200] a disk-shaped spall struck from a boulder was used for skin scraping. Another form, shown in Fig. 54, is chipped from a pebble, probably a flat circular one. Along one side, the surface of the pebble shows, but on the other it has been completely chipped away. In outline, the object is elliptical, but has a slight tendency to be pointed at each end. It is lenticular in section, with the edges jaggedly sharp. This reminds us of certain specimens found at Columbus and The Dalles, which have the same general shape, but are ground and polished, so that no signs of chipping remain on some of them. It seems probable that this specimen is a roughed-out form of the same kind, which may have been used in its present condition, or was intended to be finished by grinding and polishing. It seems quite likely that this implement may have been hafted in the end of a split stick and used as a skin scraper, similar to those previously mentioned. On the other hand, it may have been held in the hand and used in scraping skins or perhaps as a knife. It was found with another on the surface of the bank of the Columbia River, near the head of Priest Rapids. Another of these (202-8117) was found on the surface at Kennewick. The specimen shown in Fig. 55 is simply an oval water-worn pebble with one edge chipped on both sides. It is 115 mm. long by 16 mm. thick, may be an unfinished object, if not a scraper or knife, and was found on the surface of the bank of the Columbia River near the head of Priest Rapids.

[198] Teit (a), Fig. 1, Plate XIV, and Fig. 127.

[199] Smith (d), Fig. 64; (c), Fig. 355.

[200] Spinden, p. 215.

_Scrapers Rubbed from Bone._ Scrapers made of bone, similar to those found by us in the Thompson River region and in the vicinity of Puget Sound[201] were not seen in the Yakima region.

[201] Smith (d), Figs. 65 and 66; (c), Fig. 356; (a), Fig. 34; Teit (a), Figs. 128 and 129.