News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1891-08-06
KETTLE FALLS, Wash,
July %, 1891.
In my last letter [ described the
To the Editor:-

To the Editor:-
In my last letter 1 described the
farms and products in this vicinity.
In this letter will endeavor to de-
scribe the Columbia river The Col |
umbia river is the third largest river
on the No. American continent. The |
two largest being the Yukon and |
Mississippi.
tthis point it varies in width from |
1900 to 1000 feet and in depth from
40 to 100 feet. The rise from low
water mark to high water mark is |
about 40 feet. 1t commences to rise
about the middle of May and reaches
the high water mark the first of July. |
1t then commences to go down and |
by the first of September reaches low |
water mark again. The Kettle Falls |
at this point are a series of cascades |
and falls extending for about one-half
of mile. The Kettles from which
the Falls take their name are round
holes formed by the action of the
water at the foot of the Falls. They
are about two feet in diameter and
vary in depth from six to twenty feet.
Below the Falls the channel is very
narrow and deep. The land projects
out in front of the Falls forming a
most beautiful natural park of about
thirty acres. Out on the point next
to the channel the Indians fish for
salmon. They build a staging out
over the water for ten or twelve feet
and stand on the outer end and
spear the salmon as they come to the
surface underneath. Their spear is
made by getting a small straight fir
tree and working it down to about
an inch in diameter and about twen-
ty feet long, then on the larger end
they fasuen two branches three feet
long, made of the same material, with
thongs of buckskin. These branches
are so fastened that the outer ends
are five inches apart and are tipped
with steel barbed heads. These bar
bed heads are fastened to the buck
skin thongs, the sother end being
fastened half way up the branches.
This is so when they spear a fish that
the steel points will pull off and give
the fish play on the thongs.
The salmon have been running for
about two weeks but are not running
in full force yet. They estimate that
they run at the Falls at the rate of
ten tons an hour, at the hight of the
season. The fish weigh from % to
80 pounds each. You can see them
Jump out of the water as though they
were at play and at the Falls they
Jump out of the water clear over the
Falls making a clean jump of 10 feet.
The current in the river here isvery
swift. 1t will carry boat down the
river for half mile in crossing it. A
company of government surveyors
are now surveying the river with the
object of opening up navigation to
this point. The claim that it will
take only a few thousand dollars to
4 open the river to Kettle Falls.
4 The Colville Indians occupy the
reservation on the west side of the
Columbia river. The reservation has
! an area of 2,S00,00O acres, one-half
of which will be opened the following
1 spring.
ANY Indian will have the right to
! take up 80 acres in that part of the
reservation thrown open for settle
| ment, this will include all half-breeds
! and squaw-men (white men who have
married squaws) but if they do so,
they will nctreceive any more rations
\ from the government. The Indians
\ altogether on the reservation number
about 1000 inhabitants. The men
or Siwashes as they are called, are
slim and undersized men, 40 pounds
being about the average weight, they
generally dress in oveTalls and fan
mel shirt with a vest of many Colors
4 if they can get it. They all wear
\ buckskin moccasins and sombreros
and good deal of dirt. John Ki-yu
an Indian who has ranch across the
I river from here and is more intelligent
than the general run of Indians, says
4 him heap d., he no use for
them" This is not a general senti-
4 ment though, all of them like whiskey
4 even the young girls. 1t is against
4 the law for "Boston men" white
H mem to sell them whiskey, but they
4 manage to get it in thousands of
ways. They all ride horseback and
4 the drunker they get the better they
H can ride. 1t is not unusual to see
4 them riding through thestreets firing
h off a revolver trying to scare the
\ ''tenderfeet." 1t generally costs them
\ $500 and costs before they get
through.
They farm it in a precarious man
ner, catch fish and deer to dry for
winter consumption. The deer skins
they tan and make eup into moccasins,
coats, pants, gloves, etc. They work
flowers in silk braid in varegated col
ors that have n very fine appearance.
The women or Kroochmen are all
stout, 200 pounds being about the
average weight. The half breed girls
are more slim and some of them are
very pretty. They dress in plain
calico dress with II shawl tied about