The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1897-12-21

THE GEoSACERII, OR ROCK wOR-
SHIPPERS.

SHIPPERS.
This tribe, after driving the
Igneoians out, took possession of
the entire country lying between
the mouth of Boise river and
American Falls, and may have
extended even farther east than
that.
They were above the average
height, but were more slenderly
built than the former people we
have seen. They must hssve been
very active and agile and good
runners, but not as strong as the
Igneoians. They were inventive
and many devices are accredited
to them them that were never
before used by mankind in this
part of the country. These are
the first people we have seen
that were really in the Chip
Stone Age. The other tribes
used nothing but flakes and frag-
ments of flint, rough and un-
shaped, but this tribe shaped
everything. They are the first
people to use a special piece of
flint for knife, though of course
the former tribes used a flint on
the same principle, but they used
it also for an ak, or club. But
our new friends Sported q large
piece of obsidian, or flint, care
fully Clipped into shape, besides
their other weapons. They
brought with them the bow and
arrow, deadfall, and most inter
esting of all-drawings and very
rude sketches-but yet drawings
just the same, which was a grand
step up the ladder of progression.
Their sketch books were fat
stones, of all sizes; their brushes
flint chisels. and they drew every
thing-animals, trees, hunting
scenes, fights, feasts, sports and
religious rites and customs. A
great many things have been
learned from these drawings,
rude as they are, that would 9th
erwise have never been known.
Their government was neces-
sarily tribal, with a chieftain
vested with absolute power over
all of life or death at pleasure,
and l think it was a much abused
power at best. Drawings have
been found showing the chief,
with a crowd of warriors, slay-
ing an entire family, even to the
very children. But it may have
been the law and custom, to pun
ish crime by the total extermina-
ton of the criminal and his fam
lily, and this drawing may have
represented expiation of a crime.
Their habitations were tepees of
poles and skins, but they lived
mostly in the open air in the
summer time. Their household
furniture consisted of stone pots
for cooking, stone mortars with
pesties, used as mill with which
to pulverize bones, roots,
etc, of which they made a por-
ridge very satisfying to their
appetite. Ovens were made of
large, fiat stones, in which they
roasted animals entire, and held
famous family barbecues. But
contrary to our custom of invit-
ing friends and neighbors to the
feast, they made war, tooth and
nail, upon intruders, until the
premises were cleared Of all ex-
cepting their own family, when
they would sit down and tear
away at the delicacies provided.
Some of their drawings of their
feasts, are very comical and
amusing. In fact it would APP
pear that the prelude to their
big dinners was as crowded as a
Challis waltz.
They wore clothing made of
skins, from which they never re-
AhOfOu ohC hnlls VI luT. 1Dey
used the skins of deer and beav-
er mostly to make their dresses.
They used many ornaments;
claws of animals and birds;shells
and snake skins; sections of
bones were cut off and on thongs
for necklaces; bracelets made of
horn or two or more of the large
inscisers of the beaver, Joined
together at the ends, to form a
circle; and anklets made of dew
claws from poor unfortunate
members of the dog family. All
served to embellish and beautify
the bellies and beaus and other
leaders of their society.
They were, under their form
OF government, apt to sudden
uprisings, in which the tribal
head chenged from one individu-
al to another pretty often, which
with the wars they had made
with their neighbors kept their
I l. i