Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1942-07-10
The p0r0Chuti$t@ Mao l. sn.x.

tent efforts. which resulted in the
coming Of Father DeSmet. is the story
OF st. Mary,s mission.
The first white men seen by the So
| called Flatheads. said Father Palla-
dino, were members Of one Of the
Verendrye expeditions. II this is true
the Flathead mentioned by them
must have belonged to hunting party
that had gone TO the Yellowstone
country along the Missouri river
where they happened to meet them.
This story proves how vast a country
was roamed over by the Saltsh and
it also indicates that the tribe must
at that time have been both strong
! and warlike. as 1t was impossible for
them TO have gone east of the Rockies
without being in great danger from
the hostile tribes Their worst enemies
we're the Blackfeet. who earlier
brought in to trade with the fur COM
panles, secured guns and ammunition
before the Salish, which might have
caused the determination of the latter
had not traders OF the Northwest Fur
Co. finally established posts in their
territory, and sold them guns for
beaver pelts.
They Had Few Vices
All those white men who first visit
ed them state that the Salish had
fewer vices than most OF the other
tribes; that their men were brave and
their women chaste. Polygamy was
uncommon among them. Lewis and
! Clark, who visited them in 1905, speak
| OF them as being a sturdy race. Then
they were free to roam where they
chose, and both their manner of dress
and living were conducive to health
Ihelr tepees were large and well ven.
tilated. and they dressed in skins Of
animals they killed in the chase.
Father Palladino said of the Salist
children's dress: The very young oft
en- wore no other garment than ma.
lures seamless robes, and within oul
own recollections Of over half a cen.
fury, little red cherubs could be seen
even in winter, toddling through slusr
and snow in their angelic raiment."
The chief of the Salish was no,
elected as in many tribes, but inherit.
ed his office. But they had SECOND
CHIEF, who functioned only in time Of
war, and this chief gained his posi-.
tlon through the voice of the tribe
HIS badge of office was whiI
adorned with scalps, which he usec
| >AASSbsSAy W QlSClplllle II
the ranks, and he likewise brought vi
the rear when returning from a foray
II he was fortunate enough to reach
home safely, he then became subordi.
nate to the hereditary chief After the
war another election was held, and he
might be supplemented by some other
popular favorite. 1t will be seen tina,
the office of war chief was no sine.
cure. and that it could be won only
through merit. Sometimes a war chic,
was reelected successfully for many
years.
Tolerant in Religion
In their religious views the Salist
were more tolerant than the Chris.
tlans. They believed in happiness after
death for the good, and a hell for the
bad, but their hell was arctic in its
temperature, and was made doubly
: uncomfortable by glimpses of far away
fires the condemned were unable tC
reach Here was where they differed
from the Christian belief; their he'll
was undoubtedly a place to avoid
there were. it is true, hot days in
Montana, yet their numbers were few
and billiards were not uncommon. Nc
| preliminary hardening could make
them other than undesirable, in this
life, and continuation of them after
death was anything but a Cheerful,
prospect Major Roman said the Sal
ish had a peculiar belief concernin.