ed of an inch or half-inch chisel,
usually made of an old file, and of a mallet, which was nothing but an
oblong stone. With these wretched implements, and wedges made of hemlock
knots, steeped in oil and hardened by the fire, they would undertake to
cut down the largest cedars of the forest, to dig them out and fashion
them into canoes, to split them, and get out the boards wherewith to
build their houses. Such achievements with such means, are a marvel of
ingenuity and patience.

CHAPTER XX.

Manners and Customs of the Natives continued.--Their Wars.--Their
Marriages.--Medicine Men.--Funeral Ceremonies.--Religious
Notions.--Language.

The politics of the natives of the Columbia are a simple affair: each
village has its chief, but that chief does not seem to exercise a great
authority over his fellow-citizens. Nevertheless, at his death, they pay
him great honors: they use a kind of mourning, which consists in
painting the face with black, in lieu of gay colors; they chant his
funeral song or oration for a whole month. The chiefs are considered in
proportion to their riches: such a chief has a great many wives, slaves,
and strings of beads--he is accounted a great chief. These barbarians
approach in that respect to certain civilized nations, among whom the
worth of a man is estimated by the quantity of gold he possesses.

As all the villages form so many independent sovereignties, differences
sometimes arise, whether between the chiefs or the tribes. Ordinarily,
these terminate by compensations equivalent to the injury. But when the
latter is of a grave character, like a murder (which is rare), or the
abduction of a woman (which is very common), the parties, having made
sure of a number of young braves to aid them, prepare for war. Before
commencing hostilities, however, they give notice of the day when they
will proceed to attack the hostile village; not following in that
respect the custom of almost all other American Indians, who are wont to
burst upon their enemy unawares, and to massacre or carry off men,
women, and children; these people, on the contrary, embark in their
canoes, which on these occasions are paddled by the women, repair to the
hostile village, enter into parley, and do all they can to terminate the
affair amicably: sometimes a third party becomes mediator between the
first two, and of course observes an exact neutrality. If those who seek
justice do not obtain it to thei