A great portion of their time is passed in revelry, music,
dancing, and gambling. Their music scarcely deserves the name;
the instruments being of the rudest kind. Their singing is harsh
and discordant; the songs are chiefly extempore, relating to
passing circumstances, the persons present, or any trifling
object that strikes the attention of the singer. They have
several kinds of dances, some of them lively and pleasing. The
women are rarely permitted to dance with the men, but form groups
apart, dancing to the same instrument and song.
They have a great passion for play, and a variety of games. To
such a pitch of excitement are they sometimes roused, that they
gamble away everything they possess, even to their wives and
children. They are notorious thieves, also, and proud of their
dexterity. He who is frequently successful, gains much applause
and popularity; but the clumsy thief, who is detected in some
bungling attempt, is scoffed at and despised, and sometimes
severely punished.
Such are a few leading characteristics of the natives in the
neighborhood of Astoria. They appear to us inferior in many
respects to the tribes east of the mountains, the bold rovers of
the prairies; and to partake much of Esquimaux character;
elevated in some degree by a more genial climate and more varied
living style.
