The moons used by the Spences Bridge band of the Thompson Indians in the same country, and their principal characteristics, are:—1, the deer rut, and people hunt. 2, ‘going-in time’, so named because most people went into their winter houses during this month. The weather begins to get cold, and the people go into their winter houses. 3, bucks shed their antlers, and does become lean. 4, ‘spring (winds) time’, so named because Chinook winds generally blow in this month, melting all the snow. The weather improves, and the spring plants begin to sprout. The people come out of their winter houses. 5, ‘coming-forth time’, so named because the people come forth from their winter houses in this month, although many came out in the fourth month. The grass grows. 6, the people catch trout with dip-nets, and begin to go to the lakes to trap fish. The trees put forth leaves, and the waters increase. 7, the people dig roots. 8, ‘they are a little ripe’. The deer drop their young, and service-berries begin to ripen. 9, ‘middle time’, so named because of the summer solstice. The sun returns, and all berries ripen. Some of the people hunt. 10, ‘first of run’, first or ‘nose’ of ascending fish. The sockeye or red salmon run. 11, the Next Moon, or ‘(poor) fish’, ‘they reach the source’. The cohoes or silver salmon come, and the salmon begin to get poor. They reach the sources of the rivers. 12, the Rest of the Year, or ‘fall time’. The people trap and hunt, and the bucks begin to run[729].
The Lower Thompsons also called the months by numerals up to ten or sometimes eleven, the remainder of the year being called the autumn. Their names are as follows:—1, the rutting-time of deer. 2, ‘going-in’. People go into their winter houses. 3, ‘the last going-in’. 4, ‘little coming-out’, ‘spring or warm wind’. Alternate cold and warm winds. Some people camp out in lodges for a time. 5, ‘going-in-again’. Last cold. People go into winter houses again for a short time. 6, ‘coming-out’. Winter houses left for good. People catch fish in bag-nets. 7, people go on short hunts. 8, people pick berries. 9, people commence to fish salmon. 10, people fish and cure salmon. 11, or ‘to boil food a little’, so named because people prepared fish-oil. Autumn. People hunt large game and go trapping. The moons are grouped in five seasons[730]. The names of the Lillooet Indians are similar, eleven moons and the rest of the year, the fall[731].
From the Kwakiutl of Vancouver Island series have been obtained for four different tribes, the first and second tribes having identical names for the months 2–8 and 10. The author states that the knowledge of the moons seems to be disappearing, and that it was difficult to obtain quite satisfactory evidence: consequently he does not claim that his arrangement is perfectly accurate. As a matter of fact some confusion seems to have crept into the series. The names of the months, corresponding to our March onwards, are as follows:—
| I | II | III | IV | |
| 1. | Raspberry-sprouting season, or olachen-fishing season. | Tree-sprouting season. | Under (elder brother). | No sap in trees(?) |
| 2. | Raspberry season. | Next one under (elder brother). | Raspberry season. | |
| 3. | Huckleberry season. | Trying-oil moon. | Huckleberry season. | |
| 4. | Sallalberry season. | Sockeye moon (?) | Sallalberry season. | |
| 5. | Season of ? | Between good and bad weather. | South-east wind moon. | |
| 6. | Past (i. e. empty) boxes (?) | Raspberry season. | Sockeye moon. | |
| 7. | Wide-face. | Eldest brother. | Elder brother. | |
| 8. | Round one underneath, i. e. Moon after Wide-face. | Right moon (?) | Under (elder brother). | |
| 9. | Dog-salmon month. | Season of ? | Sweeping houses, i. e. for winter ceremonial. | Pile-driving moon. |
| 10. | Cleaned, i. e. of leaves. | Staying in dance house (?) | Fish-in-river moon. | |
| 11. | Spawning season. | Season of flood (?) | Spawning season. | (?) |
| 12. | First-olachen-run moon. | Near to olachen-fishing season. | Elder brother. | Nothing on it (?) |
Between the tenth and twelfth the author inserts the winter solstice, and says that the solstice moons are called by a name which probably means ‘split both ways’: he adds that the readjustment is made in mid-winter[732].
Of the Siciatl of British Columbia it is said that they divide the year into twelve parts corresponding approximately to our months: in these divisions the moon seems to play a very subordinate part. In fact they are to be described as seasons, since to their names is prefixed the same word, tem, as to the three main seasons, e. g. tem tcim, ‘cold time’, winter, tem kaikq, eagle-time, 1, January, so called because, as it is asserted, the eagle hatches its eggs at this time. Further:—2, time when the big fish lay their eggs; 3, budding time; 4, time of the lem, an unidentified bird of passage which remains about a month; 5, time of the diver, which in this month builds its nest and lays eggs; 6, ‘salmon-berry’ time; 7, ‘red-cap’ time, a kind of raspberry; 8, sallalberry time; 9, time when the fish stop running; 10, time when the leaves fade; 11, time when the fish leave the streams; 12, time when the raven lays his eggs[733]. However these divisions are doubtless originally moon-months, as is suggested by the number twelve. Probably the native time-reckoning has fallen into decay and been forgotten under European influence. This is everywhere the case, especially in regard to the moon-month. The Stselis of the same district begin the year in autumn at October, and name the months as follows:—1, spring-salmon spawning season; 2, dog-salmon spawning season; 3, dancing season; 4, season for putting paddles away—from which they number from 5 to 10. The time between July and October was denoted by a word which means the coming together or meeting of the two ends of the year. The latter part of this division was also known as the time of the dying salmon, since the creeks were at this time full of dead and dying salmon[734]. This list of months is curious, but its peculiarities—the ceasing of the counting at ten,—and even the naming of the first four months—are to be found among the Romans[735]. However it bears so little resemblance to all the other lists known to us from this district that it becomes doubtful whether it is original or a product of decay.
The name Piskwaus or Piscous is given to a small tribe that lives on the little river which falls into the Columbia about 40 miles below Fort Okanagon. Their months, obtained from a chief, shew that their habits are much the same as those of their neighbours, the Salish, for the names of many of the months have reference to some of their most important usages. One of the chiefs (viz. of the Piskwaus) made only twelve names, while the other (of the Salish) reckoned thirteen. Both had some difficulty in calling to mind all the names. In several the Piskwau chief is one moon ahead of the other, which may arise from a mistake or possibly from some slight difference of seasons at the two places. The list begins at the time of the winter solstice:—1, not translated; 2, ‘cold’; 3, a certain herb; 4, ‘snow gone’; 5, a bitter root; 6, ‘going to root-ground’; 7, camass-root; 8, ‘hot’; 9, ‘gathering berries’; 10, ‘exhausted salmon’; 11, ‘dry’; 12 (missing in the Piskwau list) ‘house-building’; 13, ‘snow’[736].
The naming of the months from seasons (in the sense of chapter II) is wide-spread over the whole of North America; only under the curious civilisation of Arizona and neighbouring districts does the system present special features.