History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. I, Part 7

Author: Lyman, William Denison, 1852-1920
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: [Chicago] S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 1134

USA > Washington > Benton County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. I > Part 7
USA > Washington > Kittitas County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. I > Part 7
USA > Washington > Yakima County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. I > Part 7

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In connection with the artesian development special note should be made. of the fact that there is in the city of Yakima a flowing well which supplies a natatorium operated by the Artesian Mineral Springs Company. This well is- 2,100 feet deep, flows 800,000 gallons per day, the water having a temperature of 78°. There are four flows, but all except one are shut off.

CHAPTER II THE NATIVE RACES OF CENTRAL WASHINGTON

THE NATIVE RACES OF CENTRAL WASHINGTON -- LITERATURE OF INDIAN LIFE- AN INDIAN DEMOSTHENES-CLAIMANTS SATISFIED; SCALP SAVED-INDIAN MYTHOLOGY-INDIAN NAMES-INDIAN MYTHS-STUDENTS OF INDIAN MYTHS-ARCHEOLOGY OF THE YAKIMA VALLEY.

Any history of any part of America would be incomplete without some view of the aborigines. Such a view is necessary to insure accuracy of state- ment and to gain philosophical perspectives of history. Such a view is required also by justice to the natives themselves. The ever westward movement of American settlement has been marked by trails of blood and fire. Warfare has set its red stains upon nearly every region wrested from barbarism to civili- zation. This has been in many cases due to flagrant wrong, greed, and lust by the civilized man. It has been due also to savage cruelty by the barbarian. Perhaps more than to wrong by either party, it has been due to that great, unexplained and unexplainable tragedy of human history, the inability of either party to comprehend the viewpoint of the other. And yet, most of all, it has been due to that inevitable and remorseless evolution of all life by which one race of plants, animals, and human beings progresses by the extermina- tion of others. Perhaps the philosophical mind, while viewing with pity the sufferings and with reprobation the crimes and irrational treatment forced upon the natives by the civilized race, and while viewing with equal horror the atrocities by which the losers in the inevitable struggle sought to maintain themselves-if to such a philosophical mind comes the question who was to blame for all this seemingly needless woe-must answer that the universe is mainly to blame, and we have not yet reached the point to explain the universe.

We have found in the preceding chapter, and shall find in succeeding chapters, frequent occasion to refer to events in connection with Indians. Our aim in this chapter is rather to give an outline of locations of different tribes, to sketch briefly some of their traits as illustrated in their myths and customs, and to state the chief published sources of our knowledge in regard to those myths and customs. The history of Indian wars, which also includes other incidental matter about them, will be found in a later chapter.

LITERATURE OF INDIAN LIFE

The literature of Indian life is voluminous. Practically all the early explorers from Lewis and Clark down devoted large space to the natives. The pioneer settlers knew them individually, and some of them derived much matter

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of general value which has been preserved in brief newspaper articles or handed down in story and tradition. Out of this vast mass a few writers have formed groups of topics which serve well for those generalizations with a birdseye view like this must be content to take. Foremost among the writers dealing with the subject in a large way is Hubert Howe Bancroft. Although his great work on the history of the Pacific Coast has been severely and sometimes justly censured, yet it must be granted that, as a vast compendium of matter dealing with the subject, it is monumental and can be turned to with confidence in the authenticity of its sources and in the general accuracy of its statements of fact, even if not always in the breadth of its opinions or the reliability of its judgments.

In Volume One, Chapter III, of Bancroft's "Native Races," there is a

· generalized grouping of the Columbia native tribes which may well be accepted as a study of ethnology, derived from many observations and records by those early explorers most worthy of credence. These general outlines by the author are supported by numerous citations from those authorities. The Columbians occupied, according to Bancroft, all the vast region west of the Rocky Mountains lying between the Hyperboreans on the north and the Californians on the south. They are divided into certain families, and these families into nations, and the nations into tribes. There is naturally much inter-tribal mingling, and yet the national and even tribal peculiarities are preserved with remarkable distinctness. Beginning on the northern coast region around Queen Charlotte Island are the Haidahs. South of them on the coast comes the family of the Nootkas, centered on Vancouver Island. Then comes the family of the Sound Indians, and still further south, that of the Chinooks. Turning to the east side of the Cascades, which more especially interests us, we find on the north the Shushwap family, embracing all the inland tribes of British Columbia south of latitude 52° 30'. This group includes the Okanogans, Kootenais, and others of the border between British Columbia and northeastern Washington and northern Idaho and northwestern Montana. Then comes the Salish family, in which we find the Spokanes, Flatheads, Pend Oreilles, and Calispels, as far south as the Palouse region. There we begin with the family of Sahaptins, the one which particularly concerns us in the Yakima country. Numerous citations in Bancroft's volume indicate that the early explorers and ethinologists did not altogether agree on the subdivisions of this family. It would seem that the groups have been somewhat arbitrarily made, yet there was evidently con- siderable effort to employ scientific methods by study of affiliations in language, customs, treaty relations, range, and other peculiarities. In general terms it may be said that the different writers pretty nearly agree in finding some six or eight nations, each divided into several tribes. These are the Nez Perces or Chopunnish, the Yakimas, the Palouses, the Walla Wallas, the Cayuses, the Umatillas, the Wascos, and the Klikitats. The tribes are variously grouped. The modern spelling appears in the above list, but there is a bewildering variety in the early books. This is especially true of Palouse and Walla Walla. The former appears under the following forms: Palouse, Paloose, Palus, Peloose, Pelouse, Pavilion, Pavion and Peluse. The word means "gooseberry," accord- ing to Thomas Beall, of Lewiston. Walla Walla, which means, according to

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

"Old Bones," the Cayuse chief, the place where the four creeks meet, has the following variants: Oualla Oulla (French), Walla Wallapum, Wollow Wollah, Wallaolla, Wolla Walla, Wallawaltz, Walla Walle, Wallahwallah, Wala-Wala, Wollahwollah. For Umatilla we find Umatallow, Utalla, Utilla, Emmatilly, and Youmalallum. Cayuse has as variants, Cailloux, Kayuse, Skyuse, Cajouse, Caagua, Kyoose, and Kyoots. Dr. Whitman's station, now known as Waiilatpu, place of rye-grass, appears in sundry forms, as Weyeilat, Willetpu, and Wieletpoo.

Yakima also has several variants, as Yakama, Yockooman, Yackiman, Yakeema, Eyakemah, Yokimaw, Eyakama, Eyakema, and Ekama. Dr. Tolmie records that the Sound Indians had the name Strobshaddat for the Yakima River. Lewis and Clark got the name Tapteal. This name also has many forms: Taptaal, Tapteet, Taptete, Tapetett, Tapatett, Taptul. According to A. J. Splawn, this was the name of the original location of Prosser. Klickitat has several spellings. The most varied spelling is for Naches. It is found as Nachehese, Natchess, Nachese, Nahchees, Natchese, Natches, Natchez, Nachiehis, and finally the present most reasonable and phonetic form, Naches, In Cones' edition of the Lewis and Clark journals, page 973, we find the name of a tributary of the Yakima given as Nocktock, which must be the Naches. Mocksee, Moxee, Moksee, etc., are various forms of that pioneer location. Selah has various forms also. In the same edition of Lewis and Clark just given we find Selartar, which must be the Selah. The Wenatchee also has sundry spellings, as Wenatsha, Wenatshapam, and others. Ahtanum is also Atinam, Atahnum, Atanum, Athanam, etc.

The Sahaptin family seem to have been in general of the best grade of Indians. Lewis and Clark found the Nez Perces a noble, dignified and honest race, though they say that they were close and reserved in bargaining. Gen- erally speaking, the inland Indians were far superior in physique and in mental capacity to those of the Sound or the lower Columbia. Townsend, in his "Narrative," goes so far as to say that the Nez Perces and Cayuses were almost universally fine-looking, robust men. He compares one of the latter with the Apollo Belvedere. Gairdner says that the Walla Wallas were generally power- ful men, at least six feet high, and the Cayuses were still stouter and more athletic. Others remarked that very handsome young girls were often seen among the Walla Wallas. The Yakimas were generally tall, straight, fine- looking people. The girls were, as often now, very handsome. With them doubtless, as with other Indians, the drudgery of their lives and their early child-bearing made them prematurely old, and they soon lost their beauty.

There seems to have been much variation among these natives as to per- sonal habits and morality. The Nez Perces and Cayuses are almost always described as clean, both of body and character. Palmer, in his Journal, says that the Nez Perces were better clad than any others, the Cayuses well clothed, Walla Wallas naked and half-starved. The last statement seems not to corre- spond with the observations of Lewis and Clark. Wilkes says that "at The Dalles women go nearly naked, for they wear little else than what may be termed a breech-cloth, of buckskin, which is black and filthy with dirt." About the same seems to have been true of the Sokulks. But among the Tushepaws

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

and Nez Perces and Cayuses the men and women often wore long robes of buffalo or elk skin, decorated with beads and sea-shells. Farnham speaks of the Cayuses as the "Imperial tribe of Oregon, claiming jurisdiction over the whole Columbia region."

The chief wealth of these tribes was in horses. Dr. Tolmie expressed the supposition that horses had come from the southward at no very long time prior to White discovery. It is well known that a prehistoric horse, the hip- parion, not larger than a deer, existed in Oregon. Remains of that creature have been found in the John Day Basin. But there is no evidence that there was a native horse among the Indians of Oregon. Their "Cayuse horses," to all indications, came from the horses of California, and they in turn were the offspring of the horses brought to Mexico and southern California by the Spanish conquerors. A. J. Splawn in "Kamiakin," gives a valuable discussion of the origin of horses. At the time of the advent of the Whites, horses existed in immense numbers all through the Columbia Valley. It was not uncommon for a Yakima, Klickitat, Cayuse, or Nez Perce chief to have bands of hundreds, even thousands. Canoes were a highly esteemed possession of the Indians on the navigable rivers, and they had acquired marvellous skill in handling them. The lower Columbia Indians spend so much time curled up in canoes that they were distorted and inferior in physique to the "bunch-grass Indians."

Like all barbarian people the Indians of the Columbia Valley were next door to starvation a good part of the time. They gorged themselves when food was plentiful, and thus were in distress when the bounty of Nature failed, for there was no accumulated store, as under civilized conditions. Their food consisted of deer, elk, and other game, in which the whole Cascade Mountain country with the adjoining plains abounded, and of salmon and sturgeon, which they obtained in the Columbia, Snake and Yakima rivers by spearing and by ingenious bone hooks. They also obtained an abundance of vegetable food from the camas and couse, which were common, and in fact still are, in this region. Rather curiously, considering the fertility of central Washington, there are very few wild berries, nuts or fruits. The huckleberry is practically the only berry in large quantities, and wild cherries the only kind of wild fruit. A wild currant grows vigorously on the lower Yakima and along the Columbia.

Such were the physical conditions, hastily sketched, of the natives of central Washington. Their mental and moral characteristics may be derived in a degree from the events narrated in the pages which follow. In their best estate they were faithful, patient, hospitable, and generous. In their worst estate, in which the Whites more usually found them, they were vindictive, suspicious, cruel, and remorseless. Too many cases of the former type occurred to justify any sweeping condemnation.

AN INDIAN DEMOSTHENES

One of the finest examples of Indian character in its better light is shown by an event in this region narrated by Ross Cox in his "Adventures on the Columbia River." The party of trappers of the North Western Fur Company,

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of which Cox was one, was on its way from Astoria to "Ockinegan," as he calls it-a company of sixty-four in eight canoes. When at a point in the Columbia about equi-distant between the mouth of the "Wallah Wallah" and that of the Lewis (Snake) a number of canoes filled with natives bore down upon their squadron, apparently without hostile design. But within a few minutes the Indians evinced the purpose of seizing the canoes of the Whites and plundering them by violence. It was soon give-and-take, and arrows began to fly. Pretty soon one of the company, McDonald, seeing an Indian just at the point of letting fly an arrow at him, fired and killed the Indian. A struggle ensued, but the Whites broke loose and defended themselves suffi- ciently to reach an island, which must have been the one nearly opposite the present Two Rivers, a few miles below the junction of the Snake and Columbia. It was a gloomy prospect. Cox says that they had pretty nearly given up hope of escaping and had written farewell notes, which they hoped might reach their friends. It was a dark, gloomy night in November, with a drizzling rain. During the night the party saw signal fires on the shore to the northwest, followed by others to east and west. Soon after a large band of ravens passed over, the fluttering of whose wings they could hear. This had a most depress- ing effect on the superstitious Canadians, and one of them declared that the appearance of ravens at night was an infallible sign of approaching death. Mr. Keith, one of the Scotchmen, seeing the gloomy state of their minds and wishing to forestall the effect, instantly joined the conversation, declaring that while there was such a general fear of a night flight of ravens, yet it never worked disaster unless the flight was accompanied by croaking, but that when ravens passed over without croaking, they were a harbinger of good news. Much relieved, the Canadians regained their nerve and shouted out, "you are right, you are right! Courage! There is no danger!" The beleaguered band on their dismal retreat waited for the dawn, making all preparations for resistance to the death. Early in the morning the party crossed to the north bank of the river, and there waited developments. A large force of Indians soon appeared, well armed, and yet ready for a parley. The Whites sent forward their interpreter, Michel, to indicate their willingness to parley. A group of thirty or forty of the relatives of the dead Indians advanced, chant- ing a death song, which, as they afterwards learned, was about as follows: "Rest, brothers, rest! You will be avenged. The tears of your widows shall cease to flow, when they behold the blood of your murderers; and your young children shall leap and sing with joy, on seeing their scalps. Rest, brothers, in peace; we shall have blood."

The event which followed this lugubrious song cannot be better told than by following the vivid narrative of Cox:

"They took up their position in the center, and the whole party then formed themselves into an extended crescent. Among them were natives of the Chim- napum, Yackaman, Sokulk, and Wallah Wallah tribes. Their language is nearly the same; but they are under separate chiefs, and in time of war always unite against the Shoshone or Snake Indians, a powerful nation, who inhabit the plains to the southward.

"From Chili to Athabasca, and from Nootka to Labrador, there is an inde-

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

scribable coldness about an American savage that checks familiarity. He is a stranger to our hopes, our fears, our joys, or our sorrows; his eyes are seldom moistened by a tear, or his features relaxed by a smile; and whether he basks beneath a vertical sun on the burning plains of the Amazonia, or freezes in eternal winter on the ice-bound shores of the Arctic Ocean, the same piercing black eyes, and stern immobility of countenance, equally set at naught the skill of the physiognomist.

"On the present occasion, their painted skin, cut hair, and naked bodies, imparted to their appearance a degree of ferocity from which we boded no good result. They remained stationary for some time, and preserved a pro- found silence.

"Messrs. Keith, Stewart, LaRocque, and the interpreter, at length advanced about midway between the two parties unarmed, and demanded to speak with them ; upon which two chiefs, accompanied by six of the mourners, proceeded to join them. Mr. Keith offered them the calumet of peace, which they refused to accept, in a manner at once cold and repulsive.

"Michel was thereupon ordered to tell them that, as we had always been on good terms with them, we regretted much that the late unfortunate circum- stance had occurred to disturb our friendly intercourse; but that as we were anxious to restore harmony, and to forget what had passed, we were now willing to compensate the relations of the deceased for the loss they had sus- tained.

"They inquired what kind of compensation was intended; and on being informed that it consisted of two suits of chief's clothes, with blankets, tobacco and ornaments for the women, etc., it was indignantly refused; and their spokes- man stated that no discussion could be entered into until two white men (one of whom should be the big red-headed chief) were delivered to them to be sacrificed, according to their law, to the spirits of the departed warriors.

"Every eye turned on McDonald, who, on hearing the demand, grinned horribly a ghastly smile; and who, but for our interposition, would on the spot have chastised the insolence of the speaker. The men were horrified, and fear and trembling became visible in their countenance, until Mr. Keith, who had observed those symptoms of terror, promptly restored their confidence, by tell- ing them that such an ignominious demand should never be complied with.

"He then addressed the Indians in a calm, firm voice, and told them that no consideration whatever should induce him to deliver a white man to their vengeance ; that they had been the original aggressors, and in their unjustifiable attempt to seize by force our property, the deceased had lost their lives; that he was willing to believe the attack was unpremeditated, and under that im- pression he had made the offer of compensation. He assured them that he preferred their friendship to their enmity; but that, if unfortunately they were not actuated by the same feelings, that white men would not, however deeply they might lament it, shrink from the contest. At the same time he reminded them of our superiority in arms and ammunition; and that for every man be- longing to our party who might fall, ten of their friends at least would suffer, and concluded by requesting them calmly to weigh and consider all these mat- ters, and to bear in recollection that upon the result of their deliberation would

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

in a great measure depend whether white men would remain in their country or quit it forever.

"The interpreter having repeated the above, a violent debate took place among the principal natives. One party advised the demand for the two white men to be withdrawn, and to ask in their place a greater quantity of goods and ammunition ; while the other, which was by far the most numerous, and to which all the relatives of the deceased belonged, opposed all compromise, unac- companied by the delivery of the victims.

"The arguments and threats of the latter gradually thinned the ranks of the more moderate; and Michel told Mr. Keith that he was afraid an accom- modation was impossible. Orders were thereupon issued to prepare for action, and the men were told, when they received from Mr. Keith the signal, to be certain that each shot should tell.

"In the meantime a number of the natives had withdrawn some distance from the scene of deliberation, and from their fierce and threatening looks, joined to occasional whispers, we momentarily expected they would commence an attack.

"A few of their speakers still lingered, anxious for peace; but their feeble efforts were unavailing when opposed to the more powerful influence of the hostile party, who repeatedly called on them to retire, and allow the white man to proceed on their journey as well as they could. All but two chiefs and an elderly man, who had taken an active part in the debate, obeyed the call, and they remained for some time apparently undecided what course to adopt.

"From this group our eyes glanced to an extended line of the enemy who were forming behind them; and from their motions it became evident that their intention was to outflank us. We therefore changed our position, and formed our men into single files, each man about three feet from his comrade. The friendly natives began to fall back slowly towards their companions, most of whom had already concealed themselves behind large stones, tufts of wormwood and furze bushes, from which they could have taken a more deadly aim; and Messrs. Keith and Stewart, who had now abandoned all hopes of an amicable termination, called for their arms.

"An awful pause ensued, when our attention was arrested by the loud tramping of horses, and immediately after twelve mounted warriors dashed into the space between the two parties, where they halted and dismounted. They were headed by a young chief, of fine figure, who instantly ran up to Mr. Keith, to whom he presented his hand in the most friendly manner, which example was followed by his companions. He then commanded our enemies to quit their places of concealment, and to appear before him. His orders were promptly obeyed; and having made himself acquainted with the circumstances that led to the deaths of the two Indians, and our efforts towards affecting a reconciliation, he addressed them in a speech of considerable length, of which the following is a brief sketch :

"'Friends and relations! Three snows only have passed over our heads since we were a poor miserable people. Our enemies, the Shoshones, during the summer stole our horses, by which we were prevented from hunting, and drove us from the banks of the river, so that we could not get fish. In winter

HUMISHUMA, OR MORNING DOVE, A WOMAN OF THE OKANOGAN TRIBE Der deerskin robe, decorated with beads, elk teeth and grizzly bear claws, is worth over one thousand dollars

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

they burned our lodges by night; they killed our relations; they treated our wives and daughters like dogs, and left us either to die from cold or starvation, or become their slaves.

" 'They were numerous and powerful; we were few, and weak. Our hearts were as the hearts of little children; we could not fight like warriors, and were driven like deer about the plains. When the thunders rolled and the rains poured, we had no spot in which we could seek shelter; no place, save rocks, whereon we could lay our heads. Is such the case today? No, my relations! It is not. We have driven the Shoshones from our hunting- grounds, on which they dare not now appear, and have regained possession of the lands of our fathers, in which they and their fathers' fathers lie buried. We have horses and provisions in abundance, and can sleep unmolested with our wives and our children, without dreading the midnight attacks of our enemies. Our hearts are great within us, and we are now a nation!

"'Who, then, my friends, have produced this change? The white men. In exchange for our horses and for our furs, they gave us guns and ammuni- tion; then we became strong; we killed many of our enemies, and forced them to fly from our lands. And are we to treat those who have been the cause of this happy change with ingratitude? Never! Never! The white people have never robbed us; and, why should we attempt to rob them? It was bad, very bad !- and they were right in killing the robbers!' Here symptoms of im- patience and dissatisfaction became manifest among a group consisting chiefly of the relations of the deceased; on observing which, he continued in a loud tone: 'Yes! I say they acted right in killing the robbers; and who among you will dare to contradict me?'

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History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. I, Part 7

Author: Lyman, William Denison, 1852-1920 Publication date: 1919 Publisher: [Chicago] S.J. Clarke Number of Pages: 1134

Author: Lyman, William Denison, 1852-1920
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: [Chicago] S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 1134