, 1860-02-10

President Of the United States. This expedition
left Missouri about the middle Of May, 1904, and
on the 18th Of November, 1906, they landed at
Cape DiSappointment They then crossed the
river and erected block house, which they
named Fort Clatsop, where they remained till
March, 1906.
In 1908, the Missouri Fur Company formed a
settlement on branch Of Lewis or Snake River,
the great southern arm of the Columbia, which
they held tin 1910. During this year, the Pacific
Fur Company, having John Jacob Astor at its
head, fitted out the ship 7OnqUin Capt Jona-
than ThoFnA who sailed for the Columbia River
from New YORK in September, 1910, and reached
her destination on the 9th Of March, 1911;
where they shortly afterwards erected trading
post which was named Astoria, in honor Of the
head Of the company.
From the tire of Gray's discovery of the Co
lGmbia, 10 1893, to the settlement Of Astoria, the
fur traders had been accustomed to go to the
Columbia every year to trade, and had their
principal transactions with the ChenoOks, then q
powerful tribe living on the north side of the
river near its mouth. Their chief was named
Comcomoly, shrewd man, who did oil the
trading.
At this time the tribes of the coast were in
the practice Of trading with each other to mitch
Indiahs-that is to say, the Nootka, Clyoquot,
and other tribes of Vancouver's lsland-had
regular traders, who went to the Columbia every
summer to trade off canoes and howpua, Or wan:
pun, for such commodities as the Southern In:
dams had of which the principal was cinnabar,
or vermilion, which the Chenook Indians had
received by line Of trade from the California
Tribes.
The Chenook canoes known as SUCH are in
reality the Nootka model; and although have
kruwn 4 few Of the Chenook and Chehalis In.
lians to understand the method Of canoe making,
yet the want of the right kind Of cedar prevents
them making any but shall ones, and they to
this day depend on the Mackah Indians fof their
supply; and the Mackah's in their turn procure
their canoes from Nootka, Clyoquot and Nittinat.
noticed, during my recent visit, number Of
tile MackahS working over old canoes with theft
chisels to make them bright and look like new
ones and found, on inquiry, that they were
intended to trade off to the Chehalis and Que
niults, next summer; tho Mackahs in the mean
while procuring new canoes LOT themselves across
the Straits.
This constant intercourse among the tribes
enabled thcii principal traders to Understand the
language Of each other; the Nootka traders un-
derstandlng ChepOok; and, the Chcnooks in their
turn understanding Nootka, particularly Com
connolly, their CHIEF; who was informed by some
of the old Indians at Neah Bay, regularly made
q trading voyage every year to Cape Fattery.
After the discovery 6f the Columbia, as be-
fore remarked, the fur traders made that river
one Of their trading points; and as most Of them
could talk efodgh OF the NOotka language i6f
the purposes Of trade, it was made use Of by
ComcOmOly as his meansof communicating with
them, instead Of the Chenook language; which
is very different one As the Indians became
further acquainted with the white men, they
made use Of English words as well as they could
pronounce them, and thus the jargon was first
formed. As the Canadian voyageurs became
mixed up with these Indians, after the advent Of
the HudsOn's Bay Company, the Indians picked
up great many words Of Canadian French.
Thus we find the jargon composed Of NOdtka,
English and French. II is called ChenoOk Jar
gon for the reason that It was with that tribe
that the Astoria people and the Hudsdn's Day
Company first learned 1t. The jargon is not
spoken alike in scarcely any two parts Of the
Territory. People are very apt to mix up with
the original many Of the tribal words Of the In.
dams in the immediate vicinity.
Until within few years, the coast tribes oi
our Territory have had but little intercourse
with white settlers, and have always been con.
sidered as fierce vindictive race. The many
maSSacres they have committed upon the white
uAllles Iecl-
ings in this particular arc no way altered when
excited, but their present intercourse with the
whites has shown them that it is policy for them
to be on good terms with the " BOstOns" had an
evidence Of this feeling while at Neah Bay.
was in the lodge Of COlehote, one Of the chiefs,
inquiring about the early history Of the Mac
kAhs, when an old Noothka slave woman be-.
longiI to him came up with the freedom Of an
old favorite, and began to sing a chant The
old beldame looked to be over eighty years Of
age, and was as withered and wrinklrd as .
baked apple. She jumped about and screamed,
and l expected from her gestures that she would
hit me over the head with a iirebrand which she
Ike t tlourishing about At last she was quieted,
and her song was explained to me. It was a
gloritication of the Nootkas for killing so many
white men. finally got into conversation with
her, and was astonished at the accuracy with
which she related the prominent events Of the
history Of the white explorers from the earliest
times. She told me she remembered when
Mears built the schooner at NOOtka She was
a little girl at the tiIno They built, she said,
log house with mat roof and dug well for
water. She remembered the Cinnamon, and
said that the conical Chinese-shaped hats, that
are now worn by tho Mackah and NOOtka In.
dians, we're first introduced by Mears' Cinnamon.
She related the account Of the massacre Of the
crew Of the ship Boston, in 1903, when all hands
were killed but levitt and Thompson. ThOmp-
son anerward died. Jewitt remained till 1896,
when he was ransOmed by the ship Gudtamozin,
of Boston, and taken to the States. She had
heard Of the attack on the ship AtdhUaipd, Of
Boston, in Mlbank Sound, in 1906, when the
captain, mate aud six seanIen were killed and
gave me the particulars Of the Loss Of the ship
1OnqUin, Of Boston, which was attacked by the
Indians IN ClyOquOt bay, in June 1871, and all
hands killed but the interpreter, "a ChenOOk In
diam who was suffered to make his escape. The
ship was blown up, as was supposed, by Mr.
Lewis, the clerk while the Indians were strip.
ping her, and great numbers Of them killed.
After the old woman hal finished her stories
oil nlrknNo w,l,NaI hat hal