The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-03-22
40 LO" is RIGHT.
The Nearest the Indians Could Get to
Lawrence.

| Missoula, March 21.-The question of
| the nomenclature of Lou Lou or "Lo
! Lo' creek and the pass and mountain
! that have taken their name from the
| stream that flows near them has long
been a theme for discussion among the
local authorities upon matters pertain
ing to the early history Of this section.
Like the name OF this city, the origin Of
this peculiar appeliation has been dis.
puted and has never been satisfactorily
settled. Recently, Judge Woody, in
compliance with the request of the
manager of the Northern Pacific's his
tor!cal and literary department, o. D.
Wheeler, has been Investigate this
matter. The result of his research has
been to practically establish the fact
| that the name "Lo Lo' is the Indian
| corruption of the name Lawrence. In
| speaking of this matter. Judge Woody
| said to-day to a Standard reporter:
| That the name, Lo Lo, is the nearest
that the Indians could get to Law
| renee I have no longer any doubt.
! Father d'Aste and Father Palladinn,
! who are among the oldest of the Jesuit
fathers now living, are both of this
| opinion. They say that they have
| known more than one instance in which
men by the name of Lawrence have
been called Lo 10 by the red men
| Duncan Mcdonald, VINO : enc Of the
| best informed men in the Nor Invest re-
garding the early mist Try Of the In
dans. comedies with This o,...ion. since
| have been engaged ii this research,
I have received several letters from
different parts of the state IN regard
to the subject, and nearly al of them
are in support of this theory.
1T has been the current opinion. an
I myself have shared it until now, that
the name of the stream. TIL pass and
the mountain were der we'd frCm the
name of an old half-breed, Who live
in that region. The grave of this old
man may still be seen in the pass, and
until I undertook this investigation, I
never questioned the authenticity of this
story. The old man was said to have
lived up there and the region naturally
became known by his name. I am now
satisfied however, that there is no real
foundation for this story. The Indian
whose name was given by the whites
to this stream was well known to many
of the early residents and. l am told
by Duncan Mcdonald, was a famous
hunter and trapper. Mr.. Mcdonald al
so informs me that this Indian suisse
quently went over to the east side and
was afterward killed in the Woody
mountains N a conflict with a grizzly
bear. Mr., Mcdonald is so we'll inform
ed regarding these matters, that ] ac-
cept his statement as fact. The name
evidently came from the name of this
Indian, whose bapttsmal name had been
corrupted by the red men from Law
renee to Lo Lo. The name is spelled
in Two ways, Lo 10 and Lou Lou. AS
it is a corruption of an English word,
| do not suppose that there is any au-
thority for either spelling.
Mr.. Mcdonald has given me some
very interesting Indian history regard
ing the stream in question. The Indian
name of the stream was Turns Sum-
lech' THE Flathead word for Salmon
less or NO Salmon Chief Chariot has
given the name to Agent Smead as
'E-sunl-c'u but think that the former
spelling is the correct one, according to
the translation and the legends con-
nected with the stream. In all of the
creeks and rivers across the range, the
Clearwater and its several branches,
is an abundance of salmon, but none
were ever found in the Lo 10. hence
its Indian name. This is. in brief, what
I have been able to learn concerning
the origin of the name Of the stream"
The Indian name, Tum-sum-lech, is
an Interesting one and, While not as
pleasant, perhaps, as the modern name
of the stream, it is certainly
more significant. Judge Woody. in his
investigation, has unearthpd an inter-
esting legend of the Flatheads concern
ing the reason that there We're never
any salmon in the stream. The Indians
Of this section. like all others, had a
legendary explanation of the origin of
the natural phenomena that they
saw around them. In all of the Flat
head tales. the Coyote" is the hero,
like "Bror Rabbit" in the negro tales
of the South. The coyote" is the hero
Of the story concerning the absence of
salmon in the stream. Tum-sum- lech.
1t appears that the coyote married.
His alliance vas a love match, but he
was / tickle fellow and when two sons
arrived he showed no inclination to
support them or his wife. The wife
however. invoked higher authority and
compelled coyote to provide for his fam
lily. He complained bitterly and told
his troubles to the spirits across the
range. They sympathized with him and
gave him 2 salmon that he was to take
and place in the stream, Tum sunni ech
to furnish food for his wife and chill
drpn. The only condition that was i'm
posed upon him was that when he took
the salmon across the range, he should
not look back. 1t was the same iniunr-
ton that was given to Lots wife, Cow
! Ute missed just as the woman of Scrip
| ture did. He took the salmon in his
mouth and climbed the western side of
tHE idiEe. Mt kept HIS eyes front TIL
| he reached the summit. There the de-
mands of nature compelled him to
pause. He stopped and laid down the
salmon. Al that instant he thought
lessly cast his eye back to the valley
that he had just left. AS he did so, the
salmon Slipped down the mountainside
and back into the Clearwater. The op-
pOrtunity for stocking the stream with
salmon was lost and so it was called
Tum-sum- lech--No Salmon. This name
became forgotten IN the simpler one,
Lo Lo. that remains to-day.
Along with their heavy johbine bust
ness in rough candies, A. NJ. Stevens
& On. carry the following lines of fine
Confccti0ns in original packa ges: Low
nays, A'1egretto K Rubal's and John
g. Wu0dwards