The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1914-11-05
LOCAL INDIAN is
MODERN BEADMAKER

Though still living in a tent among
the Indian people Of his wife. who have
a small settlement just east OF sthis
city, George Orr, a Modoc Indian of
the Upper Pitt River tribe, is a modern
business man. George Orr has modern
ized the manufacture of Indian beads.
and his wampum has become as we'll
known among the Indians of the Pa
cific coast and middle west as have
Hood River apples become known to
the fruit markets of the country. He
spends a greater portion Of the winter
months in California, where be secures
the raw material. which is shipped TO
Hood River. The beadmaker will not
90 into the details of his system of
cutting the rough shells into the
smooth wampum discs, for the posses
sion of which an Indian will sell his
very soul. 81 don't want TO give
away my trade secret" he says. But
his process is quickly productive Of an
article that is in great demand by Red
Men the country over. Although he
has been in the business but five years,
agencies have been established in Mon
tana, Idaho and as far east as 0klaho-
ma.
George Orr, although he attended
school but short time in the public
schools of California, might be termed
an educated man. He reads a great
deal, and is an authority on Indian
beads.
81 am "a years DID," he says. mo.
never went to school anywhere ex-
cept for a short time in Shasta county,
Calf. | was first attracted to the
possibilities of bead manufacture five
years ago while working for the gov
ernment on the Warm Springs Reser-
walton. Knowing that | had been in
California, some of the old Indians
there asked me if couldn't get them
some of the wampum shells from
southern California. | didn't know
what they we're until some of the
shells were shown me. II was then
that I.had my idea. | decided to go
into the work for myself. | managed
to have few of the shells sent me,
but my problem seemed to be to get
hold of them in sufficient quantity to
make my business pay. | finally visited
Mendicino county. where | ran across
an old Indian, known as Captain Jack.
finally got his confidence, and he con-
Quoted me to some of those peculiar
shell heaps to be found in southern
California. These heaps of shells,
found in all parts of the United States
are known to the scientists as hidden
Heaps. Since | have become interested
in shell beads, | have made study of
them. The Hand Book of American
Indians issued by the Bureau of Amer
lean Ethnology gives authentic data
concerning them. The term shell
heaps is applied to deposits of refuse
resulting from the consumption of
shellish for food.
"The most extensive deposits of
shells are found along salt water
shores, and especially in tidewater
bays, rivers and inlets, where the clam
and oyster abound. Along some shores
they are almost continuous for many
miles, but as rule they do not extend
far back from the landing places. De-
posts covering 10, 20 or even more
acres are not uncommon, but the depth
is not very great save over limited
area, where they rise sometimes to 20
dHu OV icCb HiSu. bSbNCch SOuthSlh
California and Alaska the shells are
usually mussell, oyster. clam, haliotis
or abalone and nautilus.
'The wampum of the early days was
exceedingly hard to make. The imple-
ments used were crude, and the task
of grinding out the discs was slow and
tedious.
"The hard shell of the sea mussell
makes the wampum now most desired.
Indians will pay as much as $40 yard,
and more for the strings composed of
larger discs.
While Orr spends the greater portion
of his time here, he visits all districts
of the northwest during the course of
the year. He never leaves Hood River
and the neighboring districts during
the strawberry harvest, when Indians
from neighboring reservations are here
to pick berries. And large percent
age of their earnings go to swell his
Golfers. When the hop picking season
is on, he is usually found in the Yakima
valley. where Indians help with the