The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1915-12-02
INDIAN LEGENDS
ARE BEAUTIFUL
KLICKITAT LANGUAGE WONDERFUL
I. L. Smith Has Gathered frem Red Men
Many Stories Of Interest Men,
aIOOse Island


legendary lore weaves around them,
beholds them, how much more interest
ing and appealing is view of the
grand points of the Columbia river
highway after the sightseer has learned
something of their significance in the
history OF the Redmanl While many
beautiful stories are extant in the
writings of contemporary authors and
in the articles and books of pioneer
men and women. who have passed
away, an investigator by talking with
the older Indians that survive along
the mid. Columbia district may find that
many legends have ever become but
little known.
Every Indian tribe had its historian.
The histories and stories we're passed
from generation to generation by word
of mouth. Each tribe had different
dialect. The names Of the gods and
heroes are different. From The Dalles
down the Columbia to the sea, where
the Chinook and sClatsop dialects pre-
vailed, the Great Spirit was known as
Ialapus. While across the Columbia
in southern Washington, where the
Klickitat dialect was supreme, the
chief god was called Saghalie.
In all the Pacific northwest no man
has ever taken greater interest in the
legends of the Indians, among whom
his close friends have been numbered
by the scores, than e. L. Smith, who
removed ~ years ago from Tacoma,
WASH, where he had been secretary of
Washington territory, to Hood River.
While he has retired from life of
active business, Mr.. Smith maintains
an Office in building owned by him,
and he may be found in his Office
part of every week day. In former
days the Indians of the region came TO
ask his counsel. and his pioneer nsieh-
bors came to consult 9th him on mat
ters Of business. Today the few In
dians left in the district continus to
confide in Mr. Smith a. 10 thsis troab-
les, hopes and joys. be will ever re-
main their Boston Man. end thsy
and Mr.. Smith often recall incidsats of
early history and talk over Legendary
history of the scenic region. Whenever
anyone desires to secure information
on pionesr days or Indian legendary
history, he makes visit to Mr.. Smith.
Nor is the list of visitors limited to
local people: he receives callers and
queries from numerous different points
in the northwest.
"Of all the 80 dialects of tribss With
which have been familiar, says Mr.
Smith, that of the Kliskitats is The
i most beautiful. Tlisir names fss our
points of grandeur alone the Colombia
should be preserved. | nads an at
tempt at one tims to have the Smith
sonian Institution collect the wesds Of
the language. A Catholic priest at
Goldendals vas engaged for many
| years in the task, but have not heard
of him for several years. Rev. Waters.
of the Toppsnish community, q full
blood Indian-Who won marked reeogni-
tion as Methodist minister. 10 per-
haps more familiar With the language
than any man in the northwest.
During the early days of Hood River
history, Mr.. Smith was accustomed to
make long trips of exploration in the
neighboring mountains. Indians were
used as guides, and on these journeys
of penetration into the wilds while
others of the party would be asleep or
engaged in conversation. MIR. Smith
would be seated in seclusion at the
| foot of some leviathan of the forest
hearing marvellous tales from his In
| dian guide. Often DR.. T. L. Eliot,
pastor emeritus of the First Unitarian
i church of Portland, would accompany
MIR. Smith and other friends on these
long jaunts of investigation of the
wilderness country.
II recall time when DR.. Eliot and
| were on a trip of exploration at the
base of Mount Adams" says Mr..
Smith. I'VE have often laughed to-
gether since at the philosophy of our
guide. 1t was in the evening, and as
we sat around the campfire after sup
per asked the guide where an Indian
went and what he did after he died.
The fellow. a strapping and handsome
buck replied: 4 don't know. | find
out after get there.
/ Just opposite Hood River, near the
town of White Salmon, high on the
mighty precipitous side of the Co.
lumbia gorge, is huge dial shaped
rock. Most of the people 0f Hood
River have seenjt and have wondered
if it had a meaning. To the Indians,
according to the legends gathered by
Mr.. Smith, it had very significant
meaning. The great rock is supposed
to be Waupash, mighty chieftaness
of the White Salmon Indians in early
days. The Indian woman was proud of
her people and was jealous in her pro-
lection of them.
For many days Waupash had seen
Spelyai, the next of the gods in author
ity to Saghalie, the chief diety, prowl-
ing over her beloved hills. She accost-
ed him one morning as he came up
from the Columbia and ordered him to
leave the region and not show himself
there again, for she feared that he
meant harm to her tribe. Now this
was no way to address god. and Spell
yai, angerd beyond reason. cast a spell
over the woman and turned her into the
/ great rock, and she sits there oil the
great gorge and watches until this day.
The legend that has come to Mr..
Smith abont Oneonta Falls, known for
the most part as Horsetail Falls, is
somewhat different from other legend
ary history. Far back in. the old grand
/ fathers days, according to the story,
there were two handsome Indian chiefs
who fell in love with a beautiful
maiden. The men fought over the girl.
who by her coquettish ways angered the
Great Spirit, AS did the men. and to
punish them, one of the chiefs was
turned into Rooster Rock and the other
into Castle Rock. The girl was trans
formd into Oneonta Falls. The great
stream of water is supposed to repre-
sent her hair, which ever streams out
from the great barrier of rocks over
which she is trying to climb.
Just beyond the Hood River county
line, one of Mr.. Smiths old lndian
friends has told him, is the falls of the
Widows Tears. A tiny stream dsshes
over the top of the high canyon and is
soon lost In spray. 'sThe Indians called
It the Widows Tears" said Mr.. Smith.