The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1916-11-16


side of Memaloose Island there Is
natural tunnel under spur OF rock ex-
tending out into the channel that 10 ac-
counted for by the following legend:
The Indians had been at war all over
the country east Of the Cascades. The
great Meouwah on Mount Tacoma had
tired of their continual chickering's and
had sent Spelia out to all warning
tribes with the command to cease their
warfare and live In peace. The faith
ful Spelia, swift footed, delivered his
messages to unheeding ears
and the offended spirit determined to
starve them into submission. So he
Spelia to station spirit guards
with salmon spears on Memaloose and
adjacent islands with orders to spear
any salmon that attempted to pass up
the stream. Thus the supply of salmon
was cut off and great numbers of the
fish collected below the islands. So
matters stood. The salmon continued
to collect and the Indians above grew
hungrier, but still quarreling. Finally
the salmon in their desperation sent an
urgent message to their king to come
from the northern waters and direct
them In their extremity. Unless they
could pass on above. they could not
spawn, and the race would be extinct.
Soon the King of the Salmon arrived
and looked the matter over carefully.
The spirit guards we're at the point and
vigilant, but the king had solved the
problem. Selecting the narrowest
point in the projecting reef he in
structed every sturdy salmon to take a
small rock in his mouth and strike the
reef alta designated point. :, The count
less blows told and large tunnel was
bored through the stubborn rock. The
countless hosts passed on and the spirit
guards were outwitted. But the Great
Spirit had won. The quarreling red
skins, fearful lest their wives and chill
dren starve, had thrown down their
arms, washed the war paint from their
faces and had made lasting peace,
that has not been broken, e'er the first
salmon had lesped the falls at Tum-
water.
The legend of the Bridge of the Gods
is too we'll known to repeat. A legend
that was of truth a mighty war OF the
gods that scientists have declared did
occur. To Fredrick Homer Balch be-
longs the honor Of rescuing from ebliv-
ion and making imperishable the rec.
ord of the awful catastrophe.
Funeral Ceremonies when death
occurs the family moves at once. Un.
der no circumstances would they re-
main over night in house or tent
where one had died, as the evil spirit
that caused the passing goes into the
ground, and would enter the person Of
any so rash as to remain over night.
The body is taken in charge by rela.
tives or friends Of the family and
dressed in the best clothes. rolled
tightly in new blankets, corded around
securely to hold them in place, then
left for one or more days. according to
the weather. Then without any further
ceremony il is tied to a plank and
placed in tree if one can be had. If
not, then a scaffold is built, high
enough to be out of the way of ma
rauding animals, and the body is left
on this until entirely mummified. 1t is
then taken down, new clothing and
blankets provided and the remains
taken in state to the usual burial
ground, accompanied by relatives and
members of the tribe in general.
The corpse is placed in the leading
canoe, followed by the rest in single
file. As the procession starts the
women begin wailing the death song
and with the beating tom toms make a
scene indescribably sad. On reaching
their destination the body is placed in
the family dead house. The wrappings,
like those on the mummies of ancient
Egypt, are renewed at stated intervals
by the immediate surviving relatives.
Burial Grounds and Burial Customs: ::
Whenever it was possible islands were
selected for the final resting places of
the dead. This was done to protect
them from marauding animals and for
general security from molestation from
man or beast.
On the middle river two little rock
ribbed islands we're selected one about
IL miles east of Hood River and one
three miles east of The Dalles. They
were known as Memaloose, lllshee or
Dead Land. Roth have been used for
this purpose for unknown ages, the
ground being composed largely of de-
composed bones. visited the islands
in 1858 before the relic hunters aud
body snatchers had made their ghoulish
raids that eventually despoiled the sa-
cred grounds of their rightful tenants
and forced the abandonment of the
islands entirely as burial places. As
nearly as | can remember there were
about 10 or IL houses in fairly good Ie-
pair, but many more we're fallen down
and in the last stages of decay. In
many places there we're only patches
of bone dust, the cedar plank that had
once enclosed the place having disap.
peared years ago. Perhaps a half dozer
of the standing houses were cared fol
and the dead reclothed. The rest,
while held sacred by the living, were
left to the care of the dead.
The dead house, as have said be
fore, was made of cedar slabs cut from
dliftwood of the river. The houses
were from eight to IL feet square ant
about FIVE feet high. | will describe
the one in best repair, and will illus
trate the Indians peculiar ideas o,
death and the great hereafter.
luC puuShSOhob va ASA ~'''
sides we're set on end and held in place
by horizontal strips on either side a
the top and bound together will
withes, one side higher. in order t.
make a slope for the roof, which wal
also of slabs. A door opened on op
posite sides, held in place by sticks ant
withes. As l entered l saw on my
right perhaps a half dozen we'll caret
for corpses. some on the ground ant
some hung from the roof. Beyont
them was piled the belongings OF thu
dead. Everything that an Indian holds
dear was taken with him to the Happ,
Hunting Ground. There were trunks
bought from the Hudson Bay Co.. gor
geous with brass bindings and bras
tacks and filled to overflowing will
blankets, dress goods and dresses o
every description. brass jewelry. bead
by the quantity and Of every kind, col
or and shape. pots and pans. dlshe
and glass, fiintlock rifles. shot guns
pistols, tommyhawks and axes, bow
do