Part 8

tub´-bel-chin´-tah ch[=a]-gel-k[=o]k. A small creek 10 mi. S of Dyerville, entering South Fork from the E just S of a bend in the river. [Evidently Bridge Cr.]

s[=o]l´-te-che. A place at the mouth of Elk Cr., on the E side of South Fork. Includes the eastern part of Bolling Grove.

s[=o]l-te-k[=o]k. Elk Creek, entering South Fork from the E in Bolling Grove, 10.3 mi. S of Dyerville.

sen-t[)e]^{ch}-be. A rock in the river at a small bend 11.2 mi. S of Dyerville.

ni´-te´-t[)e] el-lah´-t[)e], "dog drowned" ... A place where a new bridge is now (1923) being built across South Fork, 12 mi. S of Dyerville. [Evidently this refers to the bridge at Blair Grove.]

suk´-ke-ch[=o]s kah´-me, "eagle pawn." A big flat on the W side of the river 12.5 mi. S of Dyerville.

chah´-ni-che´. Another large flat on the W side of the river, 13.5 mi. from Dyerville.

sah-nah´-k[=o]k. Salmon Cr., entering South Fork from the W nearly opposite Miranda.

kahs´-cho-boo´-ah´-me. This was a small settlement in a flat at Miranda, 14.5 mi. S of Dyerville.

s[=a]-nan-sung´ (·s[=a]-nan-tsin´-kah). Bear Butte, a conspicuous peak on the W side of South Fork, about 18 mi. S of Dyerville.

s[=a]´-chen-to´-te, "water against rock." A place in the river 16 mi. S of Dyerville.

k[)a]-kes´-k[=o]k (k[)e]-kes´-k[=o]k). Fish Cr., 16.9 mi. S of Dyerville.

kin´-tes-tah´-te. A big flat, probably a mile long and very broad, on the W side of the river, 17.5 mi. S of Dyerville. Just N of Phillipsville but on the opposite side of the river.

ket´-tin-tel´-be. A flat (now orchard and ranch) and village on the E side of South Fork, 18 mi. S of Dyerville, at a place now called Phillipsville. It comprises a fine redwood grove and a good camping place.

s[)a]-be-y[)e]´. A flat on the E side of the river 0.7 mi. S of Phillipsville.

A mile south of Phillipsville there is a good view of Garberville Ridge, s[)e]-chung´-kuk, a fine ridge, part timbered and part open grassy hillside, which slopes west from Little Buck Mountain, n[=a]-ah-ki´-kah, the highest point, some distance back on the east.

to-be-y[)e], "prairie under." A small flat on the W side of the river 1 mi. S of Phillipsville.

yen-nes´-be. A place 1.6 mi. S of Phillipsville.

chig-gel´-e-yes´-ke. A place 1.9 mi. S of Phillipsville.

s[)e]´-chin-k[=o]k´. A small stream probably 1.2 mi. S of Phillipsville. A possibility of error here. If the location is correct, the stream is probably Ohman Cr.

s[)e]^{hl}-ki´-k[=o]k. A creek 2.1 mi. S of Phillipsville. The preceding location is probably an error and this is Ohman Cr.

s[)e]-ki´-ke. The land S of s[)e]^{hl}-ki´-k[=o]k Creek, reaching to 2.5 mi. S of Phillipsville.

s[)e]-tes´-k[=o]k, "hard rock creek." Rocky Glen Cr., 2.5 mi. S of Phillipsville.

ki-tes´-be, "hard brush." A place 2.9 mi. S of Phillipsville. There is a small ranch and orchard there now (1923).

chan-tan-che´. A place a little more than 3 mi. S of Phillipsville. There are two big rocks and a creek there.

s[)e]-to´-be. A big rock facing a high bluff 4.3 mi. S of Phillipsville.

s[=a]-ken-nes´, "talking rock." A big rock on a creek on the W side of the river, 5.6 mi. S of Phillipsville.

tuk´-ke-tahk. A beautiful open and partly wooded hill on the W side of the river 6 mi. S of Phillipsville.

tuk´-[)a]-tah´-be. A place on the E side of the river 6 mi. S of Phillipsville. Named from tuk´-ke-tahk hill.

tahs-ki´-k[=o]k, "white flag creek." Dean Canyon Cr., 6.4 mi. S of Phillipsville.

tahs-ki´-ke. Village at the mouth of tahs-ki´-k[=o]k creek. It belongs to the To-kub´-be tribe.

to´-che-be. A flat on the W side of the river 7.8 mi. S of Phillipsville.

bus´-ken-nes´, "cliff talking." A cliff or bluff opposite to´-che-be.

stuk´-kan-no´-be. A big semicircular grassy flat on the E side of the river beginning about 8 mi. S of Phillipsville. The present town of Redway.

ahn´-chin-tah´-k[=o]k. Redwood Cr.

se´-ken-t[)e]^{ch}-t[)e]. A place 9.5 mi. S of Phillipsville.

sah-nah´-che-chel´-le. A place and creek 9.7 mi. S of Phillipsville.

bus-ki´-cho. A white bluff on the road 10 mi. S of Phillipsville.

k[=o]s-kun-tes´-kah. A sloping, grassy, open flat 10.3 mi. S of Phillipsville. There was a To-kub´-be village here.

ko´-se-che´. The area on both sides of the river 10.6 mi. S of Phillipsville. Just N of the Garberville bridge across Bear Canyon.

s[=a]-g[)e]´-ch[)e], "egg rock." A bold upright rock at the N end of the Garberville bridge across Bear Canyon; 10.6 mi. S of Phillipsville.

ken-tes´-che tahng-ah´-te. A beautiful deep valley on South Fork just SW of Garberville. The bridge across the river on the way to Briceland is in this valley.

si-cho´-kuk. A large village of the To-kub´-be near the site of the bridge across South Fork on the way from Garberville to Briceland.

nahs-lin´-che. An area and village in a loop of South Fork a few miles S or SW of Garberville.

ken´-nahl-lag´-gah-k[=o]k (kan´-no-lig´-ah-k[=o]k). East Branch of the South Fork of the Eel R.

n[=a]-yahn´-kah. A hill on the W side of South Fork near the bridge over East Branch.

kahs´-cho-so´-be. A place and village on South Fork about 4 mi. S of Garberville and 3 or 4 mi. from the highway. Not in sight from the highway.

kahs´-cho so´-ning-i´-be. A large redwood flat (Richardson Grove) on the W side of South Fork on the Humboldt side of the Humboldt-Mendocino County line.

_West of South Fork Eel_

Bear Buttes sa-nan-sin-kah Bear River chahn´-k[=o]k Briceland to-cho´-be Elk Ridge chi-chin´-kah Mattole River mouth tah´-che North Fork Mattole nahn-tsin-tah´-k[=o]k Rainbow Peak tsa-che-be, tsa-bahng´-um Rainbow Ridge tsa-bung-ah Taylor Peak nahn-tsin´-kah Upper Mattole kun-sah´-ke

_On or near the Van Duzen River_

Alton chen´-n[)a]-che Bald Jesse Mt. k[=o]ng-kel-tel´-kah Bridgeville ahn´-sin-tah´-che-be´ Buck Mt. nahn´-tsin´-kah Carlotta yah-hlahn´-che Chalk Mt. s[=a]-til-bi´ Chalk Mt. Ridge n[)e]-chin´-tuk-kah, n[=a]-chin´-t[)a]-kah Fort Baker s[=a]-sh[=a]-be Iaqua region k[=o]ng-tel-kil´-k[=o]k Iaqua Buttes s[)e]^{hl}-kus´-[)a]-kuk ("two points") Larabee Buttes yah-kah´-nik-kah (t[)a]´-che-kah) Larabee Cr. slahn´-ko Lawrence Cr. yah-tlahn´-k[=o]k (ye-tah´-nah-ling´-k[=o]k) Lassik Buttes tse´-nahn-tsin´-kah Lassik Pk. ki´-chil-kahn-kah Little Larabee Cr. so´-k[=o]k Metropolitan yah-hlahn´-kuk Rohnerville to-ti´-kah Rio Dell ken-tel-cho´ (kin-tel´-te) Scotia kahs-cho ken-tel´-te Showers Pass s[=a]-ch[)a]-be Van Duzen R. chin´-ne-kok (ken´-ne-kok) Van Duzen R. mouth kin´-ne-ke Yager Cr. yah-'hlahn´-k[=o]k Yagerville chis-sis´-ahn´-tah

ETHNOGRAPHIC NOTES

_Lolangkok Sinkyone._--The following notes on the Lolangkok Sinkyone are taken verbatim from Merriam's notes. The informant was George Burt.

The Lolahnkok did not fight much with other tribes but were sometimes attacked by the Ch[)e]-teg´-ge-kah of the region north of Round Valley [Pitch Wailaki]; and they think the Long Valley people also used to make raids on them to steal women.

Chief Lassik, whose name is often used in a tribal sense, belonged to the Kittel´ tribe--a tribe reaching from Iaqua south to Dobbyn Creek [Nongatl].

Chalk Mountain was only a few miles east of the boundary between the Kittel´ and the Lolahnkok, and the Lolahnkok were permitted to hunt there.

_Shelter Cove Sinkyone._--Trees are felled by means of elkhorn chisels called beh-cho, and stone mauls called s[=a]´tah--a very tedious and laborious operation. When the tree has fallen, the logs are cut in lengths by the same process. Planks are split off from these logs by driving the elkhorn wedges into the ends of the logs. After several planks have been split off, one below the other, another set is started at right angles to the first.

The dugout canoes are made of redwood logs dug out by means of the elkhorn chisels. After the greater part of the inside has been removed, fires are used to char the wood, which is then scraped away by the chisels. This is continued until the walls of the dugout are sufficiently thin. The fires are spread out thin in order not to burn too deeply at any one place.

Buckskin is tanned with deer brains, rubbed on with a stick rolled in ashes, after which the hide is placed on warm ashes until dried. It is then soaked and rubbed until soft.

Wild tobacco (_Nicotiana bigelovi_) was always used by the Bull Creek Sinkyone. It was originally found growing on burned-over places and the people planted the seeds in ashes, usually on a burned place.

Buckeye nuts, called lah-s[)e]´, were cooked in a basket with hot stones after the manner of acorns. They were then mashed and kneaded into dough, which was buried for a while in fine sand.

Wild Ginger (_Asarum_ sp.) is called tan-nas-bos´. It is good medicine for pain in the stomach. The leaves are pounded and soaked in cold water. The sick person drinks plenty of this water and vomits. After a little while he gets well and is hungry and eats.

A species of _Angelica_ is called s[=o]l. If a girl holds off, rub s[=o]l on your hands, and if you get a chance rub her neck and she will give in. S[=o]l is strong medicine.

An aromatic _Umbellifer_ (species not identified) is called s[=o]l´-che-but-tah´; the root, s[=o]l´-che. It is used for purification and as a disinfectant. The root is burned and the smoke wafted around to make the house more plentiful. It does not grow on Bull Creek or South Fork Eel River but grows on Rainbow Mountain and some of the other high ridges. The root is highly prized.

The Spotted Owl (_Strix occidentalis caurina_) is called kah-ko´. He is a bad bird. If he flies close to a person, the person will faint.

The Dove (_Zenaidura_) is called bi´-yu. His grandmother was burned to death. Bi´-yu was asked to gamble and replied, "I'll gamble every winter; in spring and summer I'll cry." Now we always hear the Dove cry in summer.

The Red-shafted Flicker (_Colaptes cafer_) is called mun´-chis-bul. He makes a rattling noise in the spring. He was told that by doing this he would make the horns of the deer grow. He was told also that when the deer became fat he would grow fat, but the people fooled him for he did not grow fat.

The Yellow-bird (_Astragalinus tristis_) is called sin-sun-s[)e]-gahng-ti-ne tahs´-che, "to take away pain." If the old folks were suffering, they would get him to sing to take the pain away.

The Kildeer (_Oxyechus vociferus_) is called ni´-til-yi´-che from the necklace, ni-tal-yah, on its throat. In the long ago time the water was very high and rough; big waves were coming in and the people were afraid to cross in their canoes, so they got the Kildeer to take them. He was a high person among the Water People and could handle a boat better than any of the others. The people talked about him and said he was the best and the only one to get them across. So he took them across and saved them.

The Coyote (_Canis latrans_), called sh[)u]´-b[)e], and the Shrewmole (_Neürotrichus_ sp.), called ske´-cho, made the world and the people. The Coyote had a number of children. The Shrewmole said that when people died they should come back to live again. Coyote said, "No, there would be too many people; when they die they had better stay dead." The Shrewmole agreed. After a while Coyote's children took sick and died. He wanted them to come back to life, but the Shrewmole said, "No; you said there would be too many people and you wanted dead people to stay dead, so your children cannot come back." Then Coyote cried.

The Raccoon (_Procyon lotor_) is called nah´-ke-gis´-chah. A long time ago he was a doctor. He was able to talk to persons suffering severe pains and could draw the pain out. He would dance and sing and pull out the pains and fall back. One time he took a flint out of a sick person.

In the olden time the people tried to make the Elk (_Cervus roosevelti_), called y[=e]s´-cho, out of the Cottontail Rabbit (_Sylvilagus_ sp.). They put horns on his head and sent him into the brush, but the horns stuck in the bushes and he could not move. Then the people called him sti´-che and told him he must always stay in the brush.

The Bat is called nah´-t[)a]-bahn´-se. He wears a robe of bear hide over his shoulders. A long time ago when the First People were at war they wanted the Bat to make peace and they hired him to make peace. The people told him to fix up good. He did so and said, "I am the one who can talk big." He sang ho-w[=a]´-nah han´-nah. The enemy agreed, and peace was made.

Our people have songs for the Elk, Deer, Coon, Otter, Mink, Bat, and some other animals.

Slugs (_Arion columbianus_) are called nah´-tos. To prepare [them] for eating, a slender stick is thrust through the head to hold the animal easily. It is then cut open lengthwise on the belly and the dark insides removed, after which it is dried. When wanted, it is roasted in hot ashes and eaten.

BOTANICAL NOTES

_Shelter Cove Sinkyone._--These notes are from Sally Bell of the Briceland-Shelter Cove region.

Acorns of the tanoak (_Lithocarpus densiflora_) form the principal vegetable food. Hazel nuts also are eaten.

Among the berries used for food are those of the Elder, Manzanita, Blackberry, Thimbleberry, Strawberry, Huckleberry, Salal, wild Currant and Gooseberry.

The sprouts of a species of _Angelica_ are eaten raw in spring and early summer.

The bulb of the large red Tiger Lily is cooked and said to be very good. The same is true of the handsome _Brodiaea_ sp.

The seeds of the Manroot (_Echinocystis_) are roasted and eaten. The seeds of _Godetia amoena_ are used for making pinole.

Wild Tobacco does not grow along the coast and is not used.

The Wood Sorrel (_Oxalis_) is used for poultices.

Leaves of the narrow-leaf Iris (_Iris macrosiphon_) are used for cord and nets and are much better than the leaves of the broad-leaf species.

MATTOLE

The Mattole occupied the drainage of the Mattole River below the mouth of Upper North Fork and the coast from Davis Creek south to Spanish Flat.

The village lists of Merriam and Goddard provide a complete picture of the Mattole settlements but almost nothing is known of them aside from this. In the Handbook Kroeber reported (1925_a_, p. 142) that "not a single item of concrete ethnology is on record regarding the Mattole, other than the statement that they burned their dead." Almost nothing has been learned since that time, but Nomland (1938) has published a monograph on the neighboring Bear River group and the culture of the two groups was no doubt much the same.

The territory of the Mattole lies wholly within the cold coastal belt and consequently plant food was less abundant and no doubt less important. The products of the rivers, when taken together with sea mammals and other creatures caught in the ocean, provided an ample food supply.

When Kroeber published the Handbook (1925_a_), he lumped the Mattole proper with the Bear River group. Nomland (1938) and Goddard (1929) showed that these two groups were distinct. This division is supported by Merriam's data and I have therefore retained it.

Merriam appears to have spent a comparatively brief time among the Mattole. The only informant mentioned for this group is a man called Indian Joe Duncan, who is said to have lived at the mouth of the Mattole River below Petrolia. Merriam seems to have visited the area in 1923. His statement on these people, taken verbatim from his notes, follows.

The Bett[=o]l´ or Pet´-t[=o]l´, as they call themselves, (commonly called Matt[=o]l´), inhabit the coast region from Davis Creek, about six miles south of Bear River, southerly to Spanish Flat, which is about 12 miles below the mouth of Mattole River. Their center of distribution appears to have been the Valley of Mattole River, at whose mouth the four or five survivors still reside.

They say that before the Whites came they numbered between 300 and 500 persons.

Their southern boundary, Spanish Flat, is the northern boundary of the Shelter Cove tribe, which reached thence southerly to or beyond Bear Harbor. The Matt[=o]l´ say that the Shelter Cove language is materially different from their own, and different also from that of the Briceland Tribe, and that the Briceland language is very hard to speak or understand. They declined to give the name of either of these tribes.

The eastern boundary of the Matt[=o]l´ I was unable to locate exactly. They gave it as along or near the west base of Elk Mountain Ridge, including the Valley of Upper North Fork Mattole River. At the same time they gave the names of two 'tribes' or bands as inhabiting the Rainbow Ridge and Elk Ridge region. The Elk Ridge tribe they call S[)a]-bahng-kahng, the Rainbow Ridge people S[)e]-tso´-ik (from S[)e]-tso-[=e]k, Rainbow Peak). There is uncertainty as to the relations and geographic locations of these bands.

The tribe inhabiting the coast at Needle Rock they call E´-l[)e]-tung. It is the same as the Shelter Cove tribe.

TRIBELETS

According to Merriam's data, the people at Cooskie Creek in the southern part of Mattole territory form a distinct band. This agrees with Goddard's village data, and Goddard also assigns to this group some of the villages on the upper Mattole. There is no evidence of further subdivision.

VILLAGES

Most of the information on villages of the Mattole is taken from Goddard's notes. (See map 14.). In addition, there are a few data recorded by Merriam. Below, Goddard's information is indicated by (G), Merriam's by (M).

1. sitc[=i]b[=i]' (named from sand bar?) (G). On the S side of Domingo Cr. nearly a mile from the surf. The county road leaves the coast at this point. Plenty of signs of occupation but no definite pits.

2. sesnoik[=o]', "rocks stand up creek" (G). About 1/2 mi. E of the line of the surf, close to the hill through which the stream in McNutt Gulch comes from the SE. A large quantity of cooking stones and shells have been exposed by the blowing away of the soil. Salmon run in the creek.

3. sesn[=o]t, "rocks stand up" (G). N of a large rock which is 30 or 50 ft. higher than the surrounding sand. Another large rock stands 300 yds. W, with a chain of rocks and ledge running out into the surf. Many shells and stones mark the village site. This village stood in the middle of a 2-mi. stretch of sandy beach, which reaches from gotxenin to a mile N of this village.

4. sedjildaxdiñ (G). Close up under the hill. The wind has carried away the soil, leaving a great pile of shells. Just S, a stream comes down the hillside with only a gulch [La Rue Gulch], no valley.

5. gotxenin (G). Known to white people as Mussel Rancheria. On a bench with Peter B. Gulch at the southern end and La Rue Gulch in the middle. A great quantity of shells were to be seen but no pits. Joe said the houses were scattered along for nearly a mile. Many rocks are in the surf.

6. ne'bitt'a, "earth fold" (G). On a bench 1/2 mi. long in a cove a mile N of the mouth of Mattole R. There is a creek at the S end, a small gulch in the middle, and a larger one at the N end. These probably furnished water in winter. Joe said the houses were scattered along the whole length of the bench. [It is likely that this is part of no. 5.] Between 500 and 800 yds. from the shore is a large flat rock (tciyatcise) occupied by sea lions. The Indians used to swim to it and club the sea lions to death. They kept a fire going near a rock on shore to warm themselves afterward.

7. seb[=i]ye (G). Perched on the steep mountainside just N of the mouth of the Mattole R. At the southern end two pits could be made out in the weeds. Slides had covered or taken away most of the evidences of occupation. The trail was evident and pieces of lumber were still lying about. The village was not burned, according to Joe. The burying place is 100 yds. N on a separate bench of the same mountainside.

s[)a]-be´-ah (M). On the ocean beach 1 mi. N of the mouth of the Mattole.

Goddard and Merriam do not give quite the same location for these villages but Merriam's description is vague and the names are evidently the same.

8. beken[=o]'adiñ (G). This was 300 yds. S of the mouth of the Mattole R. and 100 yds E of the present surf line. There is an elevation of broken shells and other refuse on the sandy beach. Joe Duncan remembers seeing the village when it was inhabited.

9. lasaidûk (G). On the sand of the beach 1/3 mi. S of the mouth of Mattole R., the second village S of there. The wind has blown the sand and soil away exposing the shell fragments.

10. dzindiñ (G). By the mouth of a small stream 3/4 mi. S of the mouth of the Mattole R.

11. sastecdiñ (G). On a small bench N of a little stream a mile S of the mouth of the Mattole R. Fragments of shells were to be seen.

12. senalindiñ (G). About a mile and a half S of the mouth of the Mattole R.; on a small flat with a point of land S of it and a rocky bluff to the E. Broken shells are to be seen. There are now a hut and corral on this flat. The point S, a part of Punta Gorda, is called "Windy Point"; sevinnagintcidin is the Indian name.

13. kailistc[=i] (G). A flat of 3 or 4 ac. immediately N of the mouth of Four-mile Cr., about 2-1/2 mi. S of the mouth of the Mattole R.

14. saitc[=i]bi^{=e=} (G). On a bench on the coast S of a bold headland. A small stream here [Lion Gulch] has a large delta of gravel. This was the southernmost of the villages of the Mattole R. tribelet. A house and barn said to belong to John Mackey are on a higher bench.

15. bitc[=i]b[=i]' (G). On the N side of Cooskie Cr. (called k[=u]sk[=i]c by the Indians), 1/4 mi. from its mouth. Unlike most such streams, this one has something of a valley behind the bordering sea wall, through a gap in which it reaches the ocean. Salmon enter it. This was the northernmost village of the Cooskie tribelet.

koos-ke (ko^{ch}kshe) (M). A very large band and village ("hundreds of people") formerly on Cooskie Cr. on or near the coast 2-1/2 mi. SE of Punta Gorda Lighthouse. Joe Duncan said these were the most warlike people of the region.

16. dec[=i] (G). On a large flat in a cove on the coast, immediately N of Spanish Flat. A row of shallow but evident pits are to be seen 200 yds. S of the northern end of the flat.