Part 2

The writer wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to Mr. D. W. Owen of Kennewick for information, for permission to examine his collection, to make notes and sketches of specimens in it, and for presenting certain specimens;[4] to Mr. Frank N. McCandless of Tacoma for permission to study and photograph the specimens[5] in his collection containing part of the York collection in the Ferry Museum, City Hall, Tacoma; to Mr. Louis O. Janeck of 415 North 2nd. St., North Yakima for information and for permission to study and photograph the specimens[6] in his collection as well as for supplementary information since received from him; to Hon. Austin Mires of Ellensburg for information and permission to study and photograph specimens[7] in his collection; to Mrs. O. Hinman of Ellensburg for permission to photograph specimens[8] in her collection; to Mrs. J. B. Davidson of Ellensburg for information and permission to study her collection and to make drawings of specimens[9] in it, and for the pipe shown in Fig. 106; to Mr. W. H. Spalding of Ellensburg for permission to photograph specimens[10] in his collection; to Mrs. Jay Lynch of Fort Simcoe, for information and permission to photograph specimens[11] in her collection; to Mr. W. Z. York of Old Yakima for permission to sketch and study specimens[12] in his collection, and to others credited specifically in the following pages. The accompanying drawings are by Mr. R. Weber and the photographs are by the author, unless otherwise credited.

[4] See Figs. 10, 39, 42, 56, 57, 107 and 124.

[5] See Figs. 35, 45, 79, 100 and 113.

[6] See Figs. 19, 20, 27, 28, 31, 33, 34, 46, 58, 60, 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 69, 81, 108, 109, 120 and 125.

[7] See Figs. 4, 5, 14, 15, 16, 24, 25, 32 and 44.

[8] See Figs. 30, 36 and 116.

[9] See Figs. 8, 47 and 106; see also p. 25.

[10] See Figs. 11 and 59.

[11] See Figs. 73, 119, 127 and 128.

[12] See Figs. 26, 29, 104, 110, 111 and 112.

GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION.

Clealum is situated on the Yakima River, at a point on the Northern Pacific Railway, 122 miles east of the humid, heavily forested coast at Puget Sound. Although situated not over 154 miles from Copalis, on the ocean at the western edge or furthest limit of the temperate humid coast country, the summers are hot and dry and the winters severe. It is 1909 feet above the sea level and far enough towards the summit of the Cascade Mountains, that marks the line between the humid coast and the arid almost treeless interior, to find considerable moisture and many trees.

Ellensburg is situated near the eastern side of the Yakima River, 25 miles below Clealum, at an altitude of 1512 feet above the sea level and in the wide somewhat flat Kittitas Valley which was, in former geologic times, a lake bottom. The river flows rapidly and its low banks at places are high enough to form gravel bluffs. The surrounding country is arid and there is no natural forest growth.

Cherry Creek, one of a number of small streams on this side of the river, flows through the eastern part of this valley, and empties into the Yakima River about one mile below Thrall on Section 31, Town 17, North of Range 19 East. Here, the river enters Yakima Canon which cuts through Umptanum Ridge and the western foothills of Saddle Mountains. There are some pines in this canon.

Selah Creek flows through Selah Canon from the east and empties into the Yakima, about one mile above Selah at the northwest corner of Section 16, Town 14, north of Range 19 East. This is in a broad valley below Yakima Canon. At the time of our visit, however, the lower portion of this creek was dry. Wenas Creek empties into the Yakima from the west, nearly opposite Selah.

North Yakima is on the western side of the Yakima River, about two miles below the mouth of the Naches, which empties into the Yakima from the west, immediately below where the latter breaks through Yakima Ridge. This break is called the Gap or the Upper Gap. North Yakima is at an altitude of 1067 feet above the sea level. The soil of the valley is made up of a rich volcanic ash and the region is arid and practically treeless except on the banks of the rivers and creeks or where irrigation has been successfully practised. The climate in most respects resembles that of the southern interior of British Columbia, lying to the north, but in general, there is less vegetation except on irrigated land.

Cowiche Creek flows from the southwest and empties into the south side of the Naches, at a point about three miles above its mouth.

Tampico is situated on Section 17, Town 12, north of Range 16 East, on the north side of Ahtanum Creek, which flows nearly east along the base of the north side of Rattlesnake Range and empties into the Yakima at Union Gap or Lower Gap, below Old Yakima.

Fort Simcoe is located in a cluster of live oak trees, on one of the branches of Simcoe Creek, which flows in an easterly direction and empties into the Toppenish River, a western feeder of the Yakima. This place is at an altitude of 937 feet above the sea level and is surrounded by 'scab' land. Going west from Fort Simcoe, up the slopes of the Cascade Mountains, a mile or so, one notices timber in the valleys, and as one proceeds still further up the mountains, the timber becomes thicker and of greater size. This is the beginning of the forest, which at the west side of the Cascades becomes so remarkably dense. To the east of Fort Simcoe, however, no trees are seen, except in the bottoms along the streams, while on the lower reaches of the Yakima and on the banks of the Columbia, east of here, there are absolutely no trees.

Kennewick is located on the western side of the Columbia River about six miles below the mouth of the Yakima. It is opposite Pasco, which is about three miles above the mouth of Snake River. The place is only 366 feet above the sea level and except where irrigation has been practised, there are no trees in sight, the vegetation being that typical of the desert among which are sagebrush, grease-wood and cactus. Lewis and Clark, when here on their way to the Pacific Coast, October 17, 1805,[13] saw the Indians drying salmon on scaffolds for food and fuel. Captain Clark said, "I do not think [it] at all improbable that those people make use of Dried fish as fuel. The number of dead Salmon on the Shores & floating in the river is incrediable to say ... how far they have to raft their timber they make their scaffolds of I could not learn; but there is no timber of any sort except Small willow bushes in sight in any direction."

[13] Lewis and Clark, III, p. 124.

Sentinal Bluffs is the name given to both sides of the gap where the Columbia River breaks through Saddle Mountains. It is a short distance above the head of Priest Rapids. Crab Creek empties into the Columbia from the east on the north side of these mountains. On the western side of the river, between the Bluffs and the head of Priest Rapids, there is a flat place of considerable area, portions of which the Columbia floods during the winter. Going northwest from here to Ellensburg, the trail leads up a small valley in which are several springs surrounded by some small trees. One ascends about 2000 feet to the top of the divide and then descends perhaps 1000 feet into the Kittitas Valley.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES.

At Clealum, we found no archaeological remains, except a single human skeleton unearthed in the sinking of a shaft for a coal mine. Here, however, our examination of the vicinity was limited to one day, and it is possible that a more thorough search might bring to light archaeological sites. Specimens from the vicinity of Clealum are unknown to the writer, although there are a number of collections from the vicinity of Ellensburg, Priest Rapids, Kennewick and other places lower down. The abundance of specimens on the surface near Priest Rapids and Kennewick in proportion to those found near North Yakima and Ellensburg, suggests that the high parts of the valley were less densely inhabited and that the mountains were perhaps only occasionally visited. It would seem possible that the prehistoric people of the Yakima Valley had their permanent homes on the Columbia, and possibly in the lower parts of the Yakima region. This is indicated by the remains of underground houses, some of which are as far up as Ellensburg. These remains are similar to those found in the Thompson River region, where such houses were inhabited in the winter. The people of the Yakima area probably seldom went up to the higher valleys and the mountains, except on hunting expeditions or to gather berries, roots and wood for their scaffolds, canoes and other manufactures. If this be correct, it would account for the scarcity of specimens upon the surface along the higher streams, since all the hunting parties, berry, root and wood-gathering expeditions were not likely to leave behind them so much material as would be lost or discarded in the vicinity of the permanent villages. Spinden states[14] that in the Nez Perce region to the east of the Yakima country, permanent villages were not built in the uplands, although in a few places where camas and kouse were abundant, temporary summer camps were constructed.

[14] Spinden, p. 178.

In the vicinity of Ellensburg, we found no archaeological specimens except the chipped point mentioned on page 163, but this may be due in part to the modern cultivation of the soil and to the fact that the irrigated crops, such as are grown here, hide so much of the surface of the ground. A search along portions of the level country west of the town and even in such places as those where the river cuts the bank, failed to reveal signs of house or village sites. In Ellensburg, I saw a summer lodge, made up of a conical framework of poles covered with cloth and inhabited by an old blind Indian and his wife. East of the city, near the little stream below the City Reservoir was another summer lodge made similarly, but among the covering cloths was some matting of native manufacture. The remains of an underground house, possibly 30 feet in diameter were seen to the east of the Northern Pacific Railway, between Ellensburg and Thrall.

On the little bottom land along the western side of Cherry Creek, near its mouth, at the upper end of Yakima Canon, we found objects which show that the place had been a camping ground. This is immediately south of where an east and west road crosses the creek on the farm of Mr. Bull. On this village site were found the specimens catalogued under numbers 202-8213 to 8222, of which two are shown in Plate II, Fig. 12, and Fig. 52. The opposite side of this stream strikes one of the foothills of the uplands, the western extension of Saddle Mountains. On the top of this foothill, which overlooks the above mentioned village site, were a number of burials marked by circles of rocks.[15] In the rock-slide on the side of this hill, between these circles and the village site below, were a number of graves which are described in detail under numbers 99-4326-4332 and 202-8223-8258 on pages 164 to 166. Some of the objects found, many of which are recent and show contact with the white race, are shown in Figs. 71a, 72, 74, 78, 80, 82-86, 90, 92, 95, and 96.

[15] See 99-4325, page 163.

On the western side of the Yakima, about opposite the above mentioned village site, a rock-slide appears at the head of Yakima Canon. In it are a number of rock-slide graves marked by sticks.

In Selah Canon, on the north side of Selah Creek, about a mile and a half above where it empties into the Yakima are three groups of petroglyphs pecked into the vertical surface of the low basaltic cliffs of the canon wall. Two of these groups (Plate XII) are upon eastern faces of the rock, while the one shown in Fig. 1, Plate XIII, is upon a southern exposure. In the rock-slide on the south side of Selah Canon, about three quarters of a mile above the Yakima or about half way between these petroglyphs and the Yakima, were found a number of graves, one of them marked by a much weathered twig. These were the only archaeological remains seen by us in Selah Canon, although we examined it for at least two miles from its mouth.

On the north slope of Yakima Ridge, near its base, at a point where the Moxee Canal and the river road turn and run west along the base of the ridge or about southeast of the largest ranch there, possibly two miles northeasterly from the Gap, were a number of scattered graves covered with rock-slide material. About one quarter of a mile west from here, a little west of south of the ranch, was a large rock-slide, covering a short northerly spur of the ridge. This is shown from the southwest in Plate VII. It is about three quarters of a mile northeast from where the Yakima River, after flowing through bottom lands, strikes the base of the Yakima Ridge. In this slide were a large number of shallow parallel nearly horizontal ditches below each of which is a low ridge or terrace of the angular slide-rock. Among these terraces, as shown in Fig. 2 of the plate, were a few pits surrounded by a low ridge, made up of jagged slide-rock, apparently from out of the pits. It was naturally larger at the side of the pit towards the bottom of the slide. In none of these did we find human remains or specimens. Some of them are larger than similar pits that we found to be rock-slide graves. Their close resemblance to graves found to have been disturbed, part of their remains being scattered near by and to other graves, as they appeared after our excavations, suggests that these pits are the remains of such rock-slide graves from which the bodies have been removed by the Indians possibly since the land became the property of the United States Government. On the other hand, these pits remind us of rifle pits, though it does not seem probable that they would be built in such a place for that purpose and there is no local account of the site having been used for such pits. This rock-slide is particularly interesting because of the terraces into which most of its surface had been formed. The character of the rock-slide material is such that one may walk over these for some little time without noticing them, but once having been noticed, they always force themselves upon the attention. Standing near the top of the slide, they remind one of rows of seats in a theatre. Each terrace begins at the edge of the slide and runs horizontally out around its convex surface to the opposite side. Some of them are wider than others. They resemble the more or less horizontal and parallel terraces formed by horses and cattle while feeding on steep slopes. The Yakima Ridge has been so terraced by stock in many places and over large areas. However, there is no vegetation on the rock-slide to entice stock and the difficulty of walking over the cruelly sharp rocks as well as the presence of rattlesnakes would seem sufficient to cause both cattle and horses to pass either below or above it. The outer edge of each terrace is probably little lower than the inner edge, but viewed from the slope it seems so, and this suggests that these terraces may have been entrenchments, though it would seem that they would be useless for such a purpose since one can easily reach the land above from either side. Moreover, it would not seem necessary to make parallel entrenchments down the entire slope. That they were made to facilitate the carrying of the dead to the rock-slide graves is possible but not probable. It seems unlikely that they could have been made for the seating of spectators to overlook games or ceremonies; for the sharpness of the rocks would make them very uncomfortable.

There is a much higher rock-slide on the east side of a small steep ravine near where the Yakima River flows close to the base of the ridge, about a mile northeast of the Naches River or Upper Gap. Near the top of this slide, possibly three hundred feet above the river, were similar pits larger than those just described. Two or three of these were bounded along the edge towards the top of the slide by an unusually wide terrace. Near the bottom of this slide were graves[16] (Nos. 1 and 2) which are described in detail on page 153. Grave No. 1 was in the base of the rock-slide as shown in the figure and was indicated by a cedar stick projecting from a slight depression in the top of the heap of rock-slide material covering it. It was on a slight terrace about eighty feet above the river, and commanded a view over the valley of the Yakima to the north. The presence of the brass tube shown in Fig. 75 suggests that this grave is not of great antiquity. Grave No. 2 was in the same rock-slide about fifty feet down the ravine or to the north, and about forty feet above the Moxee flume. It was indicated by a hole in a pile of rock, like an old well. It was found to contain nothing, the remains having been removed. On the south side of the Yakima Ridge, near the bridge over the Yakima, at the Upper Gap, rock-slide graves are said to have been disturbed during the construction of the flume which carries the waters of the Moxee ditch around the western end of the Yakima Ridge, and during the gathering of stone on this point for commercial purposes. Some of these graves are said to have been above the flume.

[16] Sec Fig. 3, Plate VI from the north of west.

Here and there, near the base of the ridge from this point easterly for about a mile, were found small pits, such as one shown in Fig. 1, Plate VIII. Apparently, these were rock-slide graves from which the human remains had been removed, either by the Indians in early times or more recently by visitors from the neighboring town of North Yakima. Possibly some of them are old cache holes. One of these graves near the top of a small rock-slide above the flume contained a human skeleton and is shown in Fig. 2, Plate VIII. Below these graves, on the narrow flat between the base of the ridge and the Yakima River at a point about three quarters of a mile below the Upper Gap at the mouth of the Naches River, were discovered a number of small pits each surrounded by a low ridge of earth which were probably the remains of cache holes made by the Indians during the last twenty years. On this flat, close to the river were two pits surrounded by a circular ridge which indicated ancient semi-subterranean house sites, further described on page 51.

It is said, that above the flume at a point about a mile and a half below the Upper Gap, rock-slide graves, some of which were marked by pieces of canoes were excavated by school boys. The writer was also informed by small boys that near the top of the ridge immediately above here, they frequently found chipped points for arrows but on examination discovered only chips of stone suitable for such points, the boys either having mistaken the chips for points or having collected so many of the points that they were scarce.

On the west side of the Yakima, at the Upper Gap, there is a raised flat top or terrace that overlooks the mouth of the Naches River to the southeast. Here were a number of circles made up of angular rocks. Within each we found the remains of human cremations. Unburned fragments of the bones of several individuals with shell ornaments were often present in a single circle.[17]

[17] See p. 142 and Fig. 1, Plate IX.

Continuing westward, along the slope of the ridge, cut along its southern base by the Naches River, at a point about one and a quarter miles west of the mouth of the river, a small ravine cuts down from the top of the ridge. This has formed a little flat through the middle of which it has again cut down towards the river. East of this ravine on the flat is a circle of angular rocks such as are found scattered over the ridge. This circle no doubt marks a house site, the interior having been cleared of stone and the circle of rocks probably having been used to hold down the lodge covering.[18] To the west of the ravine, where the flat is somewhat higher than to the east, there are the remains of two semi-subterranean houses. Each of these is represented by a pit surrounded by a ridge of earth, and on the top, are large angular rocks.[19] At a point where the ridge meets this flat, close to the western side of the ravine was a slight depression in a small rock-slide which marked what seemed to be a grave, but which, on excavation, revealed nothing. Still further westward at a point probably two miles above the mouth of the Naches River and overlooking the stream at an altitude of perhaps 250 feet, we found scattered over the ground along the eastern summit of a deep ravine, the first one west of the house sites above mentioned, numerous small chips of material suitable for chipped implements. These became more numerous as we proceeded northward up the eastern side of the ravine for a distance of about a quarter of a mile. Here we came upon the small quarry in the volcanic soil, shown in Fig. 1, Plate III. Immediately to the west of the pit was a pile of earth, apparently excavated from it.

[18] See p. 15 and Fig. 1, Plate IV.

[19] See p. 52 and Fig. 2, Plate IV.

On the top of this heap of soil and among the broken rock to the south and east of it, were found several water-worn pebbles, used as hammers in breaking up the rock, as indicated by the battered condition of their ends (p. 58). We saw no other water-worn pebbles on the surface of the ridge, but they were numerous in the gravel of the bottom-lands subject to the overflow of the rivers. It would seem that these pebbles were brought up from the river below for use as hammers. Scattered to the south of the pit were found large fragments of float quartz material containing small pieces of stone suitable for chipped implements but made up mainly of stone which was badly disintegrated. Lying on the slope of the ravine were many small fragments of this same stone which were clear of flaws.

It would seem that a mass of float quartz much of which was suitable for chipped implements had been found here. It had been excavated, leaving the pile of earth and then broken up with the river pebbles which were left behind with the waste. Probably there were fairly large pieces of the material, suitable for chipped implements; that were carried away while small pieces were left lying about a pile of unsuitable material. In other words, it would seem that these specimens mark a place for the roughing out of material for chipped implements.[20] On the same side of the river, on the side of a rather low ridge or table-land overlooking it, at a point about twelve miles above its mouth, are some rock-slides. Here it is said that graves have been found. They were probably typical rock-slide graves. On a point of land perhaps fifty feet above these and a few hundred feet to the north, Master James McWhirter pointed out a grave on his farm. It was then surrounded by a ring made up of water-worn pebbles, apparently brought up from the river. He stated that an attempt had been made to excavate it which possibly accounts for the pebbles being in a circle rather than a heap over the grave. This grave was found to contain a slab of wood, shell ornaments, probably modern, and an adult skeleton, No. 12 (7), 99-4320, p. 156.

[20] See p. 20.

There are a number of painted pictographs on the vertical faces of the basaltic columns, facing north on the south side of the Naches River, immediately to the west of the mouth of Cowiche Creek. These are below the flume and may be reached from the top of the talus slope which has been added to by the blasting away of the rock above, during the construction of the flume. In fact, debris from this blasting has covered part of the pictographs. Some of the pictures are in red, others in white and there are combinations of the two colors.[21] Local merchants have defaced these pictographs with advertisements.