THE CHEM AW A
AM ERICAN
5
of th e child and is intended to enforce the th o u g h t th a t the fu tu re of
the In d ian race may depend vitally upon w hat we shall be able to ac
com plish for its new g eneration, it is also a m essage of re-enforcem ent
to every utteran ce and every effort expressed or put forth w ithin the
In d ian Service in behalf of th e adult against tuberculosis, trachom a,
and every other disease; against th e liquor curse and the use of any kind
of enervatin g d ru g or dope. I look to th e schools chiefly to safeguard the
boys and girls enrolled th ere against these deadly scourges, and there
m ust be no abatem ent but rather renew ed and co n tin u in g energies in
th is direction.
In closing, I ask every em ployee to do his or her part in w idening
our work against disease until our Indian reservations become the home
of healthy, happy, bright-eyed children w ith a fair sta rt in life and our
schools become im pregnable defenses against every enem y to healthy
and high-m inded boys and girls.
A N IN D IA N LEGEND
C H IN O O K E V E N T U A L L Y D E F E A T S O L D B O R E A S
C H IN O O K W IN D !
E very resident of O regon know s of th is m arvelous
W estern breeze th a t if depended on to release the
W in te r’s icy g rip , tu rn snow banks into banks of
roses and th rea ten in g clouds into Sum m er skies.
A lthough perhaps a little hard to realize u n d er re
cent disastrous w eather conditions, the chinook
wind is indeed a reality and a dram atic and picturesque one, too, and
its origin form s one of th e most fascinating of In d ian m yths p ertain in g
to the forces of n atu re.
If the Y akim a account is to be credited, a site near the tow n of C ol
um bus on the Colum bia River, may lay claim to the distinction of be
ing the source of th e chinock w ind. H ere lived the five leg en
d ary brothers who are said to have caused th e welcome breeze. A nd
th e story goes th at th ere were five other brothers, the in stig ato rs of th e
cold northeast w ind, called th e W alla W alla w ind by the In d ian s of the
Low er Colum bia. T h e g ran d p aren ts of both sets of b ro th ers lived
w here the present town of U m atilla, O r., stands.
T here was co n tin u o u s strife between the two groups, th e W alla W allas
sw eeping th e co u n try w ith icy blasts, uprooting trees and otherw ise
m aking th in g s disagreeable; th e C hinooks follow ing with a thaw and in