THE CHEMAWA
4
AMERICAN
com pletion of th e San Carlos reservoir. F ailin g to get sufficient w ater
su p p ly , I see th ro u g h the m isty fu tu re, th e outcom e of my people as a
tribe, doubtful and hopeless. F or experiences of the past have show n
th a t the only avenue of progress tow ards civilization and tru e citizen
ship for th e Pim as, as a tribe, is w ater, w ater, and more w ater.
CLAIM LAND
COOS
COUNTY
TREATY
OF
IN D IA N S
BASE
C O N T E N T IO N
ON
1855
E C E N T L Y th ere appeared in the P o rtlan d O regonian
a dispatch w hich will probably prove of in terest to
m any of our readers. T h e article in question was
dated M arshfield, O regon, and was as follows:
G eorge W asson, a descendant of a form er chief of
the Coos Bay Ind ian s, and A rth u r P. F enton, form er
exam iner of in h eritan ce for th e Indian Service, are
en ro u te to W ashington to lay before the President and Congress a
claim to 1,792,000 acres of land em braced in a strip along th is section
of th e coast, 40x70 miles in e x te n t and in clu d in g a num ber of flourish
ing cities and industries. T h is land the Coos Bay, Lower U m pqua
and Siuslaw Indians claim as their own by original rig h t of possession
and by treaty made w ith S u p erin ten d en t of Indian Affairs for the T e r
ritory of O regon, Joel Palm er, at E m p ire, in the year 1855.
T h ere are today a num ber of In d ian s alive who were present w hen
the treaty was signed at a big conclave follow ing the Rogue River I n
dian W ar and disturbances on the Coquille R iver. T hose who re
m em ber the great g ath erin g of In d ian s and th e sig n in g of the treaty
were childern of from 8 to 14 years, and th eir know ledge of the con
ditions of the treaty is only th a t w hich was talked about bv th e file-
sides am ong th eir elders at th at tim e.
T h ere were present representing th e several In d ian tribes at E m pire
w hen th e treaty of peace was signed and th e agreem ents concluded and
given into the hands of S u p erin ten d en t P alm er, Chief T aylor, of the
Low er Coos Bay tribe; Chief Jim Tyee and Chief Jack Rogers, of the
other Coos Bay tribes; Chief S upina, Joe Scott and U m pqua Dick, of
th e Low er U m pqua tribes.
T h e oldest Indian now living who rem em bers the agreem ent and was
in E m pire d u rin g th e council is Jeff H arney, now resident on th e S iu s
law River. H e tells m any in terestin g th in g s about th e g ath erin g and