Siletz news /, June 01, 2000, Page 11, Image 11

TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS
Check Out Little Creek Apartments
Our apartment community offers
housing discounts to tribal members and
employees of the Siletz Tribe and Chinook
Winds Casino.
We have two-bedroom/one-bath
and three-bedroom/two-bath apartments
with washer/dryer hook-ups. We also offer
Walts Words of Wit and Wisdom
Long ago now, in Logsden at Frank Lyons’ place, there was a railroad track that
trains with logs would travel, hauling logs from Camp Gorge landing to the Toledo mill,
ere was a trestle across Rock Creek. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a river. The water
ooesn t get very deep there, but sometimes becomes quite swift.
do™s,ream 'n a not-too-easily-accessed spot is a rock bench that's maybe
'ne’ Here' nOt very ,ar ,rom the Siletz Rlver’the water 9efs pretty
ever fX^
3 S'eeP Sl°P'n9 S'iCk r°Ck ’° 9e‘lhere'1 don'*know why no one
.,
1 call this the “fishing hole”; maybe others have a different name for it. Frank Lyons
thoro hd nd»n Pe°Ple ,0 9°there and gaff salmon and h00k eels. He also gaffed salmon
Many Siletz people would gather there to catch eels when the eel ants were showino
n!?h,S d?dn9 ,he dark of ,he moon' Many men hooked the little critters and
tossed them back on the rocks. The women would gather them and put them in sacks I
never could figure out how they knew whose eel was whose, but I guess it didn’t make
any difference.
. ,h
b.U.Ted °ld ,ires ,Or lj9ht and heat-The eels would have to slow down because
of the speed of the water. Many of them would stick to the bottom to rest, definitely a fatal
misteke. The ones who stopped always were caught; the ones who kept moving either
poured on the steam and went upstream or let loose entirely and went back downstream.
A lot of laughing, eating, and storytelling went on down there. Everyone had a aood
time and everybody would leave with a sack full of eels.
9
This wasnTdhe only place where people hooked eels. Further upriver was a nlace
caned the Belle Bell Harteman place This was part of Rufus Harris' allotment. He was my
dad s nephew don t quite know how. He and the Bemrose boys - Ike, Howard, and Joe -
wou d build a bridge across Rock Creek. It didn't look to safe to me; I doubt that OSHA
would have approved. They, too, used tires for light.
_ r>h- M,any S'!!’Z people would 9°there and hook eels and other types of fish. Sometimes
a ChmooK would come by, but an eel hook will not take care of a Chinook. It straightens
the hook out.
.
WaS a game warden whose name I can’t remember. He came to the rock
when the fish were running, but never did very well. Maybe he didn’t intend to, I don’t know.
He never came when our people were fishing.
When it came time for the fish to shoot the rapids, they did not waste any time The
person gaffing had to be ready because there would only be one chance. The catch
percentage was very low based on the number of fisti that went by. Back where the water
was turbulent, one couldn't see the fish.
„. h
On! ' u'°W’1 Can'‘remember his name but I think it was Hank Johnson,
who had a white handlebar mustache. He would sit on a bucket or something with a pole
^^•h'S kne!S' H'S eye® l00ked like he was asleep when al1 of a sudden, like a bolt of
lightening, his hook would hit the water and out would come a fish. We would talk amono
ourselves and ask, “How did he know there was a fish there?” One could not see because
of the whitewater or muddy water, whichever was the case.
As stated before, the eels would run during the dark of the moon and when the eel
ants were out. If there happened to be thunder and lightening, the eels would run
iiKe crazy.
The bottom of the stream would be white with dead eels and the crawdads would
have a Christmas dinner. Countless numbers of day eels would be on the rocks everywhere
in the stream. Far as I know, the day eels were not harvested. I don’t know why quess I
never asked. The old-timers didn’t take them and that is all that was necessary,
tho ♦
oday. we don t see any day eels. We don’t see any carcasses on the bottom of
the strearn and not many crawdads are there. The eel ants still come out but rarely an eel
,s seen I have spent many nights looking for them, but only a few go by. Once in a great
while, III see where one has spawned. I don’t see many fish either9
9
a clean, quiet environment with an exercise
room, video library, and playground, as well
as a Kid’s Club.
Rents start at $475 (discounted to
$425). Take advantage of our move-in
special - $ off first month’s rent! Call Judy
at 541-265-2663 or stop by 365 NE 36th St.,
Newport. Don’t miss out!
Note: Clip this article for $30 off
the screening fee.
Charitable
Committee Seeks
Requests
The Siletz Tribal Charitable Ad-Hoc
Committee has been established and is
looking for donation requests. The
deadline for fourth-quarter distributinnJ
| Aug. 31,2000. The committee will meet in
Septemberto review requests and award
donations. Criteria for contributions is
as follows:
(1) Requests will not be given to
individuals for sponsorship (i.e., an
!
individual requesting assistance to
attend camp).
! (2) Requests must benefit an organization
or group (number of tribal members I
benefiting will be considered).
(3) Tribal elders activities and tribal youth
events will be considered a priority |
(Siletz- and Toledo-area schools).
(4) Other charitable contributions may be I
made for the following purposes:
education, health and social services,
the arts, cultural activities, historical
preservation, gambling addiction,
prevention and/or treatment, and
activities that promote economic
self-sufficiency.
The requesting organization must
| agree to allow publicity after it receives a I
donation. The committee also will require
an update explaining the results or
benefits of the donation.
If you have any questions or would
like a “Request for Charitable
Contributions” form, please contact the
executive secretary to Tribal Council at
1 -800-922-1399 or 541-444-8203.
11