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About Brookings-Harbor pilot. (Brookings, Curry County, Oregon) 1946-1978 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 10, 1953)
Historical Notes By MAX B R A IN A R D In this issue of th e P ilot will begin th e publication of a ra re series concerning th e e a rly day In d ian trib es of C u rry C ounty. It is probably th e best account av ailab le and is a v e rb a tim t r a n script, m ade by M rs. K a th ry n H a rris, th en county school s u p e r in ten d en t, of a ta lk given by th e late F red Moore, of Gold Beach, in 1927. U n fo rtu n ately a m ap used by Mr. Moore, and to w hich he re fe rs in his talk , h as been lost, so fa r as is known, b u t th e d e scrip tiv e m ateria l su ffic ie n tly covers th e m a tte r so all th e trib es and fam ilies can be locat, cd, even w ith o u t th e m ap. Mr. Moore w as said to nave been th e first w h ite boy born in C u rry County, on w h at is now known as the C h arles Doyle place, in W ed d erb u m , on J u ly 10, 1869, and d u rin g his e n tire life, w as fa m iliar w ith such n atives as stay ed on in th e county, and th e ir descendants, as well as th e m any w ho cam e back from elsew here to visit th e ir old h a u n ts — and F re d Moore. In to Mr. M oore’s story, th e com piler, M. S. B rain ard , has in se rte d notes b rin g ing c e rta in points into a b e tte r focus m ade possible by fu rth e r research. n er of D ouglas C ounty, on the w est by th e P acific O cean, and on th e south by the 42nd., p arallel of latitu d e . Y qu who have tra v e l ed south in to Del N o rte C ounty, C alifornia, along th e old road, have noticed, about a q u a r te r of a m ile south of th e W inchuek River, a m onum ent about five feet high, stan d in g w est of th e road It has th e w-ord "O regon”, p ain ted on th e n o rth side and "C a lifo rn ia” on th e south side, w ith " S ta te Line" on the east and w est sides. T h at m onum ent stan d s on the 42nd., p arallel of latitu d e , w hich is th e boundary betw een O regon and C alifornia. In e a rly tim e, a com fortable house stood ea st of th e road, opposite th is m o n u m ent. T he 42nd., p arallel of la ti tu d e ran thro u g h th e c e n te r of this house and it is said th e fa m ily slept in the s ta te of C alifornia and cooked and a te in th e s ta te of O regon. T he language or dialect of the d ifferen t trib es shown on th e m ap differed considerably but it w as sim ilar enough for m em bers of one trib e to converse w ith m em bers of a n o th e r tribe. T herefore, w'e m ight call it a language com m on to all th e C oast Indians. You w'ill notice th a t th ese Indian w ords a re divided into syllables, A ddress given by F red S ilas w ith hyphens betw een. T he Indian M oore, a t Gold Beach. M arch 28, had a p ec u lia r way of dividing 1927, concerning his boyhood re w ords into syllables w ith an collections of th e In d ian fam ilies along the coast of C u rry C ounty. T h e m ap re ferred to has been lost. T he m ap on the proceeding page shows th e n am es of th e principal trib es who ow ned th e co u n try a t th e tim e of th e com ing of th e first w hite m an. It also show’s th e ap p ro x im ate bound in Automotive arie s of th e ir holdings, th e loca Design tion of th e principal Indian vil lages and gives th e In d ian nam es of th e im p o rta n t s tre a m s alng th e coast. As w’e know C u rry C o u n ty now, it is bounded on th e e a s t by Josephine county, th e di viding line being an irre g u la r line follow ing ran g es of m o u n tain s and stream s. It is bounded on th e n o rth by Coos C ounty and a cor- a b ru p t and d istin ct pause in be tw een them . T he lan g u ag e w as m ade up of a com bination of g u t tural, g ru n tin g hissing, and c lu ck ing sounds. T hese sounds w ere j such th a t very few o th e r th an th eir own people could im itate them . F o r th a t reason, ea rly w rit- 1 ers d iffered very m uch in th e spelling of Indian words. In m a k ing the m ap, th e spelling adopted w as used by Hon. J. L. P a rrish , an ea rly Indian agent, in m aking his re p o rts to the governm ent. It m ay be th a t his spelling would no n e a re r re p resen t the a c tu a l pronunciation of the w ords by the Indians th an th e w ritin g o r sp ell ing of others, but it has th e a d v an tag e of at least being official. which g razed in th e valleys, p ra irie s and hills. (N o te : T h ere is defin ite proof th a t the In d ian s used th e "back co u n try .” N u m ero u s signal fires sites have been found on Mt. Em ily, Snow C am p, at G am e L ake am i Iron and S alm on m ountains. It is also know n th e Ind ian s tra v e rse d the area, m ain tain in g a tra d e of co astal produets-shell, m a te ria ls for fabrics, ehit tern, T he first Indian trib e in the N orth, the QUA-TO-M AS. w as large and pow erful and ow ned considerable te rrito ry n o rth of w hat is now C u rry C ounty. T his extended from n e a r th e N ES-A - I IL-CO, or, to us, th e C ocquille R iver, along th e coast to a point south of P o rt O rford, known now as H um bug M ountain. T h eir e a s t ern boundary extended to th e sum m it of th e C oast R ange of m ountains. The Indians placed very little value upon the in te rio r of the co u n try except as range for the th o u san d s of d eer and elk New Brookings Harbor Pilot d ried sea foods, at least, for pes- les. obsidian, ag a te , etc. T he c o a st al Indians of th is locality did not m ak e any cooking u ten sils o th e r th a n reed b ask ets covered w ith clay, w hich w as bak ed on to them .) To Be Continued) Cur-Del Cleaners Fast, Efficient Cleaning & Pressing! PICK-UP AND DELIVERY SERVICE! IN BROOKINGS PHO NE 2863 Agents for Del Norte Laundry Buy Gifts for the Home Our Stock of Furniture is the most complete ever. We invite you to come in and look around. Revelations Watch For Them Jan. 8, 1954 \ Come In and Have a \ Safety Check \ Free I Lights ZHorn Brakes Exhaust Svstem Steering I I Lounge Chair for Dad In Durable Plastic Red, Green and Grey $99-50 A Rocker for Mother Large assortment of Covers, O dors and styles. Priced from Many Styles and Colors Large Assortment of Make Our Highways Safeways Shapes and Sizes Plate (»lass Bevelled See Us for the Best in Used Cars $8.95 and up F or E x am p le: 1951 HUD SO N H O R N E T , 5-P ass- enger C iupe. H y d ra-M atic Drive, clean $1375 i J Mennfag Buick $37.95 Hassocks Mirrors Table Lamps Tables End fables (o liee ta b les Mahogany or Blonde T V Tables I fugc stock to select from over 75 in stock Priced from Priced from 5.95 $19.95 years in the automobile business H'e specialize on General Motors Cars On Highway 101 North End of Town Hendricks Furniture PHONE 2841 5 THURSDAY. DEC. 10. 1953 BROOKINGS, OREGON
