Thursday, May 21, 1031
TIMES, WILLAMINA. OBEGON
Patre 2
OREGON STATE NEWS
OF GENERALINTEREST
§%<? Indians' ®
Principal Events of the W eek
Assembled for Inform ation
of Our Readers.
T H E M A RK ETS
Portland
Wheat — Big Bend bluestera, hard
white, soft white and western white,
69c; hard winter, northern spring and
western red, 66c.
Hay—Buying price, f. o. b. Portland:
Alfalfa, >14015; valley timothy >150
15.60; eastern Oregon timothy. >17;
clover, >11; oat hay. >12; oats aud
vetch, >12.
B u tte rta t— 17O20c.
Eggs—Ranch, 12tfl4c.
Cattle --Steers, good, >7.6008.00.
Hogs—Good to choice, >6.75©>7.75.
Lambs—Good to choice, >808.60.
8eattls
By E D IT H A
Wheat—Soft white, western white,
bluostem, 69Mic; western red, north
ern spring, hard winter, 67c,
Eggs—Ranch, 13020c.
Cattle—Choice steers, >7.5008.
Hogs—Good to choice. >7.60 0 8.10.
Lambs—Choice, >7.60 0 8.80.
U. W ATSON
HE little town of Ignacio,
on the Ute reservation in
southern Colorado. Is astir.
It is May 24, the anniver
sary of the burial of Ou
ray.
Beneath a simple
cement headstone, made
by the hands of the In
dians themselves lies their
last great chief. Ever since
his body was removed to
his grave In 1925, Utes from all the
lands in Colorado and Utah have gath
ered yearly to honor him with memo-
lal rites.
It Is hard to tell whether this is a
ustom patterned after the white man's
Memorial day or not. It is true that
inly six days later, we who read
hese lines will pay tribute to our
lead. There will be parades and
peeches, and flowers and flags will
leek the resting places of our soldier
md sailor departed, while elsewhere
n the cemeteries wreaths and bou-
luets will symbolize our tender recol-
ectlons of kinfolk and close friends.
There are few communities in our
:ountry which have no sort of serv-
ves. On this day, from coast to coast,
he American people give special
bought to those who have entered upon
he Great Adventure. But If the
:hosts of those other folk who lived
lere before us look back and see us,
hey understand what we are doing,
or once, long ago, the red-skinned
teople held their day of remembrance,
oo. It was not always on the same
late, across all the country. Some-
imes It was twice a year; sometimes
oany years elapsed between the days
et apart for the dead, according to
he tribes which observed the custom.
Jut none the less the Indinns before
is. In their own way, which was some-
Imes very much like ours, honored
heir beloved dead.
The Pueblos call them “Those-who-
»ave-gone-before." To their minds the
lext world Is very much like this,
>ut the departed are closer to Those
Ibove, and may Intercede for the llv-
ng. They come back, also, not In the
uminous robes and with the trumpets
tnd slates of seance-spirits, but In the
jersons of certain living tribesmen
rho, when they have donned the gro-
;esque masks of their ancertor-worshlp
■ites, seem to acquire something of
he power of those whom they are
•epresentlng. They come back, also,
n the quiet hours when their children
ire immersed In thought, and give
idvlce and counsel.
It Is only fitting, then, that the Hopl
hould hold ceremonies in their honor,
rhen their representations walk
hrough the villages nnd hear the sup-
illcatlons of their living children. It
s a queer sort of Memorial day, true,
>ut It Is conducted with real reverence
ind love, and who can ask more?
Vhat a beautiful faith this Is, which
loes not admit of death separating the
ivlng and the dead, and which holds
hese symbolic “family reunions” in
oken of thnt faith.
Even with this belief, however. It
s Impossible for loving hearts not
o grieve at the loss of dear ones.
Phus we hear Hopl wailing on the
inniversary of a death, and If there
ins been an epidemic which took a
lumber of the tribe, an official annl-
ersary Is fixed, and observed with
orrow year after year.
So, too, the New Fire ceremony sees
he Zunl matron, dressed as if to meet
eloved friends, weeping softly to her
elf as she casts food Into the tire
n her hearth. This food Is for the
ncestors nnd for those who died In
ie past year, but If we could see Into
er heart we would surely find some
eloved one enshrined there, of whom
ie thinks especially as she mnkes her
fferlrig.
The first anniversary of a death was
ie one most widely observed. Then
Spokane
Cattle—8teers. good. >7 0 7.60.
Hogs—Good to choice, >7.35.
Lambs Medium to good, >7.76®8.25
the widow could put off her mourning,
and the bereaved family could take up
every-day life again. The ofticlaj time
of sorrow was passed at the end of
this year. But who, be he Indian or
white, can say to the mourner, “Bo
not weep longer; do not grieve fur
ther"? The sorrow of death makes a
lasting Impression on the heart, which
cannot be erased at the end of a year.
Anniversaries come as naturally us
the 8« sons themselves. Fall comes,
and those who are left behind remem
ber that at the Green Corn feasts their
loved ones were merry. Thus, the
Tunica guardians of the cemeteries
reminded those who had corn and
beans that the time had come to offer
them, and the people gladly gathered
parts of their harvest and placed them
on the graves.
If, as the Indians believed, the next
world Is so much like this, why should
not the departed spirits return on
these anniversaries to partake of the
spiritual essence of the food and min
gle a little while with those beloved
ones who had not yet Joined them?
I’ere Sebastien Basies, who wrote an
account of the Illinois tribe long ago,
spoke of their holding dancps that
were "a token of their sadness at the
death of the most Important men of
their tribe. It Is by these dances that
they profess to honor the deceased,
and to wipe away the tears of his
relatives.” During these dances. It
was thought, the spirits of the de
parted ones came and danced also,
enjoying themselves as they had once
done In the flesh.
Here we find again the great un
likeness of thought between white man
and Indian. Standing between the
graves, placing flowers on them, listen
ing to the prayers and speeches which
seek to recall the dead to us, we would
shudder at the Idea that they stood by
us, admiring the flowers and hearing
with appreciation their eulogies! Vet
the Illinlwak found only pleasure In
this thought, as If some dmrljr-loved
ones had returned from a Journey to
be among them, and the fact that they
were Invisible did not make them fear
some or less welcome to the feast In
their honor.
Another memorial observance which
corresponds slightly to our custom of
erecting headstones over the dead,
was that described by Adair as fol
lows: ‘‘To perpetuate the memory of
any remarkable warriors killed in the
woods, I must here observe that every
Indian traveler us he passes thut way
throws a stone on the place. , . .
In the woods we often see Innumerable
heaps of small stones In those places,
where, according to tradition, some of
their disgruntled people were either
killed or burled.”
No discussion of Indian memorial
observances would be complete with
out a description of the strange cus
toms of the Asslnlboin, Mandan, and
some other tribes:
These people did not Inter their
dead, but plnced them on scaffolds
or In trees. In time the bones of the
deceased were all that was left, and
these, perhaps, fell on the ground ns
the scaffolds or platforms, weather
beaten and old, gave way. The rela
tives gathered and burled the bones,
all but the skulls, and these they
placed “In a circle In the pluln,” says
Father De Smet, speaking of the Aa^
slnlboln, “with the faces turned
toward the center. They preserve
these with care. . . . The Indians call
the cemetery the villuge of the dead.
They visit It at certain seasons of
the year, to converse affectionately
with their deceased- relatives and
friends.”
Muny travelers of the early days
have observed and commented on
these circles of skulls, and we are
given pictures of them In many of the
old volumes. It Is only natural that
such n strange custom should he mis
understood. Some of those early ob
servers did not realize what reul af
fection prompted the preservation of
these relics of the dead, and hence
we read the scornful note thnt "sev
eral skulls were kicking about on the
ground.”
Catlin observed this some custom
among the Mandan, and goes on to
tell us that each skull was placed on
a bunch of wild sage, which was re
newed as often as necessary. “There
Is scarcely an hour In a pleasant day,
but more or less of these women mny
be seen sitting' or laying by the
skull of their child or husband, talk
Ing to It In the most pleasant and en
dearing language that ¿hey can use
(as they were wont to do In former
days) nnd seemingly getting an an
swer back."
This custom may seem a revolting
one to us, but to the Indians It was a
natural and common observance. In
deed, to the white men who knew
these people well, their strange Ideas
grew lest, fantastic, and ( atlin re
marked, ns he noted the Mandan wom
en “visiting” with the skulls of their
loved ones, “There Is something ex
ceedingly Interesting and Impressive
in these scenes.” Indeed, they recnll
to us the famous vault under the
Capuchin convent, where the bones
of monks who have died are used to
mnke patterns on the walls, and the
skulls stand In rows. Travelers have
remarked thnt the monks who showed
them these strange designs appeared
to know many of the skulls, nnd could
relate their nnines and something of
their histories.
So It Is with the Indians Not all
of them, of course, regarded death
without dread, but surely those of
whom we have been reading did not
recoil at the unavoidable step. True
to theli beliefs, they went out brnve-
ly. The “Happy Hunting Grounds” of
the Plains people beckoned; the Un
derworld of the Pueblos wnlted for
their return. And they believed with
Arm conviction thnt they would know
about the memorial ceremonies, nnd
be able to share, with the beloved liv-
Ing. In the rites.
Whether we agree with them or not.
It was a pleasant sort of faith. And
although our own beliefs have gone In
a far different direction from theirs,
sometimes, still we unite once a yenr
to recnll the virtues nnd to honor the
memories of Those-who have-gone-be-
fore.
(ffi by Wentern Newspaper Union.)
Fire destroyed a garage and seven
automobiles four miles from Powers.
The loss was >6000.
Mr. and Mra. John Kugelman of the
Sunnyside district, near Oregon City,
celebrated their 60th wedding anni
versary recently.
Loss of between >10,000 and >15,000
la reported by the owners of the Cres
well Lumber company mill which was
destroyed by fire recently.
Thursday was not exactly a “red
letter day” in the Monroe Union high
school, but 26 pupils came down with
measles that day, while at school.
Paving Pacific avpnue, Glendale's
main business street, will be done thia
summer If the city cpunctl can make
the >1600 available defray the cost.
The movement of certified seed po
tatoes out of tho Weston district is
practically over, according to Waller
A. Holt, Umatilla county agriculturist.
Deputy Game Warden Stellmacher
of Linn county la offering an >18 fish
ing rod and reel to the boy or girl
under 18 years who catches the largest
bass before July 1.
Manufacture of cut lumber, called
four-square lumber, started at the
Klamath Falls Weyerhaeuser plant re
cently with installation of new equip
ment and machinery.
Deposits of the North Plains Com
mercial bank have been taken over by
the Commercial National bank of Hills
boro, State Bank Superintendent A.
A. Schramm announced.
Hall as large as hickory nuts fell
at Ashland one day last week, with a
downpour of rain following. Reports
were that the hall had not damaged
pears, cherries or other fruit.
The most effective control found so
far for the spit beetle Is an applica
tion of nicotine dust, as shown by
experiments that have been carried
on near Woodburn. Dehydrated lime
dust Is fairly effective, also.
Berke brothers, contractors of Port
land, have a large crew of men at
work clearing the right of way of the
Roosevelt highway from Otis to the
Siletz river In preparation for regrad
ing and widening of the road.
The San Diego Fruit & Produce com
pany has tractors turning over 300
acres of rich silt bottom land In the
angle between Catching Inlet and Coos
river, near Marshfield, where It will
plant the entire area to peas.
Through the co-operation of the
county, residents of Joseph and own
ers of property at the head of Wallowa
lake, the road around the lake has
been graded and smoothed until it Is
almost equal to a state highway.
A system whereby Roseburg labor
ers and craftsmen will be given prefer
ence In construction work Is to be
started In Douglas county soon. It Is
expected that the next few months
will see a great deal of work stated.
Klamath county's thousands of dairy
cows are free of tuberculosis, not one
reactor to the tests being found the
last two years, It was reported by the
county agent. Only one reactor was
found "mong beef cattle tested last
year.
Largs catches of sturgeon are being
brought Into The Dalles by Columbia
river fishermen along with their sal
mon.
The new co-operative creamery at
Aermlston haa been oversubscribed,
according to offlulale of the concern.
It waa hoped to algn up 1000 dairy
cows, but that mark haa been passed.
Permanent directors will be named at
a meeting In Hormlaton May >0.
A state highway oiling crew started
work on the oiled stretch of the Fre
mont highway between Lakeview and
the Oregon-California line. Four miles
of oiling will also be done on the first
four miles west from I^ikevlew on
the Klamath Fulls Lakeview highway.
One million feet of yellow pine
bftwn down between South Twin and
North Twin lakes by the recent high
winds has been sold by the Deschutes
nationul forest to Mrs. Myrtle M. l)en-
nlit of the Deunls mill, weal of l ’lno.
The logs wilt be hauled by truck 19
miles.
From 3.000,000 to 6,000,000 feet of
timber Is down In the Ochoco national
forest ns u result of the recent wind
storm, according to Supervisor llurrl-
man, which creates uu additional fire
hazurd, along with the financial losa.
Only a small percentage of the timber
can he worked up to advantage.
The acreage of pens In western Ore
gon Is estimated at 1200 to 1300 acres
for fresh shipment, about double the
area producing Inst year. Weather
conditions so far have been favorable
for the crop. In some sections the
pods are already well formed, hut
there will be no heavy production until
early In June.
1. B. Brown Sr., president of the Pio
neer Association of Baker county, baa
announced tentative plans tor the
third annual meeting of the pioneers*
association to be held In conjunction
with the July 4 celebration to he held
In Baker. A basket lunch will he
served In the city park, to be followed
by an elaborate program. '
Summer fallow wheat land planted
to peas thia year has brought the total
acreage In the higher district about
Weston and Athena up to 2000, a con
siderable Increase over the acreage of
lost year. The legumea are reported
for the most part as doing well, al
though faulty Inoculation of the soil
has held back some plots.
Asparagus acreage of the Hood
River, Mosier, Bingen and The Dalles
district will bring growers near
ly >100,000 net thia year, predicts the
manager of the Stadelman Fruit com
pany of The Dalles. The total output
of the district will be In the neighbor
hood of 40 cars, part of which will be
shipped to eastern markets.
Planting of Klamath’s greatest crop
of potatoes Is well under way and the
bulk of the crop will be In the ground
by the end of this week. Some grow
ers started seeding May 1. The in
crease estimated this year will exceed
30 per cent. 1-ast year's acreage was
about 7000, and this year there will be
about 9000 acres In potatoes.
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Nornach of Red
mond are owners of the registered Hol
stein herd which topped the Central
Oregon Herd Improvement association
for the year Just closed, the average
buttertat production for the herd be
ing 426.4 pounds for 13 cows. The
Mornach average wak Increased 78.4
pounds per cow over the previous year.
Unusual numbers of tent caterpillar
eggs have been reported from differ
ent sections of Benton county to
County Agent C. R. Biggs, Indicating
severe ^attacks on fruit t/eea later
on. Many orchard owners report that
egg deposits are thick In their or
chords. A limb was brought to the
county agent’s office completely cov
ered with egg deposits for at least
three feet of Its length.
A total of 70,682 acres In the Modoo
national forest has been desigflated by
the federal government as a primitive
area. This tract adjoins the Oregon
state line Just east of New Pine creek.
The southern edge Is traversed by the
old Immigration road, which the Ap
plegates blazed from Fort Hall to the
Rogue River valley In the '40s. The
reserved area Includes many glacial
lakes and several mountain peaks.
Thirty cents an hour, with an al
lowance of 35 cents a meal where
men board themselves, Is the wage for
common labor while fighting fires, as
fixed by the various forest protection
agencies of the state at a meeting
held recently In the offices of the
state forester In Salem. Those who
have adopted this wage scale In Ore
gon Include tho state board of forestry,
United States forest patrol and all the
patrol associations.
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