JANUARY 29, 1909,
NO. 32
VOL. 11
Yaqunia John.
Point of Land at Alsea Bay Bears
Name of CKief.
Yaquina John, located at the entrance
of Alsea bay on point of land which still
boars his name, was a descendant of the
Yaquina tribe of Indians. His father
was a great chief who made war on the
peaceful tribe of Alseas and attacked
them while they were on a hunting trip
into a part of the Drift creek which was
known asuKlose Illahee"and where every
fall there was sure to be a plentiful supply
of deer and elk, the meat of which served
as a splendid addition to the usual diet
of fi.-h which constituted the principal
food of the Alseas.
Many of the Alseas were killed or taken
jiiboner and Yaquina John's father es
tablished himself as chief of the small
handful of Indians left. This was the
most severe blow ever delivered against
the peaceful Alseas and they never
recovered from it. They continued to
dwindle in numbers until the tribe be
came almot-t exterminated. Some of
the children who escaped by running
many miles, barf footed over cruel rocks,
their scanty clothing torn fiom their
bodies by the sharp thorns, told the story
to the whites who settled first in the
country, many years afterward.
Upon the death of his father, Yaquina
John succeeded as chief and located his
tepee on the heights of Yaquina John
point where he could command a vievv
of the bay and flats surrounding. Then
followed an era of peace and plenty. Ya
quina John was an intelligent Indian,
big and straight, six feet tall and weigh
ed about 200 pounds. He must have
had a heart that nearly filled that big
frame, for he was merciful, dealt fairly
with the first whites, and unlike his
father, was a man of peace and good
judgment and during the Rogue river
outbreak in the early 50's when neighbor
ing tribes were fretting under their re
straint, he counselled only peace and
refused to allow his braves to follow the
example of his southern cousins.
Yaquina John lived many years on
the point with hisiaithful squaw. They
raised a large family, but invariably the
sons died at an early age. He estab
lished a burial house near where Wald
port's school now stands for his family
vault, the old custom of burying in
canoes having been abandoned. This
house was painted w7hite, with paint
mixed with his own hands from clay
and ochre secured from mother earth
and composed in a manner which was
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