8
THE CHEMAWA AMERICAN
Yaqwnm John.
(Continued from Page 1.)
never learned by the whites, although
repeated attempts were made to induce
the old man to disclose the secret. The
paint withstood the storms many years
longer than the ordinary paint and
when the house was finally torn down
by the whites many of the boards were
carried away as souvenirs, for they still
looked as if freshly painted.
The constant loss of his family seemed
to be a source of great sorrow to the
parents and finally, when the death
vaults contained more than remained at
home, they removed to the head of tide
on the Alsea river, no doubt thinking
the change would be beneficial to the
family. But the same fate seemed t
pursue them, and when there weie al
ready 10 members of the family in the
.death house,Yaquina John's last son died.
The sad old man now set to work to
build a coffin in which to transport the
body to the death vaults down the bay,
a distance of 12 miles or more. When
the coffin was completed the body was
placed therein and also all the usual
possessions of the lad of 16. Ample
provisions were also stored 'in the box as
was the Indian custom. The coffin was
placed near the camp and kept several
days while preparations were made for
the funeral; but before the coffin was
brought down the river the young man
returned to life.
Great was the joy of the father. The
Indians who had gathered for a funeral
feast now laughed and sang. AJl rejoic
ed with the glad father and wondered at
the stiange happening. The few whites
in the vicinity also wondered. They
had witnessed the preparations for the
funeral and some of the white childien
who had played with the boy saw him
in his coffin. Now he had returned to
life.
After the visitors had returned to their
homes, the lad requested that his corpse
be kept at least three days in an open
box should he again die. He lived near
ly a year. At his death he was placed
in the coffin, which was set in a little
niche hollowTed out of the sidehill near
the camp. A watch was kept, but after
three days the body was taken down the
river. A procession of canoes was form
ed. It moved down the river amid the
waving of great streamers and flags, the
singing of death chants, mourning and
the beating of torn toms
After much ceremony the lad's corpse
was placed beside those of fchis brothers
iu the vaults, and Yaquina John took
up a lonely existence on trie point; but
so firmly set in his mind was the belief
that his son would once more come to
life that he cut a trail through the forest
between his favorite residence spot on
the point and death house and trimmed
out overhanging limbs in such a manner
as to afford an unubst meted view be
tween these two places.
It enabled him to reside on the point
and at the same time keep watch for
signs of life from his last son. Each
morning his first duty was to look down
at the little white house. Many times
when the weather was foggy he would
make a little journey rf inspection be
fore as much as taking a mouthful of
food. After years of faithful watching
which brought only disappointment,
Yaquina John was placed on the reserva
tion, where he remained the rest of his
life.
The progress of civilization soon de
manded the use of the ground where the
little house stood and it was destroyed.
When the coffins were being removed
it was found that the body of the last
son had not decayed but had dried.
The body was removed from the collin
and stood up against .the wall. The
clothes were in a good state of preserva
tion and upon investigation it was found
that one of the valued possession? of t he
boy, a pack of cards, still remained in
one of the pockets. With the burning
of these coffins, the last traces of Yaquina
John's residence on Alsea bay passed
away. Ex.