TRADITIONS OF THE ANCIENT WHITE PEOPLE.
When the Indians first made their appearance on the Klamath river it
was already inhabited by a white race of people known among us as the
Wa-gas. These white people were found to inhabit the whole continent,
and were a highly moral and civilized race. They heartily welcomed the
Indians to their country and taught us all of their arts and sciences.
The Indians recognized the rights of these ancient people as the first
possessors of the soil and no difficulties ever arose between the two
people. Their hospitality was exceedingly generous in the welfare of
our people and all prospered together in peace and happiness, in their
pursuit of human existence. After a time there were inter-marriages
between the two races, but these were never promiscuous. For a vast
period of time the two races dwelt together in peace and honored homes,
wars and quarrels were unknown in this golden age of happiness. No
depredations were ever committed upon the property of their people, as
the white people ruled with beacon light of kindness, and our people
still worship the hallowed places where once they trod. Their morals
were far superior to the white people of today, their ideals were high
and inspired our people with greatness. After we had lived with these
ancient people so long, they suddenly called their hosts together and
mysteriously disappeared for a distant land, we know not where. We have
no memory of their reason or cause why they abandoned their ancient
homes where they had dwelt for untold centuries. Wars did not drive
them forth, for we loved them more than brothers, and difficulties
were unknown between the two people. On leaving they went toward the
North from whence we came, and disappeared from our land beyond the
northern seas. It was a sad farewell when they departed from this
land, for our people mourned their loss, as no more have we found such
friends as they, so true and loyal. In their farewell journey across
this land they left land-marks of stone monuments, on the tops of high
mountains and places commanding a view of the surrounding country.
These land-marks we have kept in repair, down through the ages in
loving remembrance. I have seen many of these land-marks myself (and
often repaired them) that they left as a symbol of the mystic ages and
the grandeur of a mighty nation that passed in a single season. Oh, how
little we know of the depths of the ages gone, how wide, how profound
and deep is the knowledge we seek; a monument of stone, a stone bowl,
a broken symbol, a hallowed unknown spot, a lodge of ruins, all this
makes a golden page glittering with diamonds that trills the emotions
with mysterious longings for truth and light in the depths unknown.
When the Wag-as left this land they assured my people that they would
return to them at some future time. Perchance thousands of years
have elapsed since then, and they have not returned, we have waited
in vain for it seems that our cherished hopes are fading. However,
some of our people are still looking for the return of the white
man. The traditions handed down lead us to believe that the Wa-gas
returned to the land of their birth, in the far north, the valley of
Cheek-cheek-alth, as their traditions were given to us that their
origin was in this same land of Cheek-cheek-alth, as they came down
from the North when they came to this land. When the Wa-gas first
arrived on this continent they handed down the traditions to us that
it was inhabited by a giant race of people when they first came.
These giants were represented by the Wa-gas as being very swarthy in
complexion, and they used implements so large that no ordinary man
could lift them. It was an age when large animals roamed the earth, and
it seems the birds and fowls were all very large in size. It appeared
to be the first age, and was the age of the giants. The recollections
transmitted by the Wa-gas were that these giants were very cruel and
wicked. It was said that God became displeased with them and destroyed
them and they all perished from the earth. It was also said that God
appeared to the High Priest of the Wa-gas and told them that he was
going to destroy the giant race and that the Wa-gas themselves would
survive upon the earth as a new people. Smaller birds and animals
would appear upon the earth for the use of man, thus the age of giants
perished, but the Wa-gas do not hand down any tradition of how they
perished from the earth, as my people have no recollections of ever
seeing giants. My mother says that our people in ancient times have
seen many relics belonging to these prehistoric giants, such as huge
stone bowls, stone slabs and other implements so great that our people
could not move them. During the ages of rains and wearing away of the
earth, these implements have been buried so deep and have sunk into the
earth, that is the reason we cannot find them today. The Indian name
for the giant race is Pah-pel-ene, which means people that have all
died and passed away.
When the Wa-gas returned to Cheek-cheek-alth it is supposed they found
a ladder in this beautiful valley which extends from earth to Heaven,
and climbed it to Werse-on-now, (Heaven) where they dwell with God. All
the half castes with the exception of a few went away with the Wa-gas,
and nearly all those that were three quarters Indian remained with our
people. This is said to be the reason why some of our people are very
fair. Some of the Indians are still looking for their return to the
earth, when they come back it is believed that peace and happiness will
reign supreme again over this great land and all evil will be cast out.
When the present race of the white people made their first appearance
upon the American continent, we believed it was the Wa-gas returning
and a hearty welcome was extended to them and there was great rejoicing
among our tribes. But soon the sad mistake was discovered to our
sorrow, when the men began to debauch our women, give whiskey to our
men and claim our land that our forefathers had inhabited for so many
thousands of years, yet not a single family has ever been driven from
their house on the Klamath river up to this day. We no longer termed
them as Wa-gas, but as Ken-e-yahs, which means foreigners, who had no
right to the land and could never appreciate our kindness, for they
were a very different people from the Wa-gas. They had corrupt morals
that brought dissolution upon our people and wrought the horrors of
untold havoc.
When the Indians first reached the Klamath river there were large
prairies and vast tracts of grassy land, which have since grown up
in timber and under-brush. Many of the prairies were set on fire and
burnt off every year during the dry seasons which kept the timber from
growing up very fast.
The Klamath emptied into the ocean at Wilson creek, about six miles
north of where it now goes into and ocean at Reck-woy. There were
high bluffs of rocks between the river and the ocean all the way from
Reck-woy to Wilson creek, which kept the river in its course to Ah-man
(Wilson creek) where it emptied into the ocean. The river was said to
have kept in this course until our Christ caused the mighty rocks to
split open and the waters of the river rushed ahead to the ocean at
Reck-woy, where it has ever since flowed into the ocean.
The traditions handed down say that the land, north of Redwood creek,
where it goes into the ocean, extended far out into the sea to the
large rock that is now known to the white people as Redding rock, has
continually washed away leaving this rock jutting up from the ocean
depths and can be seen for many miles over the surrounding area of land
and sea. This rock is located at a distance of about ten miles from the
shore and is called by the Indians Sa-quan-ow. This name translated
into English means an acorn pestle, a conical shaped stone, carved
out of granite and is used to pound acorns and grass seeds into the
finest flour. Long ages ago Redding rock extended up from the ocean to
a great height, and from a distance appeared to be a huge Sa-quan, or
pestle, hence its name. After ages of erosion the massive rock became
surrounded by water and the receding bluffs left it alone out in the
ocean where its greater portion has crumbled and fallen beneath the
waves as it is seen today. The Indians still call it Sa-quan-ow.
There has been but little change in the channel of the Klamath river,
except at its mouth since our arrival in this land. In olden times
the channel of the river was very deep and clear and much narrower
than it is now and large bars of alluvial soil composed its banks,
where luxuriant grasses grew, and upon these lowlands during the
winter months great herds of deer and elk would graze, coming down
from the snow covered mountains. The channels of the large creeks
and tributaries of the river, such as Blue creek, (Ur-ner) Tec-tah
and Pec-wan have practically never changed as they still flow into
the river in the same places. Where the Trinity river flows into the
Klamath river it has made but little or no change during the passing
ages as has been handed down to us.
We have no word of severe earthquakes in our regions, but have had
slight shocks from time to time throughout the centuries. We have no
tales of any great damage ever done by earthquakes and our people
never held any fear of tremors of the earth. But my people tell of
great tidal waves that have swept our country. They say a long time
ago one swept up the Klamath river to the mouth of the Trinity river,
a distance of over forty miles, and did great damage, as it swept away
houses and thousands of our people were drowned and carried away by the
rolling waves of the ocean, so few of our tribe were left that they
were well nigh exterminated. Many smaller tidal waves have swept over
the coast where the destruction was not so great.
They tell of epidemics that came up the river and laid us low in the
devastation of life, thousands of our people would pass away in a
single season; they would die so fast that they could not be buried
and many of the bodies would be thrown into the river. The only way we
could keep the whole tribe from complete devastation by the ravages of
these dreadful diseases was to abandon the dead and leave the river
and go back into the high mountains and there we built bark houses
and remain until the snow and cold would compel us to retreat to the
lowlands again. In our mountain home we subsisted on wild game,
berries, pine nuts, roots and herbs. Some of our people would have such
a terror of the fatal diseases that they would refuse to return to
their homes and would brave the fierce storms of the cold winter until
they were convinced that all dangers had ceased. In our traditions of
the passing centuries many of these epidemics have almost devastated
the land of human life. During one of these contagions it was said that
the children would go down to the river to swim and would lie down in
rows from six to twelve in number upon the sand, as if they were alive
and had been placed there by careful hands; but they would be in their
eternal sleep, contagion having overtaken them.