THE WILD INDIAN OF PEC-WAN.
This happened at my birth place and about one mile up the Klamath River
from my mother’s birthplace, at Wah-tec village both places being on
the north side of the river. At Pec-wan village, there comes down from
the east and north, a creek that enters into the Klamath River, at
or near Pec-wan village, and is called Pec-wan Creek. This creek has
three forks, the north, middle and south forks, the south fork being
the largest one. The mountain rises to a height of about four or five
thousand feet at the head of the south fork, and nearly the whole of
the country of Pec-wan, is covered with a dense growth of large timber
and thick brush. In this vast forest of timber, there are sloping flats
on the creek, and up the sides of the mountain there is oak timber, the
acorn, from which we make our bread, and which we call pop-saw. In the
Fall, which is the last part of October, and on through the month of
November, sometimes later, there was a family moved back on the south
fork, to a picking place. At these camps they most always have houses,
sometimes they are made of cedar bark and sometimes of boards, but they
are made tight and comfortable, so if there comes a rain they can keep
dry and warm, particularly the women and children. After they had been
there for sometime and had gathered a quantity of acorns, there came
some wild Indians (Oh-mah-hah) around on the outside of the houses,
and as there was quite a number of young men in the camps, the girls
were closely watched by the men, and were not much afraid of the wild
men. The men would go outside and holler at the Oh-mah-hahs to come
into the house, so that they could see them, but they were afraid to
come in, only watching a chance to steal one of the girls, and take
her away for a wife. After the Indians had gathered as many acorns as
they thought they wanted, they concluded to go back to their homes,
but two of the large, strong and athletic young Pec-wans, said they
were going to remain in the camp, and hide in one of the houses. The
rest all got ready and started home, leaving the two young men, who
climbed up to the frame, where the platform is fixed, that they put
the large basket plates, filled with the acorns on, that are hulled,
so as to dry them, over where they make the fire to cook and warm by,
the heat going up through the platform and plates, drying the acorns;
so the young men secreted themselves up there for they could not be
seen, and kept very still. In the evening the Wild Indians came, and
not seeing or hearing anyone, supposed that all had left the camp,
and after spying around awhile, an Oh-mah-hah ventured into the house
and sat down by the fire-place, and opened a buck-skin sack, which we
call ac-gure, and which has sticks inside to act as stays, to hold it
in shape, it being twelve or fourteen inches long, and carry it under
the arm, each one of these wild men had one of these sacks, which is a
sort of a magic wand, and in this, they carry different kinds of herbs.
Some of which are very good for a person’s health, and some act like
magic for poison, and with it they can kill any one they wish. Now this
wild man after sitting down, opened his sack, and took out each kind
of herbs or roots, saying as he lifted each one out, what it was good
for, and after he had taken part of them out and laid them by the side
of the ac-gure, he thought he heard a noise, so leaving his ac-gure
and the roots, he ran outside, at this the young Pec-wans jumped down
from their hiding place, and grabbed up the ac-gure and put the roots
back into it, immediately after this the wild man returned and begged
and pleaded with them, to give them back, but they refused to do so.
He told them they could not use it unless they were taught the art, by
which to use it. Then they wanted him to teach them, but he said he
never would, so they told him they would keep it. After he had begged
and talked for awhile, they started home taking the ac-gure with them,
and the wild man following and pleading in every way for them to return
the sack to him. As they kept on towards home, the Oh-mah-hah told them
if they would return it to him, he would cause any one that they might
wish for, to die, and would give them half of all he had, but they
refused, and kept on until they reached home. The wild man went with
them into the house, and they fed him, and every time they went out, he
went with them. Sometimes they would go for wood for the sweat-house,
and he would follow them closely, always pleading for his ac-gure and
acting so simple, that it seemed this ac-gure was his whole life. They
were determined never to give it back to him, and so one morning they
concluded to make a big fire in the sweat-house, put him inside, fasten
the door, and smoke him to death. They kept the ac-gure, and they say
this family, was ever after, very lucky in getting deer and other game,
as they had the Wild Indian’s devil.
This is the only time, where they caused a Oh-mah-hah to die, that I
know of. These sweat-houses, are sure an ideal place, to smoke a person
to death in.