Klamath River

“ The principal tribes occupying this region [of Northern California from Rogue River on the north to the Eel River, south] are the Klamaths, who live on the head waters of the river and on the shores of the lake of that name; the Modocs, on Lower Klamath Lake and along Lost River; the Shastas, to the south-west of the Lakes; the Pitt River Indians; the Euroes, on the Klamath River between Weitspek and the coast; the Cahrocs, on the Klamath River from a short distance above the junction of the Trinity to the Klamath Mountains ”

“ No railroad comes within fifty miles; the nearest settler was many miles away—and that settler a Klamath Indian. At the foot of the long grade we came to a sluggish, green-tinted stream—Lost River—which we followed nearly to our destination. They call it Lost River since it vanishes from sight in the vast marshes of Tule Lake to the south.
The last twelve miles out of Klamath Falls were the most trying of a hard day’s run. The road bed was hidden in a foot of flour-like white limestone dust—deep enough to effectually hide the unmerciful chuck-holes and to make driving a blind chance. ”

“ Since the white race of people, that they found inhabiting the Klamath when they first arrived there, which we call the Wa-gas, which must have been thousands of years ago, they do not tell of ever having come in contact with any kind of a white race, or of any other race ever coming among them until the present white race came, which we call Ken-ne-ah. The Klamath River is so inaccessible, winding its way through high mountains, with no valleys, that to this day it is a wild country with lots of game and fish. ”

“ They are certainly expert in the Klamath river with a canoe, either the men or women. They have no keel on their canoes, just a round smooth bottom, with a rounded bow and stern. A large hazel withe is put through holes in the corners of the bow and drawn very tight across it so as to keep the canoe from splitting in case it strikes the rocks very hard, which often happens, as they grind upon the rocks in the rough places in the river. ”

“ They had no desire to see men, and they fled to all sorts of lonely retreats and remote forest places. At a certain point on the Klamath is a rough mountain slope which rises abruptly from the water; far up, well toward the ridge, about seven-eighths of the way from the river to the summit, is a bulky high stone which seen from a distance looks much like a statue. ”

“ On the east side of Link River near its upper end, there are streams of hot water bursting from the depts of the earth in continuous flow. These springs are said to possess wonder- ful healing properties. When the winds blow from the south, the waters of the upper Klamath Lake are forced back like a great tide, leaving Link River almost dry, save the deep holes and pools left in the channel. In the middle of this channel the water has cut in the stone, curious holes, said to resemble the feet of a large man. Near the footprints, another won- drous work of nature, wrought in the image of a man. ”

“ In 1944 there was a Tulelake post office just over the line in California, serving among others, a Japanese relocation center frequently in the news. Gatschet, in Dictionary of the Klamath Language, gives a number of Klamath and other Indian names for this lake. One was Mayaltko E-ush, meaning the lake overgrown with rushes or tule-grass. Moatak and Moatokni E-ush were words used by the Klamaths in referring to this lake, indicating that it was in the neighborhood of the Modoc Indians. The Pit River Indians, according to Gatschet, used the word Lutuami when speaking of this lake. ”

“ All the timber of the country—fir, pine, cedar, spruce, and larch—grows on the high mountain ridges, except the mere fringes of cotton-wood and willow which border the streams. The Blue Mountains constitute a wall between the Columbia River Basin, to the north, and the Klamath Basin to the south; hence all the rivers of East Oregon head in these mountains, and flow into the Columbia and Snake Rivers, only excepting those in the Klamath Basin, which run south and empty into marshy lakes or sinks. ”

“ As a matter of history it plainly appears that the Klamath Indians established themselves along the river in order to gain a subsistence by fishing. The reports of the local Indian agents and superintendents to the Commissioners of Indian Affairs abound in references to fishing as their principal subsistence, and the river is described as running in a narrow canyon through a broken country, the Indians as dwelling in small villages close to its banks. ”

“ In Ellicott's Puget Sound, MS., 20, he makes the mistake of confounding it with Rio San Roque or the Columbia. Grover, in Pub. Life, MS., 13–15, 18–19, mentions a map of French origin and some antiquity, whereon the Klamath and Rogue rivers are united and called 'Rouge Clamet,' or Red Klamath. The author of the map could hardly have called the Rogue River red had he ever seen it, as it is of a beautiful blue color. ”

“ Of the plentiful suckers, especially noteworthy are the multiple varieties inhabiting the Klamath Lakes and river and adjacent waters. To the Klamath and Modoc Indians these were formerly a source of wealth second only to the great salmon runs.
A red fish that abounded fifty years ago in Wallowa Lake and Wallowa River has mysteriously disappeared. In early days white men
found this food fish in almost limitless quantities in spawning season. ”

“ Upper Klamath Lake is one of the largest lakes in the state and is of considerable importance from an economic standpoint. The elevation of the water has been put under control and it is probable that very substantial use of the water for irrigation and power purposes will be developed from time to time. ”

“ Just to the east of the lake is Mt. Scott, partly covered with snow, while close to the camp on the east, is a high cliff known as Cathedral Rock, running far down to the right and at last disappearing below the tree tops. To the south the scene was varied by a wide range of mountain tops, stretching far away to California, chief among which is snow-capped and beautiful Pitt. Just to the left the rough mountain view is changed to a charming plain, in the midst of which is a broad expanse of water, which proves to be Klamath Lake, about thirty miles distant. ”

“ The road is usually very rough and dusty, especially late in the season; plans are now under way for its improvement, though the early accomplishment of the work can hardly be hoped for.
The Klamath Falls road, which was the route pursued by ourselves, averages better and is fully as picturesque. The usual plan is to come by the Medford road and leave by Klamath Falls, where the tourist may take the Shasta branch of the Southern Pacific for Weed on the main line. The stages do not run beyond Klamath Falls. ”

“ Leaving the lake we sped onward over a level and fairly good road winding through meadows studded with pine trees and passing Klamath Agency, the capital of the Indian Reservation. Fort Klamath is a town of three hundred people just outside the reservation. The Indian trade and the outfitting and supplies required by tourists make it a lively place during the season—from July to September inclusive. The principal resource of the roundabout country, an obliging garage owner informed us, is cattle raising, in which most of the people of the town are interested directly or indirectly. ”

“ Summer Lake (a little smaller than Abert) , and Goose Lake, the one last named lying partly in California and draining into the Sacramento system. The Upper and the Lower Klamath lakes of Klamath county are noted for their scenic beauty. Near the north-western boundary of Klamath county is the famous Crater Lake, whose surface is 6239 ft. above the sea. This lake lies in a great pit or caldera created by the wrecking in prehistoric times of the volcano Mount Mazama, which according to geologists once had an altitude of about 14,000 ft. above the sea and of 8000 ft. ”

“ Cross the ridge, and descend on an open grassy flat, surrounding the lower Klamath lake, which I should say, at a rough guess, is thirty miles in circumference. It is in reality more like a huge swamp than a lake ”

“ The creek is very rapid and affords hydraulic privileges equal to any in the territory. Prairie Round, which lies in the southwest part of the county, is about four miles broad, and is principally surrounded with woodland; near its centre there is a beautiful grove of timber of about a mile in diameter, consisting of sugar maple, black walnut and hickory. This county is well supplied with water. The Kalamazoo river which runs through it is a rapid meandering stream, yet navigable for boats. Its surface is frequently chequered with islands and its banks occasionally broken. ”

“ At the time of the advent of the white man, the Klamath Lake country, an elevated plateau in southeastern Oregon interspersed with numerous lakes and extending across the boundary into California, was occupied by a number of bands of Indians commonly regarded as being of a single stock, but having little intercourse with one another and that not always friendly. ”

“ The run, every mile of the way, is beautiful and inspiring, a fit introduction to the grand climax that greets you at the end. A few miles out of the town the road took us to the shores of Klamath Lake, which we followed to the northern extremity—a distance of some twenty-five miles. While by no means a perfect highway, we rejoiced to find it free from the bottomless dust that strangled us when entering the town—a few sandy stretches and a stony spot here and there were only pleasant variations compared with our experiences of the previous clay. ”

“ The travel was east, pointed for another “large water” which the Indians said would be found in that direction, after a few days’ journey. Thus, from the lake-meadow, which was not really Klamath Lake of Southern Oregon, but was only Klamath Marsh, north [213] of the lake proper, the company again entered the great pine forest. Here some of the trees were five and six feet through, at the base.
That night the thermometer dropped to zero. Among fallen timber and in snow sometimes a foot deep the morning march was made, the overworked mules tugging at the heavy howitzer. ”

“ Killamucks river is 85 yards wide, rappid and 3 feet deep in the shallowest part. The Killamucks in their habits customs manners dress and language differ but little from the Clatsops & Chinnooks. they place their dead in canoes resting on the ground uncovered, having previously secured the dead bodies in an oblong box of plank.
The coast in the neighbourhood of Clarks Mountain is sliping off & falling into the Ocean in immence masses; fifty or a hundred Acres at a time give way and a great proportion in an instant precipitated into the Ocean. ”

“ Reached about noon the Kamptee village, Palampan, or rather its Ghat. This Karam river is tortuous, generally shallow, with a more or less stony bed; it is nothing more in fact than a succession of rapids, between each of which the slope is very gentle, so that one makes good progress. Temperature at 6 A.M. 66° in the canoe; but in the hut in which I slept, it is as low as 60°. The dews are very heavy, and the jungle, as before, comes down to the edges of the water, but scarcely affords any marked feature. Kydia calycina is common, as is likewise a large Mimoseous tree. ”

“ Crossing the Klatmath River valley the dwelling place in early days of the Klatmath Indians, the engines make merry music as they puff, puff, puff in a sort of Rhunic rhyme to the whir of the wheels as they groan and climb three thousand nine hundred feet to the summit of the Shasta range. There is something wonderfully fascinating about mountain climbing. ”

“ When we reach the Cascades a third fact is revealed and that is that at the chief cataract the river bank is continually sliding into the river. Trees are thrown down by this slow sliding process, railroad tracks require frequent adjustment, and on clear, still nights there is sometimes heard a grinding sound, while a tremor from the subterranean regions seems to indicate that the upper stratum is sliding over the lower toward the river. In fact, the mighty force of the stream is all the time eating into the bank and gradually drawing it down. ”

“ In mountainous districts landslips sometimes occur and block the valley of a stream which then forms a lake. The water gradually rises and eventually flows over the dam and sweeps it away causing a flood, which is of great suddenness and height but decreases very quickly in height as it travels down the valley. In a case which occurred in the Himalayas in 1888 the inhabitants of the valleys, from the dam to the point where the river debouches from the hills, were compelled by Government to vacate all habitations below the probable level of the flood, and no loss of life occurred. ”

“ We have spoken of the region between the mouth of the Klickitat and Rooster Rock as the mountain section of the river. But as we move on down the the stream we discover that there are numerous nooks and glens adjoining it which are the choicest locations for fruit and garden ranches. At a point just about midway from The Dalles to the Cascades there is a remarkable break in the otherwise unbroken and constantly rising mountain walls. ”

“ On account of its proximity to Portland and the frequent steamboat excursions, Multnomah has become quite a resort. While the creek is only of moderate size in summer, and the fall is notable rather for [Pg 349] beauty than energy, yet when swollen by the rains and melting snows of winter and spring it takes on the dimensions of a river. Then the fall hurling its great volume over the eight hundred feet of open space assumes an appalling sublimity. ”