Yakima River

“ S—— had joined us in Tacoma, so we four bought excursion tickets, and climbed into one of eleven packed passenger coaches of a Northern Pacific special, and made the trip. Eight hours of it, due east and southeast, across the snow-capped Cascade Mountains and down into the dry, arid Yakima River basin to the city—big village—of North Yakima. An arid valley, but yet green as an Irish hedge, a curious sight. The hills all round sere and brown, tufted and patched with dry buffalo grass and sage brush; the flat bottom lands mostly an emerald green ”

“ It is watered by the Yakima river and its tributaries, and through its valleys the railroads from the east find their easiest grade toward the Cascade passes. It is a county of level valleys and plateaus, having a soil made up chiefly of volcanic ash and disintegrated basaltic rocks, of great depth, which yields fabulously in cereal and grass crops, fruits and vegetables with the magic touch of irrigation. Artificial watering is 30 years old in this valley, and yet only a very small area was thus treated until the matter was taken up by the national government. ”

“ The upland farms produce quantities of all grains—wheat, oats, and barley—and some field corn is successfully raised in the warmer parts. Sheep, cattle and horses are also exported. Hops are a large crop.
PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS. North Yakima is at once the county seat and chief metropolis of the entire Yakima valley, having a population of about 12,000. It is situated on the Northern Pacific railway and Yakima river, and is the distributing center for both merchandise and farm products for a large surrounding territory. ”

“ You say now, "if we will be quiet, and make friendship you will not war with us, but give a piece of land to all the tribes." We will not be quiet, but war forever, until not a Yakima breathes in the land he calls his own. The river only will we let retain this name to show to all people that here the Yakimas once lived. ”

“ A railroad to Portland is talked of, towards which one hundred thousand dollars bonus is pledged.
The principal interests of North Yakima are agricultural. Irrigation schemes are the topic of conversation. Two canals were completed in 1889; one from the Nachess River extending twelve miles towards town, with branches which open up thirty thousand acres of land, at a cost of sixty thousand dollars, and the other between the lower Yakima and the Columbia, which waters twenty-five thousand acres, and cost thirty thousand dollars. ”

“ To build thirty miles of railroad under conditions then existing was a great undertaking. Ties and timber for bridges had to be obtained from the head waters of the Yakima River, an untried stream.
A logging camp was established in the winter of 1872—a Wisconsin lumberman named Tarbox being placed in charge. An attempt was made to drive logs to the mouth of the Yakima the following spring, but the water proved insufficient and the log drive was hung up. ”

“ Fortunes have been made in that fair land,—a fair land when supplied with water, but an arid waste without it. The United States Government has acquired control of most of the water system of the Yakima, and by means of storage basins in the mountain lakes where the Yakima and its branches rise, will be able to supply water for over a million acres of land. ”

“ The pestle shown in Fig. 26 is from the Yakima River, five miles below Old Yakima. It has a hat-shaped top and a cylindrical striking head a little larger at the top than at the bottom, is somewhat like the typical pestles of the Thompson River region, [97] and is in the collection of Mr. York. Another has a slightly wider brim to the hat-shaped top, a body concave in outline and the striking head is larger at the top than at the bottom, while a [Pg 43] third has a medium sized brim, a body bulging in the middle and a long cylindrical striking head. ”

“ The soil of the Yakima basin is a uniform light sandy loam, with more or less alkali in it. Near the mountains there is more clay and loam, which retains moisture much longer than the soil of the plains, and the river bottoms are largely alluvial deposits. The country comes under the general head of "arid land," although as a natural stock country it is unsurpassed, the cattle ranging upon it, instead of coming out in the spring with lank sides and rough coats, being as round and glossy as if kept up and curried. ”

“ North of the junction US 410 follows the curve of the river, lined with balsam and cottonwood trees. Sagebrush struggles for existence above the irrigation ditches. Beyond are farms, orchards, and prairies hedged about by blue-brown hills. Irrigation in the Yakima Valley is entirely independent of the rain- fall. Water is controlled by a simple gate and delivered by canal to the highest points on farms, whence it flows to the furrowed fields. Four crops of alfalfa mature annually in this region, and the cutover fields afford successive pasture areas. ”

“ It is clear that the ancient people from the Yakima region had extensive communications not only with the region southward as far as The Dalles, but also northward, as far as the more distant Thompson River tribes. If the products of the sea found in this region came up the Columbia, as may be inferred from Lewis, [435] it is a good illustration of how trade as a rule, follows the line of least physical resistance ”

“ Gibbs, in Pac. R. R. Rept., vol. i., p. 417. The Yakimas 'are divided into two principal bands, each made up of a number of villages, and very closely connected; one owning the country on the Nahchess and Lower Yakima, the other are upon the Wenass and main branch above the forks.' Id., p. 407. Yackamans, northern banks of the Columbia and on the Yackamans river. Cox's Adven., vol. ii., p. 143. On the Yakima. Hale's Ethnog., U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. vi., p. 213. 'South of the Long Rapids, to the confluence of Lewis' river with the Columbia, are the Yookoomans.' Parker's Explor. ”

“ This is indicated by the remains of underground houses, some of which are as far up as Ellensburg. These remains are similar to those found in the Thompson River region, where such [Pg 12] houses were inhabited in the winter. The people of the Yakima area probably seldom went up to the higher valleys and the mountains, except on hunting expeditions or to gather berries, roots and wood for their scaffolds, canoes and other manufactures. ”

“ The Yakima Valley is the original home of the Indian tribe of that name, most of whom are now gathered on a reservation at Fort Simcoe, and, under faithful instruction, making some advance toward civilization. The number of settlers in the whole valley is about seven hundred, the most of whom are engaged in stock-raising. A direct trade with Puget Sound is carried on, to some extent, through the Snoqualmie Pass, as well as with Oregon, by wagons, to the Columbia River. ”

“ The highway skirts the timbered mountain slopes. Vegetation is much thicker; canyons and steep hills alternate along the winding road. At 26.1 m. is the Nobel Creek Forest Camp. KEECHELUS (Ind. few fish) LAKE, 27 m. (2,475 alt) , is in a basin, whose timbered sides rise abruptly 1,000 feet. Lake Keeche- lus Dam, 500 feet long, extending across the lake's southern end,
regulates the flow of the Yakima River for irrigation and conservation purposes. Pyramidal peaks, bristling with greenish-black forest and flecked with snow, are mirrored in the lake. ”

“ In like fashion the restraining wall at the gap just below Yakima city was torn out, and a yet greater lake was formed over all the space where we now see the level plains of the Simcoe and Toppenish. ”

“ During the summer the Indians for the most part live in the small valleys lying well into the foot of the mountains. These are, however, uninhabitable during the winter, and they move further down, or to more sheltered situations. The mission which, in summer, is maintained in the A-tá-nam valley, is transferred into that of the main river." [25]
[Pg 20] After passing the top of the divide, to the left of the trail from Ellensburg to Priest Rapids, chips and fragments of variegated float quartz suitable for chipped implements were found. ”

“ There were to be two reservations,—one in the Nez Perce country of three million acres, on the north side of Snake River, embracing both the Kooskooskia and Salmon rivers, including a large extent of good arable land, with fine fisheries, root grounds, timber and mill-sites, and was for the accommodation of the Cuyuses, Walla Wallas, Umatillas, and Spokanes, as well as the Nez Perces. The other embraced a large and fertile tract on the upper waters of the Yakima, and was for the Yakimas, Klikitats, Palouses, and kindred bands. ”

“ Equally illustrative of the life of the fur-traders is the account given by Alexander Ross of one of his many adventures in the Columbia country. In 1814 Ross went from Okanogan to Yakima to secure horses. With him were four other whites and three Indian women. The Yakima Valley was then as now a paradise of the Indians. There the tribes gathered by the thousands in the spring to dig camas, to race horses, and to gamble, as well as to form alliances and [Pg 127] make plans for war. ”

“ On the 31st, they continued their route over a rough country, in some places almost impassable for a horse from its steepness, and in others so marshy as to require much caution to prevent being mired.
During the morning, they met two Indians, who informed them that the chief of the Yakima tribe was a short distance in advance, waiting to meet them, and that he had several horses. At noon they reached a small prairie on the banks of the river, where old Tidias, the chief, was seen seated in state to receive Lieutenant Johnson ”

“ In the Nez Perce region [219] to the east unworked river boulders sewed in skin, were used for the heads of war clubs which were sometimes also used in killing game. This kind of club is the same [Pg 76] used by the eastern Indians, according to Lewis [220] and was probably introduced. The spheroid specimen made of hard lava, possibly trap, shown in Fig. 61, was found on the Yakima Reservation near Union Gap, and is also in the collection of Mr. Janeck. There are three grooves, marking great circles at right angles to each other. These have been made by pecking. ”

“ WAHKEENA Falls, Multnomah County. These falls were once known as Gordon Falls, for F. E. Gordon, a pioneer landowner. On account of confusion with Gordon Creek near Sandy River, and Gorton Creek at Cascade Locks, a committee appointed by the Mazamas in 1915 to name points on the Columbia River Highway, changed the name to Wahkeena Falls and Wahkeena Creek. This name is said to be a Yakima Indian word meaning most beautiful. See Wah-KeeNah, and her People, by James C. Strong
WAHTUM LAKE, Hood River County. ”

“ I went on the river as a cub pilot with Captain Charles Felton on the steamer Yakima. At that time, the steamer Yakima was the most palatial boat on the river. It plied be- tween Celilo and Lewiston. Umatilla Landing, which had been started by Z. F. Moody, was growing rapidly. There was an active demand for lumber which sold for $55 a thousand. Alonzo Leland, with a man named Atwood, owned a sawmill 10 miles from Asotin. He could find no market for his lum- ber. ”

“ At fre- quent intervals, forest trails lead off into the wilderness. The main side road ends at M1dway Guard Stat1on, 45 m., although it will eventually be extended to Yakima. East of Randle, State 5 runs parallel with the general course of the twisting Cowlitz River, traverses a meadowland draining into SILVER CREEK, crosses the COWLITZ, 57 m., over a steel span, then runs along the base of precipitous rocky slopes recording the geologic con- vulsions of this area. At 63.3 m. is a junction with a forest road. ”

“ North Yakima, named from the Indian tribe that still dwells hard by upon its reservation, is a thriving little place, the greenest lawns of the most velvety turf, roses and flowers abounding where the water comes. ”

“ Ä′tănûm-‛lĕma (Shahaptian stock) or “people (‛lĕma) of Ätanûm creek.”—A small tribe on Atahnam creek, in Yakima county, Washington, on the northern boundary of the reservation. They are said to speak a language distinct from Yakima or Klûkatät, but cognate. They have no official recognition now or in the treaty of 1855. The name Ä′tănûm is Yakima, and refers to a stream “ascended” (by salmon) . ”

“ Much of this mountain land, though covered scantily with sage brush and bunch grass, is really fertile, and, besides supporting cattle, can be made to bring fair crops of wheat and other things; but the rainfall is so insufficient that irrigation is necessary for the development of any large agricultural interest. Irrigation in the Yakima Valley.Fortunately, in the large basin of the Yakima, irrigating streams are abundant, and its enterprising people are availing themselves of this happy resource. ”

“ The bays began to round a curve and presently Rainier, the lesser heights, all the valley of Kittitas, closed from sight. They had reached the timber belt; poplars threaded the parks of pine, and young growths of fir, like the stiff groves of a toy village, gathered hold on the sharp mountain slopes. Sometimes the voice of a creek, hurrying down the canyon to join the Yakima, broke the stillness, or a desert wind found its way in and went wailing up the water-course. And sometimes in a rocky place, the hoof-beats of the horses, the noise of the wheels, struck an echo from spur to spur. ”

“ Only seventy miles back to the eastward stretched north and south the great Cascade Range, affording innumerable safe and hidden retreats; and many trails across it, well known to the Indians, but unknown to the whites, gave access to the Yakima emissaries and reinforcements to join the hostiles on the Sound, and furnished the latter the ready means of retreat to the Yakima country when hard pressed. In the dense forests and swamps the savages lurked at the very doors of the settlements, and no man ventured out, for fear of ambush by the wily and omnipresent foe. ”