In 1906, Charles McChesney conducted a survey of Indians in Washington and Oregon. The following correspondence comes from McChesney’s report and includes statements by Chinookan peoples living in the Portland area in 1906.
ROLLS OF CERTAIN INDIAN TRIBES IN OREGON AND WASHINGTON.
_________________________________________________________________
LETTER
FROM
THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR,
TRANSMITTING,
WITH A COPY OF COMMUNICATION FROM THE ACTING COMMISIONIER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, THE ROLLS OF CERTAIN INDIAN TRIBES IN OREGON AND WASHINGTON FOR USE IN REFERENCE TO A CERTAIN AGREEMENT OF AUGUST, 1851.
DECEMBER 6, 1906. Referred the Committee on Indian Affairs and ordered to be printed.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
Washington, December 5, 1906.
SIR: I have the honor to state that in the Indian appropriation act for the fiscal year 1906 (33 Stat. L., 1703) the following legislation appears:
That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to investigate the number of Clatsop Indians of Oregon and Washington, Tillamook Indians of Oregon, Lower band of Chinook Indians of Washington, and Kathlamet band of Chinook Indians of the State of Oregon, or their heirs, who can be identified as belonging to said tribes at the time of executing certain agreements dated August fifth, August seventh, and August ninth, in the year eighteen hundred ad fifty-one, and report his findings to Congress at its next session.
In compliance with this law, Supervisor Charles E. McChesney was, on December 8, 1905, directed to proceed to the reservations in Oregon and Washington upon which some of the said Indians resided and elsewhere, as might be necessary, to make the investigation, and I have the honor to inclose herewith copy of a letter from the Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs, dated the 1st instant, transmitting the supervisors report, dated 15th of November 1906, submitting rolls of the Lower Chinook, Kathlamet, Tillamook, and Clatsop Indians, together with the evidence taken in support of the same.
Very respectfully,
E. A. Hitchcock, Secretary.
THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS,
Washington, December 1, 1906.
SIR: Referring to Department letter of April 12, 1905, relative to the provision contained in the Indian appropriation act for the fiscal year 1906 (33 Stat. L 1073), authorizing and directing the Secretary of the Interior to investigate the number of Clatsop, Kathlamet, Tillamook, and Lower Chinook Indians in Oregon and Washington, etc., and to Department letter of April 19, 1905, directing that Supervisor Charles E. McChesney was, under date of December 8, 1905, directed to proceed to the reservations in Oregon and Washington upon which some of the said Indians resided, and elsewhere as might be necessary, in order to make the 2investigation and gather the data required.
The supervisor was instructed to confer freely with the Indian agents and superintendents in charge of reservations in order to locate all the Indians or their heirs, many of whom are scattered throughout the States of Oregon and Washington and do not belong to any agency. He was also directed to make the investigation as complete as possible, take testimony, examine the agency records and, in fact, exhaust every available source of information in his efforts to get at the facts with respect to those Indians and their heirs.
The Office is now in receipt of the supervisor’s report under date of the 15th ultimo, submitting therewith rolls of the Lower Chinook, Kathlamet, Tillamook, and Clatsop Indians, together with evidence taken in support of the same, all of which is respectfully inclosed herewith for transmission to Congress in accordance with the provision of the act referred to.
Very respectfully,
C.F. Larrabee,
Acting Commissioner.
THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.
STATEMENT NO. 64.
STATE OF OREGON Multnomah County, ss:
Mrs. Isabel Bertrand, of North Front and Hull streets, Portland Oreg., being dully sworn, deposes and says she is 62 years of age, and was alive when the treaty of August, 1851, was made. My father was a white man and he is dead.
My mother’s name was Elmermach and she died in 1880, aged 60 years, and she was a Lower Chinook Indian descendant. I had four sisters, who are dead, and who whit their heirs, are as follows: Mrs. Lafferty, who has no children alive, and she is dead without issue. She died in March 1905, aged 77 years. The next sister was Julia Price, who is dead. She died two years ago, aged 73 years. Julia was married twice, once to Lussier, a white man who is dead, and once to a man named Price, a white man and the issue of these marriages are Alex. Lussier and Mary Ann Lussier (now Mrs. Duchene), and Emily Lussier (now Mrs. Cashel), who lives 6 miles above Astoria, near Burnside, Oreg., and Mrs. George Pryor, and Sterling Price, who are all alive. My next sister was named Catherine Pilcier, who is dead, and she has four children alive, who are named Edward Pilcier, who lives at Spokane Wash.; Minnie Pilcier now Mrs. Minnie Kelly, who lives at Spokane Wash; Matilda Pilcier (now Matilda Jones), who lives in Portland, Oreg. foot of Nineteenth street, and Elsie Tellier, now Mrs. Ludington, who lives same address in Portland. My other sister, who is dead, left no issue. My sister who is alive is named Mary Petit, and she lives at Ilwaco, Wash.
MRS. ISABEL BERTRAND (her x mark).
Sworn and subscribed to before me at Portland, Oreg., this 7th day of February, 1906.
STATEMENT NO 65.
STATE OF OREGON Multnomah County, ss:
Mrs. Minnie Kelly, of Front and Hull streets, Portland, Oreg., being duly sworn, deposes and says she is 42 years of age.
I have been married twice-first to a white man, Berry Kelly, who is separated from me, and I am now married to Oscar Short, and I live with Mr. Short here.
My mother’s name was Catherine Obershaw Pilicier, who is dead. She died in February, 1902, and she was 67 years of age at the time of her death, and she was a Lower Chinook Indian woman, and she was alive in 1851 when the treaty of that year was made. My mother, Catherine Obershaw, was married twice, first to Michel Pellissiea, a white man, who is dead; the second time to Nelson Telier, a mixed blood Montana Indian of the Flathead tribe.
My mother had 10 children by her first husband 3 of whom are now alive, and named A. Edward Pillissiea, who lives at Marcus, Wash, and aged about 44 years, and Mrs. Matilda (Pillissiea) Jones, aged 40 years and lives at the foot of Nineteenth street, North Portland Oreg. and myself. My oldest brother, who is dead, named Anthony Pillissiea, died about twenty-two years ago, and left surviving him a wife named Ida Brooks, now Ida Fedder, who lives at Myers Falls, Stevens County, Wash., and 3 children, named Miles Pillisser, aged about 24 years, and he lives at Marcus, Wash., and Violet Pilliser, aged 22 years, now married, but name unknown, and she lives at Myers Falls, Stevens County, Wash., and Ivy Pillissiea, who is also married, but I do not know her married name. She is 20 years of age, and can be reached at Myers Falls.
My next sister, named Ella (Pillissiea) Lawrence, left 5 children surviving her. She was married twice, first to Noah Willey, a white man, who is dead. The names of the children are George Willey, 28 years old, and he lives on the north half of the Colville Reservation, Orient Post, Ferry County, Wash., and Mrs. Ella (Willey) Wilson, aged about 25 years and she lives at Meteor. Colville Reservation, south half Ferry County, Wash., and Rose (Willey) Hahn, aged about 23 years, and she lives at Northport, Stevens County, Wash., and Marshal Lawrence, aged 3k, and he lives at Meteor, with Mrs. Wilson. My sister Agnes (Pillissier) McClintock died six years ago next November, aged 31 years, and her husband is dead, leaving as issue and sole heirs 4 children, named Mamie (McClintock) Bertrand, living now at foot of nineteenth street, Portland (491 North Front street), aged 19 years; Wilder McClintock, aged 15 years, and he lives with Mamie Bertrand, and John McClintock, aged 13 years, same address and Leonard McClintock, aged 9 years, same address.
I had a half-sister named Melissier Telier, who died about five years ago, married to Jack Service, who is now alive in Astoria, Oreg., and there were four (4) children born of the marriage, who are now all alive. John Service, aged about 13 years, who is at the Chemawa Indian school, and Willie Service, aged 7 years, who is in the Chemawa Indian school. One of the other 10 children left any issue, all having died unmarried, and there are no other heirs, except my half-sister, Elsee Tellier Luddington.
Minnie Kelley.
Sworn and subscribed to before me at Portland, Oreg., this 7th day of February, 1906.
STATEMENT NO 66.
STATE OF OREGON, Multnomah, County, ss:
Mrs. Annie T. Hunter, of 335 Ivy street, Albino, East Portland, Oreg., being duly sworn deposes and says she is 66 years of age.
I am a Lower Chinook Indian and was alive in 1851 in August of that year, when the treaty was made with the Lower Chinook Indians. My father was Charles Forrest, a white man, who died in 1852. My mother’s name I do not remember, but she was a Lower Chinook woman. My maiden name was Annie T. Forrest. I have no sisters and never had any. I have a half-brother, but by a different mother, and he is not an heir, being a Cowlitz descendant.
Annie T. Hunter.
Sworn and subscribed to before me at Portland Oreg., this 8th day of February, 1906.
CHAS E. McCHESNEY
Supervisor of Indian Schools.
Note-Annie T. Hunter’s mother was Wiltamst, a lower Chinook woman, who died before 1851, say Bay Center people.
STATEMENT NO. 107.
STATE OF OREGON, Multnomah County, ss:
Mary J Jette, of Linnton, Oreg., being duly sworn and says she was 50 years of age in October, 1905.
My maiden name was Mary J Weston. My father was David Weston, a white man, and he died December 19, 1876, aged 57 years. My mother was Mary St. Clair, who died January 21, 1884, aged 51 years, and she was a Clatsop and Chinook Indian woman, who was alive in August, 1851, when the treaty of that year was made with the Clatsop and Chinook Indians, and she was a daughter of Chief Cowhicalas. I have two brothers now alive in Linnton, Oreg.-James Weston, aged 48 years, and Lewis Weston, aged 35 years. I had other brothers, but they died in infancy. I have one sister now alive, named Ines Weston, now Ines Murray, and she is 29 years of age. She is married to Gilbert Murray, and she lives in Butte, Mont. I had other sisters, but they died in infancy.
MARY J JETTE.
Sworn and subscribed to before me at Linnton, Oreg., this 12th day of April, 1906.
CHAS E McCHESNEY
Supervisor of Indian Schools.
