Maps

Maps

Since beginning to work with Gabe Montgomery and Emilio Tripp recently I have been pulling out the many archive boxes of information and research I’ve accumulated since the late 1980s. Yesterday I went through a box of language/culture related materials and in one folder was a reproduction of a “photostatic” copy of a map.

The map was inversed so that the white paper is black and the black ink drawing and text is in white. I wrote a title for the map: George Gibbs’ map. Reddick-McKee. (See scan of image. There is no note indicating from where I collected it.)

Native folks from California will recall that the Reddick-McKee Expedition was charged by the U.S. Congress to secure treaties with the Indian tribes. They arrived in northwestern California in 1852, the homeland for the Yurok, Hupa and Karuk peoples. Gold had been discovered already in the Sacramento area but “California” was not, as yet, a member of the United States.

The map includes 2 hand-drawn river drainages and reads:
(The first river) Names and Positions of the “Ho-pah” or lower Trinity villages. 99 houses.

(The second river) Names and Positions of Arr-arra villages. Note: The Weitspuks give different names to these: probably translations. 106 houses.

The first map presents the village sites located along the Klamath River starting with “Weitspek” and notes the number of houses there: 3 houses. These are the Yurok tribal villages. The second map includes the Klamath River villages heading upriver from Bluff Creek. These are the Karuk tribal villages.

The maps are somewhat idiosyncratic. The relative distances are exaggerated. Nevertheless the sequence of villages both up and down the river seem to be correct.

He seems to have confused the drainages between the two maps. For instance, on the first map he includes streams that appear to be out of place or should be included as part of the second map: he includes Willers Creek (is this Wooley Creek on the Salmon River or is it Willow Creek up the Trinity River?). Above Willers Creek is South Fork (is this the south fork of the Trinity River or the south fork of the Salmon River?).

What we know for sure is Weitchpec (his “Weitspek“) is NOT located at the north and south fork of a particular stream. It IS located at the confluence of the Trinity and Klamath Rivers (and this location is prominently indicated on the second map).

Gibbs includes a few annotations to the upriver map. He indicates the following villages: Kah-om (Katimiin?), Mik-iára (Ameekyâaram), Isshe-pishe-rah (Ishipishrihak), Onn-húrik (Vuunxárak). His note reads: These ranches burnt in summer of 1852. They contain(?) about 60 houses.

He also indicates the village sites of Nopas (Nuupaas): Onn-húrik, 1 (house); Ya phip-pás (Yeefípaan, Big Ike): Asha-náhm-ka, 5 houses; Redcaps: Oppegoeh, 10 houses.

It’s a historical map with its own unique problems written in Gibbs’s own handwriting and remains as interesting as ever.

Note: The map is coming!! Now where did I put that map?!

Julian

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 at 8:50 am and is filed under Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.