Cowlitz Covered the Miles in Canoes and Horses
The Cowlitz lived in villages along the river banks; therefore, their original form of transportation was the canoe. The Cowlitz used canoes of different styles. They were masters of river navigation.
One of the styles of canoe was peculiarly Cowlitz. These red cedar dugout canoes were prowless, known as the “Cowlitz-type” canoe. Lewis and Clark called them “shovel-nosed dugouts.” They were made in a special way to be able to navigate in shallow waters, being very successful in the shallow rapids. They were very different from the graceful war canoes used on the Columbia.
However, their burial canoes revealed many examples of the high-prowed “Chinookian” canoes (Nootkan) that were probably acquired through trade.
The horse, which initially made its way into the Southwest because of the Spanish, in time found its way onto the Plains.
Eventually it came over the Rocky Mountains to the Nez Perce who became the greatest horsemen of the entire Pacific Northwest. The horse made its way into the eastern Washington area about 1720. These horses finally made their way down the Klickitat trail into Cowlitz country. Some were traded for at the annual trading festivities at The Dalles.
There were not many of the Western Washington tribes that had prairies where horses could be used. The Puyallup and Nisqually tribes had horses but the Cowlitz had the largest open prairies and were known to have the finest horses and the best horsemen of all the Western Washington tribes.
Our Indian people had no concept of measuring distance by miles until after the white man came. It is interesting to note that Mary Kiona, an Upper Cowlitz, measured distance in the time it would take her to travel on a “fast horse,” while Esther Millet, a lower Cowlitz, measured distances in river miles by how long it took to travel from one place to another in the canoe. The possession and use of horses was the greatest distinction between the Cowlitz and most of the other Western Washington tribes.
The 1855-56 Indian war in Western Washington saw U.S. Army militia units purchasing horses from the Cowlitz.
Following the war, Cowlitz returning to their homes from internment in military camps, discovered their homes burnt and their cattle and horses gone. Today, wild horses in the hills above Castle Rock are believed to be the descendants of those Cowlitz Indian horses.
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Next week: Ancient Cowlitz trails
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Roy I. Rochon Wilson was an elected leader of the Cowlitz Tribe for three decades and is the author of more than 30 books, including several histories of the Cowlitz Tribe. He is a retired ordained Methodist minister and current spiritual leader of the tribe. Wilson lives near Winlock.
Chinook Jargon Phrase for the Week
“Maika kumtux John/Sally?” meaning, “Do you know John/Sally?”
The answer, “Naika kumtux John/ Sally,” meaning, “I know John/Sally;” or, “Naika kumtux yaka,” meaning, “I know him/her;” or; “Naika halo kumtux John/Sally,” meaning, “I do not know John/Sally.”
