About Hyasman

[Sue Schafer]

I am thrilled to find out what some of these words are!!!   "Labush"....and I was looking for a placename on a map!  lol !   And the name of the horse too....!   There are other letters which mention the words "klutch"....I thought it was some word in Plattdeutsch.  When I was 10 my father told me that my grandfather spoke fluent Chinook....but I really had no idea what Chinook was....   I think my Washington State history teacher was remiss.

Here are a couple of excerpts from history books I've got on hand.   The first one is a tale about the Indian Hyasman, and the second one mentions my grandfather Hubert as well as Hyasman.   My great grandfather probably learned Chinook in the 1850's  when he was prospecting for gold in the Rogue River area.    He probably taught it to his family.

The Wynooche Valley

This wild region where the river roared each year lured the Indian Hyasman into mysterious comings and goings. Each early autumn Hyasman poled his shovel-nosed canoe to the gorge, hid it -- he thought -- from prying eyes, and disappeared into the timber. With the September freshet he whisked down the river with enough gold to last him for a year. He was so secretive that no white man ever found his source for the yellow metal.   For that matter, few whites ever saw Hyasman's gold; but apparently he had it, for he spent it. Several whites had followed Hyasman upstream, a few to where he had cached his canoe, but were never able to trace him beyond the cache. For that reason there was no "gold rush" on the Wynooche.

[A likely story.....today that area is a good source for gravel....]

"Hyasman, a truly celebrated character along the Satsop who, among other things, was said to have once scalped a man."   another name mentioned alongside Hyasman is Billy Quaick (I have pictures of Billy with family members)...

"In winter or summer, according to the desire and luck of one or two of the boys, they had venison, elk, or bear meat. Once or twice a year Pete say, with Hubert or Albert -- one of the boys always remained at the home place -- went up near the headwaters of the Satsop to hunt a few days and to return back downriver with a dugout filled with meat. Old Hyasman occasionally went along. On one such trip the hunting had been poor, and for two days the hunters had little to eat except boiled potatoes and one piece of fish, which had been thrown together to make a sort of mulligan. For a new meal, Hubert, who was cooking, would simply add a little more water. Old Hyasman stood this for four meals, then revolted, "Hiyu chuck," he grunted, "hiyu chuck", which in Siwash means there is plenty, or even too much, of water."






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