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THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS: THE INDIANS
The Okanogan County portion of the Grand Coulee Dam area was inhabited by the San Poil and Nespelem Indians long before the coming of the white man. Neither group ever became a party to any treaty with the United States, and not until 1872 was a reservation set aside for them. The reservation was known as the Colville, and was originally bounded by the Columbia river on the south and east, the Okanogan River on the west, and the international boundary on the north. Later, the north half of this area was subtracted, and portions of the remainder were thrown open to homesteading by white men. According to some of the older Indians, numerous Indian villages existed along the river, including a summer settlement at the mouth of the Nespelem River; another across the river from Barry Post Office (Stevenson Ferry); and a fishing ground across the river from the mouth of the Grand Coulee.
Nespelem and Keller became permanent communities after the reservation was established and each has played an important tribal role in social, cultural and political activities.
In 1884, Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce and 150 of his band were sent to the Colville reservation, and, at about the same time, the Moses Indians from the Columbia Basin were also assigned to this Indian reserve. Older members of the Colville tribes often referred to these newcomers as treaty Indians with no intention of compliment.
Many present residents of this area will remember one of the truly old time Indians, Sally Iswald Keller, who was reputedly 112 years old when she died at Malott December 26, 1957. Until a very few years before her death, she was a familiar figure in Coulee Dam and Elmer City, jogging unhurriedly along on an ancient white horse, sometimes selling huckleberries, sometimes travelling from her summer camp near Keller to Nespelem, and sometimes going nowhere in particular.
From the early days of the reservation, the Indians held two major gatherings each year, the Salmon Day celebration at Keller in the late spring and the Fourth of July Pow Wow at Nespelem.
The Salmon Day celebration which has occurred only spasmodically since the formation of Lake Roosevelt, was held at the original site of Keller, a few miles upstream from the mouth of the San Poil River. The celebration also included a rodeo, wild horse races, public and tribal dances, and a generous supply of unscheduled entertainment, which in later years attracted as many or more white people than Indians.
The Nespelem Pow Wow frequently lasts for as much as two weeks, with Indians arriving from other reservations in Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon as early as July first, to set up their tee-pees in the "Circle" and prepare the long house for the feasts and tribal dances.
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In these later days, the celebration usually gets under way July Fourth with a parade from the campground on a flat near the Colville Agency in Nespelem and back to the Circle, where the rest of the festivities take place, including, besides the feasts and dances, various forms of gambling such as stick games and wahluks.
In the parade and dances, one sees many traditional costumes, some actually worn by warriors in battle, war bonnets original worn by members of the Joseph band handed down to the present generation; Chief Moses' ceremonial costume, now owned by his grandson George Friedlander; and women's buckskin dresses, some bleached white, beautifully fringed and beaded.
Early day settlers often traveled fifty or sixty miles by cart or wagon to attend the celebration, camping for days at a time in shady spots along the Nespelem River within convenient walking distance of the Circle.
Until the last few years, the mournful keening of the Indian women in the tee pees singing the tribal death chants as the parade passed in slow review around the Circle, was a never-to-be-forgotten experience. Along with many other ancient ceremonials these death chants which honored the fallen warriors symbolized by costumes worn in the parade, have been discontinued to a great extent although the traditional rites are still observed to mark the passing of some of the elders or members of prominent Indian families such as Minnie Poween Yellow Wolf, one of the last survivors of the Lolo Trail retreat, whose death in 1955 brought Nez Perce tribesmen from several other reservations to Nespelem for the full ceremonial rites.
Although they no longer play a major part in the pow-wow, the ancient traditions are far from lost, and through the interest and racial pride of some of the younger Indians, are gradually being revived; and the rhythm of the drums, symbolism of each step in the colorful dances; the song -- the meaning of each, and the proud history of which it is a part, is again being emphasized.
Hereditary chieftains in full tribal regalia formed part of the welcoming committee on the occasions when President Roosevelt and President Truman visited the dam.
RUTH KELLEY
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OLD FERRIES ON THE RIVER ** FROM KELLER FERRY TO CONDON FERRY
By Ruth Kelley, Granddaughter of one of the Oldest Pioneers in Coulee Dam Area.
KELLER FERRY, FOUNDED AS PRIVATE ENTERPRISE ABOUT 1890
I remember when it was still a cable ferry, it often had to stop operations during the high water, and the traffic to the reservation was rerouted down to our ferry, even though perhaps the celebration drawing the crowd was being held at the town of Keller. Sometimes floating logs and debris caused the outage -- other times the water was so swift, a single cable ferry didn't have sufficient control to be safe.
PLUM FERRY -- three separate operations -- Sam Seaton installed a power ferry in 1912, four or five miles above plum point on present navigation maps of the reservoir -- in 1913, Henry Covington put in a cable ferry just below Sam's; and still later, date uncertain, Jim Christenson put in a cable ferry at Plum Point. Neither Sam's ferry nor the Covington ferry were in operation for very many years, and by the mid to late '20's, the Christenson ferry, or Plum Ferry, as it was also known, was also out of operation, and Mr. C. had opened a meat market in Wilbur.
SEATON FERRY -- founded by Thomas Brownfield Seaton (my grandfather) in 1896 or 1898, probably the latter date. Also had a small general store and post office, known as Seaton or Seaton Ferry, I think the latter, until about 1915. That was 2.3 miles above the site of the dam, and remained in the family until operations of the dam halted traffic in 1934. Grandpa Seaton ran it himself until 1915, when his son-in-law, Charlie Dumas bought it; and 1922 or 1923, sold it to the younger Seaton son, Elmer (my dad). The Seaton children were Cora Lee, the eldest and a half sister of the others -- she married Washington Rinker, is living in Wenatchee -- is the mother of Wesley, Sam and Roy Rinker, two daughters living in Wenatchee, and another deceased, and Mrs. Jim Davis of Mansfield; Mrs. Bessie Dumas, her half sister lives in Wenatchee at present. She has two children, a son Baylis, at Odessa; a daughter, Mrs. Bud Coleman, Quincy. There was another son, who died as a young man. Next comes Sam Seaton, who lives at Seaton's Grove, and was involved in another ferry deal at the damsite. His children -- Mrs. Henry Taschereau, Coulee City; Clair Seaton; Mrs. Charles Manchester and a younger daughter, Patricia, who is married and lives over near Mansfield. My Dad, Elmer, was the youngest of the family -- I had one sister, Josef and Joanne's mother, who died in '47; my brother Frank, who lives at McGinnis Lake.
My Grandpa was an interesting character -- franchises for public conveyances and public transportation weren't in effect, I understand, during the days he operated the ferry, so, tho' he was a most respectable and worthy old
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gentleman, he was also independent and individualistic -- if he didn't like a person, that person couldn't cross on his ferry, and they could darn well go back home, or detour to the next nearest crossing! Two instances of which I've heard directly from those he refused to ferry were first, a difference of political opinions; and second "I've heard you drink sometimes (said Grandpa, probably truthfully!) and furthermore, you traded me a wind-broke horse -- If you want to cross this river, you can just go back to Keller."
As long as the ferry was in existence, Indians crossed for half fare -- and that came about through a little conference between Chief Moses and Grandpa Seaton -- Moses thought the Indians should cross free because they "owned half the river" and the north landing was on reservation land. Said Grandpa, "I'll take you over your half free, and then you get out and walk." Moses was amused -- Moses compromised -- as long as the ferry ran, Indians crossed half fare.
The next ferry downriver was the one at the dam site, put in as the Grant County Ferry, as a more convenient crossing for traffic from Coulee City to Nespelem and Omak, begun in 1919, opened to traffic in 1920, operated by Ethel Tschirgi's father for awhile, then in 1920 or 1921 by Sam Seaton, who bought it in 1934, after the enabling legislation for the Dam was passed.
Two miles downriver from Sam's ferry was Steveson Ferry, started by Sam Steveson in 1892, primarily as a sheep crossing from the Columbia Basin where many bands of sheep were wintered and then taken to summer pasture on the Okanogan highlands. Waite Steveson, who now lives near Grand Coulee, operated the ferry later -- I don't know when it was closed to traffic, but I think in the early or middle thirties. Waite also has a son, Orville Steveson, living near Grand Coulee, and a daughter, Mrs. Louis V. Miller, Lone Pine.
Next downriver was the Hopkins Ferry - 1902.
Ruth Kelley
The story of the Condon Ferry is told in the Wild Goose Bill Tale.
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