NAMES OF PLACES AND CHIEFS IN CLATSOP COUNTY.
Tle-las-qua—Knappa.
Se-co-mee-tsiuc—Tongue Point.
O-wa-pun-pun—Smith’s Point.
Kay-ke-ma-que-a—On John Day’s River.
Kil-how-a-nak-kle—A point on Young’s River.
Nee-tul—A point on Lewis and Clark River.
Ne-ahk-al-toun-al-the—A point on west side of Young’s Bay, near Sunnymead.
Skip-p-er-nawin—A point at mouth of Skipanon Creek.
Ko-na-pee—A village near Hotel Flavel, where the first white man in Oregon, Konapee, lived.
Ne-ahk-stow—A large Indian village near Hammond.
Ne-ah-keluc—A large Indian village at Point Adam’s, name signifying “Place of Okeluc,” or, where the Okeluc is made; “Okeluc” being salmon pemmican.
E-will-tsil-hulth—A high sand hill, or broken end of a sea ridge, facing the sea beach about west of the “Carnahan” place, meaning steep hill.
E-wil-nes-culp—A flat-topped hill against the beach about west of the “West” place, meaning “Hill cut off.”
Ne-ah-ko-win—Village on the beach about west of the “Morrison” place, where the Ohanna Creek once discharged into the ocean.
Ne-ah-coxie—Village at the mouth of Neacoxie Creek.
Ne-co-tat—Village at Seaside.
Ne-hay-ne-hum—Indian lodge up the Necanicum Creek.
Ne-ahk-li-paltli—A place near Elk Creek where an edible plant, the Eckutlipatli, was found.
Ne-kah-ni—A precipice overlooking the ocean, meaning the abode of Ekahni, the supreme god; called “Carnie Mountain” by the whites.
Ne-tarts—Netarts.
Nestucca.
Tlats-kani—A point in Nehalem Valley reached either by way of Young’s River, or the Clatskanie; and hence the name “Claskanine” for the branch of Young’s River, and “Clatskanie” for the stream above Westport. In saying “tlastani,” the Indians meant neither of those streams, but merely the place where they were going to or coming from; but with usual carelessness the whites applied it to both.
There were two lakes on Clatsop plains, one of which was called O-mo-pah, Smith’s Lake: and the other, much larger, Ya-se-ya-ma-na-la-tslas-tie, which now goes by the name of an Indian, Oua-i-cul-li-by, or simply Culliby.
The name of Cape Hancock was Wa-kee-tle-he-igh; Ilwaco, Comcomby, Chenamas, Skamokoway, Kobaiway, Tostam, and Totilhum, were chiefs.
These chiefs’ names illustrate some of the peculiarities of Indian pronunciation. Kobaiway, who was the Clatsop chief when Lewis and Clark came, was called by them Comowool; Tostam was sometimes called Tostab; and Totilhum, “a powerful man of the people,” had the Columbia River called after him by some whites. Seeing some Indians coming down the great stream with camas, etc., they asked where they obtained this: “From Totilhum,” was the reply; meaning that they had been on a visit to the chief. Then thinking they had made a great discovery, the whites announced that the Columbia was called Totilhum. Totilhum was chief of the Cathlamets, who originally had their village on the Oregon side, near Clifton.