God now created the animal and plant life that was destroyed during the flood, with the exception of the raven and the dove, which the High Priests carried with them upon the raft. When the re-creation was made, God first made the white deer, then the red eagle, the same as in the first creation. He also placed the rain bow in the heavens as a promise to Gus-so-me and Haw-gon-ow, that he would never again destroy the people by flood, but if the people ever become so corrupt again He would destroy them with a great fire burning the world. When the Indians see the rainbow in the heavens, they always look upon it with the assurance that it is the promise of God, that He will destroy the world no more with rain. When the heavy rains fall they always say that it will not continue to rain very long, for the next time all the world will pass away in flames.
The Talth bring down the traditions that when they first arrived in this land, the white race which they found here were a highly moral race. They lived in peace and happiness and crimes were things unknown. With the passing of this white race, passed the age of innocence and peace.
Upon the arrival of the present white race, the Indians first believed that it was the ancient white people returning. The tribes rejoiced as they thought peace and happiness would reign again, for the Wa-gas had given them their faithful promise that they would some day return. Alas, the sad mistaken identity of these people for they were foreigners who took advantage of our hospitality, and soon wanted to claim the land of our forefathers. Crimes followed in their footsteps of extermination, together with race hatred has covered nearly sixty-five years of their annals. Worse than the shot and shell, it brought the pride of our race to their graves long ago. The introduction of whiskey brought desolation and ruin upon us, without an example story to tell. They ruined the splendid morals of our women, and led them to prostitution, which they had never known since the re-creation of our kingdom. They filled their bodies with loathsome disease that we had never known since the world began, and our Indian doctors gave up in despair for they could not find any cure for these diseases. When our loyal good men rose up and remonstrated against these outrages, these foreign white men were wont to abuse us and call us savages, and sent some of the tribes away to distant reservations to starve and die. They called our women “Squaws”, and our men “Bucks”. It seems they had an idea that we did not possess human souls, cherished with the human love of devotion. They claimed our lands and their historians termed us as, “the wild denizens of the forest,” as if we were foreigners in the remote ages of a vast antiquity. Fortune seekers, gamblers and cut-throats lived with our women in adultery until they grew weary of them and left them with children. Poor little children of their own flesh and blood, children without a birth and without a parent to legalize them as his own. The fathers of the animal kingdom are proud to fight for their young and will not abandon them, even in the jaws of death. Can such a class of people as this have a soul, when they have committed such outrages upon my people and have disgraced the living by their deeds? The origin of our race was proud, the proudest that ever walked the earth, and when these children find their pride forever robbed by no fault of their own, their proud hearts break down in the sorrowful years that follow, as their fallen parentage leads them to unhonored graves. Such sorrowful processions as these follow each other under the gloom of oppression. I have today looked among my tribe of the Po-lick-la’s and the Pech-ic-la’s and am deeply grieved to find but very few babies born of good pure blood, that is not tainted with the virus of venereal diseases. Where do these pathetic conditions arise? We are reluctant to point again to the white man. In some instances a large family of brothers and sisters do not know their true relationship. I dare say, perhaps each one came from a different father, and the father comes from God knows where, and has gone they know not where, but such a father will undoubtedly answer at the Throne of the Almighty God. I pray that God may have mercy upon such children who are left to suffer the disgrace of an unworthy parent. Today where the Klamath rears its regal monarchs of the forests, where it rears its lofty mountain peaks from its rugged shores, and mingles its waters with the Pacific Ocean, this glorious country once in its beauty and pride, I have scanned its hostage and find not one, whose birth will admit them to that holy lodge, not one who can burn its sacred fires at the sacred alter. The Talth are waiting ever, for no more will answer their piteous pleadings, to save and cherish a sublime religion. A precious few of the middle aged have the birth, but their morals in a larger sense, have been corrupted, their integrity has been undermined until they think a promise broken is better than a promise kept, therefore, while the world lasts they can never be admitted to this sacred lodge. Some of the ken-ne-ah men have been honest enough to wed our women under their laws, and some of them have married under both the white man’s and the Indian’s marriage laws. Most of these men have brought up large families, and the children from these unions, on an average, make men and women that the American nation might well be proud of.
The High Priests say today, that from their ancient teachings, and their ancient religion, that the corruption of the ken-ne-ah’s (whites) among themselves, and the demoralization of their own race, that the two races are becoming very wicked. Men and women alike use profane languages, men debauch their women into prostitution, the whiskey and wine from the saloons pierce the hearts of young men and women alike, breaking up the ties of peaceful homes, and tearing asunder the love of human hearts, thus leaving desolation as it goes on. The greed for riches by trickery and deception in general leads the Talth to believe very strongly, that ere long God will send the great conflagration that will consume all the world in flames, and that its people will pass away. Over their ashes God will create another people, where they will build their stately mansions, of the soul unto God. Over the ashes of the obliterated ages, will prosper a new people with new governments, and new laws, and the ages of peace and happiness will dawn again, shedding its radiance of glory over the entire world. Thus have prophesied our High Priests.
CHAPTER XV.
THE HIGH PRIESTS.
THE Talth are born under the highest marriages, and there has been at no time but very few of them, on account of the scarcity of cheek (money) to make the marriage. There had to be twelve pieces to make one string, (caw-ton-a) they count them only as ten pieces, and it makes twelve strings, so that when it is counted there will be one hundred and forty-four pieces. The woman that a Talth may marry does not have to be of a Talth family, but can be born of the middle or wealthy class. Her people can match back, or nearly so, in valuable articles for the twelve strings of cheek, that he gives. Under such a marriage as this there may be several children. Now if the mother and father are full blooded Klamath Indians, then their children are of the right birth, yet there may be one, and perhaps two of them, which is not often the case, that might be of the right disposition, close of tongue and bright of mind, so as to weigh all matters of whatsoever kind intelligently, giving a broad minded and liberal decision in any case. This applies the same, both to man and woman, and if all is satisfactory, either he or she, under the birth can be admitted to the Talth lodge, and sometimes they are taken through only one part and cannot go further, and sometimes they are taken through two parts and are not taken any further, and but few are taken through the whole and become a Talth. And no less a number than three can act in the lodge, and make a fourth to be a Talth. Now all these other children are of the high birth, and are put to act in many important places to fill at the festivals and in other ways. Many of them never make an application to become a Talth, and many of them are rejected, and not allowed to even make a start if their conduct is not proper. There never has been one born that is half white, or any part of any other tribe, that was ever admitted to the lodge. They must be full blooded Klamath, of the upper or lower division of the tribe, and down the coast from Ah-man to Trinidad. The upper rivers from the junction of the Trinity speak a different language, and intermarry very freely, and have the Talth lodge in which they work together. Up the river they have entirely lost it all now, and have not one lodge left. At the mouth of the Klamath the old lodge has tumbled down, but not one of the Talth is left. At Pec-wan, twenty-five miles from the mouth of the river is the Talth house, where all of their working tools are kept, and it is yet in a good state of preservation, the lodge is left but it is old the dilapidated.
We have in our breast the feeling of love for the present white race, which love was instilled in us by the cherished remembrance of our Wa-gas. We loved this race and this is the reason our women are so willing to marry the white man, and so easy to be deceived by them.