Misplaced Pages

#951048

36-573: The Link River is a short river connecting Upper Klamath Lake to Lake Ewauna in the city of Klamath Falls in the U.S. state of Oregon . Draining a basin of 3,810 square miles (9,900 km), the river begins at the southern end of Klamath Lake and flows a short distance to the Link River Dam and continues 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the head of Lake Ewauna. The "falls" from which Klamath Falls derives its name, and which in reality are best described as rapids rather than falls, are visible

72-644: A point on the Oregon Trail near Fort Hall, Idaho , and the Willamette Valley in western Oregon. The new route was created to encourage European-Americans to come to western Oregon, and to eliminate the hazards encountered on the Columbia Route. Since the Hudson's Bay Company controlled the Columbia Route, development of an alternate route enabled migration even if there was trouble between

108-659: A reservation. The treaty provided that if the Indians drank or stored intoxicating liquor on the reservation, the payments could be withheld and that the United States could locate additional tribes on the reservation in the future. The treaty required that the Modoc surrender their lands near Lost River, Tule Lake, and Lower Klamath Lake in exchange for lands in the Upper Klamath Valley. They did so, under

144-602: A short distance below the dam, though the water flow is generally insufficient to provide water flow over the rocks. The Klamath River begins at the narrow southern end of Lake Ewauna and flows 253 miles (407 km) from there to the Pacific Ocean. Before settlers came to the Klamath Basin , the Link River was known to the local Klamaths as Yulalona, meaning "back and forth." At times, strong winds blew

180-607: A supply of lake waters for their operations. As of 2003, the FWS was monitoring the lake regularly due to water shortfalls, which endangered both fish in the lake and salmon in the Klamath River. The future uses of Klamath Lake are of national interest because of competing claims between farmers' property rights (supported by federal subsidies and programs) and larger environmental goals. Modoc people The Modoc are an Indigenous American people who historically lived in

216-542: A total of about 500 Modoc. In 1846, the population may have included "perhaps 600 warriors (an overestimate, probably)". Until the 19th century, when European explorers first encountered the Modoc, like all Plateau Indians , they caught salmon during salmon runs and migrated seasonally to hunt and gather other food. In winter, they built earthen dugout lodges shaped like beehives, covered with sticks and plastered with mud, near lake shores with reliable sources of seeds from aquatic wokas plants and fishing. In addition to

252-523: Is fed by a watershed of 3,768 square miles (9,760 km ) including the Williamson and Wood Rivers , and is drained by the Klamath River (known here as the Link River ), which issues from the south end of the lake. The lake is connected by a short channel to the smaller Agency Lake to the north. The Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge has been established on land along the northern edge of

288-501: Is responsible for protecting and maintaining sucker populations in the lake. In 1988, the FWS placed the Lost River sucker and the shortnose sucker ( Catostomidae ) on the federal endangered species list; the numbers of the two formerly abundant Upper Klamath Lake fish species had sharply fallen due to the decline in water quality. As a result, the government abandoned a planned dredging project, which would have further damaged

324-731: The Lost River of the Goġewa·s or Lower Lost River People Band. The Modoc have also been known as the Modok (Brandt and Davis-Kimball xvi). In the 1820s, Peter Skene Ogden , an explorer for the Hudson's Bay Company , established trade with the Klamath people north of the Modoc. Brothers Jesse and Lindsay Applegate , accompanied by 13 other white settlers, established the Applegate Trail , or South Emigrant Trail, in 1846. It connected

360-610: The United States Bureau of Reclamation (BOR)'s Link River Dam as part of the Klamath Reclamation Project , to supply irrigation waters to support agriculture in the upper Klamath Basin. The original timber crib dam was replaced by a more permanent concrete structure in 1921. Prior to the 20th century, the lake was surrounded by widespread marshes and wetlands, which supported fish, birds and wildlife, as well as protecting water quality in

396-402: The "often foul smelling waters" of the lake, and the Applegate Trail was purposely routed away from the lake because the water was "so bad that it might be too dangerous for livestock to drink late in the season". Starting in the mid-1800s, the valleys both north and south of Upper Klamath were settled and developed for agriculture. Since 1917, the water level in the lake has been regulated by

SECTION 10

#1732765910952

432-624: The California government approved it. In 1870 Kintpuash (also called Captain Jack) led a band of Modoc to leave the reservation and return to their traditional homelands. They built a village near the Lost River. These Modoc had not been adequately represented in the treaty negotiations and wished to end the harassment by the Klamath on the reservation. In November 1872, the U.S. Army

468-656: The Klamath, with whom they shared a language and the Modoc Plateau , the groups neighboring the Modoc home were: The Modoc, Northern Paiute, and Achomawi shared Goose Lake Valley . The known Modoc village sites are Agawesh, where Willow Creek enters Lower Klamath Lake , of the Gombatwa·s or Lower Klamath Lake People Band; Kumbat and Pashha on the shores of Tule Lake of the Pasganwa·s or Tule Lake People Band; and Wachamshwash and Nushalt-Hagak-ni on

504-608: The Modoc War. The federal government officially recognized the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma in 1978, and its constitution was approved in 1991. Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially. James Mooney put the aboriginal population of the Modoc at 400. Alfred L. Kroeber estimated the Modoc population within California as 500 at the year 1770. University of Oregon anthropologist Theodore Stern suggested that there had been

540-581: The Modoc on the Lost River, but most agree that Wright planned to ambush them, which he did in November 1852. Wright and his forces attacked, killing approximately 40 Modoc, in what came to be known as the "Ben Wright Massacre." The United States, the Klamath, the Modoc, and the Yahooskin band of Snake tribes signed a treaty in 1864 that established the Klamath Reservation . It required

576-532: The Modoc territory. Beginning in 1847, the Modoc raided the invading emigrants on the Applegate Trail under the leadership of Old Chief Schonchin. In September 1852, the Modoc destroyed an emigrant train at Bloody Point on the east shore of Tule Lake , killing all but three of the 65 people in the party. The Modoc took two young girls as captives. One or both of them may have been killed several years later by jealous Modoc women. The only man to survive

612-513: The Stronghold and began to splinter. Kintpuash and his group were the last to be captured, on June 4, 1873, when they voluntarily gave themselves up. U.S. government personnel had assured them that their people would be treated fairly and the warriors would be allowed to live on their own land. The U.S. Army tried, convicted and executed Kintpuash and three of his warriors in October 1873 for

648-639: The United States and the United Kingdom. The Applegate brothers became the first known white people in present-day Lava Beds National Monument . The opening of the Applegate Trail appeared to bring the first regular contact between the Modoc and the European-American settlers, who had largely ignored their territory before. Many of the events of the Modoc War took place along the trail. From 1846 to 1873, thousands of emigrants entered

684-440: The area for long, instead moving south to tributaries of the Klamath River in search of beaver. Animosity between American immigrants and Native Americans led to armed conflicts. In 1846, a military expedition led by John C. Frémont and Kit Carson were attacked by Native American warriors near Upper Klamath Lake. In revenge, Frémont and Carson's party attacked a local village, killing fourteen people. As more settlers entered

720-857: The area which is now northeastern California and central Southern Oregon . Currently, they include two federally recognized tribes , the Klamath Tribes in Oregon and the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma , now known as the Modoc Nation . The Modoc, like the neighboring Klamath , spoke dialectic varieties of the Klamathan/Lutuamian language , a branch of the Plateau Penutian language family . Both peoples called themselves maklaks , meaning "people". To distinguish between

756-480: The attack made his way to Yreka, California . After hearing his news, Yreka settlers organized a militia under Sheriff Charles McDermit, Jim Crosby, and Ben Wright. They went to the scene of the massacre to bury the dead and avenge their deaths. Crosby's party had a skirmish with a band of Modoc and returned to Yreka. Wright and a small group stayed on to avenge the deaths. He was a notorious Indian hater. Accounts differ as to what took place when Wright's party met

SECTION 20

#1732765910952

792-487: The federal Klamath Project for irrigation by local farmers for a century. The lake depth fluctuates due to regulation of its water supply, averaging between 8 and 50 feet (2.4 and 15.2 m) deep. The lake level is kept within 4,137 to 4,143 ft (1,261 to 1,263 m) above sea level to ensure a viable fishery in the lake and to protect coho salmon in the Klamath River below the lake. Upper Klamath Lake

828-495: The lake (largely Aphanizomenon flos-aquae ). The algae blooms turn the water an opaque green in the summer and reduce the opportunity for recreational uses of the lake. State standards for dissolved oxygen are routinely violated, meaning that fish are endangered. The lake is still a vital stop for waterfowl along the Pacific Flyway , and is known for its rainbow trout fishery. The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)

864-426: The lake to preserve natural habitat. Upper Klamath Lake is the largest remnant of Lake Modoc , a giant pluvial lake that existed in the region until about 10,000 years ago. At its largest, Lake Modoc covered over 1,000 square miles (2,600 km ), joining Upper Klamath, Lower Klamath , and Tule Lakes, as well as all of the major wetlands in the upper Klamath River basin, into a contiguous body of water. The lake

900-457: The lake. Much of these important habitats were drained to be converted to cultivated farmland, as farmers did not understand the value of the wetlands for the environment. The lake is naturally eutrophic , due to a high concentration of nutrients. In the 20th century, the augmentation of nutrients by agricultural runoff from the surrounding farming valley has caused the lake to become hypereutrophic , resulting in blue-green algae blooms over

936-591: The lands to the south of Upper Klamath Lake, around the Lower Klamath and Tule lakes. The first recorded persons of European descent to visit Upper Klamath Lake were a party of Hudson's Bay Company fur trappers commanded by Peter Skene Ogden in December 1826. Ogden called the lake "Dog Lake", after obtaining nine dogs from the local Klamaths for food. They explored the lake and the Klamath River headwaters, helped by native guides. However, they did not stay in

972-402: The leadership of Chief Schonchin. The Indian agent estimated the total population of the three tribes at about 2,000 when the treaty was signed. The land of the reservation did not provide enough food for both the Klamath and the Modoc peoples. Illness and tension between the tribes increased. The Modoc requested a separate reservation closer to their ancestral home, but neither the federal nor

1008-445: The murder of Major General Edward Canby earlier that year at a parley. Canby had violated agreements made with the Modoc. The Army sent the rest of the band to Oklahoma as prisoners of war with Scarfaced Charley as their chief. The tribe's spiritual leader, Curley Headed Doctor , was also forced to remove to Indian Territory . In the 1870s, Peter Cooper brought Indians to speak to Indian rights groups in eastern cities. One of

1044-748: The path of the Klamath . The shared tribal government of the Klamath, Modoc and Yahooskin in Oregon is known as the Klamath Tribes . Two hundred Modoc live in Oklahoma on a small reservation in Ottawa County, Oklahoma , that the federal government purchased for them. Originally they were placed on the Quapaw Indian Reservation in Oklahoma's far northeast corner. They are descendants of the band Captain Jack ( Kintpuash ) led during

1080-674: The region, the Modoc people resisted by raiding parties along the South Emigrant Trail, which passed through the Klamath River Valley south of Upper Klamath Lake. In 1873, the Native Americans were defeated in the Modoc War , and were relocated to a reservation on the north side of the lake. Being naturally eutrophic , the lake has been known since early times for its poor water quality. Frémont noted

1116-472: The tribes to cede the land bounded on the north by the 44th parallel , on the west and south by the ridges of the Cascade Mountains , and on the east by lines touching Goose Lake and Henley Lake back up to the 44th parallel. In return, the United States was to make a lump sum payment of $ 35,000, and annual payments totaling $ 80,000 over 15 years, as well as provide infrastructure and staff for

Link River - Misplaced Pages Continue

1152-635: The tribes, the Modoc called themselves Moatokni maklaks , from muat meaning "South". The Achomawi , a band of the Pit River tribe , called them Lutuami , meaning "Lake Dwellers". About 600 Modoc live in Klamath County, Oregon , in and around their ancestral homelands. This group includes those who stayed on the reservation during the Modoc War , as well as the descendants of those who chose to return in 1909 to Oregon from Indian Territory in Oklahoma or Kansas. Since that time, many have followed

1188-501: The water quality. The project was to dredge a deeper navigation channel from one end of the lake to the other; it was planned between several government agencies and Aqua Farm's Inc. A drought in the summer of 2001 heightened environmental concerns about the lake. The BOR stopped withdrawing irrigation water for the Klamath Project in order to protect the sucker population. The farming community protested, as they depended on

1224-429: The water upstream into Klamath Lake and partly drained the riverbed. After its founding in 1867, Klamath Falls was originally named Linkville. The name was changed to Klamath Falls in 1892–93. Upper Klamath Lake In the early 20th century, most of the wetlands and marshes surrounding the lake were drained for agricultural purposes, damaging the larger habitat. The lake's water has been used to support

1260-522: Was more than ten times the size of present-day Upper Klamath Lake and sat nearly 100 feet (30 m) higher in elevation. Lake Modoc disappeared at the end of the Pleistocene due to a warming and drying climate. The region around Upper Klamath Lake and the Williamson, Sprague and Wood rivers to the north of the lake were originally inhabited by the Klamath people . The Modoc people inhabited

1296-407: Was sent to Lost River to attempt to force Kintpuash's band back to the reservation. A battle broke out, and the Modoc escaped to what is called Captain Jack's Stronghold in what is now Lava Beds National Monument , California . The band of fewer than 53 warriors was able to hold off the 3,000 U.S. Army troops for several months, defeating them in combat several times. In April 1873, the Modoc left

#951048