lO S.M rillSOMAN MiSCELLANKUL'S COLLECTIONS VOL. CJJ 



"Gentlemen: I li;iv<.' ])vvu orticially notified of yonr ;i])])ointnicnl as 

 'Commissioners to neyotiale treaties with the several IncHan trihes 

 in the Territory of Oregon, for the extinguishment of their claims 

 to lands lying west of the Cascade Mountains, under the act of 5th 

 June last' ; and am directed by the Hon. Secretary of the Interior to 

 prepare appropriate instructions for your observance in the discharge 

 of the duties of your office." The region was briefly described, the 

 tribes were mentioned in a vague manner, and the letter then con- 

 tinued : "It will probably be best for you to treat first with the 

 Indians in the white settlements, particularly in the Willammette 

 Valley — and to treat separately with each tribe ..." 



Evidently the three commissioners were active during the ensuing 

 months. In a j(jint communication to the Commissioner of Indian 

 Atfairs, dated Champoly, April 19, 185 1," they transmitted (p. 205) : 

 "a treaty concluded, on the i6th instant, with the Santian band of 

 the Callapooya tribe of Indians, l)y which they cede to the United 

 States a portion of the Willamette valley, about eighty miles in 

 length and about twenty in width. And also a treaty, concluded this 

 day, with the Twallalty band of the same tribe, including a country 

 about fifty miles in length and about thirty in width . . . Their 

 numbers are, of the Santian band, 155, and of the Twallaltys, 65." 



Gibbs was associated with the Commissioners when the treaties 

 were made. 



Among the Gibbs material in the Bureau of /Vmerican Ethnology, 

 Smithsonian Institution, is a manuscript designating where and when 

 he prepared many of the vocabularies. One record is of interest at 

 this time as it refers to events at Champoeg in April 185 1 : '" 



Kalapiiya. — Mj^ own vocabulary of this language was obtained April 4, 1851. 

 while the Commission was engaged in a treaty with them at Champoeg. It 

 is of the Si-yam-il, or as generally called Yamhill band, living on the river of 

 that name, which empties into the Willamet from the coast range. The Twallatys 

 (Twalati), and the Luckamukes (Luk-a-mai-yuk) speak the same dialect. The 

 Santiam band, on the east side of the Wilamet, a rather different one. It was 

 given by Thomas and Antoine, Chiefs. 



Hlolelc. — Obtained at the same place. This was received from an Indian of 

 the band inhabiting the upper waters of the Santiam. 



Alany drawings were made at this time, four of which are now 

 reproduced. Others show different parts of the valley as it appeared 

 during the spring of 185 1. 



"In Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs . . . 1851. Wash- 

 ington, 1 85 1. 

 "• Bur. Amer. Ethnoi. Manuscript Catalog No. 742. 



