Cheshiahud
Encyclopedia
Cheshiahud and his family on Lake Union
, Seattle, Washington in the 1880s are, along with Princess Angeline
, among the few late-19th century Dkhw'Duw'Absh (people of the Duwamish tribe
) about whom a little is known. In the University of Washington
(UW) Library image archives, he is called Chudups John or Lake Union John. His family were among the few of the Duwamish people who did not move from Seattle to the Port Madison Reservation
or other reservations. They lived on Portage Bay
, part of Lake Union, when a lyrical photo was taken around 1885. According to the Duwamish Tribe, Lake John had a cabin and potato patch at the foot of Shelby Street (either West Montlake Park
or Roanoke neighborhood, on Portage Bay
—sources are not specific). A commemorative plaque of unknown reliability is said to exist at the eastern foot of Shelby. This land was given to him by Seattle pioneer David Denny
or the property was purchased—see below. Photographer Orion O. Denny recorded Old Tom and Madeline, ca. 1904, further noted in the UW Library archives as Madeline and Old John, also known as Indian John or Cheshishon, who had a house on Portage Bay in the 1900s, south of what is now the UW campus although native
people had been prohibited from residence in Seattle since the mid 1860s.
In 1854, E. A. Clark owned “a pretentious two-story frame building” near Henry Yesler’s sawmill, which he called his “What-Cheer-House”. The house was located on the southwest corner of what is now First Avenue South at Yesler Way, in the heart of today's Pioneer Square
neighborhood. Although settlers were required to live on their claims for four years in order to receive title to them, many settlers whose claims were outside the growing village of Seattle maintained a second residence in town.
In 1852, John Harvey and E. A. Clark staked adjacent claims over the hill and across the valley on Clark's Prairie, the anthropogenic grassland
of the Xacuabš (the People of the Large Lake), who are thought to have had a village of two longhouses—khwaac'ál'al, which housed tens of people near a sacred place on adjacent Brighton Beach. These places are in what is now the Brighton
neighborhood. (See also History of Seattle before white settlement.) With his new location in town (and the village dispossessed), Clark became the county auditor and a justice of the peace
in 1855.
A traveler, James McCormick, was murder
ed on Lake Union in July, 1853, but the murder was not discovered until the following spring of 1854. Two Indians were lynched
for the murder, and Clark led an angry mob that hoped to hang a third young Indian accused (and later acquitted) of being involved in the murder; Sheriff Carson Boren
prevented the lynching. The young Indian who escaped Clark’s noose was later known as Cheshiahud or “Lake John”.
Legal real property by settlers did not begin until at least a pretense of agreement with natives was made with the 1859 ratification of the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott
.
In the fall and winter of 1855–1856, hostilities broke out between Indians urging resistance and the White American
settlers, primarily over discontent with the Point Elliott Treaty and other treaties enacted by Governor Isaac Stevens
in 1854–1855. These hostilities climaxed in the “Battle of Seattle
” in January 1856. Hostile Indians including Yakama
s and Klickiat
s from east of the Cascade mountains
assembled on Lake Washington, led by Yakama Chief Kamiakim and si'ab Lescay (Chief Leschi
), to stage an attack on Seattle. Many friendly Indians took refuge in town, including Cheshiahud. The settlers retreated to a blockhouse
on Elliott Bay
at the end of Cherry Street. Although the battle lasted only one day and had only two known fatalities, nearly every building in King County
outside the village of Seattle was burned, including the cabin and outbuildings of John Harvey and E. A. Clark, and the dam on the Black River
that had raised Lake Washington—the White population was in the hundreds at this time.
) in the 1870s, where they raised Jennie Davis (Janey Davis). The family later lived on the southwest lakeshore near or at SExt3i’tc1b (Bryn Mawr) until about 1880. He sold that property and bought land from David Denny, at the foot of Shelby Street on Portage Bay. Sbeilsdot died about 1885, but Cheshiahud lived for many years on Portage Bay with Tleboletsa. Their final years were spent in retirement at the Port Madison Reservation. In 1927, his daughter Jennie (Janey) provided a list of locations along Lake Washington that is a primary source of current knowledge about indigenous villages. Cheshiahud is buried at Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park
beside his first wife, Lucy.
Some Coast Salish
were passionately unwilling to leave their "usual and accustomed places" (a then-common phrase that had become a treaty term), to a degree that is nearly inconceivable to Whites today. The Duwamish people in what is now Seattle were (and are) no exception. Human habitation around Puget Sound
has been since the end of the last glacial period (c. 8,000 BCE—10,000 years ago), and definitively within what is now Seattle has been for at least 4,000 years. Much of the evidence within the city was destroyed with the aggressive civil engineering and construction of the late 19th century and well into the 20th. Archaeological excavations at what is now called West Point
in Discovery Park
, Magnolia
, confirm that the Seattle area has been peopled for at least 4,000 years and probably much longer.
Lake Union
Lake Union is a freshwater lake entirely within the Seattle, Washington city limits.-Origins:A glacial lake, its basin was dug 12,000 years ago by the Vashon glacier, which also created Lake Washington and Seattle's Green, Bitter, and Haller Lakes.-Name:...
, Seattle, Washington in the 1880s are, along with Princess Angeline
Princess Angeline
Princess Angeline , also known in Lushootseed as Kikisoblu, Kick-is-om-lo, or Wewick, was the eldest daughter of Chief Seattle. Born in what is now Rainier Beach in Seattle, Washington, she was named Angeline by Catherine Broshears Maynard, second wife of Seattle pioneer Doc Maynard...
, among the few late-19th century Dkhw'Duw'Absh (people of the Duwamish tribe
Duwamish (tribe)
The Duwamish are a Lushootseed Native American tribe in western Washington, and the indigenous people of metropolitan Seattle, where they have been living since the end of the last glacial period...
) about whom a little is known. In the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
(UW) Library image archives, he is called Chudups John or Lake Union John. His family were among the few of the Duwamish people who did not move from Seattle to the Port Madison Reservation
Port Madison Indian Reservation
The Port Madison Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in northern Kitsap County, Washington. It occupies 30.273 km² on the western and northern shores of Port Madison, and is divided into two separate parcels by Miller Bay. The unincorporated towns of Suquamish and Indianola both lie...
or other reservations. They lived on Portage Bay
Portage Bay
Portage Bay is an arm of Seattle, Washington's Lake Union and is part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal. Its western limit can be said to be the Ship Canal Bridge, which carries Interstate 5 over the water; North Passage Point Park and South Passage Point Park sit on opposite shores between the...
, part of Lake Union, when a lyrical photo was taken around 1885. According to the Duwamish Tribe, Lake John had a cabin and potato patch at the foot of Shelby Street (either West Montlake Park
West Montlake Park
West Montlake Park is a park in the Montlake neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. The park is bounded on the north by the Montlake Cut, on the west by Portage Bay, on the south by the Seattle Yacht Club marina, and on the east by West Park Drive E...
or Roanoke neighborhood, on Portage Bay
Portage Bay
Portage Bay is an arm of Seattle, Washington's Lake Union and is part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal. Its western limit can be said to be the Ship Canal Bridge, which carries Interstate 5 over the water; North Passage Point Park and South Passage Point Park sit on opposite shores between the...
—sources are not specific). A commemorative plaque of unknown reliability is said to exist at the eastern foot of Shelby. This land was given to him by Seattle pioneer David Denny
David Denny
David Thomas Denny was a member of the Denny Party, who are generally collectively credited as the founders of Seattle, Washington, USA. Though he ultimately underwent bankruptcy, he was a significant contributor to the shape of the city...
or the property was purchased—see below. Photographer Orion O. Denny recorded Old Tom and Madeline, ca. 1904, further noted in the UW Library archives as Madeline and Old John, also known as Indian John or Cheshishon, who had a house on Portage Bay in the 1900s, south of what is now the UW campus although native
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
people had been prohibited from residence in Seattle since the mid 1860s.
Before conquest
His story is typical of the relatively few natives remaining in Seattle after proscription; the rest moved or died of diseases brought to the region by people of European descent.In 1854, E. A. Clark owned “a pretentious two-story frame building” near Henry Yesler’s sawmill, which he called his “What-Cheer-House”. The house was located on the southwest corner of what is now First Avenue South at Yesler Way, in the heart of today's Pioneer Square
Pioneer Square, Seattle, Washington
Pioneer Square is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of Downtown Seattle, Washington, USA. It was once the heart of the city: Seattle's founders settled there in 1852, following a brief six-month settlement at Alki Point on the far side of Elliott Bay. The early structures in the neighborhood...
neighborhood. Although settlers were required to live on their claims for four years in order to receive title to them, many settlers whose claims were outside the growing village of Seattle maintained a second residence in town.
In 1852, John Harvey and E. A. Clark staked adjacent claims over the hill and across the valley on Clark's Prairie, the anthropogenic grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
of the Xacuabš (the People of the Large Lake), who are thought to have had a village of two longhouses—khwaac'ál'al, which housed tens of people near a sacred place on adjacent Brighton Beach. These places are in what is now the Brighton
Brighton, Seattle, Washington
Brighton is a neighborhood in south Seattle, Washington, part of the greater Rainier Valley district....
neighborhood. (See also History of Seattle before white settlement.) With his new location in town (and the village dispossessed), Clark became the county auditor and a justice of the peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
in 1855.
A traveler, James McCormick, was murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed on Lake Union in July, 1853, but the murder was not discovered until the following spring of 1854. Two Indians were lynched
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
for the murder, and Clark led an angry mob that hoped to hang a third young Indian accused (and later acquitted) of being involved in the murder; Sheriff Carson Boren
Carson Boren
Carson Dobbins Boren , was an early founder of Seattle, Washington . His sister Mary Ann was married to Arthur Denny, and his sister Louisa to David Denny. Boren was the first King County Sheriff...
prevented the lynching. The young Indian who escaped Clark’s noose was later known as Cheshiahud or “Lake John”.
Legal real property by settlers did not begin until at least a pretense of agreement with natives was made with the 1859 ratification of the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott
Treaty of Point Elliott
The Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855, or the Point Elliott Treaty,—also known as Treaty of Point Elliot / Point Elliott Treaty—is the lands settlement treaty between the United States government and the nominal Native American tribes of the greater Puget Sound region in the recently-formed...
.
In the fall and winter of 1855–1856, hostilities broke out between Indians urging resistance and the White American
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
settlers, primarily over discontent with the Point Elliott Treaty and other treaties enacted by Governor Isaac Stevens
Isaac Stevens
Isaac Ingalls Stevens was the first governor of Washington Territory, a United States Congressman, and a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War until his death at the Battle of Chantilly...
in 1854–1855. These hostilities climaxed in the “Battle of Seattle
Battle of Seattle (1856)
The Battle of Seattle was a January 26, 1856 attack by native Americans upon Seattle, Washington. At the time, Seattle was a settlement in the Washington Territory that had recently named itself after Chief Seattle , a leader of the Suquamish and Duwamish peoples of central Puget Sound.Backed by...
” in January 1856. Hostile Indians including Yakama
Yakama
The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, or simply Yakama Nation , is a Native American group with nearly 10,000 enrolled members, living in Washington. Their reservation, along the Yakima River, covers an area of approximately 1.2 million acres...
s and Klickiat
Klickitat Tribe
The Klickitat are a Native American tribe of the Pacific Northwest. A Shahaptian tribe, their eastern neighbors were the Yakama, who speak a closely related language. Their western neighbors were various Salishan and Chinookan tribes...
s from east of the Cascade mountains
Cascade Range
The Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...
assembled on Lake Washington, led by Yakama Chief Kamiakim and si'ab Lescay (Chief Leschi
Chief Leschi
Chief Leschi was chief of the Nisqually Native American tribe. He was hanged for murder in 1858, but exonerated in 2004.-Life:...
), to stage an attack on Seattle. Many friendly Indians took refuge in town, including Cheshiahud. The settlers retreated to a blockhouse
Blockhouse
In military science, a blockhouse is a small, isolated fort in the form of a single building. It serves as a defensive strong point against any enemy that does not possess siege equipment or, in modern times, artillery...
on Elliott Bay
Elliott Bay
Elliott Bay is the body of water on which Seattle, Washington, is located. A line drawn from Alki Point in the south to West Point in the north serves to mark the generally accepted division between the bay and the open sound...
at the end of Cherry Street. Although the battle lasted only one day and had only two known fatalities, nearly every building in King County
King County, Washington
King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population in the 2010 census was 1,931,249. King is the most populous county in Washington, and the 14th most populous in the United States....
outside the village of Seattle was burned, including the cabin and outbuildings of John Harvey and E. A. Clark, and the dam on the Black River
Black River (Duwamish River)
The Black River, also known as the Duwamish River, was a river in King County in the U.S. state of Washington. It drained Lake Washington until 1916 when the opening of the Lake Washington Ship Canal lowered the lake, causing the Black River to dry up...
that had raised Lake Washington—the White population was in the hundreds at this time.
After the conquest
After the short war, Cheshiahud became a friend of David Denny and was sometimes known as Denny John. Cheshiahud married Sbeilsdot or Lucy Annie; as a widower, he married Tleboletsa or Madeline. He appears to have lived at sa’tsakaL (what is now Mercer Slough of Kelsey Creek, southwest BellevueBellevue, Washington
Bellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle, it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. The population was 122,363 at the 2010 census.Downtown Bellevue is...
) in the 1870s, where they raised Jennie Davis (Janey Davis). The family later lived on the southwest lakeshore near or at SExt3i’tc1b (Bryn Mawr) until about 1880. He sold that property and bought land from David Denny, at the foot of Shelby Street on Portage Bay. Sbeilsdot died about 1885, but Cheshiahud lived for many years on Portage Bay with Tleboletsa. Their final years were spent in retirement at the Port Madison Reservation. In 1927, his daughter Jennie (Janey) provided a list of locations along Lake Washington that is a primary source of current knowledge about indigenous villages. Cheshiahud is buried at Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park
Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park
Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park originated in 1885. It is located on both sides of Aurora Avenue in Seattle, Washington, and occupies roughly . It is the largest cemetery in Seattle.-History:...
beside his first wife, Lucy.
Some Coast Salish
Coast Salish
Coast Salish languages are a subgroup of the Salishan language family. These languages are spoken by First Nations or Native American peoples inhabiting the territory that is now the southwest coast of British Columbia around the Strait of Georgia and Washington state around Puget Sound...
were passionately unwilling to leave their "usual and accustomed places" (a then-common phrase that had become a treaty term), to a degree that is nearly inconceivable to Whites today. The Duwamish people in what is now Seattle were (and are) no exception. Human habitation around Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
has been since the end of the last glacial period (c. 8,000 BCE—10,000 years ago), and definitively within what is now Seattle has been for at least 4,000 years. Much of the evidence within the city was destroyed with the aggressive civil engineering and construction of the late 19th century and well into the 20th. Archaeological excavations at what is now called West Point
West Point (Seattle)
West Point is the westernmost point in Seattle, Washington, USA, jutting into Puget Sound from the Magnolia neighborhood. It also marks the northern extent of Elliott Bay; a line drawn southeastward to Alki Point marks the western extent of the bay. At the point itself is the 1881 West Point...
in Discovery Park
Discovery Park (Seattle)
Discovery Park is a 534 acre park in the peninsular Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It is the city's largest public park and contains 11.81 miles of walking trails. United Indians of All Tribes' Daybreak Star Cultural Center is within the park's boundaries...
, Magnolia
Magnolia, Seattle, Washington
Magnolia is the second largest neighborhood of Seattle, Washington by area. It occupies a hilly peninsula northwest of downtown. Magnolia is isolated from the rest of Seattle, connected by road to the rest of the city by only three bridges over the tracks of the BNSF Railway: W. Emerson Place in...
, confirm that the Seattle area has been peopled for at least 4,000 years and probably much longer.