Neahkahnie Mountain
Encyclopedia
Neahkahnie Mountain is a mountain on the Oregon Coast
, north of Manzanita
in Oswald West State Park
overlooking U.S. Route 101
. The peak is part of the Northern Oregon Coast Range
, which is part of the Oregon Coast Range
. Neah-Kah-Nie in the Tillamook language
can be translated as "the place of the supreme deity."
of crossing Neahkahnie Mountain into the Tillamook valley is part of the plot of Don Berry
's novel Trask.
A legend, dating back to the mid-1800s and the first Hudson's Bay Co. employees to arrive in the area, claims the mountain conceals a lost treasure, hidden by Spanish sailors in the late 16th century. There are various versions of the legend, but the most common ones involve a group of sailors carrying a chest up the hillside, then digging a hole and lowering the treasure inside. As the story goes, one of the sailors then plunges his sword into one of the men with them, apparently an African slave, and his body was then thrown in on top of the treasure; the idea being, Native Americans would not disturb a man's grave, so keeping the treasure under a dead man would prevent the Native Americans—who, in most versions of the story were watching the activity closely from nearby—from digging it up.
The "lost treasure," subject of the 2006 movie Tillamook Treasure
, has been searched for by hundreds of people over the years, some resorting to earth-moving equipment and others digging by hand. During the 1930s, two treasure hunters died when their excavation caved in on them.
Digging for treasure is prohibited on the portions of the mountain that are in the control of the Oregon Parks Service and is also prohibited on the beach, also part of the Oregon State parks. Some artifacts of possibly Spanish origin have been found on the mountain; notably, in the 1870s, a collection of stones with arrows marked on them and one with the letters D E W on it found by treasure hunter Pat Smith. But no treasure or evidence of treasure is known to have been found.
Spanish ships might have come to the area by the 16th century. Ships using the Manila galleon
trade route usually made landfall on the southern California coast, but it is possible some made landfall as far north as Oregon. The 1543 voyage of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo
reached California and, under Bartolomé Ferrelo
, might have reached the Oregon coast.
The 1774 voyage of Juan Pérez
was the first European voyage to have unquestionably reached the Oregon coast.
Oregon Coast
The Oregon Coast is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It runs generally north-south along the Pacific Ocean, forming the western border of the state; the region is bounded to the east by the Oregon Coast Range. The Oregon Coast stretches approximately from the Columbia River in the north to...
, north of Manzanita
Manzanita, Oregon
Manzanita is a coastal city in Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. It is located on U.S. Route 101 about 25 miles south of Seaside and 25 miles north of Tillamook. The population was 564 as of the 2000 census.-History:...
in Oswald West State Park
Oswald West State Park
Oswald West State Park is part of the state park system of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located about south of the city of Cannon Beach, on the Pacific Ocean. Oswald West has unique walk-in access, with wheelbarrows provided by the parks system for transporting gear from the parking area to the...
overlooking U.S. Route 101
U.S. Route 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101, is an important north–south U.S. highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States...
. The peak is part of the Northern Oregon Coast Range
Northern Oregon Coast Range
The Northern Oregon Coast Range is the northern section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, located in the northwest portion of the state of Oregon, United States. This section of the mountain range, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, contains peaks as high...
, which is part of the Oregon Coast Range
Oregon Coast Range
The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, in the U.S. state of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean...
. Neah-Kah-Nie in the Tillamook language
Tillamook language
Tillamook is an extinct Salishan language, formerly spoken by the Tillamook people in northwestern Oregon, United States. The last fluent speaker is believed to have died in the 1970s; between 1965 and 1972, in an effort to prevent the language being destroyed, a group of researchers from the...
can be translated as "the place of the supreme deity."
History
The challenge faced by Elbridge TraskElbridge Trask
Elbridge Trask was an American fur trapper and mountain man in the Oregon Country. Immortalized by a series of modern historical novels by Don Berry, he is best known as an early white settler along Tillamook Bay on the coast of the U.S. state of Oregon.-Biography:He was born in Beverly,...
of crossing Neahkahnie Mountain into the Tillamook valley is part of the plot of Don Berry
Don Berry (author)
Don Berry was an American artist and author best known for his historical novels about early settlers in the Oregon Country.He was born in Minnesota but moved to Oregon as a young man and came to think of himself as a native of that state. He attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon...
's novel Trask.
A legend, dating back to the mid-1800s and the first Hudson's Bay Co. employees to arrive in the area, claims the mountain conceals a lost treasure, hidden by Spanish sailors in the late 16th century. There are various versions of the legend, but the most common ones involve a group of sailors carrying a chest up the hillside, then digging a hole and lowering the treasure inside. As the story goes, one of the sailors then plunges his sword into one of the men with them, apparently an African slave, and his body was then thrown in on top of the treasure; the idea being, Native Americans would not disturb a man's grave, so keeping the treasure under a dead man would prevent the Native Americans—who, in most versions of the story were watching the activity closely from nearby—from digging it up.
The "lost treasure," subject of the 2006 movie Tillamook Treasure
Tillamook Treasure
Tillamook Treasure, also known as The Legend of Tillamook's Gold, is a 2006 U.S. independent family film set in the city of Manzanita, Oregon...
, has been searched for by hundreds of people over the years, some resorting to earth-moving equipment and others digging by hand. During the 1930s, two treasure hunters died when their excavation caved in on them.
Digging for treasure is prohibited on the portions of the mountain that are in the control of the Oregon Parks Service and is also prohibited on the beach, also part of the Oregon State parks. Some artifacts of possibly Spanish origin have been found on the mountain; notably, in the 1870s, a collection of stones with arrows marked on them and one with the letters D E W on it found by treasure hunter Pat Smith. But no treasure or evidence of treasure is known to have been found.
Spanish ships might have come to the area by the 16th century. Ships using the Manila galleon
Manila Galleon
The Manila galleons or Manila-Acapulco galleons were Spanish trading ships that sailed once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean between Manila in the Philippines, and Acapulco, New Spain . The name changed reflecting the city that the ship was sailing from...
trade route usually made landfall on the southern California coast, but it is possible some made landfall as far north as Oregon. The 1543 voyage of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was a Portuguese explorer noted for his exploration of the west coast of North America on behalf of Spain. Cabrillo was the first European explorer to navigate the coast of present day California in the United States...
reached California and, under Bartolomé Ferrelo
Bartolomé Ferrelo
Bartolomé Ferrelo, also known as Bartolomé Ferrer, born 1499 in Bilbao Spain, died 1550 in Mexico.He was the pilot for Juan Rodrigo Cabrillo, the Portuguese captain who was sent by the viceroy of Mexico, with two ships in 1542 to explore what is now Northern California...
, might have reached the Oregon coast.
The 1774 voyage of Juan Pérez
Juan José Pérez Hernández
Juan José Pérez Hernández , often simply Juan Pérez, was an 18th century Spanish explorer. He was the first European to sight, examine, name, and record the islands near present-day British Columbia, Canada...
was the first European voyage to have unquestionably reached the Oregon coast.