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The Oregon Motorist, _______________, OR., November 1929, page 12

THE STORY BEHIND THE SCENERY
Memaloose Illahee - The Land of the Dead
By Lulu D. Crandall

FOR COUNTLESS ages before the white man descended the placid current of the mid-Columbia River, the native tribes adjoining deposited their "mema-looses" on the rocky island in mid-stream, which we know as "Mema-loose Island" today. "Mernaloose" is the Chinook word for "dead." Here they laid their "memalooses" on a shelf in "dead-houses" above ground. These houses were built of boards split with stone imple-ments from pine or fir logs. The spring rise of the river each year cast up on the island such logs that came from the far reaches of the great Columbia, so that their building material was close at hand.
The Indian knew that his dead were safe on the island from any predatory animal. A "memaloose illahee" was also safe from invasion by any war-like tribe, for, who knew how many "spooks" might be encountered by the invader.
When a Wasco or Klickitat carried his "memalooses" to the island for their last long "moosum" (sleep,) he also left the earthly belongings of his relative to ease his way to the happy hunting ground and for his comfort and convenience thereafter. His buckskins, his buffalo robes, his bows and arrows, his stone implements and arrow points were a part of the sepulchre. These were found in great numbers after the invasion of the white man who was the first trespasser.
An eccentric pioneer of Wasco county, one who came early to Eastern Oregon, conceived the idea that when his time came to depart this life, he would join the throng at Memaloose Island, who would at the last day rise at the sound of the trumpet. Then he would fall in and pass through the gates into the city of the golden streets, and Saint Peter would never notice the pale face as he fol-lowed in their wake. His contention was that the Indian lived up to the light that he had and was entitled to a celestial home, while he being in their company, would not be denied admittance. It was his only chance to enter the holy city.
The invader was Victor Trevitt, pioneer, Mexican war veteran, newspaper man, politician, Indian war vet-eran and New England born. A native of New Hamp-shire, born on a farm that adjoined that of the great American statesman, Horace Greely, in 1827. As a boy he joined an uncle in the state of Ohio where he learned the printing business, and made his first contact with newspaper work. When the United States sent troops to Mexico, he enlisted and served through to its completion. He received a saber cut over an eye which gave it a slight cast. He emigrated to Oregon with a "covered wagon" train in 1851, and found himself at Oregon City, then the territorial capital and soon was employed on The Statesman. This was A. Bush's paper which was later moved to Salem along with the capitol. It is still one of the leading papers of the capitol city.
At the setting off of Wasco county in 1854, Trevitt saw the possibilities of Eastern Oregon and came to Fort Dalles. He filed a donation land claim adjoining the original townsite of Dalles City on which he laid off an addition under his own name. He was a leader in his political party, the Democratic party, and made their official slate for every election.
It is remembered of him that when he filed the plat of his city addition that the streets running north and south were not named. When his attention was called to it, he suggested that some be written in, seemingly a small matter to him.
This was during the troublous days prior to the Civil War when the first Republican campaign was on for Lincoln's first election, and the watch words of which were "Lincoln, Liberty and Union Forever." Trevitts Addi-tion joined Union street on the east and was already named. Lincoln and Liberty were added to the un-named streets and the slogan was complete.
Some Republican friend, thinking to play a great joke on his Democratic friend, slipped these historic words on the map, and so we have them today. Trevitt married late in life, the widow of Judge Frank Miller of Boise, who, it is said was his sweetheart before her mar-riage. Her name was Worty Hunt, also an early pioneer of The Dalles and where they had known each other. A few months after their marriage, they went to San Fran-cisco for change of climate as his health was much impaired. Here he died in January, 1883.
His wish, often expressed to his friends was carried out, to be placed on Memaloose Island among the Indians. His remains were shipped to The Dalles, and before arrangements could he made for a steamboat to bear the funeral cortege to the island, the river closed up suddenly and navigation for the time ceased. The remains were placed in a snow bank until a thaw, and the river opened. The Oregon Steam Navigation Com-pany, the predecessors of the present O.W.R. & N. Co., offered their fine passenger steamer, "Hassaloe" for the occasion and on a Sunday in February, a full comple-ment of friends, including the Masonic fraternity and the city brass band, accompanied the remains and with the impressive ritual of that order to which he belonged, all that was mortal of that most eccentric individual was left in the crypt of rock where he awaits the last call.
A granite monument of 13 feet was reared above the basalt house of 8 feet square, with a flight of three graduated steps between. About this decade the railroad was built, (now the O.W.R. & N. Co.,) and crews of construction camps made frequent visits to the island, and mans' valuable Indian curios were found and carried away. A group of relic hunters of an Ethnological Department of an eastern college, were among these who gathered up several gunny sacks of the thousands of bones and skulls which were bleaching and grinning in the sand and rocks under a blazing sun.
Hailing the up-streamer to The Dalles, the purser never having had a hail from "Memaloose" before, scarcely knew how to way-bill the odd consignment. Being a quick-witted steamboat man, he readily wrote in 'Klickitat, knocked down." Soon after the arrival of the boat at The Dalles the university relic hunters were in-formed that, the "knocked down Klickitats" must be returned to their former resting place on Memaloose Island, there forever to remain. That was Uncle Sam's order, that no Indian "Memaloose Illahee" should be disturbed.
It is said that after the white man's body was taken there, that the Indians never brought their dead there again, and some even removed theirs.
Bryant when he wrote his line, "Oregon that heard no sound save its own dashings, yet the dead are there," never knew how true a picture he drew of "Memaloose Illahee," and the Columbia River. In 1819 little was known of the Oregon country.
Only Lewis and Clark and the Astorians had been here, and Bryant's Oregon was ruled by the British flag.
Memaloose Island is in Wasco county, 75 miles east of Portland and 14 miles west of The Dalles on the Columbia River Highway. This very historic spot may be seen from the turn-out, called Memaloose Park, with the striking monument of the pioneer shining in the dis-tance up the river.
The island contains about 10 acres of land, with high rocky ledges in the center. The main channel of the river runs on the north side. During the high water sea-son, the steamboats often used the inside channel. The island is high enough above ordinary high water to clear the "dead-houses" until the unusual freshet of 1894, when the island was almost covered, and the grinning skulls and shining bones were all washed clear away. Now one may, after an unusually windy day, find in the sand a bear, a piece of flint arrow point, or a remnant of a bone that once belonged to an old Wasco or Klickitat brave.
The chaste marble monument of the eccentric white man on "Memaloose Illahee" excites more comment and speculation on the part of those who travel up and down the grand old Columbia than all other scenic spots or that of the snow-covered mountains or waterfalls that guard the sleeping dead, awaiting the last day.