THE ATSOOKA'-AN FAMILY

NO. 3 PIT

RIVER TRIBES MERRIAM

₃₅ Geographic

Names

used by

the Ham-mah'-we

Crooks Canyon,west of Likely Soo'-dah pe-da'-ge BlueLakethree milessouth of Jess Valley and

fiveeastof forks of

West

Creek Tes-ahp'-te

Eagle Lake As-soo-soo' kah'-te

Eagle Peakof

Warner Range

Wah'-dok-tsoo'-ge FitzhughCreekninemilesnorth of Likely Tan'-no-hum'-jah

Small hillsouth of Fitzhugh Creek Yahch-poo'-mah

Grasshopper Valley , At'-too-um-wah'

Horse Lake Tahs'-teat'-wum

(slurred, Tahs-taht'-wum)

Hot

Spring on South Fork Pit River east of

Likely Te'-mahkahtch'-hit

IndianReservation about four miles southeast of

Likely Choo-loo'-ko'-pe

Lava

hills (sagebrush and juniper) south of

IndianReservation Ko-pah'-ko

Pointedpeaksouth of Reservation Ten'-ne-heu'-it

Likely Valley Doo-loo'-ko'-be

Madeline Plains Sel-lat'-too-um

Sagebrush HoleorBasin Pah'-tahlahts ah'-mit Signal Butte twomiles northFitzhugh Creek..San-kow'-ja

Snowstorm

Mt.on

Piute-Hammahwe

boundary

(probably

McDonald

Peak) Choos'-Ieu ah'-ko

South ForkPitRiver Do-lu'-ko'-be

;

Doo-loo'-ko'-be; or Tu-lo-ko'-be

Warren

Peak, locally called

Buck Mt

Tahk'-tah-ga'-wah

Smallbutteateastbase

Warren

Peak Itch'-it

36 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOL.

78 THE AT-SOO-KA'-E TRIBE

Plates2.2

and

22,

The

At-soo-ka'-e, or

Hat Creek

tribe, inhabit the

country north

of

Mt. Lassen from Lassen Peak

toa mile or a mile

and

a half north of Cassel postoffice.

The ^{northern boundary, beginning}

at the

southwest

corner of

Goose

Valley,

runs

easterly for

about 4

miles (skirting the south

edge

ofthis valleya little

more than

a mile

north

of the latitudeof

Burney) and then

turns

north

to

Lookout Mountain

(a

peak

inthe ridge

between Goose and Burney

Valleys

4^

^miles

north

of

Burney

postoffice)

where

it

bends

abruptly east, following apparently

a

straightlinefor16 miles to the pass

between Bald Mountain and

the hill

immediately north

of it,

whence

it turns abruptly southeast,

becoming

the eastern

boundary and

continuingin the

same

direction ina straightline for 19 or

20

milestotheeast sideof

Grass

Valley,

where

it

changes

tosouthwest, passing

Poison Lake and

reaching the lava

mountains about

12 miles east of

Lassen Peak. The western boundary, from

the

headwaters

of

Montgomery

Creek,

runs

southerly

along

thecrestof the

northern

Sierra

Nevada

for

about

10 miles to

Snow Mountain, where

it turns southeast

and

continues for

about 24

^miles,

by way

of the

west

sideof

Bunch Grass Valley and Noble

Pass, to

Lassen Peak.

The

territory of the At-soo-kd'-e thus includes the greater part of

Burney

Valley,the

whole

of

Burney

Butte,

Tamarack, McGee and

Crater Peaks,

Bald Mountain on

the northeast.

Bunch Grass

Valley

on

the west,

Grass

Valley

on

the east, theentire

drainage

basins of

Lost Creek and

of

Burney and Hat Creeks

except a

few

miles of their

lower

courses

near

Pit River, a multitude of small lakes,

and

the

tremendous

lava ridgesthat

spread

northerly

from Mt.

Lassen.

Itis

an

exceedingly

mountainous country strewn with

lava

and

beset

with

lofty extinct volcanoes.

The

greater part is forested

with

coniferoustrees

intermixed with

oaks, and, strange to say,

with an

isolatedarea of

Digger

pines

(Pinns

sabiniana)

which extends from about

3 miles

west

of Cassel

on Hat Creek

easterly for 16 milestoa point

on

the

west

side of

Beaver Creek

Valley 3 miles east of the east

base

of

Bald Mt. (which

ispartlyclothed

with Ponderosa

pines).

East

of the

narrow

valleyof

Beaver Creek

^the

Digger

pines continue to the

rim

of the

deep canyon

ofthe

Great South Loop

of Pit River, thus penetrating well into the^territoryof the

Ap-woo-ro-kae. On

the

north

they cross Pit

River immediately west

of Fall

River

IMills

and

reach their

northern

limit

4

^or

4^

miles

beyond,

there entering the

NO. 3 PIT

RIVER TRIBES MERRIAM 37

territory ofthe

A-choo'-mah^-wc. This

forest isof

unusual

interest, consisting

not

only of

Digger and Ponderosa

pines, but also of

an abundance

of large junipers,

and

of

mountain mahogany

of

both

desert

and

California species,

and

including

among

the

shrubs such

subarid species as

redbud, aromatic sumac,

servisberry,

mountain manzanita, and

in places sagebrush.

Contrasted with

this

rock strewn

forestareaisthe

Valley

of

Hat

Creek,

a deep

swiftly flowing

stream bordered by

grassy

meadows and marshes

fed

by numerous

springs,

some

of largesize.

The

Aif-soo-ka'-e are in contact

with seven

tribes: the Nos'-se or

Yah'-nah on

the

west and

southwest, the

Mo-des'-se on

thenorth- west, the To-mal-lin' -che-nwi',

Il-mah'-we and A-choo' -mah'

-tve

on

the north, the related Ap-zvoo'-ro-kd^e

on

theeast,the

Mi'duan No-to-

koi'-yo

on

the south.

Names

used by

the

At'-soo-ka'-e for

Themselves and Other

Tribes

Related tribes:

Ahk-koo'-e.

—

^TribeinBigValley [At-wum'-we]

At'-soo-ka'-e (Ah'-tsoo-kd'-e).

— ^Theirname

for ,

their

own

tribe [At'-soo-kd'-e]

Oo'-kah-soo'-e.

—

_'Tribe' inBurneyValley....[Bandof At'-soo-ka'e]

Oo'-we-che'-nah.

—

_{'Tribe'inGooseValley [Bandof}To-mal-lin' -chc-moi']

Po'-mah-de'-he.

—

^{Tribe at Big}

^Bend

^{of Pit}

River [Mo-des'-se]

Too-e-chow'-we.

—

^{Tribein Fall}River Valley..[A-choo'-iuah-we]

Wah'-doo-ka-c.

—

TribeinDixieand EagleLake

Valleys [Ap-woo'-ro-ka'e]

Unrelated tribes:

Ah-tso-hcn'-ne-ye'.

— Modok

tribe [Loo'-too-ah'-me]

Hen'-nah.

—

^Tribein Surprise Valley [NorthernPiute]

Ok'-pis-se'.

—

^Tribe south of

Honey

Lake [Wash'-shoo]

Pe'-kah-soo'-e.

—

TribeinBig

Meadows

[No-to-koi'-yoMidoo]

Te'-mow-zuc.

—

Tribeat

Round

Alountain [Nos'-se or Yah'-nah]

Names

usedfor At'-soo-ka'-eby

Other

^Tribes

name

tribeusing

name

Ah-doo-wah'-no-chc-kah-te, At-too-an'-noo-che, At- zvah-noo'-chc,and Tah-zi'ahii'-noo'-che Mo-des'-se

Ali'-tsoo-ka'-e Ap-ivoo'-ro-kd'e

Hah-dik'-yu'-zve Ham-mah'-zve

Hat'-te-we'-zi'candHat'-te-zve'-zve es At-wum'-zveand As-tah-ke-zm' -che At-zvum'-noo-che, To-ah-no'-cheandHad'-de-we'-zve.A-choo'-mah'-zve Wah-num-che'-zvah.

— ^Band

ⁱⁿ Burney Valley Mo-des'-se

38 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOL.

78

Geographic

Names

used by

the

At'-soo-ka'-e

BurneyButte Ah-po'-hah

BurneyValley Oo'-kah-soo'-e'

Dixie Valley Op'-wah-de'-wah

Fall River Mills Te-chow-e'-wah

Hat

Creek E-dits-te'-e

Lassen,

Mt

Per-roo'-e-ke'-nah

McGee

andCraterPeaks Bop'-ske

PitRiver Po'-mah-rah

Shasta,

Mount

Wi'-ke

THE AP-WOO -RO-KA

E

TRIBE