Cape Flattery, Tatoosh Island, Washington - 1857 Not open to the public. Owned and managed by Coast Guard. Active aid to navigation. ABOUT THE INDIANS
Tatoosh Island named in 1788 by Captain John Meares, who named it after Chief Tatooche of the Makah Indians. Tatoosh means Thunderbird. It is located at the northwest corner of the forty-eight contiguous United States as well as entrance to Strait of Juan de Fuca. It is one of the original 16 lighthouses designated by the U.S. Lighthouse Service to be built on the West coast. There was trouble between the Native American Indians and both the survey and construction crews. The Makah Indians had long made the island their summer home and used it to catch salmon, spear whales and plant potatoes --as well as for their potlatches (ceremonies in which Indian hosts gave away lots of their possessions). The first Americans built temporary fortresses to keep the Native American Indians out. When the second survey crew came, they infected the Native American Indians with small pox, and wiped out more than 500 of (about half) their tribe. The Native American Indians were very resentful of the "Bostons" because of this. The construction crew built fortresses had guards and prepared for attack. The Native American Indians didn’t attack, but stole food, tools and clothes and eventually became curious and just got in the way. Took 1 1/2 years to build because of the slow arrival of materials and the hostilities. This Light is noted for troubles with it’s keepers. The first four keepers left within months as a result of their fear of the Native Americans, and with their difficulty in obtaining mail and supplies. Two early keepers got into an argument over breakfast and threw hot coffee at each other, scalding each other. They decided to have a duel to the death, but after each emptied his pistol without wounding the other, they called a truce and later became friends. Later they learned that their buddies had loaded the pistols with blanks. The isolation got to them -- before telephones, their only communication was via the infrequent stops by the tenders. Indian paddlers used to deliver mail, personnel and supplies. One tenacious Native American, "Old Doctor" crashed three canoes against the rocks. Telephone cables often broke in storms. In 1883, a weather station was put up -- this was a good place for it. It recorded an average of 215 inches of rain per year.
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