Klamath, a N. W. county of California, bordering on the Pacific, bounded N. by Klamath river, which also intersects it, and traversed by Trinity river; area, about 2,000 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 1,686, of whom 542 were Chinese. The surface is mostly mountainous, and in some places is covered with dense forests of redwood, cedar, spruce, and fir. The valleys are fertile, and the hilly districts afford good pasturage. Gold mining is prosecuted to a large extent near Klamath, Trinity, and Salmon rivers, at Gold Bluff, and in the vicinity of the beach. The Klamath Indian reserve, 25,000 acres in extent, is situated partly in this and partly in Del Norte eo. The chief productions in 1870 were 2,360 bushels of wheat, 2,375 of oats, 9,548 of potatoes, and 693 tons of hay. There were 284 horses, 368 mules and asses, 372 milch cows, 1,587 other cattle, and 1,057 sheep; 2 saw mills, and 2 quartz mills. Capital, Orleans Bar.

Klamath #1

Klamath, a river of California. It rises in Lower Klamath lake in the S. part of Oregon, and flows W. and S. across the California frontier. Its course thence is W. S. W., and afterward S. W., until it is joined by Trinity river on its left bank, when it makes a sharp bend and flows N. N. W. to the Pacific, about lat. 41° 30' N. There is a bar at its mouth which can be crossed at high water by ships of the line, and at low water by small boats only. The river itself is navigable by small steamers for about 40 m. Its waters abound in salmon and other fish, and there are valuable gold diggings on its banks. Its length is about 250 m. The town of Klamath is situated on its right bank, a few miles above its mouth.

Klamaths #2

Klamaths, the comprehensive name given to two or three distinct tribes on the Klamath river, living partly in Oregon and partly in California. They seem to have had no recognized tribal name. Those toward the mouth of the river and on the coast were called Euroc or Pohlik, meaning down; those on the upper river were termed Cahroc or Pehtsik. The Quoratem, considered by some as Eurocs, lay in the middle, from Bluff to Clear creek. Above the Cahrocs were the Moadocs or Modocs ("head of the river"), not usually included under the term Klamath. These tribes differed in language and type. The Cahrocs are said to be the finest California Indians, lively, enterprising, and energetic, cleanly in their persons, and great bathers. The Eurocs were darker and inferior. These tribes lived mainly by salmon and other fisheries, and on roots, acorns, etc. The men wear a buckskin girdle, the women a petticoat of the same material. Their houses, 20 ft. square, consisted of a kind of flagged cellar, with a rim around it, beyond which rose the redwood boards forming the sides. A pitched redwood roof covered it. There were no chiefs of the tribes, but only of each village or hamlet. The women tattooed the chin. For money they used the scalp of the red woodpecker or allicochick shells.

The influx of whites led to acts of violence, and some of their villages were burned in 1851; but a treaty was made in October of that year. They then had about 18 villages, and numbered about 3,000. An attempt was early made to put them on a reservation, but they declined in numbers. Failure of the crops which they attempted to raise disheartened them. By a treaty of Oct. 15, 1864, the Klamaths and Modocs ceded all the lands from the Cascade mountains, reserving a small tract on Klamath lake, to which they were to remove after the ratification of the treaty, the United States to pay $80,000 in 15 years, as well as a large sum for advances, subsistence, etc. This reservation embraces 1,200 sq. m., much of it mountainous, and only a small part fit for cultivation. The Klamaths did not like the introduction of the Modocs into what had been their territory, and this eventually led to the Modoc war. The Klamaths have adapted themselves to their new position, cultivate some ground, have many horses and some cattle, but have become lumberers, turning out in 1873 200,000 ft. of sawed logs. Their district was assigned to the Methodist Episcopal church, but down to 1874 there was no school, church, or missionary.

The tribe is fast vanishing, the population being returned in 1873 as only 572, a loss of more than three fourths in 25 years.