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Pahto

            In acknowledgement of Indigenous Peoples' Day, this legend as told by Yakima chief Jobe Charley about the mountain we call Adams but was known for hundreds of years prior as Pahto.

"Back when the mountains were people, Sun was a man.  He had five mountains for his wives.  One was Plash-Plash, where the Goat Rocks are now.  Plash-Plash means “white spots.”  Another was Wahkshum, west of Satus Pass.  The others were [Pahto] Mount Adams, Mount Rainier and Mt. St. Helens. Sun traveled from east to west, of course. So Wahkshum was the first wife he talked to every morning.  Plash-Plash was the second, and Pahto was the third.  Pahto became jealous of the other two and made up her mind to get rid of them. Jealous and angry, she fought them and broke down their high heads.  All that is let of Plash-Plash is Goat Rocks.  All that is left of Wahkshum is the mountain called Simcoe Mountain and the little huckleberry bushes on it. Rainier and St. Helens were so far away that Pahto left them alone.

Pahto was happy.  Every morning she was the first wife Sun spoke to.  She was the tallest mountain around, and she was proud and strong.  But she was not satisfied.  She crossed the river and went to the mountains south of her and brought back all their grizzly bears, black bears, elk, deer, pine nuts, huckleberries, roots and herbs.  From the river and creeks she took the salmon and trout and put them in her streams that flow down the side.  She planted the berries and the pine nuts and the roots all around her.  She turned loose the elk, deer and bears.  That’s why there is plenty there today. The Great Spirit was watching, and thought:  “There must be a law that any wrong doing shall be punished.”  But Pahto was not punished right away.  The other mountains saw how tall and strong she was, so they said, “We’ll not do anything about what she has done.  We’ll just let it go.”

But Klah Klahnee, “the Three Sisters.” said among themselves, “Pahto is too proud and greedy.  We must do something.”  They talked to Mt. Hood, “Why don’t you destroy Pahto?  Why do you let her get the best of you?  You are tall and strong.  Someday there will be people on the earth.  When they find that we have let Pahto destroy us and steal from us, they will make fun of us.”  So, Wyeast (Mt. Hood) fought Pahto.  “If I get the best of her, I will give back all she has stolen from us.”  But first Wyeast said to Pahto in a nice way, “I want you to give back half of what you took from us, so our people in our part of the country can have the same food as you dear people have.  I ask you in a nice way.”  But Pahto was greedy.  “No, I shall never give you anything.”  So, they fought. . . Up to that time, Pahto had had a high head.  Wyeast hit her from the eastside and knocked her head off.  Today on the north side of Pahto there is a pile of the fine rocks a half a mile long.  These rocks were once Pahto’s head.  Then Wyeast thought.  “I’ll leave a little bit of everything here and there that Pahto took away,  Pahto can’t have everything .”  So Wyeast shared with the other mountains. The Great Spirit saw all that had happened.  He did not help Pahto, he thought she deserved all the punishment that she had got for she destroyed the heads of Wahkshum and Plash-Plash.  That will be the law.  If people do wrong, they will be punished in the same way. But after Pahto lost her head she became mean.  When she was angry, she would send a big thunder-storm and much rain.  In the winter she would send big snows and in the spring there would be floods.  All thru the Valley there were lakes from the big floods.  The first people had to live only in the mountains. The Great Spirit was watching.  He saw all that happened.  He said, “I will make a new head for Pahto, so she will not be so mean.  I will send White Eagle and his son Red Eagle to be your head.  Don’t have hard feelings towards the other mountains and don’t flood the earth again.  Remember you are the daughter of the Great Spirit.” Pahto said, “I am glad you have given me the eagles.  I will forgive the other mountains and I will not flood the valley anymore.”  Then she raised her right hand and said, “I did not know that the Great Spirit is my father.  I am sorry for all the wrong things I have done.” Then the Great Spirit replied, “I gave the world to you mountains, I put you here and there where I wanted you to.  Some of you I made high, and some I made low.  You should never destroy Plash-Plash and Wahkshum.” From that time on to this day it is really true in your belief and in my belief that the Great Spirit is the father."

Quoted from "The Legend of Mt. Adams" courtesy of washingtonhistory.org

By the way, the Yakima name for Mt. St. Helens is Si Yett.  Tahoma was the most common name given Mt. Rainier by the Yakima people.

Taken on: October 12, 2020

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Mt. Adams

Takhlakh Lake

Takh is the native word for 'meadow'

This area was important to the Yakima tribe

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