Artifacts point to Chinooks' wealth

[Adsos Letter]

Source: The Daily Astorian
By JOE GAMM

The wealth of the first residents at Station Camp, long before Lewis and Clark arrived, suggests that a tribal chief or close relative might have lived there.

"The amount of wealth items found at this site suggests that either a close relative of Concomly or Concomly himself lived here," said archeologist Doug Wilson.

The mouth of the Columbia River was a major trading location long before Lewis and Clark arrived - and long before the first tall-masted ships sailed up and down the West Coast.

The Chinook Indians held a near-monopoly in fur trade along the Columbia. They controlled all the trade going in and out of the river. No one came through without trading with the Chinooks. And historic records show they were accomplished traders.

http://www.dailyastorian.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=398&ArticleID=58345&TM=62089.04

Nice article, with lots of information.