The Story of Multnomah Falls, Oregon
Columbia River Gorge, Oregon – One of the most beautiful places in all of the United States lies within the interior of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Natural Preserve. It is located just north of Mt. Hood about an hours drive east of Portland. I visited this little corner of the world several years ago on a road trip down the Pacific Coast. Deciding on a whim if I could beat the vanishing daylight, I raced over to Mt Hood, about a thirty minute drive from where I was, to watch the sunset as it faded over the pinnacle peaks of rock. I arrived roughly five minutes too late. Some times things work out, some times they don’t, but oh what a beauty I would have seen!
The Pacific Northwest is loaded with beautiful crystalline white water, a temperate rainforest, and limpid waterfalls. One such waterfall holds the legend of the Multnomah people.
Many years ago, the head chief of the region had a beautiful daughter. She was very special to him because she was his only kin left after having lost his sons in a battle. Her father had chosen a young chief from a neighboring tribe, the Clatsop, to be her husband. The wedding was a happy affair that lasted for several days with many guests from various tribes along the lower Columbia river to take part in the festivities. There were canoe races, bow and arrow contests, dancing and food. Everyone was having a wonderful time celebrating their love for the newly married couple.
Suddenly, sadness swept through the merry event when illness came over the Multnomah village. Death was swift and took lives within a day of the illness. The chief and other elders gathered together to discuss what they could do to the stop the Great Spirit’s wrath upon their village.
An old medicine man rose to speak. He told the elders about the secrets of the land. He recounted the words that his father, also a medicine man, spoke to him many years ago. He stated that when he would be an old man, the Great Spirit would send an illness upon the village. All would die unless a sacrifice was presented to the Great Spirit. It must be a young maiden, the daughter of a chief, that would give her life for her people. She would need to climb to the highest cliff above Big River, and throw herself to the rocks below. This would then relieve the village from the sickness.
The chief of Multnomah did not like this because the young maiden would be his daughter. He refused to let her go and told his warriors to meet death bravely, that no sacrifice would take place.
Days went by and more people were struck down with the illness. The chief’s daughter wondered to herself if she should give her life to the Great Spirit so that no one else would endure this deathly illness.
One night, the young daughter’s husband became sick. She knew what she must do. She traveled all day to find the highest cliff above the river below. She asked the Great Spirit to give her a sign in the sky that it would accept her life, and in return, make the illness go away.
As she reached the zenith point, she saw the moon coming up over the trees. It was the sign she had asked for. She took one last breath and jumped from the cliff. The next morning, all the people that had been sick and near death were vibrant and full of joy and energy. The villagers wondered if a maiden had sacrificed her life. The chief and his warriors walked along the river and found the young girls body. They gave her a burial in the spot where they found her. The father prayed to the Great Spirit and asked for a sign that she has been welcomed into the afterlife. It is in that moment, that they heard the sound of water coming from above the cliff. A streamlet of water started moving down the rock and passed their feet. A beautiful waterfall had formed where it stays today.
The Multnomah falls of Oregon can be found about 30 miles east of Portland. It’s a straight shot taking I-84E – US30 and follow the signs from there.
