Sergeant Sambo
1852-1963
Sergeant Sambo,
titular chief of the Shasta Indians of Siskiyou County and said by many
to be the head of the humbug Tribe, was buried near Hornbrook following
a graveside service. The chief died June 24, 1963 and was said to be
111 years old. He claimed to have lived over a century in Siskiyou
County attributing his longevity to the fact he never married. His
mother was a Karoc princess and his name came from an admired trooper
at Fort Jones who was known to his parents as "Seargeant". Sambo came
from the days he spent playing around the fort where he was a favorite
of the troopers. (This information came from an obituary article.)
Another article was written Oct. 8, 1961 and
published in the Sacramento Bee---"Voice From tThe Past, Shasta Indian
Chief, 105, Is Living Link With Dimly Remembered Era.
The eyes of Sergeant Sambo have lost
some of their power but this amazing man, whose age is listed as at
least 105, years takes comfort in the fact those eyes have seen things
no other living man has and his mind has the power to recall them.
He is not sure of his age but an
entry in the family Bible of the Coonrod Lichens family, dated 1872,
referred to "Sergeant Sambo, an Indian about 20 years old. Hospital
records show him as 105. Sambo celebratd his birthday anniversary
Friday. He is not certain about the date of his birth but he
observes the occasion every year on the same date, October 6th.
Sambo, the titular head of the
Shasta Indians, is a grandson of the chief of the Shasta Indians. He
said his father was named Sambo by white trappers who came through the
area, probably in the 1840s. 'There was a sergeant with your soldiers
who came here later,' Sambo said, 'so I got that name.'
The sergeant gave a cloak to Sambo's father
and Sambo still has the garment.
Sergeant Sambo was at one time
an Indian 'doctor,' able to predict weather, sickness, death and other
events from signs and potents. He distinguishes between a 'doctor' who
predicts future events and a medicine man who works with herbs and
roots for cures of ailments.
Unbelievably alert for a man of his
age, Sambo answers questions on a variety of subjects with detail and
clarity. During 1960 he helped a graduate student in linguistics from
the Universisty of California study the native Kitatsik dialect.
' There are only three persons left who
speak the language, Sambo explained. I learned all about it from y
grandmother. She would preach to me about it every night after I went
to bed until I went to sleep. There were several tribes around here.
The Shastas, Klamaths, Karocs and the Hurocs. They pronounced words
differently, but we could understand each other.'
Sambo ws born
near the Klamath River, about 40 miles northwest of Yreka. In his young
adult days he rode the range as a ranch hand, but turned to cooking and
domestic work after an injury. His Indian name is Ah Kee Ah Humpy, one
who was carried in a basket from a place where baskets are no longer
made.
Today his chief
pleasure is recounting his tales of the 19th Century to his many young
friends and discussing the Klamath language with students from the
University of California.
'I have
seen a lot of things in my day,' Sambo said, 'but I cannot possibly
tell you about them all, there were so many'. "