- GACRUX (Gamma Crucis). In our “western” star lore, the stars with proper names come from the set that could be seen from the lands of the ancient middle east and Arabia, and do not include those of the far southern hemisphere, which is largely invisible below the horizon from northern lands. Yet those who needed the stars to find their way, the old navigators, also needed quick names for some of the stars and just made them up. “Gacrux” is a prime example of such a star, its name deriving strictly from its Greek letter name, Gamma Crucis, the third-brightest star in the constellation Crux, the Southern Cross.
- Treaty of Point Elliott, 1855 (historylink.org)
The Point Elliott Treaty was signed on January 22, 1855, by Isaac Stevens (1818-1862), Governor of Washington Territory, and by Duwamish Chief Seattle, Snoqualmie Chief Patkanim, Lummi Chief Chow-its-hoot, and other chiefs, subchiefs, and delegates of tribes, bands, and villages. Following is the complete text of the treaty.