Athapascan Indians; Indians of North America -- California
A major conflict in the western boundary of the Athabascans involves
the drainage of the North Fork of the Mad River. Kroeber and Loud
both assign this area to the Wiyot, whereas Merriam assigns it to the
Athabascans. Neither Kroeber nor Loud gives specific data in support of
his contention; thus Merriam's specific local information quoted below,
renders his line preferable.
Sunday, August 11, 1918.... I found two old men of the
same tribe, who were born and reared at the Blue Lake rancheria
'Ko-tin-net--the westernmost village of the Ha-whil-kut-ka tribe.
I have therefore accepted Merriam's boundary.
From the Mad River south to the Eel there is general agreement except
that, as usual, Merriam's lines tend to follow the streams, whereas
those of Kroeber and Loud follow the ridges. Another conflict comes
at the crossing of the Eel River. Curtis (1924, 13:67) says the line
crosses at the mouth of the Van Duzen. Nomland (1938, map 1), Loud,
and Merriam all agree with this. Powers (1877, p. 101) and Kroeber
both locate the line a few miles up the river from this point at Eagle
Prairie, while Nomland's Wiyot informant (Nomland and Kroeber, 1936, map
1) places the line even farther south at the mouth of Larabee Creek. The
weight of evidence indicates that the line was probably near the mouth
of the Van Duzen; Goddard (1929, p. 292) states that there was a Bear
River village near there.
There is also some disagreement on the northern boundary of the Bear
River group. Nomland says that it is at Fleener Creek, about five miles
north of Bear River Ridge, whereas Kroeber indicates a line about two
miles north of Bear River Ridge. Loud, Merriam, and Goddard, on the
other hand, all indicate that the boundary is Bear River Ridge itself.
Nomland's boundary is almost certainly in error, since Loud gives Wiyot
villages occurring south of that line. Most of the evidence points to
Bear River Ridge as the line, and this version has been accepted.
INTERIOR BOUNDARIES
There is no disagreement on the western boundary of the Hupa. It
runs north and south along Bald Hills Ridge, dividing the drainages
of Redwood Creek and the Trinity River. Merriam gives the Hupa
two divisions--the Tin-nung-hen-na-o, or Hupa proper, and the
Ts´[)a]-nung-wh[)a], or Southern Hupa. The line dividing these two
groups lies just north of the main Trinity to the east of South Fork and
along Madden Creek to the west of South Fork. Kroeber (1925_a_, p. 129)
and Goddard (1903_a_, p. 7) do not give any support for a linguistic
division, as indicated by Merriam, but there does seem to have been some
cultural difference.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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