Colonial Expeditions to the Interior of California Central Valley, 1800-1820Cook, Sherburne Friend
History
Colonial Expeditions to the Interior of California Central Valley, 1800-1820
Cook, Sherburne Friend
California -- Discovery and exploration; California -- History -- To 1846 -- Sources; Central Valley (Calif.)
[2] The Yokuts subtribe Tachi occupied the area to the west of L. Tulare
and its outlet sloughs as far as the coast ranges (see Kroeber, 1925, p.
484). However, since Ortega speaks of operating along the Kings R., the
village he attacked must have been one of those not far west of Lemoore.
The records of the Calif. Archaeol. Survey show from 10 to 15 habitation
sites in this area, a fact which indicates in a general way a heavy
population.
[3] The Nutunutu. This tribe extended along the south bank of the Kings
R. from Lemoore nearly to Kingsburg.
[4] The chief center of the Telamni, who inhabited the oak forest of
the Kaweah delta at and below Visalia. This had originally been a very
large village but the disturbances caused by the Spanish expeditions
had substantially destroyed it. The heavy mortality and great famine
mentioned by Ortega were undoubtedly due to the continuous state of
fugitivism, severe exposure to the weather, and inability to gather and
store the customary stocks of food such as acorns and fish. No specific
epidemic was recorded, such as is implied by Cutter (Ms, p. 213) on the
basis of certain statements of the Father President, Mariano Payeras.
However, no fulminating epidemic was necessary to produce the mortality.
Starvation, exposure, and respiratory diseases would be quite adequate.
[5] The Choinok, who lived along Deep Cr., in the Kaweah delta, near and
northeast of Tulare. The San Gabriel R. was the Kaweah.
[6] Sumtache (Tuntache, Chuntache). This was probably the principal
village of the Chunut, on the northeast shore of L. Tulare. Bubal,
mentioned frequently in the early accounts, was the village of the
Wowol (see discussion in Kroeber, 1925, pp. 483-484 and Cook, 1955,
pp. 44-45).
[7] The party followed the usual route over Pacheco Pass to San Luis
Gonzaga and east into the valley.
[8] The stopping place may have been somewhere near Dos Palos, which is
20 mi. from San Luis Gonzaga. The expedition could scarcely have reached
Mendota as stated by Cutter (Ms, p. 218) since the latter is nearly 50
mi. from the starting point and the ride was only 3 hours long.
[9] The villages along the San Joaquin R. from the great bend above
Mendota to the vicinity of Newman had so completely disappeared in the
early years of the nineteenth century that the Yokuts informants of
Kroeber, Gifford, Gayton, and other modern ethnographers preserved no
memory of them. Yet it is clear from the accounts of Pico and of other
explorers and soldiers that they were relatively numerous and populous.
The inhabitants seem to have been unusually disposed to the stealing of
horses. Moreover, their habitat was on the west bank of the river and
wide open to attack from the coast. For these or other reasons, they
appear to have been completely obliterated.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account