The Aboriginal Population of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, CaliforniaCook, Sherburne Friend
History
The Aboriginal Population of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California
Cook, Sherburne Friend
Indians of North America -- California; Indians of North America -- Statistics
Two days later, July 10, the Governor answered Amador's letter, from
Monterey (Bancroft Trans., Prov. St. Pap., XVI: 71-72), ordering him to
go with two soldiers and twenty civilians to the rancheria of the
Sacalanes and capture both the chiefs and all fugitive Christians.
Amador carried out the order immediately and, after his return,
submitted a report to the Governor in the form of a diary, together with
a letter, both dated July 19 at San José. The diary in full is to be
found in the Archivo General de la Nación, Ramo Californias, Vol. 65,
Doc. no. 1, MS p. 93. The essential portions are worth reproducing and
are translated as follows.
_Amador's Diary (1797)_
[July 6 to 12 inclusive were spent making preparations.]
July 13. We set forth [from Mission San José] on the campaign in
the evening. I traveled all that night till dawn and hid with
the party in a brushy ravine throughout the day,
July 14. In the evening we arrived at the place where the
rancheria of the Sacalanes was located.
July 15. At dawn we attacked the said rancheria. We met much
resistance from the Indians in it. Although we repeatedly told
them that we did not wish to fight but only to take away the
Christians, they admitted to no persuasion but began to shoot so
as to kill one of our horses and wound two others. Seeing this
opposition, we used our weapons in order to subdue them so that
they would surrender. Some were killed, for they refused for two
hours to give up. Finally, it was necessary to dismount and
throw them back with swords and lances, for they have some wells
in the middle of the village which are like walls and which can
be strongly defended. There may have been about fifty persons,
men and women.
There were three rancherias close together, and with the
destruction of this one, the inhabitants of the others fled. We
captured only two from the second rancheria, although in the
first the number captured was thirty, including both Gentiles
and Christians. Having carried out an investigation and having
ascertained the guilty ones and the Christians, I made it clear
to the rest, through interpreters, that we did not wish to do
them any harm. They said they wanted to obey and that they well
understood that we had no evil intentions. I liberated the
Gentiles and we set forth toward the region of the Juchillones.
We had gone but a short distance when there began to assemble a
great many Indians, uttering shrieks and cries, so that we had
to go into line of battle again. Falling upon them, we killed
one, and with this they all retreated. We followed our course in
the direction we were going and concealed ourselves in a ravine
near the beach. It has much timber, water, and firewood, good
for a settlement. There we spent all the day hidden until
nightfall when we went on to the rancheria of the Juchillones.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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