The Aboriginal Population of the San Joaquin Valley, CaliforniaCook, Sherburne Friend
History
The Aboriginal Population of the San Joaquin Valley, California
Cook, Sherburne Friend
Indians of North America -- California -- San Joaquin Valley; San Joaquin Valley (Calif.) -- Population
After this manuscript was completed, the writer had an opportunity to
examine those documentary files of the Office of Indian Affairs and of
the War Department which are at present in the National Archives at
Washington. Several letters in the files containing information on the
native population of the San Joaquin Valley have never, so far as could
be determined, been published. Since the data thus procured are
fragmentary and since they do not apparently invalidate the conclusions
set forth in previous pages, they have not been incorporated in the
body of this paper. These items, however, have some intrinsic interest
and therefore merit specific mention. They are briefly abstracted as
follows.
_War Department_
_Record Group 98._ 10th Military Dept. Letters received
Calif., Document no. _K 21_. E. D. Keyes, Camp Magruder,
June 17, 1851.
The 8 tribes on the Kaweah, with whom a treaty was concluded
on May 30 contain 1,240 individuals.
The 4 tribes on Paint Creek with whom a treaty was concluded
on June 3 contain 1,660 persons.
_Record Group 98._ Letters received Calif., 1854. Enclosure
to document no. _W 2_. John Nugent, Camp Wessells, Dec. 31,
1853.
The Four Creeks region (Kaweah) from the Sierra Nevada to
Tulare Lake will not contain more than 1,000, all told.
_Record Group 98._ Letters received Calif., 1854. Enclosure
to document no. _W 12_. H. W. Wessells, Fort Miller, March
7, 1854.
The Indians under control of Fort Miller include those on
the Fresno, San Joaquin, Kings, and Kaweah Rivers. They are
much reduced in numbers, owing to the recent sickness.
Fresno River: 400 persons, including 100 able men.
San Joaquin River: 350, including 80-90 able men.
Kings River: 1,100, including 250 able men.
Kaweah River: 800, including 200 able men.
_Office of Indian Affairs_
_Record Group 75._ Letters received Calif., 1854. Enclosure
to document no. _H 758_. D. A. Enyart, Fresno Reservation,
Nov. 3, 1854.
The Indians on the Fresno Farm include: 30 Chowchilla, 220
Choot-chances, 90 Pohonicha, and 100 Potohanchi.
The Indians in Mariposa, Stanislaus, and Tuolumne counties
do not exceed a total of 2,000.
By river system he breaks them down thus: 300 on the Merced,
350 on the Tuolumne, 250 at Plant's Ferry on the Stanislaus,
100 elsewhere on the Stanislaus, and 100 scattering through
the country.
_Record Group 75._ Letters received Calif., 1855. Enclosure
to document no. _H 1050_. Report of D. A. Enyart, Fresno
Reservation, Aug. 22, 1855.
"I find that there are at least about 1,000 to 1,500 Indians
on the River (i.e., San Joaquin).... This does not include
the 'Mono' tribe which is the most numerous of any tribe...."
_Record Group 75._ Letters received Calif., 1859. Enclosure
to document no. _M 66_. M. B. Lewis, Fresno Agency, Aug. 30,
1859.
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