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
It is reasonably plain that the Aguastos and the Chupunes occupied more
or less the same territory--along the south shore of the eastern end of
Carquinez Strait and the western end of Suisun Bay. The diaries and the
baptism records both indicate that the original inhabitants were the
Aguastos, who were missionized and removed. Their place seems to have
been taken by another group of natives known as the Chupunes, who also
were gathered into the fold at some period between the visits of Abella
and Duran. Subsequent to the 1817 diary of Duran there is no further
mention of this tribe. With respect to population we have only the
record showing 105 baptisms. Since the conversion seems to have been
quite complete, we may set the aboriginal value at no more than 150.
Let us now consider the Ompines. This group is placed by Schenck on the
north bank of the Sacramento River at and above the junction of the
river and Suisun Bay. Schenck also (p. 137) discusses the possibility
that the Ompines and Julpunes composed a single group. In spite of an
assumed similarity in names the Spanish accounts are unequivocally
explicit to the effect that there were two groups, not one, hence
Schenck's hypothesis may be disregarded. With respect to location the
later Spanish accounts bear out Schenck's contention that the tribe was
situated north of the river.
In his entry for May 14, 1817, Duran says that his expedition stopped
at the mouth of the San Joaquin River, whereas another boat (that of
Argüello) stopped opposite "en tierra de Ompines." The next day they
all went up the Sacramento River to the "remate de las lomas de los
Ompines." Meanwhile Argüello, in his entry for May 15, says that they
went along the north shore and stopped "donde termina la tierra de los
Ompines." This puts the eastern edge of the Ompines at the east side of
the Montezuma Hills in T3N, R2E, approximately as shown by Schenck.
Altimira describes an unauthorized raid by Fr. Duran on the tribes
north of Suisun Bay, among them "... otra rancheria aislada llamada los
Ompines" (Altimira, MS, 1823).
A few of the earlier documents, on the other hand, contain statements
which raise the possibility that the Ompines were not always confined
exclusively to the north shore. In his diary of 1811 Abella describes
how, on October 17, his party entered a big bay (Suisun Bay) and, after
5 leagues, following along the south shore, began to find estuaries and
numerous islands covered with tules. They continued into the west
channel of the San Joaquin and stopped at an island on which large
trees were growing. At this point, somewhere near Antioch, there was a
"pescadero" of the Ompines. It is evident, therefore, that in 1811 the
Ompines had at least temporary fishing spots on the south side of the
estuary, in an area usually ascribed to the Julpunes or Tarquines.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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