Tulare County, California History Transcribed by Kathy Sedler This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter. All persons donating to this site retain the rights to their own work. History of Tulare and Kings Counties, California - History by Eugene L. Menefee and Fred A. Dodge - Historic Record Company - Los Angeles, California, 1913 CHAPTER XII THE ABORIGINES At the time of the entry of whites into the San Joaquin valley the territory comprising what later became Tulare county had a dense Indian population. These consisted of two distinct races, one called the Yokuts, more than twenty sub-tribes of which ranged the country between the Fresno river and the Tejon pass; the other a Piute branch of several sub-tribes living on Mill creek and in Eshom valley. Among the former were the Ta-chi (whence Laguna de Tache) in the Tulare lake district, the Ta-lum-ne, of Visalia, the Wik-tsum�ne, near Lemon Cove; other settlements were on Poso creek, Tule river, Deer creek, one near Porterville, one near the forks of the Tule river and one on the present Indian reservation, others at Three rivers, Dry creek, Woodlake, the Yokohl valley, Outside creek, etc. The Piute tribes were the Wuk-sa-chi, of Eshom valley, the Wo-po-noich and the En-dim-bits. An idea of their numbers may be gained from the fact that the Wik-tsum-ne chief alone could muster a thousand armed warriors from his own and other Yokut tribes of which he was the ruler. While the above roughly indicates the home locations of the larger Indian settlements, it must be understood that their residences were far from permanent. The hot summer found them high in the Sierras stalking deer, eating strawberries and enjoying the climate; in the fall, the harvest season for acorns, he was either in the foothills or in the oak belt of the plains, according to the crop; in the winter, duck hunting by the lake furnished good sport. The limits of this history prevent anything approaching a complete outline of their manners, customs, habits, etc., but the following bits were chosen as interesting sidelights on a mode of life that has passed away forever. TRADITIONS Among these Indians no traditions of migrations existed. They believed themselves aborigines�the tradition as to their origin was that man was created by the joint effort of the wolf and the eagle, and brought forth from the mountain peaks�different tribes from different peaks. The Wutchumnas point to Homer's Nose, on the south fork of the Kaweah, as the place of their origin, while the Kaweahs point to the foothill peak near Redbanks, called Colvin's Point, as the cradle of their tribe. These Indians believed that the eagle makes it his especial care to guard the welfare of the human race, and the eagle on our coin is accepted as evidence that the whites recognize the sacred character of the bird. The wolf is held to have repented the part he took in the production of man, and to he constantly seeking the destruction of the race. ANOTHER CREATION MYTH OF THE YOKUTS The following tradition was obtained by George W. Stewart in 1903, from Jim Herrington, an Indian then ill and now dead, of the Wukchamni or Wiktsumne tribe of the Yokuts. This tribe lived on the Kaweah river, in the vicinity of the present town of Lemon Cove: "Long ago the whole world was rock and there was neither fire nor light. The coyote (kaiyu) sent his brother, the wolf (ewayet, iweyit), into the mountains, telling him: `Go upward until you come to a large lake, where you will see fire. Then take some of it.' The wolf did as ordered by the coyote, and after some fighting, obtained a part of the fire. From this he made the moon and then the sun, and put them in the sky. Then it was light, and has been so ever since. "The eagle (tsohit, djokhid) kept the coyote at work, and the latter made the panther (wuhuset, wohoshit) and the wolf help him. The coyote made the springs and streams. He worked very hard to do this. Then he and the eagle made people. They also made deer and elk and antelope and all game animals, and put fish into the water. They gave these animals to the people who went everywhere and killed the game for food. "The coyote, the wolf and the panther said : 'In time there will be too many people and they will kill us.' Now the coyote was sorry that he had helped the eagle make the people. The panther said: 'They will kill us if we do not go away.' Then go up,' the eagle told him. The panther answered: 'I have no feathers, I cannot fly, I cannot go up.' `Then go to the mountains,' said the eagle. To the wolf he said: `Go to the hills,' and the coyote: `Go to the plains.' The three went where they were told and have lived there ever since." DIET Acorns, of course, were the staple, but it is a mistake to suppose that the Indians' diet lacked variety. In addition to game of all kinds and fish, there were various kinds of seeds, nuts, berries, roots, and young shoots of the tule and clover. Acorns were stored in harvest time in cribs made of woven withes, usually placed on the top of a large stone and securely roofed over with a rainproof mat to protect them from the elements. In making bread, these, after being shelled, were ground in a mortar and placed in water in a shallow bed of sand near a stream. The action of water running in and out of this depression removed the bitterness. Placed then in their water-tight baskets this gruel was cooked by means of hot rocks and formed a dish esteemed by whites as well as natives. One of the rarer delicacies of the Indian's table was roast caterpillar. When the variety used�a kind of measuring worm�was not found near camp, long trips were made for the purpose of collecting them in quantities. A fire of fagots in a hole in the ground was allowed to burn down to coals. These removed and the hole nicely dusted of ashes, a few quarts of the juicy larvae were poured in, which, quickly crisping, were soon ready to serve. INDIAN WEAPONS The bow and arrow was the only weapon. The bow was made of ash or mahogany, strengthened by the laying over it of the sinew taken from the backbone of the deer. Arrows were constructed in three different ways, according to the purpose for which they were to be used. For warfare and for large game they were flint-tipped. An intermediate weapon was made of button willow to which a hardwood point was spliced. For birds and other small game, a peculiar construction was in use. These were about three feet long with a blunt point. About half an inch from the end four crossbars, each about an inch long, were fastened. Two of these were at right angles to the other two and four projecting points were thus formed, rendering accurate shooting less essential. THE MEDICINE MAN As with other tribes, the medicine man was a person of great importance, but woe unto him if he failed to effect a cure. A few instances of death following his treatment was cause for his summary execution. A sojourn in the sweathouse was usually prescribed, but bleeding was also common. An incision was made, either at the temples or the forehead, and he sucked the blood and spat it out. His dress was gorgeous. The foundation for the robe was a kind of netting made from the inner bark of trees. Through the meshes of this was interwoven the brightest colored feathers of many species of birds, together with topknots, fox and coyote tails, rabbit ears, etc. At a death there were chants from dusk till dawn. The corpse was buried usually in a high, dry place in a round hole in a sitting posture, the ankles tied to the thighs. All personal belongings were placed with it. Members of the family of the dead smeared their faces black, in mourning. GATHERING SALT In order to gather salt, a unique method was followed. In the mornings, when the salt grass was wet with dew, a squaw would go forth armed with a long smooth stick. This she would ply back and forth through the wet grass and wave in the air. The result was a deposit of salt a quarter of an inch thick on the stick, which was then scraped off. CAPTURING WILD PIGEONS Wild pigeons helped fill the Indian's larder and the methods which were employed in their capture are of great interest. It seems that the pigeons preferred mineral water, whether it he effervescent from soda, or salty, sulphurous or combining the tonic properties of iron and arsenic, to the ordinary spring water of the mountains. At all mineral springs pigeons came in flocks. The crafty buck who held first place among those who lay snares, taking advantage of this trait, made his preparations accordingly. In front of the spring a large smooth low mound was heaped. Next the mound, directly facing it, was dug a trench of the size and depth to accommodate a man lying down. The front end of this trench towards the mound was open, but screened with grasses; the top was covered. In this he lay in wait. An innocent brown willow stick, at its end a little noose of sinew, lay on the mound. When the pigeons congregated an unobserved motion of the wrist, a little raise of the stick sufficed to place this loop over the head of an unlucky bird. Silently the game was drawn to the trench, the head jerked off and shortly another and yet another fell victim until sufficient fresh pigeon meat for the band was secured. It is stated that, snared in this way the pigeon does not flutter or raise a disturbance�he merely, like a stubborn mule, pulls back. To insure another flight and alighting at the same place for the following day, should occasion require, a few of the birds are kept alive and picketed out as decoys. NOVEL FISHING In the capture of fish, the use of the hook and line was unknown to the Indians. Three effective methods were in use. In the narrow streams, which were numerous in the valley, weirs were made by driving a row of willow sticks diagonally across the stream and interlacing the fence thus formed with tules. On the upper side of this structure, near one bank a semi-circular trap of like construction was built. The fish going down stream, finding their way blocked by this barrier, worked along it until they found their way into the trap through a small opening. A larger door which included this opening allowed the entrance of Mr. Indian to secure the spoil. In the pools or sloughs or other places where water was confined to holes without an outlet, balls of certain kind of weed were thrown, which exerted a stupefying effect on the fish. They sickened and would rise to the surface, gasping, when they. were easily captured. In the fall of the year when the water in the main Kaweah river was low, and long still pools were formed having shallow outlets, still another method was employed. After damming the outlet, mullen weed was thrown in until the water was so roiled that the fish, unable to see, could be caught by hand. Scores of Indians, both bucks and squaws, would wade into these holes and grope for fish, attesting their success by loud shouts of laughter. HUNTING DEER The weapons of the Indian being to our modern eyes purely inefficient, needs be that he must make up in personal skill their shortcomings. One of our modern sportsmen; for example, could never get close enough to a deer to hit it with an arrow, and if by chance he should do so the wound would be too slight to be effective. The Indian knew how. The method, as told by Jason Barton, who as a boy found his playmates and companions among the Indians, was this : Waiting ready, we will say at the edge of a mountain meadow, watched the huntsman, bow in hand. When the wary buck came for his morning browse, his keen-flashing vision included naught of danger, for nothing moved. A peculiarity of a grazing deer is that while at short intervals he throws up his head to see or smell anything that may warn of danger, he precedes this by a flick of his tail. As he grazes the Indian advances a step, perhaps two steps, without a sound; the tail twitches and he is frozen into immobility. There is not a flicker of an eyelash. Assured of safety, the deer once more grazes and once more his enemy takes a step. An hour, perhaps two hours, go by and the hunter is within bow-shot. The arrow is loosed, and the aim is true, but the deer does not fall dead in its tracks. This is beyond the capacity of the weapon. The shot is for the groin, where eventually, sickening trouble for the deer must ensue and he be forced to lie down. That is enough for the Indian. At closer range next time, after an arduous pursuit lasting perhaps a day, the quarry is finally despatched. CHARMING A SQUIRREL In approaching to within bow-shot of a squirrel a similar caution was exercised. With bow bent, arrow set and aimed, the Indian would take his stand and without the slightest movement except that of a gradual advance, would apparently so hold the squirrel's attention in a sort of trance that a distance near enough to speed the missile with surety was gained. CATCHING DUCKS Without a doubt, white men would find it quite impossible without a weapon to secure a mess of wild ducks. Not so our Indian. Around the borders of Tulare lake existed labyrinths of water lanes bordered with tules. Covered entanglements of these tules were formed and the ducks herded into them by Indians on tule rafts.