THE ABORIGINAL POPULATION (continued 2)

Two leagues downstream from rancheria no. 1, or about 3 leagues below the mouth of the canyon would have put him at a point roughly 5 to 6 miles east-northeast of Bakersfield, not at the site of the city, as is supposed by Coues (1900, p. 299). On May 8 he went 3 leagues south-southwest, then turned and traveled 6 leagues southeast and east to the Tehachapi. These distances and directions plotted on the map place him just at the mouth of Tejon Creek.

To summarize the rancherias mentioned: Garcés saw four villages on the Kern in territory of the Paleuyami or Yauelmani (nos. 1, 2, 3, 12), six on Poso Creek or minor watercourses to the north thereof (nos. 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11), all Paleuyami, and two on White River (nos. 6, 7) in the territory of the Kumachisi.

The size of these villages has been subject to some debate. Garcés cites two with 150 persons and one with 100, but Gifford and Schenck think that he specifies population only for the largest places. The other nine would therefore be smaller. These authors, however, put the average village size at about 60 (750 people in 12 villages). Deducting 400 for the three rancherias specified, the average of the other nine would be 39 which seems much too low. If Zalvidea's figures are any criterion, the villages on the Kern should have averaged at least 100 inhabitants, and it must be noted that Garcés found two rancherias in the hills with 150 and 100 persons respectively. Thus it seems reasonable to allow an average of 100 rather than 60. If so, the population seen by Garcés was in the vicinity of 1,200.

Now it is evident that Garcés did not see all the villages in the region. He covered about 10 or 12 miles of the Kern below the canyon, a good deal of upper Poso Creek, and perhaps 5 miles of White River. He never reached the lower stretches of the rivers at all. It is fair to assume that there were as many rancherias which he did not see as there were seen by him. If so the estimate of the population should be doubled, making 2,400.

One secondary piece of evidence is at hand. Garcés saw 8 villages of the Paleuyami (6 in the hills, perhaps 2 on the Kern). Now Zalvidea in 1806 says that the Pelones (Paleuyami) had at that time 13 rancherias. Allowing for shrinkage in the intervening thirty years, this is twice the number seen by Garcés.

We may at this juncture have recourse to river mileage estimates. It was found previously (p. 36) that for the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Merced, Mariposa, and Chowchilla there was in 1850 0.34 village per mile of stream, with the Chowchilla having the lowest value, 0.20 village. For the Merced and the Kings rivers below the foothills in the first years of the nineteenth century it was calculated that there were on the average 65 persons per river mile. Assuming that the average village size was 150 inhabitants, there would have been 0.44 village per river mile. The southern streams were probably more sparsely inhabited than those just mentioned. Hence it is reasonable to apply the factor found for the Chowchilla, 0.20 village per mile, to the White River, Poso Creek, and the Kern River. There are about 150 miles of stream in these systems east of a line running from Porterville to Bakersfield, a line which Kroeber takes as the approximate westward limit of the foothill tribes. This means a probable 30 villages. If the average of 100 persons per village is used, as suggested above, this means a population of 3,000. The direct documentary approach thus gives 2,400 and the indirect method 3,000. A fair figure would be the mean of the two, or 2,700.

The peripheral hills on the southeast and south were held by several tribes. The entire upper Kern River, above the present village of Bodfish, belonged to the Shoshonean group, the Tubatulabal (area 1E). Kroeber thinks they may have reached a population of 1,000, which seems a reasonable figure. From the Kern and Walker's Pass south to Sycamore Creek (area 1D) were the Kawaiisu, a tribe, according to Kroeber, of 500 persons. In the southeastern corner from Sycamore Creek to Poso Creek were a few Yauelmani and the Kitanemuk. Pastoria Creek and Alisos Creek were occupied by a northward extension of the Alliklik, and from Alisos Creek westward to Bitter Water Creek were found the Tokya group of the Chumash.

For the groups beyond the Kawaiisu there are no population data of any kind. Even Kroeber fails to make an estimate. If we say 1,000 for them all in aboriginal times it will be a pure guess, but one which may be somewhere near the truth in view of the extent and character of the terrain involved. The total for the peripheral region would then be approximately 2,500 and that for the southern end of the valley as a whole 6,920, or in round numbers 6,900.

SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY ... 6,900

THE NORTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY

The remaining portion of the Yokuts-Miwok territory lay in the valley and foothills north of the Merced River. This area (see maps 1 and 5, areas 8-13 inclusive), particularly the delta of the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers, was entered relatively early by the Spaniards and by the year 1820 had been almost completely swept of its native population. The names of many whole tribes have been lost and the exact locations of many others are now almost impossible to ascertain. Of village names only those few are known to us which were preserved, often by chance, in the mission records and accounts of expeditions. Several attempts have been made to reconstruct the aboriginal human geography but none has been entirely successful. Kroeber's account, which accompanies his discussion of the Plains Miwok and northern Yokuts in the Handbook of California Indians, is manifestly incomplete. Merriam's paper on the Mewan Stock of California (1907) is helpful, but probably the best work of the modern investigators is that of Schenck (1926). The early nineteenth-century accounts for this region are also less satisfactory than for the central and southern parts of the San Joaquin Valley. Moraga's record is useful only for the Tuolumne River, and the delta is covered only by Abella and Duran. It is true that both Sutter and Gatten give figures for villages south of Sacramento but their information pertains only to the badly depleted natives of the 'forties. Hence their censuses are of little value for assessing the aboriginal condition.

One source not available for other areas is the mission records. The converts from the delta and lower San Joaquin Valley were brought almost exclusively into the San Francisco, San Jose, and Santa Clara missions. The baptism books of these missions have been preserved, and two copies have been made. The first, of the San Francisco Mission, was made by A. Pinart in 1878 and is at present in the Bancroft Library in Berkeley. The other records, copied by S. R. Clemence in 1919, include the records of all three missions and are now to be found, in typed form, among the manuscripts in the file of C. H. Merriam. The baptism books set forth the name and village of origin of every native in the mission, as well as the date of baptism. Newly converted gentiles are readily distinguished from infants born in the mission itself, since the origin of the latter is ascribed to the mission and not to a village. In addition to the names of villages, not all of which can be located with certainty, the dates of baptism constitute almost conclusive evidence. If the baptisms from San Francisco and Santa Clara are tabulated by village and date, it is very clear that the villages of local tribes were cleaned out before the year 1805. At this point an entirely new set of names appears, most of which are undoubtedly in the Tulares. Hence, if the name of a village does not correspond to any now known to ethnographers and no baptisms are reported from it prior to 1805, the conclusion is warranted that the village was actually situated in the central valley. The same assumption may be made with somewhat less certainty concerning the San Jose records. This mission was founded in 1797 and its earliest converts were drawn from the Costanoan tribes on the east shore of San Francisco Bay. The reduction of this region may not have been complete by 1805 and Tulare Indians were coming in by that year. Hence there is a chance of overlap. This source of error, however, may be excluded for all practical purposes if no doubtful village which continued to furnish converts after 1810 is included in the list, for the reduction of the Costanoans was certainly complete by that time.

Concerning village size various items of information are available. In the diary of Ramon Abella in 1811 he mentions that the Cholbones had three rancherias with a population of 900, or 300 per rancheria. That of the Coyboses had 180 and that of the Tauquimenes 200 men and 60 houses. The population of the latter tribe, if we apply the ratio found by Zalvidea at the southern end of the valley, should be 650. This ratio, it will be remembered, is based on Zalvidea's statement that he counted as men all males between the ages seven and forty. If, on the other hand, we assume that Abella referred to all males except small children and further that the sex ratio was unity, the adults would have numbered 400 and, if 15 per cent of the village were children, the total would be approximately 470. However, in the northern end of the valley we have much more solid data with which to work than at the extreme south.

The baptism records of the missions of San Jose and Santa Clara to which reference is made above include for each gentile village a breakdown of men, women, and children. These data have been already discussed in connection with the rancherias on Lake Tulare and it has been shown that, if proper correction is made for the sex ratio, men and women each contributed 41.8 per cent of the population and children 16.4 per cent. It is clear that in the north the Franciscans employed their standard system of calling children all persons under the age of ten years (not seven years) and including as males all men above the same age. Zalvidea's system was used only by himself. Consequently, a village with 200 men would have contained 563 persons in all.

For the village of the Tauquimenes with 60 houses the average would have been 9.38 persons per house. That this number is not excessive is demonstrated by the account of the village of Chuppumne contained also in Duran's diary. This rancheria had 35 houses, some of which were 40 to 50 paces in circumference. Since a pace is roughly a yard the diameter of such a house would be 43 feet, amply sufficient to accommodate 9 persons. Chuppumne would thus have had a population of 315. Duran also mentions a rancheria of the Ochejamnes which had 40 houses, or 360 inhabitants.

Luís Argüello (MS, 1813) describes an expedition under the command of one Soto, whose party was attacked by Indians in the marshes of the delta. Schenck (1926, p. 129) locates the scene as in T5N, R4E, near Walnut Grove and designates the tribe as the Unsumnes or Cosumnes. Now Argüello states that the expedition crept up on the Indians overnight and attacked at dawn. They were surprised to find that their coming had nevertheless been detected and that the Indians had sent away the women and children. The Spaniards were met by a force of warriors, which Soto placed as his best estimate at 1,000 persons. These were drawn from four rancherias in the vicinity. One may always exercise skepticism with reference to these estimates of enemy forces, particularly in this instance, since the Spaniards were roughly handled and suffered several casualties in addition to being forced to withdraw. On the other hand, the invaders consisted of 13 well armed Spaniards and 100 Indian auxiliaries. Nothing like an equal number of natives could have withstood them. Soto's estimate may be cut in half but at least 500 warriors must be allowed, or 125 for each of the four rancherias. Now the fighting population, even in a great emergency, does not coincide with the total male population. If there were 500 warriors, there must have been fully 300 young boys, invalids, and old men who were not present. Hence we must concede a male population of no less than 800 for the four villages. If the percentage values established previously are used, the mean village size was approximately 475.

To the villages just described may be added the one seen by Moraga on the Stanislaus River in 1806, which had 200 inhabitants.

These twelve villages thus yield an average of 362 inhabitants each. Although throughout the territory many rancherias were doubtless small, it is equally probable that some were very large, approaching the magnitude of Chischa and Bubal in the south. Hence, unless in some particular instance there is clear reason to believe otherwise, 300 cannot be regarded as an excessive estimate for the average village of the delta.

In considering in detail the population of the delta (see map 6, area 13), it is convenient to segregate groups according to tribal distinctions rather than strictly according to geographical points. The reason lies primarily in the fact that the early writers and the mission records were relatively explicit with respect to names of villages and groups but were badly confused with respect to localities. In the densely populated but physiographically homogeneous delta region, with its scores of small streams, sloughs, and islands, explorers found it very difficult to establish clear landmarks by which the inhabitants might be oriented. A state of confusion has arisen of a kind to generate many controversies among ethnographers, controversies which are not pertinent in the present connection and which it is desirable to avoid as far as possible. In order to adopt a more or less uniform system with respect to tribal nomenclature and arrangement it is proposed to follow here the practice of Schenck (1926), who has made an exhaustive study of the area.

Bolbones (syn. Cholbones, Chilamne, Chulame).—This large group occupied the sloughs of the lower San Joaquin west of Stockton. Schenck, on his map (1926, p. 133) shows their territory as being bounded by the main stream of the San Joaquin River on the east and by the channel now known as the "Old River" on the west. This delineation of their habitat is supported by the diaries of Abella and Viader. Schenck classifies the subtribes or divisions of the main group as follows:

Cholbonesa group

Pescaderoa village

Jusmites or Cosmistasa village plus

Fugites or Tugitesa village plus

Tomchom, under Fugitesa village

Nototemnesa village

Although these natives are mentioned frequently in the correspondence of the period, the first recorded exploration of their area was that of Fr. José Viader in 1810. This missionary left Mission San Jose on August 15 and went by way of Pittsburg and Antioch to the mouth of the San Joaquin, whence he traveled southeast to Pescadero, "... la rancheria de los Cholvones." Leaving the rancheria he went on up the river. Viader's second expedition was carried out during the month of October of the same year. This time he went directly from San Jose to Pescadero, which he says was 15 leagues northeast to east-northeast of Mission San Jose. The account at this point is not particularly lucid. The entry for October 20 states that at Pescadero the gentiles were having a dance (bayle). That for the following day begins with the statement that at dawn Viader's party attacked "... asaltamos una rancheria de este lado del rio y solo escapo un Christiano ..." Then they attacked another rancheria on the other side of the river and captured 15 Christians and 69 gentiles. From the context it may be inferred that the first rancheria attacked was the one at which the dance was being celebrated on the evening of the 20th, that is to say, Pescadero. If it was, then there was another, quite sizable, village just across the river. If the first village was not Pescadero, then there were two other villages in close proximity to it.

The next visitor was Fr. Ramon Abella, who left San Francisco by boat on October 15, 1811. Passing Sherman Island on the 18th and wandering erratically through the swamps he reached the "tierra de los cholbones" on the next day. On October 20 he reached the village of Pescadero but made no comment on it in his diary. After examining the territory of the Cosmistas and Boyboses 5 to 15 miles to the east, the party turned about 8 to 9 miles (3 leagues) northwest, following the general trend of the river downstream. At this point they found a rancheria of 900 persons "divididas en tres rancherias, alguna distancia una de otras. No vimos que la una: Se presentan como 150 personas ... y nos enseñaron al desembarcadero y las mismas casas que havía duplicado gente ..." Abella's distances are extremely inaccurate but it is apparent that the three villages mentioned were north or northwest of Pescadero.

The key village in this complex is Pescadero, a rancheria to which repeated reference is made in the documents of the period and whose identity neither Viader nor Abella could have mistaken. That it belonged to the Bolbones is attested by Viader's expression "... la rancheria de los Cholvones." Viader saw at least one and perhaps two other villages near by belonging to the same tribe. Abella clearly states that he saw three rancherias in addition to Pescadero. One of these may have been the one attacked by Viader, and if so, the entire group included a minimum of four villages. Otherwise, there were at least five. Abella's count of 900 persons for the three villages appears accurate and reasonable. On the other hand, Pescadero was evidently regarded as the most important rancheria of the area and probably was more populous than any other. Hence it must have contained no less than 400 persons. The sum of the four villages would then be 1,300.

Between 1806 and 1811 the mission records show a total of 200 baptisms ascribed to the Cholbones, most of them at San Jose. In addition, there were 81 baptisms from 1821 to 1828 designated Chilamne. At the time of Abella's visit, therefore, the area had been subject to repeated raids for the purpose of securing converts and must have undergone serious social and economic disturbance of the type noted throughout the entire San Joaquin Valley. Merely adding the 200 missionized natives would bring the population estimate for the Bolbones up to 1,500, and the aboriginal value was probably even higher.

The Jusmites, or Cosmistas, are credited by Schenck with "a village plus," meaning certainly one and probably two or more. Viader, on his second expedition, found "los indios Jusmites" about 2½ leagues southeast of and up the river from the second village, which he attacked on October 21. This places them in the locality shown by Schenck on his map (1926, p. 133), i.e., in northwestern T1S, R6E. No further information is given by Viader. The next year Abella found "la rancheria de los Cosmistas" in approximately the same region, but gave no data regarding size. Neither author implies in any way that there was more than one village. At San Jose 86 converts were baptized from "Jossmit," a number which suggests a village of fully 300 inhabitants.

Viader on his first expedition, on August 20, went south-southeast from Pescadero for 3 leagues and reached a village "cuyo capitan se llama Tomchom." He then went 2½ leagues southeast from the Jusmites and reached "los indios Tugites." Both Tomchom and Tugites therefore appear to have been in the same general area. For this reason Schenck has placed the Tugites, as a tribe, directly south of the Jusmites and has called Tomchom a village of the tribe. It is perhaps more likely that there were two villages involved (rather than a tribe and an included village), designated respectively Tomchom and Tugites. This view is substantiated by the baptism data. Of the entire group 268 were baptized, rather equally distributed between San Jose and Santa Clara. Over half the conversions occurred in the year 1811. The San Jose book lists 126 from "Tamcan" and 7 from "Tuguits." The Santa Clara book has 125 from "Los Tugites" and none under any other designation. It may therefore be concluded that two villages, or subtribes, were involved, one of which was taken to San Jose and the other to Santa Clara. A total of 268 converts would imply a population of at least 500 persons at the time of conversion and probably more aboriginally.

The village of Nototemnes is mentioned only by Duran in his diary of 1817. In the night of May 22-23 he passed "la rancheria de los Nototemnes," but did not actually see the village or count its inhabitants. However, the rancheria furnished 97 converts to Mission San Jose. It must therefore have contained at least 200 people. Schenck shows the Nototemnes as covering nearly two townships in the northern delta region and calls them "a village plus." He cites, however, no authority for this view other than Duran, and Duran, as mentioned above, refers only to the rancheria of the Nototemnes. There is no reason, consequently, for assuming more than one village for the tribe or group.

In summary, the Bolbones tribal complex consisted of fully eight medium to large villages. Those belonging to the Bolbones proper, four in number, were estimated to contain 1,500 persons. The Jusmites were allowed 300 persons, the Tugites 500, and the Nototemnes 200. The total is 2,500, and the average village size slightly over 300 persons.

(Bolbones ... 2,500)

Leuchas.—Schenck shows this tribe as living east of the San Joaquin River 10 to 15 miles south of Stockton. He implies that the tribe contained two villages, Coyboses and Pitemis (Aupimis), in addition perhaps to other settlements. The mission books mention all three names and show baptisms (figures in parentheses), which may be tabulated as follows.

Baptisms, San Jose Baptisms, Santa Clara

Leuchas "Leucha" (26), 1805-1812 (88 per cent in 1805-1806)"Los Leuchas" (81), 1805-1809 (85 per cent in 1805)

Pitemis None (60), 1814-1831 (98 per cent in 1814-1816)

Coybos (94), 1808-1826 (71 per cent in 1811-1812)None

To judge by the three separate periods in which the majority of the baptisms occurred there were three groups of people: the Leuchas, who were brought into the fold primarily during 1805 and 1806, the Coybos, principally in 1811-1812, and the Pitemis, converted two or three years later. The Leuchas were taken to both missions, but the Coybos were brought only to San Jose and the Pitemis only to Santa Clara. Abella said that in 1811 the village of Coybos had 180 inhabitants, a figure which has been used in computing the average village size. But the aboriginal population was probably greater. This view is substantiated by the events which preceded Abella's visit. In 1805 Father Cuevas of San Jose Mission went on an unauthorized expedition to the Leuchas—the best account is that by José Argüello (MS, 1805)—in search of converts.[5] He was badly treated and some of his men were wounded by the natives. This and the punitive expeditions which immediately followed no doubt accounted for the wave of conversions in 1805 and 1806. But at the same time the entire aboriginal group unquestionably suffered heavily from battle casualties and economic disturbance so that the population five years later must have been seriously reduced. It is thus justifiable to assume that originally there were three villages and that each was of average size. The population may therefore be set at fully 900 persons.

Some further information is derived from the recollections of José María Amador (MS, 1877). This pioneer, who received his facts second-hand from his father, mentions (pp. 13-15) the campaign of 1805 against the "Loechas," who, he says lived 4 to 5 leagues from Livermore. This would put them west of the San Joaquin River, south of the Bolbones, in T1S, R5E, not on the east bank as shown by Schenck. Amador then goes on to say that after the Cuevas affair the Leuchas "... se habian ya cambiado el rio de San Joaquin a una rancheria que se llamaba de los Pitemis." They were all captured and taken to San Jose. It is thus reasonably clear that the Leuchas originally did live west of the river, and crossed over to the east side as a result of the punitive expeditions of the Spaniards. Furthermore, the village of the Pitemis was already in existence at this time, probably at or near the spot shown by Schenck. Coybos undoubtedly was another village within the same area. This region, therefore, at the time of Abella's visit in 1807 contained the established villages of Pitemis and Coybos plus a residue of unconverted, fugitive Leuchas who had taken refuge in them.

Amador's assertion that the Leuchas were all captured and taken to San Jose is not borne out by the baptism figures, which show only 23 Leuchas enrolled at Mission San Jose in 1805 to 1806. Many more, actually 73, were baptized at Santa Clara in 1805. The total is 96, and scarcely represents the entire personnel of the group. Nevertheless, if we add the casualties of battle, disease, and exposure to those baptized in the missions, and allow for the dispersion of the remainder, the sum will amount to no less than the 300 assumed above for the Leuchas.

As for the Pitemis, Viader, on his first expedition, left Pescadero on August 20, 1810, and traveled south-southeast at some distance from the river. Within 3 leagues he passed "... en frente de una rancheria ... Aupemis." Schenck says (p. 141): "Pitemis is a village of the Leuchas and it seems that Aupimis is to be identified with it." This cannot be true because Viader is highly explicit to the effect that he was west of the river and Amador is equally emphatic in stating that Pitemis was across the San Joaquin from Leuchas, i.e., to the east of it. Since Viader's visit was in 1810, after the Cuevas affair, there must have been three rancherias of the Leuchas and their allies: Aupimis, Pitemis, and Coybos.

Parenthetically, and for the record, the present writer would like to offer the comment that certain modern writers tend to assert the identity of Spanish or Indian names without adequate evidence. Schenck's opinion that Aupimis and Pitemis were the same place could have been based upon no more than a fancied resemblance in the names. Also, on page 141 of his paper he says: "The Leuchas might possibly be identified with Kroeber's Lakisamni (Yokuts) on the Stanislaus river." A brief examination of the mission records, apart from any other evidence, shows conclusively that two separate and distinct tribes were recognized by the contemporary missionaries.

(Leuchas et al. ... 900)

Ochejamnes.—This tribe is placed by Schenck on the east bank of the Sacramento River near the mouth of the Cosumnes. Kroeber refers to the village of Ochehak and considers it a "political community." He shows it on his map (1925, p. 446) as lying on the Mokelumne, due north of Stockton. Duran, in his diary, May 21 (MS, 1817), describes how he followed the main stream of the Sacramento, i.e., the left branch, on his way back from his stopping point above Courtland. He reached the rancheria "llamada de Oche jamnes," which, although it contained 40 houses, was deserted. Quite soon thereafter ("a poco rato") he reached "la punta de la isla llamada de los Quenemsias," which has been identified definitely as Grand Island. Clearly, therefore, in 1817 the Ochejamnes had a village on the Sacramento higher up the river than is shown by Schenck.

According to Duran the village had 40 houses, which would mean 360 persons without reckoning possible subsidiary rancherias. The name is mentioned for only one mission, San Jose, at which 428 Ochejamne, or Oocheganes, were baptized between 1829 and 1836. This is prima facie evidence that Duran, who saw them in 1817, was referring, as he implies, only to one rancheria and that the tribe was actually larger. This idea is supported by the account of José Berreyesa in 1830 of severe Indian fighting in the delta (Berryesa, MS, 1830). The Ochejamnes and the Yunisumnes with certain American trappers were arrayed against the Californians, who had gathered together 450 auxiliary fighters from the Cosumnes and other tribes. No value is placed upon the number of Ochejamnes but it must have been considerable. It was probably as a result of this campaign that 428 members of the tribe were baptized at Mission San Jose. Even with a relatively complete conquest many of the natives must have escaped; hence in 1830 their total number must have reached 500. But this was in 1830, after a generation of expeditions and petty warfare. The aboriginal number must have been considerably greater, let us say 750.

(Ochejamnes ... 750)

Guaypem.—This group is thought by Schenck to have been simply a village but Merriam (1907, p. 350) regards them as a tribe called the Wipa, located on Sherman Island near the Sacramento River estuary. Duran in his diary says that Guaypens is 6 leagues south and southeast of the fork of the river below Courtland. Allowing for his usual exaggeration of distances, this puts the rancheria near the mouth of the Mokelumne, in the vicinity of Walnut Grove. He speaks of the rancheria "de los Guaypens" and saw only a few people. Thus neither size nor locality supports the contention that Guaypem was synonymous with Wipa. The tribe was not converted until relatively late, 41 converts being taken to San Jose between 1821 and 1824. By that time the tribe had been subject to severe attrition. Thus the evidence points to an aboriginal group consisting of one village of average size, or close to 300 inhabitants.

(Guaypem ... 300)

Quenemsias.—These people, who lived near the two preceding tribes, are designated a "group" by Schenck (p. 136). They covered, according to him, "the southern part, or perhaps all, of Grand Island." The ecclesiastical diarists make no mention of them save the reference by Duran to the "isla llamada de los Quenemisias." One other citation is worth mentioning, however. In the Bancroft Transcripts is a document dated January 31, 1796, entitled "Informe en el cual el teniente Herm^do Sal manifesta lo que ha adquirido de varios sugetos para comunicarlo al Gobernador de la Provincia," which gives a description of the lower reaches of the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers and the delta and mentions the natives (Sal, MS, 1796). In detail, the account is extremely inaccurate. However, one of the Indians "... dio noticia de las naciones Tulpunes, Quinensiat, Taunantoc, y Quisitoc: los primeros son de la orilla del estero; los 2^os estan del otro lado de los rios ..." Although no numerical data are given, the mention of the Quenemsias (Quinensiat) as a "nacion" in the delta region establishes them as a group of more than average importance. The mission books show 185 Quenemsias baptized at Mission San Jose. Roughly double the number of baptisms may be taken as the aboriginal population, i.e., 400.

(Quenemsias ... 400)

Chuppumne, Chucumes.—Schenck places these two settlements, which he calls villages, on the Sacramento River near the mouth of the Cosumnes. Most of our documentary information concerning them is derived from the accounts of Duran and of Luís Argüello. Luís Antonio Argüello accompanied Duran on his expedition and wrote a report to the governor in the form of a letter, dated May 26, 1817, the original of which is preserved in the Bancroft Library (library no. fm-F864A64; also typed copy). The existence of this letter evidently was not known to either Kroeber or Schenck. It is less complete and less detailed than the diary of Duran but it is of value in checking the statements made by the latter.

On May 16 the party reached the foot of Grand Island and on May 17 proceeded up the left-hand (i.e., western) watercourse. The village of Chucumes was found 8 leagues (leguas) upstream, according to Duran, 13 miles (millas) according to Argüello. The latter estimate is probably closer, since Duran is notoriously inaccurate (usually on the side of overestimate) in his computation of distances. Here Duran counted 35 houses whereas Argüello says 36, a sufficiently close correspondence. As indicated previously, a population of 315 persons is probable. Continuing their journey, they went on for 4 miles (Argüello); Duran says approximately 3 leagues. There they stopped at a rancheria, "arruinada" according to Argüello, although Duran makes no mention of this.

On May 18 the party went on upstream, making during the day 4 leagues (Duran) or 16 miles (Argüello). Duran states that after going 1 league they got back into the main stream of the Sacramento. This was clearly at the head of Grand Island, close to Courtland. At 1 league beyond this point, on May 19, they found the rancheria Chuppumne, which was deserted. The location therefore was very close to that shown by Schenck on his map (p. 133) and, if we can put any credence in the Duran-Argüello account, a good many miles north of Chucumes. Near Chuppumne Duran saw three other rancherias in the distance (inland?) but could not get at them. On May 20 the expedition pressed on upstream for 5 miles (Argüello) or 4 leagues (Duran), at which point they turned around and began the return trip. On May 21 Argüello says that they passed "algunas rancherias," all deserted, which may well have been those mentioned by Duran on May 19.

On the river frontage covered from May 17 to May 21 the expedition saw a minimum of 6 villages, 2 of which are mentioned by name (Chucumes and Chuppumne) and for 1 of which the houses were counted. If all these villages were of comparable size—as they may have been aboriginally—then the total population represented would have been 1,800. This estimate would of course not include other villages which the expedition did not see.

The mission records show for San Jose a total of 377 persons baptized from Chucumne and Chuppumne, of whom 322 were converted during 1823 and 1824. We may predicate, therefore, a residual population of 700 to 800 just prior to those years. That the area had suffered severely before that is attested by the deserted and "ruined" rancherias seen by Duran in 1817. It is quite probable that the aboriginal population reached a value of 1,500.

(Chucumes, Chuppumne ... 1,500)

Chupunes (Chupcanes), Tarquines (Tarquimenes, Tauquines), Julpunes (Tulpunes) and Ompines.—This constellation of tribes is best considered collectively, first, because there are no direct estimates of their population, and second, because they occupied a relatively unified area.

Schenck places them along the south shore of Suisun Bay from the east entrance of Carquinez Strait and through the slough region between the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers as far upstream as Isleton on the Sacramento. However, he points out that there is great uncertainty with respect to their exact location, an uncertainty which is emphasized by the wide divergence between his views and those of Merriam. Even the Spanish accounts present numerous discrepancies. In view of this state of our knowledge Schenck makes the very reasonable suggestion that the lower delta tribes may have been so greatly disturbed and shifted around during the period from 1775 to 1810 that the aboriginal locations were forgotten. It is worth while to examine in some detail some of the evidence on this problem. We may begin with examination of the area at and just east of Carquinez Strait on the south shore of Suisun Bay. This consideration entails a preliminary discussion of two small groups, the Aguastos and the Huchium (syn. Habastos, Quivastos, Juchium, Huchimes, Tuchimes, etc.).

This tribe or group of tribes, which must have been of some importance, is not mentioned by name by Kroeber or Schenck, but there is a brief set of typed notes in the Merriam collection in which the location is discussed (MS entitled: "On the East Side San Francisco Peninsula"). The multiplicity of synonyms, however, as well as the large number of neophytes involved, indicates that these tribes were very familiar to the missionaries.

The Merriam notes (pp. 5 and 6) point out the following considerations.

1. "Abella's diary (1811) speaks of present Point San Pablo as the Point of the Huchunes and says their territory extended on the mainland from this point to Pt. San Andres (Pt. Pinole)."

2. Several rancherias belonging to this tribe are mentioned as being on the east side of the bay.

3. "The mission books locate the Habasto tribe 'on the other side of the Bay from the Mission of San Francisco toward the estero which goes to the rivers (Suisun Bay).' Abella's diary calls Point San Pedro the Point of the Abastos."

Merriam therefore was strongly of the opinion that these tribes inhabited the south shore of San Pablo Bay and did not extend farther than Carquinez Strait.

On the other hand, the item in the mission books quoted by Merriam (par. 3, above) indicates Suisun Bay rather than San Pablo Bay. Moreover, there is another statement in the baptism books alongside the designation "Aguastos ó Huchum" to the effect that this tribe was 16 to 18 leagues by water from San Francisco. This distance would place them close to the site of the modern town of Pittsburg, that is, on the southern shore of Suisun Bay. But this area is assigned by Schenck to the Tarquines and perhaps the Julpunes, tribes which are also clearly mentioned by name in the mission records.

If the Aguastos extended from Richmond to Crockett or thereabouts, they were Costanoan and strictly bay people; hence not pertinent to this study. If they lived along Suisun Bay, regardless of their ethnic affiliation they may be included for demographic purposes among the delta tribes. Some further light can be thrown upon the problem by an analysis of the dates shown for baptisms in the San Francisco Mission records.

If the baptisms of gentiles are tabulated according to village and year, it is seen immediately that the conversions in the first year, 1777, were all from local rancherias. This group was extended during the following decade until the San Francisco peninsula had been completely covered. However, after the year 1792 all mention of the peninsula abruptly and entirely ceases. As early as 1778 on the other hand baptisms are listed from a village (Halchis) specified as being in the "sierra oriente de la otra banda." In the succeeding years villages ascribed to the "otra banda" become more frequent and reach a peak between 1790 and 1795. Subsequent to 1800 the conversions from these places diminish rapidly and disappear. Now we know by following the documentary accounts of expeditions that during the decade 1790 to 1800 the great effort of the San Francisco Mission was expended in securing neophytes from the east shore of San Francisco Bay as far north as the Carquinez Strait. There are no baptisms of gentiles whatever listed in the San Francisco books for the years 1797, 1798, and 1799. Therefore it is reasonable to assume that the supply of Costanoans from the east bay had been exhausted. Furthermore, village names qualified by the term "otra banda" and appearing in the baptism record for the first time prior to 1800 must certainly refer to villages in this region. Among these are rancherias stated as belonging to the "nacion Juchium" together with the separate designation "Tuchimes." Thus it is clear that the Huchium lived, as Merriam believed, on the east shore of the bay.

After the inactive period at the end of the century a flood of neophytes began to pour into the mission together with a completely new set of names. One of the first of these is Habastos, a rancheria which contributed 137 converts in 1800 and 1801 and which is now stated, for the first time in the mission book, to lie "acia el estero de los rios." Later, the variants Quivastos and Aguastos are used. Conversions from this tribe continued until 1810, after which the name disappears from the lists.

The sharp segregation of dates of conversion are clear evidence that, whatever the racial or linguistic affiliation, there were two groups of Indians, one converted before 1801 and living along the shore of the bay generally south and west of the Carquinez Strait, the other converted between 1801 and 1810 and living at the east end of the strait and along Suisun Bay. There probably was no clear separation of the two in the minds of the Spaniards; hence the confusion of names. We are concerned here with the second group, the one uniformly designated Aguastos, which inhabited the approaches to the delta.

With respect to the aboriginal population of this group we have no direct evidence whatever. On the other hand the record of the San Francisco Mission shows 396 baptisms. This immediately sets a lower limit to the number of Aguastos for there certainly can have been no fewer members of the tribe than were baptized. Regarding the upper limit it can be pointed out only that the group was completely obliterated at the time of conversion and its name never appears again in either contemporary or modern records. Hence it is safe to assume that substantially all the Aguastos were taken to San Francisco and that the baptisms include the entire tribe. We may thus ascribe to them a population of approximately 400 persons.

We now encounter the Chupunes (or Chupcanes), concerning whom Schenck (1926, p. 143) has this to say:

The Chupunes (Chupcanes), apparently a group, were located along the southern shore near the east end of Carquinez strait. West of the strait, also on the southern shore—in the Pinole region of San Pablo bay—were the Huchones.

The earliest documentary reference is to the diary of Abella, in 1811. On October 16 he went through Carquinez Strait by boat. Then he says that the strait "... remata en la tierra de los Chupunes, porque hay ya ensancha ..." The "ensancha" or widening begins at Port Costa and continues to Martinez. This, then, is the boundary of the Chupunes. On October 28, discussing the Suisunes on the north side of the bay, he says that "La rancheria citada de los Suisunes cahe al nordeste de los Chupanes, tierra adentro del Cerro de los Karquines ..." The Cerro de los Karquines is, of course, Mt. Diablo.

In his account of the expedition of 1817 Duran tells how he arrived at noon of May 14, by boat from San Francisco, at the "remate" of the "estrecho de los Chucanes," at a point 14 leagues northeast of San Francisco and 17 leagues north-northeast of San Jose. The rancheria of this name, he states, is now Christian, at San Francisco and San Jose. The mission books show a total of 105 baptisms at the two establishments.

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.

The San Jose baptism book shows the conversion of 108 Ompines. Those from San Rafael and Solano do not mention the tribe. The fact that a tribe situated north of Suisun Bay does not appear in the records of either of these missions is noteworthy, since during the 1820's and 1830's the north-bay groups were brought to them in large numbers, and since we know from Altimira's comment on Duran's raid that the Ompines were still in existence in 1823. Furthermore, the Ompines must have constituted more than a single small village, for Argüello and Duran both refer to the "tierra" of the Ompines. The hypothesis is possible, although admittedly there is no real proof, that the Ompines may have originally occupied the sloughs and islands at and above Antioch, that they may have been pushed north at an early date by Spanish intrusion from the south and west, and that they may have been further dispersed, or exterminated without extensive conversion, prior to 1830. If such a theory in any way represents the course of their decline and disappearance, then it also follows that the aboriginal population was considerably greater than the baptism number would lead one to suppose.

To turn now to the Julpunes, there seems to be little difference of opinion regarding their original location. This was as Schenck pictures it: the south shore of the San Joaquin estuary from Antioch to the line between R3E and R4E. The "Informe" of Hermengildo Sal, written in 1796 and previously referred to, specifies the "Tulpunes" as a "nacion" living on the "orilla del estero." Fourteen years later in 1810 Viader went 7 leagues from Pittsburg to the "old river" west of Stockton. He was: "... esta tierra es de los Tulpunes." Duran, May 24, 1817, on his return journey downstream reached the region of the Julpunes at 8:00 A.M. and joined the other boat at 6:00 P.M. of the same day at Carquinez Strait.

Schenck (1926, p. 137) points out that Kotzebue, who was in the area in 1823, implies that the Julpunes were living on the north bank. Merriam (1907, p. 348), says that the Hulpoomne "occupied the east bank of the Sacramento River from a few miles south of the mouth of American river southward ..." Schenck's explanation of the discrepancy appears to the present writer entirely sound: the Julpunes retired across the estuary to the north bank and then upstream nearly to Sacramento. In so doing they may very well have carried the surviving Ompines with them. The San Jose record lists 148 baptisms of Julpunes but the name is absent from the records of San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Rafael, and Solano missions. Along with the Ompines the Julpunes must have escaped the active proselyting effort of San Rafael, and particularly Solano, between 1824 and 1834, by a rapid retirement so far up the river as to elude the parties sent out from the missions. The converts at San Jose must have been captured by the Viader, Duran, Argüello, and similar expeditions before the migration upstream.

The Tarquines are claimed by Schenck to have been "... a single group. It seems to have stretched from east to west entirely across the marsh area between the main channels of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, and then to have extended along the southern shore of Suisun Bay" (pp. 134-136). Schenck's belief in this remarkable distribution is based upon three documentary references (at least he cites no more than these three in his tabulation on p. 135).

The first of the three documents, chronologically, is the first expedition of Viader, in 1810. In his entry for August 17 Viader says that, having spent the preceding night near the present location of Pittsburg, he reconnoitred these lands which "... son de los Tarquines, que lo mas, 6 casi todos son Cristianos de San Francisco." After noting the mouths of the two rivers, he goes on to mention a spot on the estuary "... en donde dicen estaba la rancheria de los Tarquines" (emphasis mine). Let it be emphasized that in 1810 the Tarquines are almost all Christians in San Francisco, and Viader saw there the rancheria which was, or had been, that of the Tarquines. The San Francisco baptism book shows 18 "Talquines" converted in 1801 and 63 more in 1802, making a total of 83. This number could well be the majority, or almost all, the inhabitants of a moderate-sized rancheria. Schenck is therefore technically correct in placing the tribe on the south shore of the eastern end of Suisun Bay.

The second document is the diary of Abella in 1811. On October 25, in the course of the return trip downstream, some distance below the junction of the channels of the San Joaquin, he found a rancheria of the Tauquimenes, one part of each side of the river, which was 30 to 40 varas wide. This point was apparently at or near the head of Sherman Island. The rancheria had 60 houses. He saw 200 warriors. He then crossed through the sloughs to the Sacramento River and on or opposite Sherman Island saw one rancheria of 14 houses and several of 2 to 3 houses. He says that all they passed this day was "... parte de una isla" (i.e., Sherman Island). Furthermore

... en todo este dia andubimos como unas 12 leguas [overestimate] y podra haver gente, como 200 almas, todavia puede que haiga mas, porque en la primera [rancheria] habraumas 1,000, segun lo grande que por aqui son las casas, tienen un circuito de 28 o 30 varas, con su orcon en medio ...

This account deserves comment on several grounds: with relation to Viader's visit of the previous year and the baptisms at San Francisco it is evident that whereas the southern extension of the Tarquines' habitat, whatever its size, had been swept clear prior to 1810, nevertheless the tribe persisted on the estuarine islands in truly large numbers. Moreover, since there is evidence of no more than one rancheria on the south shore, it appears that the territory in that region allotted by Schenck to the tribe is too large and should be restricted to a small area of the southeastern corner of Suisun Bay.

With respect to population, Abella's figures are quite credible. It has been suggested that one of the huge houses found in this region could accommodate 9 persons without difficulty. Then the large village should have had 540 inhabitants. Allowing 24 houses for the other villages seen, 216 persons should be added, making a total of 756, a figure not far from Abella's guess of 1,000.

The final reference to the tribe occurs in the diary of Duran. During the night of May 22-23, 1817, he went up the main channel of the San Joaquin, in T3N, R4E, and passed the Tauguimenes on the left, that is to say, on the east bank. Schenck thinks that the group covered the entire strip from Pittsburg to the east bank of the main river contemporaneously. Now it has been pointed out as probable that the southwestern outliers were missionized, or pushed back into the swamps, as early as 1801. It is equally possible that the island communities described by Abella in 1811 were pushed, in the next five or six years, off the islands altogether and clear back eastward to the far bank of the main river. Of considerable significance is the fact that whereas both Viader and Abella mention the Tarquines as being in the estuary region, Duran, who covered this area thoroughly, is completely silent with regard to their presence. It is highly unlikely that, had there been any of the tribe left in their former habitat, he would have failed to note them.

The details are very obscure but the main outlines of events in the first three decades of the nineteenth century can be perceived. Aboriginally and perhaps till nearly 1800, there was a dense population of natives extending from Port Costa along the southern shore of Suisun Bay and up the rivers for fifteen miles beyond Antioch. Among them were included tribal groups, or rancherias, called Aguastos, Chupunes, Ompines, Julpunes, and Tarquines, belonging very likely to different ethnic and linguistic stocks. Under the pressure of the Spanish military power, which was the real force behind missionization, portions of these groups were exterminated, other segments gave ground and shifted habitat, and occasional remnants persisted in the old localities. Thus each visitor in turn found a different geographical organization, until the entire native society was obliterated.

An accurate assessment of aboriginal population in this area is impossible. The best we can do is try to make an intelligent guess. Several methods are available for this purpose—group comparisons, mission figures, area comparisons.

Throughout the plains of the lower San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys the native social units appear to have resembled rather uniformly the political organization of the Yokuts in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley. There were aggregates, or communities, consisting of perhaps one, but usually more than one, village, and occupying a more or less clearly defined territory. These groups, as they may be called, can be identified by the plural names which are ordinarily attached to them—the Bolbones, the Leuchas, and so forth. Naturally these groups varied considerably in size, and concerning no single one of them can we be absolutely sure of the number of their people. Nevertheless, if we had data concerning enough of them, the variations due both to inherent difference and to inaccurate estimate would tend to cancel out and an approximate average could be secured. No pretence can be made that we have enough estimates to establish a mean which would be statistically satisfactory. Nevertheless, as so frequently happens when we are dealing with data of this character, we have to employ the information available to us or forsake the problem entirely.

We have hitherto considered a number of the local groups mentioned above and have estimated their population as follows: Bolbones (restricted group, see p. 58), 1,500; Jusmites, 300; Tugites, 500; Nototemnes, 200; Leuchas, 900; Ochejamnes, 750; Guaypem, 300; Quenemsias, 400; Chucumes and Chuppumne, 1,500. The average for the nine groups is 705 or, in round numbers, 700. If we consider that the Aguastos, Chupunes, Ompines, Julpunes, and Tarquines were groups of the same character as the foregoing, then their total population may be taken as 3,500.

The total baptisms shown in the mission books of the five northern missions (in fact, only San Francisco and San Jose) for these groups is 911. In previous instances we have estimated the aboriginal population by doubling the baptism number. This procedure is admittedly purely arbitrary and based upon the general consideration that, except for small local populations relatively close to the mission, it was impossible for the missionaries and soldiers to prevent the escape of a sizable fraction of the people. Of the five groups here discussed, the Aguastos, it is evident, were completely missionized or at least obliterated. A much greater proportion of the other tribes survived, as is attested by their probable migrations up the rivers. Hence for the entire population it is doubtful if even one-half received baptism. Using the value of one half, the aboriginal number would have been approximately 2,000.

Linear distances along streams are useful as a basis for comparison in country where the rivers are similar ecologically but are clearly separated spatially and where the human population is concentrated along the stream banks to the exclusion of the interfluvial hinterland. Where a territory is marked by a network of creeks and sloughs, and the intermediate land is marsh, the linear comparisons become impossible. Areas must be substituted.

In relation to the present problem three such areas may be delineated. The first comprises the territory of the Bolbones (including all the subordinate villages) and the Leuchas. Following Schenck's map, it embraces all the land between the channels of the San Joaquin plus a strip approximately two miles wide east of the main river in T1 and 2S, R6E which accounts for the Leuchas. The area, as projected from a large-scale map onto coördinate paper, is 775 square miles, the population 3,400, and the density 4.39 persons per square mile. The second comprises the home of the Ochejamnes, Guaypem, Quenemsias, and Chucumnes-Chuppumne. For the habitat of these groups we have followed Schenck as far as possible. Our line runs actually from the junction of the east and west channels of the Sacramento at the foot of Grand Island southeast to the main channel of the San Joaquin, thence northeast and north to just east of Walnut Grove and then, at a distance of about 2 miles east of the eastern channel of the Sacramento, to a point 4 miles north of Courtland. Here the line crosses the river and continues downstream, 2 miles west of the river, to the starting point. This strip of the western bank of the western branch of the Sacramento is included in order to take in the Chucumes, who may have lived on the west side of the river. The area of this territory is 330 square miles, the population 2,950, and the density 8.94 persons per square mile.

The third area is the one shown by Schenck as belonging to the Chupunes, Tarquines, Julpunes, and Ompines, with the exception of the region east of the San Joaquin attributed to the Tarquines. For reasons stated previously the author does not believe that the Tarquines occupied this spot aboriginally. A strip 2 miles wide is included on the north shore, however, between Rio Vista and Collinsville, in the probable land of the Ompines. The eastern boundary is formed by the borders of areas one and two. In area three there are 600 square miles. The mean of the densities of the other two areas is 6.67 persons per square mile. Hence the population would have been 4,002 persons. No significance should be attributed to the third and probably also the second digit in these numbers. They are used only for purposes of estimate.

The three methods employed have yielded respectively 3,000, 2,000, and 4,000 as the most likely population of the five groups here being discussed. In default of any other evidence we may take the average 3,000.

(Chupunes, Tarquines, Ompines, Julpunes ... 3,000)

Adding the totals for the tribes known to inhabit the delta region of the great rivers and the southern shore of Suisun Bay, we arrive at a total population of 9,350.

Delta area ... 9,350

It is now preferable to depart from a strictly tribal sequence and revert once more to a classification based upon river basins. Three areas of this type are sufficiently clearly marked out; those corresponding to (1) the Cosumnes River, (2) the Mokelumne River, and (3) the lower San Joaquin River from just below the Merced to the head of tide water near Manteca. The inhabitants may be designated village or tribal groups in accordance with the river system where they were located.

The Cosumnes group.—On the river of this name lived the large and important aggregate of peoples known popularly as the Cosumnes, which included a restricted tribelet or subgroup also called Cosumnes. Ethnically a portion of the Plains Miwok, they extended from Sloughhouse close to the foothills, along the lower course of the Cosumnes River to its confluence with the Mokelumne near Thornton, and from that point northwestward to the Sacramento. The tribe as a whole was divided into either villages or tribelets, the names of many of which have come down to us from the Spanish records or have been ascertained by informants from ethnographers. As might be expected, there is considerable confusion among the different sets of names.

The mission documents are replete with village and tribal names but the number of baptisms was not as large as might be anticipated from what must have been a very populous aggregate of natives. The reason probably lies in the fact that missionizing expeditions to the Cosumnes were preceded by exploratory and punitive expeditions which, to be sure, brought home a few converts but which were chiefly preoccupied with military objectives. The Cosumnes, together with the Mokelumnes and other peoples of the lower San Joaquin Valley, had the time and the opportunity to develop great facility in the raiding and stealing of livestock and consequently for many years were in a state of uninterrupted war with the coastal settlers. The bitter hostility thus generated, together with the aggressive psychology which accompanied successful physical opposition to the Spaniards, made extensive conversion to Christianity very difficult. As a result the relative proportion of the natives baptized was unquestionably much lower than among the bay and delta tribes previously considered. The baptisms which appear in the mission records follow.

Tribe or Group Date of Conversion Baptisms

Cosumnes (Tribelet) 1826-1836 84

Junisumne (Anizumne, Unsumne)1813-1834363

Lelamne (Llamne) 1813-1836128

Gualacomne1825-1836158

Amuchamne (Mackemne)1834-183513

Sololumne1828-18346

Locolumne1826-183452

———

Total 804

If we apply the general principle used with the delta groups and double the baptism number, the population becomes 1,608, a figure which is much too low. The Lelamne, with 128 baptisms, comprises the group attacked by Soto in 1813, at which time we have estimated that there were four villages of 475 persons each involved in the battle. This calculation implies a total of 1,900 for the Lelamne alone. On the other hand, the account is not entirely clear as to whether or not there were members of the Cosumnes tribelet concerned. If so, we may be dealing with both the Lelamne and adjacent neighbors who were designated locally Cosumnes. If we include the baptisms of all those under both names, we have 212. Furthermore, the Junisumne (or Unsumne or Anizumne) were often confused with the Cosumnes. If the 363 baptisms listed under the Junisumne are added we get 575 and, multiplying by 2, the population of the three divisions collectively would have been 1,150. This estimate also appears too small and leads to the conclusion suggested above on historical grounds that a baptism factor valid for the delta would not be applicable to the Cosumnes group as a whole.

Another documentary source is of interest in this connection. This is the account by José Berreyesa in 1830 (MS) of an affray along the lower Sacramento River in which Americans participated under Ewing Young. Christian fugitives from the missions had been protected by the Yunisumenes (Junisumne), who had joined with the Ochejamnes. They were opposed by the Mexicans and their allies, the Sigousamenes (Siakumne), the Cosomes, and the Ilamenes. These last tribes had gathered an army of 450 "Gentiles auciliares." The Yunisumenes, Cosomes, and Ilamenes are, of course, precisely the three subtribes discussed in the preceding paragraph. Now if the Sigousamenes, Cosomes, and Ilamenes contributed 450 men collectively, they each may be considered to have furnished 150 men. Since the opponents were fairly well matched, it is likely that the Yunisumenes supplied a similar number. We can assume that for routine fighting of this sort, particularly where two of the tribelets were ranged with the Mexicans instead of against them, the armies included no more than the strictly military population, or not in excess of half the males over the age of ten years. Hence, if the sex ratio was unity and the young children constituted approximately 15 per cent of the population, the aggregate number of the three subtribes would have amounted to 1,920, or almost the same as was estimated from the Soto report in 1813 for the Lelamne (Ilamenes) above, or perhaps the Lelamne augmented by some of the Cosumnes tribelets or subtribes. The Berreyesa episode occurred in 1830, after all these groups had suffered twenty years of attrition owing to perpetual minor warfare, disease, and starvation. Hence the population of the three tribelets jointly, Junisumne, Cosumnes, and Lelamne, must have reached fully 3,000 in 1813. The baptism factor, consequently, would not have been 50 per cent, but 575 divided by 3,000, or 19.2 per cent.

Three other villages or tribelets which can be identified in the mission records as being closely associated with the Cosumnes are the Amuchamne, Sololumne, and Locolumne. The first two probably correspond to Merriam's Oo-moo-chah and So-lo-lo, which in later times at least were rancherias. Assuming all three to have been villages, we may consider that each contained an average number of 300 inhabitants. The respective baptism numbers were 13.6, and 52. In relative terms the baptisms amounted to 4.3, 2.0, and 17.3 per cent.

The last division listed above is the Gualacomne, synonymous with Merriam's Wah-lah-kum-ne. Merriam (Mewko List, MS) places them between the lower Stanislaus and the Tuolumne rivers, but quotes Hale, who saw them in the 1840's, as saying that they lived on the lower east side of the Sacramento River. Hale's statement is strongly supported by the fact that they appear in J. A. Gatten's census of 1846 (MS, 1872). Gatten ennumerated only the tribes along the lower Sacramento. Whether the Gualacomne can be affiliated with the Cosumnes ethnically is doubtful but it is reasonable to include them with this group demographically.

Of the Gualacomne 158 were baptized in the missions. That the group was fairly large is attested by the fact that Gatten reported, under the name Yalesumne, that 485 were alive in 1846, Since no open valley group could possibly have retained more than one-third of its former members in 1846, it does not seem excessive to ascribe 1,455 persons to the tribelet. The baptism factor is 10.8 per cent, and the average of the five values secured with the Cosumnes group is 10.7, or, let us say 10.0 per cent. The total population on the lower Cosumnes and adjacent Sacramento rivers, according to the discussion above would be 5,355 souls.

We may approach the problem from a different direction if we start with the villages compiled by Merriam (1907, p. 349). He mentions sixteen villages on the Cosumnes River system from Sloughhouse nearly but not quite to the Sacramento. It is extremely probable that there were other villages on the Sacramento River itself. Nevertheless, let us take Merriam's list as it stands. The upper seven villages lie between Sloughhouse and the junction of the Cosumnes River with Deer Creek, the remainder below that point. Of the lower nine we may consider that four correspond to those seen by Soto, which were quite large. It was estimated that they contained 475 persons apiece. The other five lower villages, although perhaps not so populous, must have held fully 300 inhabitants each. The upper seven were no doubt smaller but still should have reached the values given by Moraga for similar stretches of the Tuolumne and Merced, i.e., approximately 250 persons. The total would then come to 5,150, very close to the previous estimate. It will be both adequate and conservative to establish the population at 5,200.

Cosumnes group ... 5,200

The Moquelumne group.—Here are included the Indians living on the lower course of the Mokelumne River, the Calaveras River, and the plain between the two. Five tribes mentioned by the Spanish writers fall within this category: the Moquelumnes, the Siakumne, the Passasimas, the Yatchikumne and the Seguamne. The exact territorial status of these tribes has been a subject of considerable disagreement among ethnographers.

The original Moquelumnes of the Spaniards were undoubtedly located on the Mokelumne River itself from Campo Seco nearly to the junction with the Cosumnes at which point they adjoined the Cosumnes tribe. According to George H. Tinkham, in his History of San Joaquin County (1923), they extended in a north-south direction all the way from Dry Creek to the Calaveras River, but by the middle of the nineteenth century they may have spread out from their original habitat. The Yatchikumne are shown by Schenck as filling the space between the lower Mokelumne and the lower Calaveras and extending westward to the San Joaquin River. Merriam (Mewko List, MS) quotes F. T. Gilbert to the effect that they occupied the Mokelumne River basin, but if they did so, it was because of the displacements during the mining era. The Passasimas are placed by Schenck on the left bank of the Calaveras River at, and for several miles upstream from, its junction with the San Joaquin River.

The Siakumne and the Seguamne are subject to some confusion. This difficulty arises partially from the similarity in name. The Siakumne are called Si-a-kum-ne by Merriam and Sakayakumne by Kroeber. In Gatten's census of 1846 they appear as Sagayakumne. In the San Jose baptism book we find Ssicomne, Zicomne, Siusumne, and Sigisumne. The Seguamne, on the other hand are designated Seguamnes and Saywamines by Merriam and Sywameney or Seywameney by Sutter in his New Helvetia Diary (1939). Gatten calls them Sywamney. They appear in the San Jose record as Secuamne, Seguamne, Seyuame, and other variants.

The Siakumne lived somewhere between the Calaveras and Stanislaus rivers according to Merriam, who places one of their villages at Knights Ferry on the Stanislaus. Schenck doubts Merriam's location and Kroeber puts the rancheria Sakayakumne as far north as the Mokelumne. Sutter (1939, p. 88) says that some of these people came to work for him, an unlikely event if they had been living as far away as the Stanislaus. It is probable that the lower Calaveras River is as close as we can place them. The Seguamne are not mentioned at all by Schenck. Merriam (Mewko List, MS) says they were a "tribe or subtribe on E. side lower Sacramento River" and may have been a subtribe of the Bolbones. Sutter and Gatten both refer to the tribe, and the sphere of activity of these men did not extend much below the Sacramento River itself. Hence, although there are grounds for including the Seguamne with the Bolbones or the Cosumnes, no serious error will be committed by placing them in the Mokelumne group.

The Moquelumnes were unquestionably quite numerous. In Spanish and Mexican times they were the most aggressive and belligerent of all the valley tribes and gave the coastal settlers a very rough struggle. Nevertheless, in spite of their detestation of the missionaries they furnished 143 converts between 1817 and 1835. At a ratio of 10 per cent this would mean a population, prior to the mission period, of about 1,400 souls. J. M. Amador (MS, 1877, p. 43) says that once, during the later colonial period, they furnished 200 auxiliaries, a fact which would argue fully 1,000 people at the time. Gatten in his census of 1846 gives them a total of 81 persons but G. H. Tinkham says that in 1850 or thereabouts they possessed four sizable villages with four chieftains. This may have meant between 200 and 400 persons, a really considerable number of survivors for a tribe which had suffered so extensively in the preceding three decades. These indications, and it must be admitted that they are only indications, would lead one to infer that the aboriginal population reached at least 1,500.

Precisely because the Moquelumnes were so brutally handled in the colonial era the modern ethnographic accounts of villages are very incomplete. Neither Merriam nor Schenck gives us any list. Kroeber puts three on his map (1925, opp. p. 446): Mokel (-umni), Lelamni, and Sakayak-umni. I think we are now in a position to state that these names represent former tribes and if they were applied to villages by informants, it is because the component units had shrunk to very small size.

Stream density comparisons are of value for the Mokelumne group. On the Cosumnes River, from Sloughhouse to Thornton, Merriam shows thirteen rancherias (omitting those close to the Sacramento River). As was proposed above we may ascribe from 200 to 400 inhabitants to each of these, say on the average 300. Now there is no reason to suppose that the Mokelumne River from the San Joaquin-Calaveras county line to just west of Lodi was less heavily populated than the Cosumnes. If so, the number of villages per linear river mile must have been very nearly the same. For the stretches under consideration there were 24 miles on the Cosumnes and 22 on the Mokelumne. Thus we would get 12 villages and 3,600 persons living on the Mokelumne River.

The Yatchikumne and, if we are to credit Schenck, the Passasimas occupied a position on the Calaveras River comparable to that occupied by the Moquelumnes on the Mokelumne. Schenck regards the Yatchikumne as a tribe equal in importance to the Moquelumnes, and the county historians speak of them as a large group. Their river frontage is equivalent to that of the Moquelumnes. For these reasons we would be justified in ascribing to the Yatchikumne and Passasimas the same population as the Moquelumnes, i.e., 3,600. The evaluation of the other two groups from the geographical standpoint is difficult, owing to the uncertainty of their location. The Siakumne may be regarded as living somewhere on the lower Calaveras and, if so, must be included with the Yatchikumne and Passasimas in the estimate for the Calaveras. The Seguamne may or may not have inhabited the banks of the Mokelumne and Calaveras rivers. In view of our ignorance on this point it may be well to omit them from consideration in this connection and leave the estimate with the existing total of 7,200.

We may attempt some direct tribal comparisons. In considering the northern San Joaquin Valley and delta 21 tribes and tribelets have been examined, namely: Aguastos, Bolbones (4 tribes), Leuchas, Ochejamnes, Guaypen, Quenemsias, Chuppumne, Chupunes, Tarquines, Julpunes, Ompines, and the Cosumnes group (7 tribes). For all these the average population calculated has been very close to 700. If this figure is applied directly to the Moquelumne group, its population becomes 3,500. However, some adjustment is necessary. The Moquelumnes by all accounts, Spanish and American, were an unusually large tribe, probably reaching at least 1,500. The Yatchikumne may not have been as numerous but were apparently above the average size, let us say 1,200. The Passasimas, despite the fact that Schenck thinks they were a "group plus" may be regarded as smaller, perhaps no more than average. For the Siakumne and Seguamne we must also assume the average figure, 700. With these adjustments the total reaches 4,800.

The baptism books give us a record of the following conversions.

TribeSan Jose Santa Clara

Moquelumnes143...

Yatchikumnes118...

Passasimas145...

Siakumne22...

Seguamne47116

The Passasimas, Siakumne, and Seguamne were situated in the vicinity of the San Joaquin River and hence were more exposed to the Spanish expeditions than the tribes along the lateral streams. Hence the proportion of those taken for conversion may have been higher than the 10 per cent of the aboriginal population found for the Cosumnes, although it would not have attained the value of 50 per cent characteristic of the more westerly delta tribes. We may take an intermediate figure, 20 per cent. This would give the Passasimas a population of 725, the Siakumne 110, and the Seguamne 815. The great disparity between the figures for the last two tribes may well be due to confusion of names in the mission records. The total for the three is 1,650. For the Yatchikumne on the Calaveras River no more than 10 per cent baptisms can be assumed, yielding a population figure of 1,180. If only geographical location were considered, the same factor could be used for the Moquelumnes but this tribe resisted missionization with extraordinary tenacity. Hence we are not justified in using a factor of more than 7 per cent, from which we may infer that the population was 2,040. The baptism data would then give us a total for the group of 4,870.

According to the estimates furnished by pioneers and government officials for the period just preceding the Gold Rush the population ran into the thousands. The census by Savage (Dixon, MS, 1875) puts 4,000 on the Cosumnes, Mokelumne, and Calaveras and 2,500 on the Stanislaus, F. T. Gilbert (1879, p. 13) says that "before the advent of Sutter" there were 2,000 on the Mokelumne and, as far as I can ascertain, he implies that on the Cosumnes and Mokelumne together there were fully 5,000. These figures were undoubtedly greatly exaggerated but nevertheless indicate a very large population in the area just before the discovery of gold and subsequent to the destructive epidemics of 1833-1835. Even if we cut these estimates in half, there would remain in midcentury approximately 2,000 persons in the basins of the Moquelumne, Calaveras, and adjacent San Joaquin rivers. A residue of 2,000 in 1850 means certainly an original population of three times as much, i.e., 6,000.

To recapitulate the estimates for the Moquelumne group, we find:

By stream densities7,200

By adjusted tribal averages4,800

By baptism data4,870

By extrapolation from American estimates6,000

Mean5,720

The mean, 5,720, appears entirely reasonable for the aboriginal population of such a vigorous and important group.

Moquelumne group ... 5,720

The lower San Joaquin River group.—Here are included for convenience the tribes and fragments of tribes inhabiting the banks of the San Joaquin River from the habitat of the Leuchas, in the vicinity of Manteca, to just below the mouth of the Merced, together with those living along the lower courses of the Stanislaus and Tuolumne rivers (see maps 1, 5, and 6, area 8). The San Joaquin villages or tribes appear to have been Cuyens, Mayemes, Tationes, and Apaglamnes. The first two are regarded by Schenck as villages only and the latter two as "villages plus." The only Spaniard who described the area was Viader, in the accounts of his two expeditions of 1810.

On his first expedition, having left the village of Tomchom, he went south-southeast up the river for 2½ leagues to another village "... cuya capitan se llama Cuyens." This was very close to section 10, in T3S, R6E. After a journey of another 2½ to 3 leagues he found another village, whose captain was Maijem (sec. 8, in T4S, R7E). Then, after 2 leagues, still another village, whose captain was Bozenats (in sec. 34, in T4S, R7E), was seen. Three leagues farther in the same direction brought him to the rancheria "... cuyo appelido es Tationes." In the meantime he had seen 30 gentiles from the Apaglamnes. The Tationes were located close to section 27, in T5S, R8E.

During his second expedition, on October 22, Viader went from Pescadero southeast up the river for 5 leagues to "los indios Tugites." Three leagues farther on he was met by Indians from Cuyens, who went with him to the "Rancheria de Mayem," another 4½ leagues farther on. Then, having forded the river to the east shore, they went still another 2 leagues to a rancheria "que se llama ... Taualames." The Rio Dolores (Tuolumne) was supposed to be 2 to 3 leagues north. However, Viader went upstream on the east bank 6 leagues to the Rio Merced, having in the meantime passed "en frente de ... los indios Apelamenes y Tatives."

The distances on both trips are very consistent and the village locations check closely with those shown on Schenck's map, except that only the Taualames should be placed on the east bank of the river. Viader is very explicit in saying that all the others were on the west bank.

Cuyens, Mayem, and Bozenats are beyond doubt villages, since each was named after its chief, or captain. The Tationes and Apaglamnes are given in the plural: "los indios Apelamenes y Tatives." They may well have possessed more than one rancheria each, as is supposed by Schenck. Schenck thinks that Cuyens and Mayem were transient parties from Kroeber's Miwok villages, Chuyumkatat and Mayemam, which were on the Cosumnes. Aside from the possible similarity in names there is not the slightest evidence in Viader's diaries to support such a theory. Viader definitely specifies rancherias, and the missionaries of that period were able to distinguish rancherias from fishing parties.

From the record we have in this area five villages certain and at least one other probable. For six villages of average size (there is no indication that they were smaller) the population would be assumed as 300 persons each, or 1,800 in all.

The mission records show for baptisms:

Tribe or VillageDates of ConversionNumber of Baptisms

Cuyens1811-181388

Mayemes1813-182391

Apaglamnes1818-182448

Tationes1805-1811243

The total is 470. These were San Joaquin River natives, not from the delta and marsh region. On the other hand they were less remote from Spanish influence and attack than the tribes which extended up the lateral streams. Hence the proportion of baptisms was probably intermediate between the value of 50 per cent assumed for the very exposed bay and delta people and that of 10 per cent ascribed to the Cosumnes. An estimate of 25 per cent would be reasonable, yielding a population value of 1,800. The two methods of calculation coincide, and the result, 1,800 inhabitants, may be allowed for the area.

For the lower Stanislaus and Tuolumne rivers the only tribes mentioned in the Spanish documents are the Tauhalames (or Taulamnes) on the Tuolumne and the Lakisamne (or Lakisumne or Laquisemne) on the Stanislaus. Kroeber (1925, p. 485) writes: "the Tawalimni, presumably on Tuolumne River ... the Lakisamni ... on the Stanislaus ..." Schenck says (p. 141):

The villages of Taulamne and Taualames are both definitely placed, the former on an inaccessible rock on the Stanislaus river in the foothills, the latter at the ford of the San Joaquin just below the mouth of the Tuolumne river.... This seems to establish the region between the lower Tuolumne and Stanislaus rivers as Taulamne territory. Merriam agrees in assigning the same region to the Tuolumne.

Schenck's only reference to the Lakisamne is on the same page: "The Leuchas might possibly be identified with Kroeber's Lakisamni (Yokuts) on the Stanislaus river." But the mission records and all other documents clearly distinguish between the two groups, rendering Schenck's hypothesis entirely untenable.

Some of the confusion may derive from the account of Muñoz. In his diary of the Moraga expedition he tells how, on October 1, 1806, the party left the Merced River and proceded northwest for 7 to 8 leagues, reaching finally a river which they called the Dolores (i.e., the Tuolumne, probably near Modesto). There were no Indians, but signs of "varias rancherias," the inhabitants having all absconded. On October 2 they went northwest again and at 4 leagues, in the middle of a very large oak park, they came upon another river, which they called the Guadelupe. This could only have been the Stanislaus, probably somewhere east of Ripon. On the next day, October 3, they went up this river, and at the end of 6 leagues reached a rancheria called Taulamne. It was situated in "unos empinados voladeros e inacesibles por unas encrespadas rocas." They could not get at the Indians but estimated the population as 200, on the basis of the people they could discern. This village, be it noted, was situated among "steep cliffs, inaccessible because of certain rough rocks"—not on an inaccessible rock in the river. This spot, judging by both the distances and the description, was along the limestone bluffs which steeply border the south bank of the Stanislaus for several miles opposite Knights Ferry. The Indians said that there were six other rancherias upstream. From this point the expedition moved the next day again northwest toward the Calaveras River. We gather little concerning tribal names from Moraga's account but we learn that there was a considerable population along the Stanislaus which demonstrated sharp defiance to the Spanish invaders.

In the later documents there is little if any reference to the Taulamnes but much discussion of the Lakisamni. There are repeated allusions to this group as being very hostile, bad raiders, and the object of several military campaigns, particularly those against the great Indian rebel chief, Estanislao. The fighting was undoubtedly on the Stanislaus River and the Indian protagonists were frequently allied with the Cosumnes and Mokelumnes. From the context of the documents they would seem to have been as numerous, or at least as bellicose, as either of these two tribes.

José Sanchez in 1826 refers to his bitter battle with Estanislao, which took place on the "rio de los Laquisimes" (MS, 1826). Joaquin Piña describes a military expedition under Guadelupe Vallejo in 1829 (MS, 1829). The objective was two "rancherias," one of the Laquisimes and the other of the Tagualames, on the "Rio de los Laquisimes," or the "Rio Pescadero." The campaign was inconclusive since nearly all of the Indians escaped.

From the citations above it appears probable that the Taulamnes and the Lakisamne were two distinct tribal groups and that their home was on both the Tuolumne and Stanislaus rivers. It is also likely that in the turmoil and confusion of the period between 1800 and 1830 the original spacing and distribution of the tribes became irreparably lost and that the surviving fragments of both amalgamated and reconstituted themselves with reference to their Spanish enemies rather than with reference to their aboriginal social organization. Hence they may have come to be concentrated more on the Stanislaus than on the Tuolumne.

The only direct population estimate we have for them is that of Muñoz, who claimed 200 persons for the village of Taulamne, among the cliffs. Assuming that 50 persons were not seen, the village would have had 250 inhabitants, which is more or less standard for the general area, according to Moraga's account. If the other six villages had an equal population, the total would have been 1,500. But this estimate does not include the portion of the Stanislaus below Taulamne which was covered by Moraga in his march of 6 leagues upstream. No villages are mentioned in connection with this march but they could scarcely have failed to exist. Hence we may add another 500 without much fear of exaggeration, making a total of 2,000 for the course of the river from the San Joaquin to several miles above Knights Ferry. On the Tuolumne "varias rancherias" were seen, all deserted by their occupants. However, Moraga also remarked that the lower Tuolumne resembled the lower Merced. On the latter were 8 rancherias, hence there may have been an equal number on the Tuolumne. At a conservative 225 persons in each, the aggregate would have been 1,800. The sum for the two rivers would be 3,800.

The baptism lists show 151 conversions for the Lakisamne and 263 for the Taulamnes, or 414 in all. In view of the notorious hostility and the successful resistance these groups opposed to the white men, evident even in Moraga's day, we are justified in setting the baptism factor as low as for the Mokelumnes, or 7 per cent. This gives a potential aboriginal population of 5,920.

The midcentury American estimates would indicate more than this number. H. W. Wessells (1859) claims 500 to 700 on the Stanislaus and Tuolumne in 1853. Adam Johnston (1853) put 1,350 on his map of the same area in 1852. W. M. Ryer vaccinated 1,010 on the two rivers in 1851. The Daily Alta California for May 31, 1851, said that the Indians were 1,000 strong between the Stanislaus and the Tuolumne, and Savage, for an earlier period, put them at 4,600 (Dixon, MS, 1875). On the other hand, it must be remembered that as a result of Spanish and Mexican, not to mention American, aggression most of the strictly San Joaquin River people had long since retreated up the lateral streams. Hence the natives seen by the commissioners between 1850 and 1853 included the residues of all the river tribes from Manteca to Merced. For the southern part of the San Joaquin Valley it was determined, in a previous discussion, that the population remainder in 1850 represented approximately one-third of the aboriginal population. Of the estimates just cited the most reliable is that of Ryer. Following the suggestions presented in the consideration of his activities, we must make a correction to account for persons who missed vaccination. Such a correction would bring the number to 1,420. Then application of the factor one-third gives an aboriginal value of 4,730.

The three modes of estimate yield respectively a population of 3,800, 5,920, and 4,730, with an average of 4,817. We may use a slightly greater value and call the population 5,000. To this must be added the 1,800 persons estimated to have lived along the San Joaquin River itself. The lower San Joaquin River group as a whole, therefore, may be assigned a population of 6,800.

Lower San Joaquin River Group ... 6,800

NORTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY ... 27,070

THE MIWOK FOOTHILL AREA

Above the central valley itself and occupying the foothills from the Cosumnes to the Tuolumne lived the northern and central Miwok. This region was not reached by the Spanish expeditions nor were many, if any, of the inhabitants incorporated in the missions. It is therefore necessary to rely exclusively upon the reports of the ethnographers. In a preceding discussion of the central Miwok, who lived on the upper Stanislaus and Tuolumne, there were cited the data secured by Gifford, Kroeber, and Merriam for 70 villages. This area in 1850 was estimated to contain a population of 1,470. There are no data comparable to Gifford's for the rivers farther north, largely because the natives on the upper Cosumnes, Mokelumne, and Calaveras were thoroughly dispersed during the Gold Rush and village names and locations have become lost to the memory of Indian and white man alike. It is possible, however, to get a reasonable estimate of the population indirectly.

The territory of the northern Miwok, from the ecological standpoint resembles closely that of the central Miwok. Hence stream mileage and area comparisons are justified. If we use the boundaries of the two groups substantially as given by Kroeber in the Handbook (map, opp. p. 446) and plot rivers and areas on a large-scale map, the equivalent aboriginal population for the northern Miwok by stream mileage and area is 2,480 and 1,535, respectively. The discrepancy in the two estimates is due to the greater frequency of streams and creeks in the northern area. The average of the population calculated by the two methods is 2,008, very close to that found for the central Miwok. The total for the foothill strip is then 4,138 or in round numbers 4,150.

MIWOK FOOTHILL AREA ... 4,150

FOOTNOTES: