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قراءة كتاب The Aboriginal Population of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California
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The Aboriginal Population of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California
Indians. Their color and other qualities of nakedness, slight beard, etc., are the same as those seen hitherto, and the same as those we saw farther on. Some wear the hair long, others short, and some have beards rather long and heavy.
Font and Anza had an excellent opportunity to observe aboriginal methods of navigation and fishing. At the western end of Carquinez Strait, says Anza (A, p. 140), five tule rafts crossed the strait in less than a quarter of an hour, the tide being slack. Font says, regarding these craft (F2, p. 320):
We saw there some launches very well made of tule, with their prows or points somewhat elevated. They had been anchored near the shore with some stones for anchors, and in the middle of the water some Indians were fishing in one.... I saw that they were fishing with nets and that they anchored the launch with some very long slim poles.
These poles were measured and found to be about 13 varas long (roughly 35 ft.). Font goes on to describe the actual taking of fish:
Among other fish which they caught the Indians who were fishing pulled out two very large ones, about two varas long, and their method of catching them was this: as soon as they felt from the pull made by the fish that it was in the net, which was tied to the two poles, they began gradually to raise one of the poles, and as soon as the fish and the net came in sight, without taking it from the water they gave the fish many blows on the head. Once I counted fifteen blows in succession and in another case twenty-odd. Now that it was dead and had lost its strength they took it from the net and put it inside the launch.
A soldier traded a piece of cloth for a fish. But the Indians
... before delivering it took the spawn from the stomach and an intestine like a pocket, and right there on the spot they ate the spawn raw and put what was left over in the intestine. They then went to eat the other fish, which they dispatched quickly. Making a little fire they put it in, and in a short time, almost before it was hot, like brutes they ate it as it was, almost raw.
Some war equipment was seen. Near the camp on Walnut Creek at Pacheco, the party was visited by local Indians with whom there was a little trouble.
Some of them came to see us, carrying bows and arrows, for all had very good ones and well made, the bow of good wood, small and wound with tendons like those we saw on the Channel, and the arrows of little reeds, very smooth, well made, and with flints, transparent and very sharp. One came with a scalp hanging from a pole. This did not please me, for it suggested war.
Near the camp there were two villages: one, says Anza (A, p. 143), "which we left behind" and another, "which we have immediately ahead." Between the large rancheria of Tormey and the two just mentioned there appear to have been no Indian settlements whatever.
The day of Wednesday, April 3, was spent in crossing the low hills east of Concord and in traveling along the southern shore of Suisun Bay as far as Antioch Bridge. Neither Anza nor Font has particular comment concerning the one and one-half leagues, which brought them to the summit of Willow Pass, overlooking the area of Pittsburg. Beyond this point the explorers entered the northwest corner of the San Joaquin Valley, or the western tip of the delta. They probably had just left Costanoan territory, although, to be sure, the exact tribal boundaries are unknown. At any rate it is preferable to limit the present discussion to the region west and south of the low hills which extend from Port Chicago southeast to the vicinity of Byron. The rancherias which were seen near Antioch would therefore be more profitably considered in a survey of the valley tribes than in one of the East Bay and adjacent coast ranges.
Thursday, April 4, was spent in the famous attempt to cross the great tule swamps. In the course of this effort the party bore southeastward along the margin of the tules as far as the latitude of Bethany (Bolton, 1930, III: 148n). Thence they turned inland over Patterson Pass and, if Bolton's reconstruction is correct, followed up the ridge to the east of Arroyo Mocho. No trees or water were encountered until a point was reached not far southeast of Livermore. In the meantime, no Indians were seen and no traces of villages observed along the line of march.
The journey of Friday, April 5, took the party into the rough country due east of Mt. Hamilton as far as the southeastern edge of San Antonio Valley at the head of the east fork of Coyote Creek. The terrain was extremely hilly and was covered with oak and coniferous trees, probably principally digger pine, although Font says he saw "spruce." Great stretches of chamise (Adenostema fasciculatum), which Anza calls "Mattal," were observed. The descriptions make it clear that the type of vegetation and the general appearance of the country were essentially as they are today.
Only a few streams are mentioned: Arroyo Mocho is described merely as an "arroyo in a canyon." There were several small watercourses near the upper end of San Antonio Valley, and water in pools was found at the lower end near the night's camp. These streams may have been Sulphur Spring Creek and San Antonio Creek.
The area was destitute of natives. The only mention of Indians is by Font (F2, p. 414).
In the course of the valley [San Antonio Valley] we saw some ruinous and abandoned little huts, but the only Indian seen was at a distance and running, for as soon as he saw us he fled for the brush of the Sierra like a deer.
Also, referring to the fruit of "a plant like a fig tree" which appears to be the buckeye, he says that "the heathen eat it, judging from the piles of its shells which we saw in the abandoned huts." A reasonable inference from Font's account is that in this area there were no permanent Indian settlements but in places there were temporary camp sites, used in the time of maturity of the local tree-crops (buckeye and perhaps acorns).
On April 6 and the first part of April 7 the party descended Coyote Creek, through Gilroy Hot Springs to the valley of the Pajaro River. The country throughout this stretch is described as hilly and rough, but little further description is given.
In all this journey we did not see a single Indian, although we found some tracks of them, and in places a few signs and traces of ruined huts and small villages; for it is known that at times they go to the sierra and camp, especially during the seasons of the piñon and the acorn.
From the Font-Anza diaries, together with that of Crespi, certain tentative conclusions may be reached.
1. The distribution of vegetation in 1775 was substantially the same as described by the American settlers of 1850 and thereafter and, allowing for the devastating influence of the white man, more or less as it is today. The exceptions are the removal of forests, such as the redwood stand on the Oakland hills, and the spread of introduced plants which has possibly occurred on the southern shore of Carquinez Strait. In the relatively untouched interior ranges there has been no significant alteration.
2. There is some question with regard to water supply. In his trip of 1772, between Milpitas and Pinole, Crespi mentions seeing or crossing 31 arroyos, all with running water. The date was from March 25 to 29. Anza and Font went at almost the same time of year (March 31-April 1, 1776) from Warm Springs to Rodeo, and report 20 or 21 arroyos. Of these only 2 or 3 contained abundant water; approximately 10 had only a small amount. The rest were either not described or were without water. Since there can have been no profound alteration in climate or geography in the few years between the two expeditions, the difference must be accounted for on the