Topographical Reports of Lt. George H. Derby (Volume 11)(1932) (5 pages)

264 CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY vol iN (14 32) TABLE OF DISTANCES ON THE Route Pursvep By LIEUTENANT G. H. Dery, IN THE RECONNOISSANCE OF THE TULARE PLAIN, APRIL AND May, 1850 . MILES TOTAL From Monterey to the Toros Ranch . . + + 12.00 12.00 Ranchode Guadaloupe . . . «© e + © + 9.00 21.00 Rancho de Buena Vista oo « 6 « & @ 8 8.00 29.00 Soledad De ee ee eee ew 12.80 41.80 Camp nearSanBenito . 6. 2 + «© © © © 8 25.81 67.61 Camp nearOjitags . 6 «© © © *# © © © 5 26.25 93.86 San Miguel ee 42:2 . 123.47 Santa Margarita ee 2) 154.72 San Luis Obispo ee 164.72 From San Miguel to Estrella er! 12.78 136.22 Dick’screekencampment . . «+s «© «© + ¢& 29.51 165.73 Qutlet of Ton Taché Lake . 2. 6 eee 8s 30.04 195.77 Moore’s Creek (uppercamp) . + + * «© = 34.46 230.23 Cottonwood Creek. . » ee ee 84.27 264.50 Kern River Se ee ee ee ew 12,00 276.50 North point of Buena Vista Lake . . + + > 16.80 293.30 From Moore's Creek to Tulé River. . + «+ = 7.16 237.39 Frances River (north side of slough). . +» «+ «© 24.93 262.32 Kings River (Jones’ Ferry). © + + + + * 23.26 285.58 NOTES TO LIEUTENANT DERBY’S REPORT ON THE TULARE VALLEY 213n the report as printed in the Senate document the name of the river is given as King’s. In present-day geographic practice the possessive sign is generally omitted in order to avoid the errors which frequently occur through its use. In this instance the possessive, if indicated, should be in the plural, for the river was named by the Spaniards El rio de los Santos Reyes, “The River of the Holy Kings.” 22 The Sanjon de San José (now Fresno Slough) is described in Derby’s report as the slough connecting the San Joaquin river with the Taché lake (Tulare lake). In the field notes of the Laguna de Tache grant it is described as the “principal drain from Kings river and Tulare lake.” 28 Captain William Horace Warner, of the Topographical Engineers, who was killed by Indians in the northern Sierra in September 1849. 24 Captain John Wilson, a Scotch shipmaster and trader, came to California in 1826. He married Dofia Ramona Carillo de Pacheco, widow of the elder Romualdo Pacheco and mother of Governor Pacheco. In 1845, in partnership with James Scott, he purchased the San jas Obispo estate and was granted the ranchos of Cafiada del Chorro and Cafiada de los Osos. 25 The Notonto, Nutuntu, or Nutunutu, were a tribe of the Yokuts. They lived “south of lower Kings river, in a country formerly a mass of sloughs and swamps.” (Kroeber: Handbook of the Indians of California, 1925, pp. 483, 491.) 28 Lieutenant Tredwell Moore, of the 2d Infantry, was for several years on duty in the San Joaquin valley and the adjacent Sierra. He built part of Fort Miller and, in 1852, pursued Chief Tenaya from Yosemite across the Sierra. He made explorations for a railroad across the mountains in 1853. He was breveted brigadier general in 1865, and died in 1876. 27 Paso de los Robles, or, as it is now written Paso Robles, “Pass of the Oaks.” Erroneously spelled Roblas in the text. 28 A small settlement called Estrella is today located on the creek of the same name, some five miles southeast of San Miguel. The paved highway from Paso Robles to Bakersfield follows Derby’s route for a considerable distance across the mountains. 29 Taché lake is Tulare lake, shown on early maps as a large body of water, but now entirely dried up, its former bed being today largely used for the raising of grain. 80 The printed report reads Sin Taché; the manuscript copy reads Tin-Taché; elsewhere in the report is found Ton Taché. Goddard’s map of California, 1857, shows Tontache Lake. Kroeber (Handbook of the Indians of California, 1925) does not mention the subdivision, but speaks of the tribe as follows: “The Tachi, Tadji, or Dachi (plural Tachechayi, THE TOPOGRAPHICAL REPORTS OF LIEUTENANT GEORGE H. DERBY Tadjedjayi, Dachechayi, Totsetsai, or Tatetayi), the northernmost of the three Tulare . tribes, appear to have been one of the largest of all Yokuts divisions, and still surviv the number of some dozens, The Spaniards frequently referred to the Tache, and a La; de Tache land grant survives on our maps. Their country was the tract from nort Tulare Lake and its inlet or outlet, Fish Slough, west to the Mount Diablo chain of Coast Range.” (p. 484.) Stewart (“The Yokut Indians of the Kaweah Region,” in 5S Club Bulletin, XII, 4, 1927, pp. 385-400) locates the Ta-chi near the mouth of Kings at the north end of the lake. 31 “Moore’s creek’? appears to be the present Deer creek, 32Neither Kroeber nor Stewart mention the Thulime, but both place the Té-Ius (Telamni, Telomni), on the Kaweah, which is not far from the Tulé. The identific seems probable, but not certain. 88 Probably Poso creek. 34 This probably refers to the peculiar topographical formation in the east ha Township 26 South, Range 28 East, Mount Diablo Base and Meridian. (H. 5S. Alten.) 85 The two farms here referred to were in all probability those of the Rancho El ‘ and San Emidio. 38 The name “Buena Vista” dates back to the earliest visits of the Spaniards. } who came here in 1772, speaks of an Indian village which he calls Buena Vista. “The village was of course called Buena Vista (Beautiful View) because of the . rama its site afforded. A prominent part of the picture, we are told above, was the . rinth of lakes and tulares’ on the floor of the valley.—In the foreground lay the vast which ever since the earliest maps has been called Buena Vista.” (Bolton, “In the . San Joaquin Ahead of Garces,” in C ifornia Historical Society Quarterly, X, 3, Sept 1931, pp. 213, 215-216.) b7 The river “Frances” is the present Kawesh river. 88 The He-ame-e-tahs ate not mentioned by Kroeber or Stewart. 89 The “Cowees” are the Kawia, placed both by Kroeber and by Stewart 0: Kaweah river. 40 “The Choinimni were the Yokuts farthest up Kings River proper.” “They wer haps also the most populous before the white man came, Their village was. . Tis! said to mean ‘at the gate,’ a place of some importance on the south side of Kings at the mouth of Mill Creek.” (Kroeber, of. cit., p. 480.) 41 William R. Garner, an Englishman, came to California in 1826, and engaged ° business of sawing lumber in Santa Cruz and Montcrey counties until about 1845, wh erected the first wharf in Monterey, near the Custom House. In 1848 he went to the with Walter Colton, Alcalde of Monterey, for whom he had acted as secretary; and mined at a point known as Stanislaus Camp. Shortly after returning to Monterey he rei to San Luis Obispo; but determining to try his fortunes in the mountains south « Tuolumne River, he headed a company of native Californians, some fifty strong, < whom was Romualdo Pacheco, later Governor of the State. This party left San Luis ( in April, 1849, crossed the Coast Range to Tulare Lake, and thence proceeded to a south of Kings River. In the hills east of this point Garner encountered hostile Ir after a fight with whom the party traveled northward to the San Joaquin River and . Creek. On May 15, 1849, Garner and six of his men were shot by Indians at an settlement known as “Chawciles.” The remainder of the party met Frémont while ret: from this point and is said to have been advised by him to leave the area. (See Sa Pioneer, April 27, 1878, and Bancroft’s “Pioneer Register and Index,” History of Cal Vol. II, p. 754. 42 Colonel Richard Barnes Mason, ist Dragoons, was Military Governor of Ca in 1847-1849. 43C, E, Grunsky, the well-known civil engineer, who first examined this region seventies, states: “Derby evidently crossed the delta of the Kings River. The ¢ setting toward the lake carried Kings River water. Where he crossed the Sanjon wa close to the San Joaquin, otherwise the boat from the nearest ferry could not havehim ‘that evening.” The water in the Sanjon (Fresno Slough) was flowing from th River delta toward the San Joaquin. Kings River water was at the time of his exan in part flowing south to the lake and in part north to the San Joaquin.” (Stater editor in 1932.) .

264 CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY vol iN (14 32) TABLE OF DISTANCES ON THE Route Pursvep By LIEUTENANT G. H. Dery, IN THE RECONNOISSANCE OF THE TULARE PLAIN, APRIL AND May, 1850 . MILES TOTAL From Monterey to the Toros Ranch . . + + 12.00 12.00 Ranchode Guadaloupe . . . «© e + © + 9.00 21.00 Rancho de Buena Vista oo « 6 « & @ 8 8.00 29.00 Soledad De ee ee eee ew 12.80 41.80 Camp nearSanBenito . 6. 2 + «© © © © 8 25.81 67.61 Camp nearOjitags . 6 «© © © *# © © © 5 26.25 93.86 San Miguel ee 42:2 . 123.47 Santa Margarita ee 2) 154.72 San Luis Obispo ee 164.72 From San Miguel to Estrella er! 12.78 136.22 Dick’screekencampment . . «+s «© «© + ¢& 29.51 165.73 Qutlet of Ton Taché Lake . 2. 6 eee 8s 30.04 195.77 Moore’s Creek (uppercamp) . + + * «© = 34.46 230.23 Cottonwood Creek. . » ee ee 84.27 264.50 Kern River Se ee ee ee ew 12,00 276.50 North point of Buena Vista Lake . . + + > 16.80 293.30 From Moore's Creek to Tulé River. . + «+ = 7.16 237.39 Frances River (north side of slough). . +» «+ «© 24.93 262.32 Kings River (Jones’ Ferry). © + + + + * 23.26 285.58 NOTES TO LIEUTENANT DERBY’S REPORT ON THE TULARE VALLEY 213n the report as printed in the Senate document the name of the river is given as King’s. In present-day geographic practice the possessive sign is generally omitted in order to avoid the errors which frequently occur through its use. In this instance the possessive, if indicated, should be in the plural, for the river was named by the Spaniards El rio de los Santos Reyes, “The River of the Holy Kings.” 22 The Sanjon de San José (now Fresno Slough) is described in Derby’s report as the slough connecting the San Joaquin river with the Taché lake (Tulare lake). In the field notes of the Laguna de Tache grant it is described as the “principal drain from Kings river and Tulare lake.” 28 Captain William Horace Warner, of the Topographical Engineers, who was killed by Indians in the northern Sierra in September 1849. 24 Captain John Wilson, a Scotch shipmaster and trader, came to California in 1826. He married Dofia Ramona Carillo de Pacheco, widow of the elder Romualdo Pacheco and mother of Governor Pacheco. In 1845, in partnership with James Scott, he purchased the San jas Obispo estate and was granted the ranchos of Cafiada del Chorro and Cafiada de los Osos. 25 The Notonto, Nutuntu, or Nutunutu, were a tribe of the Yokuts. They lived “south of lower Kings river, in a country formerly a mass of sloughs and swamps.” (Kroeber: Handbook of the Indians of California, 1925, pp. 483, 491.) 28 Lieutenant Tredwell Moore, of the 2d Infantry, was for several years on duty in the San Joaquin valley and the adjacent Sierra. He built part of Fort Miller and, in 1852, pursued Chief Tenaya from Yosemite across the Sierra. He made explorations for a railroad across the mountains in 1853. He was breveted brigadier general in 1865, and died in 1876. 27 Paso de los Robles, or, as it is now written Paso Robles, “Pass of the Oaks.” Erroneously spelled Roblas in the text. 28 A small settlement called Estrella is today located on the creek of the same name, some five miles southeast of San Miguel. The paved highway from Paso Robles to Bakersfield follows Derby’s route for a considerable distance across the mountains. 29 Taché lake is Tulare lake, shown on early maps as a large body of water, but now entirely dried up, its former bed being today largely used for the raising of grain. 80 The printed report reads Sin Taché; the manuscript copy reads Tin-Taché; elsewhere in the report is found Ton Taché. Goddard’s map of California, 1857, shows Tontache Lake. Kroeber (Handbook of the Indians of California, 1925) does not mention the subdivision, but speaks of the tribe as follows: “The Tachi, Tadji, or Dachi (plural Tachechayi,

THE TOPOGRAPHICAL REPORTS OF LIEUTENANT GEORGE H. DERBY Tadjedjayi, Dachechayi, Totsetsai, or Tatetayi), the northernmost of the three Tulare . tribes, appear to have been one of the largest of all Yokuts divisions, and still surviv the number of some dozens, The Spaniards frequently referred to the Tache, and a La; de Tache land grant survives on our maps. Their country was the tract from nort Tulare Lake and its inlet or outlet, Fish Slough, west to the Mount Diablo chain of Coast Range.” (p. 484.) Stewart (“The Yokut Indians of the Kaweah Region,” in 5S Club Bulletin, XII, 4, 1927, pp. 385-400) locates the Ta-chi near the mouth of Kings at the north end of the lake. 31 “Moore’s creek’? appears to be the present Deer creek, 32Neither Kroeber nor Stewart mention the Thulime, but both place the Té-Ius (Telamni, Telomni), on the Kaweah, which is not far from the Tulé. The identific seems probable, but not certain. 88 Probably Poso creek. 34 This probably refers to the peculiar topographical formation in the east ha Township 26 South, Range 28 East, Mount Diablo Base and Meridian. (H. 5S. Alten.) 85 The two farms here referred to were in all probability those of the Rancho El ‘ and San Emidio. 38 The name “Buena Vista” dates back to the earliest visits of the Spaniards. } who came here in 1772, speaks of an Indian village which he calls Buena Vista. “The village was of course called Buena Vista (Beautiful View) because of the . rama its site afforded. A prominent part of the picture, we are told above, was the . rinth of lakes and tulares’ on the floor of the valley.—In the foreground lay the vast which ever since the earliest maps has been called Buena Vista.” (Bolton, “In the . San Joaquin Ahead of Garces,” in C ifornia Historical Society Quarterly, X, 3, Sept 1931, pp. 213, 215-216.) b7 The river “Frances” is the present Kawesh river. 88 The He-ame-e-tahs ate not mentioned by Kroeber or Stewart. 89 The “Cowees” are the Kawia, placed both by Kroeber and by Stewart 0: Kaweah river. 40 “The Choinimni were the Yokuts farthest up Kings River proper.” “They wer haps also the most populous before the white man came, Their village was.. . Tis! said to mean ‘at the gate,’ a place of some importance on the south side of Kings at the mouth of Mill Creek.” (Kroeber, of. cit., p. 480.) 41 William R. Garner, an Englishman, came to California in 1826, and engaged ° business of sawing lumber in Santa Cruz and Montcrey counties until about 1845, wh erected the first wharf in Monterey, near the Custom House. In 1848 he went to the with Walter Colton, Alcalde of Monterey, for whom he had acted as secretary; and mined at a point known as Stanislaus Camp. Shortly after returning to Monterey he rei to San Luis Obispo; but determining to try his fortunes in the mountains south « Tuolumne River, he headed a company of native Californians, some fifty strong, < whom was Romualdo Pacheco, later Governor of the State. This party left San Luis ( in April, 1849, crossed the Coast Range to Tulare Lake, and thence proceeded to a south of Kings River. In the hills east of this point Garner encountered hostile Ir after a fight with whom the party traveled northward to the San Joaquin River and . Creek. On May 15, 1849, Garner and six of his men were shot by Indians at an settlement known as “Chawciles.” The remainder of the party met Frémont while ret: from this point and is said to have been advised by him to leave the area. (See Sa Pioneer, April 27, 1878, and Bancroft’s “Pioneer Register and Index,” History of Cal Vol. II, p. 754. 42 Colonel Richard Barnes Mason, ist Dragoons, was Military Governor of Ca in 1847-1849. 43C, E, Grunsky, the well-known civil engineer, who first examined this region seventies, states: “Derby evidently crossed the delta of the Kings River. The ¢ setting toward the lake carried Kings River water. Where he crossed the Sanjon wa close to the San Joaquin, otherwise the boat from the nearest ferry could not havehim ‘that evening.” The water in the Sanjon (Fresno Slough) was flowing from th River delta toward the San Joaquin. Kings River water was at the time of his exan in part flowing south to the lake and in part north to the San Joaquin.” (Stater editor in 1932.) .