Collection: Directories and Documents > Tanis Thorne Native Californian & Nisenan Collection

About This Item:

Title: Inter Pocala & History of California (Various Pages) Collection Type: Directories and Documents Collection Name: Tanis Thorne Native Californian & Nisenan Collection Author: H.H. Bancroft # of Pages: 33 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

Date Scanned: 2024-08-30 14:55:53 OCR Software Version #: tesseract 5.4.1 Item Sourced From: PDF First Created: 2025-03-17 03:21:14 Last Updated: 2025-03-17 03:21:14

Original Held At: Searls Historical Library Location: 161 Nevada City Hwy, Nevada City, CA 95959

Page: of 33  

438 SOME INDIAN EPISODES. ‘ABORIGINAL MINERS. 409. it. “They could speak only their native dialect,” said F Colton, “not a word of which I could understand We had to make ourselves intelligible by signs. They wanted to purchase the belt, and each laid downs piece of gold, which were worth in the aggregate some $200. I took one of the pieces and gave the India to whom it belonged the belt. They made signs fir a piece of coin. I offered them an eayle but it was not what they wanted ; a Spanish mill dollar, but the wanted something smaller; a fifty-cent piece, an they signified it would do. Taking the coin thes fastened it in the end of a stick so as to expose nearly the entire circle, and set it up about forty yards dis tant. Then they cast lots, by a bone which ther threw into the air, for the order in which they shoul discharge their arrows. The one who had the firt shot drew his long, sinewy bow and missed ; the se ond, he missed; the third, and he missed, though th arrow of each flew so near the coin that it would har be working on their own account, though most of the Indians work by the day for some employer, who furnishes them with food, and pays a regular per diem —sometimes as much as twenty dollars a day, but more generally at the rate of an ounce and a half of gold, the current rate of which is from ten to twelve dollars per ounce. When we came within sight of this party, they were in a short, deep ravine, very busily employed digging with small machetes, or Spanish knives; and as soon as they perceived us, they looked with some vexation of manner, as though they feared we were coming to interfere with their rights of dis-eovery. I may here remark that a nice regard is al_ most always had for such rights. A party finding a good bed of gold, is seldom or never interfered with y others—at least the immediate vicinity of their operations is not trespassed upon. As an evidence of this feeling of natural justice, I learned that there tf was, at the mill of Captain Sutter, a fine bank of dekilled a deer at that distance. The second now shd§. posit which had not b ; . first and grazed the coin; then the third, who broke posit which had not been touched, out of respect to the rights of th tain, . his string and shot with the bow of the second, ti} migitin Ot Ue Caprem who, oF course; had no) real ¢ ownership in the matter. The Indians soon became -missed. And now the first took his turn and strudl} gatisfied that we had no intenti : ' the coin, whirling it off at a great distance. Thi Eerie oe aten Sige Heap eeetngy and be thei k i . . other two gave him the belt which he tied around bi gan their work again, the old fellow jabbering away in bad Spanish in reply to our inquiries. He had head instead of a blanket, and slg) they started ove® about his person, in an uncouth-looking baceskin the hills full of wild life and glee, leaving the cois§ pouch, from six to eight ounces of gold, as I should ages importance in the bushes where it lif judge, which he exhibited with some exultation. een whirled. . hile we were engaged with the old man, the b To the discharged volunteer, Henry I. Simpse§ who had 2 aber who was there in August 1848, the natives at val o had progressed some few yards ahead in his eats uttered a sudden, ugh! which is the Indian expression near Mormon, island appeared exceedingly singuluf of wonder. We all turned t F Gera: They “were dressed in strange fantastic guise; » all turned toward him, and saw him holding up, with an expression of irrepressible delight stead of the breech clout, which used to be their chief 9 ] l f gold i i ai article of the toilet, gaudy calicoes, bright colordie “phat AL ak NN ar gS } : which seemed as big as a man’s fist. The old fellow handkerchiefs, and strips of red cloth were showi hed toward him wi ‘ "Ty tion Ts crhibited about their persons, The first party wi rushed toward him with quite an un-Indian-like eager. eee, anil taking eeu ht sag “whom we came up, consisted of an old Indian pee Ot teh ie se romi ins hand, commenced tay cleaning it of the dirt and gravel, which hehis squaw, and a youth about fifteen ; they seemed plished with peculiar skill, and in less than a mente