USA > California > San Bernardino County > Ingersoll's century annals of San Bernadino County, 1769-1904 : prefaced with a brief history of the state of California : supplemented with an encyclopedia of local biography and portraits of many of its representative people > Part 12
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In 1852, Benito D. Wilson, who had been appointed United States In- dian Agent, reported about 15,000 Indians ; in 1860 the United States Census reported 3028 Indians in San Bernardino county. In 1880, the census gives the Serranos, 381 ; the Coahuillas, 675; the entire number in Southern Cali- fornia, 2907. Of this, Helen Hunt Jackson, in her report of 1884, says: "This estimate falls considerably short of the real numbers, as there are no doubt in hiding, so to speak, in remote and inaccessible spots, many individuals, fam- ilies, or even villages ; some on reservations set apart for them by executive order ; some on Government land not reserved, and some upon lands included within the boundaries of confirmed Mexican grants. Considerable numbers of these Indians are also to be found on the outskirts of the white settlements, as at San Bernardino, Riverside and Redlands, and the colonies of the San Gabriel valley, where they live like gypsies in brush huts, here today, gone tomorrow, eking out a miserable existence by a day's work, the wages of which are too often spent for whiskey." These latter Indians, the outcasts of the tribes and villages, are too often judged by those who are not acquainted with the Indian in his home among the mountains, as fair representatives of the Southern California Indians, and the whole race is condemned accord- ingly.
In 1897, Indian Agent Wright reports 3,848 Indians in Southern Cali- fornia. Some attempt has been made in later years to right the wrongs of these people and save the remnant of them from extinction. Schools have been established on a number of the reservations, and the government sup-
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plies the people with some farming implements, seeds, fruit trees, and when necessary, seed grain, and a small ration allowance is made for the sick and poor. The Perris Industrial School was erected in 1892, and many of the children have been trained there. In 1902, Sherman Institute at Riverside was opened with full equipment for industrial training.
Many of the Indians have left the reservations, finding it impossible to make a living on the lands furnished them by the government ; others rent lands in their neighborhood and farm on a considerable scale: many of them are employed in the vicinity of the reservations as farm laborers, rail- road builders and at other work. B. D. Wilson said of the Mission Indians in 1852: "These Indians have built all of the houses in the country, planted all the fields and vineyards. Under the Missions they were masons, carpen- ters, plasterers, soapmakers, tanners, shoemakers, blacksmiths, millers, bak- ers, cooks. brick-makers, carters and cart-makers, weavers and spinners, saddlers, shepherds, agriculturists, horticulturists, viñeros, vaqueros-in a word. they filled all of the laborious occupations of civilization."
Of the Mojave Indians as laborers, Dr. Booth says in 1902: "Much of the hard labor done on the railroad is performed by these Indians and more industrious or more faithful workers were never in the employ of a corpora- tion. They lay and line up track. heave coal, wipe engines, etc., better than the ordinary white man."
Some idea of the condition of the Indians in the vicinity of San Bernar- dino is furnished by Mrs. Crafts, who was one of the early settles of the East San Bernardino valley. When she moved to Altoona, later Crafton, there were many of the Serrano and Coahnilla Indians in the vicinity. Mr. Crafts employed them to do the work of the ranch and found them to be hon- est and willing. During the fruit season the Coahnillas came from Potrero to cut and dry fruit. Mr. Crafts found that when they went into San Ber- nardino to purchase supplies, they spent most of their money for whiskey, so he opened a store and paid them in supplies.
The Indians lived in huts made of poles and tules. When one died he was wrapped in a winding sheet for burial and his possessions were either burned or buried with him. Mr. Crafts gave them a burial place and taught them the rites of Christian burial. Some of the young Indians wished to learn to read and came regularly to Mrs. Crafts for lessons. In 1875, her daughter, now Mrs. Canterbury, tanght an Indian school at Crafton.
Mr. Crafts felt that the government should protect the rights of these Indians and especially that they should be given title to their lands. As a result of his correspondence on the subject, a special commissioner, Rev. J. G. Ames, was sent out in 1875 and reported in favor of giving these Indians titles to the land occupied by them. But of this report and various other re- ports, as Mrs. Jackson says, "nothing came, except the occasional setting off of reservations, which, if the lands reserved were worth anything, were specdily revoked at the bidding of California politicians."
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COAHUILLA CHIEFS.
Old Cabezon, the head of the Coahuillas, frequently came to Crafton and consulted with Mr. Crafts. He had absolute control over his people and fre- quently prevented his tribesmen from making a disturbance.
The Coahuillas have always been closely connected with the history of San Bernardino valley. The first chief of this tribe, of whom we have any record was known as "Razon" (white man) and was a peaceable man who tried to teach his people agriculture and to live like "whites." He was succeeded by Juan Antonio, who was well known in the early days of the county. It was he who led the Indians in the fight with Irving's band in 1851. For his services on this occasion, the County Supervisors, according to B. D. Wilson, allowed Juan Antonio one hundred dollars' worth of cloth and supplies. It is said that he ruled his people like an emperor, demanding the most absolute obedience. Helen Hunt Jackson says that he received the title of "General" from General Kearney during the Mexican war and never appeared among the whites without some signs of a military costume about him. She also relates this story with regard to him: "In 1850 an Indian of his tribe, having murdered another Indian, was taken prisoner by the county authorities and carried to Jurupa for trial. Before the proceedings had begun Juan Antonio, followed by a big band of armed Indians, dashed up and de- manded that the prisoner be turned over to him for punishment. 'I come not here as a child,' he said, 'I wish to punish my own people in my own way. If they deserve hanging, I will hang them. If a white man deserves hanging, let the white man hang him. I am done.' The prisoner was given up. The Indians strapped him to a horse and returned to their village. Here in an open grave the body of the murdered man was laid: into this grave, on the top of the. corpse of his victim, Juan Antonio, with his own hands, pushed the murderer and ordered the grave immediately filled up.".
This chief died of smallpox in 1863. He was followed by Cabezon.
A letter from Captain J. G. Stanly, a former Indian Agent, to Mrs. H. H. Jackson, written in 1882, gives some details about Cabezon and the Coa- huillas.
"Dear Madam :- In compliance with your request I proceeded to the Cabezon Valley and have endeavored as far as possible with the limited time at my command, to ascertain the present condition and actual necessities of these Indians that still inhabit that portion of the Colorado Basin known as Cabezon Valley, that being also the name of the head chief who, from the best information that can be obtained, is not less than ninety, and probably one hundred, years old, and who still has great influence with the Indians in that vicinity. At present there are eight villages, or rancherias, each with its own captain, but all recognizing old Cabezon as the head chief. I ascertained from each captain the number in his village and found the ag- gregate to be 560 souls. These Indians are not what are called Christianized
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Indians. They never belonged to any mission and have never been received into any church. They believe in spirits and witchcraft. . They are very anxious to have schools established among them and are willing to live in one village, if a suitable place can be selected."
Cabezon was well known in San Bernardino and was respected as a peaceable, law-abiding man who, more than once, prevented trouble between his people and the whites. In his old age he was obliged to appeal to the county Supervisors for aid, so impoverished had his people become. He died in 1886. Mrs. Jackson said of him: "The Indians known as the desert Indians are chiefly of the Coahuilla tribe and are all under the control of an aged chief named Cabezon, who is said to have more power and influence than any other Indian now living in California."
In 1879 a considerable Indian scare was created by reports of an upris- ing of Indians on the reservations. It is said some citizens of San Bernar- dino and of Lugonia and vicinity found it convenient to visit Los Angeles about this time. The trouble grew out of the efforts of Indian Agent Lawson to suppress the liquor traffic among the Indians and there was probably never the remotest danger that the Indians would attack the white people. Indeed, they were much more likely to be attacked than to take the offensive.
These Coahuilla Indians, having never come under mission influence retained their old, savage superstitions and habits until they came into con- tact with the Americans. As late as 1885 a trial for witchcraft took place in the city of San Bernardino. This was detailed in the Times.
WITCHCRAFT.
"A considerable concourse of men and boys, among whom was a large sprinkling of Indians, were gathered in a circle in the court house yard this morning. In the center of the circle squatted a sturdy looking buck of some fifty or sixty years of age, while circled around him was a number of his tribe. The old fellow's name was Domingo, a member of the Coahuilla tribe, who had been brought in by his chief, Fernandez, escorted by twenty-one prominent men of the tribe, and was now answering to the solemn conclave on the serious charge of witchcraft. Hon. John Lloyd Campbell, as prose- cuting attorney, took charge of the proceedings, and Captain Jolin Brown, Jr., acted as judge and counsel for both sides. All preliminaries being ar- ranged,' the natives stated the case in substance as follows: "On the 9th inst. one of the tribe named Jose died suddenly, and immediately after some members of the trihe went crazy. As the Indians know nothing about nat- ural causes, they began to cast around for the one who wrought the deed of shame. and finally fixed upon Domingo. He was arrested on a charge of witchcraft, a jury of twelve of his peers impaneled and sworn to try the case on its merits ; and as the untutored savage had learned nothing of the intricacies of law, there were no demurrers, cross complaints, nolle prosequis,
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habeas corpuses, writs of ejectment, forcible entry and detainer, or any other of the numerous peculiarities filed, and the trial went on as though such ar- rangements did not exist. The upshot of it was that after a fair trial in which witnesses for both sides were examined, and the attorneys made forci- ble arguments, the jury found a unanimous verdict of guilty, and Domingo was sentenced to be hanged for witchcraft, which consisted, as the witnesses testified, in his breaking up and burning a certain noxious weed, the fumes from which caused the parties against whom directed to cut up didos, die and such. He was accordingly securely bound and imprisoned and was to die yesterday, but in the meantime he managed to slip his tether and escape. Hiram Barton of Old San Bernardino had heard of the case, however, and forming a party of rescue, found the old fellow and took him in charge. The tribe in the meantime demanded his surrender for punishment, and as a com- promise it was agreed to appeal the case from the Court below to Agent McCullam, the latter not being at hand, John Brown acted in his ex-officio capacity. After all the evidence had been adduced, John Brown, with the advice and consent of J. L. Campbell, held the accused man to answer on a charge of having by the use of certain mysterious and occult means caused the death of one Jose, and set his family cranky, and that he be held in the sum of ten thousand dollars to appear before Judge McCullam on Monday next to answer thereto. Domingo not having friends willing to pungle up for him was then turned adrift on his own recognizance."
THE MOJAVES IN LATER DAYS.
Dr. Booth, of Needles, furnishes some very interesting stories of the Mojaves as he has known them. "Many eastern tourists who are in the habit of visiting the Pacific Coast over the Santa Fe route have been entertained at the Needles depot by 'Shorty' the 'song and dance artist,' as he was called. This poor devil was a medicine man, not from choice, but by inheritance, and a little more than a year ago was cruelly and quietly clubbed to death because of the great mortality among his patients. He was a cripple and it was believed by the whites for a long time that he was placed upon a funeral pyre some years ago to be cremated, according to the custom of the tribe, and that his feet and hands were burned before his cries had sufficiently con- vinced his mourning friends that though very sick, he was by no means dead. An unpoetic old squaw, however, cruelly dissipated the glow.of romance that lighted up this little legend, by informing the credulous pale-face that "Shorty" like all children, red, white, or black had crawled before he walked, and that on one occasion during his crawling stage of existence, "Shorty" escaped the vigilant eye of his loving mother and crawled into the camp fire, hence his crippled condition. This crematory fairy tale is characteristic of the tribe, for they incline to mystery and rude romance. Illustrative of this is the story they tell of a hunchback buck, who formerly lived among
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the soldiers at Fort Mojave. It seems that Providence frequently endows the hunchback with brighter intellect than is usually possessed by the average man, and this poor dwarfed, deformed creature was no exception to the rule, for he was as bright as a new dollar. The soldiers taught him to speak Eng- lish fluently and correctly. He could give all the commands of the ordinary army drill and beat a snare drum equal to the best of the army drummers. Questioned as to the cause of his mal-formation he would assume a seri- ous expression of countenance and say, "I am not a Mohave Indian. I came from way up yonder." pointing to the sky. "I have no father, no mother, and never had any little sisters or brothers, but I am all alone on this earth. Long time ago, when I was living up there, I saw a beautiful rainbow, and went to play with it. I got on the rainbow and the col- ors were so pretty that I followed them down, down, almost to the mountain below. Sud- denly the hot sun came out from behind a white cloud, and the rainbow ran away and left me, and I fell to the mountain. That's "SHORTY " why I am deformed, and that's how I came
to be among the Mojaves.
"As already intimated, cremation is the Mojave method of disposing of the dead, and though their crematories are but rude pyres constructed of mesquite wood, the process is quite as effective and satisfactory as the more elaborate and expensive ones of the white man, for by it the body is reduced completely to ashes. During the burning process mourning relatives and friends gather around the pyre, and throw into the blaze trinkets, clothing, beads, gaudy colored cloth, etc. The squaws who are relatives of the de- ceased then cut off their hair, while the bucks sacrifice just a small tuft of their long well preserved locks-for hair is the Indian's pride. Some years ago the most notable cremation occurring within the last decade took place near Needles, and it was strongly indicative of the Indian's affection and faith- fulness. A prominent member of the tribe known as "Captain Joe Nelson," had a pretty little squaw for a wife known as O-Chay. Captain Joe must have been 35 or 40 years of age, while his wife was surely not more than sixteen. She was the neatest, prettiest, and most modest squaw in the tribe. The white ladies in the town had petted her, made her presents of dresses, rib- bons and feminine wearing apparel. Captain Joe was exceedingly proud of his child wife, while she was a. perfect model of blind devotion to her tall, dignified liege lord. O-Chay sickened and died, and on the day of her cre-
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mation there must have been half a thousand whites and two or three hundred Indians at the burning. The pyre was laid just in front of Captain Joe's wickiup and more pains than usual was taken in its preparation. When the fire was lighted the relatives drew near the pyre and threw in their offerings, while many of the whites cast gaudy colored calicoes into the roaring flames as a mark of their regard for the little dead squaw. Presently Captain Joe retired into his wickiup and in a few minutes reappeared dressed in the full uniform of a captain of the United States army-a dress which had been given him by an officer at Fort Mojave and of which he was very proud. Feathers adorned his head and all the bead ornaments which he possessed were strung around his neck and arms. In one hand he carried a handsome cane-also a present from a white friend-and in the other a bundle in which was wrapped the remainder of his clothing and every present and gew-gaw he possessed. Towering high above his companions in grief he raised his hand and began an oration. It must have been full of eloquence and pathos, for the weeping relatives wept more, and even the whites were moved by his feeling tones and expressive gesticulations. His speech concluded, he tossed the cane and bundle into the flames, and slowly undressing threw each article of clothing in which he was dressed upon the pyre. As he stood by the roar- ing flames, with only a breech clout to hide his nakedness, he presented a long-to-be-remembered picture of perfect physical manhood, and strong de- votion to his dead child-wife. Like a bronze statue he stood without motion or sound, until the devouring flames had consumed the body, and every vestige of the wood ; then with a wail of despair he fled to the river. For months he was not seen again by the whites and when he did make his appearance was shorn of his long glossy hair; his form was bent, his face haggard and sad. The Captain Joe of yesterday was no more. His heart was broken, his very soul had gone before to join that of his dead O-Chay. That was ten years ago, and Captain Joe remains a heartbroken widower.
"Whether deserved or not, all Indians have the reputation of being thiev- ish and lazy. Not so with the Mojaves. They are honest and industrious. Should one of them find property of any kind lying upon the ground he would considered it abandoned and its ownership relinquished, and therefore might take it; but one's coat, or hat, or utensil of work, if hung upon a tree, or carefully cached, would never be molested. The younger members of the tribe, or nearly all of them, can read, write and converse in English. The boys are particularly expert in writing, and their chirography is, as a rule, better than that of the whites; while the girls have learned to run sewing machines, to cut and make their own clothing and to ape their white sisters generally, except in the matter of wearing shoes. No squaw has ever been seen yet who could walk while shod with more grace than a crab.
"At the Fort Mojave school there are now about 150 pupils, all bright and studious, and all fairly fond of the discipline maintained. Major John J.
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McKoin, an experienced Indian teacher and a gentleman of many accomplish- ments and rare executive ability, is the superintendent, and he is assisted by a corps of competent ladies and gentlemen. Pupils turned out of this school are educated, but with the education is too frequently imbibed the triflingness of the white man and the thrifty educated Indian is an exception to the rule. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, or rather that portion of it for- merly known as the Atlantic and Pacific, and now designated the Santa Fe- Pacific, has done more to educate, and to ameliorate the condition of the Mojave Indian than all the Indian schools combined."
COAHUILLAS OF TODAY.
Mr. David Prescott Barrows has recently made an exhaustive study of the Coahuilla Indians and has published the results under the title "Ethno- Botany of the Coahuilla Indians of Southern California." From this work, we copy his tribute to the Coahuillas who have borne so large a part in the history of Southern California and San Bernardino County. "I am certain that from any point of view, the Coahuilla Indians are splendid types of men and women. Physically, they are handsome, often large of size, many being six feet or over, with splendid shaggy heads and faces of much command and dignity. Their desert home has given them great powers of endurance and enormous toleration of heat and thirst. With rare exceptions, and those always young men who have frequented the settlements, they are absolutely honest and trustworthy. Unlike the Mojaves and Cocapahs, they know neither beggary nor prostitution. Their homes and persons are orderly and clean. The fine pools and springs of warm mineral waters throughout their habitat are most gratefully prized possessions. Probably not less than two centuries ago the ancestors of these Indians entered the great range of terri- tory still occupied by their descendants. They came from the deserts north of the San Bernardino range and the stock from which they came belong to a desert people, but the Colorado valleys and surrounding mountains raised new difficulties and presented new opportunities. Their adaptations to these conditions, their utilization of whatever there was to be secured, raised their standard of culture until, as it seems to me, it will compare favorably with that of any Indians in the western United States, save the Pueblo builders. After having explored with some completeness the various portions of their . country and realized the difficulties attending life in certain portions, and the call upon courage and endurance that the desert always makes, the knowl- edge gained by this people, the culture they attained, apparently long before seen by white men, seem to me to be a remarkable triumph for men of a low and barbarous inheritance.
"Their splendid wells, unique perhaps among the Indian tribes of America, their laborious though rude irrigation of the maize, their settled community life, with its well built houses and basket granaries, their effective pottery,
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their exquisite basketry, their complete and successful exploitation of all the plant resources throughout hundreds of square miles of mountains and plains -these are not insignificant nor contemptible steps toward civilized life."
The Coahuillas now occupy 'several villages in the northwestern portion of the Colorado desert, enclosed by the San Bernardino range and the San Jacinto mountains, known as the Coahuilla or Cabezon valley. Mr. Barrows says: "The villages or rancherias of the Coahuillas at the present time are as follows: Their last villages in the San Bernardino and San Jose valleys were broken up some thirty years ago and although they still come to the vicinity of Redlands and Riverside for work, their camps in these places are no longer permanent homes. They were driven from the San Timoteo cañon in the forties by the ravages of smallpox, and the first reservation to be met with now as one rides eastward through the pass where they once held sway is below Banning at Potrero, a fertile spot, irrigated by the water from a cañon of Mount San Gorgonio, or Greyback. Here live several hundred Coahuillas and Serranos who have considerably intermarried-the ancient antipathy having broken down. Beyond Palm Valley is a small rancheria known as Agua Caliente. There is a small village at Indio and a few miles east the very interesting rancheria of Cabezon. Further south is La Mesa. and in the San Jacinto range are found Torres and Martinez, Alamo and Agua Dulce, and still higher among the mountains are Santa Rosa and San Ignacio."
Of the houses of the Coahuillas, Mr. Barrows says: "The houses of a Coahuila rancheria are not grouped in a village but are scattered about as widely as the habitable portions of the reservations permit. Each family occupies a cluster of little dwellings by itself and near it are usually some attempts at cultivation of the soil. There is a strange quietness surrounding these homes, a quietness frequently saddened by the absence of little children. No loud voices are heard ; the ordinary work of the house- hold goes forward awaking but little sound. There is little social inter- course except at the times of the feasts and a strange sad somberness hangs over an Indian village, especially at nightfall. . The site for the house is marked off in a rectangle perhaps twelve by eighteen feet, or smaller, as is desired. Trunks of trees are trimmed so as to leave a crotch at the smaller end. One is then sunk at each corner of the proposed dwelling. Midway between two cnd posts is planted a larger, stouter trunk, also crotched at the top and rising eight or ten feet above ground.
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