1860 Wiyot Massacre
Encyclopedia
The Wiyot Massacre refers to the incidents on February 26, 1860, at Tuluwat on what is now known as Indian Island
, near Eureka
in Humboldt County, California
.
, over the 10 years before the massacre. The Wiyot were a peaceful tribe that had never fought with white settlers and had no reason to expect an attack.
To avoid drawing attention from nearby Eureka residents, some of whom may not have condoned the genocidal killings, the attackers primarily used hatchets, clubs and knives. Contrary to a commonly held view, guns were used to murder Indians, according to Professor Jack Norton Sr.'s seminal book titled "Genocide in Northwestern California: When Our Worlds Cried." In fact, in that book, Norton said that some Eureka residents reported hearing several shots that night but knowledge of the genocidal acts were not widely known at the time.
Arcata's local newspaper, the Northern Californian, described the scene as follows:
. Another woman, Kaiquaish (also known as Josephine Beach) and her eleven month old son William survived by not being on the island in the first place. Kaiquaish had set out in a canoe with her son to take part in the ceremonies, but became lost in the fog and was forced to return home before the attacks began.
, including an encampment on the Eel River
. Though the attack was widely condemned in newspapers outside of Humboldt County
, no one was ever prosecuted for the murders. One writer in nearby Union (now Arcata, California
), the then-uncelebrated Bret Harte
, wrote against the killers and would soon need to leave the area due to the threats against his life. Several local citizens also wrote letters to the San Francisco
papers condemning the attacks and naming suspected conspirators.
Major Gabriel J. Rains
, Commanding Officer of Fort Humboldt at the time, reported to his commanding officer that a local group of vigilantes had resolved to "kill every peaceable Indian - man, woman, and child." The vigilantes, calling themselves the Humboldt Volunteers, Second Brigade, had been formed in early February of 1860 in the inland town of Hydesville
, one of the ranching communities in the Nongatl area. They spent most of February "in the field" attacking Indians along the Eel River
. A petition had been sent to California Governor John G. Downey
asking that the Humboldt Volunteers be mustered into service and given regular pay. Downey declined the petition, stating that the U.S. Army was sending an additional Company of Regulars to Fort Humboldt.
were not allowed to return to the island or their other land, and they often found their land stolen and/or destroyed. Soldiers from Fort Humboldt took many of the surviving Wiyot into protective custody at the fort, later transporting them to the Klamath River Reservation. Recently, the Wiyot have been repurchasing the land in order to perform their annual World Renewal Ceremony.
Indian Island (Humboldt Bay)
Indian Island or Duluwat Island is located on Humboldt Bay within the City of Eureka, California. The village of Tolowot or Tuluwat on Duluwat Island was the site of the spiritual if not political center of the Wiyot people and is where the main thrust of the 1860 Wiyot Massacre by European...
, near Eureka
Eureka, California
Eureka is the principal city and the county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 27,191 at the 2010 census, up from 26,128 at the 2000 census....
in Humboldt County, California
Humboldt County, California
Humboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located on the far North Coast 200 miles north of San Francisco. According to 2010 Census Data, the county’s population was 134,623...
.
Event
Immigrant settlers had settled in the area since the California Gold RushCalifornia Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
, over the 10 years before the massacre. The Wiyot were a peaceful tribe that had never fought with white settlers and had no reason to expect an attack.
To avoid drawing attention from nearby Eureka residents, some of whom may not have condoned the genocidal killings, the attackers primarily used hatchets, clubs and knives. Contrary to a commonly held view, guns were used to murder Indians, according to Professor Jack Norton Sr.'s seminal book titled "Genocide in Northwestern California: When Our Worlds Cried." In fact, in that book, Norton said that some Eureka residents reported hearing several shots that night but knowledge of the genocidal acts were not widely known at the time.
Deaths
Based upon Wiyot Tribe estimates, 80 to 250 Wiyot men, women, and children were murdered. Because most of the adult able-bodied men were away gathering supplies as part of continuing preparation for the World Renewal Ceremony, nearly all the Wiyot men murdered are believed to have been older men, which is one reason why the Wiyot were largely defenseless. It is untrue to say the Wiyot were killed with ease because they were "exhausted from the annual celebration." The celebration usually lasted seven to 10 days, and the men traditionally left at night for the supplies while the elders, women and children slept. That is why most victims were children, women and elder men.Arcata's local newspaper, the Northern Californian, described the scene as follows:
Blood stood in pools on all sides; the walls of the huts were stained and the grass colored red. Lying around were dead bodies of both sexes and all ages from the old man to the infant at the breast. Some had their heads split in twain by axes, others beaten into jelly with clubs, others pierced or cut to pieces with bowie knives. Some struck down as they mired; others had almost reached the water when overtaken and butchered.
Survivors
There were few survivors. One woman, Jane Sam, survived by hiding in a trash pile. Two cousins, Matilda and Nancy Spear, hid with their three children on the west side of the island and later found seven other children still alive. A young boy, Jerry James, was found alive in his dead mother's arms. Polly Steve was badly wounded and left for dead, but recovered. One of the few Wiyot men on the island during the attack, Mad River Billy, jumped into the bay and swam to safety in EurekaEureka, California
Eureka is the principal city and the county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 27,191 at the 2010 census, up from 26,128 at the 2000 census....
. Another woman, Kaiquaish (also known as Josephine Beach) and her eleven month old son William survived by not being on the island in the first place. Kaiquaish had set out in a canoe with her son to take part in the ceremonies, but became lost in the fog and was forced to return home before the attacks began.
Coordinated attacks
The Tuluwat/Indian Island massacre was part of a coordinated simultaneous attack that targeted other Wiyot sites around Humboldt BayHumboldt Bay
Humboldt Bay is a natural bay and a multi-basin, bar-built coastal lagoon located on the rugged North Coast of California, United States entirely within Humboldt County. The regional center and county seat of Eureka and the college town of Arcata adjoin the bay, which is the second largest enclosed...
, including an encampment on the Eel River
Eel River (California)
The Eel River is a major river system of the northern Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. Approximately 200 miles long, it drains a rugged area in the California Coast Ranges between the Sacramento Valley and the ocean. For most of its course, the river flows northwest, parallel to the...
. Though the attack was widely condemned in newspapers outside of Humboldt County
Humboldt County, California
Humboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located on the far North Coast 200 miles north of San Francisco. According to 2010 Census Data, the county’s population was 134,623...
, no one was ever prosecuted for the murders. One writer in nearby Union (now Arcata, California
Arcata, California
-Demographics:-2010 Census data:The 2010 United States Census reported that Arcata had a population of 17,231. The population density was 1,567.4 people per square mile...
), the then-uncelebrated Bret Harte
Bret Harte
Francis Bret Harte was an American author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pioneering life in California.- Life and career :...
, wrote against the killers and would soon need to leave the area due to the threats against his life. Several local citizens also wrote letters to the San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
papers condemning the attacks and naming suspected conspirators.
Investigation
Motive for the attacks was never clearly established. The local sheriff, Barrant Van Ness, stated in a newspaper editorial published in the San Francisco Bulletin a few days after the massacre that the motive was revenge for cattle rustling. Ranchers in the inland valleys claimed as much as one-eighth of their cattle had been stolen or slaughtered by Indians over the previous year, and one rancher, James C. Ellison, was killed while pursing suspected rustlers in May of 1859. However, the area where the ranches were located was occupied by the Nongatl tribe, not the Wiyot, so the victims of the massacre would not have been responsible for any rustling. Van Ness closed his written statement by saying he did not excuse the killers for their deeds.Major Gabriel J. Rains
Gabriel J. Rains
Gabriel James Rains was a career United States Army officer and a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
, Commanding Officer of Fort Humboldt at the time, reported to his commanding officer that a local group of vigilantes had resolved to "kill every peaceable Indian - man, woman, and child." The vigilantes, calling themselves the Humboldt Volunteers, Second Brigade, had been formed in early February of 1860 in the inland town of Hydesville
Hydesville, California
Hydesville is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California, United States. Hydesville is located southeast of Fortuna, at an elevation of 364 feet...
, one of the ranching communities in the Nongatl area. They spent most of February "in the field" attacking Indians along the Eel River
Eel River (California)
The Eel River is a major river system of the northern Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. Approximately 200 miles long, it drains a rugged area in the California Coast Ranges between the Sacramento Valley and the ocean. For most of its course, the river flows northwest, parallel to the...
. A petition had been sent to California Governor John G. Downey
John G. Downey
John Gately Downey was an Irish-American politician and the seventh Governor of California from January 14, 1860 to January 10, 1862. Until the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003, Downey was California's only foreign-born governor...
asking that the Humboldt Volunteers be mustered into service and given regular pay. Downey declined the petition, stating that the U.S. Army was sending an additional Company of Regulars to Fort Humboldt.
Consequences
The Wiyot Tribe said the Wiyot peopleWiyot people
The Wiyot people are a native people of the Humboldt Bay, California and nearby environs.-History:The Wiyot and Yurok are the farthest southwest people whose language has Algic roots; Wiyot and Yurok are distantly related to the Algonquian languages...
were not allowed to return to the island or their other land, and they often found their land stolen and/or destroyed. Soldiers from Fort Humboldt took many of the surviving Wiyot into protective custody at the fort, later transporting them to the Klamath River Reservation. Recently, the Wiyot have been repurchasing the land in order to perform their annual World Renewal Ceremony.
External links
- New York Times article, April 12, 1860