THE LAST WILD TRIBE OF CALIFORNIA 235 



There is one relatively small region in particular which came to be 

 specially identified with this small groiip of Indians. That is the 

 country immediately about Mill Creek. East of the Sacramento, along 

 the waters of Antelope Creek, Mill Creek, Dry Creek, Deer Creek and 

 Butte Creek, the country is covered with a cap of lava. The original 

 source of this lava was, I believe, the mountain which has recently been 

 attracting so much attention to itself — Lassen Butte. The elevation 

 of the region frequented by hostile Indians is not great (it all lies below 

 the level of the pine forest) but the streams have cut in the lava a large 

 number of rough canons and gullies. Near as it is to the level valley, 

 the country is extremely rugged. Cliffs, crags, and sudden promon- 

 tories are frequent, and there are great numbers of caves. While the 

 settlement and cultivation of the valley has gone forward very rapidly, 

 this region in the foothills has remained almost untouched. To-day 

 this "lava" country is the resort of animals (and to a certain extent, 

 of plants) which are becoming extinct elsewhere. In this small region 

 in north central California the Yahi made a determined stand against 

 civilization. 



In the course of their life in these canons they developed an intense 

 hatred and fear of the whites. They came to be hunted very much like 

 wild animals. Accordingly they developed peculiar habits of visiting 

 the valley in sudden forays, escaping instantly to the hills afterwards. 

 These sudden visitations, often resulting in the loss of life as well as 

 property, were a genuine bugbear to homesteaders. On the other hand, 

 the Indians were on their part often harried by famine. Pressure from 

 the whites prevented them from making full use of the natural foods the 

 country afforded. Even acorn-gathering was for them a dangerous pur- 

 suit, since it gave opportunity for white attack. Their natural means of 

 subsistence therefore seem to have been almost entirely cut off. An idea 

 of their desperation may be gathered from the fact that on at least one 

 occasion when they attacked the whites and were chased, their plunder 

 consisted of a mule-load of vegetables. In other words, they took the 

 field and risked their lives for the sake of a few squashes and some ears 

 of corn. 



It has always been supposed that remnants of several tribes made up 

 these Mill Creek renegades. Erom what we have recently learned, it 

 seems very unlikely that there was more than one tribe involved. In 

 the first place, the only member of this hostile group who has ever been 

 questioned, expresses the liveliest dislike of all other tribes. He seems, 

 and always has seemed, more ready to make friends with the whites 

 themselves, than with the neighboring groups of Indians. In the sec- 

 ond place, all the other Indian tribes of the region profess the liveliest 

 horror of the Yahi. This awe extends even to the country to-day which 

 the Yahi frequented. Even the Yahi and the Xozi, though they spoke 



