SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETH-NOLOGY
BULLETIN 78
HANDBOOK
OF THE
INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA
BY
A. L. KROEBER
WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1925
930o 1o0
ogy is its fondness iu.
)rnian rather than a central
from the specialized northtreme Yurok or Hupa form.
7s northwestern and central
ind cricket, was responsible.
th and prevailed over Above
e reborn or regenerated 10
central Californian, Spinaome back to life. When his
old order, but Frog is now
3sterners; wholly so in insti)ut with some first traces of
in culture appearing in their
CHAPTER 7.
ATHABASCANS: THE TOLOWA.
Origin and movements, 121; claqification,
122; landward outlook, 123. THE ToLowA: Territory, 123; settlements,
124; limits and numbers, 125; feuds, 126; cultural position, 126.
THE ATHABASCANS OF CALIFORNIA:
THE ATHABASCANS OF CALIFORNIA.
ORIGIN
AND
MOVEMENTS.
The peculiar conservative genius that pervades all Athabascan
tongues rendered the early recognition of those on the Pacific coast
easy, in spite of the great distances that separate these tongues from
their congeners in the northwestern tundras and forests and in the
arid highlands of New Mexico. The origin of the vastly distributed
family is, however, as obscure as its coherence is obvious. This is
a problem involving an understanding of all ancient North America,
and the fragments of the stock in California can contribute only a
minute quota to the solution. It is superficially probable, as a glance
at a map of the continent will sustain, that the Pacific coast can
scarcely have been the first home of the family when it was still
united. The Pacific coast Athabascans were therefore immigrants of
some remote period; and for those of California, their extreme southerly position makes it probable that they drifted into their present
seats from the north.
This movement must not be underestimated as recent; and there
must have been many crowdings and rollings about, perhaps even
refluxes. On the map, for instance, the Kato look as if they
were invaders who had nearly split the Yuki in two and might
have made the division complete if the white man had left them
alone a few more generations. But such an assumption is pure
speculation. It is not beyond the limits of possibility that the Kato
have been in their present seats for a very long time, and that in
recent centuries it has been the Yuki who gradually confined and
nearly surrounded them. Any hypothesis on these points is as yet
only a guess.
Two things argue against any rapid conquering march of the
Athabascans southward: their assimilation to their linguistically
alien neighbors in culture, and in bodily form. The Hupa are as
121
. _ 1 -" '
122
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wholly and integrally a part of the hearth of the northwestern
civilization as are the Algonkin Yurok or the Hokan Karok. The
Lassik show Wintun influences. The Wailaki were similar to the
Yuki. And the Kato were substantially one in customs and beliefs
with the Coast Yuki. Within the short distance of less than 100
miles, therefore, there were Athabascans of entirely northwestern
and of entirely central culture: a situation which could have arisen
only among long sessile populations of contracted outlook.
In northwestern California, as in southwestern Oregon, a single
physical type is the predominant one among the multitudinous tribes:
a tallish stature with round head. These are also the traits of the
Athabascans in the northwest and the southwest of the continent.
It is therefore quite possible that the prevalence of this type in
the region where California and Oregon adjoin is due to a sustained
and abundant infusion of Athabascan blood. But as Athabascans
and non-Athabascans are indistinguishable, a considerable period
must be allowed for this assimilation of the once separate and presumably different races that now are blended.
In the extreme south the result has been the reverse, but the process the same. The Wailaki have taken on the narrow-headed, stumpybodied type of the Yuki-a markedly localized type, by the way.
CLASSIFICATION.
The Athabascan dialects of California fall into four groups: the
Tolowa, which is connected with the Oregonian tongues of Chetco
and Rogue Rivers; the Hupa group; the small and undiversified
Mattole, whose distinctness is not readily explainable either by the
topography of their habitat or by a juxtaposition to alien neighbors,
and therefore indicates the operation of an unknown historical
factor-unless Mattole shall prove to be a subdivision of Hupa;
and the Southern or Kineste or Kuneste or Wailaki group, the most
widely spread of the four.
For the sake of exactness a fifth group might be added, that of the
Rogue River people, to whom a narrow strip along the northern edge
of the State, in contact with the Shasta, and another adjacent to the
Tolowa, have been assigned on the map. Both these belts are only
a few miles wide and high up in the mountains. They may have
been visited and hunted in; they were certainly not settled. They
represent a little marginal fringe which nominally laps into the
present consideration only because the artificial State lines that set
a boundary to this study do not coincide exactly with the barriers set
by nature.
HANDBOOK
kROEBER3
The Athabascans were
their permanent homes b'
each year. But their te
stream drainages as if a
This relation appears in t]
TOLOWA GROUP.__________
IIUPA GROUP
H upa_-------------Chilula-------------
Whilkut ------------MATTOLE GROUP
-
(Distinctness doubtful.)
SOUTHEBRN GRouP________
Nongatl------------Lassik
Wailaki
-
Sinkyone-----------Kati)
LA
It is a remarkable fact
Athabascan family as a wl
of any stock represented
in an endless number of
only three or four brief fr
but even here the strange
The inland range of the
length of their coastal di
territories lie between thi
Not one of the 10 Athabas
30 miles from the boom o
foot of beach. It may hav
nothing more, but it is hai
this perverse distribution
basal that has persisted t
years and the repeated resl
The Tolowa, whose speec
Athabascan dialect group
Norte County, in the north
dozen miles of the Klamatl
ETHNOLOGY
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78
hearth of the northwestern
The
Wailaki were similar to the
ly one in customs and beliefs
ort distance of less than 100
ans of entirely northwestern
Ltion which could have arisen
- contracted outlook.
outhwestarn Oregon, a single
nong the multitudinous tribes:
-iese are also the traits of the
e southwest of the continent.
he prevalence of this type in
)n adjoin is due to a sustained
i blood. But as Athabascans
shable, a considerable period
of the once separate and prelended.
been the reverse, but the procon the narrow-headed, stumpylocalized type, by the way.
C or the Hokan Karok.
[ON.
nia fall into four groups: the
Oregonian tongues of Chetco
; the small and undiversified
dily explainable either by the
ixtaposition to alien neighbors,
rn of an unknown historical
o be a subdivision of Ilupa;
ste or Wailaki group, the most
iup might be added, that of the
w strip along the northern edge
ta, and another adjacent to the
iap. Both these belts are only
e mountains. They may have
re certainly not settled. They
,hich nominally laps into the
ie artificial State lines that set
de exactly with the barriers set
EROEBER1
HANDBOOK OF INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA
123
The Athabascans were a hill people, and most of them inhabited
their permanent homes by the side of rivers only during a part of
each year. But their territories coincide almost as exactly with
stream drainages as if a systematist had planned their ditribution.
This relation appears in the following tabulation:
TOLOWA GROUP-----------H1UPA GROUP__________---
Hupa--------------Chilula--------------
Smith River drainage.
Trinity-Redwood-Mad drainage.
Lower Trinity River.
Lower Redwood Creek.
Mad River (and upper Redwood drainage.)
Mattole and Bear River drainages (and a short
(Distinctness doubtful.)
stretch of Lower Eel River).
SOUTHERN' GRouP________ All Eel River drainage from the first forks up,
except for the headwaters which were Yuki.
Nongatl-------------- Yager, Van Dusen, and Larrabee Creeks (and
upper Mad River).
Lassik-------------Main Eel River in the vicinity of Dobbins Creek.
W ailaki ------------- Main Eel River in the vicinity of the North Fork.
Sinkyone -----------Lower reaches of the South Fork of Eel River.
Kato --------------Headwaters of the South Fork of Eel River.
Whilkut -------------
MATTOTE GROUP_----------
LANDWARD OUTLOOK.
It is a remarkable fact that with all the immense range of the
Athabascan family as a whole-probably the greatest, in mere miles,
of any stock represented on the continent-they approach the sea
in an endless number of places, but actually held its shores over
only three or four brief frontages. Two of these lie in California;
but even here the strange impulse toward the interior is manifest.
The inland range of the California Athabascans has double the
length of their coastal distribution. Yurok, Wiyot, and Yukian
territories lie between the ocean and an Athabascan hinterland.
Not one of the 10 Athabascan groups just enumerated is more than
30 miles from the boom of the surf. Yet only 3 of the 10 hold a
foot of beach. It may have been the play of historical accident and
nothing more, but it is hard to rid the mind of the thought that in
this perverse distribution we may be face to face with something
basal that has persisted through the wanderings of thousands of
years and the repeated reshapings of whole cultures.
THE TOLOWA.
TERRITORY.
The Tolowa, whose speech constitutes the first and most northerly
Athabascan dialect group in California, are the Indians of Del
Norte County, in the northwestern corner of the State. The lowest
dozen miles of the Klamath River are, it is true, in the same county,
_---_
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124
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4BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
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according to one of the arbitrary delimitations to which the American is addicted, and there were and are nearly as many Yurok on
this stretch of stream as the remainder of the county held Athabasoans. But the connections and outlook of these Yurok were up
their river or southward along the coast, toward their more numerous kinsmen in what the white man calls Humboldt County. Ethnologically, the Tolowa were the people of Smith River and the
adjacent ocean frontage.
Tolowa, like so many California designations of a pseudo-tribal
nature, is a name alien to the people to whom it applies. It is of
Yurok origin. These people say ni-tolowo, "I speak Athabascan
of the Tolowa variety," but no-mnimohs8igo, "I speak Athabascan of
the Hupa-Chilula-Whilkut variety." As the two groups are separated by the Algonkin Yurok, their distinction by these people is
natural, and the considerable differentiation of the two forms of
speech is easily intelligible.
KROMER]
HANDBOOK (
The Yurok word Tolowo is a
we. " Henaggi " and " Tataten
Hinei and " Tata people."'
A paternal gentile syster
a misconception derived fr(
that was proper to certain 1
which the Tolowa, and the
trace. The supposed clam
basis of native society throu
gentile subdivisions of a T
mate and only political u
"Tolowa," for which the be
specific word of their own,
certain speech and implying
in significance as " Anglo-S
LIM
SEWTTLEMENTS.
The names and locations of the Tolowa towns as given by themselves have not been recorded. Some 8 or 10 are known under their
Yurok designations, and as many under the names which the Rogue
River Athabascans of Oregon applied to them. These two lists,
which unfortunately can not be very definitely connected, probably
include all the more important villages of the Tolowa without exhausting the total of their settlements.
The Yurok mention Nororpek, on the coast north of Smith River; Hinei, at
the mouth of Smith River; Loginotl, up this stream, where it was customary to
construct a salmon dam; Tolokwe, near Earl Lake or lagoon, of which Tolokwewonekwu, " uphill from Tolokwe," on the Pond ranch, may have been a suburb;
Erertl, south of Tolokwe, but on the samne body of water; Kna'awi, where the
waves dash against a bluff, probably Point St. George; Kohpei, near Crescent
City; and an unnamed village on the coast south of this town. There was also
Espau, north of Crescent City, and with the same namie as a Yurok village at
Gold Bluff 40 miles south on the same coast; and Hineihir, " above Hinei,"
which might mean upstream from it on Smith River or " upstream " along the
coast as the Yurok reckon, that is, south. Pekwutsu is a large rock a dozen
miles from Crescent City where sea lions were hunted, and not a village. This
is likely to be Northwest Seal Rock, where the lighthouse now stands.
The Oregon Athabascans know Huwunkut (compare the Hupa village of the
same name) at the mouth of Smith River, and Hosa or Hwasa at one of the
forks of the stream. The former is almost certainly Hinei, the latter may be
LoginotI. South of Smith River, that is probably on Lake Earl, were Atakut,
whence perhaps the American "Yontocketts;" Chestlish; and Echulit or Cheshanme. "Above Crescent City was Tahinga, perhaps Yurok Kna'awi. Crescent City was Tatin, while to the south, on the coast, lay MestetI, Tata or Tatla,
and Tlusme or Tlitsusme.
On the coast to the nort
close to the Oregon line. C
Yurok had settlements at t
of the mouth of the Klamatl
shore as much as 3 miles bey
and Tolowa territorial righ
miles more to the first villag
was probably coextensive w
a high range of the Siskiy(
the middle Klamath. Most
used except for hunting, it
essentially those of a coasta
The census of 1910 gave
were reckoned as part whit
may be guessed at well und(
I The Tolowa towns have recent
appears to be in Oregon and was no
side of the mouth of Smith River, a
" on the mountain side," Yurok Hir
was Hatsahoto-tne, " receptacle be
where Bear Creek comes in, lay Me
Smith River, somewhat inland, at
high," Yurok Tolakwe. In order sou
projecting northward Into Lake Eai
Point St. George; Tati-tia, a little b
Beach; Seninghat, " flat rock," Yur
mer fishing," Yurok Neketi with rel
Assuming the number to be compl
Tolowa population 450.
ETHNOLOGY
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78
tations to which the Amerinearly as many Yurok on
r of the county held Atha)ok of these Yurok were up
, toward their more numerIs Humboldt County. Ethle of Smith River and the
gnations of a pseudo-tribal
b whom it applies.
It is of
owo, "I speak Athabascan
Vo, "I speak Athabascan of
s the two groups are sepa3tinction by these people is
ation of the two forms of
KRsoMBER ]
HANDBOOK OF INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA
125
The Yurok word Tolowo is apparently connected with the town name Tolokwe. " Henaggi " and " Tataten," sometimes cited as Tolowa subtribes, are only
Hinei and " Tata people."'
A paternal gentile system that has been alleged for the Tolowa is
a misconception derived from imputing to them a social organization
that was proper to certain tribes in the central United States, and of
which the Tolowa, and their Oregonian neighbors, did not possess a
trace. The supposed clans are villages of the kind that form the
basis of native society throughout California. In fact, far from being
gentile subdivisions of a Tolowa " tribe," the villages were the ultimate and only political units in the Indians' consciousness; and
"Tolowa," for which the bearers of the name appear to have had no
specific word of their own, was nothing more than a term denoting a
certain speech and implying perhaps certain customs-as nonpolitical
in significance as " Anglo-Saxon."
LIMITS AND NUMBERS.
7a towns as given by themir 10 are known under their
the names which the Rogue
to them. These two lists,
initely connected, probably
of the Tolowa without extorth of Smith River; Hinei, at
Lam, where it was customary to
ke or lagoon, of which Tolokweranch, may have been a suburb;
of water; Kna'awi, where the
George; Kohpei, near Crescent
of this town. There was also
me name as a Yurok village at
and Hineihir, " above Hinei,"
River or "upstream" along the
cwutsu is a large rock a dozen
unted, and not a village. This
lighthouse now stands.
mpare the Hupa village of the
Hosa or Hwasa at one of the
tainly Hinei, the latter may be
d1y on Lake Earl, were Atakut,
Thestlish; and Echulit or Chesperhaps Yurok Kna'awi. Cresmst, lay Mestetl, Tata or Tatla,
On the coast to the north, the Tolowa boundary must have been
close to the Oregon line. On the south it is not exactly known. The
Yurok had settlements at the mouth of Wilson Creek, 6 miles north
of the mouth of the Klamath, and claimed whales that stranded on the
shore as much as 3 miles beyond. It is likely that this is where Yurok
and Tolowa territorial rights met; but it seems to have been 6 or 8
miles more to the first village of the latter. Inland, Tolowa suzerainty
was probably coextensive with the drainage of their principal stream,
a high range of the Siskiyous shutting theni off from the Karok of
the middle Klamath. Most of this interior tract was, however, little
used except for hunting, it appears, and the habits of the group were
essentially those of a coastal people.
The census of 1910 gave the Tolowa 120 souls, one-third of whoni
were reckoned as part. white. The number at the time of settlement
may be guessed at well under 1,000.
IThe Tolowa towns have recently been determined by T. T. Waterman. Nororpok
appears to be in Oregon and was not counted as their own by the Tolowa. On the north
side of the mouth of Smith River, at Siesta Peak, was lawinwet (cf. liuwunkut, above),
" on the mountain side," Yurok Hinei. On Smith River, at the mouth of Buckst Creek,
was Hatsahotoltne, " receptacle below," probably Yurok Loginotl.
Farther upstream,
where Bear Creek comes in, lay Melishenten, " close to hill." South from the mouth of
Smith River, somewhat inland, at Yontucket, toward Lake Earl, was Yo'takit, " east
high," Yurok Tolakwe. In order southward there followed Echulet, Yurok Ertl, on a point
projecting northward into Lake Earl; Tagla'te, " pointing seaward," Yurok Kna'awi, at
Point St. George; Tati-ti-, a little beyond; Metetiting, " covered," Yurok Sasoi, at Pebble
Beach; Seninghat, " flat rock," Yurok Kohpei, at Crescent City; and Shinyatlehi, " summer fishing," Yurok Neketl with reference to the ending of the beach, at Nickel Creek.
Assuming the number to be complete, 10 towns, at the Yurok rate, would make the
Tolowa population 450.
126
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
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FEUDS.
What may be called wars were indulged in between Tolowa towns
as readily as between them and alien villages, though it is likely
that in the former case each side was likely to be limited to kinsmen,
while an expedition for revenge against a Yurok or Karok settlement might unite inhabitants of a number of towns.
In the seventies there was a feud between the Crescent City village and
one or more of those on Earl Lake.
Apparently before this was a war between Hine! and Rekwoi, the Tolowa
and Yurok villages at the entrance to Smith and Klamath Rivers. Blood
relatives of the Inhabitants, In other towns, no doubt took part; but it Is
significant that the other Tolowa villages, though in intermediate position,
remained neutral as towns. In one encounter, each party lost three men; in
another, five were killed on one side, probably the Yurok one. The occasion
of this war was an old woman at Rekwoi, who by her magic stopped the salmon
from going up Smith River. Now that the quarrel Is long since over, the
Yurok appear to take the truth of the Hinei charge for granted-the old lady
must have done so, or the Tolowa would not have become angry. Moreover,
she had lost relatives In former fighting against Hinei, and though this had
been formally ended by money settlements for every one slain or injured, she
was believed to cherish continued resentment in secret.
Rekwoi, and the still more northerly Yurok settlement of O'men, were, however, infiltrated with Tolowa blood, and reciprocally there were not a few
Tolowa with Yurok wives, mothers, or grandmothers. In the war between
Rekwol and Takimitlding village In Hupa, about 1830 or 1840, the greatest
war of which the Yurok have recollection, allies from the lagoon and Smith
River, that is, probably, Tolokwe and Elnel, sided with the Yurok against
the Athabascan Hupa and Chilula.
The Karok about the mouth of Salmon River also have recollections of a
war carried on between them and the Tolowa by surprise attacks across the
Sisklyous, but hostile as well as friendly intercourse between these two peoples
was Infrequent.
CULTURAL POSITION.
From all that is on record in print, as well as from many statements of the Yurok, it is plain that the customs, institutions, and
implements of the Tolowa were similar to those of the better known
Yurok and Hupa except in minor points. The Tolowa must have
served as the principal purveyors to these Indians of the dentalium
shells that forimied the standard currency of the region and which,
in Tolowa hands, must have been near the end of their slow and
fluctuating drift from the source of supply in the vicinity of
Vancouver Island to their final resting place in northwestern California. The Yurok regard the Tolowa as rich, a distinction they
accord to few others of the people known to them.
A Tolowa redwood canoe of the type prevailing in the region, but
42 feet long and 8 feet wide-that is, twice the ordinary size-has
been described as made on Smith River and used for traffic on Hum-
KROMER]
IIANDBOO
boldt Bay. If this accot
made for the transport
native purposes, which
shooting around rocks
vessel of this size would
besides which it is doubt
The Tolowa held th
wealthier and more popu
"salmon dance" on Sm
evidence of one of the I
monies that underlie tI,
Karok. The doctor-ma;
war dance probably the
and dance, in which a do
a ritual that is wanting
they share with the rem
The most specific feat
in its intensive form, su,
only to the Tolowa, perh
the Wiyot to the south;
houses, typical canoes, b:
with but little change b,
coast. It is unfortunate X
old life of the Oregon II
laborious technical studio
connections that must ha
lization that flourished a
Trinity, and the remark
of which at bottom that ,
most extension and a mc
3626°-26-10o
ETHNOLOGY
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HANDBOOK
OF INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA
127
boldt Bay. If this account is unexaggerated, the boat must have been
made for the transport of American freight by hired Indians. For
native purposes, which involved beaching, crossing dangerous bars,
shooting around rocks in rapids, and dragging loads upstream, a
vessel of this size would have been not only useless but impracticable;
besides which it is doubtful if the Tolowa ever visited the Wiyot.
The Tolowa held the Deerskin dance that was made by the
wealthier and more populous tribes of the region; and a reference to a
"salmon dance" on Smith River is probably to be interpreted as
evidence of one of the highly sacred and esoteric " new year " ceremonies that underlie the major dances of the Yurok, Hupa, and
Karok. The doctor-making dance is like that of the Yurok; the
war dance probably the same; but in the girl's adolescence ceremony
and dance, in which a deer-hoof rattle is shaken, the Tolowa possess
a ritual that is wanting or obsolescent among the Yurok but which
they share with the remoter Karok and Hupa.
The most specific features of the northwestern California culture
in its intensive form, such as the Deerskin dance, no doubt reached
only to the Tolowa, perhaps in part faded out among them as among
the Wiyot to the south; but the general basis of this civilization, its
houses, typical canoes, basketry, tools, and social attitudes, extended
with but little change beyond them into Oregon, at least along the
coast. It is unfortunate that the early and rapid disintegration of the
old life of the Oregon Indians makes it impossible to trace, without
laborious technical studies, and then only imperfectly, the interesting
connections.that must have existed between the specialized little civilization that flourished around the junction of the Klamath and the
Trinity, and the remarkable culture of the long North Pacific coast.
of which at bottom that of northwest California is but the southernmost extension and a modification.
red in between Tolowa towns
villages, though it is likely
rely to be limited to kinsmen,
st a Yurok or Karok settleer of towns.
n the Crescent city village and
Hinei and Rekwol, the Tolowa
th and Klamath Rivers. Blood
no doubt took part; but it is
,hough in intermediate position,
r, each party lost three men; in
ly the Yurok one. The occasion
by her magic stopped the salmon
quarrel is long since over, the
charge for granted-the old lady
have become angry. Moreover,
inst Hinei, and though this had
r every one slain or injured, she
in secret.
settlement of O'men, were, how'iprocally there were not a few
.dmothers. In the war between
tbout 1830 or 1840, the greatest
[lies from the lagoon and Smith
, sided with the Yurok against
ver also have recollections of a
by surprise attacks across the
course between these two peoples
E
ION.
36256-25--10
is well as from many statele customs, institutions, and
to those of the better known
ts. The Tolowa must have
se Indians of the dentalium
,y of the region and which,
the end of their slow and
supply in the vicinity of
place in northwestern Calias rich, a distinction they
n to them.
prevailing in the region, but
wice the ordinary size-has
),nd used for traffic on Hum.
Ift-
I