Traversing the Bridges of Our Lives

Abstract

A S WE APPROACHED THE Natural Bridge, I was touched but also apprehensive of the moment. At last, we would see this natural rock formation that had become associated with the historical accounts of a brutal massacre of one hundred and fifty-three Wintun Indian men, women, and children. Where was the precise spot? I wondered. Would the anguished screams of the victims still echo between the tall fir trees and the delicate white trillium flowers that grew along the trail? I glanced furtively at a small open area among the trees and imagined bleached human bones protruding through the brown earth. This image was particularly strong because John Carr had written in his book, Pioneer Days in California, that years after [the massacre], I hunted cattle over the battleground. Part of the bones still bleaching on the plains: skulls and arm and leg bones were scattered over the ground in all directions.' I stood silent but my thoughts leaped back to that brutal time, that time in Northern California when miners had come to rape the land of its gold and had stayed to rape the earth of all its resources. The results of the massacre that John Carr had noted had occurred in the Spring of 1852 near the Trinity mining center of Weaverville where hundreds upon hundreds of aggressive, often bitter, men inundated the small pocket valleys and numerous streams and rivers of Northern California in the previous years. Within months they had turned clear streams into sickening red sludge that oozed into the Trinity River. Fish died by the millions, particularly the salmon. Soon their four-year cycle was interrupted and this vital source of food was lost to the Native people. The miners shot deer by the hundreds, and imported hogs and cattle that roamed the hills and ravaged the vegetation. The California acorns that had provided food for many, now fed only the newcomers' livestock. In addition to the destruction of their food sources, the Indians themselves were savaged. They were often shot on sight, particularly if an Indian man was sighted while fishing or hunting alone. In fact, one hardy pioneer was quoted as taking no more notice of killing them than if he were killing a stray dog.2 Another indicated that he had murdered Indians, just to try out his rifle. Indian women were raped and forced into concubinage. The children, especially young girls of twelve and thirteen, were sold into slavery for amounts of one hundred and fifty to three hundred dollars.4 A good buy for a lonely miner.