BSR History #1

ar C, 'f t' + t 4 4 \ " • '. ' , . • ' ' Vs'l . 4 y "."'-'-" '- : : * : : . . ' . 'iw, ~ , y p i 1 I 4 t A • ' • - " 'k P+g 1 EfC ' <r THE POTTER VALLEY STORY Potter Valley was or1ginally known as Potter's Valley. F r om t he t i m e o f t h e adv e n t o f t h e f i r s t Ame r i c a n t o v 1 e w i t s b eau t y until the present time, it has been called. the Gem of Mendocino County, Of the twenty-two or so valleys in Mendocino County, it can be consicLered outstanding. I t is not a large valley, being ap proximately four mlles wid.e and eight miles long. T h e North Fork o f the Russian River divides the valley's ten thousand acres. T h e headwaters of the Russian River are at the extreme head. of the val ley. Th e lower hills of the Mayacamas Mountains of the Coast Range almost surround the valley with the usual upland. at their f eet. The high peaks, a few of which are perpetually snow-covered., can be seen in the d.istance. This combinat1on of valley, upland. and. mountains give a charm and, simplicity that has apparently d.evelop ed. a fascination to those who settled. here. Many of the descend. ants of the early settlers have for several generations remained here. It is not only the beauty of the area but its f ertility that has earned it the title "grain basket of Mendocino County." The Thomas Potter party, looking for more grazing lancL for Sonoma County cattle, decid.ed. that they would. look for the head. waters of the Russ1an River. W h en they arrived in Ba lo kai, ac cord.ing to Helen McCowen Carpenter, after having travelled. over rough chemissal mountains and. d.eep canyons, they came 1nto this b eaut i f u l , mou n t a i n- en c i r c l ed v a l l ey . Po t t er f el t t h i s was i t . His fondest hopes of finding good. land and. an abundance of range land for cattle was at last a reality. C l over ready for the scythe was spread over some seven thousand. acres of valley land. W i ld. oats waved. in abundance on every hillside, looking like vast fields o f c u l t i v a t ed g r a 1 n. On ev er y s i d . e s t o o d t h e em b l e ma t i c go l d . en poppy, enjoying without stint, the hottest rays of the noonday sun and a profusion of wild. flowers making it an ideal spot. In September, 1858, Thomas McCowen wrote his brother in Nevada City as follows> "...clover 1n May nearly wa1st high; wheat sown in March yield.s forty bushels to the acre; corn planted in June, now good roasting ears without any cultivation, and. so on. "T1mber rather scarce, but splits fine be1ng pretty tall and. thrifty; water good.--appears to be near the surface; creeks grav elly, although many of them are dry at this time, but where the water rises it is cold. and clear; plenty of game in the mountains and. from every appearance is likely to be healthy. J u d ging from the number of emigrants I meet steering for Potter's Valley, I doubt whether there wi.ll be a single vacant place in one month from this time; in fact, it seems to be all claimed. now although when it comes to the point some are found. hold.ing a little more t han t h e i r s ha r e. " It is only natural that a valley as beautiful and. fertile would. be inhabited,. For centuries, perhaps millenniums, three bands of Northern Pomos inhabited this area in eastern Mendocino County. We are very honored to have one of the d.escendants of these Ind.ians to tell their story. THE POTTER VALLEY POMO OR BA. LO KAI POMA E dna Guer r e r o Mhen the first white men came into Potter Valley, they found. three separate villages, each occupiecL by a tribelet composed. of about five hundred. people. The village at the upper end of the valley was called Sha-nel or She-nul which means head of the val ley, The one at the center of the valley (about where Hopper' s Corner is now) was named. Se-dum and that situated. in the lower part of the valley ancL wh1ch was the largest of the three, was called. Porno, I have been told. that the reason for the larger size of this village was due to the1r relationship with the Ind.ians of Bachelor Valley in Lake County. I r emember that many of the people of Porno spoke and. und,erstood. the Lake County language. Each village had. a certain area that they claimed as their own. They were taught not to intrude on the property of the other tribes for to do s o would. c a us e s e r i o u s t r ou bl e . I n t h e e vent o f such trespass the group at fault would have to give bead.s o r ba s k e t s to the people upon whose land they had. trespassed. T his r a r e l y hap pened. as the Pomos were a placid., gentle, peace-loving people who seldom fought. T h e fight1ng and. k11ling they left to the Ukis of Round. Valley (known as Ma-sha kai, valley of the milkweed) who were known as great maraud.ers ancL who traveled great d.istances Just to kill, some preying upon women who were out gathering food., basket material or seed. The valley was a beautiful, lush land where the people found. everyth1ng they need.ed to 11ve. Th e trees and shrubs, o ak, p e p p e r wood (California Bay), buckeye, manzani t a , a n d . p i n e a l l ma d e t h ei r contr i b u t 1 o n . For f ood , w er e u s e d t he ac or n s , p epp e r w o od. nut s , man zanita berries and. pine nuts. Th e pepperwood provided. leaves wh1ch were used. med.icinally; the manzanita furnished dry hardwood. to be carved. 1nt o s p o o n s w i t h wh 1 c h t o stir acorn mush or dough; the pine r oot s w e r e u s e cL 1n wea v i n g c er t a i n t yp es of b a s k e t s . Th er e wer e d.eer f r o m w h i c h t h e m e a t w a s t a k e n f or f ood . , t h e h i d . e f o r bl an k e t s a nd. cl o t h i n g , a n d . c e r t a i n bon e s w e r e u s e d. t o m a k e a w l s a nd. gi g s u sed. in s p e a r i n g f i s h . Ma ny k i nds o f f i s h wer e f ou n d i n t h e r i v er and. streams and all were used by the people of the valley. Var1ous kind.s of bird.s also made the valley and. the h11ls around. it their home. Of these, it was ma1nly the valley and. mountain quail that were u s ed. as f o o d b ut s om e t i m e s r ob i n s an d . d u cks we r e a l s o u s ed a s food. M eadow lark, woodpecker, robin and. mallard drake f eathers were u s ed. t o d e c o r a t e t h ei r ba s k e t s a n d t h ey u s e d . t h e t a i l f ea t h er s of the flicker or yellow hammer in making the woman's or man' s dance headdress. I n the spring of the year in the fields of t h e valley, eight d.ifferent kinds of clover grew. The first came up in late February, the la'st in late May, T here wa s a l w a y s s omethi n g to be gatherecL or prepared. by both the men and. women. To th e w omen fell the responsib111ty of food. preparation, basket weaving and. mak ing the clam shell beads (a long, tedious process). T he men d i d . the hunting and. fishing, but also made the spearheads and, bone fish gigs. I t can be seen by this that the 11fe led. by these so-callecL savage p e o pl e w a s a v er y bu sy on e.

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