San Joaquin County CA Archives History - Books .....Names And Locations Of Tribes 1923
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Book Title: History Of San Joaquin County, California

In San Joaquin county there were but five tribes of Indians according to 
Colonel F. T. Gilbert, who, in 1879, made a study of the county Indians. Three 
of these tribes, the Mok-el-kos, the La-las and the Ma-cha-cos lived on the 
Mokelumne River: the Cos-os on the Cosumnes River and the Ya-che-kos in the 
vicinity of the present site of Stockton. The Ma-cha-cos tribe occupied the 
territory from Athearn's Ferry to Campo Seco, the tribe claiming the land upon 
both sides of the river. The La-las were a small tribe later absorbed by the 
powerful Mo-kel-kos. They inhabitated the land between what was known as 
Staples Ferry and Athearn's Ferry. The Cos-os lived on the Cosumnes River and 
they gave the river its name. The Mo-kel-kos were the land grabbers of that 
day. They were a large tribe, numbering some twelve rancherias of about 3,000 
Indians, and they held undisputed possession of all of the land between 
Lockeford and New Hope Dry creek and the Calaveras River. They had four 
chieftains, "all brothers, and to hold this large tract of land, Sena-a-to 
lived at Staples Ferry, which was about four miles west of Lockeford; Lo-we-no 
at Woodbridge; An-to-nio on the CalaŽveras, and Max-i-mo near Benedict's Ferry. 
The Ya-che-kos tribe were also a powerful tribe, probably the strongest tribe 
in the counŽty; they lived in the vicinity of Stockton and owned all of the 
territory to French Camp.  It was not a very large stretch of land, but it 
produced an abundance of food, and like the tramp of today, if the Indian could 
get plenty of food easily he was satisfied.

The high cost of living in no manner affected the Indians, for Nature provides 
for its own. In case of a scarcity of food among the larger tribes, they would 
declare war upon a weaker tribe and capture their food supply. However, as it 
was, they had plenty of food. In the spring time they lived on a species of 
clover that grew abundantly on the plains; it was soft and contained sufficient 
nutriment to sustain life. When the clover had grown too rank for food, they 
substituted young tule roots; they also lived on seeds, bugs, frogs, non-
poisonous snakes and grasshoppers. This insect was considered quite a delicacy, 
as they would roast them, mash them into a paste and mix with other edible 
foods. Their staple foods were fish, seeds and acorns; the latter they obtained 
in great abundance in the fall of the year. The acorns were ground to a powder 
in their mortars and made into bread. They obtained plenty of fish during low 
water, the streams abounding in salmon, perch and sturgeon; the last named fish 
were plentiful in the Mokelumne River and salmon in the San Joaquin. They shot 
these big fish with their bows and arrows, speared them with long, sharp-
pointed poles, and were quite dexterous in catching them by hand. Although as a 
rule too lazy to hunt for large game the braves would occasionally go out and 
kill rabbits, birds and squirrels, and sometimes a deer or antelope, with their 
bows and arrows. They never molested a grizzly bear, says Carson, and at the 
sight of a bear they quickly hid from sight. When the fish and acorns were the 
most plentiful, namely in the fall of the year, they would have a big feast. It 
continŽued for several days, during that time they would gorge themselves with 
food until they became torpid.

For some unknown reason the grizzly always had it in for the Indian, says James 
A. Carson, from whom much information was obtained regarding the custom and 
habits of the tribes. When a bear was seen by a white man, if not wounded by a 
bullet, he would immediately run away. But when the grizzly met the Indian Mr. 
Lo would immediately turn and escape, if possible, for bruin invariably 
followed after him. Hundreds of Indians have been killed by bears.

The Indian in his physical appearance, like the Chinese and Japanese, seemed to 
have no distinctive feature, to the average white man. They all looked alike, 
were scarcely more than five feet, eight inches in height and a man over six 
feet in height was a wonder. Bancroft in describing them said they had a low 
retreating forehead, black, deep set eyes, thick bushy eyebrows, high cheek 
bones, a nose depressed at the roots, and wide-spread at the nostrils. They had 
a large mouth with projecting lips, large white teeth, ears and hands and 
large, flat feet." They had great strength, according to a pioneer writer, and 
it was astonishing to see the loads they could carry without tiring.


Additional Comments:
HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY 
By George H. Tinkham 

Chapter II The First Landowners

HISTORIC RECORD CO
LOS ANGELES, CA
1923



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