Читать книгу Lost Worlds of 1863. Relocation and Removal of American Indians in the Central Rockies and the Greater Southwest онлайн
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On the mid-morning of the next day they started their trek. The elderly, pregnant women, and children had the privilege of riding in wagons while the others, weak and dispirited, would be driven like cattle by the 70 or more cavalry soldiers plus 22 men of the Fourth California Infantry. Captain George, the headman and nominal leader of the Camp Independence Numu, rode his horse as dignified as circumstances permitted. Suffering would be great for all of them, especially the very old and very young. Many died from lack of food and water, and the trail between Owens Lake and Walker’s Pass was particularly difficult. After a trip of nearly two weeks and about 225 miles, the prisoners arrived at Sebastian Reservation outside of Fort Tejon on July 22. Of the 998 captives who started the voyage, only 850 arrived—148 Paiutes had either died or escaped from the Moses of the Wilderness (see map, Figure 2.4).51
Again, getting the Indians to Fort Tejon and San Sebastian was more important than what should be done with them after they arrived. The army now considered them to be the problem of the Department of Indian Affairs, while the Indian Service did not have the resources to care for their charges. Starvation and hunger took many of them, while measles and other diseases took others, especially the infants. Perhaps as many as 370 Paiutes managed to escape back to Owens Valley. Captain John Schmidt reported on January 26, 1864, that a remnant of 380 Indians (two-thirds of whom were women and children) “are under no one’s charge, no one to care for them, they must look out for themselves.”52 Some were transferred to the Tule River Farms when Fort Tejon was abandoned.53 Most went into oblivion. Those that returned found the northern Owens Valley in a constant state of chaos due to the actions of Joaquin Jim’s warriors.