The Story Of The Gold Rush
The summer of 1848, the Gold Rush days. Miners have heard of the riches that await in the valleys of Northern California. They have dropped everything and traveled to California in hopes of finding gold. When they arrived, they were not alone, already living there were Native Americans. The miners believed the Native Americans wanted to steal their rewards, so they killed them to get them out of the way. They didn’t care about them, all they wanted was to get rid of them. As Serra states, "It is a horrible story he recounts, one still not widely known in the state--a story of vigilante groups marching out from Yreka and other mining towns, flying banners that clearly announced their purpose: exterminate; of local governments paying 50-cent
bounties for Indian scalps and heads; of Indian boys and girls being kidnapped and sold to miners as sexual slaves and beasts of burden; of Indian babies whose brains were dashed out against tree trunks" (Tabolt 27). Few people were educated on the history of the land they lived on, the people of Yreka were unaware of their towns history. The people of Yreka and other towns proudly displayed the destruction they brought upon Native Americans. The government paid people to kill Natives, entire families gone. Serra then comments, "The Indian was an impediment to the white man's Manifest Destiny,' Serra tells the jury. 'Get rid of him, like the coyote" (Tabolt 27). Since the 1880's, humans have been at war with coyotes. Government tried killing them possible, hunting them with dogs or guns, trapping and poisoning them, offering rewards for their heads. These animals disrupted their lives. Even though humans killed them every chance they had, they quickly adapted and multiplied across the country. Like coyotes, Natives were viewed the same, animals that disrupted the lives of miners. Even though they were before anyone else, they were killed and driven away. Both, coyotes and Natives, were here first, yet their presence was alarming to those who were not used to living with them.
bounties for Indian scalps and heads; of Indian boys and girls being kidnapped and sold to miners as sexual slaves and beasts of burden; of Indian babies whose brains were dashed out against tree trunks" (Tabolt 27). Few people were educated on the history of the land they lived on, the people of Yreka were unaware of their towns history. The people of Yreka and other towns proudly displayed the destruction they brought upon Native Americans. The government paid people to kill Natives, entire families gone. Serra then comments, "The Indian was an impediment to the white man's Manifest Destiny,' Serra tells the jury. 'Get rid of him, like the coyote" (Tabolt 27). Since the 1880's, humans have been at war with coyotes. Government tried killing them possible, hunting them with dogs or guns, trapping and poisoning them, offering rewards for their heads. These animals disrupted their lives. Even though humans killed them every chance they had, they quickly adapted and multiplied across the country. Like coyotes, Natives were viewed the same, animals that disrupted the lives of miners. Even though they were before anyone else, they were killed and driven away. Both, coyotes and Natives, were here first, yet their presence was alarming to those who were not used to living with them.