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supplies brought by settlers, and often wound up accused of stealing property, such as hatchets, axes and knives, which were crucial to the newcomers’ survival. The white pioneers often marginalized the Indians, forcing them from their villages in order to build homes in prime areas and thoughtlessly taking their resources as well. Pioneer Isaac Cullberg wrote casually of taking material from an Indian house to build a campfire. Other settlers were more aggressive, with one Daily Alta California editor lamenting the conduct of “certain reckless men, who regard an Indian as they would a dog, and think they have a right to give him a kick whenever he crosses their path.” Despite Native American attempts (and pleas from some of the whites) to improve relations, conditions continued to deteriorate. Conditions were even more dangerous for native women. In 1854 the local
paper observed that almost from the time of their arrival in Humboldt County, white settlers often “ravaged” Native American women. Lucy’s daughter Carrie was born in 1856, fathered by a white man who’d likely raped Lucy. Annie and Charles, Lucy’s younger children, were fathered by Jose Romero, a veteran of the Apache Indian Wars. At that time, many Native women were taken as companions by white settlers known as “squawmen.” Romero was considered a Squawman and, while many of these relationships were forced, Lucy’s association with Romero may have helped keep her and the children safe. Though squawmen could be violent, women claimed by settlers were generally treated as property and less likely to be raped by other men. In fact, some native families actually encouraged their daughters to stay with white men as a means of protecting them. Staying with Romero in a settled area would have also allowed Lucy to better protect her children from a booming state-sanctioned human trafficking trade. In 1850, California passed a law allowing for the legal indenture of natives that granted their “master … care, custody, control, and earnings of such minor, until he or she obtain the age of majority.” At that time, the age of majority was 18 for males and 15 for females. Initially native children could only be indentured if the justice of the peace was convinced that no compulsory means was used to obtain the child. But in 1860, the law was expanded to allow for the indenture of any child considered a prisoner of war. The law also extended the terms of indenture to 30 years old for men and 25 for women. While men and women were indentured under this law, native children were especially coveted, likely because adults were harder to control and could more easily escape their masters. Indian children, on the other hand, “when tamed” were described by the Humboldt Times as quite docile and could learn to speak English quickly. Children as young as 4 or 5 were used to help with childcare and other household chores, and children as young as 7 or 8 worked in the fields. The practice of domesticating Native American children would have been more widespread, a story in the March 1, 1860 Humboldt Times lamented, “but the Indians have been hitherto loath to part with
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Helping you to live well and be healthy... naturally. northcoastjournal.com • NORTH COAST JOURNAL • Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015
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