Lake. Kniffen reorganized them to make 12, after which Stewart returned
to a count of 11. This last number, therefore, may be accepted as
final. Each of them consisted of a single principal village of
considerable size. A classical example is Cigom. Other inhabited spots
within the community area have usually been recognized but whether they
were permanent or shifting villages or camp sites usually is not clear.
For this reason the population has been discussed by ethnographers
since Barrett simply on the basis of the group, without much reference
to the number of sites known to have existed. The single exception I
would make to this procedure is to take account of the number (not
necessarily the names and location) of the villages known to have
possessed assembly houses, since the presence of these implies some
degree of permanence. A community with one capital village and several
such accessory sites would, other things being equal, create the
presumption of a larger aggregate population than a community with a
capital village and one or no subsidiaries.
There is a more definite population estimate for the Clear Lake region
than we have for many other native groups. L. L. Palmer in his History
of Napa and Lake Counties (1881), cites figures for the aboriginal
population of the Clear Lake communities which he obtained from an
informant who could well remember the days before the advent of the
white man. These figures have been subject to some disparaging
criticism by more modern students. The chief objection advanced is that
the book is one of the many county histories which appeared as
commercial ventures in the 1880's and which, on the whole, were very
carelessly written. Palmer, however, as his text shows, was much
interested in the fate of the natives and took considerable pains to
secure informants who could give him data. There is no ground for
impugning either his honesty or his competence. Moreover, it is
difficult to see why informants seventy years ago should be any less
reliable than they are now. Hence I can see no reason for not accepting
his figures as they stand, subject to the limitations of his
informant's knowledge.
With regard to those limitations it should be noted that the informant
was a native of the Kulanapo community on the west side of the lake. He
should therefore have had closest acquaintance with his own people and
the adjacent group, the Habenapo. His figure for the Kulanapo was 500,
a value which Kniffen attacks on the ground that Palmer's informant
intentionally exaggerated the importance of his own group. This is a
wholly gratuitous assumption and inconsistent with the fact that, since
more was known at that time about the west-shore people, his figures
could easily have been checked, had they been widely at variance with
the facts. In the second place, the figure for the Habenapo was given
as 300. Now Barrett (1908, p. 194) quotes even more specifically from
Palmer:
The Hoo-la-na-po (Kulanapo) tribe was just below the present site
of Lakeport.... At one time there were two hundred and twenty
warriors, and five hundred all told in the rancheria. They are now
reduced to sixty. Sal-vo-di-no was their chief before the present
one, Augustine.
If we are going to discredit the testimony of the chief concerning his
own village thirty years previously, we had better throw out along with
it the information secured from septuagenarians who have to recount at
second hand what their forefathers told them.
Some confirmation of Palmer's figure for the Habenapo is given by
Barrett (1908, p. 195), who mentions a statement from the Report of
the Commissioner for Indian Affairs in 1858 referring to the Lupillomi.
The latter in turn are identified by Barrett as the Habenapo. The
Commissioner said: "Upon the Lupillomi ranch, near Clear Lake, there
are some three hundred Indians." Although by 1858 there may have been
some reduction and mixing of population, the identity is striking.
Although the figures of Palmer's informant may be relied upon for his
home territory at the southwestern corner of the Lake, for the north,
east, and southeast shores he may have been inaccurate, being less
familiar with those sections. The chief evidence for such a conclusion
lies in the discrepancy between his figure for Cigom and that secured
by Gifford after a meticulous and exhaustive examination of every
individual who had lived in the village. Palmer's figure is 160 whereas
Gifford's is 235. Thus Palmer's informant clearly underestimated, by a
ratio of 2 to 3. Hence it is not unreasonable to increase Palmer's
figures for the communities remote from the area of his informant.
If we ignore for the moment Palmer's data and neglect individual
differences between communities, it would be possible to take Gifford's
figure of 235 for Cigom as representing the average for a Clear Lake
community. The population of the area would then be 2,585. Let us,
however examine the eleven communities individually (following
Stewart's outline, 1943, App. 1, pp. 57-59).
1. _Bachelor Valley and Tule Lake._ Stewart gives Cinal as the
principal village with Homtcati and Xaro as villages with assembly
houses. In his text on page 41 he says that these villages plus
Mamamamau "were occupied under the leadership of one chief." Hence
there were at least three secondary or subsidiary "occupied" villages.
In addition, in footnote 30 to page 41 he points out that Kniffen had
set apart a portion of the area under the name of Yobotui. Kniffen
(1939, p. 368) gives the Yobotui the status of an independent group and
shows a principal village under that name on his map. The group,
whether single (Stewart) or compound (Kniffen), was clearly of quite
large size. This is in line with Palmer, whose informant gave a
population of 120 for most of the group but set apart Yobotui with an
additional 150. Stewart's group, with two possible main and two or
three subsidiary villages, is credited by Palmer with 270 people. Since
the area lay in the extreme north, this estimate may be raised, in
conformity with the Cigom case, by 50 per cent, making 405.
2. _Scott's Valley._ There were two groups here just prior to white
settlement. The first was designated as the Boalke, Boilkai, or Yimaba,
with one principal village Karaka (Stewart) or two "significant winter
villages," Noboral and Karaka (Kniffen). Palmer's informant said they
had 180 people and, since they lived near him, his figure may be
accepted without change. The other group were the Komli, which are
placed as a separate group by Stewart. All authorities agree, however,
that they were Russian River natives who in relatively recent times
migrated to Scott's Valley. Palmer says they had 90 people, a
reasonable figure. The total for the two groups is thus 270.
3. _Upper Lake._ Here was a well defined group, with only one village,
Xowalek. The History of Lake County gives them 150, which because of
the distance from Lakeport may be increased to 225.
4. Another group in the same vicinity was the Danoxa, with a principal
village of the same name plus either two or three villages with
assembly houses. Palmer says they had 100 inhabitants, which may be
increased to 150. From the number of villages it might be supposed that
Danoxa was larger than Xowalek. But in giving the figures Palmer's
informant may have confused the two groups; 375 seems a reasonable
value for the two together.
5. _Clear Lake, east._ Gifford's value of 235 may be accepted without
further comment for Cigom.
6. _Lakeport._ The status of the Kulanapo has already been discussed.
Palmer's figure of 500 seems reasonable.
7. _Kelseyville._ The Habenapo are assigned a population of 300.
8, 9, and 10. _Lower Lake._ The three groups inhabiting the entire
region of the southeast were the Kamdot, Elem, and Koi. Each had a
principal village plus from two to four others with assembly houses.
They are in the same terrain with and appear to be quite similar to
Cigom. Palmer gives for the three a total population of 390, which, if
increased by 50 per cent, would mean 585. If, on the other hand, we
regard them as being of the same character as Cigom we could multiply
235 by 3 and get 705.
A curious contributory bit of evidence can be derived from Gifford's
study of land ownership in this area (1923). Gifford shows that the
ownership of property at Cigom was communal but at Kamdot, Elem, and
Koi, it was a family matter. He lists very carefully the exact
ownership of the tribal real estate. There were 22 tracts belonging to
the _village_ of Cigom but 85 belonging to _families_ of Elem, 38 to
_families_ of Koi, and 57 to _families_ of Kamdot. From this we can
derive the minimum number of families for these places, for the tracts
were simultaneously owned by different families. Using a factor of 6
persons per family the population of Elem would be 510. In this
connection it is of interest that Gifford during the same investigation
found that two subsidiary villages were occupied simultaneously with
the main village. Thus he states (p. 86): "A second mainland overflow
village, which was once _contemporaneously inhabited_ with insular
Elem and mainland Behepkobel, was Mucokol...." (Emphasis mine.) A
principal village the size of Cigom or larger plus two accessory
villages of only 100 each would bring the population to 435. Thus there
can be little doubt that Elem had fully 500 inhabitants. On the basis
of family number the figures for Koi and Kamdot would be respectively
228 and 342, or, say, 230 and 340.
According to the data above the total population of the Clear Lake
basin was 3,155, which may be rounded off to 3,150. When Kroeber
originally formulated an estimate of the population of the Pomo
communities, based largely upon Barrett's study, he set the average per
community at 100. Later (Gifford and Kroeber, 1937, p. 119) he reduced
the probable number of communities and reset the population limits at
75-300. with a likely average of 200. The average we get here is 287,
considerably larger than Kroeber would allow. However, all the
available evidence seems to support the conclusion that, for the Clear
Lake region at least, the community size was somewhat larger than
stated by Kroeber.
A puzzling secondary question is what disposition to make of the
Lileek, the small Wappo group associated with the Habenapo. These
people came very late and settled among the Habenapo, probably after
the effect of the white invasion farther south had begun to be felt.
Palmer's informant said there were about 100 of them. They might be
added to the Habenapo but, in view of the doubt concerning their origin
and history, it is perhaps best to disregard them entirely.
_Clear Lake Pomo ... 3,150_
NORTHERN POMO
For the remainder of the Pomo we have no such clearly defined body of
knowledge as for the Clear Lake group. Thus it is necessary to consider
each subdivision or subtribe separately. As a preliminary step,
however, it is desirable to discuss the problem of house and family
number in so far as it relates to the Pomo.
In Gifford's analysis of Cigom we possess a remarkably thorough
treatment of the demography of a single village, one which may be taken
as representative of the entire tribe, with the exception of the
portion lying along the coast. At Cigom Gifford found 47 social groups
or families and 235 persons. The mean is 5.0 persons per family.
However this figure represents the period of 1850 and immediately
thereafter, when the Clear Lake population had already for several
years suffered from contact with the whites. Hence the aboriginal value
must have been higher. Indeed Gifford's study gives an amazing picture
of the demographic dissolution of the Pomo in the mid-nineteenth
century.
Among the 47 families there were 57 persons who were described as "son"
or "daughter" and were obviously at or below the age of puberty at the
period the informants were recalling. This means only 1.21 children per
family, far below the minimum number (2.0) necessary for replacement.
Clearly the population was declining rapidly at that time. If there
were 1.21 children and the family number was 5.0, the average number of
adults was 3.79. For simple equilibrium or stability, such as we must
assume existed in pre-white times, at least 3 children must be found in
every family. Thus with 3.79 adults there would have to have been a
family number of 6.79 or say, 6.80 merely to maintain the population.
Considering the relative richness of the environment and the quite
elaborate culture of the Pomo an average of 7.0 is by no means
excessive for the aboriginal Pomo.
That the Clear Lake Pomo were in a deplorable state at the time
described by Gifford is attested by the statements of his informants
concerning the subsequent fate of the 57 children mentioned in the
text. Of these, 29, or 50.9 per cent, "died young." Such a tremendous
child mortality is quite consistent with our entire picture of the
postcontact decline in Indian population but is wholly at variance with
any reasonable concept of aboriginal conditions.
At Cigom Gifford found 20 houses, mostly of the multiple type so common
among the Pomo. Three of the houses held 4 families, three held 3,
twelve held 2, and two held 1. The average is 2.35 families per house
or, in terms of persons, 11.75 per house. This is of course based on
the 1850 value of 5.0 persons per family. If we admit an aboriginal
number of 7.0 persons per family, then the number per house becomes
16.45 instead of 11.75.
In his study of Redwood Valley Kniffen (1939, pp. 373-380) puts the
population at 125 and the number of houses at 12. This would mean 10.4
persons per house, quite close to Gifford's value for Cigom in or near
1850.
In his chapter on the Pomo Stephen Powers (1877) described the village
of Senel (Sanel, Shanel) in the Russian River valley (p. 168 and map).
He shows on his map 104 houses and 5 assembly houses. The houses were
large and contained according to his estimate 20-30 persons each. This
estimate seems much too high. However, on other grounds he puts the
former population at 1,500 inhabitants, a figure which is arrived at
entirely independently by an informant of Stewart (1943, p. 45). Indeed
Stewart comments with reference to Powers that "my population estimate
and description closely approximate his." This means for 104 houses a
mean of 14.42 occupants.
The average of the three sets of data available give 13.76 persons per
house, a figure which may be rounded off at 14.0 in view of the
probability that Kniffen's estimate is a little low. It is noteworthy,
furthermore, that neither Gifford nor Powers gives any indication that
all the houses in the villages respectively studied were not
simultaneously occupied. Indeed, with the multifamily system it is
difficult to see how they could stand deserted for a considerable
period of time.
_The Potter Valley groups._--Stewart paid particular attention to the
Potter Valley groups and determined the central or capital villages to
have been Canel, Sedam, and Pomo. Stewart also says that, whereas Canel
was the main village in its area, Yamo was the most populous. Sedam
was one of the largest villages in the valley and Pomo was somewhat
smaller. By comparison with the Clear Lake towns it is appropriate to
consider the three principal towns (including Yamo with Canel) as
having approximately 200 inhabitants each, or 600 in all. The next
question concerns peripheral or outlying villages, of which there
were certainly a considerable number. Stewart says that the Canel
were "distributed" among 12 villages (including Yamo). Moreover "my
informant (JSm) insisted that these villages were all occupied at the
same time ... each having a 'curing' sweathouse; however all were under
one chief, and there was only one ceremonial or 'devil' house" (p. 40).
Barrett (1908, fn. 129, p. 142) says his informant called three of
these villages camps only. At the same time Barrett lists 9 villages,
excluding Kachabida and Canekai, 6 of which correspond to villages of
Stewart. Merriam lists 10 villages, only one of which is in addition to
those of Barrett or Stewart. Although there is some overlap, it seems
clear that there were at least 12 villages apart from Canel, Sedam, and
Pomo. Of these Yamo has already been considered. Kachabida, mentioned
by Barrett and Merriam, was one of those which migrated to the Clear
Lake region shortly before 1850 and must therefore be excluded, since
its people have already been counted among the Clear Lake Pomo.
Canekai lay several miles to the northeast in the hills. It is simply
shown by Stewart on his map as lying in the territory of Sedam.
Merriam, however, calls it a "small tribe," the shanel-kaah, and cites
Gibbs (1860), who mentioned the group under the name of the Shanelkaya.
Evidently a fair-sized village or minor subtribe once existed in the
area. At least 100 persons must be ascribed to it.
Deducting Yamo, Kachabida, and Canekai and three of Stewart's villages
which Barrett said were camp sites there remain 11 villages supported
by the word of at least one of the three above-mentioned authorities.
Five are given by all three of them, 4 by two of them and 2 by one
alone. It is safe therefore to allow 10 villages in addition to the 5
already accepted (i.e., Canel, Sedam, Pomo, Yamo, and Canekai).
Concerning the size we have no data but they must all have been
relatively small. Three houses each would seem a reasonable estimate,
yielding at the Pomo rate of 14 persons per house 42 inhabitants for
each village or 420 for the aggregate. Thus, counting 600 for Canel,
Sedam, Pomo, and Yamo, 100 for Canekai, and 420 for the balance, we get
1,120 as the best estimate for the Potter Valley subtribes.
_Calpella and Redwood Valleys._--This area is divided by Stewart into
two subtribes, the Masut of Calpella and the Katca of Redwood Valley.
This course is also followed by Kniffen who made a special investigation
of the Kacha (Katca). On the other hand Merriam included both groups in
his tribe, the Mah-soo-tah-ka-ah (his manuscript entitled "Northern Pomo").
The Kacha tribe all lived in the village given as Kacha by Kniffen and
as Kabelal by Barrett, Merriam, and Stewart. Kniffen says "there must
have been about 125 people in the valley...", but gives no supporting
data. He does, on the other hand, mention that the village had 12
houses (1939, p. 375). At the aboriginal Pomo number of 14.0 there
should have been 168 instead of 125 inhabitants. It is quite possible
that Kniffen was thinking in terms of the early 1850's and hence made a
low estimate. It appears to the present writer that 170 is preferable.
Masut is given by Barrett and Stewart as a village but by Merriam as a
tribe. Another village near by, Chom-cha-de-lah (Merriam) or
Chomchadila (Powers, Kroeber) is admitted by Stewart and in fact given
as the main village in his appendix (p. 57). Stewart also adds two
villages, Diskabel and Kobida. It is evident that there were several
villages closely clustered together. Stewart thinks there were four. Of
these Masut and Chom-chah-de-lah were apparently large and the others
perhaps small. We may allow 150 each for the larger ones and 50 each
for the smaller, making 400 in all.
The village of Matuku lay in the same territory. This is given the
status of tribe by Merriam but was involved in the migrational
movements between the Calpella region and Clear Lake. Hence its
population is difficult to evaluate. Perhaps 100 persons will be
adequate.
In near-by Coyote Valley lived the tribe called by Powers the
Shodokaipomo. This seems to be the general name for the subtribe and
perhaps also for one of their villages (Barrett and Merriam). In
addition, Merriam, following Barrett, lists Shah-chahm-kah-oo (called
Shashamkau by Kroeber). Powers (1877) in commenting on this group has
this to say: "Mr. Christy states that there were between three hundred
and four hundred (people) when he arrived." Since there is no specific
reason to doubt Mr. Christy's word, we may set the population of the
subtribe at 350. The total for the entire area is 1,020.
There are for the Calpella-Redwood Valley region 8 reasonably well
authenticated villages, as follows:
Kabelal (Barrett, Merriam, Stewart)
Masut (Barrett, Stewart)
Chom-cha-de-lah (Powers, Barrett, Merriam, Stewart, Kroeber)
Matuku (Barrett, Merriam, Stewart)
Shodo-kai (Barrett, Merriam, Powers)
Shah-chahm-kah-oo (Barrett, Merriam, Kroeber)
Diskabel (Stewart)
Kobida (Stewart)
Of these five may be regarded as principal villages and hence large;
the others may have been small. The average for all together is 127
persons per village. If we allow 175 persons for each of the larger
ones, we must assume 50 for the smaller. These figures seem of the
correct order of magnitude.
_Willits Valley._--The tribe inhabiting Willits Valley extended from
the inland valleys clear to the coast. Stewart makes it clear, however,
in contradistinction to Barrett, that they had no permanent villages
actually on the coast before they moved in that direction ahead of the
American advance to the north. The Northern Pomo thus, unlike the Coast
Yuki, lived a long distance inland and traveled to the seashore only as
occasion demanded from time to time.
Stewart lists 9 village sites: Mitom, the principal village; Tsamonda,
a small village; Nabo; Talel, with 8 dwelling pits; Tsaka, with 8 pits;
Bakau; Cotsiu; Kacebal; and one of unknown name. He says that there is
no evidence that all these were occupied at the same time, but "several
must have been occupied simultaneously because five were occupied by
the parents of Indians still living."
Much light is thrown on the situation in Willits Valley and adjacent
areas by the work of Merriam (in the manuscript "Northern Pomo").
Merriam splits the natives into three dialectic subgroups: the
But-kow-hah-po-mah of upper Outlet Creek, the Sho-jul-po-ma of eastern
Little Lake Valley, and the Met-tum-mah of Willits Valley proper.
The But-kow-hah-po-mah had a principal village But-kow-hah-chut-te,
corresponding to Stewart's Bakau plus "3-4 rancherias." If we allow 150
for the main village and a possible 25 each for the outlying
rancherias, we get 250 for the group. This seems quite reasonable for a
small, somewhat isolated subtribe.
The Sho-mul-po-mah had for a principal village Sho-tse-yu-chut-te,
which is mentioned by Barrett and corresponds to Stewart's Cotsiu. In
addition, Merriam cites from Barrett 6 other villages, 4 of which he
confirms as villages. One of these, Tah-nah-kum-chut-te, he says
contained a sweathouse having a capacity of 200 people. According to a
principle enunciated by Powers (p. 168), but which is of somewhat
doubtful validity, the capacity of a sweathouse or assembly house is
equivalent to one-third of the population. Thus the Sho-mul-po-mah
might have had 600 people. However, if we allow that the principal
village, by analogy with Kasha, had 175 and that each of the villages
of Barrett which were confirmed by Merriam had 4 dwelling houses each
(i.e., 56 people) then the population would be computed at 400.
In the Mitom region Merriam is very explicit. He mentions Me-to-mah-chut-te,
which corresponds to Stewart's Mitom, and says that it was the "name
applied by Me-tum-mah to all their villages in Metumki of Little Lake
Valley. There were 4 important permanent winter villages containing
about 600 people." These 4 villages were, according to Merriam:
Cha-bo-cha-kah-chut-te, Po-ka-hil-chut-te, She-o-kah-lau-chut-te, and
Tsah-kah-chut-te. The last corresponds to Stewart's Tsaka. Of the first
village he says it contained 40 to 50 house pits. This must be
excessive for it would mean a population of 560 persons in this village
alone. Stewart says that Tsaka had 8 pits, or 112 persons. If we reduce
the count for Cha-bo-cha-kah-chut-te to 300 instead of 560, we can
still accept Merriam's figure of 600 for the group of four.
We still have to account for Kah-be-shal-chut-te of Barrett and Merriam
(Stewart's Kabecal), Tsam-mom-dah-chut-te of Barrett and Merriam
(Stewart's Tsamonda). Nabo of Merriam and Stewart (also mentioned by
Gibbs). and Talel of Stewart. Talel and Nabo may have been part of the
Mitom complex but Tsamonda and Kabecal are too distant. If Tsamonda was
small, as Stewart says, we may allow 50 inhabitants. Kabecal must have
contained at least 100.
For the entire area, including all three of Merriam's linguistic
groups, we get a population of 1,650 inhabitants.