California and the Ishi Wilderness:
Grizzly BearÕs Hiding Place
September 30-October 7, 2017
I have
been flying to California since 1996. All of the trips have had something
related to the story of Ishi, the Last Stone Age Indian in North America.
The crux
of the story is that this little band of Yahi Indians hid their village for
about 40 years in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in Northern
California. Many people think that
they lived in a cave, but that is not true. It was on a flat plateau.
The
village, far above Deer Creek, was called ÒGrizzly BearÕs Hiding PlaceÓ, and it
was their home from about the 1870Õs until 1908. It was discovered and pillaged
by some surveyors.
Only
four members of the tribe were still alive at this time. Two ran off, and it is
presumed that they drowned trying to cross a creek. IshiÕs sickly mother was in the hut, and
was left unharmed, though they took most of their earthly possessions. Ishi hid from the surveyors.
Ishi was
ÒcapturedÓ in 1911, and spent four years giving valuable information on the
customs and ways of the Yahi until his death in 1916 of tuberculosis.
Grizzly
BearÕs Hiding Place, known to the Yahi as ÒWowunupo'mu
TetnaÓ, is the place that I have wanted to visit
since I first learned about the story of Ishi.
Very few people know the actual location of this
village site, and it is so remote that most folks would not even attempt to get
there. But I have this archeologist
friend who had been there a couple times, and does know the actual specific
location.
Mike and I worked out the logistics via long
distance, me in Minnesota and Mike in California, to actually make the visit to
Grizzly BearÕs Hiding Place.
Lauri, MikeÕs wife, accompanied
us on the trek, and soon we were setting up our tents on the banks of Deer
Creek. The creek was flowing at a
pretty good clip, and it was probably three or four feet deep or more in
places.
After we had gotten settled in the campsite tucked
on a small spit of rock, with just enough room for two tents, we got ready to
ascend a very steep hill to get to Grizzly BearÕs Hiding Place.
Mike had warned me of the treacherous footing, and
had strongly recommended that I purchase a pair of hiking crampons because the
climb, while steep, also had a lot of loose and shifting soil, rocks and leaf
debris. They were a great idea, and
IÕd probably be there yet trying to climb if I hadnÕt had them.
Pictures cannot do the climb justice.
Poison oak was everywhere, and there were times
that I needed to grab it just to keep my balance. Brush, dead branches, soil that gave way
as I stepped on it, and a climb that was at about a 45 degree angle for the
majority of the climb.
It was also very tiring. While I exercise quite regularly, I do
it pretty much on flat ground. This
was the antithesis. Mike and Lauri
are not only physically fit, they are about 20 years
younger than me. I told them
that when they are 72, they should replicate this trip and think of me. IÕll be 92 at that time, and probably
wonÕt join them.
The brush was so thick, and the ground so loose
that I was getting pretty exhausted, and IÕm sure I slowed them down a bit, but
I really like the fact that they did not make a big deal out of it. They could have coddled me and made all
sorts of exceptions for me because of my age, but they didnÕt. They treated me like they would have as
one of their equals, and I really appreciated that.
When we finally did get to the plateau, I was
pretty much sweaty, out of breath, and ready for a big drink of water. And flat ground.
While the ground was pretty level, it was not easy
walking. There were still lots of
brush, poison oak, downed logs, and vines.
And soon, there we were at the Holy
Grail, for me, of the story of Ishi and the Yahi. Grizzly BearÕs Hiding Place. Wowunupo'mu
Tetna. It was a place I never thought I would see,
and I was much more moved and emotionally taken by it than I thought I would
be. It was almost a reverent
feeling, especially around where the house pit stood.
Mike did some looking around
in the pit area where the actual house stood, and found several artifacts,
including some pieces of glass and some metal remains of a can. These were
documented and replaced where they had been found.
Mike and Lauri went off to do a bit
more exploring of the area, but I decided to stay back and just soak up some of
what I was seeing.
I went to the house pit, leaned my back
against some large stones, and sat there for 30 or 40 minutes.
The silence of the area was
eerie. I could hear the breezes
blow, hear the birds singing, see the butterflies flitting by, the smell of the
bay trees, the clouds drifting by, the silence of everything but the sounds of
nature, and I was thinking that this is exactly the way it was in IshiÕs time
in this very location.
Soon, Mike and Lauri came
back and we started looking around the area for more signs of the past.
We found remains of an old
tin can, a broken hand saw blade, the rusted remains of a ÒLog CabinÓ syrup
tin, which was mentioned in KroeberÕs book, the remains of a pail, all left in
place for well over a hundred years.
Mike took us to what was called on the
map, a ÒLoose Rock SlideÓ and showed us where Ishi had been photographed in
1914 when he returned to this area with the anthropologists. With my crampons
still on my boots, I did manage to slip and fall on the slippery rocks, but only lost
a little skin on my knuckles and a bruise on my right knee.
On our trek we did run into
a rattlesnake on the trail. It did
not rattle, but just slithered off into the brush.
Mike did some more exploring in the
house pit, and found several more items, both glass and metal. He documented the location, drew a
diagram of the pit, and listed each item. He then carefully put them back
where they were.
We hiked around the area looking for signs that matched the map of
the village, and found a couple more sites.
I decided we should document the fact that we were at Grizzly
BearÕs Hiding Place by taking a photo, so I set up my camera in the only place we
could find that was open enough, and I took this picture with the sun in the
background. Not the greatest shot,
but it does capture the moment.
Soon it was time to head down the very
steep slope to our camp on Deer Creek.
The descent down is as treacherous as going
up, and in some ways more so, because there was the danger of getting up too
much speed and losing control. The
crampons again were very useful.
Often, I aimed for a small tree ahead and grabbed it as I went by to
slow down.
Soon, we could see Deer Creek far below
us, and we got back to our camp site.
Mike and Lauri surprised me with with a
small bottle of champagne that had been cooling in the creek to celebrate our
time at Grizzly BearÕs Hiding Place.
I was pretty tired, and it tasted wonderful, and I really appreciated
their thoughtfulness. It was a time to celebrate.
We had also brought a small box of wine along with also was cooled
in the cold waters of Deer Creek, and we had a baguette with a chunk of
parmesan cheese for an appetizer. Along with the wine, it was great! We had steak and potato skewers as our
main meal and it tasted wonderful!
We talked about the day, and spending time in the village, and I
told them that I had experienced everything that I had hoped for on the trek
that day, and that I really didnÕt need to return to the camp on the next
day. There really was nothing more
I could hope for in another visit that I hadnÕt done today. Lauri felt pretty much the same way, and
that would give Mike all the time he needed to do the exploring that he wanted
to do. I had brought walkie talkies
along, so we could be able to keep in touch.
Soon, we turned in for the evening, and I struggled to
get comfortable in my tent with a slippery air mattress, a slippery sleeping
bag and a slippery pillow plus all my gear. I never sleep well camping, but the
sound of Deer Creek, and later a full moon, were a part of a great experience I
was having, and it really is the only way I would ever see it or experience it.
Next morning, after a leisurely breakfast and a cup of coffee,
Mike headed back up the hill to do some more exploring while Lauri and I stayed
in camp.
I could feel the exertion of the previous day in my legs and hips.
I gathered quite a bit of firewood for the evening meal and the
following morning. Most of it was a very soft driftwood, so it burned fast.
I spent a share of the day taking photos of the beautiful setting
we were in, and reading a couple books I had brought along. Lauri did pretty much the same.
Mike returned to camp mid afternoon after spending several hours
at Grizzly BearÕs Hiding Place. He
was disappointed that he hadnÕt found any small pieces of obsidian or glass
from IshiÕs flintknapping, but did explore the pit
more, and found more artifacts that he documented. He also found some of the trails shown
on the map.
We had a leisurely evening, finished the wine, and had some pretty
good food that had been dehydrated and rehydrated with boiling water.
Lauri had started to come down with poison oak on her arms, so she
was feeling a bit on the itchy side.
We turned in early again, and I awoke very early again, and gathered some
more firewood.
Soon, we had eaten our breakfast, gotten all packed up, and we
headed back to civilization.
The trip had meant a lot to me, seeing the site of the ultimate
place in the Ishi story.
The next
day, Mike and I drove to Chico with catch up with Richard, who has meant so
much to me for encouraging me to pursue my interest in the story of Ishi and
his tribe. The next day, we got together with Bob Price, who has also been a part
of so many of my trips, including the first visit.
But thereÕs a little bit more to the storyÉ.
Minnesota Visit
Mike and Lauri flew to Minnesota the
same day I did on an earlier flight, and spent the next three days visiting
MikeÕs aunt and other relatives and seeing some of the Minneapolis/St. Paul
sites. We picked them up after
theyÕd returned the rental car, and headed to Austin to the SPAM museum, which
they said theyÕd like to see.
From there, we went to Chatfield t o the Pope-Young Bowhunting Museum, and had a great visit with Larry, the
museum curator. They have lots of information and a diorama about Ishi.
From there we went to Cambridge, spent
the night, and headed to Duluth the next morning. We stopped at Jay Cooke State Park and
Gooseberry Falls State Park, and spent the night in Duluth.
From Duluth we headed to Itasca State Park where Mike and Lauri
walked on the rocks across the source of the Mississippe
River. Last day was spent in
Alexandria with Big Ole and the Kensington Runestone. A lot to see in a few days! Then out to eat with Derek and Zo‘ and then
we dropped them at the airport for their flight back to Sacramento.
It was quite the couple weeks.
Here are a couple of my remembrances about the tripÉ.the signed Champagne bottle, and a replica, though smaller,
of the Log Cabin Syrup tin like the one found in Grizzly BearÕs Hiding Place.