San Andreas independent., 1857-01-24
Indian Chiefs.


and Merced; aged about forty-fve years, six
foot tall, straight as an arrow, a majestic fore
head and keen, penetrating look,-he was the
Red Jacket of the Sierra Neyada,-well- -educat-
ed, (while under charge of the Padres at Santa
Clara Mission,) he was probably the most apt
of all the Indians in the mines This Chief was
very aristoeratc, and had many peculiar no
tions, one of which was unvarying honesty;)
although generally well-lnformed and good
linguist and Spanish scholar his pride of char
acter would not allow him to converse with
the whites only through an interpreter; his
natire dignity seeking a higher aim than the
commonalities of the English language. Five
Chiefs under Hasuche were, Pack-no, Antonio,
Polo, Alcalde Charley and Panchito. Hasuche
died on the Mokelumne river, at Frenchmans
store some time in the winter of 1872. 1t is
supposed that he was poisoned, as when intox-
icated he was particularly down on" the
French, and in fact every other nation except
the Americans, and during these tantrums was
very quarrelsome, frequently SO abusive to the
Spanish or Mexicans as to be intolerable
After the mines were first discovered, at
Weber's old Dry Diggings, Messrs. Charles NJ.
Weber, DR.. Isbell, James Woods and James
Savage, were trading with the miners and In
dians at that place. About this time, June or
July l048, Mr.. Weber returned to his ranch,
near Stockton, and while there was visited by
Hasuche and some of the under Chiefs Mr..
ol.o IL IL Al, J.
planned to them the value of the metal and
that it was evident there was also gold up on
the Calaveras, near Hasuche's rancheria, and
that if he would go up into the mountains with
his tribe, and succeed in finding gold it would
be great benefit to the Indians of that region
Hasuche accordingly detailed Alcalde Charley
and five or six of his tribe, to accompany Mr..
Weber on his return to the diggings to see the
gold and learn how the miners obtained it
their object being to return and search for gold
on the Calaveras. After some time Alcalde
Charley returned to his rancheria on the STAN
islaus, mustered his tribe and started to dis
cover gold; proceeding up Carson's Creek, to a
small gulch emptying into the creek near where
the town of Carson is now situated, here they
discovered gold This was the first gold dis
covered in the Southern Mines, or south of the
old Dry Diggings at Hangtown. The next dis
covery of gold, was at Woods Creek, which was
also made by one of Alcalde Charley's Indians.
This Chief is now living near Murphy's worth
less and miserable drunkard
PAcK-No the Chief of the Tribes on the
Stanislaus, was civilized Indian, who had
once belonged to the Mission of Santa Clara
he was the most active Indian in the noun
tains-an excellent horseman, brave and dar-
ing,-he had a great influence over his tribe,
which numbered some two hundred warriors,
women and children.
ALcALDE CHARLEY-This Chief was kind
of I" sub" in the service of Hasuche, and was
very important character at the time of the
gold discovery he was of the stoutest In
dians in the mountains aged about twenty-five
or thirty, and weighing about 23O pounds, he
was perfect giant in strength and symmetry,
his frame of iron was knit together with snews
of steel. This Chief once packed, t,co hundred
pounds Of -four, from MLean's Ferry on the
Stanislaus, to Vallecito, formerly called the
head of Coyote Creek J John Murphy employ
ed him to perform the feat.
PoLo.-This Chief was wild Indian, and
thieves in the mines, previously he was under
chief in Hasuches Tribe, but rebelled after
wards carrying on bloody and relentless civil
war for several years. The reason that Polo
became obstreporous, so Hasuche said, was that
he wished to steal horses from the Americans
as well as from the Spaniards, which he, IIa-
suche,) would not tolerate. Polo was shot by
an ex-Lieutenant of Steyenson's Regiment, at
Rich Bar on the Mokeumne river, during a
drunken spree in the spring of 1851. Polo was
the most treacherous and villainous Indian in
the mines or in fact, in California. In the fall
and winter of l84S, Hasuche offered one hun
dred pounds of gold for his head but Polo
escaped up into the mountains. 1t was Polo's
tribe that attacked and shot Dick Armor, some
time during the winter, and which caused the
first Indian war; in some of the skirmishes the
whites, and the Indians also, loaded their rifles
with gold slugs and their double-barreled guns
with gold buck-shot. PoloS tribe are now liv-
ing near West Point and between that and Mo-
kelumne Hill.
ANToNIo.-Ofthe many Chiefs that the whites
came in contact with, i'll l040-9, none were so
good or so true as this noble old Chief; he was
and aged man and one who knew no harm nor
thought any evil. He was warm friend OF
the Americans; early in 1913, under the pro-
lection of Antonio, Mike Lodge and Tom Fal-
Ion moved (by invitation, to come and dig gold
in his country,) to the rancheria, which then
contained about one hundred and fifty Indians,
old and young,-Mike Lodge and his family
ever enioved the confidence of the old Chief