Hunting by Jonathan

What did they hunt?

The California Indians hunted tule elk, deer, antelope, and bear. The bear was a dangerous animal they hunted first because they are very strong and can kill them and because they believe grizzly bears carry the spirit of the medicine man and if they think it is a brown bear and kill it and someone finds out they are punished. When tule elk are hunted, hunters wear elk skins to sneak up on them for a quick kill with a bow or spear. Hunters were usually very quiet and fast so they could sneak up on animals, they had to especially quiet when hunting tule elk and bear because the elk can stomp on them and the bears can eat them.

What did they hunt with? What tools did they use?

California Indians hunted with bows, arrows, spears, and their bare hands. Most of the weapons were made with obsidian or flint because regular stone would break. The Indians had to trade to get obsidian and flint for their weapons.

Did the Indians go fishing?

Yes, the Indians did go fishing. They had a clever way of fishing they found if they sprinkled soap root plant it paralyzed the fish so they could spear the fish or grab them.

Did they trap anything?

Yes, trapping was also important way of finding food they trapped ducks, and beaver. To trap ducks they put fake ducks behind a net to attract low flying ducks when it was in position, the trappers pull a rope and it captures the ducks. The Californian Indians used the duck meat to feed people and the feathers for arrows. To catch beavers they waited until the beaver left the dam then they hid in the dam and when it came back they it and killed it. They used the pelts (the skin) for clothing and rugs. They used the meat to eat and the teeth for hatchets and tomahawks. They sometimes trap rabbits, to do this they form a circle around one or many rabbits and close in on them stomping their feet and beating the ground with sticks and easily grabbing them with their bare hands or throwing nets. They did not have rabbit stew like we might have here but more like rotisserie rabbit.

Did any of their food sources die out? None that I know of but the closest to extinction was the tule elk, gold miners almost killed them, soon there was only 28 elk in the wild!!

Works Cited:

Bibliography: "The Historic ABC's Of Solano County", written by Jackie Albright and Jackie Lillis Illustrated by Tina Akuda. Published by the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District, 1997 Boule, Mary Null

"California Native American Tribes PATWIN TRIBE" published by Merryant Publishing, Vashon, Washington, 1992