Exterminate Them: Written Accounts of the Murder, Rape, and Enslavement of Native Americans during the California Gold Rush [Paperback]

Clifford E. Trafzer (Editor), Joel R. Hyer (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0870135015 | ISBN-13: 978-0870135019 | Publication Date: January 31, 1999

Popular media depict miners as a rough-and-tumble lot who diligently worked the placers along scenic rushing rivers while living in roaring mining camps in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Trafzer and Hyer destroy this mythic image by offering a collection of original newspaper articles that describe in detail the murder, rape, and enslavement perpetrated by those who participated in the infamous gold rush. "It is a mercy to the Red Devils," wrote an editor of the Chico Courier, "to exterminate them." Newspaper accounts of the era depict both the barbarity and the nobility in human nature, but while some protested the inhumane treatment of Native Americans, they were not able to end the violence. Native Americans fought back, resisting the invasion, but they could not stop the tide of white miners and settlers. They became "strangers in a stolen land."

Editorial Reviews

Review

California's Gold Rush era was nothing less than a time of pure, unadulterated genocide. . . . Trafzer and Hyer offer a brilliant book based on original research from newspapers that document one of the most tragic episodes in American history. -- Larry Myers [Pomo] Executive Secretary, California Native American Heritage Commission

The typical Californian generally knows nothing about the genocide committed against the native people. . . . We need to see and to witness the hatred and racism of a society that not only affected early California history but continues today in all its various forms. Teachers who are required to cover this subject matter should be greatly enriched with accurate, evidentiary and documental records. What an opportunity to critically inquire and to learn about comparative political systems, social issues, economic and philosophical ramifications. -- Jack Norton [Hupa Historian] Costo Chair, University of California, Riverside

About the Author

Cliffor Trafzer is Director of American Indian Studies at University of California, Riverside. He received the 1996-97 Wordcraft Prose Writer of the Year Award for Death Stalks the Yakama.

Joel R. Hyer is Visiting Faculty Fellow of History at California State University, San Marcos and co-editor of Exterminate Them!: Written Accounts of Native American Murder, Rape, and Slavery during the California Gold Rush, 1848-1868.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 177 pages
• Publisher: Michigan State University Press (January 31, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870135015
• ISBN-13: 978-0870135019
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #830,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)