Customer Reviews

Killing for Land in Early California - Indian Blood at Round Valley

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Killing for Land in Early California is a fascinating documentary account of a particular period of California history as it played out in Round Valley in Mendocino County in the years between 1856 and 1863 and should be of interest to Californians and non-Californians alike. The author introduces the book as "neither a definitive military history nor, strictly speaking, regional history" but as a "generally accurate summary of what happened and how and why a deadly conflict raged that lasted over five years and was so very deadly to one side." He particularizes the broad sweep of California history by focusing on events that took place during a few years in one location and, in so doing, proves the old adage that the devil is in the details. While basing his historical account on the documentary record, the author emphasizes that this record is incomplete and essentially flawed, since whatever Native American depositions existed at one time were either lost or destroyed. So, in a very concrete sense, the other side of the story must be read between the lines of the documentary record that does exist. Although before reading this book, I understood that the indigenous peoples of California died in large numbers due to the appropriation of their land by first the Spaniards and then, in the mid-nineteenth century, the Americans, I had not fully realized how suddenly and thoroughly this conquest came about. Killing for Land in Early California clearly documents how this "land grab" transpired in Round Valley. One variable that makes this local history perhaps more broadly significant then some others is that Round Valley is a location that had been designated as the ideal place for a large reservation for up to 25,000 Northern Californian Native Americans. However, contradictory goals of extermination or at least isolation of the Indians and the appropriation of their ancestral lands, on the one hand, versus official demands that the Indians be protected, provided for, and "taught" to be peaceful, obedient farmers, on the other, insured that whatever the ultimate configuration of land ownership in the Valley, the consequences for its original inhabitants would be dire. Killing for Land in Early California tells the story of this "frontier war in the late 1850s that gave rise to a stable and permanent ranch economy for the Euro-Americans and a reservation system for the few surviving Native Americans." Baumgardner concludes that "What remained of peace following this ugly race war, both for Native Americans and Euro-American settlers alike, were strong antipathies, memories of terrible events of shootings and killings, and a cold almost complete lack of mutual understanding."

Carranco and Beard's "Genocide and Vendetta" is the pioneer work in this field. However thorough and meticulous their research, G. & V. suffered greatly from a lack of analysis of the data, and was further handicapped by a turgid writing style that bounced erratically through the years. Much of it is puzzling to anyone not familiar with Mendocino County, California.
"Killing for Land" corrects these flaws with a much superior writing style and better organization of the materials. There is also a moral stance in the writing that was smothered in G. & V. Finally, there is a lot of inquiring thought given to the underlying meaning of the circumstances of the genocide of California's native Americans.
I'd recommend "Genocide and Vendetta" for a broader geographical coverage and for the sheer massiveness of the research that went into it. However, if you aren't a specialist in history, Baumgardner supplies a much superior reading experience. I would think 95% of interested readers would be better served by Baumgardner.
Disclaimer notes: This reviewer is a former resident of Round Valley. He is presently engaged in writing a nonfiction book on the history of homicide in "Murderous Mendocino".

This is an exceptionally well documented and well written report on a little know part of California's history. A tragic tale of greed and exploitation.

Accounts of the "Trail of Tears" Death March from the Central Valley to Round Valley-Covelo area. Everyone who feels the Native Americans in the U.S. were not slaughtered in the name of Greed, should read this well researched book with letters and personnel accounts of one of the most disgraceful periods in California History.