The Clear Lake or "Bloody Island" Massacre

During the mid-1800s in California, the prevailing sentiment towards Native Americans was not good. The majority of Californians thought it would be necessary to "exterminate" the Native American population. Some thought it would be a good idea to enslave them, therefore taming them. Luckily, there were those who spoke out for Native American rights, but they were too few and they were quickly silenced. This sentiment led to the enslavement of an untold number of Native Americans. In 1850, enslaving Native Americans became legal in California. One could purchase a slave for less than $100.

Two ranchers name Andrew Kelsey and Charles Stone took advantage of Californian treatment of Native Americans in 1847. They bought a ranch from Salvador Vallejo. Salvador kept a number of Pomo Native American employees. Kelsey and Stone turned these employees into their slaves. They underfed them to the point that some starved. There is even a story that Andrew Kelsey took 50 of these slaves to search for gold. When he did not find gold, he sold the food that was meant to feed his slaves. Legend has it that only 2 of the 50 slaves survived the trip back to Kelsey and Stone's north California ranch.

Due to the lack of respect for Native Americans that was rampant in 19th century California, there were little to no (more likely no) repercussions for beating, robbing, raping or even murdering Native Americans. This meant that Andrew Kelsey and Charles Stone could treat their slaves however they wanted with no fear of retribution and they did. They raped the women and girls of the Pomo tribe they had enslaved. When they decided to rape the Chief's wife, they made a big mistake.

When Kelsey and Stone took the Chief's wife to their house to rape her, they paved the way for the Clear Lake Massacre. They also cleared the way to their demise. As the rapists slept, the Chief's wife poured water into their guns, rendering them useless. The next morning, five Pomo men invaded the house and killed Andrew Kelsey and Charles Stone. They knew that they would not get away with killing these two white men, no matter how much it was deserved. Therefore, the now free group of Native Americans fled the area.

The U.S. Army was eventually told about the double murder at the Kelsey/Stone ranch. A contingent of a United States cavalry unit, led by Captain Nathaniel Lyon went hunting for Pomo in the spring of 1850. They targeted a group on an island in Clear Lake, California. The group had no connections with the slaves of Kelsey and Stone, other than their heritage. Nonetheless, they were punished. Lyon and his men attacked them with guns and cannons before going in and finishing off most of the group on what would become known as Bloody Island. After the men left, they continued to kill Native Americans they came across. Somewhere between 75 and 200 Native Americans were murdered that day.

Today, Bloody Island is no longer located in Clear Lake. It is a hill with a monument to those who died that day. It is something to think about how the United States Army was responsible for the Clear Lake Massacre and others that came before it and followed it. Some blame it on Lyons, who was present at several other massacres of Native Americans. Even after he died, he seemed connected to cruelty. The infamous Sand Creek Massacre took place just outside of Fort Lyons, a fort that was named in his honor after his death.

Sources

Clear Lake Massacre, retrieved 1/4/11, chrisanddavid.com/clearlakemassacre/index.shtml

Richerson, Pete & Richerson, Scott, Bloody Island, retrieved 1/4/11, bioregion.ucdavis.edu/book/10_Clear_Lake/10_17_circ_cl_bloodyi.html