'Murder of an Indn' & Vallejo's essay on Indian character & efforts to civilize them: on 3rd Sept[?] learned an Indian had been shot; visited scene with Lt. Anderson (Commandg the post); found the Indian dying; next day investigated. Murder committed by Benj. Kelly of Sonoma, a man of good standing & respectability; cause: an alleged insult & attempt at violence by the Indian to Kelly's wife; prior to the killing the Indian had been tried, before the magistrate & sentenced to receive 100 lashes; after the infliction of the punishment & discharge of the Indian, Kelly in company with several other persons went in quest of him, & upon finding him, Kelly deliberately drew a pistol & shot him thro' the head inflicting a mortal wound. 'Murders & outrages agt Indians frequent & committed with impunity — measures must & things must be adopted to stop that lawlessness, or else this community will be greatly endangered by retaliation on the part of the Indians.' [+ a long private-letter essay, orig. in Spanish, translated on margin by Wm. E.P. Hartnell:] 'I have sought at all times the means of regulating the management of Indns as well for their private benefit, as to amalgamate them as far as possible with the whites… This race of people appear to be a peculiar race, and in their youth capable of the best civilization, when they keep this age, then is no medical way of inducing them to leave their miserable manner of living like brutes… have so far many years the protection of the singular, unhappy & degraded race, which if it requires indeed all the protection of gout to civilize it & prevent from atrocious deviations, it is at the same time necessary that it should feel the weight of an iron hand, for otherwise the white race will perish… Vagabondism, scandalous drunkenness, robberies, wounds & murders are committed by the Indns in this jurisdiction with great frequency… they understand liberty has broken the reins of subordination; and if this is civilized society, is an evil of great consequence.' Recommends: imposing fines & confinement on all thefts & violations of the peace/spirituous liquors & theft; that persons in whose employ the Indians are be made responsible for them, except in criminal cases; that they deliver up to competent authority all seditious Indians; that a place be appointed in each pueblo for gathering together such Indians as have no fixed residence, so that their conduct may be closely watched, appoint of alcaldes from among themselves who shall make daily report of occurrences to the nearest authority; & jefe títulos to have officiers & strong prison built for shutting up those who do wrong, making them labor at pub. works; & that a military cavalry force be established to be destined solely for the persecution & vigilance of the Indians, at present consisting of not less than 15 men
| Date | 1849-08-04 (exact) |
|---|---|
| From | Mariano G. Vallejo (Sub-Ind. Agent) |
| To | Gov. Mason |
| Place | Sonoma |
| Series | Miscellaneous / Unbound Documents |
| Tomo | Unbound |
| Original tomo page | — |
| Savage copy page | 93 |
| Scan leaf | n93–96 |
| Document type | abstract |
| Source | Savage abstract |
Read this leaf on the Internet Archive ↗ · leaf n93–96
Mariano G. Vallejo (Sub-Ind. Agent) to Gov. Mason, Sonoma, 1849-08-04, Miscellaneous / Unbound Documents, Unbound, —, Archives of California, C-A 63, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.Cite the document by series, tomo and original tomo page, as the literature does; the C-A number locates it in the repository. To cite this catalogue entry itself, use https://archivesofcalifornia.com/record/ca63/ca63-d189.html