The Owens River valley had been the home of the Paiute Indians
for many years. Linguistically, these Indians spoke the Shoshone
language and are sometimes referred to as the Paiute Shoshones.
They were primarily root gatherers and farmers. They lived on
Pinyon Pine nuts, wild hyacinth tubers and yellow nutgrass tubers
as well as the larva or a fly that laid its eggs upon the surface
of saline Owens Lake. They also lived on deer, Desert big horn
sheep, fish and small game. They had built an extensive ditch
irrigation system for irrigating the wild hyacinth and yellow
nutgrass.
Paiute communities were simply loose collections of families
living near each other. They were generally peaceful; what disagreements
there were arose from trespassing on pine nut or hunting territory.
With the new discoveries of gold and, silver in the land east
of the Sierra Nevadas, the new mining camps drew stockmen looking
for new markets. L. R. Ketcham of Visalia, California was the
first cattleman to drive cattle into the Owens Valley in 1859.
Samuel Bishop and his wife brought cattle and horses from Fort
Tejon to the Owens Valley in 1861.
The winter of 1861-62 was one of the most severe in the history
of the Owens Valley. The plight of the Paiutes was exceedingly
bad. The bad weather had driven away almost all of the game and
had killed what little game remained. Cattle were now beginning
to forage on the Indian's fields of wild hyacinth and yellow nutgrass.
It seemed only natural to the Paiutes that the cattle could be
killed for their own use, since the cattle were feeding on their
fields. A cowboy named Al Thompson caught an Indian butchering
a steer and shot and killed him. The tribe, indignant at this
outrage, struck back. They captured and killed a man named Yank
Crossen, who was traveling from Aurora, Nevada to Southern California.
Men on both sides started to ride armed, the Paiutes primarily
with bows and arrows and the white men with rifles and pistols.
As neither side actually wanted war, a peace convention was decided
upon and held at the San Francis Ranch on January 31, 1862. Since
one Indian and one white man had been killed, it was decided that
both were even and that the Indians wouldn't bother the cattle
if the white man would control their grazing. Everyone agreed
to the treaty except one Indian leader, Joaquin Jim, the leader
of the Southern Mono Paiutes. He and his warriors began raiding
ranches and the peace treaty faded away within two months what
resulted was the Owens Valley Indian War.
The Owens Valley Indian War lasted a little longer than two
years. It originally started, because of the white man's disregard
for the property and rights of the Indians. It is estimated that
about sixty white men and about two hundred Indians died during
the conflict. The tactics employed by the Indians were mainly
hit and run and harassment. The Indians seldom fought in large
groups and when they did the results were usually not favorable.
Improper maintenance of firearms and the destruction of food for
the winter season were key factors that brought the conflict to
a speedy conclusion.
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The clue to find the second monument:
Enter the amount of stock noted at the first monument:
___ - 159 = A
___ + 220 = B
Second coordinate:
37 20.A
118 28.B
???????????????????
example:
If the amount of stock at the ranch was 300..
300 - 159 = 141 (A)
300 + 220 = 520 (B)
A = 141
B = 520
thus..
Second coordinate:
37 20.141
118 28.520
Don't use the example coordinates!
???????????????????
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The question from the second monument I'd like for you to email
me for credit is the date of the battle. Please at least try to
get the date correct for credit-I'm lenient. I need either your
answer or excuse or I'll delete your entry..
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Don't forget to take the math along for the second part of the
cache!
Also.. please be careful if you see any local cattle :)
