Old California
Full Member
Hello forum friends,
Here's one of the many true stories below on the 1850 Woodsville Massacre, While researching for another non-related settlement at the Fresno County Historical library a few years ago, I came across important information concerning the 1850 Woodville settlement we had been hunting off and on during this four month period. This story gave me much needed information and confirms why we found so many fired lead balls and the information below helped piece together the puzzle of the Indian massacre, Hope you can read the entire thread and maybe some will find it to be something one would read from a book or catch on a late night western movie.
Please note, In the story below I crossed out the distance of the building of an Fort attempt in 1851 and the story below is not written by me but a story I obtained from the Fresno County Historical library,
Plus, This will be the first of several stories I will be sharing from nearby settlements in the coming weeks ahead. I know allot of you from other forums may have already read a few of these several years ago but some of these other stories of settlements I will be posting soon have never been shared on any forum nor have I shared these with most local friends...Also, I have permission from the properties owners to enter these old settlements of long ago, Everything is with permission and no trespassing has occurred as long as friends are with me when we enter the property and anyone doing otherwise will be trespassing.
(Woodsville) No buildings are left on the surface, No Cabin, No Saloon/hotel, No Goad house and No corral and what's is left is buried underneath the surface, Some of the artifacts we recovered from here are pre-1850 coins and relics with some rare 1820's buttons and the oldest coin dating back to 1792.
Hope you enjoy the story.
The Woodville massacre,
The first attempt at permanent settlement in this vicinity was made by a man named John Wood on the south bank of the Kaweah River at a point east of the present city of Visalia on the property known subsequently and up to the present time as the Goad ranch.
All historians who have written of the early days state what Wood’s first name was never preserved, but Orlando Barton, in his manuscript entitled “EARLY History of Tulare County,” published in the Visalia Daily Times in 1905, gives his name as John Wood, citing as his authority John Hudgins, in whose train Wood came to California via the southern route in 1849.
Wood, with a party of stalwart men, different authorities giving the number as fourteen, fifteen and seventeen , supplied with saddle and pack animals, some arms and implements for building, came from the Mariposa late in the 1850, arriving on the banks of the Kaweah River about December 1st. There, near the south end of the bridge built by Dr. Thomas Payne and near the site later occupied by J.C. Goad residence, the first permanent habitation was built. This was a log cabin twelve feet wide and fourteen feet long, constructed of oak logs with a roof of split oak shakes. The winter was mild and pleasant and the work of the building and settling progressed without interruption until toward spring, when a band of Indians, under the leadership of Francisco, believed to be a renegade from the ranchos on the coast, who had collected a number of the Kaweahs into his following, ordered that the white men leave that section of the country within ten days giving them the alternative of death if they remained.
The settlers at first kept to their tasks in the field, but after consideration of the situation, decided to obey the ultimatum and depart. Most of them started to round up their horses which were grazing on the open ground south of the cabin. In the meantime the final hours of the ten-day interval, which was to end at noon, arrived, and the Indians, not disposed to mercy, swooped down upon the whites in the pasture, slaying several of the number, some accounts giving the number as fourteen. Two of the men, it is said, ran and jumped into the Kaweah and by keeping under water as much as possible managed to drift down the river to safety. Frank Boden, shot four times with arrows, was left for dead in the weeds a short distance from the cabin.
John Wood alone reached the cabin and sought refuge behind the stout door, which as provided with loop-holes. A number of the men had left their guns in the building, so that Wood had eight extra rifles at his disposal and supply of ammunition. The Indians had no firearms, only knives and their bows and arrows, the arrows tipped with a short piece of burnt chamiso.
Of the tragedy that ensued, Orlando Barton, member of one of the oldest pioneer families in Tulare County, has written as follows:
“It would take a large book to hold all the stories that have been told and retold of this memorable fight, but among the numerous accounts we can discern something of the truth. The ten days were out at noon, and the Indians immediately attacked the men on the open ground. Allowing an hour for them to run down and kill the men on the outside, it was 1 p.m. before they were ready to begin the attack on the cabin. A great number had assembled, All the fighting men in the Kaweah Delta were there. I know Indians who lived as far north as Drum Valley who took part in the fight, There was certainly seven or eight hundred, perhaps a thousand, Indians present.
“Returning from the pursuit of those on the outside, the Indians, taking advantage of the dry weeds, the oak trees and the river bank, surrounded the cabin and the fight of a thousand against one commenced. The willow arrows, which in derision at the time the whites called “sprouts,” could do no damage in the cabin. No demand was made on Wood to surrender. No parley was held, for the man who was to give his name to a county seat was in no yielding mood, and the cabin that was to become a courthouse was built for defense. The only chance for the Indians to kill Wood with arrows was to shoot through the loop-holes.
A wound from a single arrow, no matter were it struck, would not be fatal, and the Indians’ bows and arrows were totally ineffective at a distance of one hundred and fifty feet.
“The effective fire from the cabin showed the natives that the place could not be taken by siege without great loss. They therefore made an assault. From the confusion of accounts one can discern something of the tactics of Wood. He did not empty all his rifles at the beginning of the fight, but reserved some of them especially for an assault. We know that in more than one assault the natives were driven off. If the boy, Frank Boden “wounded with four arrows,” had succeeded in reaching the cabin the natives would never have been able to take it.
“Indians that I have talked to afterwards admitted a loss of thirteen killed, This would mean that twice that many were wounded, and that the fight lasted more than three hours. Wood loaded his guns with a ramrod, and appears to have been entirely cool and self-possessed, and through the long afternoon he sent a slow but effective fire into the surrounding circle of savages. It was late in the day when the natives, by making a final rush, succeeded in reaching the cabin.
“They laid Wood in the ground and commenced to cut off his skin, They began at his fingers and toes, and first skinned them. Then took the skin off his arms and legs, then off his back. No cry of pain, no plea for mercy was heard from the defender if the cabin. Silently he had fought, silently he endured the terrible ordeal.
“Even after I came to Woodville an Indian was shot for mimicking the facial contortions he (Wood) made while in the hands of his torturers. They did not pull the skin off in strips as I have heard some persons say lately. They took it off in one piece, and nailed it to a tree that stood until a few years ago in the corral close to the residence of J.C. Goad.
“After his skin was removed the Indians released Wood, He rose to his feet and walked about six rods, then fell on his face. How long he lived no one knows, The Indians instantly left. Boden could not come to him, The Indians did not burn or even plunder the cabin and soon night and silence reigned over the site of such a tragedy as is seldom witnessed even in frontier life.
“Some authorities say the next day, a party headed by a man named Lane arrived at Woodville. They buried the dead, and carrying Boden with them, took him, first to the San Joaquin River, then to Mariposa. C.R. Wingfield was in Mariposa at the time, and to him Boden gave a detailed account of the fight at Wood’s cabin. The ground where Wood had been held down was covered with blood. They traced his tracks (I am quoting C.R. Wingfield) from there to the place where he fell.”
Reports of the massacre were taken to Fort Miller, on the San Joaquin River, and immediately a detachment of troops under command of General Patten marched to the Four Creeks country and the scene of the tragedy. They found the log cabin undamaged and evidence of the valiant defense, The massacre and the butchery was still visible. Construction of a fort nearby from the cabin was begun, but the troops were recalled before the fort was completed.
.
.
.
.Thanks everyone for taking the time to read a bit of history from our area,
All the best, Paul (Ca)
Here's one of the many true stories below on the 1850 Woodsville Massacre, While researching for another non-related settlement at the Fresno County Historical library a few years ago, I came across important information concerning the 1850 Woodville settlement we had been hunting off and on during this four month period. This story gave me much needed information and confirms why we found so many fired lead balls and the information below helped piece together the puzzle of the Indian massacre, Hope you can read the entire thread and maybe some will find it to be something one would read from a book or catch on a late night western movie.
Please note, In the story below I crossed out the distance of the building of an Fort attempt in 1851 and the story below is not written by me but a story I obtained from the Fresno County Historical library,
Plus, This will be the first of several stories I will be sharing from nearby settlements in the coming weeks ahead. I know allot of you from other forums may have already read a few of these several years ago but some of these other stories of settlements I will be posting soon have never been shared on any forum nor have I shared these with most local friends...Also, I have permission from the properties owners to enter these old settlements of long ago, Everything is with permission and no trespassing has occurred as long as friends are with me when we enter the property and anyone doing otherwise will be trespassing.
(Woodsville) No buildings are left on the surface, No Cabin, No Saloon/hotel, No Goad house and No corral and what's is left is buried underneath the surface, Some of the artifacts we recovered from here are pre-1850 coins and relics with some rare 1820's buttons and the oldest coin dating back to 1792.
Hope you enjoy the story.
The Woodville massacre,
The first attempt at permanent settlement in this vicinity was made by a man named John Wood on the south bank of the Kaweah River at a point east of the present city of Visalia on the property known subsequently and up to the present time as the Goad ranch.
All historians who have written of the early days state what Wood’s first name was never preserved, but Orlando Barton, in his manuscript entitled “EARLY History of Tulare County,” published in the Visalia Daily Times in 1905, gives his name as John Wood, citing as his authority John Hudgins, in whose train Wood came to California via the southern route in 1849.
Wood, with a party of stalwart men, different authorities giving the number as fourteen, fifteen and seventeen , supplied with saddle and pack animals, some arms and implements for building, came from the Mariposa late in the 1850, arriving on the banks of the Kaweah River about December 1st. There, near the south end of the bridge built by Dr. Thomas Payne and near the site later occupied by J.C. Goad residence, the first permanent habitation was built. This was a log cabin twelve feet wide and fourteen feet long, constructed of oak logs with a roof of split oak shakes. The winter was mild and pleasant and the work of the building and settling progressed without interruption until toward spring, when a band of Indians, under the leadership of Francisco, believed to be a renegade from the ranchos on the coast, who had collected a number of the Kaweahs into his following, ordered that the white men leave that section of the country within ten days giving them the alternative of death if they remained.
The settlers at first kept to their tasks in the field, but after consideration of the situation, decided to obey the ultimatum and depart. Most of them started to round up their horses which were grazing on the open ground south of the cabin. In the meantime the final hours of the ten-day interval, which was to end at noon, arrived, and the Indians, not disposed to mercy, swooped down upon the whites in the pasture, slaying several of the number, some accounts giving the number as fourteen. Two of the men, it is said, ran and jumped into the Kaweah and by keeping under water as much as possible managed to drift down the river to safety. Frank Boden, shot four times with arrows, was left for dead in the weeds a short distance from the cabin.
John Wood alone reached the cabin and sought refuge behind the stout door, which as provided with loop-holes. A number of the men had left their guns in the building, so that Wood had eight extra rifles at his disposal and supply of ammunition. The Indians had no firearms, only knives and their bows and arrows, the arrows tipped with a short piece of burnt chamiso.
Of the tragedy that ensued, Orlando Barton, member of one of the oldest pioneer families in Tulare County, has written as follows:
“It would take a large book to hold all the stories that have been told and retold of this memorable fight, but among the numerous accounts we can discern something of the truth. The ten days were out at noon, and the Indians immediately attacked the men on the open ground. Allowing an hour for them to run down and kill the men on the outside, it was 1 p.m. before they were ready to begin the attack on the cabin. A great number had assembled, All the fighting men in the Kaweah Delta were there. I know Indians who lived as far north as Drum Valley who took part in the fight, There was certainly seven or eight hundred, perhaps a thousand, Indians present.
“Returning from the pursuit of those on the outside, the Indians, taking advantage of the dry weeds, the oak trees and the river bank, surrounded the cabin and the fight of a thousand against one commenced. The willow arrows, which in derision at the time the whites called “sprouts,” could do no damage in the cabin. No demand was made on Wood to surrender. No parley was held, for the man who was to give his name to a county seat was in no yielding mood, and the cabin that was to become a courthouse was built for defense. The only chance for the Indians to kill Wood with arrows was to shoot through the loop-holes.
A wound from a single arrow, no matter were it struck, would not be fatal, and the Indians’ bows and arrows were totally ineffective at a distance of one hundred and fifty feet.
“The effective fire from the cabin showed the natives that the place could not be taken by siege without great loss. They therefore made an assault. From the confusion of accounts one can discern something of the tactics of Wood. He did not empty all his rifles at the beginning of the fight, but reserved some of them especially for an assault. We know that in more than one assault the natives were driven off. If the boy, Frank Boden “wounded with four arrows,” had succeeded in reaching the cabin the natives would never have been able to take it.
“Indians that I have talked to afterwards admitted a loss of thirteen killed, This would mean that twice that many were wounded, and that the fight lasted more than three hours. Wood loaded his guns with a ramrod, and appears to have been entirely cool and self-possessed, and through the long afternoon he sent a slow but effective fire into the surrounding circle of savages. It was late in the day when the natives, by making a final rush, succeeded in reaching the cabin.
“They laid Wood in the ground and commenced to cut off his skin, They began at his fingers and toes, and first skinned them. Then took the skin off his arms and legs, then off his back. No cry of pain, no plea for mercy was heard from the defender if the cabin. Silently he had fought, silently he endured the terrible ordeal.
“Even after I came to Woodville an Indian was shot for mimicking the facial contortions he (Wood) made while in the hands of his torturers. They did not pull the skin off in strips as I have heard some persons say lately. They took it off in one piece, and nailed it to a tree that stood until a few years ago in the corral close to the residence of J.C. Goad.
“After his skin was removed the Indians released Wood, He rose to his feet and walked about six rods, then fell on his face. How long he lived no one knows, The Indians instantly left. Boden could not come to him, The Indians did not burn or even plunder the cabin and soon night and silence reigned over the site of such a tragedy as is seldom witnessed even in frontier life.
“Some authorities say the next day, a party headed by a man named Lane arrived at Woodville. They buried the dead, and carrying Boden with them, took him, first to the San Joaquin River, then to Mariposa. C.R. Wingfield was in Mariposa at the time, and to him Boden gave a detailed account of the fight at Wood’s cabin. The ground where Wood had been held down was covered with blood. They traced his tracks (I am quoting C.R. Wingfield) from there to the place where he fell.”
Reports of the massacre were taken to Fort Miller, on the San Joaquin River, and immediately a detachment of troops under command of General Patten marched to the Four Creeks country and the scene of the tragedy. They found the log cabin undamaged and evidence of the valiant defense, The massacre and the butchery was still visible. Construction of a fort nearby from the cabin was begun, but the troops were recalled before the fort was completed.
.
.
.
.Thanks everyone for taking the time to read a bit of history from our area,
All the best, Paul (Ca)
Again thankx.. I'm really looking forward to the next one...
