Digger Book

From the award-winning author of Children of the Dustbowl comes asobering look at two of the most frequently romanticized events in Americanhistory. For the native peoples of California, the period from 1769, when thefirst Spanish Mission was founded, to the 1850s, when the Gold Rush was at itsheight, was one of terrible violence and destruction. First, Spanish priestsand soldiers sought to convert the Indians to Christianity and a "civilized"way of life. Yet for the Indians the story of the missions was one of hunger,disease, rebellion, and death. Then, during the Gold Rush, Indians werefrequently kidnapped, murdered, and sold into slavery by white settlers. By theend of the nineteenth century, the surviving California Indians had been forcedonto reservations and their way of life had been largely destroyed. With maps,a timeline, and glossaries on California's Indian tribes and mission history,Jerry Stanley tells the story of modern California from the poignantperspective of the Native American.Read More