She Needs a Good Home

The Native Americans living in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains were relatively undisturbed by early Spanish colonization. During the late 1840s and into the 1850s, once gold was discovered in California, miners began encroaching on traditional lands. Although a treaty was signed with the local tribes in 1851, defining a proposed reservation and 200 head of cattle per year, the US Senate failed to ratify it, with every member either abstaining or voting no. In the spring of 1856, a rumor that 500 cattle had been stolen by Native Americans began to circulate. Upon further investigation, it turned out that a single yearling calf had been taken as a bridal gift.