Walter S. Jarboe

Walter S. Jarboe (1829 – March 12, 1865)[1] was an American soldier and perpetrator of massacres against the Yuki people during the California genocide.[2][3]

Walter S. Jarboe
Born1829
Washington County, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedMarch 12, 1865 (aged 35/36)
California, U.S.
Service/branchCalifornia National Guard
Commands heldEel River Rangers
Known forMassacres during the California genocide against the Yuki people
Battles/warsRound Valley Settler Massacres of 1856–1859, Mendocino War

Round Valley Massacres

Tensions between settlers and the local Yuki population simmered for years before the Conquest of California. Before California was admitted to the United States, a steep decline in the California Indian population occurred under Spanish and later Mexican rule.[4][5][6]

Government approval for Yuki massacres

An early settler to California after the Mexican–American War, Jarboe petitioned Governor John B. Weller to eradicate the Yuki people of Mendocino.[7][8] Weller gave Jarboe official[7][8] permission to launch an eradication campaign, after United States Army officers refused.[9]

"Jarboe's War"

With Governor Weller's permission, Jarboe established the Eel River Rangers in Mendocino to harass and murder local Yukis in July 1859.[7][10] Jarboe wrote to Governor Weller, "However cruel it may be ... nothing short of extermination will suffice to rid the Country of them [the Yuki]."[10]

Jarboe's Eel River Rangers slaughtered at least 283 Yuki, not counting women and children. Additionally, at least 292 Yuki were forcibly deported to Mendocino Indian Reservation. By 1860, the Yuki population of Mendocino fell 80%.[3]

In 1860, the Eel River Rangers were disbanded after largely depopulating the Yuki in Mendocino.[3]

Condemnation of Jarboe

In 1860, a Joint Special Committee of the California State Legislature was called to investigate the Mendocino War.[11] The special committee voted 4–1 in favor of condemning the slaughter and deportation of the Yuki. Criticizing Jarboe, the committee commented "We are unwilling to attempt to dignify, by the term 'war' as slaughter of beings, who at least possess human form, and who make no resistance, and make no attacks, either on the person or residence of the citizen."[11]

The 1860 report fell on deaf ears and supporters of Jarboe prevented its reading before the California State Legislature. Representative Joseph Lamar of Mendocino dissented on the report and instead praised Jarboe.[12][11]

References
  1. "Walter S Jarboe (1829–1865) – Find a Grave..." www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  2. Madley, Benjamin (2004). "Patterns of frontier genocide 1803–1910: the aboriginal Tasmanians, the Yuki of California, and the Herero of Namibia". Journal of Genocide Research. 6 (2): 167–192. doi:10.1080/1462352042000225930. ISSN 1462-3528. S2CID 145079658.
  3. Secrest, William B. (1988). Californians. p. 21.
  4. "The First Peoples of California | Early California History: An Overview | Articles and Essays | California as I Saw It: First-Person Narratives of California's Early Years, 1849–1900 | Digital Collections | Library of Congress". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  5. "Indian Labor at the California Missions Slavery or Salvation?". San Diego History Center | San Diego, CA | Our City, Our Story. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  6. "The History of Colonization in California · California History · Santa Clara University Digital Exhibits". dh.scu.edu. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  7. The Murder State, UNP – Nebraska, pp. 231–270, doi:10.2307/j.ctt1d9nqs3.15, retrieved 2023-07-08
  8. Guillermo Bartelt (2008). "<i>Killing for Land in Early California: Indian Blood at Round Valley 1856–1863</i> (review)". The American Indian Quarterly. 32 (4): 537–539. doi:10.1353/aiq.0.0031. ISSN 1534-1828. S2CID 162309413.
  9. Madley, Benjamin (2008). "California's Yuki Indians: Defining Genocide in Native American History". Western Historical Quarterly. 39 (3): 303–332. doi:10.1093/whq/39.3.303. ISSN 0043-3810.
  10. "[December 1858]", John Xántus, University of Arizona Press, pp. 195–205, 2022-02-22, doi:10.2307/j.ctv29sfprq.25, retrieved 2023-07-08
  11. Majority and Minority Reports of the Special Joint Committee on the Mendocino War. Sacramento, California: California State Legislature. 1860. pp. 4–6.
  12. Hurtado, Albert L.; Rawls, James (1985). "Indians of California: The Changing Image". Ethnohistory. 32 (4): 402. doi:10.2307/481913. ISSN 0014-1801. JSTOR 481913.
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