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Bald Hills War (1858–1864) was a war fought by the forces of the California Militia, California Volunteers and soldiers of the U. S. Army against the Chilula, Lassik, Hupa, Mattole, Nongatl, Sinkyone, Tsnungwe, Wailaki, Whilkut and Wiyot Native American peoples.〔〕 The war was fought within the boundaries of the counties of Mendocino, Trinity, Humboldt, Klamath, and Del Norte in Northern California. During the American Civil War, Army reorganization created the Department of the Pacific on 15 January 1861, and on 12 December 1861, the Humboldt Military District, which was formed to organize the effort to pacify the hostile Indians and protect the peaceful ones from the encroachment of the American settlers. The district was headquartered at Fort Humboldt, which is now a California State Historic Park located within the City of Eureka, California. The District's efforts were directed at waging the ongoing Bald Hills War against the Indians in those counties. == Origins of the Conflict == There were several causes of the Bald Hills War. The most important was the disruptive effect of commercial hunting and grazing on food plants by the herds of the settlers cattle and pigs. Hundreds of deer and elk were killed by parties of hunters for their hides, used for gloves in the gold mines. Acorns and other plant foods they depended on were eaten or destroyed by pigs or cattle. The hunting and gathering economy of the Bald Hills tribes that had previously satisfied their wants was increasingly disrupted following the Klamath and Salmon River War in 1855. Ever increasing numbers of settlers and others traveling through their territory increased this disruption. From 1856 onward thousands of acres of native lands were preempted for the growing of wheat, oats, barley and potatoes and for grazing of cattle or pigs. These lands were chiefly in the valleys of Eel River, Mad River and Bear River, and around Humboldt Bay. Ranches and farms appeared in the midst of wilderness where only two or three years before there had been no sign of a white man's presence. Also the lumber industry was operating nine steam saw mills, with a combined capacity of 24,000,000 board feet per annum, by 1856.〔Bledsoe, p.209〕 The farmers and stockmen of Humboldt County found an outlet for their crops and realized a high price for all their produce selling them to the miners in Klamath and Trinity Counties. These goods were packed by mule and the stock driven in herds over the Bald Hills trails to the mines. For the Whilkut the surge in settlement by cattle and hog raising settlers into their lands in the Bald Hills, and the loss of the game, acorns and other plant foods they depended on, caused a feeling of hatred against them and a desire to drive them from the country. Following the bad winter of 1857, the settlers' interference with the tribes' food supply had become a crisis by 1858. Following a series of small incidents between February and June 1858, hostilities were touched off by the killing of a packer, William E. Ross, June 23, 1858.〔Bledsoe, p.232〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bald Hills War」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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