Calaveras County, California: Difference between revisions

The Spanish word ''calaveras'' means "skulls." The county takes its name from the [[Calaveras River]]; it was said to have been named by Spanish explorer [[Gabriel Moraga]], during his 1806–1808 expeditions, when he found many [[Human skull|skulls]] of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] along the banks of the stream. He believed they had either died of famine or been killed in tribal conflicts over hunting and fishing grounds. A more likely cause was a European epidemic disease, acquired from interacting with other tribes near the Missions on the coast. The [[Stanislaus River]], which forms the southern boundary, is named for [[Estanislao]], a [[Lakisamni]] [[Yokuts]] who escaped from [[Mission San Jose (California)|Mission San Jose]] in the late 1830s. He is reported to have raised a small group of men with crude weapons, hiding in the foothills when the Mexicans attacked. The natives were quickly decimated by Mexican gunfirefirearms.