California Treaty A: Camp Belt, King's River, 1851 (unratified)

What happened

On May 13, 1851, at Camp Belt on King's River, commissioner George W. Barbour signed a treaty of peace and friendship with the chiefs, captains and head men of twelve tribes, among them the Ta-ches, Cah-wai, Yo-kol and Ta-lum-ne. Article 3 set apart a district between the Cah-wai River and the Chou-chille River, running down to Tulare or Tache Lake and King's River. It was to be held forever for the tribes' sole use and occupancy. In return the tribes would "forever quit claim" to the government to all other lands to which they had ever had any claim or title. They could still hunt and gather in the hills between the two rivers.

Article 4 promised 600 head of beef cattle and 500 sacks of flour for each of 1851 and 1852. Article 5 promised, after ratification, brood mares, cows, ploughs, work oxen, tools, seeds, blankets and cloth. Article 6 promised a farmer, a blacksmith, a wood worker, teachers and a school-house. The United States kept the right to build military posts.

None of it took effect. It was one of 18 treaties made in California in 1851 and 1852. The National Archives' Prologue magazine says the senators found the commissioners' appointments irregular, were unsure whether Mexico had recognized native land title, and heard strong objections from white Californians. The Senate "rejected the treaties and, following Senate rules, imposed an injunction of secrecy on them." With the treaties rejected, Indian title was left unresolved. Prologue adds that Indians of California later sought compensation for lands taken without payment in a case before the Indian Claims Commission. It reports that "the case was decided in favor of the Indians."

Good to know. Sources give July 2 or July 8, 1852 as the date the Senate rejected it.

Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error