Killing for Land in Early California - Indian Blood at Round Valley

The California frontier wars gave land and gold to Whites and reservations to the few surviving Native Americans. Through eyewitness accounts this highly researched work brings to light the graft, greed, and conflicting roles played by the US Army, the State Legislature and the US Congress.
The Round Valley wars of California were an ugly episode in the history of the Westward Expansion, in which Native Americans lost far more than land.

Baumgardner presents a highly researched account of the California frontier wars that gave rise to a stable and permanent ranch economy for whites and a reservation system for the few surviving Native Americans, with a focus on the Nome Cult Farm in remote northeastern Mendocino County, California.

Congress seemed to be on a different track in dealing with the California Indians than both the California state legislature and the Indian Affairs Department. The author emphasizes the vital role played by the US Army and how lack of funding and poor coordination of various levels of government resulted in disaster for the Indians.

The book contains primary material in the form of documents, reports, letters, and depositions or testimony of participants, quoted from the California State Archives and other sources, and numerous eyewitness accounts by participants.