James D. Savage is one of the more colorful characters in early California Territory and State history. He was bold, brash, and had an ego as big as all outdoors. Considering the usual attitude of the era, he also was one of the strongest advocates for the California Native Americans—in a paternalistic sort of way.
James Savage was born in Illinois around 1817. In 1846, he emigrated from Illinois to California. His wife and young daughter died on the trip. He joined up with John C. Frémont’s battalion and fought in the Mexican-American War. Shortly after gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill, and word reached him of gold mining farther south, he established a store in about 1849 on the Merced River near near Yosemite, where the South Fork of the Merced River joined the Merced River.
In addition to the influx of gold miners, Savage found himself living in Yokut territory. Several bands of the Yokuts lived primarily in the eastern San Joaquin Valley and foothill region of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of what is now mostly Tuolumne and Mariposa Counties. Savage learned to speak several Indian dialects, made peace treaties with the several bands of the Yokuts. He became the first white man to trade with them. He solidified his standing with the Yokuts, not only by giving them presents, but by marrying five native women from different bands. This followed the practice of kinship diplomacy that California Indians had used from time immemorial. Savage cited the bible as justification.
Savage used these fostered relationships to benefit his trade. Although he did some mining himself on the land which included his trading post, he hired Yokuts to mine gold for him. He traded blankets and other goods as wages.
When his Yokut allies found themselves warring against neighboring tribes—particularly the Yosemites (meaning “those who kill), who inhabited the mountain high country—they called on Savage to fight with them. In recognition of his fighting ability, they called him "El Rey Güero," or, "The Blond King." They considered him one of their leaders. Savage chose to live up to the the name given to him by the local Indians. He preferred to be addressed by his honorific and commanded Natives under his control to mine for gold.
James Savage built his first trading post just east of where the South Fork Merced River empties into the Merced River. The following is the historical marker outside the location of James Savage’s first trading post:
Here in 1849, James D Savage established a store built of logs. He engaged in trading and mining and married several squaws for protection and influence in spring of 1850. Fearing Indian depredations, he moved to Mariposa Creek. In December, his store and others were pillaged and burned and a real war began. A volunteer battalion was formed and Savage elected Major. In pursuit of the most warlike tribe their secret hide-out, Yosemite Valley, was discovered and the war brought to a quiet end.
Major Savage was killed by a political opponent August 1852. Several years later one of his widows guided John Hite, a poor prospector, a few miles up this South Fork to discover a gold mine that made him a millionaire.
In the spring of 1850, fearing an attack by the Yosemites, who resented his trading post and influx of gold miners so close to their homeland, Savage moved his trading post to Mariposa Creek, just south of the town of Mariposa. He also established a trading post on the Fresno River, not far from where the State of California set up a reservation for all tribes who then inhabited the gold mining country in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
By late autumn, Savage learned of reports of Indian uprisings. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had promised that all who owned land prior to the end of the Mexican-American War could retain their property, but white gold miners disregarded those terms as they invaded Native American lands. Hoping to drive whites out of the region, the Indians had begun a campaign of random attacks on white settlements and trading posts in the area.
Upon learning this, Savage appealed to Indians who were gathered nearby to dissuade them from taking up arms against the whites. Not only were the weapons of the whites superior, but the newcomers were now greater in number than the native people. He soon learned many of the native people had lost faith in him along with other whites.
On the night of December 17, 1850, while at this Mariposa store, Savage noticed that many of the Indians who worked for him had disappeared. Realizing this was a sign of something more serious, he mobilized sixteen men to go in pursuit. He hoped to prevent them from joining with a larger group that might be waiting nearby. Savage and his men did not find them, but came across a band of Yokuts who claimed they had recently returned from attacking Savage’s Fresno River trading post. The natives had killed the clerks and plundered the supplies.
Savage unsuccessfully pleaded with them to cease their attacks. The Indians did allow Savage and his men to leave. The warriors then joined with an even larger attack force of two hundred Native Americans hiding in the surrounding foothills.
Following several other deadly attacks in the area, whites organized a posse at the town of Agua Fria. These attacks led to California’s new governor, Peter Burnett, to form the Mariposa Battalion, which chased the tribes considered responsible into the mountains. The story of how this battalion, with James Savage appointed as its leader, can be found in another blog post by CLICKING HERE.
After peace was restored, Savage re-established new trading posts at Native American reservations. However, the tension between the swarms of gold miners—especially those from the United States—and the native people continued to grow.
Next post: "James D. Savage- Rolling the Barrel of Gold"
All this early history on the outskirts of Yosemite took place almost forty years before the time period of my most recent publication, Anthelia Yosemite Bride. This book is now available for sale and on Kindle Unlimited. For the book description and purchase options, please CLICK HERE
Sources:
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/A-mountain-man-s-flawed-attempt-at-peace-with-6266847.php
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/17760824/james_d-savage
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Savage
Russell, Carl Parcher, One Hundred Years in Yosemite (Omnibus Edition). Yosemite Association, Yosemite National Park, California: 1992.
