Achulet Massacre
Encyclopedia
The Achulet Massacre was an 1854 massacre
of more than 65 Tolowa people
by settlers at the village of Achulet, near Lake Earl in California
.
The attack was instigated in response to the theft of a white man's horse by an Indian. The party involved hid in the brush near the village at night, agreeing not to shoot until the Tolowa left their homes in the morning. At daybreak the first shot was fired, and the men, women, and children of the village were "shot down as fast as the whites could reload their guns". Some tried to escape into Lake Earl, where they were followed and shot whenever they could be spotted above the waterline. The attackers reported that sixty-five Indians were killed, but this tally did not include those in the lake whose bodies sank in the lake.
After the attack, the village was renamed Pay Way after Old Pay Way, one of the few Tolowa survivors of the attack.
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
of more than 65 Tolowa people
Tolowa
The Tolowa are a Native American tribe. They still reside in their traditional territories in northwestern California and southern Oregon. Tolowa are members of the federally recognized Smith River Rancheria, Elk Valley Rancheria, Confederated Tribes of Siletz, as well as the unrecognized Tolowa...
by settlers at the village of Achulet, near Lake Earl in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
The attack was instigated in response to the theft of a white man's horse by an Indian. The party involved hid in the brush near the village at night, agreeing not to shoot until the Tolowa left their homes in the morning. At daybreak the first shot was fired, and the men, women, and children of the village were "shot down as fast as the whites could reload their guns". Some tried to escape into Lake Earl, where they were followed and shot whenever they could be spotted above the waterline. The attackers reported that sixty-five Indians were killed, but this tally did not include those in the lake whose bodies sank in the lake.
After the attack, the village was renamed Pay Way after Old Pay Way, one of the few Tolowa survivors of the attack.