WIYOT ... 3,300
TABLE 3
Wiyot Sites listed by Loud (1918)
Notes and comment with respect to some of Loud's sites. Page numbers unless otherwise specified refer to Loud (1918). The notation "Merriam" indicates that the site was checked and accepted by Merriam, who included it in his village list of the Wiyot. The letter A signifies that Merriam had obtained an Athapascan name for the site, thus confirming its existence as an entity known to the neighboring tribes in pre-American times.
| Loud's Sites | Comment |
| Site 3 | Merriam |
| Site 4 | Merriam (A) |
| Site 5 | Merriam (A) |
| Site 6 | Merriam (A) |
| Site 7 | P. 259. There were 11 houses, all occupied, the names of the families known to Loud's informant. |
| Site 8 | Merriam |
| Sites H, I, J, 9 | P. 262. These are located in the former Big Bend of the Mad River. A pioneer told Loud that there had once been 20 houses in the area. Another informant said that site I had been "one of the largest villages" and "... had a large graveyard." Site 9 was said by Curtis (Nomland and Kroeber, p. 44) to have had 5 houses. Loud's informant gave it 5 or 6. Hence the estimate of the pioneer appears quite reasonable. Merriam lists all four sites with their Wiyot and Athapascan names. |
|
Sites D through G K through X AA through AK | These sites extend along Mad River and around the shores of Blue Lake. Loud gives no specific data concerning them and some are individually doubtful. However, Loud says that the houses were scattered along both banks of the river and the shores of the lake. "That is, about every mile there was an Indian house or two." Although Loud was not very accurate in the location of the sites, it is quite probable that scattered homes existed in at least the ratio of one dwelling to each site mentioned. Hence it is reasonable to ascribe a minimum of at least one house per site. This would yield a total of 29 houses. |
| Loud's data were checked and revised by Merriam, who appears to have done a more careful piece of work on this area than Loud. Merriam confirms and gives Wiyot and Athapascan names for Loud's villages E, G, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, AA, AB, AC, and AG, or 20 villages in all. The minimum number of houses which can be ascribed to a "village" is 2. On the other hand several of the 20 sites must have contained more than the minimum and therefore it would be legitimate to set the average at 3. This would mean a total of 60 houses for the entire area covered by these villages. | |
| Site Y | P. 265. The site had 4 houses, all occupied, the names of the occupants known to Loud's informant. Merriam (A). |
| Site Z | P. 274. This town was destroyed by the Chilula just prior to 1850. The whites found 30 to 40 fresh graves. Merriam says it was the "chief village in vicinity of Blue Lake at time of Chilula attack." |
| Site 14 | P. 272. Stated by Loud to be a camping place but called a village by Merriam. Status doubtful. |
| Site 17 | Merriam. |
| Site 19 | Merriam. |
| Site 22 | P. 274. "... according to tradition once had a large population." Loud thinks it was uninhabited by 1850 but Merriam lists it as a village. Estimate 4 houses. |
| Site 23 | P. 274. "... said to be a regular rancheria one hundred years ago." Nomland and Kroeber (p. 42) say it has been uninhabited in modern times and Merriam considers it an archaeological site. |
| Site 31 | P. 272. A summer camp according to Loud but a village according to Merriam. Allow 2 houses. |
| Site 33 | P. 265. "This village was referred to as a 'regular rancheria' when the whites first came, a statement which is confirmed by the number of skeletons that have been found here with white man's articles buried with them." Listed by Merriam. Estimate 8 houses. |
| Site 34 | P. 265. Loud found no houses and only 2 house pits. However in 1890 there were 20 graves which were visited by relatives. Listed by Merriam. Estimate 4 houses. |
| Site 36 | Stated by Merriam to be an archaeological site. |
| Site 39 | Merriam. Estimate 2 houses. |
| Site AL | P. 273. According to an informant there were several houses in 1856 with one occupied. Listed by Merriam. Estimate 4 houses. |
| Site 45 | P. 272. According to an informant there were 2 houses and 25 to 30 inhabitants in 1852. Deserted in 1860. |
| Site 48 | Merriam. Estimate 2 houses. |
| Site 58 | P. 268. The site was known to pioneers, who said it had 8 to 10 houses in 1858. Listed by Merriam. Estimate 9 houses. |
| Site 65 | P. 268. There were three to four houses in 1852. The inhabitants were driven out shortly afterward. Listed by Merriam. Estimate 3.5 houses. |
| Site 67 | P. 266. An informant said there were 9 houses once, all occupied, the names of the persons being known to him. Robert Gunther told Loud that in 1860 there were 6 houses left with 50 to 60 persons. |
| P. 268. "Estimates of population ... in 1850 have been placed much higher, but after the introduction of certain diseases by the whites, the population decreased somewhat." Estimate 9 houses. | |
| Site 68 | The village had been declining prior to 1850. At the time the population was one-third that of site 67. The last family moved in 1857 when a white man took up the land. Estimate 3 houses. |
| Site 69 | Merriam. Estimate 3 houses. |
| Site 73 | P. 269. There were 8 to 10 plank houses here in 1851. Listed by Merriam. Estimate 9 houses. |
| Site 77 | P. 270. White informants say there were not more than half-a-dozen houses, although an Indian says many people used to live here. Listed by Merriam. Estimate 6 houses. |
| Site 79 | Nomland and Kroeber (p. 43) say this was one of the two largest Wiyot towns, hence there were at least 10 houses. It was destroyed in 1850 by white settlement. |
| Site 80 | Merriam. Estimate 3 houses. |
| Site 83 | Merriam. Estimate 3 houses. |
| Site 84 | Merriam. Estimate 3 houses. |
| Site 86 | P. 271. "... a permanent village." Listed by Merriam. Estimate 3 houses. |
| Site 88 | Merriam. Estimate 3 houses. |
| Site 90 | Merriam. Estimate 3 houses. |
| Site 91 | P. 273. A camping place, according to Loud, but a village on Merriam's lists. Allow 2 houses. |
| Site AM | Merriam. Estimate 3 houses. |
| Site 92 | Merriam. Estimate 3 houses. |
| Site 93 | Merriam. Estimate 3 houses. |
| Site 98 | Merriam. Estimate 3 houses. |
| Site 100 | Merriam. Estimate 3 houses. |
| Site 102 | P. 271. Loud says camping place, Merriam village. Allow 2 houses. |
| Site 104 | Shown as archaeological site on Loud's map but given by Merriam as a village. Allow 2 houses. |
| Site 109 | Merriam. Estimate 3 houses. |
| Site 112 | P. 269. The village had 10 houses and at least 51 inhabitants before the massacre of 1860. |
| Other sites | In addition to the above sites found by Loud there are five listed by name by Merriam. These should be included and assigned an average of 3 houses each. The total then would be 15. |
TABLE 4
Wiyot Settlements
Mad River and Humboldt Bay
Wiyot settlements according to Loud, Merriam, and Nomland and Kroeber, covering the Mad River and Humboldt Bay. The key designations are those given by Loud. The house counts are from Loud with the exception of sites B and C which are from Nomland and Kroeber and of several sites from Merriam for which I have made my own estimates (indicated by the letters Mp.). In all instances where a range is given by informants (e.g., 2-4 houses) the mean is placed in the table.
| Loud's no. | House count | ||
| 3 | 3 | Mp | |
| 4 and 5 | 12.5 | ||
| 6 | 3 | Mp | |
| 7 | 11 | ||
| 8 | 3 | Mp | |
| H, I, J, 9 | 20 | ||
| D-G |  | 60 | Mp |
| K-X | |||
| AA-AK | |||
| A | 8 | ||
| B | 4 | ||
| C | 5.5 | ||
| Y | 4 | ||
| Z | 12 | ||
| 17 | 4.5 | ||
| 19 | 3 | Mp | |
| 22 | 4 | Mp | |
| 31 | 2 | Mp | |
| 33 | 8 | Mp | |
| 34 | 4 | Mp | |
| 39 | 2 | Mp | |
| 45 | 2 | ||
| AL | 4 | Mp | |
| 48 | 2 | Mp | |
| 58 | 9 | ||
| 65 | 3.5 | ||
| 67 | 9 | ||
| 68 | 3 | ||
| 69 | 3 | Mp | |
| 73 | 9 | ||
| 77 | 6 | ||
| 79 | 10 | ||
| 80 | 3 | Mp | |
| 83 | 3 | Mp | |
| 84 | 3 | Mp | |
| 86 | 3 | Mp | |
| 88 | 3 | Mp | |
| 90 | 3 | Mp | |
| 91 | 2 | Mp | |
| AM | 3 | Mp | |
| 92 | 3 | Mp | |
| 93 | 3 | Mp | |
| 98 | 3 | Mp | |
| 100 | 3 | Mp | |
| 102 | 2 | Mp | |
| 104 | 2 | Mp | |
| 109 | 3 | Mp | |
| 112 | 10 | ||
| Others | 15 | Mp | |
| Total | 299 | ||