California's west coast stretches to the north, while rugged mountains stretch to the east. Most of the time, the coast is lined with steep cliffs, jagged rocks, and towering forests.
For the indigenous people who settled here, this was a fertile land that was difficult to cultivate. Without suitable crops, the yield of the fields was very low; without metal tools, the forest was difficult to cut down. And California’s Mediterranean climate makes warm summers
There is no rain for several months, and the cold winter is full of storms. Whether it is farming in the summer or fishing and hunting in the winter, it has become very difficult. Under such difficult conditions, the average life span of most tribes is twenty years old.
Up and down, the inheritance of knowledge is often interrupted.
Therefore, even though there are towering mountains that block the cold wave that destroys everything in the north, the number of California's indigenous people is still not comparable to that of the tropical tribes in the south. In this era, this fertile wilderness would have a population of 40 million in later generations.
There are only a few hundred thousand Indian tribes at most. In the entire North American continent, the density of such tribes has actually far exceeded that of the central and eastern parts of the continent, the places of death that are forced to face the cold wave!
To put it simply, cold and fertile North America is indeed a paradise in the industrial age and a hell in the agricultural age.
The exploration fleet only stayed at the Salinan Oaks for one day. Zuvallo took his translator and used a few copper axes to "fairly" exchange a lot of acorn cakes, sea fish and berries. Afterwards, he
He led the fleet and continued northward, leaving behind the vigilant Salinan people, leaving only a group of tribal hunters who marveled at the sharpness and tenacity of the copper axe.
After passing the coast of the Salinan people, it is above 35 degrees north latitude. This is already the place where His Majesty predicted that the Golden Bay may appear at any time. The further north the fleet goes, the more it feels the temperature continues to drop. Good.
After passing a certain coast, the southward ocean current that was originally going against it suddenly disappeared. Then, a northerly ocean current suddenly appeared, leading the entire fleet to sail northward quickly. And with this current
The ocean currents continued day and night, and the speed of the fleet more than doubled!
Two days later, the cliffs along the coast suddenly lowered, turning into rolling hills, and then into flat forest fields. And a vast bay suddenly appeared in front of everyone.
"Ah! Huge bays, flat land, and many rivers flowing into the sea..."
Exploration leader Zuvallo looked at the east coast and saw several rivers flowing into the coast, as well as the flat fields beside the rivers, as well as blooming torch flowers. Those tall flowers had long spikes standing upright, swaying like torches.
It's like colorful corn. The colors of those flowers are bright red, yellow and orange, just like Zuvallo's excited mood at the moment. He danced excitedly and took out a few pieces of caltrops exchanged from the oak tree.
, put it in your mouth and chew it for the first time.
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"Well, it's delicious! So beautiful! ...The bay where flowers bloom by the river...I must give this place a resounding name!"
Mickey, the knowledgeable man next to him, suppressed the excitement in his heart and remained calm. He stretched out his finger, pointed at the cultivated farmland at the mouth of the river, and the large looming dome huts, and said in a deep voice.
"Zuvarro, this bay has been occupied by a tribe! Looking at the size of these huts and farmland, I'm afraid it will be a large tribe. The larger the tribe in the north, the more knowledge they will pass on, and they will have more knowledge about the distant lands.
The better we understand the situation... Let’s dock first and ask them about it!”
The tribes on the shore are the Costanoans, which is a name from later generations. In this era, they called themselves "residents of the seaside" and the seaside tribes. And what occupies this fertile bay is a powerful seaside tribe.
The great tribe of Kono.
The Kono tribe has a population of approximately two to three thousand people, with five to six hundred tribal warriors, as well as tribal priests who pass down beliefs and myths. Such a tribe can be considered powerful in the entire Bay Area!
The Konobe totem pole was inserted in the bay, with the sky and the sea, the god of heaven and the god of the sea engraved on it. Seeing this familiar carving, Kumeya Translator Deer Chong became excited. And when he talked with the local tribal elders,
I was surprised and pleasantly surprised to find that the languages of both parties actually have many similarities, and it is not difficult to communicate.
Perhaps because he was able to communicate, or perhaps because the Kono tribe was strong enough, the fur seal chief of the Kono tribe was quite friendly to the arrival of the fleet. He held a small dinner to entertain several leaders of the fleet, and he was also very happy.
Accepted the small bag of "gems" presented by Zuvalo.
Seeing the other party's joyful expression, exploration captain Zuvalo also breathed a sigh of relief. When he gave the Salinan tribe elders the gems in the lake, the other party almost didn't care and just stared at his axe. He
I thought that the tribes further north were no longer interested in the bright-colored gemstones in the lake, so the kingdom would be missing an important trade product.
But now it seems that it is just that the Salinan people's oak tree is too small, they pay more attention to practical survival tools, and put down the pursuit of "luxury goods". As long as the tribes in the north are larger and no longer worry about survival, bright and colorful
Pure gems can still be used as trade goods in exchange for large amounts of food and materials.
"Praise the Lord God! The food of the seaside tribes is so delicious!"
Mikey the Knowledgeable was sitting cross-legged in the chief's domed longhouse, eating the food in front of the campfire and admiring loudly.
Tonight’s dinner is very sumptuous, including dried seal meat, grilled rabbit meat, stewed salmon, grilled juicy lobster, and strange grilled insects. These meats are all specialties of the California coast.
, especially fur seals and salmon are the most common, and they are easy to catch. As for vegetables and grains, they are pumpkin puree, kidney beans, acorn cakes, and a small amount of corn tortillas.
"Being able to catch enough fish, Nakonobe's boat-building technology and fishing ability are all good. And judging from the hunting situation, the hunting bow is also okay... Well, there are not many pumpkins and kidney beans, and there are more tortillas.
Less. Then their agricultural technology is still the same as other tribes in the North, which are relatively primitive..."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Mickey the Knowledgeable was thinking in his mind while eating. He looked at the items in the chief's longhouse, and indeed saw large hunting bows, flint spears, and farming equipment.
Digging sticks, stone axes for cutting wood, fish cages woven from vines... and most obviously, wooden boards with engraved images of gods of heaven and sea.
"Hmm... It is a large tribe with polytheistic beliefs and is relatively mature. I don't know if there is a chance to persuade Chief Sea Dog to convert to the main god..."
While Mickey was thinking, Zuvalo next to him suddenly became excited. He opened his eyes wide, grabbed Chief Sea Dog's arm, and asked in disbelief under Lu Chong's translation.
"You said that according to tribal records, there are many shining golden rocks in the mountains hundreds of miles away to the east?"
The seal chief wore warm seal skin clothes, a seal tooth necklace around his neck, and a seal fur pointed hat on his head. He blinked, looked at the tribal leader who came from the sea in confusion, and said something in a deep voice.
sentence.
"...Ah? You said that in the mountains in the north, there are more, more, more golden rocks? They are even connected into many shining hills?"
After hearing what the translator said, Chief Sea Dog smiled and nodded. He said a few more words, and Zuvalo couldn't sit still at all.
"What?! Go north for five or six days, and that place where the Miwok people live is a huge, deep lake, very broad, all the way to the sea?"
Hearing this, the knowledgeable Mickey was also startled, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
"A huge, deep lake, very vast, all the way to the sea... isn't that a big bay?"
"The golden rocks are connected to form hills...could they be Jinshan?"
"Dawanwan and Jinshan...ah! That is the place of Jinwan predicted by His Majesty, just in the north!"
