| In the book, A Bag of Bones (Naturegraph Publishers (June, 1967) ISBN: 0911010262), Marcelle Masson published a collection of Wintu religious stories and legends as told by Grant Towendolly (as he preferred the spelling of his last name). Mrs. Masson also writes the story of how the Towendollys (Tauhindaulis) came to live at Upper Soda Springs, as related to her by Grant and older residents of Upper Soda Springs.
"The tribal home of the Towendollys was at Hay Gulch in Trinity County. The father, Old Bill, as he was called by the white man, was a headman in his own right, his father before him having held that position. Their Indian family name was Tau-hin-dauli, which means 'tying with the left hand.' Grant's Wintu name was Laktcharas Tauhindauli. "Old Bill was married twice. His second wife was Jennie Stump, who was Grant's mother. She was from the Achomawi tribe of the Pit River |
| Wintu and Tauhindali |
| Indians.
"With the arrival of the white man in the area, the Towendollys left their ancestral home in Trinity County and settled on the Sacramento River at a place which became known as Soda Springs, and later Upper Soda Springs (Mem-okis-takki: strong water place) in Siskiyou County (now within the city limits of Dunsmuir). They retuned to Trinity County only for dance or occasional gatherings and were living on the Sacramento riverbank in Siskiyou when, in 1855, my husband's grandparents, Ross and Mary McCloud, bought the property from two squatters, Harry and Samuel Lockhart, who became well known in the early day history of Shasta County. "Old Bill remained on the place to work for the McClouds. His opinion of some of the miners and settlers who were now taking over the home of his forefathers was neatly expressed when he once said to Mr. McCloud, 'White man all time drink whisket [sic], swear damn!'" |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |