Ishi: The Last of His People

To American history buffs, the name of Ishi may strike a familiar note. In 1911, he stumbled out of obscurity into newspaper headlines. For years he had been in hiding, the last surviving member of the Yahi Indian tribe. Hungry and confused, he turned up in a slaughterhouse in Oroville, California, looking for food. It was some time before authorities could piece together his story. His real name was never known: "Ishi" was a name given by the Indian's kindly benefactor and friend, Dr. Alfred Kroeber of the University of California at Berkeley. "Ishi" was the word for "Man" in the Yahi language.Collins and Bergren share Ishi's story in a smoothflowing narrative, beginning with the Indian's appearance in Oroville, flashing back to his years as a boy and man, then closing with his final years living at the California Museum of Anthropology in Berkeley. Nicknamed "The Wild Man of Oroville," the lone Yahi survivor emerges as a gentle, kind person with curiosity and quiet demeanor. Clearly, his years of growing up were painful, his people fighting a losing battle against the determined "saltu" - white people, who wanted land, land and more land. As hunters and fishermen, the Yahi were masters. As warriors, they seemed less able."Ishi, the Last of His People" offers a sympathetic look at a most unusual member of history's cast of characters. Pluses to the book, in addition to the ample bibliography and index, are a timetable of Ishi's life and a glossary of Yahi words. Although aimed at a young person's reading level, the book is an interesting "read" for any age.The only minus in the book is the collection of illustrations, which are mediocre at best. The volume would have been a five star rating, but the drawings are relatively lifeless and add little to the text.