1850 American Gold Baron

Chapter 257 Leather

March 1852, Oregon Territory, Umpqua Nation Territory.

As the gunfire gradually became sparse, a bloody massacre ended.

"The Umpqua tribe is too poor. These skins can't even be sold for much money in Portland (the largest city in Oregon)."

A white man with a rifle complained while counting the trophies.

Nowadays, Indians are getting poorer and poorer, and raiding Indian territories is not as lucrative as before.

"Sir, let me tell you, we should go exterminate the Indians in California." Bateman, Burnett's partner, took out a knife and skillfully scalped an Indian child, and then cut off the bloody scalp.

Stuff it into the bag.

"My luck has been really bad in the past two or three months. There are fewer and fewer strong Indian adult men! Damn it, an adult Indian man's scalp is worth 85 US dollars. A child's scalp can be sold for more than 30 dollars."

Thank goodness for dollars!”

Beaver skins, beaver skins, deer seeds, bear skins and Indian scalps were their main trophies from the extermination of Indians and their main source of income.

But now, the Indians have fewer and fewer skins, and it is becoming more and more difficult to catch adult Indians. Their income from killing Indians has also plummeted.

"It's really bad. Five years ago, an Indian scalp was sold in Portland for at least $130! Indian scalps are really becoming less and less valuable."

Sanders, Bernat's follower, felt the same way. While holding up his trousers, he took out the rope that had been prepared and tied up the Indian woman with disheveled clothes and disheveled hair tightly.

After making sure that the Indian woman was tied tightly and that she could not escape, Sanders turned to ask Bernat.

"Boss, has Mr. Aspinwall's fleet arrived in Portland this month? These skins and scalps are not as valuable as the young Indian women. As long as they can be sold to brothels in San Francisco or Sacramento

, a woman can be sold for at least $500!"

"I heard that the Indians in California are extremely rich! There is still a lot of gold in their territory! They are much better than the poor tribes in Oregon. Of course, there are many young and beautiful Indian women in those tribes."

There was a greedy look in Bateman's eyes.

Unlike Burnett who killed Indians for the sake of killing Indians, Bateman's family was not as rich as Burnett's. Bateman killed Indians for money.

"How much can these leathers sell for?" Bernat asked, pointing to the various leathers on the ground.

Furs are the most important trade item in Oregon, and the furs of beavers living in the Columbia River are the best.

The Indians in the Oregon region were bringing him less and less revenue, which gave Burnett a headache.

He himself can generate electricity for love and massacre Indian tribes regardless of income.

But his men couldn't do it. Bernat's men followed him to kill the Indians because it was profitable to kill them.

Without dollars and gold, Bernat's team would soon disband on its own.

It is the U.S. dollar and gold that firmly bind these people from all over the world.

The ammunition consumed in each battle is also a considerable expense.

In short, Bernat now needs money to maintain his army.

"Up to $4,500."

Bateman quickly estimated the value of these skins.

"The prerequisite is to sell it to California. If it is sold in Portland, it can be sold for US$2,500. The poor people in Portland are not as generous as the wealthy people in California."

US$4,500 is a huge amount of money for an individual, but Bernat's team has 350 people. Even if the skins are successfully transported to California and sold, each person will only receive US$13.

Sanders said: "I just tortured an Indian, the Coos and the Klamath. They shot a lot of beavers near the Columbia River and were processing the skins near the river valley. This batch of skins is of good quality and quantity.

There are a lot of them, at least it can be sold for US$70,000 or US$80,000.”

"Seventy or eighty thousand dollars?" Bernat's eyes lit up, "Is this news reliable?"

If he could obtain this batch of skins, at least in the next few months, he would not have to worry about money. However, Bernat still had reservations about the reliability and accuracy of this news.

"Reliable! Very reliable! If you don't believe me, you can ask the Indian captives personally where their skins were originally sent and finally sold to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce."

As he spoke, Sanders brought a piece of beaver skin and showed it to Bernat.

"Look, some leathers have already been marked with trademarks."

After hearing what Sanders said, Bernat carefully checked the leather. Some of the leather had been marked with the trademarks of American Group, Jardine Matheson Group, Tongfu Group, Boston Group and even other groups.

"Those Indian captives also said that the Pomo and Maidu tribes will accept the entrustment of California merchants and come to Oregon with gold to collect skins. I think this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Sanders continued to encourage.

He wanted to make a fortune, instead of being like now, where each person could only receive a maximum of twenty dollars for a raid on Indian territory.

This income is not as good as working as a factory worker in San Francisco.

"Bring those Indian prisoners in front of me, and I will torture them myself." Bernat said solemnly.

The Oregon region at this time, the Columbia River Valley.

Eight or nine hundred young Indians were processing beaver skins at a camp on the edge of the river valley.

Some young Indians skillfully cut open the beaver's belly with hunting knives, took out a complete piece of beaver skin, and then piled the beaver skin aside.

In contrast, some "Indian youths" seemed clumsy in handling beavers. The skins they removed contained flesh and blood, and the fur was incomplete.

The tribal elders on the side shook their heads when they saw it. This was simply a waste of these skins.

However, these were wearing the same fur clothes as the Indians, and the young men who were clumsy in handling the fur were not Indians.

Before entering Oregon, they were soldiers of the Garifni Infantry Regiment.

But before entering the Oregon region, they took off their military uniforms and put on fur clothes prepared for them by various Indian tribes.

Therefore, in appearance, these yellow-skinned, dark-eyed California Infantry soldiers look no different from the young and strong Indian tribesmen.

Of course, you can tell if you take a closer look, because these California Infantry Regiment officers and soldiers disguised as Indians have Dresser striker guns on their backs and bullet pouches filled with paper shells on their waists.

Among the eight to nine hundred young Indians in this camp in the Columbia River Valley, at least half were officers and soldiers of the California Infantry Regiment.

(End of chapter)