I am sending this book out into the world not for fame, but as a messenger of goodwill and peace. May it be received in this spirit and accomplish its mission.
The Story of the Indians of the Pacific Southwest
A gruesome, terrible year, the year of 1825! The fatal year when thousands of Indians of the Pacific Southwest were destroyed by that merciless, frightful scourge, smallpox. And the tradition of its ravages is kept alive even today among the descendants of the few who escaped death.
The tribal herb doctors at that time were wholly unprepared to combat this disease which wrought such fearful havoc. Sweeping along the entire Pacific Coast, it exacted a heavy toll of human lives, so heavy, in fact, that the number of Indians destroyed exceeded that of the American lives lost on the battlefields during World War I.
The epidemic ravaged not only the Pacific Coast. It even spread over the adjacent territories, carrying death everywhere it struck.
Not until the end of that terrible year did some of the Indian herb doctors begin to devote their attention to the disease. And then, calling upon all there was in their knowledge of medicinal plants, the chieftains, accompanied by their medicine men, held a council at which the matter of curing this destructive disease was brought under serious discussion.
That memorable meeting took place in the world-famous Palm Canyon, bordering the eastern slopes of San Jacinto Peak--better known to us by its true native name of _Tahquitz_--situated at the extreme eastern part of Riverside County.
After the adjournment of the meeting the chiefs and medicine men dispersed, returning to their respective tribes to resume their regular duties, each one with instructions to study ways and means which would effectively eradicate the scourge so greatly feared by all Indians.
Now, among those who had attended the meeting was Senior Chief Andres Lucero, of the Mahuna tribe, who was looked upon by all Indians as the possessor of the greatest knowledge of botanical medicine, and a master-teacher among his fellow tribesmen who rightly considered him as being without a peer in his field--thorough research and experimentation. In his experimental work he was more successful than any other, having had many years of experience. In addition, he possessed valuable medical knowledge which for centuries had been handed down from generation to generation, each recipient becoming a true master in the field of Indian medical science.