Tachi Indians. One of the larger tribes of the Yokuts (Mariposas) family, living on the plains north of Tulare lake, south central California. They held the country west of the Coast range. Powers puts them on Kings river, near Kingston. According to Alexander Taylor, members of this tribe were brought to San Antonio and Dolores (San Francisco) missions as neophytes. Tatché or Telamé is mentioned by Shea 1as the name of the tribe speaking the San Antonio language, a Salinan dialect. These Tatché and Telamé, however, are the Tachi and Telalnni who had been taken to the mission, and Taylor may be correct in giving Sextapay as the name of the tribe, or more correctly village site, originally at San Antonio. As is the case with all the Yokuts tribes, only a fragment of the former number remains; but though reduced to a few dozen survivors, the Tachi are today among the half-dozen most numerous tribes left of the original forty or more comprising the Yokuts stock. Most of the survivors occupy a settlement near Lemoore, Kings County, California.
Citations:
- Shea, Preface to Arroyo de la Cuesta’s Vocab. of San Antonio Mission[↩]