The Historical Society bookstore carries books on all aspects of Humboldt history including a number on this area's indigenous peoples.  The Four Ages of Tsurai, a Documentary History of the Indian Village on Trinidad Bay is among the most outstanding. Originally published by the U.C. Press in 1952, it was reprinted with useful additions in 1991 by the Trinidad Museum Society.

       What is unique about this book is that it is indeed a documentary history, being largely a compilation of original documents.  There are also extensive indexes and footnotes and a listing of some 75 indigenous place names in the Trinidad Bay area.  But the heart of the book are the commentaries and original documents left by the early explorers and scholars who visited the area.  It is divided into four "ages".

       "Age I, The Prehistory of Tsurai" is largely put together from the work of anthropologists and archaeologists. The southern-most village of the Yurok people, Tsurai was a long occupied site.  The recorded artifacts (good illustrations) and personal interviews reveal much about the original way of life there.  

       "Age ll, Discovery and Exploration, 1775 - 1800" through translations of original documents relates the Spanish, Mexican and French exploration of the coast attempting to learn about and sometimes claim the land.  Descriptions of native people met along the way are informative. 

       "Age lll, Exploration, the Fur Trade, 1800 - 1849" details when the Russian and others hunted the coast for the valuable fur of sea otters.  Though some goods were exchanged, interaction between the hunters and Tsurai residents were limited though still of interest. This section also contains photographs of maps, artifacts and drawings of local dwellings.

       Finally comes "Age lV, Decline and Fall, The American Invasion, 1850 - 1916." With the influx of gold seekers heading inland and settlers founding a port town in an ideal setting, the interaction between natives and whites remained largely peaceful.  Accounts by early arrivals such as Baron von Loeffelholz are useful, as are dictionaries several people compiled of Yurok vocabulary. But relatively peaceful or not, the arrival of American settlers and their dominating culture, plus diseases and intermarriage, led to the eventual decline and abandonment of old Tsurai.

       Although this process of cultural replacement occurs frequently, we are particularly fortunate that all the "Ages of Tsurai" were as well recorded as they were in this book. Also it gives a foundation for better understanding of what is today the largest indigenous tribe in California.