Little known history trivia fact. Kanakas (Pacific Islanders from everywhere) were a pretty significant labor force on the west coast from the get go. They were highly regarded as seamen, about twice as powerful as the average hand, some say they had incredible upper body strength from generations of paddling sea going canoes. They were scattered all over the west coast at the time the gold rush started in 1849. Some became successful miners in there own right. Many place names bear testimony to this day.
For many years the local Injun tribes denied being a product of Kanaka and Chinese blood. Old photographs from historical mining archives were denied as authentic, but even the most casual look shows the pureblood Injuns in the 1850's as a diminutive people, and as the years progressed the photos showed the Polynesian genes. Huge barrel like torsos and heavy musculature in the Kanaka mold, in the case of the Chinese blood, still diminutive people but with pronounced slant eyes and epicanthic fold appeared. Then along came affordable genetic testing...oops, so much for pure Injun blood.
