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In 1847, two white settlers, Andrew Kelsey and Charles Stone settled in the Big Valley area and forced enslaved Pomo Indian to work on their ranch. Conditions on the ranch were so brutal, that the Pomo soon started to resist.
On April 14, 1850, a group led by Chief Augustine rebelled and killed their oppressors. The group then left the ranch and joined other Pomo people at Bo-no-po-ti, a place where the Pomo had traditionally gathered for the spring fish spawn.
On May 15, 1850, a US Cavalry regiment under Lieutenants Nathaniel Lyon and J. W. Davison was sent out to "punish" Chief Augustine. When they could not locate Augustine's band, they went instead to Augustine's last known whereabouts at Bo-no-po-ti and commited a massacre under the Pomo gathered there. In total, an estimated 400 People, mostly women, children and elderly, were killed by the US Cavalry.
Since that event, Bo-no-po-ti is known as "Bloody Island." Today, it is nolonger an island but rather a piece of reclaimed land north of Clear Lake.
In 1942, the Native Sons of the Golden West erected a marker at the place, commemorating the massacre. The text on the marker reads:
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