The preservation project came after destruction.

One of the most consequential encounters occurred in 1908.

A surveying party entered the remote country where Ishi and several remaining companions were living.

The camp was discovered unexpectedly.

Most of the occupants escaped.

One elderly woman, often identified in later accounts as Ishi’s mother, was found unable to flee.

The surveyors took objects from the camp.

For people who had spent decades hiding, the discovery was devastating.

Anthropologists later became aware that a tiny group of Yahi might still be alive.

Thomas Waterman even searched the region in 1910 and found signs suggesting that survivors remained there, but he did not make direct contact.