According to University of California records, tens of thousands of visitors came during the early months of his residence.

On weekends, people watched him demonstrate the manufacture of arrowheads and other tools.

He built fires.

He showed archery techniques.

He explained objects.

He told stories and worked with researchers on language.

For many visitors, this was presented as a chance to see a supposedly vanished Native way of life in person.

The irony was painful.

The public wanted Ishi to perform the culture that the surrounding society had nearly made impossible for him to live.

Visitors saw a man shaping obsidian.