Daily Alta California, Volume 1, Number 103, 29 April 1850
REPORT FROM THE SELECT COMMITTEE
On the Derivation and Definition
of the Names of the several Counties
of the State of California, &c.
YOLO.- A corruption of the Indian word “Yoloy,” signifying a place abounding with rushes (tule,) with which the Indians composed the term “Yoloytoy,” Rushtown (Pueblo del Tule,) situated on the western shore of the river Sacramento. The tribe occupying this Pueblo derived its name therefrom and were the subject of a great chief, who also ruled various other tribes with absolute sway. All these tribes were encamped on the western banks of the Sacramento and its tributaries. The Christian name of the chief was F. Solano and his usual residence Sonoma. In 1835 Motti, captain of the Yoloy tribe, rebelled against the superior chief, and being unsuccessfully pursued, Solano applied to the commandant of Sonoma for assistance, pursued the tribe once more and reduced it to submission. The rebellious leader was ordered to Sonoma, where he remained until the tribe and chief returned to their former hearths in 1846.