The Mattole constitute one of the primary divisions of those Indians of the Athapascan stock living in California.
Mattole Indians. Perhaps from the name of a village. Also called: Tul’bush, Wailaki name, meaning “foreigners.”
Location. On Bear River and Mattole River drainages; also on a few miles of Eel River and its Van Dusen Fork immediately above the Wiyot.
Population. Kroeber (1925) estimates that there were 500 Mattole in 1770; the census of 1910 returned 34, including 10 full-bloods. (See Bear River Indians.)