from 1817–1823, Sem-Yeto's whereabouts are not recorded; possibly he lived freely in the hills, or lived with another tribe, or was captured and Christianized, then he turned up to bring the people to the Mission of Sonoma. However for this to be true, Sem-Yeto was not living at the San Francisco Mission all that time. (Note: the battles that Sem-Yeto is alleged to have survived, that of 1810 and 1817, have several similarities: both are a legend of a childhood leader being saved from a fiery battleground death to become the leader of the people. This legend might have conflated two battles into one and placed Sem-Yeto at the scene with Malica, in order to emphasize his leadership of the people.) First baptism at Sonoma The Mission San Francisco de Solano of Sonoma records that a "Francisco Solano" was one of the first natives baptized in the mission 1823/24. Some say that was Sem-Yeto. By all accounts, Sem-Yeto moved to the mission in its founding years with his people and was present at the time, however, if he was already baptized at the San Francisco Mission, theoretically he would not need to be baptized again. So the first baptism at the mission in Sonoma might be another neophyte named after the same Catholic saint. Genealogists may look into if the Chief was baptized twice. There is an entry in the ledger, but is it him? Possibly, Sem-Yeto went through baptism at Sonoma as a sign to all his people to come be baptized and join him. Gravesite After dying of pneumonia, Chief Solano was reputedly buried under a buckeye tree in the area of Rockville, California; he was also supposedly 6 feet, 7 inches tall, but excavations of local Native American graves have not revealed any unusually tall remains. According to legend his gravesite is on the campus of Solano Community College, where sightings of a tall Native ghost have been reported. Recognition In a Fourth of July speech of 1876, General Vallejo describes a deep friendship and appreciation for Sem-Yeto whom he says should be called a prince. The speech was reprinted in The Sonoma Index of December 4, 1880. A statue of Chief Solano was sculpted by Bill Huff in 1934. It was first mounted on a rock above Cordelia, and was later moved to a library in Fairfield. Solano County is named directly after Chief (Sem-Yeto) Solano.