The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft Part 50

The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft Part 50

[496] _Roseborough's letter to the author, MS._; _The Shastas and their Neighbors, MS._; _Pfeiffer's Second Journ._, p. 317; _Powers' Pomo, MS._; _Chase_, in _Overland Monthly_, vol. ii., p. 432.

[497] _Meacham's Lecture on the Modocs_, in _S. F. Alta California_, _Oct. 6, 1873_; _The Shastas and their Neighbors, MS._

[498] On Pitt River they burn their dead and heap stones over the ashes for a monument. 'No funeral ceremonies.' _The Shastas and their Neighbors, MS._ On the ocean frontier of south Oregon and north California 'the dead are buried with their faces looking to the west.'

_Hubbard_, in _Golden Era_, _March, 1856_. The Patawats and Chillulas bury their dead. The Tolewahs are not allowed to name the dead. _Powers'

Pomo, MS._ 'It is one of the most strenuous Indian laws that whoever mentions the name of a deceased person is liable to a heavy fine, the money being paid to the relatives.' _Chase_, in _Overland Monthly_, vol.

ii., p. 431. 'The bodies had been doubled up, and placed in a sitting posture in holes. The earth, when replaced, formed conical mounds over the heads.' _Abbott_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. vi., p. 69. 'They bury their dead under the noses of the living, and with them all their worldly goods. If a man of importance, his house is burned and he is buried on its site.' _Johnson_, in _Overland Monthly_, vol. ii., p. 536.

'The chick or ready money, is placed in the owner's grave, but the bow and quiver become the property of the nearest male relative. Chiefs only receive the honors of a fence, surmounted with feathers, round the grave.' _Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., p. 175. 'Upon the death of one of these Indians they raised a sort of funeral cry, and afterward burned the body within the house of their ruler.' _Maurelle's Jour._, p. 19.

[499] _Muck-a-muck_, food. In the Chinook Jargon 'to eat; to bite; food.

Muckamuck chuck, to drink water.' _Dict. Chinook Jargon, or Indian Trade Language_, p. 12.

[500] In the vicinity of Nootka Sound and the Columbia River, the first United States traders with the natives were from Boston; the first English vessels appeared about the same time, which was during the reign of George III. Hence in the Chinook Jargon we find '_Boston_, an American; _Boston illahie_, the United States;' and '_King George_, English--_King George man_, an Englishman.'

[501] 'They will often go three or four miles out of their way, to avoid pa.s.sing a place which they think to be haunted.' _The Shastas and their Neighbors, MS._

[502] The Pitt River Indians 'are very shrewd in the way of stealing, and will beat a coyote. They are full of cunning.' _The Shastas and their Neighbors, MS._ They 'are very treacherous and b.l.o.o.d.y in their dispositions.' _Abbott_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. vi., p. 61. 'The Indians of the North of California stand at the very lowest point of culture.' _Pfeiffer's Second Journ._, p. 316. 'Incapable of treachery, but ready to fight to the death in avenging an insult or injury. They are active and energetic in the extreme.' _Kelly's Excursion to Cal._, vol. ii., p. 166. At Klamath Lake they are noted for treachery.

_Fremont's Explor. Ex._, p. 205. 'The Tolowas resemble the Hoopas in character, being a bold and masterly race, formidable in battle, aggressive and haughty.' The Patawats are 'extremely timid and inoffensive.' The Chihulas, like most of the coast tribes 'are characterized by hideous and incredible superst.i.tions.' The Modocs 'are rather a cloddish, indolent, ordinarily good-natured race, but treacherous at bottom, sullen when angered, and notorious for keeping punic faith. Their bravery n.o.body can dispute.' The Yukas are a 'tigerish, truculent, sullen, thievish, and every way bad, but brave race.' _Powers' Pomo, MS._ On Trinity River 'they have acquired the vices of the whites without any of their virtues.' _Heintzelman_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1857, p. 391. Above the forks of the main Trinity they are 'fierce and intractable.' On the Klamath they 'have a reputation for treachery, as well as revengefulness; are thievish, and much disposed to sulk if their whims are not in every way indulged.'

They 'blubber like a schoolboy at the application of a switch.' _Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., pp. 139, 141, 176. The Rogue River Indians and Shastas 'are a warlike race, proud and haughty, but treacherous and very degraded in their moral nature.' _Miller_, in _Ind.

Aff. Rept._, 1857, p. 361. At Rogue River they are 'brave, haughty, indolent, and superst.i.tious.' _Ostrander_, in _Id._, 1857, p. 363; _Roseborough's letter to the author, MS._

[503] These are not to be confounded with the Yukas in Round Valley, Tehama County.

[504] Spelled Walhalla on some maps.

[505] In the vicinity of Fort Ross, 'Die Indianer sind von mittlerem Wuchse, doch trifft man auch hohe Gestalten unter ihnen an; sie sind ziemlich wohl proportionirt, die Farbe der Haut ist braunlich, doch ist diese Farbe mehr eine Wirkung der Sonne als angeboren; die Augen und Haare sind schwarz, die letzteren stehen straff.... Beide Geschlechter sind von kraftigem Korperbau.' _Kostromitonow_, in _Baer_, _Stat. u.

Ethn._, p. 81. 'Quoique surpris dans un tres-grand neglige, ces hommes me parurent beaux, de haute taille, robustes et parfaitement decouples ...

traits reguliers ... yeux noirs ... nez aquilin surmonte d'un front eleve, les pommettes des joues arrondies, ... fortes levres ... dents blanches et bien rangees ... peau jaune cuivre, un cou annoncant la vigueur et soutenu par de larges epaules ... un air intelligent et fier a la fois.... Je trouvai toutes les femmes horriblement laides.'

_Laplace_, _Circ.u.mnav._, tom. vi., 145-6. At the head of the Eel River 'the average height of these men was not over five feet four or five inches. They were lightly built, with no superfluous flesh, but with very deep chests and sinewy legs.' _Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., p. 119. 'The Clear Lake Indians are of a very degraded caste; their foreheads naturally being often as low as the compressed skulls of the Chinooks, and their forms commonly small and ungainly.' _Id._, p.

108. At Bodega Bay 'they are an ugly and brutish race, many with negro profiles.' _Id._, p. 103. 'They are physically an inferior race, and have flat, unmeaning features, long, coa.r.s.e, straight black hair, big mouths, and very dark skins.' _Revere's Tour_, p. 120. 'Large and strong, their colour being the same as that of the whole territory.'

_Maurelle's Jour._, p. 47. It is said of the natives of the Sacramento valley, that 'their growth is short and stunted; they have short thick necks, and clumsy heads; the forehead is low, the nose flat with broad nostrils, the eyes very narrow and showing no intelligence, the cheek-bones prominent, and the mouth large. The teeth are white, but they do not stand in even rows: and their heads are covered by short, thick, rough hair.... Their color is a dirty yellowish-brown.'

_Pfeiffer's Second Journ._, p. 307. 'This race of Indians is probably inferior to all others on the continent. Many of them are diminutive in stature, but they do not lack muscular strength, and we saw some who were tall and well-formed.... Their complexion is a dark mahogany, or often nearly black, their faces round or square, with features approximating nearer to the African than the Indian. Wide, enormous mouth, noses nearly flat, and hair straight, black, and coa.r.s.e....

Small, gleaming eyes.' _Johnson's Cal. and Ogn._, pp. 142-3. Of good stature, strong and muscular. _Bryant's Cal._, p. 266. 'Rather below the middle stature, but strong, well-knit fellows.... Good-looking, and well limbed.' _Kelly's Excursion to Cal._, vol. ii., pp. 81, 111. 'They were in general fine stout men.' A great diversity of physiognomy was noticeable. _Pickering's Races_, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. ix., pp. 105, 107. On the Sacramento 'were fine robust men, of low stature, and badly formed.' _Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. v., p. 198. 'The mouth is very large, and the nose broad and depressed.' 'Chiefly distinguished by their dark color ... broad faces, a low forehead.' _Hale's Ethnog._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. vi., p. 222. 'Their features are coa.r.s.e, broad, and of a dark chocolate color.' _Taylor_, in _Cal. Farmer_, _Nov. 2, 1860_. At Drake's Bay, just above San Francisco, the men are 'commonly so strong of body, that that which two or three of our men could hardly beare, one of them would take vpon his backe, and without grudging carrie it easily away, vp hill and downe hill an English mile together.'

_Drake's World Encomp._, p. 131. 'Los Naturales de este sitio y Puerto son algo triguenos, por lo quemados del Sol, aunque los venidos de la otra banda del Puerto y del Estero ... son mas blancos y corpulentos.'

_Palou_, _Vida de Junipero Serra_, p. 215. 'Ugly, stupid, and savage; otherwise they are well formed, tolerably tall, and of a dark brown complexion. The women are short, and very ugly; they have much of the negro in their countenance.... Very long, smooth, and coal-black hair.'

_Kotzebue's Voy._, vol. i., pp. 282-3. 'They all have a very savage look, and are of a very dark color.' _Chamisso_, in _Kotzebue's Voy._, vol. iii., p. 47. 'Ill made; their faces ugly, presenting a dull, heavy, and stupid countenance.' _Vancouver's Voy._, vol. ii., p. 13. The Tcholovoni tribe 'differe beaucoup de toutes les autres par les traits du visage par sa physionomie, par un exterieur a.s.sez agreable.'

_Choris_, _Voy. Pitt._, part iii., p. 6., plate vi., vii., xii. 'The Alchones are of good height, and the Tuluraios were thought to be, generally, above the standard of Englishmen. Their complexion is much darker than that of the South-sea Islanders, and their features far inferior in beauty.' _Beechey's Voy._, vol. ii., p. 76. At Santa Clara they are 'of a blackish colour, they have flat faces, thick lips, and black, coa.r.s.e, straight hair.' _Kotzebue's New Voy._, vol. ii., p. 98.

'Their features are handsome, and well-proportioned; their countenances are cheerful and interesting.' _Morrell's Voy._, p. 212. At Placerville they are 'most repulsive-looking wretches.... They are nearly black, and are exceedingly ugly.' _Borthwick's Three Years in Cal._, p. 128. In the Yosemite Valley 'they are very dark colored,' and 'the women are perfectly hideous.' _Kneeland's Wonders of Yosemite_, p. 52. The Monos on the east side of the Sierra are 'a fine looking race, straight, and of good height, and appear to be active.' _Von Schmidt_, in _Ind. Aff.

Rept._, 1856, p. 2-3. At Monterey 'ils sont en general bien faits, mais faibles d'esprit et de corps.' In the vicinity of San Miguel, they are 'generalement d'une couleur foncee, sales et mal faits ... a l'exception tout fois des Indiens qui habitent sur les bords de la riviere des tremblements de terre, et sur la cote voisine. Ceux-ci sont blancs, d'une joli figure, et leurs cheveux tirent sur le roux.' _f.a.ges_, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1844, tom. ci., pp. 332, 163; also quoted in _Marmier_, _Notice sur les Indiens_, p. 236. 'Sont generalement pet.i.ts, faibles ... leur couleur est tres-approchante de celle des negres dont les cheveux ne sont point laineux: ceux de ces peuples sont longs et tres-forts.' _La Perouse_, _Voy._, tom. ii., p. 281. 'La taille des hommes est plus haute (than that of the Chilians), et leurs muscles mieux p.r.o.nonces.' The figure of the women 'est plus elevee (than that of the Chilian women), et la forme de leurs membres est plus reguliere; elles sont en general d'une stature mieux developpee et d'une physionomie moins repoussante.' _Rollin_, in _La Perouse_, _Voy._, tom.

iv., p. 52. At San Jose 'the men are almost all rather above the middling stature, and well built; very few indeed are what may be called undersized. Their complexions are dark but not negro like ... some seemed to possess great muscular strength; they have very coa.r.s.e black hair.' Some of the women were more than five feet six inches in height.

And speaking of the Californian Indians, in general, 'they are of a middling, or rather of a low stature, and of a dark brown colour, approaching to black ... large projecting lips, and broad, flat, negro-like noses; ... bear a strong resemblance to the negroes.... None of the men we saw were above five feet high ... ill-proportioned ... we had never seen a less pleasing specimen of the human race.'

_Langsdorff's Voy._, vol. ii., pp. 194-5, 164, see plate. And speaking generally of the Californian Indians: 'Die Manner sind im Allgemeinen gut gebaut und von starker Korperbildung,' height 'zwischen funf Fuss vier Zoll und funf Fuss zehn oder eilf Zoll.' Complexion 'die um ein klein wenig h.e.l.ler als bei den Mulatten, also weit dunkler ist, als bei den ubrigen Indianerstammen.' _Osswald_, _Californien_, p. 62. The coast Indians 'are about five feet and a half in height, and rather slender and feeble,' in the interior they 'are taller and more robust.'

_Farnham's Life in Cal._, p. 364. 'Cubische Schadelform, niedrige Stirn, breites Gesicht, mit hervorragendem Jochbogen, breite Lippen und grosser Mund, mehr platte Nase und am Innenwinkel herabgezogene Augen.'

_Wimmel_, _Californien_, pp. v, 177. 'Les Californiens sont presque noirs; la disposition de leur yeux et l'ensemble de leur visage leur donnent avec les europeens une ressemblance a.s.sez marquee.' _Rossi_, _Souvenirs_, pp. 279-80. 'They are small in stature; thin, squalid, dirty, and degraded in appearance. In their habits little better than an ourang-outang, they are certainly the worst type of savage I have ever seen.' _Lord's Nat._, vol. i., p. 249. 'More swarthy in complexion, and of less stature than those east of the Rocky Mountains ... more of the Asiatic cast of countenance than the eastern tribe.' _Delano's Life on the Plains_, p. 304. 'Depa.s.se rarement la hauteur de cinq pieds deux ou trois pouces; leur membres sont greles et mediocrement muscles. Ils ont de grosses levres qui se projettent en avant, le nez large et aplati comme les Ethiopiens; leurs cheveux sont noirs, rude et droits.'

_Auger_, _Voy. en Cal._, p. 165. 'Generally of small stature, robust appearance, and not well formed.' _Thornton's Ogn. and Cal._, vol. ii., p. 91. 'Schon gewachsen und von schwartzlich-brauner Farbe.'

_Muhlenpfordt Mejico_, tom. ii., part ii., p. 455. 'Low foreheads and skins as black as Guinea negroes.' _Domenech's Deserts_, vol. i., p. 85.

'En naissant les enfants sont presque blancs ... mais ils noircissent en grandissant.' 'Depuis le nord du Rio Sacramento jusqu'au cap San Lucas ... leurs caracteres physique, leurs moeurs et leurs usages sont les memes.' _Mofras_, _Explor._, tom. ii., pp. 263, 367. 'Skin of such a deep reddish-brown that it seems almost black.' _Figuier's Human Race_, p. 493; _Buschmann_, _Spuren der Aztek. Sprache_, p. 528; _Forbes'

Cal._, pp. 180-3; _Harper's Monthly_, vol. xiii., p. 583. 'A fine set of men, who, though belonging to different nationalities, had very much the same outward appearance; so that when you have seen one you seem to have seen them all.' _Pim and Seemann's Dottings_, p. 15.

[506] On the Sacramento River 'the men universally had some show of a beard, an inch or so in length, but very soft and fine.' _Pickering's Races_, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. ix., p. 105. 'They had beards and whiskers an inch or two long, very soft and fine.' _Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. v., p. 198. On Russian River 'they have quite heavy moustaches and beards on the chin, but not much on the cheeks, and they almost all suffer it to grow.' The Clear Lake Indians 'have also considerable beards, and hair on the person.' At the head of South Fork of Eel River, 'they pluck their beards.' Gibbs, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., pp. 108-119. At Monterey 'plusieurs ont de la barbe; d'autres, suivant les peres missionaires, n'en ont jamais eu, et c'est un question qui n'est pas meme decidee dans le pays.' _La Perouse_, _Voy._, vol. ii., p. 282. 'Les Californiens ont la barbe plus fournie que les Chiliens, et les parties genitales mieux garnies: cependant j'ai remarque, parmi les hommes, un grand nombre d'individus totalement depourvus de barbe; les femmes ont aussi peu de poil au penil et aux aisselles.' _Rollin_, in _La Perouse_, _Voy._, vol. iv., p. 53. 'They have the habit common to all American Indians of extracting the beard and the hair of other parts of their body.' _Farnham's Life in Cal._, p.


364. Beards 'short, thin, and stiff.' _Bartlett's Nar._, vol. ii., p.

34. 'In general very scanty, although occasionally a full flowing beard is observed.' _Forbes' Cal._, pp. 181-2. 'Beards thin; many shave them close with mussel-sh.e.l.ls.' _Langsdorff's Voy._, vol. ii., p. 164. 'Ihr Bart ist schwach.' _Wimmel_, _Californien_, vol. v. At San Antonio, 'in the olden times, before becoming christians, they pulled out their beards.' _Taylor_, in _Cal. Farmer_, _April 27, 1860_. Choris in his _Voy. Pitt._, plates vi., vii., xii., of part iii., draws the Indians with a very slight and scattered beard. 'Pluck out their beard.'

_Auger_, _Voy. in Cal._, p. 165. 'Wear whiskers.' _Thornton's Ogn. and Cal._, vol. ii., p. 91. 'Les Indiens qui habitent dans la direction du cap de Nouvel-An (del Ano Nuevo) ... ont des moustaches.' _f.a.ges_, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1844, tom. ci., p. 335. Muhlenpfordt mentions that at the death of a relation, 'die Manner raufen Haupthaar und Bart sich aus.' _Mejico_, vol. ii., part ii., p. 456.

[507] At Fort Ross 'Die Manner gehen ganz nackt, die Frauen hingegen bedecken nur den mittleren Theil des Korpers von vorne und von hinten mit den Fellen wilder Ziegen; das Haar binden die Manner auf dem Schopfe, die Frauen am Nacken in Buschel zusammen; bisweilen la.s.sen sie es frei herunter wallen; die Manner heften die Buschel mit ziemlich kunstlich, aus einer rothen Palme geschnitzten Holzchen fest.'

_Kostromitonow_, in _Baer_, _Stat. u. Ethno._, p. 82. At Clear Lake 'the women generally wear a small round, bowl-shaped basket on their heads; and this is frequently interwoven with the red feathers of the woodp.e.c.k.e.r, and edged with the plume tufts of the blue quail.' _Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., p. 107. See also p. 68, plate xiv., for plate of ornaments. At Kelsey River, dress 'consists of a deer-skin robe thrown over the shoulders.' _Id._, p. 122. In the Sacramento Valley 'they were perfectly naked.' _Kelly's Excursion to Cal._, vol. ii., p.

111. 'Both s.e.xes have the ears pierced with large holes, through which they pa.s.s a piece of wood as thick as a man's finger, decorated with paintings or gla.s.s beads.' _Pfeiffer's Second Journ._, p. 307. 'The men go entirely naked; but the women, with intuitive modesty, wear a small, narrow, gra.s.s ap.r.o.n, which extends from the waist to the knees, leaving their bodies and limbs partially exposed.' _Delano's Life on the Plains_, pp. 305, 307. 'They wear fillets around their heads of leaves.'

_Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. v., p. 192. 'The dress of the women is a cincture, composed of narrow slips of fibrous bark, or of strings of 'Californian flax,' or sometimes of rushes.' Men naked.

_Pickering's Races_, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. ix., p. 108. At Bodega they 'most liberally presented us with plumes of feathers, rosaries of bone, garments of feathers, as also garlands of the same materials, which they wore round their head.' _Maurelle's Jour._, p. 47. 'The women wore skins of animals about their shoulders and waists;' hair 'clubbed behind.' _Vancouver's Voy._, vol. ii., p. 436. Around San Francis...o...b..y: 'in summer many go entirely naked. The women, however, wear a deer-skin, or some other covering about their loins; but skin dresses are not common.' To their ears the women 'attach long wooden cylinders, variously carved, which serve the double purpose of ear-rings and needle-cases.' _Beechey's Voy._, vol. ii., p. 77. 'All go naked.'

_Chamisso_, in _Kotzebue's Voy._, vol. iii., p. 48. 'The men either go naked or wear a simple breech-cloth. The women wear a cloth or strips of leather around their loins.' _Bartlett's Pers. Nar._, vol. ii., p. 33.

Three hundred years ago we are told that the men in the vicinity of San Francis...o...b..y 'for the most part goe naked; the women take a kinde of bulrushes, and kembing it after the manner of hemp, make themselues thereof a loose garment, which being knitte about their middles, hanges downe about their hippes, and so affordes to them a couering of that which nature teaches should be hidden; about their shoulders they weare also the skin of a deere, with the haire vpon it.' The king had upon his shoulders 'a coate of the skins of conies, reaching to his wast; his guard also had each coats of the same shape, but of other skin....

After these in their order, did follow the naked sort of common people, whose haire being long, was gathered into a bunch behind, in which stucke plumes of feathers; but in the forepart onely single feathers like hornes, every one pleasing himselfe in his owne device.' _Drake's World Encomp._, pp. 121, 126. 'Asi como Adamitas se presentan sin el menor rubor ni verguenza (esto es, los hombres) y para libra.r.s.e del frio que todo el ano hace en esta Mision (San Francisco), princ.i.p.almente las mananas, se embarran con lodo, diciendo que les preserva de el, y en quanto empieza a calentar el Sol se lavan: las mugeres andan algo honestas, hasta las muchachas chiquitas: usan para la honestidad de un delantar que hacen de hilos de tule, o juncia, que no pasa de la rodilla, y otro atras amarrados a la cintura que ambos forman como unas enaguas, con que se presentan con alguna honestidad, y en las espaldas se ponen otros semejantes para libra.r.s.e en alguna manera del frio.'

_Palou_, _Vida de Junipero Serra_, p. 217. At Monterey, and on the coast between Monterey and Santa Barbara the dress 'du plus riche consiste en un manteau da peau de loutre qui couvre ses reins et descend au dessous des sines.... L'habillement des femmes est un manteau de peau de cerf mal tannee.... Les jeunes filles au-dessous de neuf ans n'ont qu'une simple ceinture et les enfans de l'autre s.e.xe sont tout nus.' _La Perouse_, _Voy._, tom. ii., pp. 304-5. 'Ils se percent aussi les oreilles, et y portent des ornemens d'un genre et d'un gout tres-varies.' _Rollin_, in _La Perouse_, _Voy._, tom. ii., p. 53. 'Those between Monterey and the extreme northern boundary of the Mexican domain, shave their heads close.' _Boscana_, in _Robinson's Life in Cal._, p. 239. On the coast between San Diego and San Francisco 'presque tous ... vont entierement nus; ceux qui ont quelques vetements, n'ont autre chose qu'une casaque faite de courroies de peau de lapins, de lievres ou de loutres tresses ensemble, et qui ont conserve le poil. Les femmes ont une espece de tablier de roseaux tresses qui s'attache autour de la taille par un cordon, et pend jusqu'aux genoux; une peau de cerf mal tannee et mal preparee, jetee sur leurs epaules en guise de manteau, complete leur toilette.' _f.a.ges_, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1844, tom. ci., p. 155; see also _Marmier_, _Notice_, in _Bryant_, _Voy. en Cal._, p. 227. 'Sont tres peu couverts, et en ete, la plupart vont tout nus. Les femmes font usage de peaux de daim pour se couvrir.... Ces femmes portent encore comme vetement des especes de couvertures sans envers, faites en plumes tissues ensemble ... il a l'avantage d'etre tres-chaud.... Elles portent generalement, au lieu de boucles d'oreilles, des morceaux d'os ou de bois en forme de cylindre et sculptes de differentes manieres. Ces ornements sont creux et servent egalement d'etuis pour renfermer leurs aiguilles.' _Pet.i.t-Thouars_, _Voy._, tom. ii., p. 135. Speaking generally of the Californian Indians, 'both s.e.xes go nearly naked, excepting a sort of wrapper round the waist, only in the coldest part of the winter they throw over their bodies a covering of deer-skin, or the skin of the sea-otter. They also make themselves garments of the feathers of many different kinds of water fowl, particularly ducks and geese, bound together fast in a sort of ropes, which ropes are then united quite close so as to make something like a feather skin.' It is very warm. 'In the same manner they cut the sea-otter skins into small strips, which they twist together, and then join them as they do the feathers, so that both sides have the fur alike.' _Langsdorff's Voy._, vol. ii., pp. 163-4. See also _Farnham's Life in Cal._, p. 364, and _Forbes' Cal._, p. 183. 'Im Winter selbst tragen sie wenig Bekleidung, vielleicht nur eine Hirschhaut, welche sie uber die Schulter werfen; Manner, Frauen und Kinder gehen selbst im Winter im Schnee barfuss.' _Wimmel_, _Californien_, p. 177; _Lord's Nat._, vol. i., p. 249; _Patrick, Gilbert, Heald, and Von Schmidt_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1856, pp. 240-4; _Choris_, _Voy. Pitt._, part iii., p. 4, and plate xii.; _Muhlenpfordt_, _Mejico_, vol. ii., part ii., p. 455; _Domenech's Deserts_, vol. i., p. 239; _Shea's Catholic Missions_, p. 98; _Johnston_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol.

iv., p. 223; _D'Orbigny_, _Voy._, p. 457; _Augur_, _Voy. en Cal._, p.

100. After having collated the above notes I was rather taken aback by meeting the following: 'The general costume of nearly all the Californian Indians gives them rather an interesting appearance; when fully dressed, their hair, which has been loose, is tied up, either with a coronet of silver, or the thongs of skin, ornamented with feathers of the brightest colours; bracelets made in a similar manner are wore; breeches and leggings of doe-skin, sewed, not unfrequently with human hair; a kind of kilt of varied coloured cloth or silk (!), fastened by a scarf, round their waist; ... The women wear a cloth petticoat, dyed either blue or red, doe-skin shirt, and leggings, with feathered bracelets round their waist.' _Coulter's Adventures_, vol. i., pp.

172-3. Surely Mr Coulter should know an Indian dress from one composed of Mexican cloth and trinkets.

[508] At Bodega the women 'were as much tatooed or punctured as any of the females of the Sandwich islands.' _Vancouver's Voy._, vol. ii., p.

436. In the Sacramento Valley 'most of the men had some slight marks of tattooing on the breast, disposed like a necklace.' _Pickering's Races_, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. ix., p. 105. Dana, in a note to Hale, says: 'The faces of the men were colored with black and red paint, fancifully laid on in triangles and zigzag lines. The women were tattooed below the mouth.' _Hale's Ethnog._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. vi., p. 222. 'Most of them had some slight marks of tattooing on their breast; somewhat similar to that of the Chinooks.... The face was usually painted, the upper part of the cheek in the form of a triangle, with a blue-black substance, mixed with some shiny particles that looked like pulverized mica.' _Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. v., pp. 198, 259. 'Their faces daubed with a thick dark glossy substance like tar, in a line from the outside corners of the eyes to the ends of the mouth, and back from them to the hinge of the jawbone ... some also had their entire foreheads coated over.' _Kelly's Excursion to Cal._, vol. ii., p. 111.

'The women are a little tattooed on the chin.' _Pfeiffer's Second Journ._, p. 307. At Monterey and vicinity, 'se peignent le corps en rouge, et en noir lorsqu'ils sont en deuil.' _La Perouse_, _Voy._, tom.

ii., p. 305. 'Se peignent la peau pour se parer.' _Rollin_, in _La Perouse_, _Voy._, tom. iv., p. 53. 'This one thing was obserued to bee generall amongst them all, that euery one had his face painted, some with white, some blacke, and some with other colours.' _Drake's World Encomp._, p. 126. 'Tattooing is practised in these tribes by both s.e.xes, both to ornament the person and to distinguish one clan from another. It is remarkable that the women mark their chins precisely in the same way as the Esquimaux.' _Beechey's Voy._, vol. ii., p. 77. 'Les indigenes independents de la Haute-Californie sont tatoues ... ces signes servent d'ornement et de distinction, non seulement d'une tribu a une autre tribu, mais encore, d'une famille a une autre famille.' _Pet.i.t-Thouars_, _Voy._, tom. ii., pp. 134-5. 'Tattooing is also used, but princ.i.p.ally among the women. Some have only a double or triple line from each corner of the mouth down to the chin; others have besides a cross stripe extending from one of these stripes to the other; and most have simple long and cross stripes from the chin over the neck down to the breast and upon the shoulders.' _Langsdorff's Voy._, vol. ii., p. 167; see plate, p. 169. When dancing, 'ils se peignent sur le corps des lignes regulieres, noires, rouges et blanches. Quelques-uns ont la moitie du corps, depuis la tete jusqu'en bas, barbouillee de noir, et l'autre de rouge; le tout croise par des raies blanches, d'autres se poudrent les cheveux avec du duvet d'oiseaux.' _Choris_, _Voy. Pitt._, part iii., p.

4; see also plate xii. 'I have never observed any particular figured designs upon their persons, but the tattooing is generally on the chin, though sometimes on the wrist and arm.' Mostly on the persons of the females. _Johnston_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iv., p. 223. 'Les femmes seules emploient le tatouage.' _Auger_, _Voy. en Cal._, p. 165.

[509] 'Il est bien rare qu'un Indien pa.s.se la nuit dans sa maison. Vers le soir chacun prend son arc et ses fleches et va se reunir aux autres dans de grandes cavernes, parce-qu'ils craignent d'etre attaques a l'improviste par leurs ennemis et d'etre surpris sans defense au milieu de leurs femmes et de leurs enfants.' _f.a.ges_, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1844, tom. ci., pp. 316-7.

[510] Two authors describe their dwellings as being much smaller than I have stated them to be: 'leur maisons ont quatre pieds de diametre.'

_Marmier_, _Notice_, in _Bryant_, _Voy. en Cal._, p. 238. Their wigwams have 'une elevation au-dessus du sol de cinq a huit pieds et une circonference de dix a douze.' _Holinski_, _La Californie_, p. 172. The authorities I have followed, and who agree in essential particulars, are: _Pickering's Races_, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. ix., pp. 103, 106; _Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. v., p. 198; _Pfeiffer's Second Journ._, pp. 307-8; _Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., p.

106; _Fremont's Explor. Ex._, p. 242; _Kelly's Excursion to Cal._, vol.

ii., pp. 34, 282; _Choris_, _Voy. Pitt._, part iii., p. 2; _Drake's World Encomp._, p. 121; _Bartlett's Pers. Nar._, vol. ii., p. 30, with cut; _Vancouver's Voy._, vol. ii., pp. 13, 15; _Palou_, _Noticias_, in _Doc. Hist. Mex._, serie iv., vol. vi., pp. 367, 390; _Sutil y Mexicana_, _Viage_, p. 165; _La Perouse_, _Voy._, tom. ii., p. 295; _Delano's Life on the Plains_, p. 306; _Gerstacker's Journ._, p. 218; _Gilbert_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1856, p. 242; _Patrick_, in _Id._, p. 240; _Jewett_, in _Id._, p. 244; _Bailey_, in _Id._, 1858, p. 299; _Lord's Nat._, vol.

i., p. 248; _Langsdorff's Voy._, vol. ii., p. 163; _Wimmel_, _Californien_, pp. 177, 179; _Farnham's Life in Cal._, p. 365; _Beechey's Voy._, vol. ii., p. 5; _Baer_, _Stat. und Ethno._, p. 72; _Kostromitonow_, in _Id._, p. 83; _Domenech's Deserts_, vol. i., p. 239; _Muhlenpfordt_, _Mejico_, tom. ii., p. 456; _Johnston_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iv., p. 223; _Thornton's Ogn. and Cal._, vol. ii., p. 91; _Roquefeuil's Voy. Round the World_, p. 29; _f.a.ges_, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1844, tom. ci., pp. 316, 343.

[511] Wilkes, and the majority of writers, a.s.sert that the acorns are sweet and palatable in their natural state; Kostromitonow, however, says: 'Nachdem die Eicheln vom Baume gepfluckt sind, werden sie in der Sonne gedorrt, darauf gereinigt und in Korben mittelst besonders dazu behauener Steine gestossen, dann wird im Sande oder sonst wo in lockerer Erde eine Grube gegraben, die Eicheln werden hineingeschuttet und mit Wa.s.ser ubergossen, welches bestandig von der Erde eingezogen wird.

Dieses Ausspulen wiederholt man so lange bis die Eicheln alle ihre eigenthumliche Bitterkeit verloren haben.' _Baer_, _Stat. und Ethno._, p. 84. The acorn bread 'looks and tastes like coa.r.s.e black clay, strongly resembling the soundings in Hampton roads, and being about as savory and digestible.' _Revere's Tour_, p. 121. Never having eaten 'coa.r.s.e black clay,' I cannot say how it tastes, but according to all other authorities, this bread, were it not for the extreme filthiness of those who prepare it, would be by no means disagreeable food.

[512] Pinole is an Aztec word, and is applied to any kind of grain or seeds, parched and ground, before being made into dough. '_Pinolli_, la harina de mayz y chia, antes que la deslian.' _Molina_, _Vocabulario_.

The Aztecs made pinole chiefly of maize or Indian corn.

[513] 'Nos trageron su regalo de tamales grandes de mas de a tercia con su correspondiente grueso, amasados de semillas silvestres muy prietas que parecen brea; los probe y no tienen mal gusto y son muy mantecosos.'

_Palou_, _Noticias_, in _Doc. Hist. Mex._, serie iv., tom. vii., p. 68.

Among the presents given to Drake by the Indians was 'a roote which they call Petah, whereof they make a kind of meale, and either bake it into bread or eate it raw; broyled fishes, like a pilchard; the seede and downe aforenamed, with such like.' _Drake's World Encomp._, p. 126.

Catch salmon in baskets. 'They neither sow nor reap, but burn their meadows from time to time to increase their fertility.' _Chamisso_, in _Kotzebue's Voy._, vol. iii., p. 48. 'Les rats, les insectes, les serpentes, tout sans exception leur sert de nourriture.... Ils sont trop maladroits et trop paresseux pour cha.s.ser.' _Choris_, _Voy. Pitt._, part iii., p. 2. 'Entre ellas tienen una especie de semilla negra, y de su harina hacen unos tamales, a modo de bolas, de tamano de una naranja, que son muy sabrosos, que parecen de almendra tostada muy mantecosa.'

_Palou_, _Vida de Junipero Serra_, p. 216; _Sutil y Mexicana_, _Viage_, p. 164; _Kotzebue's New Voy._, vol. ii., p. 116. 'Their fastidiousness does not prompt them to take the entrails out' of fishes and birds.

_Delano's Life on the Plains_, p. 305. 'Live upon various plants in their several seasons, besides grapes, and even use the Artemesia.'

_Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. v., pp. 202, 259. 'Ils trouvent aussi autour d'eux une quant.i.te d'aloes dont ils font un frequent usage.... Ils utilisent encore la racine d'une espece de roseau.... Ils mangent aussi une fleur sucree qui ressemble a celle de l'eglantier d'Espagne, et qui croit dans les endroits marecageux.' _Marmier_, _Notice_, in _Bryant_, _Voy. en Cal._, pp. 232-3, 237. Were cannibals and their sorcerers still eat human flesh. _Mofras_, _Explor._, tom. ii., pp. 362, 366-9. The Meewocs 'eat all creatures that swim in the waters, all that fly through the air, and all that creep, crawl, or walk upon the earth, with, perhaps a dozen exceptions.' _Powers_, in _Overland Monthly_, vol. x., p. 324. 'Ils se nourrissent egalement d'une espece de gateaux fabriques avec du gland, et qu'ils roulent dans le sable avant de le livrer a la cuisson; de la vient qu'ils sont, jeunes encore, les dents usees jusqu'a la racine, et ce n'est pas, comme le dit Malte-Brun, parce qu'ils ont l'habitude de les limer.' _Auger_, _Voy. en Cal._, p.

163. 'While I was standing there a couple of pretty young girls came from the woods, with flat baskets full of flower-seed, emitting a peculiar fragrance, which they also prepared for eating. They put some live coals among the seed, and swinging it and throwing it together, to shake the coals and the seed well, and bring them in continual and close contact without burning the latter, they roasted it completely, and the mixture smelled so beautiful and refreshing that I tasted a good handful of it, and found it most excellent.' _Gerstaecker's Journ._, p. 211. See farther: _Humboldt_, _Pol._, tom. i., pp. 324-5; _Holinski_, _La Californie_, p. 174; _Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., pp.

106-7, 113; _Wimmel_, _Californien_, pp. 179, 181; _Kelly's Excursion to Cal._, vol. ii., p. 113; _Taylor's El Dorado_, vol. i., p. 241; _King's Rept._, in _Taylor's El Dorado_, vol. ii., p. 210; _Langsdorff's Voy._, vol. ii., p. 163; _Lord's Nat._, vol. i., p. 248; _Vancouver's Voy._, vol. ii., p. 36; _Pickering's Races_, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. ix., p.

103; _Pet.i.t-Thouars_, _Voy._, tom. ii., pp. 136-7; _Fremont's Explor.

Ex._, pp. 242, 244; _Johnson's Cal. and Ogn._, p. 142; _Hale's Ethnog._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. vi., p. 222; _Placerville Index_, _Aug., 1859_; _Henley_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1854, p. 303; _Patrick, McDermott, Gilbert, Benitz, Jannson, Von Schmidt, McAdam, Bowlby, and Jewett_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1856, pp. 18, 41-4; _La Perouse_, _Voy._, tom. ii., p. 282; _Helper's Land of Gold_, pp. 269-70; _Hutchings' Cal. Mag._, vol. iii., pp. 441-2; _Macfie's Vanc. Isl._, pp. 450-1; _Thornton's Ogn.